[bigvishnu]

Folks, a dilemma, need your advise...

Next week, i need to visit Hyderabad with wife and toddler in tow. booked train, but with a car that has jsut completed 1500 kms, want to take a shot with the road trip. what do you think?

my doubts:

1. With the baby car seat, baby should be safe and secure. have you tried long drives with toddlers, anything specific to watch out for?

2. the car has done 1570 kms today, and will probably touch 1700 before i go on the highway. since most folks suggest a running in of around 3500-5000 kms, is it a bad idea to go on a highway where RPM variations are very less?

3. from my experience of december 2010, the road was great, did anything change for the worse in the bangalore-hyd section?

any help, suggestion or advise is more than welcome...

Happy Deepavali in advance!

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

...
1. With the baby car seat, baby should be safe and secure. have you tried long drives with toddlers, anything specific to watch out for?
...
Happy Deepavali in advance!

I always go with the baby for long drives [around 400 KMs one-way]. Its better to have the baby-seat setup properly and have the baby there in the highways. It serves a great safety purpose. Also, it might be easier to feed some food as well while moving.

Have a Good drive and great Diwali !

Prem.

[motomaverick]

Please see my comments inline

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

Folks, a dilemma, need your advise...

Next week, i need to visit Hyderabad with wife and toddler in tow. booked train, but with a car that has jsut completed 1500 kms, want to take a shot with the road trip. what do you think?

my doubts:

1. With the baby car seat, baby should be safe and secure. have you tried long drives with toddlers, anything specific to watch out for?

Though i dont have a baby, but securing your child to the baby seat always on the highway is a good idea, plus as kaviprem said a bit more stops for fresh air etc would also help.

2. the car has done 1570 kms today, and will probably touch 1700 before i go on the highway. since most folks suggest a running in of around 3500-5000 kms, is it a bad idea to go on a highway where RPM variations are very less?

If you have done 1700 kms then your engine has runned in, highway drive is mostly certainly on.

3. from my experience of december 2010, the road was great, did anything change for the worse in the bangalore-hyd section?

I had covered this road during Aug 15th, and its butter smooth all throughout no issues.

any help, suggestion or advise is more than welcome...

Happy Deepavali in advance!

[wickedchauhan]

@bigvishnu : I have been following this thread of yours with keen interest and would like to thank you for updating it from time to time. Your opinion would be of great value to me once I am ready to decide which car to go for come January.

Do post your first long drive experience - FE, car behavior/manner on highway, gearing, comfort level etc.

Till then - Drive Safe !!!

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

Friday - during a meeting at office!
Here, i would like to pause and comment on some of the 'tricks of the trade' of the car dealers. The dealer in question is Concorde Motors, Bangalore, but i guess the same practices prevail across the industry, for all companies. Information of the new version was very much available to the dealer when i booked the car in late June, or maybe they got to know about it sometime in early july (around the same time our scoop thread had started). However, they wanted to get rid of the stock of the old version, and they found a willing customer in me. only when they messed up did they make the offer of the refreshed car! I wish they were open and told me that the variant i had booked was going to be discontinued, maybe i am asking for too much!



Also, the microphone position is not known to me, so when i take the calls, the folks on the other side usually complain that the voice is pretty low, not sure how to fix that problem! any suggestions or insights?[/list]

• Passenger Seat Parcel Tray There is this cute little parcel tray below the passenger seat. however, i noticed a few times over the last week that the tray actually slides out white the car is running. not sure if its a design flaw, or, i didn't push it in enough. However, it is damn frustrating when you are driving!

Congratulations!

A VERY VERY wise choice.

Especially since you got the new Facelifted version - which in my Opinion looks stunning & jaw dropping good.

I just got my Manza Celebration Edition - hence sharing this with you.


1. The Microphone though not visible is very rightly positioned.
All you need to do is speak 'normally' like you would speak to someone sitting across the table in an air-conditioned office.
You need not raise your voice - neither speak as softly as you would on a cellphone in a closed room.
Nevertheless - please do have it checked with the horrible A.S.S. during your 1st service.

2. The Parcel tray - WONDERFUL addition. I keep my Netbook there.
DOES NOT SLIDE OUT SO EASILY.
Either it is faulty or not fitted properly.
Again - MUST check & verify.


3. I don't know whether it was your dealer specifically.
I have 1st hand experience of VW purposely NOT disclosing new versions coming within the next week for the reason you mentioned - clearing the inventory.

But - my experience with Tata was unimaginable!

When I wished to buy the Manza in July - I was unhappy with the interior colour combo & exterior colour choices.
I wrote to them & not only did they promptly reply,
they replied with a written letter & personal phone call - informing me about their new version - the limited edition coming in 1st week September (2 months later).

& I was also informed when it was ready & thus I booked the 1st of its kind.

Full detailed post - with letters & replies here :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2395323

[smrtdvl]

First of all congrats and welcome to the family bigvishnu. My priorities were more or less same when buying my Vista Refresh. I should say those tail lamps and the double barrel headlights make the vista refresh 2 a stunner.

Once you cross 1500kms I don't think there is much to worry about the running in period. But I made it a point to not cross 90kmh till my Odo reached 3500km mark. But occasionally did reach 100kmh between 2000 to 3500km during highway drives Its one heck of a highway tourer am sure loving it.

The only discomfort I face is the A pillar blocking my view at times and a few friends of mine who drove the car felt the same. Any comments on this?

[bigvishnu]

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

The only discomfort I face is the A pillar blocking my view at times and a few friends of mine who drove the car felt the same. Any comments on this?

smrtdvl, i agree with you on the A Pillar. it does get pretty inconvenient sometimes, but thats only when i push the seat way too back for want of very high leg room. when i move it to the mid position (which gives adequate legroom for comfy driving), its not that much of a problem.

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Congratulations!

A VERY VERY wise choice.

I just got my Manza Celebration Edition - hence sharing this with you.

Dr Suraj, congratulations on your new buy. i was following your thread closely, and am glad you had a great buying experience.

coming to the microphone, your tips didn't really help, which indicates that there is something that is obstructing the mic. will get it checked during my next service 1300 kms away.

Originally Posted by wickedchauhan

@bigvishnu : I have been following this thread of yours with keen interest and would like to thank you for updating it from time to time. Your opinion would be of great value to me once I am ready to decide which car to go for come January.

Do post your first long drive experience - FE, car behavior/manner on highway, gearing, comfort level etc.

Till then - Drive Safe !!!

Wickedchauhan, thanks ! i just got back from a 1700 kms drive, i will write about in later today, will have all the details you asked for, and a little more.

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

Dr Suraj, congratulations on your new buy. i was following your thread closely, and am glad you had a great buying experience.

coming to the microphone, your tips didn't really help, which indicates that there is something that is obstructing the mic. will get it checked during my next service 1300 kms away.

Thank you.

Please do get it checked right away.

Its an important feature. It isn't nice for you to be screaming when you are alone in your car

All the Best!

Happy Driving!

[bigvishnu]

This is a 3700 kms update. Over the last 2 months, used the car on 2K of city, and 1.7K of highway roads. A quick recap of the current situation:

What I love about the car:

1. Suspension and handling: I think the tuning is just perfect. I have figured out how to drive this car without getting the under chassis scraped as well.
2. The bells and whistles: All the features that are missing in cars of the same class, whether it is Bluetooth, or steering controls, or driver seat height adjustment, or lumbar support etc etc give you the feeling of being pampered, and am loving it!
3. Noise levels: with all windows rolled up, and AC / music even at low levels, the engine noise is totally masked from the cabin, only the turbo reminds you that you are driving an oil burner
4. Engine – thanks fiat, to collaborate with TATA!
5. Air Conditioning: I guess all the folks who had AC issues in older Vistas were pretty vocal about it, TATA actually heard from them and improved this many times over! nomatter what levels we put the AC at, invariable, 5-10 minutes into the drive, we end up needing to reduce the chill, or the blower speeds or both to save ourselves from freezing our bones

What I don’t like about the car:

1. Gear Shift: not too much of a problem, but, its not as notchy as some of the other premium hatches, and is a bit hard on the shoulder.
2. Rub Rails: can you believe it, the side rub rail fell off, thankfully in my parking lot, so I can get it fixed, if I had lost it, would have to shell out 2600 bucks for new set. Whats the use of a new chorme lining all around the car when it cannot even stand on the car for 2 months ??? tata, listening? I will send a pic of the dropped rub-rail, guess it’s a case of adhesive going kaput.
3. Parcel Shelf: The parcel shelf under the passenger seat, continues to slide out every time I have to stop a bit suddenly. Whats the use of a shelf that doesn’t stay in place. I guess I need a carpenter, not a mechanic
   

Some other observations:

1. Highway Performance: Like others have mentioned, this is a mile muncher. Takes to the open roads like a free stallion! Did Bangalore airport to Hyderabad airport in 6 hours, with a cpl breaks thrown in. The acceleration is great, breaking at high speeds is confidence inspiring. Steering firmness increases with speed, which is great.
2. Breaks: Extremely GOOD! ABS or no ABS, the breaks do inspire a lot of confidence. The highway between Hyd and Bangalore throws up a lot of challenges in the form of stray animals, and ‘morons’ driving on the wrong side of the road. The breaks were highly effective, and ABS got deployed 3 times during my road trip. How I got to know, well, I cannot say 100%, but I could feel some sound that normal breaking do not produce. There was no screech, no skid and the breaking was super confident.
3. Bumpers: The bumpers are super flexible, and do not get scratched, dented very easily. During one of the sudden breaks I applied, we actually had contact with a few sheep on the road, the bumpers took is really well, and no sign of any damage. The bumper edges came off from the body, and just had to be pressed back in, that’s all. I know of many other cars where bumper cracks, dents on similar impact.
4. Paint Quality: Mine is a white car, and I am hating the tar marks, insect marks that are not leaving the surface with a normal wash. Any advise?
5. Fuel Efficiency: the car returned a mileage of around 13.5 in city with 100% AC, and around 15 with 100% AC on the highway. Before you think its too low, let me clarify, my driving style during this trip was more towards covering maximum distance in minimum time rather than focusing on FE. Maintained an average speed of around 120 kmph over a 1200 kms range. For those speeds, I guess it the FE justified.
6. Running In – With this trip, and the ODO showing 3700, I am assuming the running – in is almost over.
7. Microphone: As detailed above, the folks on the other side are not able to hear me well unless I talk out loud, which I feel is a bit un-natural. Also, at high speeds, or when it is raining, the disturbance to the other party is just too high, so its not effective. Geuss its safe not to be on a phone call when you are driving at 100KMPH and tata has taken care of that.
8. Shudder at Speeds? : had a peculiar observation. while accelerating, at around 110, the steering vibrates a bit, and then it stabilizes and vibration vanishes about 115-120 kmph. this was observed more than 70% of the times i crossed 120 on the highway drive, and didnt happen the other 30% of the times. not sure if it with the car or the road! any ideas?
   

All in all, super happy with the car so far, barring a few niggles. My next trip, i will test actual FE after restricting speed to below 90.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

The Not so good: so far, reading my post, you might have felt that i am one tata addict who cant look beyond, and so will not talk about the negatives much.. but here goes my list.. hope tata is listening! Audio The head unit, and the audio output is strictly average. The options given are good (usb, bluetooth and aux) however, the quality is what matters. if i were to upgrade something in the car, this will be it! Also, the microphone position is not known to me, so when i take the calls, the folks on the other side usually complain that the voice is pretty low, not sure how to fix that problem! any suggestions or insights? Audio Upgrade: any suggestions welcome. am not very technical with respect to audio engineering, so something simple to understand would be great

Dear Mr.Bigvishnu - hello to you and thank you for sharing your comments on your ownership experience of Vista on this thread. I'll shortly provide some answers to you on the audio issue that you have mentioned. It will be very simple. Can you please PM me some more details as well as your mobile contact number? I too drive a White Vista which happens to have an MH14 registration. Got it? Good! .

Edited to add - I just read your last post. Thanks.

Please accept my best personal regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[TSEA]

@Vishnu: Please see my comments in Bold/underlined against some points:

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

This is a 3700 kms update. Over the last 2 months, used the car on 2K of city, and 1.7K of highway roads. A quick recap of the current situation:

What I love about the car:

1. Suspension and handling: I think the tuning is just perfect. I have figured out how to drive this car without getting the under chassis scraped as well. VISTA's softer suspension have to be handled with little care, however unplanned speed breakers in Bangalore are the real culprit here.
2. The bells and whistles: All the features that are missing in cars of the same class, whether it is Bluetooth, or steering controls, or driver seat height adjustment, or lumbar support etc etc give you the feeling of being pampered, and am loving it!. The bluetooth is awesome and I just wish my VISTA also had steering controls.
3. Noise levels: with all windows rolled up, and AC / music even at low levels, the engine noise is totally masked from the cabin, only the turbo reminds you that you are driving an oil burner
4. Engine – thanks fiat, to collaborate with TATA!
5. Air Conditioning: I guess all the folks who had AC issues in older Vistas were pretty vocal about it, TATA actually heard from them and improved this many times over! nomatter what levels we put the AC at, invariable, 5-10 minutes into the drive, we end up needing to reduce the chill, or the blower speeds or both to save ourselves from freezing our bones . Same here!

What I don’t like about the car:

1. Gear Shift: not too much of a problem, but, its not as notchy as some of the other premium hatches, and is a bit hard on the shoulder. Gear shift on my vehicle has become very smooth over time, the reverse gear is what I am not very fond of.
2. Rub Rails: can you believe it, the side rub rail fell off, thankfully in my parking lot, so I can get it fixed, if I had lost it, would have to shell out 2600 bucks for new set. Whats the use of a new chorme lining all around the car when it cannot even stand on the car for 2 months ??? tata, listening? I will send a pic of the dropped rub-rail, guess it’s a case of adhesive going kaput.
3. Parcel Shelf: The parcel shelf under the passenger seat, continues to slide out every time I have to stop a bit suddenly. Whats the use of a shelf that doesn’t stay in place. I guess I need a carpenter, not a mechanic . Did not have this issue, please get it checked.

Some other observations:

1. Highway Performance: Like others have mentioned, this is a mile muncher. Takes to the open roads like a free stallion! Did Bangalore airport to Hyderabad airport in 6 hours, with a cpl breaks thrown in. The acceleration is great, breaking at high speeds is confidence inspiring. Steering firmness increases with speed, which is great.
2. Breaks: Extremely GOOD! ABS or no ABS, the breaks do inspire a lot of confidence. The highway between Hyd and Bangalore throws up a lot of challenges in the form of stray animals, and ‘morons’ driving on the wrong side of the road. The breaks were highly effective, and ABS got deployed 3 times during my road trip. How I got to know, well, I cannot say 100%, but I could feel some sound that normal breaking do not produce. There was no screech, no skid and the breaking was super confident.
3. Bumpers: The bumpers are super flexible, and do not get scratched, dented very easily. During one of the sudden breaks I applied, we actually had contact with a few sheep on the road, the bumpers took is really well, and no sign of any damage. The bumper edges came off from the body, and just had to be pressed back in, that’s all. I know of many other cars where bumper cracks, dents on similar impact.
4. Paint Quality: Mine is a white car, and I am hating the tar marks, insect marks that are not leaving the surface with a normal wash. Any advise? Maybe you can get it cleaned by some professional service providers (3M etc). I got all my swirl marks/light marks removed during my third service.
5. Fuel Efficiency: the car returned a mileage of around 13.5 in city with 100% AC, and around 15 with 100% AC on the highway. Before you think its too low, let me clarify, my driving style during this trip was more towards covering maximum distance in minimum time rather than focusing on FE. Maintained an average speed of around 120 kmph over a 1200 kms range. For those speeds, I guess it the FE justified. I think the highway mileage is respectable, given the conditions you were driving in. It will for sure improve.
6. Running In – With this trip, and the ODO showing 3700, I am assuming the running – in is almost over.
7. Microphone: As detailed above, the folks on the other side are not able to hear me well unless I talk out loud, which I feel is a bit un-natural. Also, at high speeds, or when it is raining, the disturbance to the other party is just too high, so its not effective. Geuss its safe not to be on a phone call when you are driving at 100KMPH and tata has taken care of that. I take calls regularly while driving to-from office, did not experience any problems. Will check at high-speeds.
8. Shudder at Speeds? : had a peculiar observation. while accelerating, at around 110, the steering vibrates a bit, and then it stabilizes and vibration vanishes about 115-120 kmph. this was observed more than 70% of the times i crossed 120 on the highway drive, and didnt happen the other 30% of the times. not sure if it with the car or the road! any ideas?

All in all, super happy with the car so far, barring a few niggles. My next trip, i will test actual FE after restricting speed to below 90.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Mr.TSEA - thanks for your comments. Noted.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[wickedchauhan]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

[*]The bells and whistles: All the features that are missing in cars of the same class, whether it is Bluetooth, or steering controls, or driver seat height adjustment, or lumbar support etc etc give you the feeling of being pampered, and am loving it!
[*]Rub Rails: can you believe it, the side rub rail fell off, thankfully in my parking lot, so I can get it fixed, if I had lost it, would have to shell out 2600 bucks for new set.
[*]Parcel Shelf: The parcel shelf under the passenger seat, continues to slide out every time I have to stop a bit suddenly. Whats the use of a shelf that doesn’t stay in place. I guess I need a carpenter, not a mechanic .

Nice report Vishnu and I must say pretty heartening too. I really love all the features Vista has to offer which are missing on Sedans as well. So it seems that bells and whistles are indeed making themselves felt and much to the delight of the owners.

My observations from the TD, after reading your earlier post

1. The microphone worked fine, i ensured that by trying different variations, first i went out of the car and then called my wife's phone and then asked her to turn her face in different direction and then speak. I even got the sales guy sitting on the back seat to speak and I heard the voices pretty clearly.
2. I checked out the parcel tray too. I tried pulling it out and used lot of strength too, but it wouldn't come out without pulling it up. This means it was working fine and so i guess you need to get it checked.
3. I am dismayed at the rub rails coming off. Please do let us know if this is a common problem or an one off and whats the solution.

[bigvishnu]

Originally Posted by wickedchauhan

3. I am dismayed at the rub rails coming off. Please do let us know if this is a common problem or an one off and whats the solution.

For now, i would like to believe that the rub rail coming off is a one off incident, since i have not heard this from any other owners. Time will tell if this is a chronic issue!

[Arun.K]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

What I love about the car:

1. Suspension and handling: I think the tuning is just perfect. I have figured out how to drive this car without getting the under chassis scraped as well.

I remember there is a metal sump guard for extra protection in Vista VX, which the older Vistas doesn't have. Hope you have noticed that.

Shudder at Speeds? : had a peculiar observation. while accelerating, at around 110, the steering vibrates a bit, and then it stabilizes and vibration vanishes about 115-120 kmph. this was observed more than 70% of the times i crossed 120 on the highway drive, and didnt happen the other 30% of the times. not sure if it with the car or the road! any ideas?

Might be a wheel balancing problem. Once I had the same problem and got it rectified.