So the Baleno had completed 12 years. Although the way she looked and moved belied her age, over a decade of ownership meant it was time for a new set of wheels. As much as i loved her i had to let her go and in the end it was a t-bhpian who i hander her over to (which i am very happy about). So while the Baleno was on sale, my sights on the Suzuki's replacement was set. I was in love with the Polo 1.6 and although it wouldn’t give me a big advantage over my souped up Baleno as far as performance is concerned, it would still be a much more modern car with far better safety features and then some. Even my mom loved it and i did not even consider any other options.
So the day arrives and I hand over the Baleno keys to its new owner. I'm all set to book my VW when I get news about the 1.6 variant getting discontinued. Now this was heart breaking news. While there were news about dealers ridding off the remaining stock, I was simply against buying a car which is out of production. Not that I was concerned about the resale since I was going to keep it for the next 5 years at least, but I was already driving an out of production car and the idea about buying a brand new car which is not going to be on the shelves just did not tick my box.
So that was that and thus began the hunt. My priorities were simple, good handling, ABS, airbags and a decent level of kit. Following are the cars we thought about enroute to selecting the City.
Suzuki Swift Petrol – The Swift ZXi was well within my budget and what I was happiest about was how cheap the maintenance was going o be especially after owning the most expensive to keep Maruti of them all. I loved the handling and though the motor was just a 1.2, I found it pretty adequate. My idea was to keep the adrenalin rush coming in with bikes (I already own a ninja 250 and will plan a bigger upgrade soon) and keep the car for the comfortable commutes and really long trips. The Swift fit that bill well and it was pretty loaded as well. However a week before booking as I ogled at random Swifts on the road (you know how we end up checking what you’re going buy..be it gadgets or cars) I notice soooo many of them that I already got tired of it. The sales guy was great and kept a regular follow up and in the end I had to tell him, as much as I loved the car it’s just too common a sight. Swift exit that was, literally.
Ford Fiesta Ambiente – Anyone who craves handling has to love a Ford. While I did not agree with the Fiesta’s design team, I was ready to overlook the fact that the Fiesta looked like 3 different cars joined together (no offence to owners). Had a look, budget had to be stretched from 6.75 to 8.72 OTR Mumbai. Liked what I saw and they also had the kinetic blue which I wanted. However, getting in from the titanium variant which we test drove into the ambiente version which were looking at, we suddenly felt like we were robbed. The plastics were in abundance with most of the stuff missing and it looked cheap for a car at that price. No audio, no alloys, no body coloured side mirrors, no this and no that meant ‘No Fiesta’.
Skoda Rapid and Vento Diesel – just had a looksie at both these brothers from different mothers. Massive discounts on the base version of both these cars got me thinking. While the petrol motors on both these cars are below average, the 1.6 TDI’s are absolute stonkers. But alas, no airbags and no ABS meant neither of these were going to be DAS AUTO’s.
Honda Jazz – My second practical option after the Swift, though significantly more expensive. Lots of space, lots of equipment and the most powerful 1.2 litre mill out there. I like the rallye red in the X trim. No more thinking, just went ahead and booked. Details can be seen in the ‘I booked my car’ thread
. Delivery was going to take atleast a month and I was ok with that till I got another shocker. Honda raising its prices. And even though I had booked the car before the price rise, I wasn’t getting a price protection since the dealer did not have a car with him. Now that was a major bummer. So now I was getting a petrol car with no discounts, no freebies with an even more bloated price tag. That made me feel like a fool especially when it’s a buyer’s market for petrol cars. That was it, I had given up. I hated the Indian car market for not having anything for petrol enthusiasts with on a budget. I thought ill just wait it out till next year till something new comes out.
The Honda City – Walking out disappointed, out of the Honda showroom, I got distracted by the glimmer of sunlight reflecting off the grille of car in the corner. It’s a shining white City, which like the Swift, I have seen in plenty but not like the way I was seeing it now. The glimmer was more like a call out to me. Now the City has been around since 2008 and although I loved it for its specs, I was somehow never enamoured by it. And with umpteen duels with various OHC Vtecs and 1.5’s in my Baleno I somehow always thought of it as competition. Even though the Baleno was gone, it was almost like it was ingrained in me..City = Rival. I had never thought I would own one. But I guess I was wrong. Even my wife who is a brilliant driver and loves cars (she is a team bhpian too) wasn’t too taken by the City. But the sales guy saw it on my face and pushed for a TD. I wasn’t interested in driving it and happily sat shotgun while my wife took the wheel. Now I had driven the car way back in 2008 so I had an idea about how it drove, but it was the first time for my wife. A couple of swings in the red zone and I could already see her smiling. Loved the feel of it and she was already nodding away with approval. Quick telephonic conversation with my mom led to a unanimous yes. And since the car was in stock I was also getting it without the price increase with the insurance knocked off as well. Finalised on the S variant which came with everything one could ask for. Well I wished for a sunroof, but that was an option only in the auto variant. Took a while to arrange the now much higher than I anticipated 9.94 lakh price tag. Finally payments made and a hectic 2 weekend work schedule post it meant I could not get a Dussera delivery. But finally Friday, on 2nd November my baby came home. Yes it’s not a rare sight on the road, but for me it’s the apple of my eye. The looks have grown on me (since I ogled at almost every City plying on the road) and people tell me I’m behaving like a kid with a new toy, because I can’t stop talking about it or looking at it.
The first longish drive has already happened, with me driving to Pune 2 days after the purchase. So here are the things that I noticed.
Exteriors
Compared to the pre-facelift City, Honda has done well to make these subtle changes noticeable, I wasn't a big fan of the chrome grille at first, but the shining nose doesn’t look too bad. But I’d still prefer the older grille. The sides look the same but the increased gap in the wheel arches thanks to the increased ground clearance is a bit of an eyesore. The changes at the rear are the best of the lot. The fake diffuser like treatment along with the new led tail lamps look fantastic. While the overall design is good i still feel the design is way too front biased. Planning to get a lip spoiler to add some balance at the rear.
Interiors
Getting to the insides, there is plenty of space. Ingress egress is pretty good and even my mom who has a bit of a knee problem found it quite easy to get in and out of the car. Ergonomics are top notch and everything falls to hand quite easily. Seats are very supportive and considering the last long drive I did was in the new Alto 800 a few days back, the City’s seats felt great. The other thing about the driver seat is that its quite high even in its lowest position. While it definitely gives a good view, those who prefer a lower seat heaight have no option. Then there is the beige overdose. It’s prone to getting dirty very easily especially the area near the door sill. Plastics too in some areas could be better made, especially the grey plastics surrounding the audio system. The speedo console with a white illumination and the rest being amber looks a little odd but then you get used to it.
The Drive
Driving the car, the first thing I noticed was the short clutch travel, need to check another City to find the difference. Other than that it’s a breeze to drive around the city. The footwell as adequate space and even though there is no dead pedal which I'm quite used to, I don’t really miss it thanks to the rubber rest which acts as a pseudo dead pedal. The steering is very light and requires minimal effort however I would have appreciated a little more feel. Comparatively my Baleno’s steering was way more feelsome. The suspension feels good, swallows most road irregularities with ease and most importantly damped quite well. However I feel that the tyres are over inflated at the moment and as a result the car feels a little crashy over sharp ridges and bumps.
Speaking about tyres, I played the fool even after reading multiple ownership reviews and did not specify which brand of tyres I wanted, and as a result my City is riding on MRF’s which I’m not entirely happy about but I guess I cant do much about it anymore. While I haven’t put them to the test yet, coming from the brilliant 195 section Yoko’s I’m sure I’m going to be disappointed. Well what the heck, at least I can expect good fuel efficiency from them. Cant change them now since buying the car has rendered me broke.
Heart of the matter
Coming to the heart of the matter, I'm simply in love with the i-VTEC mill. Smooth as silk, the engine purrs to life. I haven’t seen upwards of 5k rpm yet but will pretty soon once I pile on some more km on the odo. Gearing is spot on and I haven’t really noticed the bit about the City being sluggish at lower rpms. Pulls quite well even in higher gears at low speeds. Even the gear shift is super slick and it’s an absolute joy to go up and down the gears. The golf ball lever though is something I not too fond off. It’s too small for my liking and I might replace it with something a little bigger.
Coming Soon
The add-ons, seat covers have been ordered, I love the stock music system so no changes there for now but components should find their way in soon, 3M coating was something i was looking forward to and i got it done as well. Sunfilms are a pain in Mumbai right now, with pandu's making a fortune out of it these days. So will have to look for the non-shaded ones.More pics due soon.
The car has completed about 600 km with the first service due soon. The car has only seen Mumbai-Pune drives as of now and has barely stepped out for city commutes (ironic for what the car is called :P).
So far this is what i have summarized. Let me start with the
Dislikes first.
- Beige overload, even near the footwell means one has to take a lot of care.
- Steering feel is too light, more feel would have been appreciated.
- The stock MRF's are purely for the purpose of fuel efficiency and any sort of high speed runs straight line or twisty's is at one's own risk.
- No dead pedal
- No climate control or electric folding mirrors in a Ten lakh rupee car. Ridiculous.
- Braking is good, but with a 118 PS on tap, rear discs would have been a welcome addition.
Likes- If you dont like the looks...stare. It grows on you and how.
- Amazing space
- extremely supportive seats. Long distances are a pleasure.
- Phenomenal i-Vtec engine. So refined that i cranked an idling car twice already
- Eco mode glowing dishes out fuel efficiency to rival smaller hatchbacks
- Burying the throttle dishes out performance to smoke bigger sedans.
- Safety is covered, with ABS,EBD and driver-passenger airbags.
4th November 2012, 19:14
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Thanks
