I am writing this thread after a usage of 6 months as I felt that I needed to use the car for sometime before I can comment on its Pro’s and Con’s.

I know, I would be the nth person writing about the Verna CRDI on this forum, but still just thought of jotting it down.


Car: Verna CRDI SX

Purchased on:Oct 09

Kms covered: close to 9000 Kms

No of services done: 2 free services done.



Modifications done, the reasons for and the difference after the changes.



Mine is a Verna CRDI SX with ABS and being the top end has almost all the usual expected features, but still decided to do certain minor modifications.

1)Changed the HU to a Pioneer 2 Din AVH-P3150 DVD. I picked this head unit from Dubai and it costed me 1690 AED (Pls do the maths by multiplying with 12 for Indian cost). It’s a 2 Din HU and with a neat touch screen, pretty user friendly with large fonts which is easy to read and use. The only negative to this HU I can remember, is that it cannot play movies from USB and has to be from the CD.

2)Changed the Speakers both rear, front with tweeters and cross overs. I picked up Infinity REF6020CS component speakers for front and they came with tweeters and crossovers. The cost was 443 AED. Rear speakers were my old Pioneer oval 400W which I ripped from my Esteem before I sold it.

These were done as I had felt the sound quality of original setup was very inadequate. (My personal view). Now I feel the music is clear and wholesome.

3)Fixed a rear view camera which was attached to the HU, Its some Chinese brand nothing to talk about but is serving well for the past four months. Costed me around 120 AED. Very useful during reversing in tight spots and with this contraption you would avoid rearing into a pit as you can see the road right behind the car.

4)Changed the original Head lights to 100/90 Philips Rally using Roots kit the same was picked from Technokrat’s NM road and the total charge including fixing was 1650 Rs. This I feel is a very much required modification if you are regular on highways. The original lights are completely inadequate for highway drives and actually you risk your life using those lights with the speed this car can give. With the original lights I did not have the guts to cross 80 as the visibility is hardly enough for the speed. I know I would have lost the warranty on the headlight but I feel that’s okay as otherwise the warranty would be at the cost of my life.

I had got these fixed with Technokrat’s in Chennai and there workmanship is really good.Very professional in approach, I would recommend them to anybody in Chennai who is looking out for a decent installer.

5)Bought floor mats which would cover the entire carpet area of the car, these mat are not fixed, hence can be taken and cleaned. The original mats supplied with the car are highly inadequate especially with the light shade of the carpet. The original mats tend to slip and move every time you ingress. I am at present using the original mats above the new mats. These costed me about 2000 Rs and picked them in Rexin House in Royapettah.

My views on the car

As every Verna CRDI owner/driver has to say, this car has one hell of an engine.

My driving for the last 9000 Kms would be split into City driving of about 6000 Kms and about 3000 Kms of highway runs.

Pro’s

The best of the beast comes out during the highway drives especially in the typical state highways of our country which are mostly without the divider in between. Overtaking is fun and fast with much lesser risk as you would clearly cross the vehicle you intend to overtake much before the opposite vehicle nears you.

Also in cities, when you don’t want to miss a green signal you just have to press the gas pedal and zooooom, you can be sure the guys behind you are smoked literally. You can really feel the immense pickup this car throws and within a few sec’s you would have caught up and crossed the signal.

The suspensinon is very soft and on the the regular bumps of city traffic, the car feels very comfortable.

Again about the engine, its very well refined and the sound from it is very well insulated and the cabin feels nice and quite, unlike the rattles which you expect out of a diesel.

The gear knob feels good and slots well, no vibrations on the knob again something which you expect on a diesel.

The cabin is roomy although it gets dirty very fast due to the light shade of colour used.

Decent ground clearance, realized this as I once jumped off a footpath and still the bottom did not get hit.

Con’s

Driving in bumper to bumper traffic is a bit of a thing to get used to, sometimes you feel you are revving too much in second but the engine would be knocking in third, in the beginning it’s a little tricky to manage the gear ratios especially driving between 35 to 40 Kmph. Maybe I was not used to driving a diesel before.

The Side Rear view mirrors are more like Elephant ears and you are rest assured that atleast once in a week a moron on a two wheeler would knock it. I have been lucky so far that it is not yet broken. I am infact preparing myself to the fact that very soon I would have to shell out a good sum of money, to pick a fresh piece. I really cannot understand how the guys in Hyundai could suppy such big pieces of mirrors projecting out for Indian roads. Can any one of you let me know how much would the same cost and have they broken with the simple thuds of city traffic.

This car has a mind of its own if you try to break hard at good speads, the rear end would fishtail, I have serious doubts whether the ABS really works or its just a sticker on the boot.

I had a sweaty experience during my drive to Bangalore which I did very soon after I bought the car. On hard breaking the whole vechile seemed to be out of control for a few sec’s and after that experience I make sure I break much earlier. Volumes have been written about this in various threads in this forum and hence I am not writing more about the same.

Bad Experience

I had blasted my front right tire by kerbing. I was trying to park my car and rubbed the tire wall against the kerb at less than 5 kmph but BOOOM the tire blasted, could not believe my self that the tire ripped for a rub at this low speed. Tried best with Bridgestone for warranty but they refused as it was an external damage. What I do not understand is that if these tires could damage on such small rubs, how would one drive on Indian roads?

Other than this I feel the car has held up well for the past six months and any case I was not expecting anything bad within such a short span of time and mileage.

Originally Posted by manish.thomas (Post 1843839) My tire was completely damaged, it just blew up and I had to just dispose them and get another one.

Originally Posted by Abes (Post 1843783) Sorry to hear that your tyre got damaged. Did you change it or driving with the same? One of my tyres also got a cut on it, dont know how it happened. Not very deep. I was advised by a tyre shop guy that its not a problem at all, can keep driving with it. Though I am worried about it all the time.

Originally Posted by manish.thomas (Post 1845040) Vkochar, Checked with the tire guys, they say that this cant be fixed and even if fixed would be dangerous to drive with those tires as it would rip off without a warning. The biggest drawback are the tires which lead to stability problem.