[bigvishnu]

Friday - during a meeting at office!

Background: I have been driving from the age of 15 (yes, illegal, and looking back, I feel guilty!) and started off on my father’s petrol 3 gear Mahindra jeep. Very soon converted to a 2004 Maruti 800. Fast forward to 2011, and we have an Indica DLG Turbo, which was iadequate for ur current needs (myself, wifey and kiddo have different start and end tiems for office / home etc)

June 2011, decided to finallu et a new car. The needs out of the new car:
1. Cabin Space: as much or more than my current car. Boot was not a must.
2. Has to be a Diesel (love the turbo kick! )
3. Budget to be capped at 6.5L OTR
4. Decent highway performance (do a long drive once every cpl monhts)
5. More safety, now that we have a baby onboard (ABS, if not airbags)
6. Easy to maintain, godo FE
7. Goodies andnice to haves are great to have 

The above list took a few months to frame, and in the meanwhile, test drove everything from the new Verna to the reva, and went to the adjacencies as far as the Mahindra Thar. As you can see, I was pretty confused 
Keeping budget in mind, and noting the other things I wanted out of my car, consciously decided not to look for Sedan, and decided to keep the search limited to Hatchbacks.

A lot was happening in the Diesel hatch market in India over the last few months:
1. Maruti

a. Swift - was going to do a major facelift to its bestselling Hatch. New car specs were not out yet, and saw news reports of over 25K bookings already. I was sure I did not want to get into a product without knowing what it was going to be. Also, a few mm increase in length wasn’t really going to add too much to the in-cabin comfort, which was my criteria #1. Almost a gamble because we didn’t know how better it was going to be, but decided not to wait.

b. Ritz – was selling like hotcakes – it was, like someone said, a very practical Swift.

c. WagonR – loved the reviews of the new facelifted Wagon R, but it was a big let down - Rejected



2. Hyundai

a. i10 – only petrol – didn’t pursue further, even though it drives like a dream for city rides

b. I20 – after reading so many feedbacks from BHPians on the design flaws with the steering, promptly took it out of the consideration.



3. VW Polo – too noisy, not a big *** network. Loved the product, but kept it aside for now.


4. Nissan Micra – with due respects, it looked too feminine, and the color they advertise it doesn’t help change that perception, so stayed away.


5. Chevrolet Beat: went for a TD of the beat the day the TD car was available. Wifey was in the backseat when new started the TD. By the time she came to the front seat to get on the wheel, the decision was almost done.. we will not go for it. Reasons – claustrophobic interiors, engine clatter inside the cabin even at idle.

6. Tata
a. eV2 – looks so much like our V2 turbo – rejected

2010 Vista – Space was a WOW , National engine was reliable. Am ok for small niggles, as long as there are no design flaws. From what I saw, there were no such design flows. Then came a trip to hometown where I got a chance to use my BIL’s 2008 Vista TDI. Drove the car for about 300Kms or so and I was sold! Came back, and towards end of June, booked the Aura ABS version.

Wait, the title of this thread said Vista Vx, and I actually booked a Aura ABS. what happened between then and now.. my next post will tell. How long I spend on the next post will depend on the reactions I get here. Almost my first effort at public writing.. so pardon mistakes if any!



Edit 2 - Friday evening

Okay... so now that we have booked the Vista Aura ABS, we started with the bank formalities - shortlisted State Bank of Mysore, did the paperwork, and were waiting for the August 12th Delivery date. plan was to complete the bank paperwork and take the DD a week before delivery date. After a few days, went to the bank to get the DD. This is when things started going haywire, or so i thought. the Dealer didnt give the right version of the Invoice, which meant we could not take the DD, and it also meant that the whole process had to be re-done. Application - sanction.. the whole damn process. Just when i was totally pissed, and was about to give my dealer a very tough time.. this is what i heard from him.. "sir... a new vista is coming.. we goofed up, but wanted to check if you want to move your booking over from Aura ABS to the new version? If yes, we will get back to you with new pricing details and promise to deliver by end of Aug". That sealed the deal for me. Had SBM not applied its bureaucracy (dealer says same invoice works for all other banks), i would have never got the refresh offer from the dealer.

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!

Okay, now coming back to the Vista. a few days down and i got more info, pricing, and they offered a 24K discount on the variant i was looking for (VX - OTR post Discount Rs 6.476 L). Settled with Cavern Grey, but not sure why i was not satisfied with the choice of colors. with the advice of fellow BHPians sushantr5 and Latheesh, decided on the Porcelain White.

The month-end delivery commitment could not be met, however, Leeman from Concorde and Saurabh from Tata Motors were very accommodating with my requests, updates on information, visits to the yard to check the car etc etc etc. Finally on the 3rd of september, i got the delivery of my White Stallion. Vista VX. Wifey, Kiddo and me went to pick the baby up at the showroom and we were off the road after getting the paperwork and the customary pooja done.

First Impressions: (just completed 500 kms)

The Good:

• SPACE: The cabin can take me, and has space of my 16 month kiddo on my lap, with the seat to the top most position and the steering to the bottom most. that must give you a sense of the amount of space in the car.

• Noise Levels On day 3, I took the car to the house of my car pool partner so we could drive to work. His first question: Vishnu, is this a Diesel?????? - that says it all. In cabin noise levels are very much in check. I cannot comment on high-rpm sound yet since i am driving pretty sedately so far.

• Comfort Extremely comfortable front seats. decent rear seats. feels good and welcome in the driver seat. View is good (center console helps, actually)

• Stereo Controls and Bluetooth The controls are well positioned, and react well to input. Wish the buttons could have been a bit more up-market in their feel(the only other car i drove with stereo controls is a Mazda 6 from Hertz when i am in the US). Configuring Bluetooth was a breeze, and works satisfactorily. Will talk more about what i don't like later.

• VFM For the money we spent on this car, the package is much more than any other competitor offers. This is by no means a cheap car as some make it out to be. Moreover, if you just jump into it once, feel the dash, and the interiors, and compare with what competition offers, you will understand what i am trying to talk about.

• Smooth Ride this one glides over potholes, much much more refined compared to most hatches around (personal opinion)

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?

• Turbo Lag It exists, and it makes its presence felt every time i have more than 2 people in the car, and i am in heavy Bangalore traffic. the flip side of this is that the trubo makes it presence felt every time RPM climbs to 1700 or so, but until then... good luck to you!

• Ground Clearance surprisingly, i felt is low compared to my V2 DLG turbo. i donno what the brochures of the 2 say, but while the old car could glide over all the potholes betweeen office and home, this one does scrape at a place or 2... .

• 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!

• the car hates steep road dividers I donno if its the suspension tuning, or something else, but the humps are pretty rough!

• Panel Gaps well, it doesnt bother me too much, waht i dotn like is the gaps, what i like is the consistency of the gaps . one thing i would like to highlight here, which i am utterly disappointed is - the passenger side front and rear door window levels have a gaps of around 1 cm. one higher than the other. this was un-pardonable on the part of the designers.. heads must roll, i felt!

A few pics of the car are attached. Am waiting to get the TBHP stickers, and yet to click the Interior pics. So I promise more pics soon.

Help Needed Also listing below is some help needed from Fellow BHPians

• Seat Covers: Am a bit tight on budget, so can someone suggest good quality, but not super expensive art leather seat covers in bangalore?
• SunFilm: am looking for a light greenish tint sunflim, unfortunately, 3M doesn't have any in that color, any suggestions of good quality film?
• Cleaning: any best practices of how to clean the car without swirls etc will be most welcome. I am sure i dont want the neighbourhood carwash guy to touch my car.
• Audio Upgrade: any suggestions welcome. am not very technical with respect to audio engineering, so something simple to understand would be great

[motomaverick]

Congrats on the Vista. I guess its raining Tata this month in Bangalore The new Vista Vx really looks like a Manza from the front except for the chrome fogs what was final OTR and which dealer?

[adg_andy]

Congrats buddy. Pics please. I beleive this is the first Vista Vx on t-bhp. and yes. Prices please

[Maverick79]

Congrats BigVishnu.
I think you were following our Refresh Vista threads since long.
So finally you made it.
Have a great time.
Awaiting your experience with pics.

So far the feed back seems good about the Vista Refresh 2.

[ghodlur]

Congratulations on the new Vista booking. Waiting for a detailed ownership thread with lots of pics. When is the dleivery expected. Ideally you should have a post in the "Booked my car" thread, ne need of a new thread here

I can see that you did not include Ford Figo in your list of search, any particular reason for ticking Figo off?

[sachinj12]

You do have a flair for writing. But I suggest you consider moving this back to assembly line and post the whole review at one shot. BTW, congrats on your new acquisition and drive safe. Please do post some pictures.

[Latheesh]

Congrats Vishnu, Don't worry keep those pictures pour in!! :-)

ghodlur - He has already taken delivery of the car few days back!!
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post2506706

[bigvishnu]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Congrats on the Vista. I guess its raining Tata this month in Bangalore The new Vista Vx really looks like a Manza from the front except for the chrome fogs what was final OTR and which dealer?

Thanks MotoMav! the OTR post corp and cash discount was 6.47L. how's the new manza doing! we must get together for a photoshoot of the 2 white siblings once!

Originally Posted by adg_andy

Congrats buddy. Pics please. I beleive this is the first Vista Vx on t-bhp. and yes. Prices please

Thanks Andy.. added a few pics already, some more on the way. Glad to be the first, but trust me, the product is great.. so hope to have a few more soon! Price given above..

Originally Posted by Maverick79

Congrats BigVishnu.
I think you were following our Refresh Vista threads since long.
So finally you made it.
Have a great time.
Awaiting your experience with pics.

So far the feed back seems good about the Vista Refresh 2.

Hi Maverick..yes.. i have been following the threat there keenly.. Thanks!

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Congratulations on the new Vista booking. Waiting for a detailed ownership thread with lots of pics. When is the dleivery expected. Ideally you should have a post in the "Booked my car" thread, ne need of a new thread here

I can see that you did not include Ford Figo in your list of search, any particular reason for ticking Figo off?

Hi Ghodlur... thanks! Figo was never on my consideration. good observation! . nobody in the family was ever interested in the figo. the first impressions it created on some of the folks in my relatives and friends during launch time was not good, and that turned us away from the figo.

Originally Posted by sachinj12

You do have a flair for writing. But I suggest you consider moving this back to assembly line and post the whole review at one shot. BTW, congrats on your new acquisition and drive safe. Please do post some pictures.

Thanks sachinj.. took your suggestion.. GTO moved me to assembly line... back to this section now.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Congrats Vishnu, Don't worry keep those pictures pour in!! :-)

ghodlur - He has already taken delivery of the car few days back!!
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post2506706

Thanks Latheesh..


Also, some pics attached..

[bigvishnu]

Folks, i got just 12.3 KMPL on the first tank full, is it normal? anything i must look for?

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

Thanks MotoMav! the OTR post corp and cash discount was 6.47L. how's the new manza doing! we must get together for a photoshoot of the 2 white siblings once!


.

Manza is doing fine just crossed 700kms yesterday so you can gauge how fine its going on . Yes surely we can meet for a photoshoot, NICE road will be a good place for a shoot

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

Help Needed Also listing below is some help needed from Fellow BHPians

• Seat Covers: Am a bit tight on budget, so can someone suggest good quality, but not super expensive art leather seat covers in bangalore?
• SunFilm: am looking for a light greenish tint sunflim, unfortunately, 3M doesn't have any in that color, any suggestions of good quality film?
• Cleaning: any best practices of how to clean the car without swirls etc will be most welcome. I am sure i dont want the neighbourhood carwash guy to touch my car.
• Audio Upgrade: any suggestions welcome. am not very technical with respect to audio engineering, so something simple to understand would be great

Hi Vishnu, Congratz on your Vista - Vista looks her best in porcelain white.

i am not sure which part of bangalore you are put up, if you are any were near, try Imperial Leathers for seat covers - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangal...ngalore-2.html

Garware have light green color sun film, as far as i remember. Worth checking out. Light green will go very well with your car color.

To clean the car with out swirls, you have already got the first step - I can see a Jopasu Dustur. now, compliment that with ONR and a good microfiber cloth, and when it is time to wax your car, get a good car wax to keep her shining.

If you are not an audiophile, upgrade your speakers first. The OEM speakers are nothing to write home about and a good speaker upgrade will result it better sound.

[MAS]

Congrats on your new drive, Big Vishnu.

Well written Initial Ownership report and the abundant photos compliment your report very well.

The fit and finish of TATA has improved but is still a long way to go when considering their long term durability. Drive safe...

[CtrlAltDel]

Congratulations! As an owner of the very first QJD Vista released in Sept 2008, I can say that this refresh is well deserved for the wonderful car.

I am thinking of selling my Aura sometime this year and am sorely tempted by the new Vista. But the problem is I am keen on an A/T car now (to handle the daily commute).

btw, isnt VX the top variant in the new line up? I thought it came with alloy wheels.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

Folks, i got just 12.3 KMPL on the first tank full, is it normal? anything i must look for?

Its little on a lower scale considering its a diesel but it'll definitely increase after your 1st service. I observed an increase of 2-3 kmpl after first service in my i20. If you follow the fuel efficient driving tips, you can easily extract more from your car.

How is the performance of AC?

The White Stallion indeed looks gorgeous. Congratulations.

[Amazing]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

btw, isnt VX the top variant in the new line up? I thought it came with alloy wheels.

ZX/ GZX are the top end versions , comes with alloy wheels and air-bags over other versions. Rest are all with wheel caps.