[Path_Finder]

It was about 2 months back that I suddenly realized that my IKON was getting 5 years old and is time to replace it. The IKON was a lovely car that served my purpose well and it was really sad to let it go – but since it was on company lease for me, I had very little option, else would be losing out much on tax implications.(http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...e-my-ikon.html) And the hunt for a perfect upgrade began - budget was a bit open and flexible; but the criteria were clear.

• I am the one in driver’s seat – so the driving pleasure matters most.
• Adaptable for daily Bangalore traffic rides as well occasional highway trips
• Reasonably powerful engine – but more marks for responsiveness and handling
• Ground Clearance matters a lot – I hate those ground hugging ones especially when one wants to take differently on some patchy roads (city or countryside!)
• Boot space – IKON used to get filled for long trips; so no compromise on that
• Turning radius is very important along with a comfortable steering – that is the one that gives you ultimate agility on the roads of today (& tomorrow)
• FE is important; but not an ultimate decider for my 10-12K km per year runs
• No compromise on safety – ABS, EBD, airbags, crumble zones etc. gets high marks
• Like some of those ffancy eatures in top end variants – but some compromise acceptable
• Above are all my criteria – but then it had to be comfortable for my family of 4 – so their feedback after a TD matters.
• And some weightage for looks and interiors – after all they are the visible signs of your signature.

Just a month to go to get the new car; it was a pretty tight timeline to decide with all the above criteria and an otherwise busy schedules. Did a quick comparison of all the options by checking thru specs - mainly around engine specs, GC, Boot, turning, features etc on official and unofficial websites – WOW!.. Checked some user reviews to confirm on some of the points. WOW again!!... But the real proof is in checking it out and the mission started with 3 or 4 test drives every weekend. And thus started the “What Car?” search. Sedan or SUV? – Family ruled out the latter. Petrol or Diesel? – No real cost advantage for my usage level with diesel, so the rest of criteria matters.

Test drives and dealer visits covered a wide spectrum – SX4 ZXi, Verna Xxi ABS & CRDi ABS, Fiesta Sxi & S, Magnum LT & TCDi, Corolla H2/H5, City VTEC, Civic MT&AT and the CEDIA. The SX4 was great on the boot, GC, steering and features, it was poor on interiors and very importantly in turning radius. Verna was a compromise on boot and safety and even space, Fiesta lacked the experience (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ectations.html), Magnum scored low on driving pleasure and turning. Corolla was great, but the model change looming; Civic was riding on hype but poor on GC, boot and turning and so on. Each one is a long story by itself and all had its share of merits too – to cut the story short – Head and heart, the clear winner for me was the CEDIA. The test drive was the most pleasurable and it matched all of my criteria.

This is at a time when many of the peers were blindly going for the Civic or waiting for the Altis. I could have done the same, but chose to be different from the herd. Next came the final choice on variant and color – after a bit of conflict, head gave way to the heart – if it had to be different, if it had to be stunning, elegant and yet majestic, the Belle Beast had to be CEDIA SPORTS Yellow!

It has been exactly a month for me now with this head turner. The story of how I managed to get the last available piece, the dealership experience, first 30 days/800km run and first service – each is an experience by itself – each has been great and it has stirred up lot of conversations. To keep this post short, will try to cover some of these later.

[prateekswarup]

Congrats on the new buy! A Yellow Cedia ! Definetely noticable Pics please!

[HappyWheels]

Congrats on the new buy, PathFinder. Especially when you got the last piece, I must say it was a close call.

What all freebie's and discounts did you get?

Don't you think it was risky going to the last piece? But then, when you follow the heart, I guess, there isn't much to reason out!

And yes, a short and sweet experience write up. :-)

Waiting for the other experience post.

[Maibaa]

Congratulations on the new purchase! It was a bold and good decision going for yellow.

Having chosen red during my purchase, I sometimes wish I had gone for yellow.

[Path_Finder]

On price:
Initial response was there was only one Sports model in stock, further stock would take end of September, and so there was no offer on this. Spirit & Select had an offer of free insurance (approx 29K). But I insisted on corporate discount after checking which they came back with 20K and later increased to 30K. Later I got to know they had 2 in stock, both yellow. The second was hooked for someone who was waiting for the auspicious time which was 3 weeks away. While debating on various aspects, I got a feeler that since yellow was not a very preferred color, they were willing to yield. But time was running out for me and there was suddenly the issue of 2% additional tax from Aug 1st. For me since it was company purchase, the PO process also would take time. Tossed different offers between the grey Spirit and yellow Sports and finally closed in on the yellow sports at 9.97lacs (without insurance). But the company PO took 2 weeks by which time new tax rates came and they were not ready to honor the PO and wanted additional 20K. And then I got into a re-negotiation and in return for them accepting the PO, I agreed for a separate payment of 8K. The committed freebies of sun film, idol and perfume remained in the deal. Thus the final price was 10.05L (plus insurance) – because of all these special situations the final discount on their list came to about 64K. Good one I presume!

All this was at the only dealer in Bangalore presently – Southern Motors.

[Path_Finder]

Originally Posted by Maibaa

Congratulations on the new purchase! It was a bold and good decision going for yellow.

Having chosen red during my purchase, I sometimes wish I had gone for yellow.

Thanks Maibaa.

Yes – the yellow is a bit odd color. But it fits for the Sports model. In fact many of the peers who said “Aayee…” on hearing about yellow changed their stance after seeing the beast. After all the king of the jungle is yellow and he stands most majestic!

[ashish22]

great buy path_finder, the yellow sports cedia is absolutely stunning and gets my full points. I respect this car a lot and whenever i see this car on road it gives a smile on my face. Its the best drivers car below 10L

[redsfx]

Congrats dude. Makes the two of us now with yellow cars within a months time on team-bhp. Yellow cars are head-turners so people tend to hit you car rather than you hit them. So be careful and have fun!!!

[mobike008]

Fantastic buy. And, lucky you for getting the last one!

[iceman7]

congrats , and some pictures please

just noticed. redsfx has now become yellowRS. Way to go guys.

[zaks]

.. and what's the mileage ? just kidding
Have fun with the new car. What do you think is it's most sell-able feature?

[Path_Finder]

Thanks ashish22, mobike008, prateekswarup

Originally Posted by redsfx

Congrats dude. Makes the two of us now with yellow cars within a months time on team-bhp. Yellow cars are head-turners so people tend to hit you car rather than you hit them. So be careful and have fun!!!

Yah! Remember having gone thru your post on yellow vRS. That was a great buy too. And indeed yellow is a head turner – very visible and noticeable.

Originally Posted by iceman7

congrats , and some pictures please

Thanks.

I found it difficult to get a photo session. Battery ran out on the day I took delivery. My basement parking did not seem to be a right spot to highlight the features. The 50 ft long muddy slush which I can avoid before getting out to the world kept me a bid disappointed always. Finally I managed some last weekend. Will try posting soon.
Can someone give a pointer on how I can add the t-bhp watermark to the photos before uploading.

Originally Posted by zaks

.. and what's the mileage ? just kidding

Too early to confirm on mileage. Second tank-full close to getting over at 830km – So it must be about 10 – all in Bangalore with a/c

[sj_koova]

Hey Congrats and welcome to the Cedia Club.
Waiting for the pics.

[cooldude1988765]

Nice write and congrats on the yellow cedia. cedia looks extremely sporty in yellow.
Waiting for the pics.

[Path_Finder]

The Majestic Side View


Standing out in the crowd!


Posing for a close up!


More pictures on page 2