Folks,
Have been a member with Team BHP for quite a few years now and have always been going through the posts.
It is my pleasure to let you know that I bought an ANHC VMT Tafetta white last month in Bangalore. I had a Swift ZXI which I used for almost 5 years and wanted to upgrade to a Sedan. The Swift was a fantastic car and the only drawback was the lack of boot space. Everytime we had to travel with luggage, the people who sat behind had to carry the luggage in their lap or place it below their legs - which is why I decided to upgrade for a new car.
My expectations in buying a sedan were:
- Better power than the Swift (at least 100+BHP)
- Should be a petrol sedan
- Big boot space as my parents would stay with us
- Good safety features
- A car which I can cherish driving for the next 5 to 7 years
My budget was around INR 10 lakhs and had the following options to choose from:
- Linea Petrol
- Maruti SX4
- Vento
My daily usage of the car is not more than 8 to 10 Kms during weekdays and not more than 50 Kms during weekend. Once a month I travel 1000 Kms with family. Hence, ruled out buying a diesel car with such low running. Also, driving a petrol car gives one that punch!
I ruled out Chevorlet Aveo and Fiesta as they never were in contention.
Linea: I liked the looks of the Linea. However, it made sense if I go for their Diesel version. Also, wasn't sure about the re-sale value, after sales service of Fiat as I have heard shocking stories from my friends.
SX4: The Maruti brand is great with minimal maintenance and good service network, re-sale value etc. But the only botheration to me was that the car is not an eye turner and the interior especially the dashboard etc. is very similar to the swift. The car looks huge and the finish wasn't that great.
Vento: Took a test drive of the Vento Petrol. The car was good. The interiors were great with trendy finish. The dealer where I took the test drive had no idea to explain me the features etc. The product was great but i wasn't sure about the after sales service etc from Volkswagon as they are just setting up their dealer network. I would have bought this car if Vento was a successful car a year or two in India. Hence didn't want to take the risk.
By the way, also visited the Hyundai showroom but was told not by the dealer that the Verna will be launched only by May and they didn't even had a Verna for me to test drive.
ANHC: Took the test drive of the ANHC from two dealers in Bangalore and finally bought the car from Magnum Honda.
- What i liked about the ANHC:
- The engine is so silent and was far better than the Swift
- Safety features like the dual air bags and ABS comes as standard features across all variants (unlike most cars)
- The car comes with a 2+2 year warranty with road assistance
- Proven market leader in this segment for almost a decade
- Amazing power with the 1.5 ltr engine and excellent mileage- (Thanks to iVTec)
- Power steering is so light that one can operate with a finger
- Responsive engine and overtaking is at ease without cutting down gears
- Huge boot space - the best in this class
- Killer looks - IMHO, the best looking car in this segment
- Wonderful not to have a CD player. AUX and USB option is real good.
- Excellent storage space - below the central arm rest, a coin holder for the driver and two cup holders at the rear seat arm rest.
- The OEM ICE is much better than the cars in this segment, The Mitsubishi HU and alpine speakers sound pretty decent.
- What could have been better:
- The ground clearance is pretty low and with a longer wheel base, it is pretty tough to negotiate the speed breakers in Bangalore especially if there are 4 passengers. I'm always worried about the vehicles coming from behind not to hit me as ANHC needs to almost come to a stop to cross the big speed brakers.
- Automatic climate control system should have been provided to a car of this class - even my Swift had this.
- Rear head restraints are missing - even my Swift had these.
- The cigarette lighter is missing - not sure why Honda removed this (as they say this is a eco friendly car).
- There is no bluetooth option to pickup phone calls.
- Could have had indicators on the ORVMs and auto retractable ORVMs.
- No mute button available in the music system - They should have placed it on the steering wheel.
- The auto lock does not activate when you start the car - Swift had this once you touch 20 KMPH, the doors would automatically lock. The problem is one can open the fuel lid if dont manually activate the central locking at the driver's door.
- The boot cover is not connected to central locking system and does not have a electromagnetic opener.
- Absence of AC vents for the rear seats.
- Only one key provided with the car with auto lock, othey key doesn't have it.
All set at done, the quality of the engine, the pickup, looks, power and more importantly after I studied about the iVTec technology, they took me buy this fantastic machine. As many of you had suggested, selected the car before booking from the stock yard which had the Michelin XM1 tyres. Got insurance free, a corporate discount, sun filming, teflon coating, car cover, rear parking sensors free.
Will post the pics tomorrow. Have completed 3000 Kms till now and will share my initial driving experience shorty.