My huge Sedan - Maroon Chevrolet Optra Magnum LT 2.0

sylvan · 1st December 2009, 09:05

Booking Date : Nov 13
Delivery Date : Nov 22.
Dealer : Trident Chevrolet, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore.
Accessories : Floor Mats, Mud flaps,perfume, idol,3M Sun films, teflon coating, Autocop Reverse parking sensor

After an extensive dilemma and confusion on which car to buy(Verna,Linea,Optra...even Manza until my then fiancee had a look at it), I finally settled for Optra.
People say that the waiting period for the car was the most difficult period to get past, but I went through a much harder phase, where the car was in your parking and you couldnt take it out.
Yes. I went through that ordeal for a week until my marriage on Nov 29. I didnt get the registration nor the temporary number. I didnt complete Puja because marriage tasks ate up all my time. Now I will split my experiences into three sections.

Why optra?
Initially this was never in my list since my budget was 9L. 4 months back the following was my priority.
Verna - Verna - Verna - i20 - Linea. 3 Months back this had become Verna - Verna - Linea - i20. 2 Months ago it was Verna - Linea - Optra - Manza.
Last month it was Optra - Verna - Linea and in a jiffy it became Optra - Optra - Optra.

All these priority changes was after taking multiple test drives, going through user experiences and a bonus from my workplace(Nice!! isnt it?).
As there are already plenty of reports on all these cars, I dont think I need to explicitly mention the pros and cons of each car here.
The reason I chose optra was because of its stability at higher speeds, suspension and the amount of time it takes to reach those speeds.
This was the car that I found to be much less stressful when going on long drives. Also, my wife is a novice driver and she finds optra driveability in par with honda city.I never liked honda city, but wanted to make sure I really dont like it and hence took a TD of it too.
Also I found it much easier to drive in B2B traffic where the clutch does all the driving and I never had to switch from 2nd gear nor touch the accelerator. Boy, this car brake has got a real bite. All in All I found this car to be a well rounded sedan at 10.6L.

Dealership experience:
Now having decided on Optra, I had 3 dealers to check with.
Sundaram Motors, Kropex, Trident Chevrolet. Kropex was my obvius choice because it was hardly a km from my home. So I started dealing with them first then sundaram and later with Trident. All three gave me almost similar quote for black(Yes, That was my initial choice of color). Kropex had a maroon in his garage and wanted to promote it. When I asked for black he said the waiting period was 21 days!!!!. He lost my faith right there also he wouldnt give me any accessories.
I contacted Sundaram and he said he would give me all the above accessories, but his quote was 10K higher that what I got from Trident.
Sundaram was constantly asking for the quote from Trident so that he could better that. I somehow didnt like doing that kind of business act.
Trident was sticking to whatever he gave me first and never asked what other quoted.I also had a 2yr old santro to exchange which was purchased at Trident as well and hence obviously Trident gave me a good exchange price. Hence Trident it was, mainly because of the way he went with his business.

Sore points with Trident:
1. I interacted with 3 sales people as they kept switching.
2. Too far from where I stay.

Initial drive report

Just completed 100 kms mostly in bad bangalore traffic. Needless to mention the torque at it wheels. Goes without saying, the bite of all 4 discs. Already proven all 4 independent struts with gas shocks. 0-100 under 10 secs explained the ease of overtaking in mild traffic.

All said, I am one satified customer of Optra and IMO this is the best VFM sedan.

Pics to follow.

shishir_bn · 1st December 2009, 09:26

Congrats on your new purchase. Even i have heard that Trident in kalyan nagar is a good dealer.by the way the first para of "WHY OPTRA" was nicely written. So don't waste time to post some snaps and oh forgot to mention congrats for another person entering your life.

aks_karthik · 1st December 2009, 09:26

Congrats Sylvan,

Chevy Optra Magnum is really a Macho machine and engine is real gem IMO.
Enjoy and Drive Safe

Happy Married Life

klassics45 · 1st December 2009, 09:34

it should have been a nice feeling when someone who is going to be with you all through the life, comes in and helps you in selecting a car and what a perfect time for a new car.

Congrats Sylvan, for your new drive and new married life.

Dippy · 1st December 2009, 10:06

Congratulations on your Magnum . The Optra is one of the most comfortable cars around and I love the back seat. A fantastic highway cruiser and you have the economy of diesel as well. I found it a bit difficult to drive in bumper to bumper traffic but once you get an open road it just shoots off.

Update this thread with your ownership experience and lets also have some pictures as well.

And yes Wish you a Happy Married Life as well.

hsejars · 1st December 2009, 11:18

Congrats on the two new ladies in your life :-) Wish you a long and happy married life.

kewlferrari · 1st December 2009, 12:18

Awesome choice. you will not regret it. The Magnum looks hot in the Blazing Red. Bias opinion since I have it as well

. Congratulations and wish you a very happy married life.

Lukeskywalker · 1st December 2009, 12:40

Congratulations on your ownership of one of the most comfortable sedans, I too have a blazing red Optra 1.6 and even after 3.5 years, I still prefer it over the other cars I have.
May you have a long happy married life and an equally enjoyable car ownership.

Cyborg · 1st December 2009, 12:53

Congratulations on your marraige and new baby Sylvan

Wish you a happy and prosperous marraige and miles and miles of happy motoring. The Optra Magnum is a powerful beast!

gomzi · 1st December 2009, 14:43

Hey Sylvan, Congratulations on your wedding and the new ride.

The Optra Magnum is a great car to drive on highways and though i've not driven it in b2b traffic, I think the torque will help you lots in managing the car. Maroon is a great colour for sedans, I wonder why there are so few of them on the road.

Mr M R K · 1st December 2009, 15:27

Just two days into married life and you are already posting purchase experience!!
Congratulations on your wedding and on aquiring an amzing car.

Do post some pictures..

longhorn · 1st December 2009, 17:24

Congrats on your wedding and your new car. drive safe and enjoy your ride!

Ramsagar · 2nd December 2009, 10:45

Congrats buddy. Its a life time achievement of getting married & owing a beast at once. You didn't tell me that you are engaged, anyways give a call when you are back.

Any plans for upgrading the tires?

throttleking · 2nd December 2009, 12:37

Congrates!!! you will enjoy the ride for long...where are the pics?

nairanupg · 2nd December 2009, 12:52

A huge car for sure and a fantastic highway cruiser with loads of power.
Congrats on the new ride and for the marriage sylvan. I agree about the torque making it easy to drive in bumper to bumper traffic; but what about the maneuvarability ? Please do shed some light on it once you have had the hang of it.
Also i'd say a tire update would be apt. what say ?

1st December 2009, 09:05	#1
sylvan BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bangalore/Chennai Posts: 151 Thanked: 3 Times	My huge Sedan - Maroon Chevrolet Optra Magnum LT 2.0 Booking Date : Nov 13 Delivery Date : Nov 22. Dealer : Trident Chevrolet, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore. Accessories : Floor Mats, Mud flaps,perfume, idol,3M Sun films, teflon coating, Autocop Reverse parking sensor After an extensive dilemma and confusion on which car to buy(Verna,Linea,Optra...even Manza until my then fiancee had a look at it), I finally settled for Optra. People say that the waiting period for the car was the most difficult period to get past, but I went through a much harder phase, where the car was in your parking and you couldnt take it out. Yes. I went through that ordeal for a week until my marriage on Nov 29. I didnt get the registration nor the temporary number. I didnt complete Puja because marriage tasks ate up all my time. Now I will split my experiences into three sections. Why optra? Initially this was never in my list since my budget was 9L. 4 months back the following was my priority. Verna - Verna - Verna - i20 - Linea. 3 Months back this had become Verna - Verna - Linea - i20. 2 Months ago it was Verna - Linea - Optra - Manza. Last month it was Optra - Verna - Linea and in a jiffy it became Optra - Optra - Optra. All these priority changes was after taking multiple test drives, going through user experiences and a bonus from my workplace(Nice!! isnt it?). As there are already plenty of reports on all these cars, I dont think I need to explicitly mention the pros and cons of each car here. The reason I chose optra was because of its stability at higher speeds, suspension and the amount of time it takes to reach those speeds. This was the car that I found to be much less stressful when going on long drives. Also, my wife is a novice driver and she finds optra driveability in par with honda city.I never liked honda city, but wanted to make sure I really dont like it and hence took a TD of it too. Also I found it much easier to drive in B2B traffic where the clutch does all the driving and I never had to switch from 2nd gear nor touch the accelerator. Boy, this car brake has got a real bite. All in All I found this car to be a well rounded sedan at 10.6L. Dealership experience: Now having decided on Optra, I had 3 dealers to check with. Sundaram Motors, Kropex, Trident Chevrolet. Kropex was my obvius choice because it was hardly a km from my home. So I started dealing with them first then sundaram and later with Trident. All three gave me almost similar quote for black(Yes, That was my initial choice of color). Kropex had a maroon in his garage and wanted to promote it. When I asked for black he said the waiting period was 21 days!!!!. He lost my faith right there also he wouldnt give me any accessories. I contacted Sundaram and he said he would give me all the above accessories, but his quote was 10K higher that what I got from Trident. Sundaram was constantly asking for the quote from Trident so that he could better that. I somehow didnt like doing that kind of business act. Trident was sticking to whatever he gave me first and never asked what other quoted.I also had a 2yr old santro to exchange which was purchased at Trident as well and hence obviously Trident gave me a good exchange price. Hence Trident it was, mainly because of the way he went with his business. Sore points with Trident: 1. I interacted with 3 sales people as they kept switching. 2. Too far from where I stay. Initial drive report Just completed 100 kms mostly in bad bangalore traffic. Needless to mention the torque at it wheels. Goes without saying, the bite of all 4 discs. Already proven all 4 independent struts with gas shocks. 0-100 under 10 secs explained the ease of overtaking in mild traffic. All said, I am one satified customer of Optra and IMO this is the best VFM sedan. Pics to follow.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 09:26	#2
shishir_bn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,195 Thanked: 120 Times	Congrats on your new purchase. Even i have heard that Trident in kalyan nagar is a good dealer.by the way the first para of "WHY OPTRA" was nicely written. So don't waste time to post some snaps and oh forgot to mention congrats for another person entering your life.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 09:26	#3
aks_karthik Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,947 Thanked: 341 Times View My Garage	Congrats Sylvan, Chevy Optra Magnum is really a Macho machine and engine is real gem IMO. Enjoy and Drive Safe Happy Married Life
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 09:34	#4
klassics45 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 305 Thanked: 277 Times View My Garage	it should have been a nice feeling when someone who is going to be with you all through the life, comes in and helps you in selecting a car and what a perfect time for a new car. Congrats Sylvan, for your new drive and new married life.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 10:06	#5
Dippy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 7,561 Thanked: 2,470 Times	Congratulations on your Magnum . The Optra is one of the most comfortable cars around and I love the back seat. A fantastic highway cruiser and you have the economy of diesel as well. I found it a bit difficult to drive in bumper to bumper traffic but once you get an open road it just shoots off. Update this thread with your ownership experience and lets also have some pictures as well. And yes Wish you a Happy Married Life as well.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 11:18	#6
hsejars BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 86 Thanked: 5 Times	Congrats on the two new ladies in your life :-) Wish you a long and happy married life.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 12:18	#7
kewlferrari BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Delhi Posts: 175 Thanked: 16 Times	Awesome choice. you will not regret it. The Magnum looks hot in the Blazing Red. Bias opinion since I have it as well . Congratulations and wish you a very happy married life.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 12:40	#8
Lukeskywalker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,397 Thanked: 1,243 Times View My Garage	Congratulations on your ownership of one of the most comfortable sedans, I too have a blazing red Optra 1.6 and even after 3.5 years, I still prefer it over the other cars I have. May you have a long happy married life and an equally enjoyable car ownership.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 12:53	#9
Cyborg Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,694 Thanked: 3,856 Times	Congratulations on your marraige and new baby Sylvan Wish you a happy and prosperous marraige and miles and miles of happy motoring. The Optra Magnum is a powerful beast!
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 14:43	#10
gomzi BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 798 Thanked: 236 Times	Hey Sylvan, Congratulations on your wedding and the new ride. The Optra Magnum is a great car to drive on highways and though i've not driven it in b2b traffic, I think the torque will help you lots in managing the car. Maroon is a great colour for sedans, I wonder why there are so few of them on the road.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 15:27	#11
Mr M R K BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Del / Ldn Posts: 51 Thanked: 9 Times	Just two days into married life and you are already posting purchase experience!! Congratulations on your wedding and on aquiring an amzing car. Do post some pictures..
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 17:24	#12
longhorn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,526 Thanked: 1,567 Times View My Garage	Congrats on your wedding and your new car. drive safe and enjoy your ride!
	() Thanks

2nd December 2009, 10:45	#13
Ramsagar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: BLR_Nellore(AP) Posts: 1,396 Thanked: 252 Times View My Garage	Congrats buddy. Its a life time achievement of getting married & owing a beast at once. You didn't tell me that you are engaged, anyways give a call when you are back. Any plans for upgrading the tires?
	() Thanks

2nd December 2009, 12:37	#14
throttleking BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 804 Thanked: 447 Times	Congrates!!! you will enjoy the ride for long...where are the pics?
	() Thanks

2nd December 2009, 12:52	#15
nairanupg BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Asia Africa GCC Posts: 188 Thanked: 127 Times	A huge car for sure and a fantastic highway cruiser with loads of power. Congrats on the new ride and for the marriage sylvan. I agree about the torque making it easy to drive in bumper to bumper traffic; but what about the maneuvarability ? Please do shed some light on it once you have had the hang of it. Also i'd say a tire update would be apt. what say ?
	() Thanks