[amitwadhwa]

ok so here is a review comparison between the Old Verna and the new Fluidic Verna.
I sold my old one last month (after running it for a great 70000 kms), and got my new one delivered last week, took it for a 3000 km spin after a week in
city and noticed significant differences in the 2 cars.
Old car: 2008 Sep. - Verna 1.4 CRDi SX/ABS
New car: 2012 Apr. - Verna Fluidic CRDi SX/1.6/ABS

The drive
Smoother in the new, the new car sticks to the ground better. I somehow miss the Turbo-Lag in the new car though, but clearly the new engine is more refined,
smoother, and picks up pretty fast.
Gear stick - Smoother in the new car - rubbery feel.
The seating
Old Car - Good Driver's seat height adjustment option available.
New car - Just one lever which controls the angle between the seat base and the back rest.

The overhead rear-view mirror
Old car - Normal/Usual
New Car - This steals the show! Amazing video camera built in, which is photochromatic, so when headlights glare at you from cars behind, the glass greens itself, and the glare isn't a glare anymore, but a soft light. Feels tighter to adjust though - although I dont adjust it often (since nobody else is allowed to drive my car, and hence no constant adjustments needed )

The side Mirrors
Old Car - electrically adjustible - Good
New Car - electrically Foldable, and have indicator lights on them - Uber cool!

The suspension and quality of Ride
Old Car - Bouncy, needs some getting used to. Stock tyres sucked! Had a set of after market alloys which did the job well.
New Car - Smoother suspension, less bouncy, Corners better, feels more confident at higher speeds (Than the old car). Stock tyres are good bridgestone R16/195 Alloys - nice!

Braking
Old Car - Sturdy brakes.
New Car - I don't like them ! They need more effort than the old ones - despite both cars being ABS.

Airbags
Old Car: None
New Car: Front 2, haven't needed to deploy yet - touch wood!

Interiors
Old Car - Cabin Noise - Sufficient! Good Arm rest hooked on to the Driver's seat only. Wife wanted one for her seat as well, and there was constant elbowing to use mine . Nice glow on the power window controls on the drivers side. Ordinary glove box. Nice sun-glass holder up top with a rubber hook where you could "suspend" your glasses so they don't vibrate around in that box.

New Car - Very silent Cabin! (Relatively). No tyre noise either. Front Arm rest - what's up with this one ?? Almost as if it's made for the rear-seaters! I tried really hard to adjust my seat and the sliding arm rest to come up with an optimal position, but the best case scenario - I can touch the arm rest with the tip of my elbow, and sit awkwardly if I want to use this "center" arm rest - Very disappointing! No visor sliding cover for passenger side mirror. Must be cost cutting. Missing light on power window controls for driver's side. Cooled Glove box - Nice! I managed to cool enough a diet coke can in this box in an hour or so on a drive! Sun-glass holder - not happy with this one. It is missing the rubber hook in the middle, and I am worried - it will scratch my Raybans by all the movement, and may rattle inside the box - Did not even try! Good space inside the arm rest of the rear seats though. Excellent Driver information system. Nice blue glow (with light intensity adjustment) to the dials and to the music system.

Storage Space:
Old car: You name it, they had it.. holes in all 4 doors - at the bottom and near the power window controls. The bottom part could hold 1 litre bottles with ease. Holes below the fog light switch, just above where your feet rest (where the plastic of the dashboard ends), big space near the Gear lever
New Car: holes in all 4 doors - at the bottom (only enough for a 500 ml water bottle) and near the power window controls (This is closed from only 3 sides - so when you suddenly brake - your stuff comes sliding out and onto the floor!). No Holes below the fog light switch, and no hole just above where your feet rest (where the plastic of the dashboard ends), Small space near the Gear lever. They do have a space inside the arm rest, where you can park 3 cans of coke (space for 4 cans actually if they were small, but the 4th quadrant of space has something protruding out of it, so you store 3 cans, and leave the 4th space vacant - which leads to rattle between the 3).

Stock Music System:
Old Car - average system, no USB etc. Had got it replaced with a Sony after-market system.
New Car: Good USB support, excellent bluetooth-phone connectivity.
Connects a USB hard drive and plays pretty well (as long as its FAT32 formatted). If you are using a pen drive, the music system remembers where you left off after you restart your car, but if you have a hard disk plugged in, and you restart your car, it starts from Song 1 - that is really bad. Pretty Good Steering mounted controls, don't really need to use the provided remote control now.

AC:
I think I liked the old one better - it seemed to have better cooling power than the new one. A big big minus in the new one: The AC vents do not have a "close" option !! If your co-passenger does not want air conditioning, they can only turn the Vent away from their face (it still blows air close to them), they can't close it! That is a big big negative for me, as my wife does not like Air conditioning, and I now cannot get away with shutting off the vents - have to shut off the AC every once in a while.

Verdict:
New Car - Did 3000 kms in a week - Bangalore - Pune - Aurangabad - Mumbai - Bangalore, pretty happy with the car - Monster in disguise. Gave me a mileage of 22.4 over the entire trip - at 80-140 speeds. Good upgrade over the previous one - no regrets, apart from the small thingies in the interiors they have left lagging.
Old Car - Did 70000 kms in 3.5 years and been just about everywhere driving - This is a monster too .. and it has no restraint in saying or making you feel so! Mileage was about 13-18 throughout its 70k kms on speeds between 80-160 on highways.

[mooza]

Hi Amit, a really nice comparison between the present and erstwhile Verna models !

How does the low speed ride quality compare between the two ?

Wishing you many miles and smiles ahead

[F150]

Interesting. You seem to be a hardcore Verna fan. Verna after a Verna.
Did you not even consider other cars during the purchase process ?

What was the rationale behind the this decision ?

The new verna is quite a looker. Congratulations.

[amitwadhwa]

Originally Posted by mooza

Hi Amit, a really nice comparison between the present and erstwhile Verna models !

How does the low speed ride quality compare between the two ?

Wishing you many miles and smiles ahead

ok - forgot to speak more about the gear shift. A great 6 gears, very pleasant upshift as well as down-shift. The happiest moments are the super-smooth downshifts from 6th to 5th on highways. The old car had ratios to facilitate - >40 - 4th gear, >70 - 5th gear. The new one has >40 - 4th gear, >55 - 5th Gear, >70 - 6th Gear - a pleasure to be in the 5th on busy highways. Back to the Question asked - the better low-end torque is extremely evident in the new fluidic, and there are much fewer gear shifts in city traffic because of the additional Gear ratio. Definitely better and smoother ride quality with lesser gearshifts !

[KPS]

Nice post

Yes the new Verna is good. I have done 11K in 10 months on my car and loving it. I agree with you that the brakes tend give a feel of inadequacy. Actually the car stops but you do not feel the brakes biting.

Happy driving

KPS

[amitwadhwa]

Originally Posted by F150

Interesting. You seem to be a hardcore Verna fan. Verna after a Verna.
Did you not even consider other cars during the purchase process ?

What was the rationale behind the this decision ?

The new verna is quite a looker. Congratulations.

Thank you! Yes, I went through a lot of consideration before deciding on this one. I did consider a lot of cars, but did not do too many TD's.

I got a good buyer for my old car, and sold it. Till then I was fixated on the XUV500. More on that later. I was suddenly "car-less". Been driving wifey's Automatic Santro for the month I did not have a car - and a 3-geared automatic petrol hatchback makes you die for your long-gone sedan! Just couldn't wait. But then again it is a fairly big investment, and impatience isn't a justification to go for something you don't want.

Here are the cars I considered:

SX4 diesel, Fiat Linea T-jet - Both Felt like a downgrade after the Verna - No reason. No offense SX4/Fiater's.
Vento - Good car, but empty box if you know what I mean. Club that with VW's service network and the bad attitude of the service and sales folks, and you have a no-no.
Jetta/Passat - Both drives like a charm - A tad too expensive - also considering I started shopping after the new budget. Plus the above.
Chevy Optra - Old model.
Chevy Cruze - Nice car no doubt! A little too expensive for me though.
Ford Fiesta - Sold out on this one just because of Cruise control - I travel out of town very often, but the under-powered engine kind of put me off. Not that I will be bulldozing stuff or doing Race tracks.. but after a 110 BHP car, I didn't want to go down. Also a little too expensive (Based on VFM).
Tata Manza - Don't like the shape
Scorpio - mHalk - Never driven it before - was not impressed on the TD ! Very bulky handling - maybe because I am used to Sedans.
Xylo - E9 - great reviews, impressed with the gadgetry and detail inside. Did a TD - better than Scorpio - but still drives bulky - again a No-No.
XUV500 - Blown Away! I would have stretched my budget like chewing gum, and stopped eating out for the next 5 years to buy this one.. Did a TD, drives like a charm! Sedan Comfort + Luxury + 4x4 + Cruise Control + Gadgets + awesome looks! unfortunately - bookings opening in June end apparently, and then they decide whether you make it through the lottery or not. And then the delivery wait starts - Just couldn't go without a car for that long (6-8 months).
Verna Fluidic - The only thing I missed was a cruise control option - It is about time. Decided to go for it.

Here is another story -
Someone at Hyundai was very nice to me during the Sales process of my previous car, and patiently answered everything I needed to know even after I bought the car. A couple of nice service advisors have been with me at Hyundai thorughout the 3.5 years of ownership, and it went a long way in deciding to go for a Verna again - It is a new engine and a whole new look - so it was still like a new car for me. The car lease folks at my company recommended Dealer X, and I almost forced them to buy it from my old Dealer. The result ? The same salesman (who sold me my car last time) got me my DIESEL car within 3 weeks of booking - that is like a dream in today's world where diesel cars have a half year or more wait time. (Please don't ask for the Dealer's name or the salesman's, I don't know how they did it, but they did. I am sure someone else had to wait longer just because I got mine soon, but tough luck! - and I would hate it if someone went to them saying - get my car within 3 weeks, you did the same for someone else.)

So well, I have had an excellent service and Sales experience with Hyundai, needless to say excellent Korean engines and performing cars - so it did not take me long (and no regrets whatsoever) to decide for the same brand and segment again.

[guyfrmblr]

Very good comparison. I have driven a 1.6 CRDi once and absolutely loved it. How come they missed lights on power window controls? I never noticed this. Even my i20 has it on all the doors. I even find the quality of these control buttons better in i20.

You are correct about the Hyundai service. I have given my car for 3 services and had an excellent experience. I never took prior appointments but I was attended within 5 minutes and the car was delivered back within the promised time with all the work neatly done.

[mayankjha1806]

Excellent comparison, On the cars highway manners specifically. Although i have never driven one on my own, i have been followed or had followed both on highways. The older one felt more composed and the drivers seemed to push it happily to crazy speeds, this does not seem to be the case on the newer one where in i have seen many drivers slow down on the hills.

Apart from the this the rocket like propulsion was only seen in the older one and not the new one.

[Tassem]

Congrats on your new verna! Mine is 15k old and going strong! Will be celebrating its first birthday in June.

I was wondering, where do you get your's serviced? I've only been to Advaith on Bannerghatta Road so far. Who offers the best possible service experience? I intend to keep the car for another 3 years.

Congrats again!

[amitwadhwa]

Originally Posted by Tassem

Congrats on your new verna! Mine is 15k old and going strong! Will be celebrating its first birthday in June.

I was wondering, where do you get your's serviced? I've only been to Advaith on Bannerghatta Road so far. Who offers the best possible service experience? I intend to keep the car for another 3 years.

Congrats again!

Thanks !
I have always only been to Advaith outer ring road and have been treated like a VIP throughout.
My older car which served me for three years only got serviced there, including a couple of repairs.
They let you roam around on the workshop floor while the car is being serviced - of course as long as you don't get in their way. I prefer that - have always taken leave from work to stay there all day while the car gets pampered on oil changes etc..

[Chitta Pradhan]

Originally Posted by amitwadhwa

Old car: 2008 Sep. - Verna 1.4 CRDi SX/ABS

Did 3000 kms in a week - Bangalore - Pune - Aurangabad - Mumbai - Bangalore, pretty happy with the car - Monster in disguise. Gave me a mileage of 22.4 over the entire trip - at 80-140 speeds.

Congratulations on your new possession. I have done 13k on my 7 month old Verna 1.6 CRDI. Tomorrow has a plan of 600 km highway driving. Before purchasing, thought I will not be able to do 10k in one year . Other than the name, I feel new Verna is entirely different from the old one.

I think the old Verna was a 1.5 CRDI not 1.4.

You are getting very good FE. Can you specify % of time you were at 140 kmph & how loaded the car was. I am getting a FE of 21.5 @ 90-100 kmph on highways while I am lonely in the car. With full load @ 130-140 kmph, the FE reduces to 16-17.

Enjoy your car.

Thanks

[amitwadhwa]

Originally Posted by Chitta Pradhan

Congratulations on your new possession. I have done 13k on my 7 month old Verna 1.6 CRDI. Tomorrow has a plan of 600 km highway driving. Before purchasing, thought I will not be able to do 10k in one year . Other than the name, I feel new Verna is entirely different from the old one.

I think the old Verna was a 1.5 CRDI not 1.4.

You are getting very good FE. Can you specify % of time you were at 140 kmph & how loaded the car was. I am getting a FE of 21.5 @ 90-100 kmph on highways while I am lonely in the car. With full load @ 130-140 kmph, the FE reduces to 16-17.

Enjoy your car.

Thanks

yes that was a typo, the fluidic is available in 1.4 and 1.6, but the old one was 1493cc. So yes 1.5 L.
I was doing NH4 from mumbai to Bangalore, so I would say about 30% of the drive was 140 or more (2 passengers), but most of it was 100-125. 2 passengers for 2000 kms, and 4 passengers for 1000 kms. Luggage fully loaded (10 day trip). Looks like you are getting good numbers too. 16-18 would be expected at full load @140. The car is most efficient between 90-110 where I was getting 24-25 kpl (as determined by a reset of the mileage indicator every 300-400 kms). If you aren't aggressive with the car on highways with overtaking every guy you see on the road (which I wasn't due to it being a new car ), and follow the gear shift indicator religiously, you can get a lot of juice out of this car. Happy Driving !

[Misguided]

Hi Amit,

Congrats for your car!

How's under-thigh support for rear passengers. Was it an issue in your long drives?
Also, pls share if you faced any challenge on speed breakers & potholes due to low GC?

Thanks a lot!

[amitwadhwa]

Originally Posted by Misguided

Hi Amit,

Congrats for your car!

How's under-thigh support for rear passengers. Was it an issue in your long drives?
Also, pls share if you faced any challenge on speed breakers & potholes due to low GC?

Thanks a lot!

Thanks ! sorry, cant help with info on rear-seat passengers, didn't really care, as its usually just me and wifey, didn't hear complaints from friends who travelled with us on 12 hour stretches though. So I guess it should be ok!
Speedbreakers - yes definitely scraping the floor with this car. GC is a big challenge especially after the old Verna gliding over speedbreakers earlier.
Potholes - not so much of an issue, the car manages with good suspensions. Haven't scraped the chasis on a pothole yet.
The GC is not as bad as the honday city, but could be better. I now have to embarassingly go sideways over any doubtful speedbreakers like honday city owners