[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by thoma

...630 kms of moderate + sedate(~200 kms) long drive took in 25.6 l of fuel. Comes to 24.6 kmpl....

Another 399 kms of moderate + hard + stop go + idling, mostly city and very less highway took in 22.4 l of fuel. Comes to 17.8 kmpl. MID says 19.9. But there are guys who get better than mine. Hmmm....

That's a good mileage for a new car done 2.3K kms. It might get better by the time it cross 5K!

Originally Posted by thoma

...For this, I had been to the tire and accessory store run by fellow BHPian Govind, Club Saturn at my place. Though the staff were much courteous, the only grouse with the coating job is that I had to be there a second time the next day to cover up few missed areas. Advice for Govind: never leave a stone unturned for a customer to be at your place a second time unless for a sale. Dent on my pocket - 2500/- and 300/- for a full wash; discounts being a BHPian I guess...

Been there and met this guy too! Never knew he is the owner. Or is he the co-owner (?), coz I remember seeing another guy's name on the card. Went there twice, got NO discounts. Time I shall let him know I am bhp'ian too!

Edit:: Confirmed, the card says one Mr. Shyam as Director.

I don't go there because the work quality is great, I love to see his Rottweiler! Pretty cool guy except when he gets aggressive listening to two wheeler sounds!

Originally Posted by thoma

...@swiftnfurious, 3CS, the automotive shop at Kottayam is winding up...

So what options do we have now? For washing, Euro cars near Mathrubhumi office is really good. For 400/- or so, they do a proper interior cleaning as well. The place is crowded though they can work on 5 cars altogether, at the same time!

Originally Posted by thoma

....At the same time, worried about dad soiling the light colored seats; he is just like a kid when it comes to eating!...

Make it a habit NOT to let anyone eat in a car, unless you are going for long journeys. Soiling the seats is just one issue, the (hidden) remnants will invite rodents, and could damage wires et al! I don't let my dad eat in my car, nor my friends, except letting feeding my 2 year old nieces.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by thoma

Don't think I can adjust the aperture in my point n shoot - Canon PowerShot A550. Or can I? The manual settings got adjustments for just exposure. But somewhere I read that to trick a point n shoot to have shallow depth of field is to use the portrait mode.

If you can't adjust the aperture value,you can bring the camera close to the object to be focused.This will become macro mode.I have two cameras,Sony DSC-H55 and Nikon Coolpix S9100. Your last point is similar to what I get in my DSC. You will have to concentrate on the thing which you are going to focus and the camera automatically blurs rest of the environment.

Cheers,

Achyuth

[thoma]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

That's a good mileage for a new car done 2.3K kms. It might get better by the time it cross 5K!

Just hope that your words come true, though I have heard that the FE does not increase much.

Been there and met this guy too! Never knew he is the owner. Or is he the co-owner (?), coz I remember seeing another guy's name on the card. Went there twice, got NO discounts. Time I shall let him know I am bhp'ian too!

...

So what options do we have now? For washing, Euro cars near Mathrubhumi office is really good. For 400/- or so, they do a proper interior cleaning as well.

Club Saturn is run by a board and Govind(gov626) is the COO, he is in charge of the day to day activities there. He owns a Hayabuza I heard; I'm not much interested in bikes. I didn't know about the rottie, thought that it was just another dog barking in their compound. I love rotties. My neighbor got two of them.

Don't think the discount is only for BHPians. Just 200/- for an exterior wash and 350/- for a full wash; the supervisor, Joe, agreed at 300/- for me. Many other washing stations charge 400/- for a full wash, but I felt others did a slightly better job; the one at Vadavathoor junction, Aranco does a good job but not that cheap and has a long queue. Will try Euro Cars once. When I had the Beat, the Chevrolet ASC used to charge me around just 250/- for a full wash.

I don't let my dad eat in my car, nor my friends, except letting feeding my 2 year old nieces.

You are lucky. It is highly risky and a mammoth task to educate my dad Most times it becomes what we call a futile exercise.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by thoma

...He owns a Hayabuza I heard; I'm not much interested in bikes. I didn't know about the rottie, thought that it was just another dog barking in their compound. I love rotties...

Not sure of the Hayabusa, he has a previous gen white Jetta though.

You just need to move to the garage at the back to see the dog, he "idles" (on the left most side of the entrance of the inside garage) most of the times unless there is a two-wheeler making some noise!

Originally Posted by thoma

...Will try Euro Cars once....

Once you try it, you will never ever go anywhere else! They do almost a full scale interior cleaning for 400/- along with a complete (including under body) wash. NOBODY else can match that value.

Originally Posted by thoma

...You are lucky. It is highly risky and a mammoth task to educate my dad Most times it becomes what we call a futile exercise.

Simple, NEVER buy anything when he is in the car. Even if you buy something, never keep it where he can access it. Of course, all this will NOT work if you don't have an upperhand (or he is stubborn). I usually scream at my dad when he tries to eat something in MY car (my mom supports me too), he does all those in his car though!

[thoma]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Not sure of the Hayabusa, he has a previous gen white Jetta though.

He still comes to office in the Jetta.

You just need to move to the garage at the back to see the dog

I was said that some of the staff were busy giving the dog a bath! But I never thought it was a rottie. I've been to the back where they lift the car, but still didn't notice him.

Simple, NEVER buy anything when he is in the car.

Difficult not to keep food for emergencies. Dad is diabetic.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by thoma

...Difficult not to keep food for emergencies. Dad is diabetic.

Hmm..seats take a low priority then. On another note, why don't you try and install some cheap seat covers for the summer alone? May be you need to spend Rs. 2000/- and you can use it alternatively! I know it could be a challenge to stock these when not in use, but looks to me like a better solution to keep the seats clean.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

On another note, why don't you try and install some cheap seat covers for the summer alone?

Yeah, thinking of putting that white towel most of the politicians use on their seat. Or a bed sheet in case of long trips.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Hmm..seats take a low priority then. On another note, why don't you try and install some cheap seat covers for the summer alone? May be you need to spend Rs. 2000/- and you can use it alternatively! I know it could be a challenge to stock these when not in use, but looks to me like a better solution to keep the seats clean.

Maybe he can use slip on seat covers for that purpose. The price of such seat cover will be from 1000 to 3000. It's very easy to remove it. They don't stich the seat cover with the original seat. They attach it with elastic sticker. By taking them off you can remove it.

Advantages: Original seat does not get soiled or dirty.
Your dad need not be restricted from eating inside. You can stop the "futile exercise".

Disadvantage: Nothing

Cheers,

Achyuth

[thoma]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Your dad need not be restricted from eating inside. You can stop the "futile exercise".

No no..maybe I sounded wrong. What I meant that I can't make him to eat carefully or even to buckle up or to dip the high beam or even not to park at no parking spaces or not to pick up the call while on the road! Real old school; he thinks he is still in a world where he could do anything with his Padmini. Especially when I'm so different, sitting with him causes a lot of internal conflict in my mind. Yes this is a real issue, me as a Team-BHPian face. Maybe I'll get more inputs from a fresh new thread on this topic. Another thing I've been trying hard to change is his behavior of up-shifting real early.

When he eats, the place gets real messy.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by thoma

No no..maybe I sounded wrong. What I meant that I can't make him to eat carefully or even to buckle up or to dip the high beam or even not to park at no parking spaces or not to pick up the call while on the road! Real old school; he thinks he is still in a world where he could do anything with his Padmini. Especially when I'm so different, sitting with him causes a lot of internal conflict in my mind. Yes this is a real issue, me as a Team-BHPian face. Maybe I'll get more inputs from a fresh new thread on this topic. Another thing I've been trying hard to change is his behavior of up-shifting real early.

When he eats, the place gets real messy.

My suggestion: Get the floor lining in beige color. Just like what I got for my Sunny. Pic:

Through this,You can easily clean the dust and also keep the original carpet shining like brand new.

Price:INR Rs 400/-

[thoma]

Took the bug out for a spin after being acclimatized with a Vento for 2 weeks.

Immediate things I noticed -

- Though the Micra oozes premiumness, it looses out on class just because the cabin is too airy and visible. The cozy / cuddly feeling is not present. The seat is positioned very high and felt a bit awkward coming from the low seating in Vento. Seat contours too add to the cause. Not exactly in the league of the Punto or Polo when it comes to class, though once should not forget the premium feel in the Micra.

- The clutch is way towards the right; maybe to accommodate space to rest the left foot.

- Instant pep. In fact the bug leaps forward when the clutch is released and the a-pedal pressed.

- The steering is a tad bit heavier than the Vento! I was of the opposite opinion. See how well back to back test drives prove many points wrong.

- Chiller of an A/C

- Pathetic pathetic brakes. And one should be BEWARE of this. Once I started the journey, traffic was dense and only light application of the brakes were needed. And you know how bad the Micra's brakes are when you just brush it - very less feedback. And once I get out of traffic, I had a close shave. No, this time it was more than a heart in the mouth situation. Only God saved me from hitting a moron biker who suddenly stopped in front for a right turn without signal. And I had been looking at the depth of field in the right ORVM. A moment of eye away from the road and I what I saw next was this sitting duck. I severed a bit to the left and at the same time applied the brakes hard. I should have been doing around 45 kmph - just gaining speed after the heavy traffic. Screech went the tires; locked and skid a good meter or two!!! Though the car held its' line, it was pure luck that no one was on my left. By the time the car stopped, it went past the biker!

I do not think a tire upgrade alone could save me. It is the pads or the drum that act strange. It does not bite till the last and once it bite, it gets locked. The i10 brakes are too crisp of all the cars I've driven, but it does not skid - I guess the momentum is higher with the Micra. It gets to speed fast due to the instant pep.

[sriramr9]

Once again, the Brilliant engine from Renault stable proves, it s stance,i wish there should be a competition on the number of two National engines manufactured between Renault 1.5L DCI and Fiat's 1.3 L MJD. I am sure Renault would have equalized or even exceeded MJD's count.

Mods' pl do the needful, if you feel this question is hampering the thread here, could not stop from typing this post on this thread, all for the love that engine i got.

[thoma]

Since the Vento shares the job with the Micra in our family, there's nothing much to report than another full tank FE figure. Another 711 kms clocked with 44.9 l (10 l has been filled in between) of fuel. Comes to around 15.8kmpl. Now, this time, it was mostly city drives with lots of bumper to bumper traffic and idling. Less of moderate to empty stretches inside the city. So, I'm sure that she won't go too below this figure when the traffic gets tougher. Maybe at the min 14 or 13 kmpl. But, in the same situation, our previous cars returned the following - the Baleno ~10 kmpl and Beat petrol ~9 kmpl!

Though the Vento is in a different league, I still feel that you need to have a real sensitive right foot for the Micra. Just a small tap on the a-pedal and immediately she leaps forward - oh what a feeling. The only spoil sport being the brakes - lighter force wont stop the car and you apply further force, there is chance of wheel lock up. I've been living scarily with minor skids. Hope Nissan will do something with the brake disc design for the facelift. When I look at the rear brake disk size of the Micra and other cars, I feel that the Micra's is a tad bit smaller. Also, the handbrakes are inadequate (yes, the car starts rolling slightly if the gear is not engaged after parking) on steep inclines.

[thoma]

FE update.

30.85 liters gulped down for driving 513 kms mostly inside the town. Full time A/C on, lots of idling and bumper-to-bumper traffic, mostly with driver alone. Comes to 16.6 kmpl.

[thoma]

Had to take dad to Vellore on the Micra. We choose the Micra over the Vento as he could also place his fractured leg in the space between the front seats.

Was doing around 80 kmph near the Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri curves and felt the instability of the car. Felt like it could fly of the tangent if I was doing even a bit more speed. And thanks to almighty for not giving any emergency braking opportunity, to test out the infamous brakes. Oodles of torque for overtaking, gave cars a segment above, a good competition. The little bug literally zooms off, be it ghats or plains, thanks to the nil turbo-lag. More than that I think, the engine is torquey even before the turbo kicks in. But, the all-day-comfortable-cruising-speed felt for me was 80-90 kmph. Reaches 80 kmph @ 2000 RPM. Another 500 RPM to reach the 3 figure mark.

She took in 58.1 ltrs of fuel for 1284 kms. Though the MID showed 25 kmpl, the calculated full tank FE comes to 22 kmpl, with A/C on all the time and with 3 people and their baggage for a week's stay, ghats for 100 kms and with limited spirited driving on the highways.