[MCR]

Nikhil,
Other choices could be VW Jetta and Honda Civic.
Boy the decision making is quiet difficult. Nice to see that in every segment there are enough choices. The quality of Toyota is still unmatchable I believe. Also its now the world's No.1 by the volumes of cars sold.

[raj981]

Hey guys,
My first post here. I have driven the ford fiesta, new honda city, corolla altis and only yesterday i drove the cedia. Must tell you that before driving the cedia i was sure about buying the ford fiesta 1.6 S........but then came Cedia Sports. The car is amazing to drive, the drivers seat gives a great view and very little blind spot (not the case with altis though).
I am 6ft 1 and i took turns sitting back and i didnt find the back seat too bad. I have driven and been driven in an Opel Astra and although my opinion is subjective the rear seats were comparable. Gotta use it as a couch as opposed to a car seat...

Now i will be driving the fiesta 1.6 s and cedia back to back to decide. Will keep you guys posted on that too.

Putting down some of my observations on the Cedia.
1. Drive quality was excellent. Didnt feel any lack of power in any of the gears. The gear shift was smooth and crisp.
2. There was a lot of tire noise in the cabin (the sales exec told me that since we were driving on concrete roads that was the reason) dont agree with him as my 10 yr old opel astra insulates all noises very well.
3. The seating position was excellent with great visibility. has virtually no blind spot.
4. The engine at idle had a slight vibration (was told by the sales exec that the car was used for the driving challenge)
5. I reached 0-120 in virtually under 15 sec on the Bandra Kurla streach and was impressed by the way this hugs the road, and guess what managed to nail a Octavia on the 0-120 dash (probably he was not aware what i was upto)
6. The rear seat is meant for 2.5 adults. Three on the back seat will be a squeeze.
7. The seating is very low even as compared to the fiesta so you basically sit in a crouched position
8. The best thing about the car is that the car feels like an extention of the driver and behaves just like the driver want it to behave and i just loved the car

I was told by the sales exec that the vibration and tire noise was specific the the TD vehicle and has offered me to do another TD. Even with tose reservations i just loved the vehicle and since primarily i will be the one driving, the choice has to between the 1.6 S and cedia sports.

For some one who wants to be driven around Corolla or the new honda city, seems a better option, so i can understand what ur dad means. But a driver's delight it has to either the fiesta or the cedia.

Will also let you guys know what i finally bought.

[Car Fan]

No kidding: the car just reaches out and grabs you. During the test drive my brain was telling me how the model is older than its competitors, the interiors are a generation behind and the ride quality is less plush. Yet my heart was saying: this car rocks and I want it!

And the Civic AT I drove the same afternoon - for comparison - just felt boring, despite the awesome driver's cockpit.

[reignofchaos]

The stock tyres are noisy and pretty crappy RE88s. The tyre noise disappears completely if you replace them with a more silent tyre.

[santhosh_kumard]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

The stock tyres are noisy and pretty crappy RE88s. The tyre noise disappears completely if you replace them with a more silent tyre.

Adding one more question:

ROC, do you think adding more sound-deadening between the engine & cabin ( in the firewall area ) would help?.

-Thanks
Santhosh

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by santhosh_kumard

Adding one more question:

ROC, do you think adding more sound-deadening between the engine & cabin ( in the firewall area ) would help?.

-Thanks
Santhosh

Never really felt the need to put any more damping material after changing tyres. Hardly any noise filters in once you get rubber which doesn't make as much of a racket as the RE88.

[khoj]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

:( :( :( :(

My heart is broken. Dad hasnt made a decision yet. He says it is 51-49 in favour of the Altis. But I dont believe him.
Hopefully we'll be test driving the Cruze and the Civic next week. Let's see how that goes.

Ah another epic father-son choice delimma!
Were you able to TD the civic & cruze? If yes, details please.

[Nikhilb2008]

No more test drives after the Altis. Dad decided to postpone the purchase.

Initial idea was to sell the NHC Vtec and get a new car. Mom continues to drive a year and a half old Getz, sis continues to drive an almost 5 year old Santro Xing and I continue to ride my 5 year old Pulsar

But one crucial Sunday afternoon lunch results in my mom and sister driving the NHC and both love it and were wondering why we were selling it off.

So, now I gave my dad another idea. Sell the Getz and let mom use the NHC.

Then mom gets into her stride and suggests that we sell the Santro and sister gets the Getz, mom gets the NHC and dad gets the new car.

Dad gets fed up and leaves for office.

[khoj]

Listen to your mother she has this sorted out.
I sold my type 1 honda city '98 last year and I still wonder why!
As for you with a Getz, NHC & the new car you will have paancho ungliyan ghee mein aur sar kadhayee mein translation best of both worlds!

Sell the Santro ASAP if you want your dad to move ahead trust me on this.
Let us know how it goes.

PS sell santro before the year changes & buy the new car after the year has changed.

PPS The purchase may be delayed but why are you delaying the TD go out there have fun come back and post a detailed story complete with snaps.

[kumar7]

Nikhil@ I know you trying your best to convince your father for Cedia and but on personal note I think Altis is good car and you will not regret. After reading your thread I am getting feel "kash mein aur 2 - 3 saal ruk jata" to purchase Altis but anyways I am still happy with my poor man Merc - I mean Ford Fiesta

[Nikhilb2008]

Ok. Going for a Civic test drive tomorrow.

I want to know what the difference between the S and the V variant is.

This is a good start: Honda Car India :: Civic

But according to this, there is a difference of 90,000/- only for Leather and Cruise Control. Something isnt right.

The Civic doesnt have electric adjustments for the seat, right?

[prince_pervez]

All the best man. Keep us updated.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

But according to this, there is a difference of 90,000/- only for Leather and Cruise Control. Something isnt right.

V add-ons I could gather, are:

# Leather
# Cruise Control
# ORVM turn indicators
# Fog lamps
# Chrome door trim
# Door handles with chrome

[gaurav_chopra04]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Ok. Going for a Civic test drive tomorrow.

I want to know what the difference between the S and the V variant is.

This is a good start: Honda Car India :: Civic

But according to this, there is a difference of 90,000/- only for Leather and Cruise Control. Something isnt right.

The Civic doesnt have electric adjustments for the seat, right?

The car is a GEM. The high revving i-Vtec is incredible and an enthusiast would love driving it. I did 180 on civic yesterday which had stock good years and the car was rock solid. The steering being small (momo like) is a delight to hold and move around. However, Rear seats of civic are too low and GC is also less. It has some blind spots (most cars have it these days).
But I must say that lack of GC can be over shadowed by excellent handling. On good roads, the car handles extremely well. It’s just that on bad patches, the back of the car doesn’t remain planted (problem with all Hondas). I have heard that the face lift civic also has hardened up suspension as compared to the previous one (not sure about this though).

Another difference in V and S is the fog lights. I believe S does not have fog lights.

Also, the car does not have electric adjust seats.

[mkc15]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Ok. Going for a Civic test drive tomorrow.

I want to know what the difference between the S and the V variant is.

This is a good start: Honda Car India :: Civic

But according to this, there is a difference of 90,000/- only for Leather and Cruise Control. Something isnt right.

The Civic doesnt have electric adjustments for the seat, right?

No power seats/HID in Civic, not even in V variant. Some other differences b/w S and V are fog lamps, chrome door trim, chrome on door handles, turn indicators on ORVM, slightly different alloy design (V gets new design alloys, but its actually same as old Civic Sports without white paint!)