[sforsarang]

My goodness Sawnilrules, now that's a true petrolhead talking !! thank you so much for patiently answering my queries and also sharing with me the technology behind this amazing engine in depth still with simple words and explanations... !

[vikramv1]

Originally Posted by sforsarang

Thanks Sawnilrules, actually I never asked about aftermarket AVN systems so not sure what would be the price. I checked that the AVN model is costlier by 60-70 k than the regular V model. That AVN is factory fitted though and not sure which brand they go for.



Thanks Rajeshblue, wish you too many more happy moments with THE car !!



Vikramv1, thank you so much and wish you the same. We are sailing in the same boat! Couldn't agree more about the gem of that engine. I drive sedately, AC usage is now full because of the climate but for 7 to 8 months I drive with intermittent or no/low AC. Otherwise also, I get good mileage probably because I keep the speeds constantly in the range of 40 to 70 and no sudden accel, brake etc. general practices. Yeah it is difficult to manage this in Hyderabad but fortunately my home to office commute and weekend commutes to hypercity are although not highway like, but mainly I drive during less traffic hours so relatively free and relaxed drive. All these small things might be contributing to good mileage although I am not sure. With this new car, I have been consciously following the ECO mode although it is funny in the sense it gets ON when there are no inputs given to the car, like when you remove your foot off the accel, or let it run on its own on the slope etc. !! I haven't still gotten over the logic of ECO. Traditionally they say quickly go to the higher gears and drive which returns good mileage, but this ECO comes in 3rd gear at the speeds of 40 kmph and stays there even if the car is kept on the same speeds for a long time. If I drive in 40-50 kmph on higher gears, the ECO goes for a toss.. Can some expert throw some light on that?

I bought my car in November 2011 where ECO feature was not present. This was one month before the new model was launched and so i picked up additional discounts of 75k. I try to shift a bit early to higher gears where possible, and feather the accelerator and coast on neutral where possible (Like slopes, or towards a light). This surely helps mileage on the car. I run the a/c all the time given Mumbai's muggy weather all through the year. That also contributes in reduction of mileage.

Overall its been a great 18 months. I will try and post a separate ownership thread soon myself

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by sforsarang

My goodness Sawnilrules, now that's a true petrolhead talking !! thank you so much for patiently answering my queries and also sharing with me the technology behind this amazing engine in depth still with simple words and explanations... !

@ Sforsarang: You are Most Welcome brother . Meanwhile, I have written a mail to the Honda Guys asking them details about the AVN System, let's see what reply I get. I am also planning to import the module for electronic folding of OVRM's and the driver side panel of power window switches with inclusion of mirror folding switch. As of now I am trying to get contact details of Honda Thailand, as the model there, has this function. The problem is Honda Thailand official website is not in English, and I am finding it difficult to get correct contact details/email details. Will definitely keep posted about it too.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

sforsarang: Hi mate, even I had a similar understanding of the ECO Mode, that is, the light comes on only when one lift's the leg from the accelerator peddle . I discussed the same with my service advisor here in Mumbai, according to him, the ECO Mode, comes on considering various factors, some of them being, GVW, including number of passengers (read here as their weight), speed of the car, gear in operation, gradient or incline of the road, etc. And the data is real time feeded to the chip installed in the car, which decides, the amount of fuel the car is utilizing to pull herself factoring the above parameters. If at that point, it is utilizing minimum fuel, then the ECO Light comes on, and if not, then ECO light goes away. Another interesting fact, I drive the car mostly on the cruise mode, and at whatever speeds the cruise is set, I usually have the ECO Indicator On at all times during cruise mode. If you too drive on Cruise mode, You must have also realized that the rpm drops down moment the car is on cruise mode. For instance, assume you are constantly driving at 80km/hr with throttle input, then the rpm meter hovers somewhere around 2300 to 2400, but if you set cruise at 80km/hr then that same rpm is around 1900 to 2000, and then the ECO light glows constantly, as at this point, the car itself is deciding how much throttle input is required to pull the car, and then therefore, how much amount of fuel goes in. Mine being an Automatic Version, ends up giving me an fuel economy in the range of 12 to 12.5 in City and astonishingly high 19 to 20 on Expressway runs. And all of this, I believe is due to Cruise Mode.

I hope, I was able to pen down my thoughts and explain how exactly ECO Mode works.

Hey mate, further to our discussion, I have attached a snapshot of Cruise Control in action, have a look at the average indicator, where is RPM meter hovering, and ECO Mode On simultaneously.

[rajeshblue]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

@ Sforsarang: You are Most Welcome brother . Meanwhile, I have written a mail to the Honda Guys asking them details about the AVN System, let's see what reply I get. .............. Will definitely keep posted about it too.

Just wondering if you received any details from Honda. In my case I spoke to my dealer yesterday and asked them about the brand and model number of factory fitted AVN system. They consulted one another and promised to call back. They indeed called me to say it is Mitsubishi. When I asked them whether they were certain it was not Alpine, they promised to call back within two minutes. I haven't heard from them since. How can something so ordinary be so incredibly hard to ascertain!

[bharatbs]

Originally Posted by vikramv1

I am very surprised that you are getting. 13 imply consistently. Are you predominantly driving in highway conditions with low a/c. I get 10 to 11 on most times. I have managed to hit 16 imply average once on the Mumbai Pune expressway to Pune.

Vikram do you have an AT version?

Some tips:

• Mileage depends a lot on ones driving (anticipating traffic 100-300 meters ahead; taking your foot of the accelerator when you can see the traffic has slowed/stopped, using neutral for cruising wherever the option is feasible, avoiding rapid acceleration and braking - This is tough one, with 118 horses on tap)
• Get your car checked at the Honda service station (air/fuel timing, air filter, fuel filter, etc)
• Change you gas station, try SHELL if it is available in you area
• By following the MID closely, I noticed during the recent trip that you get the best mileage when you maintain a constant pressure on the accelerator (like cruise-control) vs. varying the speeds/pressure on accelerator. Ofcourse this is only possible on the National Highways.

I constantly get 12.5-13.5 in the City and 16-17 on the Highway.

I did a recent Bangalore - Goa - Bangalore road trip of 1,480 KM and I got an average mileage of 16.2 KMPL door-to-door.

• I maintained speed of 90-120 KMPH and on occasions hit 160 KMPH just to overtake some road hogs.
• This involved driving 150 KMS in narrow roads of Goa where the average drops to 13-14 KMPL
• Needless to say it was with 100% AC

I own 2011 SMT and I am running 15" alloys with 195/60 profile Yokohama C-Drives.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by rajeshblue

Just wondering if you received any details from Honda. In my case I spoke to my dealer yesterday and asked them about the brand and model number of factory fitted AVN system. They consulted one another and promised to call back. They indeed called me to say it is Mitsubishi. When I asked them whether they were certain it was not Alpine, they promised to call back within two minutes. I haven't heard from them since. How can something so ordinary be so incredibly hard to ascertain!

Hey Rajeshblue, I have not received any reply from the Big H guys. The problem with dealerships is, for the sales guy or the accessories guy, its his another day at job, to fill the day, so that, that day's salary gets credited. There are hardly any guys, who work there because they love to be around machines . So, one some customer asks them something, they will politely excuse from you to search for an answer, ask somebody in the higher up, who himself is clueless, and whatever, answer they get from higher ups without verifying the facts, will come and tell the customer. In your case, similar thing has happened. Someone told your accessory guy, its Mitsubishi, he called you back with the answer, then subsequently, when you questioned him back, he was super baffled.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

Hey Rajeshblue, I have not received any reply from the Big H guys. The problem with dealerships is, for the sales guy or the accessories guy, its his another day at job, to fill the day, so that, that day's salary gets credited. There are hardly any guys, who work there because they love to be around machines . So, one some customer asks them something, they will politely excuse from you to search for an answer, ask somebody in the higher up, who himself is clueless, and whatever, answer they get from higher ups without verifying the facts, will come and tell the customer. In your case, similar thing has happened. Someone told your accessory guy, its Mitsubishi, he called you back with the answer, then subsequently, when you questioned him back, he was super baffled.

@ Rajeshblue

Following is the reply I have got today from Honda and they have made some startling revelations too...

Dear Sir,
This has reference to your below communication received by us.
As regards to your query on fitment of AVN (Audio Video Navigation) system in your Honda car, we wish to inform that the O.E AVN is only available in Honda City VMT/AT with AVN varaint and this system cannot be installed in any other variant as the engine wiring harness, dashboard harness, the electronic control module and related electronic circuits are programmed and designed for it. The installation of our AVN (Alpine make) is hence not possible for any other model/variant.

As an accessory fitment (Not approved by Honda, Japan) our dealership may offer you CASKA make AVN systems which can be installed onto your Honda car however any part modified (wiring harness/ dash panels, etc) w.r.t to the originally equipped in your Honda Car will not be covered under purview of HCIL warranty. (Please refer to our warranty manual for further details).
For your comments on the product we wish to submit that the same shall be forwarded to our product planning department for future model references.
Hope the above satisfies your query suitably.


Kind regards,

Parampreet Singh
Customer Relationship Management
Honda Cars India Ltd., Greater Noida

Hope your query finally rests about the model and make of AVN System given by Honda....

[rajeshblue]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

@ Rajesh, Same here dear, even I am awaiting if somebody post's about their car with the AVN System, so that we can get first hand information about the quality of the system.

I have been told that my car would be delivered in about a week. Since no one has yet posted their experience on the AVN model, I look forward to the opportunity of doing so.

[rajeshblue]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

@ Rajeshblue

"The installation of our AVN (Alpine make) is hence not possible for any other model/variant.

As an accessory fitment (Not approved by Honda, Japan) our dealership may offer you CASKA make AVN systems which can be installed onto your Honda car however any part modified (wiring harness/ dash panels, etc) w.r.t to the originally equipped in your Honda Car will not be covered under purview of HCIL warranty. (Please refer to our warranty manual for further details).

So thanks to your efforts, we now know what the OE fitment is. In my view Alpine would definitely be a better choice over Caska. I had a look at Caska but was not too impressed with the user interface. Also, the panel around the Caska system is different in colour whereas, the factory fitted one is same and blends beautifully. Therefore, the Caska system looks clearly implanted rather than being a natural fit.

One more thing to warn fellow BHPians is that the dealership may not clearly state the warranty impact when installing Caska. As Honda's communication says, upon installing Caska, few electrical components will lose their warranty cover. Frankly, I am quite perplexed by this aspect. They say (a) OUR dealership may offer Caska [ Hint of subtle endorsement, effectively saying you can get it at their dealership] (a) compatible with the car but, (c) warranty would erode on some parts, and finally (d) though Honda India is offering it, this whole thing is "not approved" by Honda Japan" [Translated: Though we told you this, we would wash our hands off if you bring any queries or any issues later on!].

[Shanksta]

Congrats on getting the Samurai.

Originally Posted by sforsarang

Any idea on the 'good'ness of 'Goodyear' tyres?

I also got Goodyear GT3's on my Innova. Long story short, 53000kms in 3 years and 5 months and they still have about 5 - 7k kms life left in them. Though the tire noise is high.

[rajeshblue]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

@ Sforsarang: You are Most Welcome brother . Meanwhile, I have written a mail to the Honda Guys asking them details about the AVN System, let's see what reply I get.

Rejoining this thread after a while. I got delivery of my Honda City AVN about a month back. Since there is general lack of information on the AVN features, I made a post covering the features of Honda City AVN and the same can be seen here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...on-system.html
I have also posted pictures of the AVN system. [Please note that this was on Day 2 of my car delivery so the post covers only so much].

AVN is a good experience and complements the rest of the car. I was not too sure of how the leather seat experience would come out to be, but now I have started liking very much.

I also realize in hindsight that I have missed out refering to the rear view camera in my post. Essentially, as soon as you put the car in reverse gear, the panel turns into a display from the rear view camera with safety markings that guide you.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by rajeshblue

Rejoining this thread after a while. I got delivery of my Honda City AVN about a month back. Since there is general lack of information on the AVN features, I made a post covering the features of Honda City AVN and the same can be seen here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...on-system.html
I have also posted pictures of the AVN system. [Please note that this was on Day 2 of my car delivery so the post covers only so much].

AVN is a good experience and complements the rest of the car. I was not too sure of how the leather seat experience would come out to be, but now I have started liking very much.

I also realize in hindsight that I have missed out refering to the rear view camera in my post. Essentially, as soon as you put the car in reverse gear, the panel turns into a display from the rear view camera with safety markings that guide you.

@ Rajeshblue: Congrats mate, and then therefore your much awaited ANHC is here. I went through your post of AVN, I must say the system looks fabulous. Meanwhile, I had gone to the Honda Dealership in Mumbai, and was suprised to see Caska has launched a new touch screen model with 8 inch screen. Though the sound quality was average. As AVN is difficult ti retro fit, I am thinking of considering the Caska 8 inch model