The smell of a new car is next only to the scent of a new woman, and my senses are overwhelmed right now. After a long and frustrating wait, "Silver Rocket" has finally touched down in my garage! It was not love at first sight, mind you. The first time I had seen her, I did not like the way she looked from the front. Although I did admire what lied under her hood, but as they say, "with great power comes great responsibility", and she had a reputation of being very irresponsible. That turned me off. Days went by and I started to grow restless for a new car. Having driven one of the cult small cars of its time, the Maruti Suzuki Zen Vxi, and being madly driven by BHP, I had decided one thing in my mind, "My next car will be a 100 BHP car, no less." But with a growing family, and increasing driving distances, a petrol 100 BHP sedan was looking like an expensive affair. That's when I decided to take it to the next level and check her out.
I had heard that she has had a little makeover and did not look so bad now. And to top it all, she had become a little more responsible now too. So I walked into the showroom to check her out. That's when I fell in love with her. The beautifully sculpted face with the chrome garnish took my breath away, she had turned into a looker! I walked around her and couldn't help noticing her sleek waistline, accentuated again, with a chrome strip. The shiny feet and chunky shoes she was wearing gave her a stunning stance. I checked out her rear and my jaw dropped! The badging was a dead giveaway, "She has ABS now, that's why she behaves more responsibly!" A quick check revealed that she also had disc brakes all around. "All round discs and ABS", I thought, no wonder she appealed to the "safety first" family guy in me. I was grinning from ear to ear. I did not know she had all this in her. I asked to take her out for a spin. As I eased into her lap (seats), I felt a feeling of luxury I had not experienced before. She was comfort personified! The beige interiors and the wooden garnish enticed me with their feel. The instrument cluster had everything that I wanted, including a tachometer, a trip computer, a distance to empty (DTE) display and an outside temperature display. The rear seats were huge and comfortable. The center armrest folded in flush with the back and not protruding as was the case in a lot of other sedans. As I gripped her chunky leather wrapped steering, I could already feel the power that lay underneath the hood.
I slipped in the key and turned the ignition. She purred to life with such elan, I was taken aback! I could not believe that a diesel sipper could be so silent. I grabbed her knob and slotted her into gear. As I pulled away, I felt the restless power, yet was amazed by the smooth pick-up she displayed. As I slotted her into 2nd and pressed the throttle, she started pulling away like a woman possessed. I was taken aback and had to ease the throttle. I now realized what she was capable of. Slowly I took control again, pointed her in the right direction and pressed the throttle. She immediately took my cue and zoomed ahead. When I put her in 3rd gear, she was all primed up and ready to please. I decided to show her who was in control and stepped on it. She started pulling like a freight train and I was stuck back to the seat, enjoying the wild ride! I threw her around corners and though I had to get used to the understeer, I quickly got hang of it and was making her do exactly as I wanted. Soon I was in top gear and already reaching the next level, doing 110 kmph on the first date. That's when it hit me. What if she has not mended her ways? If I ask her to stop now, will she obey? Or will she refuse to stay in line and misbehave and dissapoint as she used to before? There was only one way to find out. I hit the brakes as hard as I could bring myself to. She did not dissapoint at all. She stopped in a straight line, no antics. I was reassured. The ABS and all round disc brakes did their job well. I decided to overlook the fact that she still did not have a Supplementary Restraint System (read SRS Airbags) to go with the seatbelts. But she had already won me over. I decided then and there that I was bringing her home. As I parked her back in the showroom, I decided to put down a booking amount and start the formalities to bring her home.
That's when I found out a very important detail about her. She was the last of her kind. Her makers had silently omitted the rear discs and replaced them with drums in all top end versions. Although the ABS was there to help, still the tight bite and the secure braking that the all round discs had, was missing in the newer cars. I asked the dealer to put her away safely and not allow anyone else to take her out. She was mine, and either I would have her or I would have no car at all. The dealer understood, and thus started the long wait to complete the finance formalities. I wanted to bring her home on Dusshera as it was an auspicious day. But the banker to Tagore, Rajendra Prasad and other great people had other ideas. They wanted me to realize that they were doing me a great honor by agreeing to finance my car and that all good things only come to people who can wait endlessly. A day before Dusshera, my case was finally cleared, but the brown banking sahib who was to sign my fate decided to go home and start the whole 'victory of good over evil' celebrations a little early in the afternoon. Translation: "My Silver Rocket was probably not coming home as soon I wished". I quickly called the dealer and explained to him that my loan was approved in principal and the sanction letter was ready, but the burra sahib had not yet done the formality of signing it. The dealer called the banker to the nation and he confirmed the fact that my loan had indeed been approved. I agreed to give the dealer a post dated cheque for the full amount, which her would return to me once the bank gave him his cheque, in return for delivering my Silver Rocket to me on Dusshera day. So after much hits and misses, my beautiful Silver Rocket finally came home on Dusshera day.
I have driven her about 500 kms now, and she is still revealing herself to me everyday. Her road manners are impeccable. She satisfies my passion for power whenever I ask her to and yet she is quite the frugal family type. The trip computer shows an economy of 18 kmpl, but she actually did 17.5 kmpl on the first fill. The second fill is turning out to be even better and I expect her to return 18.5 kmpl this time. "18 kmpl? that too for a Diesel! I can hear the cash coffers jingling already! I am going to be rich beyond dreams! OK, OK, not rich, but atleast I will be saving a lot. The Variable Geometry turbo (VGT) is the secret to the raw power yet frugal nature of the 1.5 CRDi motor. The wife loves her too, and is not at all jealous of her. She loves the chrome accents, the beige interiors and the rocking music system. The best part that she loves about the Kenwood is the full size remote that she can command from the comfort of the rear seat. I spent close to 18K trying to improve the sound in my Zen, but still could not achieve the SQ delivered by the Kenwood 6 speaker and Double DIN system that she came with. My daughter has a new playground now, the Verna's rear seats, that she has all to herself. On day one,she decided that the center armrest was a rock on which all mermaids (which she thinks she is) should sit and look out for Prince Eric. After a lot of convincing and finally concealing the center armrest with Zip covers that came with the new seat covers, she has now made peace with the center armrest. The boot is decent and comes with a smart luggage net that you can use to organize your luggage. Under the boot is a full sized alloy wheel with the same 185/65 Bridgestone footwear that she runs on. A lot of other sedans skimp here and only provide a steel rim for the spare wheel. The factory integrated keyless entry and security system is good. I only wish they would have placed the button on the face of the key, instead of putting it on the side of the key. The cabin lights come on automatically when you press the unlock button on the key, and you can easily locate her in the night from a distance in a crowded car park. They stay on for 30 seconds and go off theater dimmer style, when you turn the key in the ignition. If you do not open any door for 30 seconds the doors will automatically lock again. Cool!
The glove box is a little small, but that is compensated by the numerous cubby holes and door pockets all around. All four doors have bottle holders, and there are two cup holders up front and a huge cup/bottle holder for the rear passengers. The soft touch sunglasses holder, the ticket holders and covered vanity mirrors are small but convenient touches. The electrically operated OVRM's are a pleasure to use and fun to play with! But a big omission is backlighting on the window buttons. Only the central locking button is backlit, and you have to struggle to find the buttons to roll down the windows at night. The Climate Control system is amazing. I just set the temperature to 23 degrees and it automatically adjusts everything, including the blower speed to chill the cabin quickly. Once the cabin is cooled to 23 degrees, it automatically lowers the blower speed to the lowest to maintain that temperature. The compressor cuts off when the desired temperature is reached and comes back on when cooling is reduced. I dont have to do anything once I have set the desired temperature. Saying that the AC is chilling is an understatement. I once set it to 19 degrees and it chilled my bones stiff. Even the rear passengers asked to raise the temperature to 23 degrees again. The V-Kool sunfilm that I had installed on all windows, rear glass and the windshield helps too. It just cuts off all UV radiaton and the interior remains much cooler even when parked under the hot sun.
I will be updating this thread as my relationship with "Silver Rocket" grows deeper and I get to know her better and better. All her good qualities and bad ones too, will be documented. For now, enjoy her first photo shoot; you are allowed to drool! Last and not the least, thanks to all Team-BHP'ians who helped me decide to take the plunge. You can read all about it in the What Car section
here.
Here are the technical details for those who are interested:
Technical
Engine: 1.5 liter CRDi Diesel with Variable Geometry TGurbocharger
Power: 110 BHP, 240 Nm Torque
Brakes: All round Discs with ABS
Tyres: All 5 tyres 185/65 Bridgestone Tubeless on 14" Alloys
Comfort and Convenience
Fully Automatic Climate Control
Keyless Entry with Anti Theft System
Kenwood Double DIN MP3 player with Kenwood 6 Speaker System (with Remote)
Height Adjustable Driver's seat
Driver's Armrest
Center Armresrt with Cup holders for rear seats
Electrically Operated OVRM's... etc.
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19th October 2009, 13:51
(1)
Thanks
Btw nice seat covers!
I too feel let down by Hyundai for skipping on the Airbags. If you care to look at photo no. 6 above, the instrument cluster clearly shows the presence of an Airbag light, that has been disabled. Even the glove box is very small, obviously to make space for the passenger Airbag. How much would it have cost Hyundai to install the Airbags when everything else, including the space for them is already there? 