Caution: This post is long - I really did not have the time to shorten it, so please pardon me!
So, how does one go about purchasing a car? For most people like me, buying a new car is a significant investment - one that requires detailed preparation, reviews, evaluations, making trade-off & financial decisions, et all, before one can take the plunge. On my journey towards buying a new car as a replacement of my 7 year old warhorse - my Ferrari Red Fiat Pailo nv Sport 1.2 - I have gone thru a lot of research. And without any doubt, the SINGLE BIGGEST influence on my eventual choice was, by far, this exalted forum. Team-BHP members, I doff my hat to you for your love towards your machines, your passionate debates and your own quirky opinions...oh, what would I do without your passion?
From a hatch, my upgrade had to be a sedan or an SUV. And since it was Nov - Dec by when I started seriously considering my decision to upgrade, I was poring over the net for the new launches in 2012. My requirement was a diesel car under Rs 10 lakhs and so, these were the upcoming launches I was considering:
Renault Duster (great previews - but nobody seems to have got the pricing bracket right; I saw quoted prices ranging from 6 to 12+) | Ford EcoSport (another possible winner - I believe we are not going to see a launch till late 2012) | Maruti Ertiga | Hyundai's proposed new compact SUVs...
Quickly, I realized that there were no
exciting sedans (sub 10L) in the launches for early 2012!, and I turned my attention towards what cars we have on the roads at present.
And before I proceeded, I started taking a scientific approach towards making the right decision: I created a new Excel file (I love spreadsheets) and jotted down my requirements. The top asks I had were: Diesel (fuel price advantage), Diesel (great new engines), Diesel (oh, for that turbo kicking in!), Cabin space (I am 6 ft tall and on the plus side!), Beige interiors (yes, way up there in my list), Value-for-money (willing to sacrifice performance), Ride quality, Decent looks, and all the basic comforts (power windows, adjustable steering / driver seat height, etc). Then I listed down my nice-to-have features: ACC, MP3 with USB & Aux-in, Steering mounted controls, a good DIS, and safety featurs like ABS and Air bags. Alloys & leather were in a third bucket - 'Not required but will love it if I had it'. Once done, I started listing down the cars and matching their features against my requirements.
Thinking of diesels in the Rs 10 lakhs range, these were the cars that I considered, and ignored:
(Note: These are my personal opinions and no offence meant to any other car fans)
- Hyundai Verna 1.4 CRDi: Great looks, but mixed reviews and a long waiting period killed this from the list
- VolksWagen Vento: A German car! But over-priced and perhaps a bit over-rated
- New Ford Fiesta: Exciting car, but again very over-priced
- Skoda Rapid: Loved the TD, and a sensible alternative to the Vento - this one is a better driver's car than the Vento in my opinion. But Skoda A.S.S and reputation of expensive spares left me skeptical
- Toyota Etios: M/s Toyota - what happened here?
- Suzuki SX4: Hmmm...but did not like the looks
- Nissan Sunny: It's a caaar! But I did not like the griege interiors, and Diesel was some way off
- Fiat Linea Diesel: I did think of this but having enjoyed a beautiful Palio already, I wanted something different
- (New Honda City: Love this car but it did not meet the top 3 needs that I had - diesel, diesel and diesel...)
- (Suzuki Swift Dzire: No, I was just joking. I never even considered this for a moment. Looks can be subjective I agree, but then...)
The most sensible car that fit my needs was the Tata Manza Quadrajet, particularly the Celebration Edition!
If this car was launched by any Japanese or European manufacturer, I am willing to bet that the sales numbers will have been significantly better. 'Value-for-money' means Manza (no, I did not mess up my English here).
My head was telling me go for it.
And then, the inevitable happened.
It was time now for me to pore thru the Team-BHP forum for test drive reports, ownership reports and what-car suggestions.
And then, I stumbled upon this link:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sedans...-upto-12l.html
The rest - as they say - was bound to happen!
@Poitive, @Keyur, @drive_or_die, @Torquedo, @brraj and many others: Seldom have I come across more die-hard fans of any car, even in this vast cesspool of gearheads on Team-bhp. Your passion is just awe-inspiring. Your conviction is very infectious. And your writings simply pushed me towards buying THE Chevrolet Optra Magnum 2.0 TCDi!
I will not go into the virtues of my decision. If others are wondering how I - who started by looking purely at the yet-to-be-launched cars of 2012, ended up with a decade old model - I would simply point you to the existing threads on this forum.
Perhaps the most under-rated car of the past decade, the Optra Magnum is a hidden gem.
Note: My next 3 - 4 posts are about my dealership experience -
please skip the same if you want to. I am eager to get hold of the keys to my black beauty by Jan 7 - I will keep you posted on my ownership experience too later