[nivatakavacha]

Originally Posted by procrj

P.S: Why did you give roundtana a miss? Your ballista might spend a lot of time going round and round if you do stay near it

Thanks procrj! Yes, hoping to enjoy many more miles with the car; I am pretty sure I don't want to go neat the roundtanas haha and thankfully I dont live anywhere near it!

Originally Posted by GKMahajan

Dear nivatakavacha,

Even with a soft clutch and smooth gear shifts in my Honda City, I have gone in for a Jazz CVT. I have driven the City CVT too. Let me assure you - spending an hour in stop-go bumper-to-bumper traffic is quite tiring in MT. The difference is HUGE.

Most probably - you are very young and have a higher stamina! I alternate between WagonR manual and Jazz CVT and can vouch for the benefits of CVT or any AT for that matter. On a smooth highway, it makes no difference. However, in city traffic automatics are the only way forward.

Oh! And - this does not mean you have made a mistake! The City is a super vehicle even in the MT version.

One more thing - the City CVT does not have a smaller engine!

Girish Mahajan

Yes Sir, you are correct! Driving the Automatics is a boon in city traffic. I have read your ownership report as well. I am really not that young (33) but thankfully I am up for driving the MT so far.

Yes, the city does not have a small engine but it is not big either. I have not test driven the Honda city with CVT so I really cannot comment on the performance as yet. Hope I can do it someday in the near future. Thanks for your clarification. My earlier comment was out of line! My mistake!

Originally Posted by avisidhu

I'm guessing he means in comparison to US, by that yardstick the engine is certainly small and the City is a small car too

Yeah, I have driven a few cars over in the US and my favorite will always be the Pontiac G6. It is a pity that they stopped production of that car.

[Renukaprasad]

Congratulations on new car, have many happy miles. Nice way of writing,enjoyed reading the same. The color choice is good. Your photo shoot of Chennai with city are good. Your wife's comment about your photo shoot brought a smile as my wife complain similarly.

[Syed_Munazzir]

Congratulations nivatakavacha on your purchase

Honda City is the best car that you could have settled for in the C-Segment. Glad that you have made a great choice

Keep revving and drive safe.

[AppyS]

I am really sorry but just halfway through your post I am compelled to stop reading and comment on this thread. Sir you have immaculate writing and story weaving skills. I am sure this will be an amazing thread like one of those in tbhp, where I have been more interested in the story than the machine itself. Back to reading more of it. Thanks

[Srikanthan]

Congratulations on your new toy! A great car and I can second your buying experience with Capital Honda, GST Road. I came very close buying a City from them, but moved my preference to VW (bitten by torque bug)

Excellent write-up and great introduction of Chennai through the lens!

Best Wishes and safe rides.

[hareesh3395]

Congrats in your new car. City petrol is a sensible and a safe option in the segment. I feel SV variant is the most VFM variant in City. Do Add a nice alloys and upgrade to 195 section tyres to improve her stance and looks.

[BlazzingInferno]

Congratulations on the purchase of your new car, We had earlier got our Honda City V MT same colour as yours, from the same showroom. The service has been really good so far, they even work on Sunday's which not many can claim. You did manage to get the seat covers, rust protection, etc., all we managed to get from our bargain was a set of floor mats. Then there's the fact that the V model used be value for money as the showroom price was below 10L and hence reduced taxes, the price difference now is a staggering 1L more for the same model without any extras. We made our purchase in Oct 15' in case you were wondering. The blue light on the interiors looks cool, is there a different colour option available ? And how does the Blue light look during the night hours ? Does it stand out or gel with the interiors ? Between, Your post is well written and the part where you dedicated a whole section to Chennai is much appreciated.

[nivatakavacha]

Originally Posted by Renukaprasad

Congratulations on new car, have many happy miles. Nice way of writing,enjoyed reading the same. The color choice is good. Your photo shoot of Chennai with city are good. Your wife's comment about your photo shoot brought a smile as my wife complain similarly.

Haha! Thanks Renukaprasad!

Originally Posted by Syed_Munazzir

Congratulations nivatakavacha on your purchase

Honda City is the best car that you could have settled for in the C-Segment. Glad that you have made a great choice

Keep revving and drive safe.

Thanks a lot Syed Munnazzir; I see that you also have a Honda City! Drive safe my friend!

Originally Posted by AppyS

I am really sorry but just halfway through your post I am compelled to stop reading and comment on this thread. Sir you have immaculate writing and story weaving skills. I am sure this will be an amazing thread like one of those in tbhp, where I have been more interested in the story than the machine itself. Back to reading more of it. Thanks

Thanks for the lovely comment AppyS! It really made my day! I am glad that you liked the thread!

Originally Posted by Srikanthan

Congratulations on your new toy! A great car and I can second your buying experience with Capital Honda, GST Road. I came very close buying a City from them, but moved my preference to VW (bitten by torque bug)

Excellent write-up and great introduction of Chennai through the lens!

Best Wishes and safe rides.

Thanks Srikanthan for your comment. Which VW did you finally get? the Polo or the Vento? Hows the ASS here in Chennai?

Originally Posted by hareesh3395

Congrats in your new car. City petrol is a sensible and a safe option in the segment. I feel SV variant is the most VFM variant in City. Do Add a nice alloys and upgrade to 195 section tyres to improve her stance and looks.

Thanks Hareesh for your comment. Yes, Will upgrade to wider rubber for the first change. And Yes, I have already started looking at alloys to add for the car!

Originally Posted by BlazzingInferno

Congratulations on the purchase of your new car, We had earlier got our Honda City V MT same colour as yours, from the same showroom. The service has been really good so far, they even work on Sunday's which not many can claim. You did manage to get the seat covers, rust protection, etc., all we managed to get from our bargain was a set of floor mats. Then there's the fact that the V model used be value for money as the showroom price was below 10L and hence reduced taxes, the price difference now is a staggering 1L more for the same model without any extras. We made our purchase in Oct 15' in case you were wondering. The blue light on the interiors looks cool, is there a different colour option available ? And how does the Blue light look during the night hours ? Does it stand out or gel with the interiors ? Between, Your post is well written and the part where you dedicated a whole section to Chennai is much appreciated.

Thanks Blazing Inferno for your comment. Yes, I personally feel that the tax structure needs to be re-looked in Tamil Nadu. Above 10L exshowroom, the Tax is at 15%. I think that it should be changed to 15L now with all the steep increases in car prices over the last few years! and yes, that is why I settled for the SV variant. The blue lights were attached by the dealer and cost me 2000 Rs for the same. I don't think they have it any other color.

Especially at night, the blue lights look awesome; I will post a photo soon of it.
Thanks for your comment!!!

[Srikanthan]

Originally Posted by nivatakavacha

Thanks Srikanthan for your comment. Which VW did you finally get? the Polo or the Vento? Hows the ASS here in Chennai?

I went for the Vento TDI.

I use Sundaram Motors for my annual services. For minor niggles, I use VW Madras, near Thillaiganga Nagar subway. My rating for both of them would be 3.5/5.

[nivatakavacha]

It has been about 25 days since we got the car and now, the first service is also over; hence, here is the first update on our Ballista.

There was really nothing to report during this 1000 KM service for us; the only niggles that we had in the car was:

1. The reverse camera display stand was slightly wobbly.
2. The AC did not seem very efficient.

The car was given at 9 AM to Capital Honda, GST and promptly returned to us at 1 PM as we had mutually decided. The reverse camera stand was fixed firmly and the AC filter was cleaned. The cooling effect improved noticeably.

No money was paid for the first free service except the general tips. The service people said that the car was overall checked; all fluids checked and nothing was out of order. They gave us the car back after a full interior/ exterior wash. We also collected the RC book which had come to the dealer. I have not driven it much so far but since the first service is over, I intend to start testing the famed IVTEC engine.

I have two questions:

1. I want to fix a steering wheel cover for better grip. Can it be done without removing the steering wheel? Which is the best way? I have read on this forum that one should not remove a steering wheel as it might tamper with the airbag deployment. Is that true?
2. I also want to get better mats for the car as the stock ones are not great. I checked with 3M and they are quoting about 5000 Rs for the nomad mats. Are they good? Is there a cheaper option?

Other than that, it is so far so good for the Ballista; the family loves it (touchwood)!

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by nivatakavacha

2. I also want to get better mats for the car as the stock ones are not great. I checked with 3M and they are quoting about 5000 Rs for the nomad mats. Are they good? Is there a cheaper option?

Other than that, it is so far so good for the Ballista; the family loves it (touchwood)!

I have heard only good things about the 3M door mats and so they must be good. I am planning to get those mats for my car soon as well, especially considering my daughter who drops food, water etc on to the floor of the car. Not sure regarding cheaper alternatives but 3D Kagu is one option, though it is not the same type of mat as the 3M one (does not absorb water, for example)

And, Congrats on the car and the excellent ownership thread

[nivatakavacha]

Originally Posted by arvind71181

I have heard only good things about the 3M door mats and so they must be good. I am planning to get those mats for my car soon as well, especially considering my daughter who drops food, water etc on to the floor of the car. Not sure regarding cheaper alternatives but 3D Kagu is one option, though it is not the same type of mat as the 3M one (does not absorb water, for example)

And, Congrats on the car and the excellent ownership thread

Thanks for the comment arvind! Even I am inclined towards 3M mats at the moment in spite of the higher cost! I think I will go pay them a visit this saturday! Thanks once again for your comment!

[nivatakavacha]

Rat Attack:

The Ballista has covered about 1500 kms now and it really has been a pleasant fuss free car till now. On Sunday, we had to go to the airport to pick up a few friends who had come over to Chennai and we found that the AC was not working. The blower was just pumping out warm air and it really got uncomfortable inside. Since Capital Honda was on our way and near the airport, we took the Ballista there first. We had called ahead and the technicians were ready as soon as we arrived.

It just took the technician less than 30 seconds to figure out that the AC wire had been cut; thanks to rats. It looks like this has happened to others as well.



The aforementioned wire was just behind the front right fog lamp housing. A work card was immediately initiated and he did some jugaad to complete the circuit and the wire connection as shown below in the photo.


Since it was a jugaad job, I was not entirely happy that they charged me Rs 850 for the work; but nevertheless since I was in a hurry, I paid up and left.
The AC has been working fine after that. Any Suggestions on how to avoid the rat problem in the future?

Also this weekend, we travelled up to Mahabalipuram again with our friends who had come over and the Ballista set a blistering pace throughout the journey. The more I drive; the more I am falling in love with the Ballista. It has really been a fuss free ownership experience so far (touchwood).

[Jack Sparrow]

<Rat Attack>
Try buying Tobacco strings(each piece costs RS 10) and tie it inside the bonnet. The tobacco smell is a big deterrent for rodents.

Also check the below link.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...nt-menace.html

[nivatakavacha]

Originally Posted by Jack Sparrow

<Rat Attack>
Try buying Tobacco strings(each piece costs RS 10) and tie it inside the bonnet. The tobacco smell is a big deterrent for rodents.

Also check the below link.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...nt-menace.html

Thanks for the links Jack Sparrow; we have already given the car the tobacco treatment. Bought a few tobacco leaves, wet it slightly and put in various parts of the bonnet.

I am also reading the other teamBHP thread for more info. Thanks!