Hey guys, hope all of you are doing well and all geared up and up beat for this holiday season's celebrations !! Sorry if you guys find this report really long and boring, but i really hope there will be intersting bits for everyone !
Last week I got the first service done and I have a story to tell... I will try to keep this chronological as much as possible, but if my excitement switches seat with me, i hope you will understand
Ever since the day i got delivery of my Cedia, a part of my mind has been always been secretly thinking about the next excuse i will get to take the car out... no wonder my wife has been feeling that years of undivided attention she has been enjoying is now becoming questionable
Now to the car, with each passing day, i am just really getting more and more attached to my car, its a very lovely lovable car... the leather seats are so comfortable and the beige gives a fresh appeal each time i enter the car... the seating position is so good that its not just the commanding view that i am enjoying, its much more.. i have had years of back pain history, i never thought it could have been because of my car - I had an OHC and the seating is quite low and awkward - but once in the seat i used to enjoy my drive - but now with my back pain gone, I am having questions on the OHC seating position ! The other thing i love it in the driver seat, is the dead pedal, this is a luxury for me that i love. Those who know pune traffic can understand how painful it is to drive a manual gear box in peak city traffic, i used to always get mad at the traffic and lose my cool as my ankles and feet would hurt all the time with the excessive clutch... but now, this car really does well in this department... i have sufficient place to rest my feet when i am not on the clutch and the clutch is so good that even when i totally take the right feet off the accelerator and the RPMs fall sharply i dont need clutch support - no jerks (unless i am above 3rd gear - which anyways out of scope in peak traffic)
Talking of 3rd gear - this is like an automatic option - the moment i am in an unpredictable moving traffic - i come to 3rd and drive... this helps me drive smoothly in any speed - be it 20 or 60 without having to bother my left feet thats napping in the luxury of the dead pedal... no more harrassment in city traffic !
ABS - when the car had done just about 400 kms, an unsound M800 driver applied sudden breaks in free flow traffic totally unexpected when i was in a speed of 35 - 40, to my despair i was driving almost bumper to bumper when this happened and i just pounced on the break, no time to even clutch... i was stunned by the way the car just stopped within one feet from such speed but was very worried because of the noise from the car and the wierd hardness i felt in the brakes, the pedal had become so hard like the break was being resisted from the other side... thought the break had jammed and was lucky to have avoided the accident... came home and read through the owner's manual and found to my delight that this is how exactly the break should feel when the ABS activates - the manual suggests not to break multiple times in such cases and continue depressing the pedal as much as possible - this was awesome --- all those sales men who tried to sell me cars without ABS claiming that ABS is not required in Indian speed conditions deserve a rap ! as it was purely ABS to my rescue the other day otherwise first scratches/dents would have already found their place in my car !
Engine noise - Initially i used to think once the car has been driven a few hundred kms the smoothness and silence would not be there anymore and i would easily be able to hear the engine on ! but i am wrong, the engine is still silent and if i dont honk sufficient i end up surprising pedestrians/bikers and the surprised/shocked look in their face when they suddenly turn back and see the car gives me a wicked sense of pride.. many times i have also gotten fooled in judging whether the engine stopped or is still on ignition, so, i now have started checking the RPM meter to see if the car is still on
The car is almost as though its sound proof you literally cant hear anything inside... its like you are in a noise free pune for a change !
Looks - the Cedia Spirit with its different grill and chrome handles does have a very executive look almost every time i go to a petrol pump or park in a busy area, i immediately have people walking around the car trying to understand whats the touch screen all about or trying to find the name of the car... some people even engage a conversation to understand the performance of the car and all the details ! so, i am beyond doubt and words, glad to have made this choice ! surprisingly most people feel the spirit looks a lot Merc-y... i am more than glad to beleive so :@)
Fuel Efficiency - This is not very important for me as i dont drive much and would rather have the fun to drive factor than the fuel efficiency... but still to my surprise, the car gave about 12+ FE in the first 600km run that was within city limits with regular unleaded fuel (HP), but as mentioned by a few people i was keen on testing the FE with Shell super for my long drive to Kashid beach - while the FE seemed to be 14 or more while going the overall FE for the trip after i returned seemed about 12 - 13 only - this could have been because of the heavy traffic while we were returning from Kashid - but will keep you guys updated on the FE moving forward, now that my first service is also done.
Maintenance - has been easy and simple, thanks to RajaTaurus - a simple mixture of water and surf keeps the leather clean and neat no matter how heavy the stain is...
Modifications - have only got the sun film done as of now - though expensive i found the HuperOptik option to be the best in the market and i wanted only the best ! I used to drive with the ACC on 18 - 19deg before i got this high performance ceramic sun film (apparently others are metal based), now, anything below 23 is painfully cold... so 25 - 26 is where i set my ACC these days... i knew that adding sunfilm to the wind shield would be useful, but i am surely surprised with the difference in the cooling, apparently, because of the quick cooling of the car, the compressor is not running most of the times and beleive me this makes more TORQUE available when i am in a mood to push the pedal a little hard and have some fun !
So, everyone who has not gotten sun film done for their windshield should surely give it a try, beleive you will be surprised with the results.. and for all you know, the FE would be a lot better too !
I have not yet laid my hands on the music system and I plan to do so in Jan '10, I am thinking of JBL front speakers (9k), Hertz Oval Rear speakers(5k) and Blaupunkt or Pioneer subwoofers with amp... the total package is coming about 25 -30k, I need your expert advice on which speakers to opt and if there is any kind of threat in doing such work in the car as i do not know exactly how much tampering would be there and would it affect the kenwood music system ?
Lastly, the performance of the car after the first service is unbeleivable... just one word
the car has now become my personal rocket ! Its not that i am not used to high pick up before... the OHC was also a fun to drive car with a lot of peppiness and energy, but this feels like a rocket... i am not a very technical guy, but surely 117 BHP does not seem right, this feels like a lot more or probably the other cars i drove had their BHP over rated, whatever said, the feeling of take off when you are ready to push the pedal is AWESOME... just one word !! donno what was done in the first service... although i was told that only the alignment was corrected as the car was earlier dragging to the right !
Now, i am finally done and eagerly waiting to hear your comments and answer any questions you may have...