[Fornax]

Visited MASS early morning today for Anti-rust treatment, engine protection coat and *teflon* coating. I was not 100% convinced about the teflon part, and when buffing was mentioned, I dropped it altogether. Instead I went ahead with parking sensors as I'd been planning them for some time anyway. There were two options available, MGA's own (2 Black Sensors 4500) and Xenos (4-Body colored sensors, 3800), needless to say I picked the latter.

Anti-rust treatment was nice, and so was the engine protection coat. I'd say worth the money. The sensors are excellent, as the distance is shown on an additional mirror that sits on top of the existing mirror. The best part being, this mirror is exactly what I wanted in the first place for a rear-view mirror. It has a dark tinge, and hence in night it does not reflect headlights like a normal mirror does, and is far more effective than the standard mirror in night mode. The sensors itself will take a while to get used to, but I can say with confidence, they do their job perfectly well.

Total hit to the pocket = 9000.

[snb77]

Hi Folks,

Finally took delivery of my SX4 ZXI - clear biege color on Saturday.

Since i drove mostly in city, couldn't really take the beast for a full ride.

I also faced the issues in pickup, especially upclimbing in slopes, and i think its something to do with driving in right RPM in appropriate gears.

Apart from it, the car is excellent to drive in city and yet to drive in highways.

Only temporary registration was done and the actual registration will be done on Monday.

By the way, the dealer used to give chocolates during delivery, but missed it this time. I have to ask the sales guy on this.

The mats in the car are slippery and there is no grip and is not fitting to the carpet, need to change the mats.

Will write up more as i drive more.

[shreeps]

snb77: Congrats on your new vehicle. Request you to put up a new thread in the test drives and initial ownership section (of course with lots of photos).

[DigitalDragon]

Originally Posted by Fornax

The best part being, this mirror is exactly what I wanted in the first place for a rear-view mirror. It has a dark tinge, and hence in night it does not reflect headlights like a normal mirror does, and is far more effective than the standard mirror in night mode.

You forgot to mention another plus point of this mirror, is that, it is bigger compared to the stock mirror, hence the view is spectacular. But on the negative side, it vibrates quite a lot during running.

Originally Posted by snb77

Hi Folks,

I also faced the issues in pickup, especially upclimbing in slopes, and i think its something to do with driving in right RPM in appropriate gears.
-------
The mats in the car are slippery and there is no grip and is not fitting to the carpet, need to change the mats.

Will write up more as i drive more.

I still feel this is a feature (albeit -ve) of the car to have so less power/torque at the lower end, no matter how better you adjust
the RPM/Speed/Gear.

You need not remove the mats, IMO, they are very good, especially as they are transparent. You can put another set of mats on top of these which have non-slippery elements on the bottom. I have put a set of them bought from Big Bazar.

[snb77]

1 week of SX 4'ing.....

Good to drive in city traffic.
2nd gears is lousy as the initial pickup is very less.
Over all FE of 11 kmpl in city.

[Fornax]

...for the sole purpose of comparing it with my SX4.

My friend got hhis new Honda City to office today, and I got an opportunity to drive the ANHC for the very first time. The model was EX (?) basically the lowest variant, with a good 50K worth of accessories onboard making it equivalent to the middle variant.

Overall the ANHC is a good car, I'd call it a no-nonsense car, there is a bit of flamboyance in the statement it makes even while standing, eclipsed only while its' in motion. Overall a solid package - or so it seemed. Anyway here are my key takeaways from my short drive (5-6 Kms) of the ANHC against the SX4:

Engine OK - its' a VTec, and you'll be reminded of this fact every moment of your drive...why? Coz the engine-noise is very loud, and sure to disturb you inside the cabin (Imagine an ex-Indica guy complaining about engine-noise - thanks to my SX4 which is miles better in sound insulation).

Pickup was alright, not as snail-paced as the Linea, but adequate. Frankly I've stretched my SX4 in a more ways than I could muster with my friends' car, hence likely to be a bit biased against the ANHC.

Braking
Honda City brakes bad! Honestly, it has the same feel as my old car. Slam hard if you want to stop and prepare well in advance before you hit a red-signal. With the SX4, I can keep accelerating up until about 20-25 meters from a red-signal and still stop with distance to spare.

Space & Comfort
LOL - after all the following this car enjoys, you'd think it'd hold some substance, but the same claustrophobic feeling (of Linea Swift et al) hits you the moment you step in. The drivers seat appeared a good 4-6 inches short of my SX4, and that meant little or no under-thigh support.

I have to mention, that I was in drivers seat, so couldn't really judge the rear comfort / or discomfort.

The ride-quality was great, here it did score over the SX4, but then I was comparing my SX4 to the ANHC based on a ride over the only terrain that ANHC is designed for (Summer-time Indian Roads). That, the SX4 can easily ride over rugged terrain means that the ANHC is really no match to the SX4.

Value Proposition
This car is touted as having "Up-Market" plastics, frankly I couldn't tell the difference. The dual tone plastics clearly lacked any special quality, they looked like any other plastic dash would. Did I touch and feel it - NO, I'm clearly not into touching everything I see, so if touch is what makes it "Up-Market", I wouldn't be able to tell. This car cost my friend the same (after the accessories) as my fully loaded SX4.
- Items missing in ANHC found onboard my SX4: Alloys, ICE, collapsible steering, height adjustable seats.
- Items missing in SX4 found onboard the ANHC: Real-time FE indicator.

Looks
Alright - ANHC all the way. No second-thoughts, but SX4 isn't too far down south, especially given its' unique stance on Indian roads, and its' 10+ spoke alloys.

Overall - I really want people to buy more ANHC and Lineas, so that Indian streets look real beautiful curvy and sexy.

[Paleo]

SX4 booking, need help:

Went to My Car - Pune. They are giving just Rs 5000 dealer discount from their end other than the 25000 that Maruti is giving and the corporate disc (again from Maruti) and the exchange bonus of 20 K (again from Maruti). Is that a good deal or I need to hunt around ? Also look for insurance from outside, cash discount on loan etc ?

[Fornax]

@Paleo: Does it matter who gives the discount? Ask for free material accessories instead from the dealer. You might ask for transparent floor mats, garware sun film for both front and rear glass, steering cover, reverse parking sensors (insist on Xenon - if they offer). This list is worth 20K in the market, and alongside the discounts you've mentioned would be a damn good deal IMHO.

[zoom_vroom]

Originally Posted by Fornax

...for the sole purpose of comparing it with my SX4.

My friend got hhis new Honda City to office today, and I got an opportunity to drive the ANHC for the very first time. The model was EX (?) basically the lowest variant, with a good 50K worth of accessories onboard making it equivalent to the middle variant.

Overall the ANHC is a good car, I'd call it a no-nonsense car, there is a bit of flamboyance in the statement it makes even while standing, eclipsed only while its' in motion. Overall a solid package - or so it seemed. Anyway here are my key takeaways from my short drive (5-6 Kms) of the ANHC against the SX4:

Engine OK - its' a VTec, and you'll be reminded of this fact every moment of your drive...why? Coz the engine-noise is very loud, and sure to disturb you inside the cabin (Imagine an ex-Indica guy complaining about engine-noise - thanks to my SX4 which is miles better in sound insulation).

Pickup was alright, not as snail-paced as the Linea, but adequate. Frankly I've stretched my SX4 in a more ways than I could muster with my friends' car, hence likely to be a bit biased against the ANHC.

Braking
Honda City brakes bad! Honestly, it has the same feel as my old car. Slam hard if you want to stop and prepare well in advance before you hit a red-signal. With the SX4, I can keep accelerating up until about 20-25 meters from a red-signal and still stop with distance to spare.

Space & Comfort
LOL - after all the following this car enjoys, you'd think it'd hold some substance, but the same claustrophobic feeling (of Linea Swift et al) hits you the moment you step in. The drivers seat appeared a good 4-6 inches short of my SX4, and that meant little or no under-thigh support.

I have to mention, that I was in drivers seat, so couldn't really judge the rear comfort / or discomfort.

The ride-quality was great, here it did score over the SX4, but then I was comparing my SX4 to the ANHC based on a ride over the only terrain that ANHC is designed for (Summer-time Indian Roads). That, the SX4 can easily ride over rugged terrain means that the ANHC is really no match to the SX4.

Value Proposition
This car is touted as having "Up-Market" plastics, frankly I couldn't tell the difference. The dual tone plastics clearly lacked any special quality, they looked like any other plastic dash would. Did I touch and feel it - NO, I'm clearly not into touching everything I see, so if touch is what makes it "Up-Market", I wouldn't be able to tell. This car cost my friend the same (after the accessories) as my fully loaded SX4.
- Items missing in ANHC found onboard my SX4: Alloys, ICE, collapsible steering, height adjustable seats.
- Items missing in SX4 found onboard the ANHC: Real-time FE indicator.

Looks
Alright - ANHC all the way. No second-thoughts, but SX4 isn't too far down south, especially given its' unique stance on Indian roads, and its' 10+ spoke alloys.

Overall - I really want people to buy more ANHC and Lineas, so that Indian streets look real beautiful curvy and sexy.

Man you just blasted the ANHC when compared to SX4. Agree that SX4 is more VFM compared to ANHC and has more features at a lesser price tag but:
1. SX4's ride is pathetic and the rear passengers are thrown left and right while cornering
2. I can't agree to you that ANHC has a noisy engine. Believe me i own a ANHC -VMt and you have to look at RPM needle to see if the car is running or not at traffic signals
3. Honda cars age well compared to Maruti. I test drove a 5000 km's run SX4 ZXI (VVT) model and felt that it seemed much older than the odometer readings. I own a Wagon R and the car seems good to drive only for a week after service and beyond that it starts to rattle.
My friends Honda City with 65K on the odo doesn't rattle at all.Only slight noise from the left side door.
4. ANHC is more fuel efficient than SX4 and i can say that coz my car is giving 13.2 kmpl in the first tankful itslef. All driving in Delhi-NCR.

Please have a detailed test drive again and i sincerely hope it might change your views about the ANHC. The monthly sales figures justify some of my observations too.
Anyways enjoy the SX4, its a great car to own feels more car per rupee spent.

[Paleo]

@Paleo: Does it matter who gives the discount? Ask for free material accessories instead from the dealer. You might ask for transparent floor mats, garware sun film for both front and rear glass, steering cover, reverse parking sensors (insist on Xenon - if they offer). This list is worth 20K in the market, and alongside the discounts you've mentioned would be a damn good deal IMHO.

Thanks Fornax - will check with the dealer on the accessories. And he already seems to be giving a good discount on insurance (22300/) 2 of us are going in for the SX$ - u think that would qualify for higher discounts ?

[Paleo]

Originally Posted by Fornax

@Paleo: Does it matter who gives the discount? Ask for free material accessories instead from the dealer. You might ask for transparent floor mats, garware sun film for both front and rear glass, steering cover, reverse parking sensors (insist on Xenon - if they offer). This list is worth 20K in the market, and alongside the discounts you've mentioned would be a damn good deal IMHO.

Thanks Fornax - I will check with the dealer on accessories. He already seems to be giving a good discount on insurance - 23 K.
And 2 of us are going in for the car - do you think that will qualify for higher discounts ?

[Zero Cool]

@ Paleo, I recently purchased an SX4 in Gurgaon and did not avail (nor was i eligible) any corporate discount or any exchange bonus. Yet I managed to get the insurance and third year extended warranty free along with a 25k discount. also got the rear parking sensor, 3m sun film, art leather seats, mats and leather steering cover for free. So IMO you surely can milk them for much more. best of luck

[suprateep]

I know this is slightly off topic but lately with shifting of jobs have been very busy to post my experience of having a new SX4 in the stables for a month now exactly.

@Paleo - I got a total discount of 30k from Maruti (25k + 5K corp) and 12k worth of accessories from the dealership + 20k paid for the bodykit (yes they charge 29k for the bodykit here in Pune). So your discount figures are not bad.

@fornax & zoom vroom - My next door neighbours have a Line mjd emotion and honda city S - driven both - for drive nothing beats the Linea...period. I agree honda's ride is marginally better (okay more than marginal) but I am yet to come across people who with a family in tow take a s curve at 140+. At 80-90, sx4 is pretty planted (even for a back seat perspective). Sound insultation in SX4 is marginally better- then again petro and more so with honda engines that beg to be revved.

My dealership experience (1st service) was poor - cost was standard 1700 odd but the staff made a mess of interiors - grease marks on all seats - art leather (2 hours cleaning with coleen) and carpet - blasting the CR guy meant a 1 hour shoddy job of cleaning. Plus one 2 inch minor scrath mark on windscreen. My SX4 was the only big car that weekend - suppose weekdays would be a better idea to service my baby.

Now the surprise - I half expected my baby to return 10-12 km/l initially - I have maintained the list of petrol transactions from day 1(delivery when the car ran out of petrol at the dealership itself) to present. Saturday figures claim that over a 30 day ownership period my baby has returned 1648 kms and consumed around 113.5 (one decimal place marked) litres of fuel retruning over 14.5 km/liter (50 hwy+ 50 city driving in Pune).

[askicode]

14.5kmpl for an SX4 I guess is pretty good. I was getting 13.75kmpl before First Service. Just got the First Service done. Need to check how much it now gives. I think for the size and weight of the car, its a fantastic average you are getting.

[DigitalDragon]

Originally Posted by Fornax

Engine OK - its' a VTec, and you'll be reminded of this fact every moment of your drive...why? Coz the engine-noise is very loud, and sure to disturb you inside the cabin (Imagine an ex-Indica guy complaining about engine-noise - thanks to my SX4 which is miles better in sound insulation).

I guess if it is Vtec then it is NHC and not ANHC. ANHC is iVTec. ANHC has much lower engine noise. Point to be noted that SX4 engine is not too noisy (but somewhat noisy compared to ANHC), but the insulation actually does the trick.

Space & Comfort

LOL - after all the following this car enjoys, you'd think it'd hold some substance, but the same claustrophobic feeling (of Linea Swift et al)

Per my experience with ANHC, it does not give any claustrophobic feeling, however the seating position is surely low.

The ride-quality was great, here it did score over the SX4, but then I was comparing my SX4 to the ANHC based on a ride over the only terrain that ANHC is designed for (Summer-time Indian Roads). That, the SX4 can easily ride over rugged terrain means that the ANHC is really no match to the SX4.

Agreed.

Value Proposition

This car is touted as having "Up-Market" plastics, frankly I couldn't tell the difference. The dual tone plastics clearly lacked any special quality, they looked like any other plastic dash would. Did I touch and feel it - NO, I'm clearly not into touching everything I see, so if touch is what makes it "Up-Market", I wouldn't be able to tell.

Yes - you need to touch the material to feel it. IMO The interior plastic quality is marginally better than SX4.

Originally Posted by zoom_vroom

1. SX4's ride is pathetic and the rear passengers are thrown left and right while cornering

Totally disagree. The ride quality is very good and it never throws the rear passengers - live example, my 2 year old daughter was asleep on the rear seat throughout the curvy terrains of chikmagalur (mulayangiri) without any disturbance.

2. I can't agree to you that ANHC has a noisy engine. Believe me i own a ANHC -VMt and you have to look at RPM needle to see if the car is running or not at traffic signals

You are right.

3. Honda cars age well compared to Maruti. I test drove a 5000 km's run SX4 ZXI (VVT) model and felt that it seemed much older than the odometer readings. I own a Wagon R and the car seems good to drive only for a week after service and beyond that it starts to rattle.
My friends Honda City with 65K on the odo doesn't rattle at all.Only slight noise from the left side door.

Well...the old feeling is still a debate. Agree Honda lasts long; But so does the Maruti too. Rattling is a proprietary feature of Maruti. But honestly, in SX4 it is way less than the other models.

4. ANHC is more fuel efficient than SX4 and i can say that coz my car is giving 13.2 kmpl in the first tankful itslef. All driving in Delhi-NCR.

NO DEBATE at all on this topic - proven time and again.

Originally Posted by suprateep

for drive nothing beats the Linea...period.

Agree. Linea is planted on the road like magnet.

I agree honda's ride is marginally better (okay more than marginal) but I am yet to come across people who with a family in tow take a s curve at 140+. At 80-90, sx4 is pretty planted (even for a back seat perspective).

I have cornered SX4 at 110+ without any issue.

my baby has returned 1648 kms and consumed around 113.5 (one decimal place marked) litres of fuel retruning over 14.5 km/liter (50 hwy+ 50 city driving in Pune).

Thats just wonderful. I still dream of this figure.