My Linea Thread - Driving Experience and review

pranava999 · 5th May 2009, 00:46

Am so looking forward to tomorrow's drive to Mysore. Just an on the spur decision.

More than visiting Mysore it's the opportunity to take the silver shark out on nice long cruise to open her engine up a little and listen to my favorite tracks leisurely.

Also an opportunity to post some good photos of the SS as well and update the thread with a review or mini travelogue.

Allroad · 5th May 2009, 00:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by pranava999

Am so looking forward to tomorrow's drive to Mysore. Just an on the spur decision.

More than visiting Mysore it's the opportunity to take the silver shark out on nice long cruise to open her engine up a little and listen to my favorite tracks leisurely.

Also an opportunity to post some good photos of the SS as well and update the thread with a review or mini travelogue.

And we will be waiting to see more !!!

sps · 5th May 2009, 10:47

Nice photos and a cool color. Definitely worth admiring

.

Why did you choose petrol over the MJD?

rajagopal_j · 5th May 2009, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by pranava999

Am so looking forward to tomorrow's drive to Mysore. Just an on the spur decision.

More than visiting Mysore it's the opportunity to take the silver shark out on nice long cruise to open her engine up a little and listen to my favorite tracks leisurely.

Also an opportunity to post some good photos of the SS as well and update the thread with a review or mini travelogue.

Whaat, you are off today? I thought we were going on saturday. Hmmmm! Anyway Enjoy your long driver, take it easy and do let us know your experiences.

pranava999 · 6th May 2009, 17:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajagopal_j

Whaat, you are off today? I thought we were going on saturday. Hmmmm! Anyway Enjoy your long driver, take it easy and do let us know your experiences.

got decided only at 10.30pm day before yesterday, as my mother in law had some urgent work and asked me if we could drive down yesterday. I just needed an excuse to get onto the highway, and wife was also excited to go with her mom (family thingy, family drive), so could not really say no. We can definitely go the next time around buddy. Hope you don't mind.Was actually excited at the thought of 2 Lineas driving together this Saturday. Sorry once again bro...

pranava999 · 6th May 2009, 17:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by sps

Nice photos and a cool color. Definitely worth admiring

.

Why did you choose petrol over the MJD?

Well foremost I don't really drive more than 400-500kms a month so felt the premium for a diesel was not really worth it. Then the heart ruled over the mind and wallet and went for initial performance

pranava999 · 6th May 2009, 20:47

By the time we left for Mysore yesterday, after picking up my MIL from one end of town (Cantonment) and driving to the the other end (Vijaynagar) it was already 12pm. Was just hoping that it won't be too sunny a drive to Mysore. Fortunately, it was not too sunny and was a cloudy day. I was eagerly looking forward to getting out of city traffic and hitting the open highway and to my disappointment it was not really as open as I thought it would be. Unusually a lot of traffic or that time and did not really get to push the needle beyond 65kmh for about the first 50-60kms. The drive was hassle free and easy and the car was behaving as expected - smooth, planted and precise. We then stopped at the Barista for a quick sandwich lunch and a cup of my favorite Barista 'hara chai'.

Till that point I had driven her sedately and that was the intention for the rest of the drive as well. However, after the Barista break, the road was not as congested and I decided to open up the shark a little and from a routine cruising rev range of 2000-2500rpm I pushed the pedal gradually till she hit about 3800-4000rpm and gosh was she awesome to drive. The surge was great..from a cruising 70kmh, I had already touched 120kmh easy and did not really notice it, till my wife woke up from her quick snooze and asked me why I was driving so slow. Thats when I asked her to take a peek at the speedo..he he he! Well thats the Linea for you. 120kmh and gives your wife a feeling you are doing 60kmh!

On the way got to test my ABS twice. Once, because of a mirage of a speedbreaker. Seems like they have added a few bumps and removed a few on the route. To worsen it there are no signposts for the new ones.

In anycase as I was taking a curve at about 100-110kmh, we (wife and me ) noticed what appeared to be a speedbreaker ahead of us and I slammed the breakes as I had no intention of flying the car nor trashing the suspension (there was no traffic beahind me as well) and I could feel the ABS kicking in. God! she felt stable and I do feel the Breaking distance is a little more for a Non ABS car but the control it put back into the driver's hands was reassuring.After all that huhah, all we passed over was a black patch of rough tarmac, where once stood a floorbreaker!

The second time around, from behind the bushes a dog passed by on my lane (doing about 90kmh) and I again slammed the brakes and as the ABS kicked in was able to manouver around the surprised dog that dec ided to turn back into the bushes.The wife (a dog lover) was relieved I had not killed it , while I was relieved that I came out a hero, a life saver

.

After these two eventful incidents, I decided to get back to my sedate mode and averaged about 80kmh for the rest of journey,ocassionally opening her up to touch a 100kmh to 4000rpm whichever was sooner!

On the onward journey the average fuel consumption according to the onboard computer was 13 kmpl keeping in mind that the ACC was on for nearly 90% of the time and I was frequently driving her at different rev bands.

For the return journey, had decided I would not be so harsh on her and decided to cruise her at about 2500-3000rpm Was a wonderful and pleasant drive back and on the highway with the ACC working overtime to keep us cool from the 37 deg celcius heat outside.She responded with an average of 14kmpl.

Overall we covered a distance of 330kms and my opinion is I thoroughly enjoyed driving her. I feel she is meant for those who love cruising along the highway and not for the fast and furious kinds. Another analogy is the feel one gets crusing on the highway on a bullet vis-a-vis a 400cc sport bike.

Though I drove her sedately and could have easily taken her to 145kmh I resisted the temptation as I have hardly done 450kms on her before this trip. Was satisfied that she had quite a bit of oomph still left in her and she can touch 145-150.

I do feel the short gear ratios are meant more for city driving, however it suits the cruiser in me as I can get on to the 5th early and forget about them 1st,2nd,3rd and 4th.

The ride quality's superb for the passengers in the front and the rear. The seats are a little stiff for my liking but it's not too bad. My car as of now has not developed any rattles/noises except for the initial/faint grinding noise ocassionally that came off the brakes, but seems like that's already settled down. However there is definitely a lot of feedback and noise off the road I uess through the tyres.

Personally, more than mileage,accelleration and top speed what mattered was how I felt about driving this car. She may not match her sibling the 1.6 Palio hot hatch, for sheer excitement, but she is more pleasurable to drive. She is a more than competant highway cruncher and pretty agile in the city as well. A well rounded car that has a soul and a very Italian one in stance and in motion.

I did not care if she was indifferent to taking on the Fords,the Swifts , the Vernas, the NHCs or the Skodas and their juvenile and masochistic urges, simply because they were all more bothered off trying to get her attention and to see if they could take her on or not.Almost every young driver worth his salt would try to catch up and blitz past her just at the mere sight of her ahead of them, to show that they can do so. I was merely content at the thought that she could bring out their urges and that if I wanted to, I could command her and she would gladly oblige like a thoroughbred and take them on.

The iceing on the cake is was when my wife's reaction when she drove her for the first time yesterday and I quote, "Now I know why you are so crazy about driving the Linea and don't wan't to let go the wheel!" She felt like she was on a different plane all together - smooth, solid and flying amongst the clouds, Supper!! The instant grin on her face brought a mere smirk that already knew what she was feeling.

I am not trying to over-romanticise what I feel about this car. I'm sure there are better powerplants out there,nimbler setups; but there are very few cars that drive as pecisely as she does, and is as well behaved, not to forget that she also looks quite fresh and stunning.

After we got done with the work we were there for, we did do a little sight seeing yesterday night and today morning. Will post the photos in a bit

geeash · 6th May 2009, 21:06

Seems you have done a great drive. I have not taken my linea on a highway spree. Have to find time to open her out after reading your post.

pranava999 · 6th May 2009, 21:18

We visited the Lalit Mahal Palace in the evening, and got the first few shots here

Allroad · 6th May 2009, 23:05

Didn't notice this before on a Linea: is that the front license plate screwed to the bumper from the four corners? Is there no provision to attach it? That's not neat.

Nice pictures btw.

geeash · 7th May 2009, 07:47

Quote:

Didn't notice this before on a Linea: is that the front license plate screwed to the bumper from the four corners? Is there no provision to attach it? That's not neat

Yes. Linea does not have provision to attach numberplates. It has to be screwed to the bumper after making holes. I believe in abroad a provision to stick numberplates is there. And roads are so good that the numberplates will not fall off. But in india it is not worth taking that risk, so it has to be screwed.

nkrishnap · 7th May 2009, 08:57

Great review there!

Also nice pictures of the car

FastLove · 7th May 2009, 09:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by geeash

Yes. Linea does not have provision to attach numberplates. It has to be screwed to the bumper after making holes. I believe in abroad a provision to stick numberplates is there. And roads are so good that the numberplates will not fall off. But in india it is not worth taking that risk, so it has to be screwed.

ya sadly , had to drill the holes to attach the number plate

gksunil · 7th May 2009, 23:58

Hi
I am interested in buying linea. One thing bothers me is te large turning radius 5.5 m compared to 4.9 fiesta and 4.6 dzire. I have a cramped parking space and it requires three 90 deg turns. Can you help me in this aspect?

pranava999 · 8th May 2009, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by gksunil

Hi
I am interested in buying linea. One thing bothers me is te large turning radius 5.5 m compared to 4.9 fiesta and 4.6 dzire. I have a cramped parking space and it requires three 90 deg turns. Can you help me in this aspect?

Yes the turning radius is larger compared to the models you have mentioned above. But in your case it also depends on the width of the passage/driveway Sunil. If it's fairly wide (a foot at least, wider than the Linea on either side then it should not be an issue). Also turning radius comes into play specially when you are trying to make complete U turns

5th May 2009, 00:46	#31
pranava999 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 845 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	Yes! Just needed an excuse Am so looking forward to tomorrow's drive to Mysore. Just an on the spur decision. More than visiting Mysore it's the opportunity to take the silver shark out on nice long cruise to open her engine up a little and listen to my favorite tracks leisurely. Also an opportunity to post some good photos of the SS as well and update the thread with a review or mini travelogue. Last edited by pranava999 : 5th May 2009 at 00:47.
	() Thanks

5th May 2009, 10:47	#33
sps BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 206 Thanked: 30 Times View My Garage	Nice photos and a cool color. Definitely worth admiring . Why did you choose petrol over the MJD?
	() Thanks

6th May 2009, 20:47	#37
pranava999 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 845 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	Update 3 : Drive to Mysore By the time we left for Mysore yesterday, after picking up my MIL from one end of town (Cantonment) and driving to the the other end (Vijaynagar) it was already 12pm. Was just hoping that it won't be too sunny a drive to Mysore. Fortunately, it was not too sunny and was a cloudy day. I was eagerly looking forward to getting out of city traffic and hitting the open highway and to my disappointment it was not really as open as I thought it would be. Unusually a lot of traffic or that time and did not really get to push the needle beyond 65kmh for about the first 50-60kms. The drive was hassle free and easy and the car was behaving as expected - smooth, planted and precise. We then stopped at the Barista for a quick sandwich lunch and a cup of my favorite Barista 'hara chai'. Till that point I had driven her sedately and that was the intention for the rest of the drive as well. However, after the Barista break, the road was not as congested and I decided to open up the shark a little and from a routine cruising rev range of 2000-2500rpm I pushed the pedal gradually till she hit about 3800-4000rpm and gosh was she awesome to drive. The surge was great..from a cruising 70kmh, I had already touched 120kmh easy and did not really notice it, till my wife woke up from her quick snooze and asked me why I was driving so slow. Thats when I asked her to take a peek at the speedo..he he he! Well thats the Linea for you. 120kmh and gives your wife a feeling you are doing 60kmh! On the way got to test my ABS twice. Once, because of a mirage of a speedbreaker. Seems like they have added a few bumps and removed a few on the route. To worsen it there are no signposts for the new ones. In anycase as I was taking a curve at about 100-110kmh, we (wife and me ) noticed what appeared to be a speedbreaker ahead of us and I slammed the breakes as I had no intention of flying the car nor trashing the suspension (there was no traffic beahind me as well) and I could feel the ABS kicking in. God! she felt stable and I do feel the Breaking distance is a little more for a Non ABS car but the control it put back into the driver's hands was reassuring.After all that huhah, all we passed over was a black patch of rough tarmac, where once stood a floorbreaker! The second time around, from behind the bushes a dog passed by on my lane (doing about 90kmh) and I again slammed the brakes and as the ABS kicked in was able to manouver around the surprised dog that dec ided to turn back into the bushes.The wife (a dog lover) was relieved I had not killed it , while I was relieved that I came out a hero, a life saver . After these two eventful incidents, I decided to get back to my sedate mode and averaged about 80kmh for the rest of journey,ocassionally opening her up to touch a 100kmh to 4000rpm whichever was sooner! On the onward journey the average fuel consumption according to the onboard computer was 13 kmpl keeping in mind that the ACC was on for nearly 90% of the time and I was frequently driving her at different rev bands. For the return journey, had decided I would not be so harsh on her and decided to cruise her at about 2500-3000rpm Was a wonderful and pleasant drive back and on the highway with the ACC working overtime to keep us cool from the 37 deg celcius heat outside.She responded with an average of 14kmpl. Overall we covered a distance of 330kms and my opinion is I thoroughly enjoyed driving her. I feel she is meant for those who love cruising along the highway and not for the fast and furious kinds. Another analogy is the feel one gets crusing on the highway on a bullet vis-a-vis a 400cc sport bike. Though I drove her sedately and could have easily taken her to 145kmh I resisted the temptation as I have hardly done 450kms on her before this trip. Was satisfied that she had quite a bit of oomph still left in her and she can touch 145-150. I do feel the short gear ratios are meant more for city driving, however it suits the cruiser in me as I can get on to the 5th early and forget about them 1st,2nd,3rd and 4th. The ride quality's superb for the passengers in the front and the rear. The seats are a little stiff for my liking but it's not too bad. My car as of now has not developed any rattles/noises except for the initial/faint grinding noise ocassionally that came off the brakes, but seems like that's already settled down. However there is definitely a lot of feedback and noise off the road I uess through the tyres. Personally, more than mileage,accelleration and top speed what mattered was how I felt about driving this car. She may not match her sibling the 1.6 Palio hot hatch, for sheer excitement, but she is more pleasurable to drive. She is a more than competant highway cruncher and pretty agile in the city as well. A well rounded car that has a soul and a very Italian one in stance and in motion. I did not care if she was indifferent to taking on the Fords,the Swifts , the Vernas, the NHCs or the Skodas and their juvenile and masochistic urges, simply because they were all more bothered off trying to get her attention and to see if they could take her on or not.Almost every young driver worth his salt would try to catch up and blitz past her just at the mere sight of her ahead of them, to show that they can do so. I was merely content at the thought that she could bring out their urges and that if I wanted to, I could command her and she would gladly oblige like a thoroughbred and take them on. The iceing on the cake is was when my wife's reaction when she drove her for the first time yesterday and I quote, "Now I know why you are so crazy about driving the Linea and don't wan't to let go the wheel!" She felt like she was on a different plane all together - smooth, solid and flying amongst the clouds, Supper!! The instant grin on her face brought a mere smirk that already knew what she was feeling. I am not trying to over-romanticise what I feel about this car. I'm sure there are better powerplants out there,nimbler setups; but there are very few cars that drive as pecisely as she does, and is as well behaved, not to forget that she also looks quite fresh and stunning. After we got done with the work we were there for, we did do a little sight seeing yesterday night and today morning. Will post the photos in a bit
	() Thanks

6th May 2009, 21:06	#38
geeash Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,513 Thanked: 146 Times	great report Seems you have done a great drive. I have not taken my linea on a highway spree. Have to find time to open her out after reading your post.
	() Thanks

6th May 2009, 21:18	#39
pranava999 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 845 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	Photos - Mysore drive - set 1 We visited the Lalit Mahal Palace in the evening, and got the first few shots here Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

6th May 2009, 23:05	#40
Allroad BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 38 Thanked: 0 Times	Didn't notice this before on a Linea: is that the front license plate screwed to the bumper from the four corners? Is there no provision to attach it? That's not neat. Nice pictures btw.
	() Thanks

7th May 2009, 08:57	#42
nkrishnap Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,983 Thanked: 7,407 Times View My Garage	Great review there! Also nice pictures of the car
	() Thanks

7th May 2009, 23:58	#44
gksunil BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: karwar Posts: 79 Thanked: 7 Times	Hi I am interested in buying linea. One thing bothers me is te large turning radius 5.5 m compared to 4.9 fiesta and 4.6 dzire. I have a cramped parking space and it requires three 90 deg turns. Can you help me in this aspect?
	() Thanks