22nd September 2009, 22:38
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| Mitsubishi 'Lancer' Cedia test driven EDIT - Altis TD on Pg2 Taking off from this thread. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sedans...lakhs-imo.html Today, Mr. Kiran from Southern Motors came to my house to pick me up for our test drive. I drive till our office on Kanakapura Road where my dad joins us and he takes the wheel. Before we set off, Kiran did his job of briefing my dad regarding the car. I already knew all the facts and figues, so I spent some time playing around with the touch screen. More on this touch screen ICE later. We drive on the road to NICE road. Enter NICE road and then my dad let's it rip. This car is fast. Doesnt feel as fast as the NHC Vtec in a straight line, but we loved it anyway. We were soon doing insane speeds best not mentioned in a public forum. Dad loved the steering feedback and the stability of the car provided by the stiff suspension. He was feeling extremely confident driving this car at those insane speeds on NICE road. He's never been confident pushing the Vtec. It has always felt a little scary at high speed. We get off NICE road at the Magadi Road toll booth, double back and enter NICE road again. This time, I'm at the wheel. Just before you enter the actual expressway, there is a beautiful long left handed 180 degree turn. Not a U turn, but 180 degrees for sure. The car felt extremely planted. It started understeering due to the crppy tyres, but otherwise was fantastic. Soon, I was doing insane speeds as well without realising it! In an NHC, you can do 100-120 easily and the passengers dont notice it, but the drive does because the car feels extremely light and not composed at all. In the Cedia, you simply couldnt make out anything! I dont need to say anything about my experience of driving it. It was fantastically composed. There was a fair bit of tyre noise but gettign rid of that wont be a problem  We get back to the office and dad gets off. I drive back home in the Cedia, show it to my mom and sis. They also take turns driving it and then Kiran waves goodbye and heads out. The above is my experience. Now, let me get to mine and my dad's opinions. 1). Looks: Dad thinks it looks pretty good except for the stickers. Told him not to worry about it as we will be getting the car wihtout those stickers. I think the old Cedia looked better overall(except for the OZ racing alloys). The smoked headlamps on the old Cedia was so much better. Hope the company can do something about that if we decide to buy the car. 2). City driving: This is the biggest surprise for me. In 2nd gear, it can take off from a near standstill without any judder! I loved this. I guess for this reason alone they say, "There is no replacement for displacement". The gearbox is extremely good as well. It felt a little bit notchy, but I hope that will become smooth over time. The TD car had done only 2770 kms. The car is big, but doesnt feel too big when you are driving it. They keep throwing around numbers, saying this car's turning radius of 4.9m is among the smallest, but you dont realise it until you have to take a U turn. 3). Highway driving: Fantastic. Super steering(do remember we are coming of a 3 and a half year old NHC Vtec), firm suspension which does the job brilliantly at high speed. Could do with a bit more power frankly and a better sounding engine. The NHC Vtec absolutely SINGS! This just buzzes. No comparison at all! Hopefully there are aftermarket exhausts to cure this small problem! 4). Seating and comfort: The front seats are fantastic. The driver's seat also has height adjustment. All manual though! :( That's quite sad. Everything falls into your hands as if you were meant to be in this car! I loved it. So did Dad. While I was driving, dad was sitting in the rear seat. The moment he sat there, he found something was wrong. The headrest at the rear seat is not high enough. So, if you are sitting a little upright, you dont feel too comfortable. The so called headrest will protect you from whiplash injury, but is not too comfortable unless you slide lower down into the seat in which case it becomes super comfy! This is the only drawback. Usually my dad will be driven around by a chauffeur. And he'll be alone. So, the front passenger seat can be pushed all the way to the front which gives enough space for my dad to play football! 5). Features: I'm not going to talk about the technical stuff. I'll focus on the touch screen interface. It is simply fabulous! It has a GPS, DVD player(which means it plays audio CDs, MP3s, CDs with pictures, etc..) and an aux input. The cables for the aux input are given in the glove compartment so you can connect your ipod and leave it in the glove compartment. The touch screen interface is pretty good. It's quite tactile as well. No problems in typing names and addresses using it at all! The GPS was a revelation! I didnt know this car had an inbuilt GPS! It works quite well. They give you the car with maps preloaded from mapmyindia.com. If you want the latest maps, then you need to pay and download it. But the GPS works extremely well. I was impressed. It has maps for the entire country. It also has a handsfree function which works like Fiat's blue and me. NOTE: I've never used or experienced Blue and Me, but I've hear about it and assume it's similar. You can connect your phone to the HU using bluetooth. So, your entire car becomes a big phone speaker. There is a small black mike wired to the passenger side A pillar. Kiran, the sales executive claimed that the mike is strong enough to pick up your voice wherever you are in the car. When I got back home, I tried to make it work using my phone(SE C905), but for some reason the bluetooth of the Kenwood HU didnt even recognise or find my phone. Didnt feel like wasting more time getting it to work, so I just left it. The sound quality seems pretty good. However, I have NO clue about ICE, so dont flame me! 6). Suspension: This is firm. Due to which on small bumps and potholes, it is much harsher and more uncomfortable than the NHC Vtec. However on really bad roads, you can do a decent speed of 40-50 and not feel too uncomfortable. And of course, the firm suspension has a fantastic effect on the highway. 7). Interiors: They feel old, outdated and downmarket. I love the car, but didnt like it one bit. It doesnt look classy or fit to be in aa 11 lakh rupee car. Mitsubishi focused on the driver so much, they forgot that there are going to be passengers in it as well. This car does have Automatic Climate Control though. There is nothing more I can think of right now though. I'll try to answer any questions you guys may have. I have to point out that Mr. Kiran was a fantastic sales exec. He knew his product, had confidence in it and was well informed with respect to the competition as well. Thumbs up! I would recommend any prospective Mitsubishi customer in B'lore to call Southern Motors and ask for Mr. Kiran to come for the demo/TD. When he found out that we were also looking at the Altis, he offered to arrange one for us from his friend who works at Ravindu Toyota. So tomorrow we'll be TDing the Altis and the Cedia will also be joining us so that we get a feel of both the cars back to back. PS: This was my first proper test drive. So, I may have missed out on some crucial details. Some pointers would be helpful. We have another TD to do tomorrow  PPS: Are you wondering why there is LANCER in the title? That's because Mitsubishi = Lancer. Cedia = Lancer for me. I simply cannot call it a Mitsubishi Cedia. It is doing grave injustice to the Lancer. Last edited by Nikhilb2008 : 22nd September 2009 at 22:39. |
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22nd September 2009, 23:14
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23rd September 2009, 00:54
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| It's a real fast car. It's worth the guts ( read if you just give a heck for the resale). I was completely blown away by an LPG CEDIA. I just had a 5 Km spin on it ( forgot to turn it into petrol ); But that was all enough for the car to cast an impression on me. Steering has got awesome feel. Get the car in dark metallic grey with black alloys or the white ( watch lancer evo topgear video; where it's pitted against a Lambo and you will get what I mean). In short an agile super sprinter. |
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23rd September 2009, 01:01
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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23rd September 2009, 01:13
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| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hmmmm....
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23rd September 2009, 07:33
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| Senior - BHPian  | The first think that came to my mind when i saw the thread title was- Chaos let you rip his ride??? Guess not  Last edited by greenhorn : 23rd September 2009 at 07:35. |
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23rd September 2009, 07:57
| #7 | ||
| Senior - BHPian  | Quote:
 Do I hear Michelins already ?Quote:
Very well written. Missed on Body roll, interior quality, overall rear comfort, braking confidence. Ohh and not to mention, I'd be waiting desperately for the Altis review and raising a request for a new keyboard or atleast an extra F5 button on it. | ||
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23rd September 2009, 08:12
| #8 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore
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| Quote:
Body roll: almost nothing. At lkeast in 70 kms, we couldnt find ANY body roll. Braking confidence is very good. Nothing too different from the NHC though. Rear comfort is good as long as the front seats are pushed forward and you can slouch. | |
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23rd September 2009, 09:43
| #9 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cochin/Bangalore
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| Nikhil- Nice test drive review. I'm glad to see that at least a few people consider Mitsubishi among their purchase options. Its a nice car to say the least. A few pointers from my side 1) The car is silent and I personally prefer silent cars specially for higway drives. Too much noise tires you up. So quieter is always better. Of course for short drives, sound doesn't matter and people perfer sporty sounds. 2) This car is fast but masks its speed very well. I've heard some people say its slow, but I feel its because of its masking capability. Thats good for passengers who feel safer. 3) Equipment list is pretty good now and very much comparable to competition. In fact GPS addition and touch screen have taken it a notch above. 4) Interiors, for me, for worth the price of the car. I felt the interiors were nice and plush. Feel is very good and the leather interiors make it a comfy place for passengers. You were right about the rear headrest though. At par with competition. 5) They are offering good discounts, as seen in paper today. So makes it more VFM. 6) Brakes are good and progressive. 7) Ground clearance seems pretty good. I think they raised the car a bit for more GC, this adds a bit of roll on corners. I think they stiffened suspension to reduce the roll. I hope after driving the Altis and Cedia back-to-back, you will find the Cedia a better vehicle (IMO, cedia is better than Altis). Do keep us all updated. All the best  |
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23rd September 2009, 10:02
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23rd September 2009, 10:02
| #11 |
| Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore
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23rd September 2009, 10:05
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23rd September 2009, 10:49
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23rd September 2009, 12:40
| #14 | |
| Team-BHP Support   | Quote:
incase of the adjustable rear headrest of the Altis, your head has to be upright and you can't bend back. You can get G-sport to add padding to the fixed headrests and increase the height. | |
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23rd September 2009, 12:59
| #15 |
| Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore
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