[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by chetans

How do we keep the bags in place on carrier?
also what are the options to cover them from rains?

You will have to tie the bags with ropes (criss-cross) so they are fastened to the carrier. Use tarpaulin (or thick plastic) to cover them from rain.

[AutoIndian]

Friends, today crossed the five digit mark, 10K on the odo. Could not capture the exact reading as I was on highway. Once I reached home, I captured the below pictures. This milestone has been reached in 8.5 months (pretty late by my standards). Was expecting the car to clock at least 2K kms per month. Hopefully after the 10K service I get more opportunities to venture out. Next Saturday I have booked the 10K service. Will share further updates on the service next week.

[GKMahajan]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Friends, today crossed the five digit mark, 10K on the odo.

Dear AutoIndian,

Congrats! I had expected you to cross this mark much earlier.
I have crossed my Jazz V CVT's 10k in 8 months. After this I expect to reduce the running - by giving this car to my wife for city duty mainly.

I was remembering you today, when I was at Sahyadri Motor's show room.
I had taken my wife and elder daughter to choose between TUV, Scorpio and XUV - only AT versions!
With the price increases in the near past, the XUV is going slightly out of reach for me. Also, the 3rd row did not seem as good as the Scorpio's! The 3rd row of the TUV is too small for us. All family members are average to above average in height!

Looks like I will be taking the Scorpio BS4 2wd AT. Any suggestions? Family includes my father in law (about 5' 4"), mother in law (about 5' 2"), my wife (5' 7"), my elder daughter (5' 4"), my younger daughter (5' 9") and myself (5' 10"). My wife and daughters have 'long' legs. So sitting space is critical. All will be travelling together less than 5% of the time. So, maybe the Scorpio is an overkill! Maybe the TUV is the ideal solution with occasional use of rented XUV! The costing (investment and running costs together) for TUV are just superb! The Scorpio is just that little better. We liked the bigger engine, the more comfortable ride, the AT vs AMT, 6 vs 5 gears, cruise control, auto headlamps, auto wiper, TPMS, 8 seat/Captain seat options, the bigger wheels, etc.

We should come to a conclusion in the coming days. I will wait for your response before I decide.

Thanking you in advance,

Girish Mahajan

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by GKMahajan

Dear AutoIndian, Congrats! I had expected you to cross this mark much earlier.

my Orange Tank's odo has been ticking very slowly, blame it on my office work. Had very few week ends at my disposal and in these 8 months I could manage only 4 short trips. However after this 10K service I am going to unleash the tank for sure.

I was remembering you today, when I was at Sahyadri Motor's show room. I had taken my wife and elder daughter to choose between TUV, Scorpio and XUV - only AT versions! With the price increases in the near past, the XUV is going slightly out of reach for me. Also, the 3rd row did not seem as good as the Scorpio's! The 3rd row of the TUV is too small for us. All family members are average to above average in height!

Will this car that you are hunting for, be your daily commute + your family outing car? If it is going to be only the latter, then why are you considering only automatics? You can have far more options if you are open to manual transmissions. However choice is yours.

Looks like I will be taking the Scorpio BS4 2wd AT. Any suggestions? Family includes my father in law (about 5' 4"), mother in law (about 5' 2"), my wife (5' 7"), my elder daughter (5' 4"), my younger daughter (5' 9") and myself (5' 10"). My wife and daughters have 'long' legs. So sitting space is critical. All will be traveling together less than 5% of the time.

Now the last statement seems to be ironical. Are you going for one of the above cars, which will me meeting your requirements just 5% of the time? In that case none of the above will make any sense

So, maybe the Scorpio is an overkill! Maybe the TUV is the ideal solution with occasional use of rented XUV!

Yeah, you are spot on there. For meeting your requirements 5% of the time, going for a rental car would be the best bet and you will also have the luxury of choosing a car as per the occasion/situation. A Scorpio/XUV/Innova on rent would make more sense.

The costing (investment and running costs together) for TUV are just superb! The Scorpio is just that little better. We liked the bigger engine, the more comfortable ride, the AT vs AMT, 6 vs 5 gears, cruise control, auto headlamps, auto wiper, TPMS, 8 seat/Captain seat options, the bigger wheels, etc. We should come to a conclusion in the coming days. I will wait for your response before I decide.

If your city:highway usage is going to be in the range of 80:20 or 90:10, then TUV would make more sense as it is compact (under 4 m), shorter turning radius, lighter weight, better fuel efficiency. Also you can accommodate an occasional 6th or 7th passenger. But if you are going to hit the highway quite often then Scorpio would be better suited. Have you tried the Storme? It is a very good mile muncher.

[GKMahajan]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Will this car that you are hunting for, be your daily commute + your family outing car? If it is going to be only the latter, then why are you considering only automatics? You can have far more options if you are open to manual transmissions. However choice is yours.

Dear AutoIndian,

This is a very tricky question! The family usage will be only 4~5 days a month - on 2nd and 4th weekends - six members. After having used one automatic for 8+ months, my wife and I are not willing to use manual options in the next car! PLUS - I am crazy about SUVs! If it is not automatic, then my wife will be reluctant to drive it - and I want her to!!

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Now the last statement seems to be ironical. Are you going for one of the above cars, which will me meeting your requirements just 5% of the time? In that case none of the above will make any sense

Ironic indeed - but in the last few months, this issue has got highlighted often!

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Yeah, you are spot on there. For meeting your requirements 5% of the time, going for a rental car would be the best bet and you will also have the luxury of choosing a car as per the occasion/situation. A Scorpio/XUV/Innova on rent would make more sense.

This option is okay if rented automatic SUVs are available. At present, Zoomcar and Myles are only offering manual versions of SUVs.

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

If your city:highway usage is going to be in the range of 80:20 or 90:10, then TUV would make more sense as it is compact (under 4 m), shorter turning radius, lighter weight, better fuel efficiency. Also you can accommodate an occasional 6th or 7th passenger. But if you are going to hit the highway quite often then Scorpio would be better suited. Have you tried the Storme? It is a very good mile muncher.

I had almost decided to go in for TUV. However, my family did a thumbs-down for the 3rd row. It makes total practical and financial sense to me. But the added features of Scorpio are tooooo tempting and the price difference seems reasonable!

Anyway, thanks for taking out so much time for me. You have helped. Now, I have to decide!

By the way, what if I am willing to add the Honda BRV-V-CVT to this? The price is less than Scorpio and more than TUV. The space is good enough for 6 pax. Many features of Scorpio are missing - but other than reverse indicators, reverse camera and cruise control - there is no real deal breaker. Or is there?? Also, I am not sure if I want to keep two horses from the same stable....

Regards,

Girish Mahajan

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by GKMahajan

By the way, what if I am willing to add the Honda BRV-V-CVT to this? The price is less than Scorpio and more than TUV. The space is good enough for 6 pax. Many features of Scorpio are missing - but other than reverse indicators, reverse camera and cruise control - there is no real deal breaker. Or is there?? Also, I am not sure if I want to keep two horses from the same stable

You read my mind there. I was thinking of suggesting you the BRV, but then held back as I thought you might be looking only for rugged, ladder-on-frame type SUVs. If you are open for a soft roader like the BRV, then I think the BRV Auto would tick most of your boxes. I would suggest test drive that. Given your requirements, I feel this would be the most suitable option.

[GKMahajan]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

You read my mind there. I was thinking of suggesting you the BRV, but then held back as I thought you might be looking only for rugged, ladder-on-frame type SUVs. If you are open for a soft roader like the BRV, then I think the BRV Auto would tick most of your boxes. I would suggest test drive that. Given your requirements, I feel this would be the most suitable option.

Dear AutoIndian,

Thanks.
"Wise men think alike."


I have already done a TD of the manual BRV. Nice car. Fits every spec of mine - except that it is not giving a feel of SUV - it is more of a MUV feel.
Also, I would like both my cars to be from different stables - preferably!

So, confused - as usual!

Girish Mahajan

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by GKMahajan

Dear AutoIndian, Thanks."Wise men think alike."

Ha ha ha,

I have already done a TD of the manual BRV. Nice car. Fits every spec of mine - except that it is not giving a feel of SUV - it is more of a MUV feel. Also, I would like both my cars to be from different stables - preferably! So, confused - as usual!

OK then, due to the two reasons cited above, no SUV feel & not from same stable, lets strike off the BRV from your list. Since you have one more constraint i.e car has to be automatic, have you tried the Duster AMT? It is a very good car except for the fact that the 6th or 7th passenger cannot be accommodated. But then just for 5% of your requirement, it wouldn't be wise to ignore the Duster AMT. If you still want the occasional 6th or 7th passenger to be carried along with you then don't look beyond the Scorpio AT or XUV AT (provided budget permits), period.

[AutoIndian]

As per my scheduled 10K service appointment today, I dropped my Orange Tank for its second free service at Kundan Motors in Chinchwad at 09:00am. Though the car interiors were good, the exteriors had picked up a lot of muck and dirty, thanks to the monsoon showers, that have been lashing the Pune city since the begining of July. So I didn't follow my weekly ritual of cleaning/washing the car for last four weeks as it was scheduled for its service and wash today. Some pics of the "dirty car"











Before starting for the service centre in the morning, I opened the bonnet and had a look at the coolant tank. The coolant level was almost nearing to the "MIN" level mark. I had topped it up to the "MAX" level in the 3rd week of May. So in 2 months and 3.5K running it has dropped by 15mm. So we can safely assume that the coolant level is dropping @ 5mm per 1000km, which is bit alarming.

[AutoIndian]

Till the time my regular service advisor appeared on the scene, I was chit-chatting with another TUV owner, who had brought his AMT for the 10K service over there. His car was mostly used on the highway (for ferrying school kids) and had covered 10K kms in 4 months. He was getting good mileage of 16-17 kmpl (tankful method). Only complaint he had was bounciness on second and third row (even if tyre pressure was maintained as low as 28 psi). He had faced absolutely no problems with his AMT. His car was adorned with the armor kit and looked somewhat like this. I guess he was not the owner and had some there to drop the car for service in behalf of the owner (may be he was the driver), because when I asked him the cost of the armor kit, he could not tell it. The front portion of the kit covering the fog lamps had already become loose.

[AutoIndian]

When my service advisor came in and started preparing the job card, I shared with him my laundry list of issues, as below. He had answers ready for most of them. His response to my issues is shown in "italics"

• Rough engine noise, during cold starts. Intermittent loss of power. I have to shut off the engine and then restart after which the engine becomes smooth. SA - This happens when the engine is cold and engine oil not warmed up sufficiently, it is called engine knocking. this is normal & no solution for this.
  
• Driver seat belt not retracting completely. SA - He checked it and said that it is normal
• Rear bumper mis-aligned from right side, fix it properly. Forgot to show him this, but he said that he will get it fixed
• Left side wash&wipe water jet/spray not covering the whole glass/windshield. SA - This is normal and no need of any adjustments
• Rear wiper water jet not going till the top of windshield. SA - He noted it down and hopefully does something to fix it.
• Coolant level is depleting 5mm every 1000 kms. Fix it, if this is regular behaviour then get 1 litre coolant can for topping up. SA - This is normal as the coolant evaporates through the reservoir cap
• Air filter cleaning. SA - This will be carried out as a part of regular servicing.

Besides this he mentioned that my car is listed for a recall on the below 3 points:

• ABS lamp continuous ON, cable setting
• Radiator hose replacement (as there were some coolant leakage complaints)
• EMS data flashing

I guess point#2 above should address the coolant level dropping issue and point#3 should address the knocking (engine getting rough/coarse issue).

As a part of regular service he mentioned the following will be done:

1. Replace engine oil/oil filter.
2. Replace differential oil.
3. Replace transmission oil.
4. AC vents cleaning
5. Wheel Alignment & balancing

The estimate for above work came to 5.8K + taxes. I politely informed him to knock off item# 4 & 5. I told him that AC is working fine and any AC work I will get it done before summer. He tried to convince me how important it was, but it was in vain. Also he tried to convince me how important was wheel alignment and balancing. I told him that car is going dead straight, when I take off both hands from steering wheel, so alignment is perfect. No steering vibrations of other noises from tyre, so balancing is also perfect. Net result: The estimate was reduced to 4K + taxes.

I was expecting car to be delivered in 3-4 hours, but due to the recall work I have been committed a delivery @ 04:30pm. Sincerely hoping they stick to their commitment and give back my car with above problems resolved, and of course no new problems induced (fingers tightly crossed)

[AutoIndian]

Got my Orange Tank back @ 06:00pm (instead of the committed delivery time of 04:30pm), due to which the service center scored one point less in the satisfaction feedback, otherwise it would have been a perfect 10. When I went there @ 4pm, car had gone out on a longish trial/test drive & I had to wait 45 minutes for the test driver to arrive. After car arrival he filled up the form and everything was OK and car was queued up for washing. Some snaps inside the workshop.











While I was at the workshop there was a KUV also being serviced. It was looking very cute, doesn't have much road presence and see how it stacks up against it elder sibling, the Cheetah







Then I also saw the accessorized TUV leaving the service centre & I observed that it had undergone wheel rotation. Look at the picture below. Rear left is a steel wheel, while others are alloys. It means the alloy has gone on the back door as a spare. So the spare cover fits well on the alloy wheel. Looking at this I have now planned to source an alloy from the service centre, remove the tyre from steel rim, fit it on the alloy and mount it on the back door as a spare.

[AutoIndian]

Before leaving the workshop I inquired about the extended warranty (EW). I was given the below sheet, which had 3 options, SHLD31, SHLD32 & SHLD33. Since I intend to keep the TUV for 5 years, I wanted the additional 2 year extended warranty, besides the company's 3 year, 1,00,000 km standard warranty. So I opted for SHLD32, 4th & 5th year or upto 1,20,000 km. Since I went for the EW beyond 60 days of car purchase but within one year period from date of sale of car, I had to pay Rs 15,656/-. If I had bought the same EW within two months of car purchase I would have saved Rs 575/-. Better late than never

The Extended Warranty options


The Extended Warranty Invoice


The 10K service invoice


The 10K service break-up

[AutoIndian]

When I started driving the car from service centre back to home, I observed that the pick has marginally reduced. On a closer look I observed that the idling rpm has now reduced from earlier 1000 rpm to 800-850 rpm range. Not sure if this has happened due to the EMS software flashing. Earlier on just releasing the clutch pedal the tank used to surge ahead. Also making way through traffic was so very easy, I used to control just on the clutch and brake pedal (without any accelerator input). Now due to decreased idling rpm, I have to be very careful while releasing the clutch pedal, not to stall the car. I think I will take some time getting used to it.

Though the reduced idling rpm is good from mileage perspective, I will have to adjust my driving habits. I will have to observe if the car can pull in second gear at idling rpm when it is fully loaded. Will share my observations in the coming days.





Since I had asked for a one litre coolant can, I got this one (obviusly I had to pay for it). Will keep it handy for top up in case the coolant level dips any further





The gear shifts have become very smooth post this service. Will have to take the tank on a long drive to really feel the difference. I was very much impressed with the car washing, vacuuming and interior cleaning. I believe the workshop deploys 3M people to carry out these activities. These people apply some 3M sprays over the hinges, another spray overt the battery terminals, polish the tyres with white paste and sponge. End results a spanking new car.

[ezee]

Good to see you are happy with service and performance. BTW whats Maxi care products of 533 in invoice?