[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

Rajiv, The guys did use fewikwik on the door pads. I want to go in for reversing/parking sensors now but am a bit undecided. How useful do you find them in every day use.

Modes please change the title as requsted earlier

Not just feviquick, but did the soldered the joints back.

And YES, reverse sensor are too good and a great help in specially daily drive and parking. Most of the time you will not even look back while reversing.

But my suggestion is, do not go for model with display on RVM as it vibrates very badly. Go for 4 sensors and display at dash. See the SX4 accessories brochure for example

So go for it worth every penny you will spend.

Get the sensors fitted in your presence. Make sure they drill machine for making holes and placement of sensors are proportionate.

Xenos brand should cost you 2800 from dealer and 3200 from MGA.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

I took delivery of my black SX4 Zxi on Mar 31,2008 from AutoPace Network Chandigarh( thru CSD Jallandhar). The delivery process was efficently handled and after the small ceremony( photo and sweet box ) I collected my son from my relatives place and set off for Noida a 6.40 P.M.

Positives

1) Great seating position. You can tilt the steering and the driver's seat is height adjustable giving a commanding view of the road.
2) Ergonomically laid out controls and every thing falls in hand easily without having to stretch too much.
3) Great Climate control with excellent rotary controls tha fell great to operate.
4) Equivpment level is good with Climate contol, integrated stereo, fog lamps, ABS, Airbags and hug 16 inch alloy wheels with 205 mm tyres.
5) the car looks agressive with the flared fenders and big alloys and this attracted me to the vehicle.
6) The engine is smooth and powerful and refined.
7) The steering mounted ICE controls are a great boon whilet negotiating the city that is Delhi.
8) Good suspension which soaks up bad roads. The huge grounf clearance is a boon on poor roads. The road holding is good although the steering is a bit low on feedback and the car has significant bodyrol while being drien spiritedly on twisting roads.
9) Good fuel consumpton. 12 KMPL with mostly city driving in 3rd gear and 100% AC. Can touch 16 KMPL on highways .
10) Great boot.


Negatives:

1)The gearbox has some harshness especially whilst engaging the first
gear from neutral.
2) Rear visibilty is poor especially with the rear seat neck restraints obstructing the view. Rear sensors are surely needed for parking/reversing and preventing damage to the bumpers by hitting the roadkerb, stones etc on the road.
3) There is too much tyre noise at speeds over 60 on the highways. Maruti should provide better rubber than JK Vectas.
4) Seating is not good for more than two people on the rear bench seat. This is due to the huge transmission tunnel and the protruding arm rest.

Issues faced:

Sticky indicator control stalk. Switches off automatically only on complete lock.

To summarise:

On the whole I am satisfied with my decision to go in for the car. It is a true VFM package with good comfort, safety and extremely good looks. I look forward tousing it on intercity trips and exploiting the capabilities of the car.

Very precise review.

The FE your are getting in city and highways is excellent for SX4. It takes us a lot to extract the same from our Baleno.

[rajneeesh]

Thanks Rajiv,
I did not know that the display is available in the dash. Will check it out.

Aaggoswami, . The Sx4 does give 12KPL but you have to watch the tacho and have a light right foot. Not exactly what you would like to do with a 1.6 l machine but the car's consumption rises pretty rapidly over 3000 rpm.

[rajneeesh]

5600 Km update.

The car has now completed 6 months and 5600 Km in my garage. It could be more, but I use bot the Indica and the SX4, so the mileage gets split between t two vehicles.

Over the last 6 months the car has had one long trip ( Noida- Nainital- Dehradun- Noida) and is used mostly for my runs between Ohla and Noida.

The car has always returned over 10.5 KMPL. This was the cas in August when Delhi roads resembled the Lunar landscape and the bumper to bumper traffic lost the race to the slowest snail.

After the 5000Km service the car is consistenly retuning a mileage of over 12.5 KMPL. Perhaps, the engine has opened up a bit, the roads are in a better condition in October, the lower temperatures in the morning means the AC has a lighter work load or may be it is a cleaner Air Filter. Any whichways I am delighted and hope that the trend continues.

I have been going to Motorcraft Noida, and they do service the car well. A pleasant change from Marketing Times, Okhla. The cr has picked up a few scratches and the bumper has taken a knock which has been attended to by the folks at Motorcraft.

The car is happiest when cruising on open roads, and the high GC helps it tackle the broken roads easily. Some areas that do bother me is the high noise ( JK Vectras and big rear view mirrors to blame). It is a bit fidgety in bumper to bumper traffic at low rpm and has a tendency to stall or jerk.

The Stanley seat covers are comfortable and easy to maintain and I have no post purchase second thoughts.

To sum it up, it has been a satisfying 6 months and 5600 Km with the car.

P.S . ( though the colour black looks good when clean, it looks very dirty real fast. It is best if you have a driver who keeps wiping the dust off every few hours)

[neeraj_infopark]

Guys my SX4 is giving 14 kmpl in city 80% AC. done 2000 km as of now.

[viveklk]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

I am getting 11-12 in city with 100% AC. I have never opened windows for more than few seconds.

My observation is that SX4 is very sensitive on RPM and a little spirited driving can reduce the FE badly

A second it. I get pretty much 11 to 12kmpl with AC always! I'm a long drive freak & drive often about 500 to 1000Kms getting 15-16kmpl

This is awesome car for long drive

[nayaksudhir]

The Stanley seat covers are comfortable and easy to maintain and I have no post purchase second thoughts.

[nayaksudhir]

The Stanley seat covers are comfortable and easy to maintain and I have no post purchase second thoughts.

Hi Rajneesh,

Where did you pick your stanley leather seat covers from? If you don't mind, please share the cost and dealer location in Noida.

Any other accessory 'inside' the car which you would recommend ?

[viveklk]

Guys, I'm done 6500 kms on my SX4 by now but whenever I drive through small pits on bad roads I hear strange sound particularly from rear right wheel. As if someone hits the car from outside. Has anybody experienced it?

Let me know your comments, advice? It will be great help...

[rajneeesh]

Please check if the mud flaps are firmly in place.

[rajneeesh]

The car has now completed 40 months and has clocked 32K Km. The low mileage is on account of my office having shifted from Okhla to Noida ( a mere 6 km from home). Moreover, I tend to use the Ford Figo ( purchased about 7 months back) more frequently as it a diesel and lot easier to park and drive.

The car has picked up a lot of scratches and some dents (on LHS front and RHS rear doors) having been banged by motocyclists. I plan to have the denting and painting done and the bumpers repainted as soon as the weather is less humid.

The car has been returning approx 10 KPL( on account of shorter trips). I have not faced any problems so far. The brake pads have been replaced .I have also replaced the original wiper blades that had deteriorated with Hella wiper blades. They work really well.
The only other issue has been the boot lid not staying up. The same was fixed by Motorcraft Noida by repacing the balancer rods (under extended warranty). The cigarette lighter also does not work properly and will have to be attended to. The Stanley upholstery has coped well and still looks great even after more than 3 years of rough use ( I have two young sons). Money well invested! The interior plastics have coped well and have not faded at all.

The service costs have been reasonable ( except for the wheel alignment and balancing at MASS).

The car except for the scratches and dents runs as well as it did 3 years back. The electricals, ICE, Climate control work really well. Interiors look pretty much as they did when the car was newly bought.

The frequent petrol price increases have started bothering me a bit ( esp as I havew an option in form of the Figo Diesel). Figo is the preferred choice for most out of town trips.

The ground clearance gives you the confidence to maintain speeds on degraded/ damaged roads with gay abandon. I have had passengers gawking in surprise when they see the car being driven at 80 kmph over severely degraded roads.

I just wish that MSIL uses better quality paints for its cars.( My 7 year old Indica had better paint and looked really nice after a shampoo and polish).

Although the car is now amongst the oldest C segmenters it still looks aggressive and macho.

I would rate the car and the owneship experience at 8/10.

[rajneeesh]

40000 KM Update:

The car has completed 40 K km and 4 years. It went for the 40 K service ( which is a major service) yesterday to Motorcraft Noida. The damage came to Rs 13,781 . The service cost included Rs 4,000 towards A/C service. This amount does not include wheel balancing, rotation and allignment. I will be getting them done from a specialised tyre walla. Members may please share their suggestions about reliable tyre wallas in Noida.

The car has not been clocking a heavy mileage as it is not used for more than 12 days per month. My office is a good 32 Km from my residence in Noida. However, I travel approx 8-10 days a month. Moreover, the mile-munching responsbility has now shifted to the Ford Figo or " Snowy" as we like to call her. This machine has clocked 27 K Km in 17 months.

The SX4 " Kali Kaluti" has been a consistent performer. She has never let me down in the last 50 months she has been with the family. The only expense, other than regular service, has been a battery change. Like other cars in NCR, she has had her share of scratches and minor dents and gone to the denter/ painters shop on a couple of occassions.

The radio is misbehaving a bit and a trip to Nippon Auditronics is now due. Other than this, it has bee a "fill it, shut it and forget it" performance, and has so far lived upto MSIL's reputation.

Unlike the notoriety it enjoys as a gas guzzler, I have been getting a consistent mileage of 12-13 Kpl ( with 100% AC) since the last report in August. In winters she has surprised me by returning between 13.5 - 14.5 kilometres per litre of Indian Oil regular petrol.
I love the commanding driving position, the space inside the car, conveniences like ACC and steering mounted ice controls. The high ground clearance is a boon and I never have to bother about scraping the undercarriage on the worst roads that NCR has to offer ( including post monsoon Moom scapes). The car is still on the JK vectras which are pretty nosy but long lasting. These boots have another 25-30000 Km left in them. The Boot is humungous and appreciated by all during runs to the airport/ on vacations.

The Interior plastics are coping fine and have not shown any signs of fade in the Delhi summers. The Stanley upholstry is worth ever dime I spent on it.

I have no complaints with the car. However SX4 is now a more than 5 year old model. I have been thinking of a repalcement for sometime now. However, none of the cars in the Rs 9-12 L bracket seem to excite me enough to repalce the "Kali Kaluti". Sure, the current day cars like the Vento, City and the Cruze are better than the SX4. However, does that mean that I will spend 6-10L (money I will have to spend on top of the Rs 4.25-4.5 L I will get for the SX4). The answer as things stand today is a clear NO/ NADA.

I am looking for a vehicle that will excite me without burning too big a hole in my pocket. The Ford Ecosport may offer that, but is is still some time away. Till then it is the good ole "kali Kaluti".

[rajneeesh]

54 K Update.

The car is now five years and 5 months old with almost 54000 KM on the ODO. The car is running well . In the last few months some minor problems have surfaced . First the Radio reception is "iffy" . I have had the stero checked by Kenwood and as per them there are no problems with the unit. Need to get the antenna/ wiring checked.

The Stock JK Vecras are at the end of their life. The FE is 12KPL. I am more than satisfied with the car which still has a lot of life left in it. I have booked the Ecosport and expect the delivery in next two months. Letting Kali Kaluti go will be a painful decision and she sure will be missed.

[rajneeesh]

The "Kali Kaluti " went for the 60 K service a fortnight back. The Odo reading at that point in time was 59.2 K. I am planning a trip to Ladakh and wanted to have the vehicle serviced a month before the departure date.

In addition to the regular 60 K service ( oil change, spark plug replacement etc) the RHS wing mirror was replaced ( knocked down by a scooterist a week before, the power window switches on the driver side door were replaced, the front suspension rods were replaced, there was some bumper repair charges.

The final bill came to approx Rs 13.4 K. The car is running fine and I am looking forward to the Ladakh trip. The car is over 6 years old and my service costs to date have been significantly lower than what I have spent on my Figo TDSI which 42 months old but has 57.6 k on the clock.


I WOULD REQUEST ON OF THE MODERATORS TO MOVE IT TO THE LONG TERM OWNERSHIP REPORT SECTION.

[rajneeesh]

The old warhorse now has 64K on the odo. She is just back from a 3526 Km trip to Ladakh. After reading a number of TL's and making a trip to Sach Pass last year I was confident that "kali Kaluti" could do the Ladakh trip. If J Ravi's Linea could do it, the SX4 surely could.

I have been planning this trip for almost a year now. During the last few months I followed the TL's to Ladakh ( thanks to Tanveer, Suman, Lord of Gandor, J Ravi and many others. The thread on Ladakh by Tanveer was a great source of information, as were some threads from BCM Touring. I took tips from Rajeev ( RK Bharat) who also started on his trip to Ladakh in his SX4 on the same day ( 7th June) and had made two trips to Kashmir in the last year.

The planning included putting together a rudimentary tool kit. I also carried some engine oil, coolant , a spare bulb, a few spare fuses and M Seal. I had got the car serviced a month earlier ( 60 K service) and had the alignment done on the eve of departure.

Throughout the trip the car performed impeccably. In the plains I maintained speeds of 100 -110 Km so as not to strain her. She was loaded to the gills with four people and their luggage.The ambient temperatures throughout the day were between 42-45 degrees and the AC was working flat out.

The roads were a mixed bag. Fantastic at some places and terrible at others.During the whole trip I did not have more than 3-4 under body hits. However, the plastic engine cover took a lot of abuse and had to be repaired in Leh after the run from Hunder (She conquered Khardungla pass on this run). The only other bit of maintenance was getting the air filter cleaned with compressed air.

The toughest stretch in my opinion was the Zoji La Pass. The guard sacrificed itself and protected the engine. It is now beyond repair and I will have to get a replacement. (After I busted the sump in the Figo during my trip to Chail last year, under-body hits really give me the blues).

Since we came back from Srinagar, I did not get the opportunity to drive from Leh to Manali. ( the roads were in a poor shape with massive jams and I did not want to take the risk with wife and kids)

On the whole trip the car returned a mileage of approx 12 Km which is excellent. The AC was on for the entire duration in the plains and for some of the running in the hills. A lot of distance was covered wit the car in 2nd gear ( Zoji La, Khardung La, Chang La passes had numerous hair pin curves ).

Around this time last year, I had booked the EcoSport as a replacement of the kali Kaluti. However, endless delays in delivery and the price increases by Ford made me change my mind. Boy! am I glad I did that. The SX4 does everything the EcoSport can do. Moreover, it is a lot more spacious ( huge boot) and MSIL service network and quality is way superior to Ford .

There is a lot of life left in her and I intend to keep her for a couple of years more. She is excellent for long trips and I am already thinking of the next trip.

Moderators: PLEASE MOVE THIS THREAD TO THE LONG TERM OWNERSHIP REPORTS. THE CAR IS OVER 6 YEARS OLD WITH 64 k ON THE CLOCK.