Team-BHP > Team-BHP Reviews > Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports


Reply
  Search this Thread
36,246 views
Old 6th July 2012, 06:20   #31
BHPian
 
sumannandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 821
Thanked: 592 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by saion666 View Post
Congrats on the buy. This new Caffeine Brown colour looks great.

Amazing decision indeed to go looking in the market for a fuel efficient diesel hatch and then return home with an automatic petrol!!!

Just a thought, you rejected the Figo since 3 people were uncomfortable at the back and you got the A-star!! A-star would probably be the last car to fit 3 people at the back.
Its not a bad car for 4 but the 5th person is a strict no no.
Thank you.

When we were looking for diesel hatch, there were other options available at similar price range offering more space. For AT there was not really any option. In either case, 5 seater was not a deal breaker for us, it was something nice to have if available.


Quote:
Originally Posted by carzone View Post

Hey sumannandy,
The website quotes Rs.467005 for A-star automatic, Ex-showroom, Banglore. Do check the cost breakup given by your dealer. There shouldn't be a difference on Rs 1L for the On-road price.
Here is the breakup.

Road tax: About Rs. 68k.
Insurance (with zero dep): Rs. 18k.
Handling: Rs. 6.5k
Extended warranty: Rs. 5k
Accessories & Loyalty: Rs. 2.5k

So, total of Rs. 100000.

They provided a total discount of Rs. 36k.

Last edited by sumannandy : 6th July 2012 at 06:23.
sumannandy is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 6th July 2012, 08:59   #32
BHPian
 
carzone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 580
Thanked: 292 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumannandy View Post

Here is the breakup.

Road tax: About Rs. 68k.
Insurance (with zero dep): Rs. 18k.
Handling: Rs. 6.5k
Extended warranty: Rs. 5k
Accessories & Loyalty: Rs. 2.5k

So, total of Rs. 100000.

They provided a total discount of Rs. 36k.
Never understood what this handling is for. Any ideas?
carzone is online now  
Old 6th July 2012, 10:11   #33
Distinguished - BHPian
 
audioholic's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: BengaLuru
Posts: 5,649
Thanked: 19,332 Times
Re: Diesel hatch to A Star AT

Quote:
Originally Posted by subscrive View Post
WagonR AT is a 'made to order' thing which costs 70K+ than other waggy. I guess it comes only as LXI variant. Of course this a a 2 years old new when I was in search of auto hatch. Things might have changed and hence the question...
There is no AT version for the K10B WagonR. It was the older F10 that came with a three speed box from the stone age. If there was an automatic version of the WagonR, it would have been seriously marketed by MSIL as compared to the A-Star it offers better space. That has not been done in order to gather some interest for the A-Star. Else the WagonR would have killed the A-Star.
audioholic is offline  
Old 7th July 2012, 23:36   #34
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Vizag
Posts: 2,603
Thanked: 3,479 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Congrats Suman! Welcome to the A-Star AT club. The number seems to be growing. You will love the convenience of AT in our mad traffic.

Try it on gradients. You will just love this car. To all those who are apprehensive of this little AT taking the gradients, just try it and you will be pleasantly surprised. I recently took it up a hill with 5 on board and with aircon on. I left the a/c on all through just to see how it performs. To my surprise, it just charged up the slope. It fared better than petrol MT hatches I took up that slope before. And I took it up in "D" mode. No downshifting at all. But yes, leaving in "D" on a looong gradient throws up some interesting events. As soon as speed picks up, it shifts up to 2nd but since you are still climbing the gradient, torque of 2nd gear isn't sufficient, so it shifts back to 1st and as speed picks up, it changes to 2nd again.... and then 1st again..... It keeps moving back and forth between 1st and 2nd. Nothing harmfull but it feels funny. To prevent this back and forth gear changes, you can slot the stick into 1st or 2nd and take the gradient up without letting the cog shift up, even if you redline the engine. But this is required only if the gradient is very long. For most average gradients, "D" will do the job.
pgsagar is offline  
Old 12th July 2012, 16:03   #35
BHPian
 
sumannandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 821
Thanked: 592 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by pgsagar View Post
Congrats Suman! Welcome to the A-Star AT club. The number seems to be growing. You will love the convenience of AT in our mad traffic.
Thank you.

So I have been using the car quite some time, and here are some observations.

I took the car to a very steep gradient with AC and 3 on board. It was close to my previous office. How steep? If I stop my safari there and try to start from zero, it wouldn't in 2wd or 4H. Only if I slot to 4L, it would start. Took the A Star, brought it to stop and released everything. The car did not move backward, or forward. Pressed the accelerator gently, the car started moving forward. I am confident that it can take easily steep slopes.

The car goes to 80 without any effort and with a very light foot. In fact, you would not know when you are cruising at 80. Did not try more than 80 though, as it is the run-in period.

Flyovers are not an issue. Cruising feels relaxed.

Indicator signal stick does not come back on its own after you complete the turn.

And the difference in respect you get when you drive the A Star AT vs Safari is noticeable. Now almost everybody tries to squeeze me. While I drive the safari, it is the other way round. More so may be because of the L board in my car.
sumannandy is offline  
Old 12th July 2012, 17:01   #36
BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Bombay
Posts: 331
Thanked: 143 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumannandy View Post
T
Handling: Rs. 6.5k
Was there not a court order against dealers charging Handling charges. This is really steep and unfair. As it is they charge agent fees (bribe) as part of Registration charges for which no reciept is produced.

Remember about 3 yrs back the dealer had added 1500/- as handling charges which I had to haggle a lot to get it striked off. Meaning he offered me accessories for Rs.1500/- saying that as per their rules they cannot remove it..

You should have got it removed if not anything else at least it would have a month petrol expense covered !!

Cheers
MKP
mkpiyengar is offline  
Old 13th July 2012, 12:20   #37
BHPian
 
racer_ash's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 592
Thanked: 1,380 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumannandy View Post
Indicator signal stick does not come back on its own after you complete the turn.
That is unusual. AFAIK, this has to happen in all the cars irrespective of it being an MT or an AT. Get this checked. Can be a real pain point as we often tend to forget to turn off the indicators after a turn.
racer_ash is offline  
Old 13th July 2012, 17:27   #38
BHPian
 
sumannandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 821
Thanked: 592 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

One of the tires had a nail in it, and the tire pressure was 15psi, and it did take toll on the FE. We also drove with AC in full traffic with lot of learning. The FE was about 11.5 kmpl.

Filled with Shell, and put nitrogen in tires. Hope it will get better.

I am not too happy with the tires. Tires pick up stones farely easily. May be its the same with all similar tires. JKs dont fare better in exchange either. A dealer quoted Rs. 5.5 k for exchange which is not good. Will stick to it for now. There is no other complaint though. There is a bit of road noise, but the grip is really good. Rain channeling is also good.

Why don't we get A/T tires for cars?

Last edited by sumannandy : 13th July 2012 at 17:34.
sumannandy is offline  
Old 19th July 2012, 21:58   #39
BHPian
 
sumannandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 821
Thanked: 592 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

For the last fill, I had filled with Shell. Also, put Nitrogen in the tires. Mileage with 50% AC and city drive is 13.45. Wife was also driving, also had some serious bumper to bumper traffic on flyover inclines etc.

The car is at 942 km now. In 3 weeks. Time for 1st service, will get it done this week.

Trying to use the AT creep to the maximum advantage. If AC is off, and the road is not inclining, once you release the accelerator, the car maintains its speed. However, that is not the case if the road is inclining or AC is on.

AC does take a toll on the performance of the car. If there is no AC, you can drive with a very light foot and still drive in the traffic, maintain speed with releasing accelerator. With AC on, light foot driving at inclines will result in slow pickup. If you, however, press the accelerator, the car shifts to 2nd and accelerates quickly, in fact it surges ahead of other cars easily. Tried it once.

Filled with BP this time, will check the mileage. Hopefully it will improve to 14-15.
sumannandy is offline  
Old 1st August 2012, 11:50   #40
BHPian
 
sumannandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 821
Thanked: 592 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

First service done. Total cost is Rs. 15 (for something they asked me before charging, not sure exactly what it was).
sumannandy is offline  
Old 15th August 2012, 07:00   #41
BHPian
 
sumannandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 821
Thanked: 592 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

The car is now at 1500+ kms, and I had a chance to drive it in a variety of terrains, including some highway driving. SO here is the impression.

Highway driving:

Positives:

The car is a dream to drive till 100-110 kmph in highways with AC. After 110kmph, with AC on and passengers on board, you have to push (not exactly light foot driving that is) to get get the car going in the inclines specially. My speed limit for Indian roads is about 100 kmph, so that does not affect me much. Also, the car is light, so it may not be advisable to drive it beyond 110kmph. The ride is really stable and planted but like any other hatchback, it lacks the 'heavy' feeling . Cornering is inspiring, there is no body roll of any sort.

Suspension is little hard and the bumps are felt specially at low speed. At higher speed the car can absorb bumps better. But the handling and cornering is really nice.

The car is really peppy specially when you are driving alone with AC off. You can literally zip through traffic with a light foot driving.

In our recent highway drive, with 20 kms of city driving with some ugly traffic jams and 100 kms of highway drive at Mysore road, both with 100% AC on and one passenger, and driven normally as anyone would without any special consideration to FE, the car returned an overall 17.44ish kmpl, measured using tankful to tankful method. Will check the city mileage with Shell petrol post service and report. Estimated mileage for pure highway driving would be around 18.8 kmpl.

The car has got a new teflon coating and underbody coating.

Some kid has scratched the car in two places :(.

What I miss is the space below parking brake. There is enough space below my parking brake in my safari where I usually keep the keys.

The ground clearance of the car is impressive for a hatchback. I have driven the car through some nasty potholes at speed and some really bad dug up road, but luckily no underbody scratching whatsoever. It also helps that most of the time I drive alone or with one passenger.

I also like the fact that if you push the front seat all the way back and place a laptop bag between front seat and the rear seat vertically it is barely visible from outside as there is not enough space there.

The car has got a new name - The bug. It was suggested by somebody in the forum.

Last edited by sumannandy : 15th August 2012 at 07:02.
sumannandy is offline  
Old 15th August 2012, 20:56   #42
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Vizag
Posts: 2,603
Thanked: 3,479 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumannandy View Post
.

In our recent highway drive, with 20 kms of city driving with some ugly traffic jams and 100 kms of highway drive at Mysore road, both with 100% AC on and one passenger, and driven normally as anyone would without any special consideration to FE, the car returned an overall 17.44ish kmpl, measured using tankful to tankful method. Will check the city mileage with Shell petrol post service and report. Estimated mileage for pure highway driving would be around 18.8 kmpl.


The car has got a new name - The bug. It was suggested by somebody in the forum.
I agree with FE. My A-Star AT returns 17-18 kmpl on highway runs at 90-100 kmpl with aircon on 100%. City FE is 14-15 kmpl. Very fuel-efficient for an automatic.

Bug? Yes, with those round, over-sized lights, it looks like one. I call it wide-eyed pup, though.
pgsagar is offline  
Old 15th August 2012, 22:04   #43
BHPian
 
sumannandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 821
Thanked: 592 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by pgsagar View Post
I agree with FE. My A-Star AT returns 17-18 kmpl on highway runs at 90-100 kmpl with aircon on 100%. City FE is 14-15 kmpl. Very fuel-efficient for an automatic.

Bug? Yes, with those round, over-sized lights, it looks like one. I call it wide-eyed pup, though.
How do you get 14-15 kmpl in city? Is that with AC on? Max. FE I got in City with Shell was 13.5kmpl so far.
sumannandy is offline  
Old 16th August 2012, 22:58   #44
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Vizag
Posts: 2,603
Thanked: 3,479 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumannandy View Post
How do you get 14-15 kmpl in city? Is that with AC on? Max. FE I got in City with Shell was 13.5kmpl so far.
The aircon is never off, in-city or hgihway run. The trick lies in pussyfooting the "go" pedal. I tread gently on accelerator and ease off as I approach intersection -- almost like coasting to a halt. That is how. Try this and I'm sure you can coax 14-15 kmpl out of this bug. BTW, as it is your FE figures are pretty close. 1 to 1.5 kpl difference can be attributed to one's driving style, road and traffic conditions etc.
pgsagar is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 22nd August 2012, 06:39   #45
BHPian
 
sumannandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 821
Thanked: 592 Times
re: A Star AT: 22000 kms in 13 months and counting

Quote:
Originally Posted by pgsagar View Post
The aircon is never off, in-city or hgihway run. The trick lies in pussyfooting the "go" pedal. I tread gently on accelerator and ease off as I approach intersection -- almost like coasting to a halt. That is how. Try this and I'm sure you can coax 14-15 kmpl out of this bug. BTW, as it is your FE figures are pretty close. 1 to 1.5 kpl difference can be attributed to one's driving style, road and traffic conditions etc.
I followed your advice to some extent and in the latest highway + hill drive yesterday, I got a mileage of 20.8 kmpl. HP COCO, tankful to tankful, speed wqas mostly between 60kmph-80 kmph. Aircon was on except last 8 kms of climbing. While coming down I was at 1 (for sometime) and mostly on 2. Will switch to HP COCO now from Shell.

BTW, Shell is more expensive now (by about Rs. 4 per litre in the city).

Last edited by sumannandy : 22nd August 2012 at 06:41.
sumannandy is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks