Team-BHP - Honda City V-AT Sunroof. Fell in love, inspite the rising cost of petrol

The buying Process

The first car I bought, out of my salary was the Suzuki Maruti Zen Estilo, and it served me happily for 5 years. (Though I use it occasionally know too). I was single then, had I care a damn about space attitude, for highway drives we had the Scorpio, which again was as old as my Estilo. So I was ok with buying a car that time, which was strictly for 4 adults, had comparatively less boot space and did not have fun to drive element. (Due to tall boy structure), and moreover, my salary then, could give me loan of not more than 3 lacs.:eek: So, that’s how the Estilo came in. But over the period of 5 years, I spruced up the ICE, to acceptable limits with Sub Woofers, Amplifiers, Component Speakers & Touch Screen JVC System with GPS. This at least made “not so fun to drive” car, at least “good to be” in for Audiophile like me. :D

Years passed by, Odometer kept clocking, the name of the company’s in which I worked changed, and so with that, the quality of my paycheques changed. And moment the Son starts earning 6 figure salaries, parents start scouting for girls as bride to be. Came second half of 2011 and my marriage was getting fixed. And this was the time, I thought, probably it’s the right time to upgrade my machine, as my juniors came to work in better rides as compared to me. However in all this years, any new car that was launched in the country had seen me test driving it, collecting brouchers and reading about the reviews about them on our forums.

Rising cost of petrol had made it clear in my mind that I would be upgrading to a diesel vehicle. And I was not looking for a better hatch back (read here as Polo, Punto or i20), or C1 Segment Sedan (Liva, Dzire, Logan, etc.) So my contenders in the list were Fiat Linea MJD Emotion Pack, Hyundai Verna SX (O) & Volkswagen Vento. Somehow I skipped Skoda Rapid, as I didn’t like the interiors much. (No offence to Rapid Owners). So, again started the rounds of Test Drives, No it was not that I hadn’t driven these cars earlier, I had, but this time, I was going from a buyers perspective, and importantly, this time, with my would be better half. (End of the day, if she doesn’t like what I am buying, eventually I may have had to sleep in the car all my life).
Being into Customer Service Domain from last 8 years, and myself being heading Customer Service for an airline, I strongly believe, “Never Judge a Book by its Cover”. With this thought Process, we started the hunt for our next sedan. Trust me; I used to go to the showrooms in track pants and T Shirts, with sandals on. Looking at my attire any typical sales guy would preamp in his mind… “Yeh Saala Time Khayega”, Let me bhagofy him faster, and attend more serious customers.

October 2011, started our hunt for the new car. PS- I will not elaborate on the likes and dislikes in the cars I test drove, as within our forum, most of our members have elaborated quite comprehensively, and myself being from the same planet, will not agree to disagree with far better experts then me. However, will restrict it to my experiences at the dealerships.

First in- Fiat Linea
One fine Saturday morning, Fiat Dealer that we visited was Wasan Motors, Borivali for Linea MJD. I have been to this showroom on many occasions. One of my friends had picked up Indica Vista from same showroom, so almost everybody in here knew me, including the Sales Manager. Mr. Vicky, who was handling the Fiat Section, promptly attended us. He showed us the Demo Car directly, as there was no Linea available on display. The Demo Car was the Fiat Traditional Tuscan Wine Colour, and she looked mind blowing. Even my would-be liked the colour and the car. Having driven Punto both 75PS and 90PS on various occasions, I knew exactly what to expect from this car. And Linea didn’t disappoint me in. After the short spin, we settled for the financial discussions and discounts on offer. Collected the finance quote, brouchers, pricelist and left the showroom. Nothing decided yet, as other contenders were yet to be driven. Meanwhile, I had casually asked the SA, if he knew what FIAT acronym stood for. Not surprisingly his answer was no. Anyways, I briefed him and told him FIAT stands for Fabbricana Italiana Automobili Tourino

Next in was the hot cake Hyundai Fluidic Verna.
As my office was in Worli, Pramukh Hyundai was closer to my office, I googled its number and called up the showroom. I told the receptionist that I am looking out for the Hyundai Verna SX (O) version, before I could finish what I was saying; she asked me for my number and said someone from the sales team will call me back in 10 mins. (Well that never happened). I gave her my number and waited impatiently for the call. 4 hours down the line, when nobody called, I called up again, this time I told her, look nobody from the showroom called me, so no I don’t need you to take down my number again, if you are interested in selling the car, connect me to the sales rep know, or forget it. Quite reluctantly, she transferred the call. So this SA comes on phone, introduces himself, I tell him my name, and I tell him, I am looking for Verna Diesel SX (O). And again before I could say any further, he tells me the price of the car OTR Mumbai. I mean, what, is he trying to say on the phone, I can’t afford it or something? Ok, so I tell him, can you bring the car at my office for test drive, so that we can discuss it further? To which there was a flat reply “No”. He said, I will have to come down to the showroom, as due to enquiries, and huge walk-ins they are not allowed to take car out for test-drives. (Strange and funny enough). I say, chuck it… If Hyundai is not interested in selling me the car, why should I be bothered? Post this; I didn’t even bother to call any other Hyundai Dealer.

Post Hyundai Debacle It was Volkswagen Vento
Volkswagen’s Senior Person from Dealer Management is a good friend of mine, I contacted him and informed him, that I was looking for a C Segment car and was looking forward for the Vento; he immediately hooked me up with the Sales Manager of Tornado West Volkswagen at Khar Road Mumbai. Again on a weekend, I and my would-be landed in the showroom, and as I was expected over there, we got a warm welcome from the sales personnel. Mr. Amit, SA assigned to us was courteous enough to patiently answer all my queries, showed us the car on display, it was a Satin Silver Vento highline Petrol on Display, and offered us the test drive too. After checking the car thoroughly from bumper to bumper to understand each and every feature, off we went for the test drive. Having fresh memories of Fiat Linea, noisy engine of the Vento, put me off. However, the quality of interiors and materials used were in the league of their own. But not having steering wheel controls was a big disappointment. However, the SA reassured that, if we were not in a tearing hurry to buy the car, Upgraded Vento was on cards, with better music system and steering wheel controls. Honest I must say. He was in no hurry to close the deal. Probably, because he thought, I had come from the Sales Manager’s reference. We returned back to the showroom, discussed on the financials and offers available, and bid adieu to the Sales Manager and returned home.

Out of the blue moon how did Honda City Happen???
Having chucked out the Hyundai Verna, I was left with Fiat Linea and Volkswagen Vento. Linea was feature packed, while Vento had the brand-name. Not that Fiat doesn’t have one, but still. However, I remembered the SA saying that the new Vento was on cards any whichever way and I was not marrying in the year 2011, but was in 2012. So why not wait and watch. My Zen Estilo was gleefully fulfilling my needs and requirements. So buying a car took a back seat for the moment. As an avid reader of Team-Bhp and IndianAutosblog, I remember reading somewhere that the new 2012 Honda City was near the corner, with updates on the interiors and exteriors as well. But then, the I-Dtec was far away. Also, my mind used to be pre-occupied thinking between Linea and Vento. Spoke, Spoke and Spoke a lot with friends and family members who owned these cars on their ownership experiences. Searched to Team Bhp Forums on the reviews and read them inside-out. The more I read, the more I got confused.

Come December 2011, my would-be had come home, to discuss the jewellery patterns with her mother in law, as the date of marriage was nearing. It was 24th December 2011, and I was sitting on the couch glancing through the newspaper. I saw a half page advertisement of the new Honda City with Sunroof in Vermilion Red Colour. I hope I got that colour code right. I was blown away with it. It looked stunning even in the paper. I quickly called over my wife and showed her the advertisement. Even she found the car stunning. I dialled the Solitaire Honda number, which is nearer to my residence and asked the receptionist, on whether the new Honda City has arrived. She replied in affirmative, and before she could say any further, I said, I am coming to the showroom in next 30 mins. We drove down to the showroom, albeit this time I was in short tracks and gymming shirt. I mean, can you beat that. We were gleefully invited to the showroom, it being a Saturday, was a bit crowded, or we thought so, as it was a smaller showroom. I informed the receptionist that I am looking out for the New Honda City, she gladly showed the way to the sitting area, offered us tea/coffee and said, and executive will attend to us in 5 mins.

True to her words, and executive did attend us in 5 mins, Mr. Rohit Kulkarni was the SA assigned to me. He greeted us promptly, asked us which version of City were we looking for, and as on saying him, not sure, he patiently explained us the various grades available in the City, and how they were different from each other. Having understood the various grades, he invited us to have a look at the new car, and in details elaborated the differentiation Vis a Vis the Old City. The car on display was City VMT, and in the same colour which we saw in the newspaper. One big disappointment was that the display car was not the one with Sunroof. Nevertheless, we liked what we saw. Unfortunately, the TD car had not come in and so also the price list. However, the SA assured us, that as soon they were available, he would definitely call us back, typical Sales Agent type assurance. However, I didn’t expect him to call us back, taking into consideration my attire.LOL

But did he call back? Yes he did, and I was stunned. As promised, he did call me back, the day he got the price list in his hand. It was 27th morning. He e-mailed me the price list and the finance schemes available with them. Now Honda was Petrol, while rest two cars were Diesel. Sunroof had caught my fascination. But the City VMT with sunroof was as it is going to be expensive then the Vento as well as Linea. It was somewhere around 11 lacs OTR. But a thing to note, neither of the SA’s from Volkswagen or Fiat had bothered to check back with me on my decision. Probably they forgot. And I was just another cold lead on their documents. Did some quick calculations of my daily run and taking into account the days I am not in the city for days together. Came to a conclusion that, hey it’s not going to be expensive to run a petrol car. So chuck out the Vento & Linea, let’s go and book the City. On 29th evening, called up the SA and informed him, that we would be coming to book the vehicle, but would get late, would he be able to stay back. He was honest enough to say that he had to go down to chembur, a suburb in Mumbai for delivering a car to one of his customer and had given that customer a time commitment of reaching at his place by 19:00 hrs. So requested me if I could come next day morning, or even he was ok to come and book the car at my office or residence. But I was impressed with his honesty and commitment. I said will drive down to the showroom, next day morning. And I did.

During this period, my wife had just finished her driving school classes and was an entry level driver. She came up with an idea of why not buy an automatic car, so that even she can drive whenever I was not around. The first immediate thing to come to my mind was pictures of my car with all dents around. Nooooo I didn’t want that to happen to my new car. But nevertheless, one can’t ignore wives as I said somewhere earlier, unless you are keen to sleep in the car. Past 2 days, I was thinking about the VMT with sunroof, but suddenly, my budget was going to rise by more than 2 lacs, as OTR for VAT with sunroof was close to 13 lacs. On 30th morning, as promised I reached the showroom, and met our SA, Rohit. He courteously welcomed me again, I requested him to take me through the car again, to be doubly sure, he obliged and we finally booked the car with INR 75000/- as down payment/booking amount. So what did we book, the 2012, Honda City VAT- Sunroof Option Pack in White Colour. The delivery date was not promised at that time, as the production of the 2012 City was yet to commence, however he said, that nevertheless the car would be delivered within 4 months of maximum time. He punched the order same day evening, and through Internal DSR he came to know that the order he had punched in was the first ever order for the City Automatic for Sunroof Pan India. He did call me and inform me the same to congratulate us on the same.

A note here, New Honda City still lacked in the list of features as compared to what its competitors gave; I would rate the car probably at a meagre 3.5 on the scale of 10 for the feature list. Having said that though apart from driving my Estilo for 5 years, our list of cars in extended family were all petrol, so extensively had driven the Getz, the Verna, the Baleno, the Esteem, the Santro, the i10 and even the Lancer.

But, during various test drives of the car, yes I did take number of test drives; the refinement of the I-Vtec engine amazed me. I drove both the manual versions as well as the automatic versions. So I was sure, I was getting one of the best Petrol Car by its head in its segment. No other car came close to the silk smooth refinements of the I-Vtec. What was I loosing in bargain two major features, Automatic Climate Control and Bluetooth Audio System and some tit-bits here and there. Though ACC was something I was looking to have as a “Good to have Feature”, but with Bluetooth Controlled Audio System I was going to miss as “Must have Feature”, as being into aviation, most of my con-calls happened when I was either on my way to work or coming back from work. Nevertheless, I decided to go with the car, as I could always use personal Bluetooth devices for making/receiving calls.

So back to review

Nothing great happened between December 2011 and February 2012. Apart from the fact, that my would-be was now my wife, as we tied the knot on 3rd February. After returning back from the honeymoon, work kept me busy, but I did keep visiting showroom once a while for test drives or for discussing accessories.

March 2012
Second half of the March month, I get a call from the showroom, its Rohit. And he is happy, as my car has finally being dispatched from the factory. Yippee. 15 days he said, and the car would land at his stockyard in Vasai, outskirts of Mumbai and then we can start the finance process. As informed the car did land in Mumbai on 4th April 2012. By this time, I had built a very good rapport with Rohit. He was even invited for my wedding reception, and by now I was like a family member for him. Even today he continues to be one. 5th April, Rohit calls me and informs me the Chassis number and Engine number of the car and I decode the month and year of manufacturing using the Team-Bhp Guide. The car is March 2012 manufactured, and I am happy about it. We begin the finance formalities and get the loan approved by 2nd week of April.Make the remaining payment of 3.25 lacs and the Octroi gets paid and the car comes in to the showroom on 14th April 2012. I didn’t do the Pre-Delivery PDI at the stockyard as I was traveling back to back however, I did check on the engine number and chassis number on the physical car to match with what Rohit had sent. It matched. Game Set. We set 21st evening as the D Day for delivery of the car.

21st April 2012
Were we excited, yes of course. My newest member of the house was making inroads in the house tonight. It was a Saturday; we reached the showroom at 15:00 hr in the afternoon. And voila, there she stood in all her beauty inside the showroom- The all New Honda City V Automatic Sunroof, Taffeta White. We completed the formalities within an hour and were explained the features, service intervals of the car by the executives, were handed over customary sweets, performed a small puja and off we went to the mandir in gleaming new beauty. Drove down straight to the mandir from the showroom, as Rohit had become a family member now, he was part of the celebration and did accompany us to the mandir. Post the puja session and seeking the All Mighty’ s blessings for the car drove home and then later took the family out for dinner.

List of free accessories from the dealer
• Wax Coating
• Full Anti Rust treatment with 3 quotes for the next 3 years
• Carpet as well as Rubber Mats
• Mirror lock ( though I was against it, but the idiot at the service station had already fixed it)
• Car Cover

Standard Fitment in the car apart from the VAT version
• Factory fitted leather Upholstery
• Twin reading lights (one in the front and second above at the rear seats)
• Leather wrapped steering wheel
• Electric Sunroof
• I insisted on Michelin Tyres from day 1, so got them on the car.

No paid accessories were picked up from the dealer, as I found them quite expensive. Though the accessory guy was hell bound to sell me the Caska Unit. However the accessories picked up from the local accessory shop were
• Sun-film for the front glass
• Door Step Illumination Strip
• Ambi Pur Freshener
• Chrome Strip on the boot

Likes in the car (overall including interiors, exteriors and performance)
• Silk smooth engine, sometimes I end up cranking an on engine
• Sunroof looks rich, and people envy about it, looks airy feeling to the car
• Linear power delivery even for the automatic, I didn’t find the car sluggish
• Seamless gear shifts, no drop in power at any band
• Feels premium due to chrome inserts at the right places (AC Vents, Door Handles, etc.)
• Acres of space for back benchers too, and swallows the third person easily due to flat floor
• Comfort is unmatched, and the leather seats snug you tight.
• High speed stability is good; the steering feel is precise and weighs up beautifully, though not on par with Linea. City can also be termed as Point and Shoot Performer.
• Love the Arrow Shot Design; it looks beautiful even after 4 years of its existence.
• LED tail lamps are welcome upgrade
• Increased ground clearance, means no more scrapping from below
• 3 Step door open and close, just as European cars
• Cruise Control is Boon to use, I end up using it in the Mumbai City limits, Yes you heard it right, and it’s addictive
• Pedal Shifts wait impatiently for your orders when driven in S mode.
• Overall Visibility is good
• ICE is too good as OEM; I believe it’s an Alpine system with JBL Speaker setup.
• Uncompromising Safety Features (Airbags, ABS with EBD), G-Con, etc.

What’s sorely missed & disliked
• As mentioned earlier, ACC and Bluetooth Audio System
• Auto folding mirrors, I mean common, younger sibling has it. (Jazz and now even the Amaze)
• Illumination strip on the power window controls, I mean how am I supposed to find he buttons in the dark.
• Doors don’t auto lock, I had it in Zen Estilo as factory fitment.
• Only instant fuel economy, it doesn’t give average fuel consumption.
• No two trip meters on the board.
• Super weak headlights
• Spare wheel is not an alloy
• Interiors feel outdated when compared to modern sedans
• No carpet covering for the boot
• Blue illumination for the speedometer console, however Orange illumination for the centre console. Looks odd. Wonder how much time would it take to change the bulb colour for the centre console

Question what most of us ask, Kitna Deti Hain.
Well, even I was surprised with the fuel economy figures that I used to get initially, within City limits depending on traffic situations, the economy varied between 9kmpl to 13kmpl. Hardly did once the economy went down below 9 and that was when I was stuck in a bad jam for almost 1 hour. On the highway runs, here with highway I mean expressway runs or uninterrupted running, the economy figures are well above 18 kmpl. Once while returning back from Pune, I drove the car in complete economy mode, with the speed set at 80kmhr on cruise control and the economy figures I got was stunning, my car returned me 24.5kmpl, yes you read it right. I did cross verify it immediately by fuelling up the car to the brim at the end of the expressway, and guess what the figures were right on the display. Manual calculation showed my 24.3kmpl. I was stunned. I couldn’t believe my machine had given me this mileage. Of course, I was at constant speed of 80kmhr for 80% of the express way stretch. What more can you expect from a car with 118 PS of power, carries 5 people comfortably on board, and with head turning style and a Auto gearbox

It’s been almost a year, and I have put 10,000 kms on the ODO. To be precise, as of today 11,347. Have finished my three free services and the first paid service is due soon. The car has consistently given me the average between 11kmpl and 12kmpl that averages to around 900 ltr of fuel with the cost of ownership, apart from the emi, to INR 69057 approximately (including cost of fuel and 3 free services).

Issues Faced
Issue 1- Average Indicator Software Issue
Month of ownership- 4th

The software showing the instant fuel average developed issue midway. It used to show wrong average figures. There were two parts to it. Now the process is whenever you fuel up the tank, set the trip to zero, so that the average fuel indicator also resets and shows accurate reading thereon. . Glitch that my software developed was, whenever I used to drive out of the petrol pump with the trip and fuel indicator being reset, the average kept climbing thereon irrespective of traffic conditions. Once during my run from the petrol pump to my office, in traffic condition, the fuel average displayed at 39kmpl. Second glitch was, once the engine is shut off post the refill and you restart again, the same average which used to climb earlier now would start falling and go right up to 3 or 2kmpl irrespective of traffic conditions.

Solution provided

As this became a regular feature, took the car to the service station, (I service the car at Solitaire Honda) and explained them the problem. Took the car to the petrol pump, fuelled up the car and showed them practically. The software was updated by them using on-board diagnostics system and thankfully the problem resolved. Time taken was 1 hr.

Issue 2- Thud Sound from the rack and pinion of the steering every time the car went through potholes and vibrations felt on the steering
Month of ownership- 6th

Every time the car went over potholes, there was this typical “Thud” sound from the rack and pinion and a vibration was felt on the steering wheel. I again drove down to the service station and explained them the problem. Went on test drive with the technician and he confirmed hearing the sound.

Solution provided

He tightened the nut below the steering column, and we went back for the test drive, this time the noise was gone. I felt happy about it and left the service centre. Time taken for 20 min, however, couple of days later the sound returned. And so did me to the service centre. Again, same logic was applied, some nut was tightened below the steering column and sound went again. Few days later, again the sound came up. I was thoroughly frustrated, I mean what makes the sound appear, vanish and then reappear. I headed back to the service centre, this time I wanted a sure shot solution and not something which was temporary. The service advisor, Mr. Bhavin, who generally attends my car, knew the history of the problem this time took the car on inventory and promised me to solve the problem once and for all. 3 hr later, I get a call from Bhavin that the issue is resolved and that sound was coming due to loose fitment of the instrument console. Last time when my instrument console was opened to check the software, was not fixed properly and the screws inside were loosely fit leading to the sound whenever the car went over potholes. I didn’t find it convincing though, but however, nevertheless picked up the car in the evening, and thankfully, from then till date, the thud sound has not returned back.

Apart from these two issues, nothing major has cropped up as of today. In last one year, have taken the car to Shirdi once, Pune on number of occasions and since I Live to Drive, drove down to Goa last monsoons. One trip is on this monsoon too. I would also be posting a detailed ownership review soon of my 10000 kms with the machine including my experiences during free services. Precautions I have taken to keep the car as brand new look as possible & how I manage to get the mileage from the car consistently, my driving techniques.

Upgrades Planned
• Rockford Stage Component Speakers
• Focal Pro Sub-woofer with built in Amplifier
• Bi Xenon Projector Lamps for better night vision

Pictures will definitely follow soon, as I know, no report on team bhp is complete without car snaps.

Thanks for reading,your inputs would be highly appreciated, as this is the first time I am posting on the forum. It would also definately help me improve my writing style.

Love,
Sawnilrules.