[nnandi]

Steed: Honda City ZX VTEC+.

How arrived at this baby:
I had initially asked for help when I decided to buy this car last year. (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sedans...08-launch.html
Though a lot of fellow-bhpians asked me to get the new car (ANHC), I loved the ZX Vtec (NHC-2G) for everything it had, especially for the plushness of it's interiors. Hence went ahead!
A little flashback:
When I decided to buy my second car during Sep 2008, my choice was Laura Ambiente black. I had always been mesmerized with the Octy. With the launch of Laura, my love had transformed into an obsession. But several factors (severe recession times, skoda dealership woes in b'lore, high cost of maintenance and spares) made me rethink. Decided I need to give some more time to get into the “Czech-German League”.
Meanwhile, wife always loved City. So took a TD (almost reluctantly) of the ZX Vtec+ at Whitefield Honda during the last week of Oct 2008 (the ANHC was not avl for test drive). One test drive for around 30mins and I knew this was it, an apt replacement for the time being. (best part- it came ~5 lakhs cheaper than Laura!).

Initial info:
1. Year of Manufacture: Aug 2008.
2. Color- Carbon Bronze Pearl.
3. Date of purchase/delivery- 5-Nov-2008.
4. Odometer reading at delivery- 91km. (I was a bit surprised with that, though PDI checklist here says <100km is fine).
5. Showroom- Whitefield Honda, Bangalore.
6. Experience with dealer- Very nice, was given enough attention and care whenever visited the showroom and had queries (without even mentioning about T-Bhp!). Still get enough attention and instant responses from the Sales Asst Mgr, Mr. Chandrasekhar whenever I call for any queries or for booking service dates.
7. Freebies- did not need much as it came fully loaded; still got some- Reverse parking sensors, Teflon coating, Body cover (used just once during Holi 2009), neck rests (not used yet), cushions, ganesh idol, floor mats.
8. Company leased vehicle, so EMI and rate of interest is quite higher compared to current market rate.
9. Mods- everything stock. Only two planned for future- a jack with HU for enabling ipod connectivity and Vkool/Llumar front Windshield sunfilm.

Current car stats:
1. Odometer reading- 5200 kms.
2. Time taken to complete point 1: 137days. (05Nov08 to 21Mar09).
3. No. of tank ups- 12
4. Total fuel gone in- 390.84 litres.
5. Average Fuel Efficency (till 5k)- 13.3 km/pl; Best FE- 14.927, Worst FE- 12.177 (tank-up to tank-up).
6. Fuel type- HP/IOC normal unleaded petrol.
7. Driving style-
- city: normal, occasional high-revving/speed bursts on ring roads when free from traffic.
- highways: high revving touching 4000rpm/120-140kmph depending on traffic and road conditions, without any risk taking.
8. Max speed tried- 150kmph (on NH7).
9. 2 free services completed-
- 1st service: ODO reading- 825; Date- 10 Dec 08; Cost- Rs. 0.00,
- 2nd service: ODO reading- 3713; Date- 05 Feb 09; Cost- Rs. 2242.00. (Synthetic oil used during oil change, as suggested by service Engineers at workshop).
10. Cleaning schedules:
- Exterior (body and tyres) and floor mats cleaning with water every alternate day. (Outsourced). Shampoo- Turtle Wax Shampoo- twice a month. (Outsourced).
- Interiors cleaning- ICE, dashboards and consoles (plastics) with "Formula 1 Protectant", once a month (self); Leather Upholstry- seats and steering with "Formula 1 Mr. Leather", once a month (self).
- Body waxing- with “ICE turtle wax” (www.icepolish.com/), once in two months (self).
(P.S. I know the above cleaning schedules are not in exact compliance with Rudra Sir’s “the car care guide”, but that's the best I could do with the given time at hand! Only solace, I am the only one driving this, so it remains in pristine condition with the above schedules).

(In the next post to come, as part of this report: drives done so far, damages to the car till now, Postives and Negatives and some pictures. So stay tuned!)

[simran]

This is a nice review, and the analysis is also good. This is a good indicator of the kind of money and effort needed for a Honda City. This will be quite helpful.

The one thing I like about your driving is the normal, safe driving. You are staying within the limits of the car, and hope you enjoy it for a long time to come.

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by simran

This is a nice review, and the analysis is also good. This is a good indicator of the kind of money and effort needed for a Honda City. This will be quite helpful.

The one thing I like about your driving is the normal, safe driving. You are staying within the limits of the car, and hope you enjoy it for a long time to come.

Thanks "Simran"! Yes, every car has it's limits and exploiting the car within it's limit makes the car love you back! That way, she won't crib when/if you high-hand her once in a while.

[loving_alaap]

Congrats.

A great, smart & practical choice.

What about the FE in City? 13 is combined (Highway & city) FE?

Above all, Pics please.

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by loving_alaap

Congrats.

A great, smart & practical choice.

What about the FE in City? 13 is combined (Highway & city) FE?

Above all, Pics please.

I am getting a steady 13+ within city. Highway alone, I have not yet calculated. Will do it and post soon.

[nnandi]

Drives done with this car:
1. Bheemeshwari Nature & Fishing camp- 22-23 Nov 2008- 250km
2. Nandi Hills- 21 Dec 2008- 65km
3. Lepakshi- 25 Dec 2008- 260km
4. Yelagiri- 27-28 Dec 2008- 340km
5. Puttaparthy- 24 Jan 2009- 300km.
6. Puttaparthy- 21 Mar 2009- 300km.
7. Weekdays- Daily home to office and back- 51km (daily).
Total highway- 1515kms.
Total city- 3593kms.

Upcoming drives:
1. 10-12 Apr- Bangalore- Yercaud- Bangalore.
2. 18-19 Apr- Bangalore- Tirupati- Bangalore.
3. Sept 2009- Bangalore- Kolkata- Bangalore. (tentative- in the last Bangalore TBHP meet, some members informed about the "non-existent" road condition in Orissa stretch of this drive and with a H.City, it would be difficult to survive the condition, hence this trip is "tentative" still).

Damages so far:
1. Within a week of getting this baby, I landed in a bike accident and broke my right elbow, was out of action for 3.5 weeks (with plaster in my hand).
2. First scratch: Standing at a traffic signal near Big Bazaar, Tatanagar (Kodigehalli) crossing onto Vidyaranyapura ring road, a white amby decides to cut the lane from behind to move onto the opposite wrong lane. Amby’s bumper kisses my right side rear bumper and leaves a scar and some white paint.
Remedy: White paint removed thru’ 3M diluter/paint thinner and the scar touched up with paint during second service.
3. Second scratch: happened during a lazy right turning of the car in a very narrow street and the pavement scratching the the front left side alloy wheel.
Remedy: Have to change the alloy some time later (when vitamin-m permits).
4. Third scratch: a small horizontal faint scratch in the front left side of the bumper, happened when a bajaj chetak decided to roll back at a stop signal.
Remedy: Paint touch-up did the trick, now not visible unless you scrutinize it intently.
5. Fourth: was at the same place of point 4, this time I parked (rather over-parked) against a wall in office and it got a minor scratch on kissing the wall.
Remedy: Failed- Paint touch-up could not work it’s magic this time around.
6. Fifth, was standing at a traffic signal in Hennur ring road crossing, TVS Victor trying to zig-zag it’s way in between standstill traffic, decided to graze thru’ the top of right ORVM and leave a mark. Caught up with the rider, he was a local and made it seem that it was my mistake to be riding a sedan while he was on 2 wheels!
Remedy: Some favourite Bengali adjectives for the rider on the spot (for mental satisfaction) and a request during the third service at whitefield honda for a touch up job again!

Positives which work for me:
1. Stable handling and cornering capabilites, smooth gear shifts, ultra-sensitive steering column, great responsive engine, good back seat comfort, big legroom space (front and rear) and very smooth rides, without much bumps.
2. Interiors are really plush, gives a certain richness to the beholder, right from the soft superior quality beige Stanley leather seats to the stock music system (Alpine W925EHI (HU) with 4 JBL Speakers) to wood (like) finishes to the door trims in velvet-plastic distribution (not just plastic!).
3. FE is quite good, a steady 13+ kmpl in city, with 100% AC. (my old Wagon R still returns 12kmpl with a 1.1L engine, so anything above that in a bigger engine is surprising and welcomed!)
4. Huge boot space (I guess it is common to all sedans), which engulfs everything which I want to take in drives.
5. Insulation from outside noise, the thud of the doors closing, the super chill ac!
6. Most importantly: Wife is happy as she got the car she liked as well as the color she wanted!!

Some negatives with which I choose to live on with:
1. Inspite of the ABS, I feel the braking is a bit weak and takes getting used to it. On speaking with service engineers during 1st service, they said that it would improve as I pile on the miles. Now after putting on 5k in the Odo, it behaves better and is more responsive (or is it that I have become used to it?).
2. Ground clearance is sad (no new revelation in this forum for this car); everytime the car scrapes thru’ a hump, my heart bleeds! (During second service, asked the service engineer to do a thorough under chassis check; it was done and found to be ok, just some nominal scratches I was told!).
3. A pillars were an eye sore in the initial days (when I was trying to get adjusted from Wagon R to this), now gotten used to.
4. Stock tyres feel a little skinny (bridgestone 322 tubeless), though not going to upgrade in the neae future.
5. Rear doors do not have any cubby holes for storage, only front doors. So sometimes feel lack of space within the car and hence have to frequently do space management!

Initially I had thought of keeping this for 2.5-3 years and then upgrading to my dream machine. But now I don’t think it would be possible. I am in love and want to remain in it for some more years!

Would update this thread as and when more milestones are achieved!
Thanks
Nandi.

(Next and last thread: Pics of the steed, pics of damages listed above).

[filcord]

What did you pay for it? I wanted to negotiate a discount for a VTEC+ in October 2008, but then decided to keep the Baleno another couple of years, since it made no financial sense.
The car is really good, I prefer it to the ANHC.

[nnandi]

Pictures:
1- The car
2/3/4- Interiors
5/6/7/8- Damages.

Thanks, Nandi.

<--end of report-->

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by filcord

What did you pay for it? I wanted to negotiate a discount for a VTEC+ in October 2008, but then decided to keep the Baleno another couple of years, since it made no financial sense.
The car is really good, I prefer it to the ANHC.

Hey Filcord, I too had the choice of going for the ANHC if I had waited for just 1.5 months, but I was quite disappointed with the interiors of the ANHC. For a 10L car, I felt it had too much of plastics inside. And the music system was another put off for me (in ANHC), as mp3 generally have the habit of losing quality of sound. Also meant that all my existing audio cds (some rare ones obtained with a lot of hard work) would not get into the car. Somehow loved the zx vtec+.

Well, discount I got was 65K (com lease) along with freebies. OTR came approx to 10L.

[esteem_lover]

Nice review nnandi. I am interested in the 4th scratch. How did that happen ? My friend's NHC Vtec also has the same kind of damage at app. same place.

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Nice review nnandi. I am interested in the 4th scratch. How did that happen ? My friend's NHC Vtec also has the same kind of damage at app. same place.

It happened while parking against a wall. In my office, the covered parkings get full by 8:45am. The open parking is next to the boundary walls; the base of this wall has an extra cement layer from the ground till 2.5 feet high with a width of around 7-8 inches. The parking is slightly elevated, so when I was parking straight against the wall, I went too close. From the driver's seat, the wall looks was at the right distance, but the cement base which potrudes out touches the bumper.

[bobster]

good choice there Nnandi, NHC VTEC is a great car, quite nimble in the city and a sprinter on the highways. But avoid speeds above 150+ if you have stock wheels. The car seems to be getting ready for a takeoff at those speeds.
I changed my complete OE sound system(which is utterly crap.. personal choice got a New HU, Four speakers, Amp, and a Subwoofer all Pioneer.

whenever you can change the tires to at least 185 or 195 wide, its a powerful car and needs good rubber. anyway happy driving TC

[nnandi]

I am still running on stock 175/65 R14 tyres (Bridgestone S322) and I put the recommended 32/30 psi (front/rear) tyre pressure. But at times, when I am doing 100-120kmph speed on the highways (when there is no other noise coming inside the cabin), I can steadily here the tyre noise.
- Do I need to upgrade to better tyres for stopping the noise?
- What are the better tyres to upgrade to in this car without sacrificing on current FE and ride comfort?

[bobster]

Bridgestones basically are noisier than other popular brand Michelin's XM +1, but Bridgestone's reliability is a given..i banged into jutting out manhole cover at a speed of 80kmph, the car was steady as a rock.
when you change your tyres go for 195/65 R 14's. i made a mistake of upgrading to 185's.

Originally Posted by nnandi

I am still running on stock 175/65 R14 tyres (Bridgestone S322) and I put the recommended 32/30 psi (front/rear) tyre pressure. But at times, when I am doing 100-120kmph speed on the highways (when there is no other noise coming inside the cabin), I can steadily here the tyre noise.
- Do I need to upgrade to better tyres for stopping the noise?
- What are the better tyres to upgrade to in this car without sacrificing on current FE and ride comfort?

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by bobster

when you change your tyres go for 195/65 R 14's. i made a mistake of upgrading to 185's.

Did you FE decrease after the upgrade?