[mav2000]

This is my first new thread in a long long time and probably one of only a few since I became a member, back in 2008. I joined T-BHP in 2008, when I was looking for advice on a new car. After a lot of deliberation and discussion, I finally went with a silver Mitsubishi Cedia, which served me beautifully well for the past 6 years. Warning: This is a long long post, I'm trying to make up for not putting up much content in the last few years.

Fast forward to about 3 months ago, the new car itch hit me again. The Cedia had served me beautifully and I loved driving it. The made to last interiors, the beautiful engine and the superb gearbox had me hooked. But rising service costs, low spare part availability and at best an ordinary service experience made we want to look at buying a new car for the family.

Of course, the launch of the All New Honda City had a lot to do with the decision as well. I have always been a big fan of the city ever since the 1st gen back in 1998-99. I followed the launch of the new city eagerly and read each and every review on it. I even went to the showroom and had a look at the car. Since the petrol version was not easily available, I decided to hold on to the Cedia for some more time.

About four months ago, after a particularly horrid service experience, I decided to sell the Cedia. I put it up for sale a day or two after that, thinking that I would need atleast 1-2 months to sell the car. The same evening I got a call from a young gentleman who was keen to have a look at the car. He came around to my place the next day, took a quick test drive and decided he wanted to buy it on the spot. I was a bit taken aback as I did not expect the Cedia to sell so quickly, but since the offer he made matched my demand for the car I was happy to let go.

That ended my 6 year old love story with the Cedia and the next day being a saturday, my wife and me decided to go around and have a look at a few options, even though my heart was already set on the city. My budget was a strict 12-14 lacs and so the hunt began.



We quickly had a look at the Rapid, Linea, Verna, Elantra and Duster, all petrol except the Duster. And this is what I thought of them:

1. Rapid:
- Nice solid build
- Decent Handling and poise at speed
- Slightly dated features
- Great offers going on on the 2013 batch
- Quite cramped as compared to the Cedia I was driving earlier

2. Linea
- Looks like a class above the segment
- I liked the exteriors a lot
- Music system and overall features were very nice and class leading to say the least
- Interiors were a big let down - Shabby fit and finish and some of the plastics seem like they will last all of 2 weeks. There is this rubber beading allaround the four doors, which is black in color and it just kills the effect inside the car
- Drive was nice, but the gear shift felt very rubbery for want of a better word. I think I got used to precision shifts with the Cedia as it has a gate system. The Fiat gearbox felt like its made of rubber.

3. Duster
- Outside looks alright, but you can see that the fit and finish is just not there
- Interiors are really awful, very basic with barely any features
- After hearing the price, I just gave up, didn't even bother having a test drive

4. Hyundai Verna
- Love the Fluidic design
- Was not as vague as I imagined at higher speeds
- Fully loaded car with all the bells and whistles
- Hated the interiors, specially the dash design. I think with the Verna dash design, its either that you love it or hate it, nothing in between
- Fit well in the budget

5. Hyundai Elentra
- Drove the petrol and it seemed insipid to drive
- The suspension was a major let down, with it being extremely bouncy. I dont know about the diesel, but the petrol rides like a boat
- Again I loved the exterior looks
- Equipment levels were pretty decent, but the top end was at that time out of my budget

After a long day at various dealerships, we finally reached the Honda dealership, where I went for a quick test drive of both the manual and auto petrol top end. I was quite happy with the car except for a few things:

1. Alloys - man they look ugly
2. Thin wheels
3. some obvious cost cutting
4. The 2 din system, which I really felt looked a bit cheap

Other than the 4 negatives I have listed out above, out of which point 2 could be sorted out, I was quite happy with the drive and general fit and finish of the car. The feature list was so long, that I was quite happy that I was getting all the stuff I ever wanted with a brand that I always admired
What I really liked about the City was the nice smooth engine, the superb gear box, all the bells and whistles that you can think of and then some more. It had a decent sounding system, nice ECO mode, touch AC, folding mirrors, sunroof and a lot more. I really liked the level of kit. And since it fell bang in the middle of my budget I went ahead and paid the booking amount for a VX manual, with a promise that I would get the delivery within 2 months at best.

Since I had two months to wait out, I felt it would be prudent to relook at some of the cars and also look at a few more. The following week, with wife in tow (who was by now quite tired of the whole thing) I went to look at the rapid once again and the Vento as well. The rapid still seemed a bit small and since I was not getting the added benefit of the famed auto tranny, I decided to skip it. They did have some great benefits with the car but it didnt quite ring the bell that I had felt with the Honda.

In the meantime, my wife decided to have a look at the new Octavia and she seemed to be leaning towards that. I asked them for a quote and they told me they had a single petrol 1.4 TSi which was readily available. I had a look at the car, which looked very nice in electric blue. But being a base version, it was quite bereft of all the bells and whistles. I asked them to get the test drive car home to check the parking and when that seemed to be a bit of a task, I dropped the idea, as parking such a big car without any sensors did not seem like an easy task. Secondly, as there was a huge waiting list on the car, the dealers refused to give even a single rupee discount. But, I must say driving the petrol 1.4 TSi was beautiful. It did have this sudden surge that I could do without, but once it got into the band the car drove like it was on steroids. With me using the car 90% in the city I was sure that I would barely get to use this sweet surge though.

Next up we went to have a look at the Vento (I had missed this car on the first round due to paucity of time and wife getting upset. As soon as we entered Volkswagen Palace Cross my wife suddenly stopped talking on the phone and promptly went and sat in the Jetta. And the conversation went like this:

Me: We have come to see that car there
Wife: I like this car here
Me: Yeah, I like it too, but we have still come to see that car there
Wife: So you go have a look, I have decided that I want this car here
Me: Its out of our budget
Wife: So?

By then one of the sales associates came over and started explaining the features of the car. And then the sales associate pulled down the sun visor and opened the mirror.....and a light came on....and that was the end of the story. I quickly asked them for a quote on a petrol car, only to be told that there are no petrol cars available with any dealership. My wife left the dealership as if she has been robbed of our first born son. Later that day, through a close friend, I spoke to the owner of the dealership and he asked me to hold on for a few days. Two days later, they called me and confirmed that they could get me a petrol Comfortline in 7 days flat. I negotiated a price for the car and even though it was way out of my budget, I decided to go ahead. So wife, son and me trooped into the Volkswagen dealership, only to be told that there was some confusion and they may not have a TSi to sell after all.

Post that day, I decided to not look at any other cars and settle for the Honda. But I still wanted to take a longer test drive in the Honda as there was a niggling feeling that I am selling myself short. A few days later, I went for my promised test drive and when I got down from the car I have to say that I was in two minds to cancel the booking.

Now all this had already taken more than 2 months from the day I sold my Cedia. In the meantime I was told that my Honda had reached the dealership. I was just so unhappy about the whole thing that I didn't even bother to do a PDI. I told them to go ahead with the loan procedure and someone from the bank came home and finished the rest of the paperwork. The car was to be delivered the following Monday. I kept explaining to myself that I should go for the Honda as I would get a good trouble free drive for a few years and my EMI's will also be easier to manage. But still none of that new car butterflies were anywhere to be found in my stomach.

On Friday, I get a call from Volkswagen Palace Cross again. Sarala (the sales associate whom I was working with) told me that the head of the dealership had taken up my issue with Volkswagen and they had consented to send one TSi comfortline to them on priority. (BTW, the trendline is discontinued as well). I immediately called Honda and cancelled my booking, called the bank and asked them to cancel my application and went ahead and paid the booking amount to Volkswagen. My parents asked me to hold on to the Honda booking for a day or two, but since I was anyway not very excited about it, I went ahead and cancelled it, with the thought that if I dont get the Jetta I will go ahead with an Auto Vento. I finally didn't have to take that call as the dealership went ahead and booked the car for me without me even paying them the booking amount.

The following days were a flurry of activity, what with getting the money back from Honda, Getting my NCB letter from HDFC, putting together some extra funds to buy the Jetta and negotiating further on the price with the dealership and the loan with SBI. A few days later I went ahead and signed the loan papers and also got my NCB letter. I got the VIN as well, which confirmed that it was an August made Jetta.

Oh, but I seemed to have missed the best part. The dear wife had no clue about the change at all. Initially I didn't tell her as I was not sure it would go through, but once I got the VIN, I decided that I would keep it as a surprise.

The car came in on Thursday and I went in for the PDI, where I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Alloys and the system were upgraded and I now had much better looking alloys and a system with bluetooth. Came back home and promptly made the rest of the payment by RTGS to make sure that there is no more delay. On Sunday, I told my wife that we have to pick up the new car on Monday. She still thought it was the Honda. Then a new story began. My Mom says Monday is not a good day. My wife says Tuesday is not a good day and my driver calls me and says that Wednesday was not a good day!!! Finally got a go ahead from all three of them for Thursday as it was an auspicious day (Gowri Ganesha). Called Nikhil from Mudhus and he asked me to get the car in the morning itself for a change of the tyres.

After a few sleepless nights (yes, this time the butterflies had made thier presence felt) I woke up early on Thursday morning and made sure my wife was ready by 10:00 AM. I asked the driver to drive us to the Honda dealership on Cunningham road and then told him to take it to Palace Cross as I had to pick up something there. When we reached Palace Cross Volkswagen, I told my wife that they are part of the same chain and asked her to go and see the car while I finish the paperwork.

The wife came back upstairs with the biggest smile that I have seen in a long time. I think the last time she was this happy was when she saw our son for the first time. This really made my day. By the way, there was a surprise for me as well. The alloys on the car have been changed to a much better design and the system was now updated to the 320 (from the 300+). So one of my biggest issues of bluetooth was now solved. I have put in some pics in the end of the post to show the new alloys as well. I am sure a lot of you will agree that the new design is a lot better than the previous one.

It took about 30 minutes to finish all the formalities. Each and every document was handed over with an explanation on each of them. Only the insurance copy and RC card were pending from their end and I am happy to say that I have received these as well (About 15 days after delivery). After giving Sarala a nice gift from our side, I left the dealership with a 20 ltr petrol coupon. I promptly went home, took my dad, mom and wife for a ride and then went straight to Madhus for the tyre change. Got the stock NCT5's changed to Pirelli P7's and headed to office.

That night my son, wife and I along with my sister in law and her husband had a nice dinner at the Bangalore International Airport. And what a drive it was. Smooth and calm. Didnt rev it too much as it was the first day, but doing 100 kmph on 6th gear, without a single sound or harshness filtering through was bliss.

My mom was keen to see the Golden Temple at Sripuram and knowing that the roads in TN are superb, I was happy to comply. We had a lovely trip to the Golden Temple and throughout the trip I realized that I had found a worthy alternative to my Cedia. I don't think I could ever have been happy with the Honda as the Cedia had raised the benchmark for me.

Initial Impressions:

I have done about 900 kms to date with a mix of highway and city driving. I think I can put down some initial impressions as far as the drive is concerned. On the highway the car is a dream. Yes, it does not have the brutal push that you have in the diesel or the 1.8 TSi for that matter, but its superbly refined running at around 120 kmph giving you a mileage in excess of 17kmpl. Additionally, its very rock solid at those speeds. I can compare it to being at around 80-90 kmph in my Cedia. Extremely solid drive, with a nice heavy steering.

In the city, the car is a bit big to drive around everyday, but I am getting more used to the size by the day. Its not too difficult to park and is quite nimble when you push the accelerator. Nope, you cant jump into gaps and cut across traffic as easily with even the Cedia. But you can cocoon yourself in your leather seats and put on some nice music and not even hear the traffic outside. The car is superbly insulated to put it mildly.

On the mileage front, a round trip to Sripuram and back gave me around 16-17 kmpl, on a brand new car. I was babying the car though, so I guess this is the mileage you can expect. The roads on this stretch are excellent though. In the city as of now, I have a feeling that its going to be between 9-10 kmpl. I will update the thread as soon as I finish my second tank full. Keep in mind, that my daily commute is only 5 kms each way and then depending on client meetings maybe an extra 20-60 kms a day.

After about ten days of using the car here is my feedback on the car, on various aspects that I think will help prospective buyers as well:

1. Interiors quality - Fit and finish is a class apart. It feels durable and ready to take some amount of rough usage as well. The plastics are built to last and the soft touch plastic feel good. All the knobs and vents seem quite robust as well. Not a single creak or noise from anywhere. I wish they had added some of the felt lining in the glove box and the door pockets. That would have added a bit of a premium finish to the package. The adjustable steering and arm rest are really a boon for longer drives. The arm rest can be positioned vertically as well as horizontally, so you can find that perfect position to rest your left hand during a long drive. The fit and finish seems to be one notch higher than the Octavia as well and miles and leagues above the rest of the competitors in the same price bracket.

2. Interior Space - Well there is just sooo much of it. Two 6 footers can sit one behind the other without any cramping in the space. The 5th seat is also usable. The front seats are extremely comfortable with the lumbar support on the driver seat being very usable as well. They are large enough and really cocoon you with good side support as well. The boot is huge. It can easily take 3 30 inch bags with space left over for smaller stuff.

3. Exteriors - These Jettas are imported into India as CKD kits and then put together at the Skoda facility as far as I can understand. This has a dual effect. The fit and finish is superlative with very small and equal panel gaps, but at the same time all the accessories and spare parts are expensive. The car has this timeless design which wont go out of style soon. Unlike the Elantra, the design is more plain with very few cuts and curves. But this is how I like my cars. The rear lights look Audi'ish and the front seems to look like a smaller Passat or a bigger Vento. The new alloys really look a lot better than the older design and adds a bit of zing to the whole design. Overall the car is very well put together, both on the inside and outside.

4. Air conditioner - Works very well, no complains. The dual zone is a great thing to have, specially when you and your better half have different tolerances to the weather. I usually keep it at 24 when driving in the city and the car cools very quickly. The rear passengers get their own vents, so its quite comfortable for them as well.

5. City driving - Well, I am still a bit defensive while driving in the city, so I tend to take it slow and allow people to pass. I find the engine extremely eager and in those few instances its quick to overtake or bridge a gap if needed. I try and keep the engine below 2000 rm for the most part though. Even though its a big car, once you are in the drivers seat the car just seems to shrink around you. On the visibility front, this is one of the few cars where you can see the bonnet quite easily. Rear and side visibility is quite good as well. The front and rear parking sensors are a boon to me and I am sure I would have nudged a pillar in my parking if not for them. For bumper to bumper traffic, leaving the car on first or second gear and taking your foot of the clutch helps a lot. I could not do this on the Cedia, but on the Jetta the car is happy to potter about at the lowest rpm and speed for extended periods of time. On the fuel efficiency front, with gentle driving, the car gives me about 10 kmpl in average and bad traffic. If the road is a bit free you can get higher numbers. I am at around 9.5-10 kmpl for this tank of petrol. The gearshit is a pleasure to use and its just like the Cedia. I believe this has a gate system too. The shifts are positive and the gears engage with a good feel, with none of the vagueness of the Linea and Verna.

6. Highway Driving - My highway driving so far has been around 500 kms and its been filled with BLISS. The car is extremely quite and stable and can be very quick when you need it to be. I tried to keep the needle at around 120 throughout the trip and on 6th gear the car runs at around 2000 rpm. This has given me very good mileage, about 16-17 kmpl for the round trip. The car is very composed at higher speeds and it feels like you are driving a piece of rock. The steering weighs up nicely and keeps the car on track even at higher speeds. Inside the cabin, you can barely hear anything and with the AC on and the music going, its a great place to be. The 5th and 6th gears seem to be purely for overdrive and you will need to shift down to 4th if you want to make a sudden overtaking maneuver. But once down in fourth, the car picks up speed extremely quickly. There is non of the brutal pick up that we see on the 1.8TSi, but there is more than enough power to keep you happy.

7. Suspension and ride - I cannot stop talking about the ride and suspension. Its extremely refined and there are NO sudden thuds and noises, which are quite commonly heard in most cars in Bangalore's crappy roads. Absolutely nothing seems to permeate into the cabin. The cherry on the cake is that, while being extremely plush the ride is extremely stable with none of the floaty behavior of the Verna and the likes. The car is well planted even at high speeds and can take turns without any fuss. I dont know how much of this is due to the Pirellis, but overall I would say the driving behavior is very good. Its nowhere close to chuck able as the Cedia and is happier eating up long straight roads.

8. Equipment list - Well where do I start. The car comes with everything that you can think of and then adds a bit more. The only thing missing in the pre August 2014 car was bluetooth and Optical parking and one of them has been added now. Auto wipers, auto lights, auto AC with dual climatronic system (wife loves this), lovely cabin lights, charging points, rear AC vents, rear center arm rest with cup holders, rear boot accessibility, Hill hold, gear shift indicator, the MID system with all its bells and whistles, DRL's, single touch up down for all windows, height and reach adjustment on the steering, height adjustment on both driver and passenger seat, front and rear parking sensors.... and the list still goes on. The system is a basic one and I dont like the fact that there are only front speakers. I wish they had speakers at the rear as well. But, having said that the sound quality is decent (not audiophile or anything close to it though), it has bluetooth, SD, AUX and USB and can be controlled from the steering. I wish they had added the RCD 510 with 4-6 speakers in the comfortline as well though. This would have essentially brought in the OPS and the enhanced bluetooth as well.

Negatives, as I see it:

While putting down a lot of the positives, I think its prudent to list down some of the negatives as well:

- Low ground clearance - Have already managed to scrape the car once, with 5 passengers on board. I never ever had this issue on the Cedia. I think around 155-160 should be ideal.
- Warranty - 3 year instead of 2 year anyone? I guess selling extended warranties has become a new way to earn money. A 3 year unlimited or 3 year limited is the least that the car should come with. The second issue I have with the warranty is that the service engineers scare you with "warranty will be void" for each and every query that you have
- Music system - I think the RCD 510 should be the base model for the Jetta and higher. I dont think its going to cost them all that much and it will add all those extra features that Hyundai and the others keep talking about. Also four speakers in front and none at the rear is just not done

Other than these 3 things, I dont think I can find a single issue with the car or the experience so far.

List of changes that I will be doing:

1. Tyres - Already done and could not be happier. Even at speeds in excess of 140, the tyres are absolutely quiet and very grippy.
2. LED DRL's - already on the way
3. Door protectors - On the way
4. Door Sill Aluminium plates - On the way
5. 3D mats - Got the ones from Sai, which while not as good as the 3D Kagu ones in my Cedia seem to be doing a good job so far

My thanks to everyone at Volkswagen Palace Cross for making this happen and my special thanks to the sales associate, Sarala for making sure that everything went through. She made sure to keep me upto date on each and everything. If ever you want to buy a Jetta, she is the person who deserves your business. Palace Cross made sure that each and every document was picked up from my home or office and promptly sent me the VIN and set up the PDI without me asking twice. I cannot fault them for a single thing as they handled the whole pre and post delivery process with a lot of professionalism. They even managed the loan component and that was also done well, with proper communication throughout. I cant seem to find a single fault with them post the initial confusion that happened.

I will keep adding to this thread as and when there are updates, so please do add your comments and questions and I will try and respond to each and every one of them. Thanks for reading..

[dass]

Let me be the first one to congratulate you. Nice car and nice write up too. Wish you many happy miles with your new car.

What was the final OTR of the car and did Honda cancel the booking without any drama?

[Amarendranath]

Welcome to the club! I really like the way you put down the conversation with your wife. Wishing you miles of safe and niggle free ownership.

One quick question, can you post the link from where you are getting those sill plates? I too want a set for our JET.

[VeluM]

Congratulations on the new Jetta. Beautiful car, and very well written post. Could you please add some more pics, and the new design alloys?

Also a comparo on a few items like interiors, drivability with your old Lancer would be great too. What features from the Highline do you miss the most, other than the Head Unit for parktronics display?

Congratulations again, and wish you many more kms of happiness.

PS. Probably time to update your signature

[mav2000]

Originally Posted by dass

Let me be the first one to congratulate you. Nice car and nice write up too. Wish you many happy miles with your new car.

What was the final OTR of the car and did Honda cancel the booking without any drama?

Thanks for the wishes dass. Well, I knew the Honda dealership owner as well, so it took about 5-6 days and they did deduct 2k. But I guess I cant complain, taking into account that I had cancelled at the last minute. I am sure they had enough customers in the Q to take up the car. Final OTR....I dont think you will believe me if I told you. But taking into account the NCB, all discounts and not taking the essential package (overpriced mats and mud guards) the final OTR was 17.15L onroad. Beat that. The basic Skoda 1.4TSi was working out to 18L, without half the features.

Originally Posted by Amarendranath

Welcome to the club! I really like the way you put down the conversation with your wife. Wishing you miles of safe and niggle free ownership.

One quick question, can you post the link from where you are getting those sill plates? I too want a set for our JET.

Well, what can I say about the conversations with the boss.I am getting the sill plates from aliexpress. Just search for Jetta and you will find a whole lot of interesting stuff to buy. I have ordered a few things and depending on the quality I may order a bit more.

Originally Posted by VeluM

Congratulations on the new Jetta. Beautiful car, and very well written post. Could you please add some more pics, and the new design alloys?

Also a comparo on a few items like interiors, drivability with your old Lancer would be great too. What features from the Highline do you miss the most, other than the Head Unit for parktronics display?

Congratulations again, and wish you many more kms of happiness.

PS. Probably time to update your signature

Signature update done!!!

I will add some more pics tomorrow for sure and of the alloys and interiors as well. The new alloys are a bit more funky than the older 5 spoke one. One more thing I will add here was the removal for rear speakers was silly. I dont understand why they did that.

I think from the Highline, the only thing I miss is the parktronic feature. I would loved to have had those LED lights as well, with Xenons and cornering lights , but I dont really miss them. The light setup is pretty good even though they are just normal Halogens. They light up the road and I dont feel the need to upgrade them unlike what I had with the Cedia. The normal lights with the fog lamps work pretty well in tandem.

The parktronic is the one thing that kind of should have been there on all models. Or an option to upgrade to the RCD 510. I like the RCD 510 and its definitely nice to use. The other thing would be the electronic seats.

Onto the comparo, well the two cars are almost 2 segments apart, with the Cedia costing me almost half of what the Jetta costed me. But let me try:

1. Drivability - City - The Cedia is probably the better drive in the city. Its light and easy to maneuver and also the turning radius is a lot lower. So my vote for city driving has to go to the cedia. Highway - No two ways about it, the Jetta is like its built out of solid rock. It just hunkers down and holds its line no matter what. Acceleration, while not brutal is still very very usable and its easy to overtake and easy to get to hold triple digit speeds for longer.

2. Steering and suspension - The Jetta is much more pliant over bumps and potholes and half the time you barely feel anything. No noise and it just feels like nothing can get it to be skittish. The cedia has the better steering with a lot more feel. It can hold its line, but only upto a limit. It just does not feel as solid overall. The Cedia can get skittish, but that adds to the fun of this car. Also I dont think I ever scraped a single hump in all my time with the Cedia

3. Interiors and general fit and finish - Well, cant really compare here as mine was a 2008 Cedia without any of the bells and whistles. But it was beautifully put together and over the 6 years that I had it, it was very rare to hear a squeak or sound from the interiors or body. But the interiors were basic and there was not much in terms of gizmos in the car. The rear seat was quite good for a 9 lac car though. The body panels had some gap issues from day one, but I guess thats how the car was built.

The Jetta feels over engineered in comparison. Everything feels like its built to last. The soft touch plastics feel superb to the touch. The seats are a lot better and the feel behind the wheel is superb. The gizmos and rear seat space add to the overall feel of a luxury car.

Having said all this, if I had the option of buying the new Lancer (the version abroad), I don't think I would have test driven any car. I would have bought that without even test driving that, it was that good. In short, the Mitsubishi Cedia is a car which is somewhere between the European and Japanese/Korean cars. It was lots of fun to drive, well put together but was also cheap to own and relatively free of any niggles or issues.You could probably service it twice a year and you would never have any major issues. HM has effectively killed Mitsubishi cars in India.

BTW, I put Japanese and Korean cars in the same slot because the Honda City does not feel any better put together than the Verna. I think Honda is losing it and adding features but removing the solidity and bullet proof engineering that it once stood for. I dont mean to offend any Honda or Hyundai owners, but this is just my personal opinion.

[abhinav.s]

Congrats on your acquisition! The decision process that you have elaborated is hilarious and deserves an applause! Wishing you many happy miles with the car.

[mav2000]

Thanks abhinav and I hope that I do have many happy miles with the car.

Just a small update:

I do about 5 kms one way to my office everyday. And the MID shows around 8.5-9 km/l. Which is superb for the kind of traffic I drive in everyday.

[etrast75]

Congrats on your new buy. Wish you a hassle free and enjoyable ownership.

[sreepathy]

congrats mav2000. Couldn't suppress a smile while reading your post.
That said, I have some queries.
You said you didn't scrape a single bump with the Cedia. Since you have traveled with four or more people, did Jetta ever scrape the notorious speed breakers in Bangalore?

[khoj]

Congratulations mav2000, on your new ride. Look forward to snaps et all.

I too am bitten by the new car bug and am torn between selling the Cedia or retaining it, let us see how it all turns out. Would you mind sharing the exit price for the Mitsubishi via pm, but only if you are comfortable doing so. Ciao

[iliketurtles]

Congrats mav! The Jetta looks stately in white and I'm glad you went for it over the City, there's no way the City would be a worthy successor to the Cedia.

Do add some more pics, hope you enjoy your Jetta for many many years to come!

[mav2000]

Originally Posted by etrast75

Congrats on your new buy. Wish you a hassle free and enjoyable ownership.

Thanks man.

Originally Posted by sreepathy

congrats mav2000. Couldn't suppress a smile while reading your post.
That said, I have some queries.
You said you didn't scrape a single bump with the Cedia. Since you have traveled with four or more people, did Jetta ever scrape the notorious speed breakers in Bangalore?

I did manage to scrape one, not in Bangalore, but in Krishnagiri, with 5 people in the car and full boot of laguage.

Originally Posted by khoj

Congratulations mav2000, on your new ride. Look forward to snaps et all.

I too am bitten by the new car bug and am torn between selling the Cedia or retaining it, let us see how it all turns out. Would you mind sharing the exit price for the Mitsubishi via pm, but only if you are comfortable doing so. Ciao

Thanks khoj and I will add some pics soon enough. I got 4 lacs + reg charges for my 6 year old Cedia. I had not done too many kms on the car though. I sold it at 45k kms and with the original tyres.

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Congrats mav! The Jetta looks stately in white and I'm glad you went for it over the City, there's no way the City would be a worthy successor to the Cedia.

Do add some more pics, hope you enjoy your Jetta for many many years to come!

Thanks man. Yours was one of the ownership threads that pushed me into checking out the Jetta. And you are right, I dont think I would have been happy with the City. It would have ended up as a stop gap solution till I could buy the Jetta or Octavia.

[dhruv45in]

Mod Note : There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

Congrats mav2000 on the exciting new ride!! And an interesting story to back it up as well. I am returning to India after spending some time abroad and am looking for a car. Reading your story I can just imagine how my car search is going to be. It doesn't matter how many test drives, reviews you read and people you ask about a particular car, we have to buy the one that the wifey likes in the end

[rpunwani]

Congrats mav2000, the Jetta is a great car

I had taken the TD of the 2.0 Diesel Highline & booked one in July 2012 with the promise that the car would be delivered before 30th Sep 2012. Two days after I booked the car, the VW Sales rep came back & returned the booking amount stating that he could only deliver the car in the 1st week of October. Three months later, I bought the Passat as I got a very sweet deal from VW.

Enjoy your car & post some pics.

[Car Fan]

Super write up, all the emotions we car enthusiasts can identify with!

Originally Posted by mav2000

Having said all this, if I had the option of buying the new Lancer (the version abroad), I don't think I would have test driven any car. I would have bought that without even test driving that, it was that good. In short, the Mitsubishi Cedia is a car which is somewhere between the European and Japanese/Korean cars. It was lots of fun to drive, well put together but was also cheap to own and relatively free of any niggles or issues.You could probably service it twice a year and you would never have any major issues. HM has effectively killed Mitsubishi cars in India.

Totally agree -- I have a 5-year old Cedia which I hope to keep for many more years. I would upgrade to the next gen Lancer without a thought if that were an option in the future. Cedia is a fantastic car for Indian conditions, and bulletproof Japanese reliability as well. Can't believe what HM has done to it.

My mother in law bought a Honda City 1-2 years ago, and during the process her driver asked me point blank why we are wasting our time checking out various models and not getting a Cedia! I had to explain that support could be an issue in the future -- an enthusiast like me might be willing to deal with it but it could be aggravating for a normal car buyer.