[TheHelix0202]

Glad to see people enjoying MPI engines even now. Gives nostalgia, tbh, without all the turbo engines saturating the market.

[Shanksta]

Update : 20k kms and Third free service

I have been clocking a lot of kms on the Verna and how. Since my last update in the third week of December I have covered another 9000kms. Current odo reading is 20453 kms as I type this post.

Sena has been super reliable *touchwood* and extremely capable. That 1.5 NA petrol mill with that 6-speed gearbox is one the best drivetrains I have come across for everyday use. It is not the peppiest or quietest but it is a good mix of frugality and fun.

Fuel Economy:

I track every tankful in Fuelio and attached below is the statistics for the past 20k kms. Having read the poor fuel economy the 1.2 Hyundai mill provides inside city I am more that happy with the city mileage of 10.2-11.5 kmpl from the bigger 1.5 engine. On the highways she constantly surprises me with great figures when driven consistently at sane speeds. I typically use the cruise control at 90kmph as much as possible.



Third free service @ 20417 kms

Completed the third free service at V3 Hyundai. Have been happy with their service and hence went back to them. The third free service included replacement of engine oil(3.6 liters), oil filter and AC filter. I got the air filter also replaced as it was really dirty and inexpensive at ~270 bucks. Politely declined the wheel balancing, alignment and rotation as I prefer to do it outside. Overall it costed me ₹2895 including taxes for the consumables and spares. From the next service the labour is roughly 2900 for the Verna as per Hyundai service calculator.

Road trips

Coming back to the topic of munching 9k kms in 3 months. I did a few road trips. First was a quick day trip to Yercaud for a drive on 30-December-2022. Agenda was to drive up to Yercaud followed by a quick lunch in Selvi mess, Salem and back home in Chennai by 8PM. Covered around 760kms.

Second was a trip to Kumta, KA during the long weekend in January with friends. Covered Kumta, Jog falls, Honnavar, Maravante Beach and in total about 2277 kms over 4 days.



Third was a solo trip to Odisha to attend my close friend’s wedding in his hometown Nabrangpur. Used his wedding as an opportunity to also drive to Chitrakoot waterfalls in Chhattisgarh and Satkosia Tiger reserve. Covered 3172 kms in 6 days. The roads in Odisha were splendid and I thoroughly enjoyed the solitude. The standout stretches for me were:

* Vizianagaram to Nabrangpur via Salur, Semiliguda and Koraput. This has to be the most scenic and smoothest roads I have driven in. Except a few kms of bad road near Salur and Ramabhadrapuram the entire stretch was fantastic with wonderful single carriageway that begged you to push the car.

* Nabarangpur to Balangir via Ampani. Such a beautiful riad with some nice ghat section while crossing Ampani.

* Baudhgarh to Daspalla via NH57. This definitely belongs to the top 10 best roads in India. Smoooth roads with the right curves and wide run off areas on either side cutting through the forest with minimal traffic.




In Conclusion

I am totally in love with the Verna after thoroughly testing her prowess across multiple terrains, seasons and states. We have been to Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Maharasthra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in the past 7+ months of getting her home.

Did it make sense to buy a petrol vehicle with the kind of usage I have ?
Definitely Yes ! No regrets ! I saved close to 2.2 lakhs upfront and have not yet spent that much on fuel and maintenance till now. Not to forget the saving in the overall interest since I took a smaller loan. Yup, worth it.

I will continue to update this thread as I clock more mileage. Till then stay safe and drive safe everyone!

[shabeermohamed]

It's a very good no-nonsense family sedan. Easy to maintain and fairly satisfying if you are not an enthusiast. Both Hyundai and VW have however turned on the heat with the Turbo Charged engines that gets your pulse racing. I guess it's time for you to trade in your car and upgrade.

[Shanksta]

Update: 30K kms and 4th Service

Since my last update on 27th March 2023, Sena has been driven around another 10367kms in 3 months. I have done a lot more trips and munched highway miles like there is no tomorrow:

* Chennai - Kalasa - Kumta - Chennai -> 1818.6 kms

* Chennai - Coimbatore - Chennai -> 983.6 kms

* Chennai - Goa - Chennai -> 2101.9 kms

* Chennai - Mumbai - Chennai -> 2652.8 kms

* Chennai - Pondy - Chennai -> 253.6 kms

The Scare:

During the Kalasa trip, while trying to reach our Airbnb homestay(which was pathetic) I had a major scare when the concrete road I was following ended abruptly turning into a gravel road with a huge elevation difference of 4 ft. I was doing 40kmph and the road ended at a curve. The Verna ended up diving and I thought the sump might have cracked. Luckily only the plastic engine guard had cracked with a part of it ripped out. After returning home, I contacted my service centre and placed an order. After 2 days the part arrived and the total damage to the wallet was Rs.1432 (Part- 904, labour-250 & tax- 278). Also had them inspect the rest of the car and everything was in order.

Also during this trip the Airbnb was located in a place which was proper 4*4 territory, the host kept assuring me that sedans can come if you are careful and ended up doing it slowly with caution. Extremely impressed with the Verna post this trip.

The broken engine guard



New engine guard fitted, the lip is a little scuffed up but no other issue otherwise.



Goa Trip



Drove down to Goa during the May Day long weekend. Took the route suggested by BHPian Parag after crossing Bengaluru i.e. Hubbali - Kalaghatgi - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Polem. The road from Kalaghatgi to Yellapur is an epic driver's road with amazing crests and curves. This is one of the few state highways where you can maintain good speeds.

Post crossing into Goa, took almost 3 hrs to do Polem to Mandrem. Ended up driving 1075kms that day in 18 hrs including stops. Would definitely not recommend doing South to North Goa in the dark, the oncoming traffic especially the locals use very powerful lights that are always in high beam. Had a splitting headache till the next afternoon.

Mumbai trip



A friend was getting married and the venue was Mumbai, what better excuse to travel than this and also having relatives in Mumbai was the icing. Headed off to Mumbai for a week, thanks to WFH. Started around 4:40AM on a Saturday, drove till Karad and stayed at Fern residency.

Chennai to Ranipet has become a pain nowadays what with countless diversions and endless construction, it takes almost 3 hours to cross this 98km stretch from home. Post this it was peaceful drive till NICE road. NICE road to Tumkur is again a slow stretch with crazy drivers and post Tumkur it is a peaceful run all the way till Hubli. Hubli-Dharwad is again a slow stretch due to heavy truck traffic and the single carriageway with steep elevation worsening the situation. Post this it is an again a fun drive all the way till Koganoli toll plaza. Once you enter Maharastra the traffic is constant and you need to be careful of slow moving tractors and 2-wheelers on the highway. The road condition is good though.

On Sunday, drove from Karad to Navi Mumbai in 6 hours. Maintained a constant 80kmph. Nearing Pune, there were constant bottlenecks and traffic Jams till the expressway. The MPEW(Mumbai Pune Expressway) has become very dangerous with extremely crazy drivers since my last drive back in March 2022. Also while passing one of the overhead bridges, my car was splattered with green paint (they were painting the railing ). Stopped at the food plaza before Khalapur and had a nice 1 hour workout under the hot sun cleaning all the paint before it dried up. Used all my might and the sanitising wipes I had with me liberally to remove every last speck of green paint.

The return journey was uneventful and fun. Left Mumbai on Thursday and stayed overnight in Hotel Anand the Grand(highly recommended) in the Hubli-Dharwad bypass. The next day left around 6 AM and reached Chennai by 8PM.

The Verna was just great during this drive and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The 4th service experience at 30032 kms

I always book my service appointment on a Sunday. I take the car myself and stay back monitoring the work done. However, this time I decided to leave the car and come home to see if there is a difference in the work they do. Glad to report everything went well.

Landed up at the service centre at 9:00AM, service advisor attended to me in 15 minutes and a job card was created. Got an estimate of Rs.8440+taxes with a few unwanted jobs added like AC cleaning-1900, cowl top cleaning-800 and fuel injector cleaning additive - 800. Made them remove these three and the final estimate for only the general service involving oil change, oil filter change, air filter change, AC filter change and labour totalling to about 5900. I was back home by 10:30AM. Received an update by 11:30 with the picture of my car on the lift and approval for wiper blade change (which I rejected). By 2:00PM received a call from SA to come by 4:30PM to pickup the car. Reached the service centre by 4:30PM and was out by 5:00PM. The final bill was Rs.5991.

The job done was neat and of course as with all service centres I usually come back home and thoroughly wipe the interiors with a microfibre to remove any smudges left behind.

Overall the Verna has been a *touchwood* no-nonsense car to own while also being able to satisfy the driver in me. 30000kms in 305 days is new personal record for me and despite being a petrol the Verna did not break the bank with fuel costs.


Fuel Stats:

The lifetime average stands at 14.146 kmpl with best being 18.855 kmpl and the worst being 9.393 KMPL in the city recently when the whole of Chennai was choked up for a week due to metro work.