Went for a monsoon welcome drive on the expressway on Sunday with my wife and parents. This was just a day after the Mumbai-Pune Mega meet at Sunny da Dhabha which I attended with my new Swift. Essentially the route was the same as we had lunch at Sunny's again on Sunday
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It was raining cats and dogs when we started and progress was really slow. This was the first time our Verna was experiencing the rains and I really wanted to see what she responded like in slipery conditions. Driving this today was in stark contrast to the experience I had the previous day in my swift. Knowing the exceptional dynamics of the swift, I was expecting this to be one torture of a drive.
Man was I wrong....
The positives:
The comfort level at medium speeds in the new fluidic Verna is something that I have always been happy with. Upto 120 kmph, the ride is quite plush, no unnecessary horizontal or vertical movements and also quite good with managing potholes.
In the rains, traffic was excrutiatingly slow till we hit the expressway. Once on the expressway, speeds increased marginally to about 80 kmph. I was mildly surprised by the manner in which the car performed. It was quite stable even under incessant rains and changing lanes was really smooth.
As the miles went by, speeds got higher and we were soon travelling at about 100 kmph. The car tooks the curves handsomely and without any fuss. The Bridgestone B250s did an amazing job with a lot of grip even under torrential rains.
Rains mean clouds and as we reached Lonavla, the clouds started crossing the roads at quite a few places. Time for the headlamps and the swanky fog lamps! As I have mentioned in my review earlier, the fog lamps are quite decent and provide a significant amount of illumination. An upgrde to 100/90w is recommended for the Headlamps.
Gear changes were butter smooth, precise and the 1.6 ltr VTVT is great at providing power across all ranges. Even with 4 heavily built passengers, it never felt sluggish in the mediocre uphill sections that were there.
Acceleration is amazing! you are in second gear and rev uptp 4.5k on the rev counter gradually...and then floor it! The car just lurches ahead as you feel the torque and the 123 BHP hiding in the beasts belly.
All in all, I was very impressed with the handling in the rains when I thought that the bad dynamics of the car will rear its head even at lower speeds because of the wet conditions. As I always say, keep it under 120 kmph and this is one of the best movers in the segment. Well done Hyundai...you have won me over, well, kind of.
My wife and parents were quite comfortable during the ride and none complained about the ride quality. Us being on the heavier side probably made the ride better because of the additional weight.
The Negatives:
None wrt ride quality and handling.
Rain sensing wipers as present in the new i20 should have been made available.
Same goes for the Auto headlamps
In dry conditions, well, it's still a boat at high speeds.
Conclusion:
In the rains I saw a better side of the fluidic Verna. I had expected the car to handle bad, be unstable in the wet conditions and be quite uncomfortable for the passengers. But the handling was exceptional considering that the rains made driving fast impossible. Was pleasantly surprized and made me see the car in new light.
A view of the conditions.