[travelwriter]

A lazy weekend afternoon with nothing much to do. Sounds like a recipe for some excitement, right? I thought so. A few years back, I would have packed my bags and would have headed to the nearest hills. But of late, this has become just a dream.

So I decided to the next best thing - test drive some cars.And so, the homework started. I got into Team-BHP and tried looking at ownership and test drove posts on these cars. Finally, I managed to shortlist 3 cars that I wanted to test drive. And they were
Chevrolet Optra Magnum Diesel
Linea T-Jet
Mitsubishi Cedia

Why these three? All of them have similar specs when it comes to PS and all of them are priced pretty close to each other. I also had the Vento in my list but it got dropped because the dealer here was too busy to give me a test drive.

The date of test drive was finally fixed. I asked for the cars to be brought to my home in the afternoon. Sunday afternoons in Calcutta can put many an energitic individual to sleep and the roads would be fairly empty. It had to be a SUnday. The pre-work started in the morning. I spent 'extra' time with my son. Helped my wife in her chores. I was extra sweet to her. Stayed away from the TV remote and stayed clear of any topic that could lead to a lengthy discussion. That end taken care of, I was ready for the test drive.

Before I start with this part, i wish to say a few things.
1. I cannot buy any of these cars since they are out of my budget
2. I did a test drive since this is the best way to lay my hands on these cars
3. I am a layman when it comes to writing reviews. So please do not compare my post with those of other more experienced members
4. I am still unaware of quite a few technicalities and so the write up might sound too basic. Please bear with me.

Rest in next

[travelwriter]

The first car that came up was the Optra Magnum.

Looks - exterior
I liked the looks. Nothing to showy and certainly not a head turner. It was not as smooth-edged as the Civic or Altis and I liked that. I somehow like the 'boxy' cars more than the curvy ones

The car has a low stance and you actually had to move and turn every joint in your body to get in. My old parents would certainly not like this. I didn't mind it, though.

Interiors
This is where the world changed. From the outside, the car didn't feel as big. It was very spacious; front seats, rear seats had a lot of room. A refreshing change from my faithful Alto. In spite of the space, none of the switches, gear knobs felt out of reach.

The salesman went about explaining the features...'Everything is automatic, sir. You get a sunroof in the petrol version instead of the airbags that you get here. "Absolutely value for money, sir. Nothing can beat the safety of this car." I was already itching to start the motor and step on the accelerator. And that is what I did.

Drive
The first thing that happened after I put the car into the first gear was - it stopped and the engine went dead. "Sir, this is not petrol sir. You are releasing the clutch too soon."
"I see. But the clutch has to be pressed such a long way. That is not what my Alto has. That is why it stalled" I tried to sound as aggressive as possible to camouflage my naivete. I turned the ignition on again and this time was more careful.

Then it hit me. I was pinned to the back of the seat and the car leaped ahead with a roar. By the time i put it into the second and then the third gear, I was already at 60kmph. The way the car pulls is unbelievable. THe 121 PS of power felt it was too much for the city of Calcutta. I soed way ahead of other cars that were starting with me on signals. That commanded some respect. The gear knob worked very well. Unlike my Alto, where I sometimes have to 'search' for the third gear, this slots into
the gear precisely.

Finding the right gear for the right speed wasn't difficult. Also, even in choc-a-bloc traffic, I did not have to chagne gears too frequently. The car could pull from 20kmph even in the third gear. The first and second were, of course, quite powerful and I did not have to use it very frequently. In the fifth gear, the car was very comfortable to drive. ONe thing that i really was impressed with was that if I had to brake suddenly and did not downshift, the car would not complain (unlike my Alto
which is very vociferous in such situations).

What disappointed me, however, was the handling. I expected much more. When I drove on a flyover which has 3 turns on it, I did not feel very confident at speeds of 60kmph. Just for comparison, I merrily cruise at 55kmph in my Alto. While driving the Magnum, I felt that must slow down a bit. I also felt some amount of insecurity (for want of a better word), when I had to brake all of a sudden when doing around 90kmph.

Other than that the car behaved very well. It was as if it was heeding my commands and doing what I wanted with much humility. Driving this vehicle is a pleasure and it can be very useful in city traffic where I have to suddenly overtake slower vehicles in narrow roads.
The sitting position is good and gave me a good view of the road ahead and the rear view mirror (internal) gave me a good view of what was happening behind me.

It was also quite easy to find the right seating position. I have a habit of resting my right elbow on the door pocket and controlling the steering wheel with one hand. My other hand usually rests on the gear knob. THe Magnum did not trouble me on that front and gave me a good seating position very soon. Electric controlled ORVMs made things easier.
The boot space is decent and it could be opened without getting out of the car.

After sales:
As per the salesman, none of the customers ever complained about anything for at least 2 to 3 years. The service intervals are quite similar to Maruti cars but they have a scheme wherein you can reduce your 'servicing' cost to zero. Talking of schemes, the salesman said that if I bought an older vehicle (2010 mid), then he would be able to bear the insurance cost.

I wonder why older vehicles are still in his yard!

My take:
If I were a fan of diesel or had the need for one, then this would be the one I would go for.

Rest in next

[travelwriter]

Now for the next car - the Linea T-jet.

Looks - exterior
Very few can resist its good looks and enough has been said about it in this forum. So, I shall not dwell on it. The model I drove was the T-jet Plus. The difference between this and T-Jet is the size of the wheels (16" vs 15") and the imported leather upholstery.

Interiors
Here is where you get mixed feelings. THe features are immense. Almost everything is available on the steering wheel; you can even operate your phone with it. But the look of the dials, the light behind them gave me a feeling that this is where some compromise has been done. Such a lovely looking car deserves some better treatment from the inside. After all, others will be admiring it from outside while I will spend more time behing the wheel. That is where all the good looks should be, isn't it?

The seats were plush and very comfortable. The seat could move up and down other than forward and backward. THe arm rest was very useful as long as you didn't have to use the hand brake lever. THe gear knob felt very 'rich' to hold with the leather wrapping. The front seats were very comfortable in terms of space also. But I cannot say the same about the rear seats. I am not very tall (5'10" only) but taller people will definitely complain. I will not since no one is my family is taller than me.
Otherwise, the seats were very comfortable and my son took an immediate fancy to the centre arm rest in the rear seat.

The other shortcoming I felt was that the nooks and corners inside did not give me much space to keep stuff. The bottle holders cannot hold bottles, the door pockets were present as a formality rather than serving any utility. THe glove box was also not much bigger than the one in my Alto.

Drive
When I sought to put the car into first gear, I realized that the foot well was not given much thought to while designing. THe pedals were too close to each other for my comfort and I kept searcing for the clutch even while driving.

Once I put the car into the first gear and then the second, I realized that what most people said about the initial pick up and the sluggishness was not entirely true. I felt that car went ahead with decent power. I even compared this to my experience in Optra Magnum. While the Magnum was certainly better in the first and second gear, the difference was not much to bother to me.

The real change was visible when I slotted the T-Jet into the third gear. THe power, 114 PS of it, is unbelievable. The car just wanted more. I kept pressing the accelerator and did not change gears, yet it kept on going without wincing. THe needle was touching nearly 80kmph and the RPM count was close to 3k when I put it into the 4th gear. That is when the salesman told me about the turbo kicking in at 2500 RPM and the vehicle delivering maximum power and all that.

THe technicalities apart, the drive was superb. I realized how important the weight of the car is when I drove the T-Jet. The car just stuck to the road at high speeds. I went over some really cruel potholes and I did not feel a thing. I sweat if I had kept a glass brimming with water on the dash, not a drop would have spilled. The stability at high speeds was very comforting. The only irritant, which I mentioned earlier, was the space in the footwell because of which I had to hunt for the clutch. But that, I guess, would be ok once I am used to it.

I took the car to the same flyover that had 3 bends. This is where I realized that the T-Jet was indeed better than the Magnum. I did not roll around much even at speeds of 70kmph and when the car was negotiating the bends. I did not have to work the steering wheel much and the T-Jet simply obeyed every command with much elan and grace. I even tried some 'herioc' darting around vehicles in thick traffic. The car might be bigger than my Alto, but I did not 'feel' the size while overtaking other
vehicles. It was as if I told T-Jet "Just g around this car, swerve right immediately after overtaking and then go past the next car, then swerve left...." and it did exactly as told. This car gave me great confidence irrespective of the speeds I was driving it in.

Even at slower speeds, I did not find the neeed to downshift much. In heavy city traffic, the only bother is the long clutch travel. I was stalled it (yes, this car too) and the salesman asked to turn off the switch completely. It has something to do with the on-board 'computer' which as to reset itself before you can fire the ignition again. Irritant? I think not.
The gear knobs fall into the right slot easily and the braking is top notch. "It has ABS, Sir", went the salesman.

Other aspects:
The rear is really wonderful looking and the boot space is huge. Enough to put an extra noisy passenger into that. The key fob is also good. The key folds in and fits into your pocket nicely. The only thing I did not like was the excessive use of chrome. But the salesman stopped short of saying that I was an exception in this case. "Indians are a big fan of chrome, sir" was his retort.

After sales:
I believe this is the biggest differentiator. THe first service is at 3000kms and the second at 15000 kms. Even if the service cost is higher than a MAruti, for example, the long intervals more than justify that.

My take:
Magnum diesel or the T-Jet. T-jet any day. But if you really need a diesel, then Optra it is.

Rest in next

[travelwriter]

THe final contender - Mitsubishi Cedia Sports.

Exteriors - What were they thinking?
The first thing that struck a discordant note was the shape of the headlights. THe front grill design was different from the usual Cedias I had seen and I liked the earlier on better. The car looks good but definitely will not beauty contests especially if the likes of Linea are taking part.
But the doors were heavy and did not feel tin-like when you open and close them.

Interiors
Getting into the car is very easy. You do not have to crouch too much. THe seats are very comfortable and I did not have a problem finding the right position with the seats moving up, down, forward and backward. One thing that was pleasant about the interiors is that it was very airy. On a closer look I realised that the windows, the windshield were so designed that I got more external view than what I got in the Magnum or the Linea T-Jet. It was as if the earlier two cars were beautiful houses with walls and windows and the Cedia was more like a house with more glass walls than concrete ones. I liked the feeling of space.

The features were very basic but quite useful. There were not many switches to fiddle around with and this is what impressed me. It had the music system, the dials, the gear knob and lots of pockets. What more do you want? I did not miss the steering mounted controls of the Linea of the dozen switches of the Magnum.

The footwell was really very well designed. In fact, the pedals have rubbers fit onto them that does not let your feet slip. They are placed well apart; no confusion unlike the Linea. The car was very spaciours. It felt more spacious than the Magnum and certainly was more spacious than the Linea. The rear sets offer great leg room and also had a centre arm rest. In fact, if you lowered the arm rest, you could access the boot. That was quite useful.

The brochure that the salesman showed me said the car came with a GPS navigation system but the car I drove did not have it. When I asked about this, the salesman said something to the effect that the newer version did not have the GPS system. That, if true, is disappointing.

Drive
This is what made all the difference. If there is anything that redefines the pleasure of driving, Cedia it is. 2000 cc, 115 PS and it felt much more powerful thatn the Linea T-Jet or the Magnum. And I am not exaggerating.

Right from the word go, the Cedia showed me why it commands respect from all and sundry. Racing or rally pedigree, Mitsubishi engineering superiority...I do not know what. But this, by far, was the best car to drive. There was no turbo funda in this car, I guess. First, second or any gear for that matter, no other car came even close to it in terms of pick up, speed or acceleration.

In a matter of seconds, I was in the fifth gear and at 90kmph. This car is really mind-boggling. It made me wonder why they could not increase the pwoer from 115 PS to at least 160 PS. This car can beat even the Cruze when it comes to power. In that sense, I was disappointed with Mitsubishi for shortchanging us. I pressed the accelerator and revved the engine but could not get the RPM needle to touch the red line. In fact, I had to check the meter to know that I had touched 90kmph.

THat is when I decided that this car needs a more open road to test. Much to the protest of the salesman and his nagging driver, I took the car to an open road around 20kms from my home.

And there, I let myself go wild. I touched 150kmph; something that I have never done before. The car kept asking me as if teasing me, "is that all you want me to do?" The stability of the car on sharp beds on a flyover was something that one can write poems about. It was as if you did not have to worry about anything at all. The car is supposed to turn and it will turn precisely and safely irrespective of speeds.

The real test came when I was on a straight stretch of a nearly empty road. I was doing a good 130kmph and there were 3 vehicles ahead of me, quite some distance ahead. One of them was a mini truck. When I was closing in, I decided to overtake them since all the 3 vehicles - the truck, a Sumo and a Qualis - seemed to be slowing down. I did not brake and started to overtake at around 130kmph.

It was then I saw why they had slowed down. The road was blocked with huge barrels filled with sand - the kind they use to slow down traffic at check points so you have to perforce slow down and make 3 twists before you go straight ahead.Here I was at 130kmph and the barrels were hardly around 20 metres ahead of me. THe salesman shrieked, the driver screamed, "Arre Sir, drum aache" or something to that effect in Bengali. I braked immediately. The car did not lose its line. It slowed down a tad and allowed me to swerve left. I knew that I had overtaken all the 3 vehicles and had enough space to slip in fron the the Qualis. I simply took a mild left and then started driving normally straight ahead.

When the slaesman regained his composure, he said "Good driving, sir". Little did he realize that if it had been any other car, we all would have been contents of a small news article the next day and would have instigated the administration to build in more speed breakers. It was not my driving. No sir. It was the excellent car, the ABS, the EBD and the marvel of Mitsubishi Cedia.

The stability, the safety is unbelievable. I couldn't believe that I did not lose my composure or sanity for even a fraction of a second. This car is meant to be driven at good speeds. It handles bad roads, traffic, smooth roads, bends and anything else that is thrown its way with great confidence. I cannot term it grace but I can call it sheer muscle and power. This is like the Vivian Richards of all cars. I have not driven anything more aggressive than this. In fact, I managed to 'win' a small race with a BMW. I guess that guy owned the car he was driving.

Other aspects
The rear end looks every bit sporty. THe company also gives a choice of stickers to make the Cedia look every bit the sportscar it is. The service intervals are same as the Maruti's and that, coupled with Mitsubishi's presence in cities, is a concern.

I, in fact, asked the salesman why such a brilliant car does not sell in huge numbers. He simply shrugged his shoulders. I must say that the salesman I interacted with new very little about this car. Maybe he already had another job in his hand and was least interested in selling this car. And the driver - let me not talk about him lest I start using profanities in my post.

My take
If you want to drive, if you love driving, if you have the money, then buy Cedia. Petrol or diesel, well known brand or otherwise, beautiful looks or the ugly duckling, if I had a choice then I would pick Cedia any day of the week and twice over on Sundays. Move over dear Germans, Italians, Americans. Step aside dear Hondas, Hyundais and Suzukis. It is not that you are bad. But as long as the Cedia is around, you can only be the second best. That too by a great distance.

Post script
I mentioned at the beginning of this session that I did not have the money to buy any of these cars that I tested. But now I have started saving. Even if it is a second hand car, my next one has to be the Cedia. I hope and pray that things go as planned and by December, I own a Cedia - a marvel of a car.

|| Tat Sat ||

[Torquedo]

Hey Travelwriter -

Had a few questions for you after the test drives:

Which 1, the Optra or the T-Jet had better in gear acceleration?

Which pinned you back into your seat more?

Looking at the VFM pricing, which one would you suggest?

Thanks & regards,

Happy Motoring !!

[travelwriter]

Originally Posted by Torquedo

Hey Travelwriter -

Had a few questions for you after the test drives:

Happy Motoring !!

I would say that would have to be the Optra. The initial surge in Optra was more pronounced. But if you were to drive the Magnum and Cedia back to back, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference by much

[NoRules]

That was a very interesting write up, travelwriter. I have read and heard a lot of good things about Cedia and have always wondered why it does not sell.

[Torquedo]

Thanks for the quick response mate,

It's kinda strange that both felt the same way, my reason being:

1) Optra has 314 Nm of torque which is class leading, about 80-85 Nm less than that of the Merc C 200, so I assume, Optra should have pulled better. Cedia on the other hand has 175 Nm of torque.

2) Optra has a turbocharger, after 2125 RPM it kicks in and kicks in like anything. I have driven the Optra not the Cedia though and with the added advantage of the turbo,Optra any given day should have pulled better.

With these 2 glaring differences, Optra should win Hands Down.

Happy Motoring !!

[avishar]

Thats a nice fresh change from the usual ownership reports here.Cant think of a better way to spend a sunday!

We need more such comparisons test here in TBHp and such back to back tests are very valuable to gauge different cars.Thanks,although i am in no position to buy any of them

Our family owns a alto k10 and it will be sometime before we upgrade.I am not sure which alto you own,but i agree with you on the "search" for third gear.Other than that the k10 is a great engine in itself,good torque and pulls cleanly in 2nd and 3rd.

BtW that flyover which you are talking about,is it the AJC bose road flyover?

[camchennai]

That was an informative comparison what you have made, thanks for the time you have invested in drafting it. Innovative way to spend a Sunday!!

Well your conclusion was obvious, Cedia or Lancer can give you the best ride out of this lot and no other car can match its ride quality and road manners. Just that Mitsubishi made a big mistake of joining hands with HM and got poisoned by HM syndrome. HM doesn't upgrades its car, come what may they will still sell their decade old Ambassador and Mitsubishi is following the same lines with no regular updates or replacement to its aged Cedia.

They need to go back to their drawing room and come out with a new strategy for India; until they do this nothing can stop Mitsubishi from becoming a history in India.

[travelwriter]

Originally Posted by Torquedo

Thanks for the quick response mate,

It's kinda strange that both felt the same way...Optra should win Hands Down.
Happy Motoring !!

My driving style is such that the thrid gear acceleration is more important to me. THat is one reason I did not find much sluggishness in the Linea. What you are saying is correct for the Magnum; I also agree that the 'pinning' is more pronounced in it. But when it comes to handling the cars at high speeds around bends, the Magnum fails to match the Cedia. I am talking purely from the car manners perspective. But I guess if I were driving the Magnum for a long time and then tested the Cedia, my views wouldn't be entirely different from yours. But I would still maintain that if fuel type isn't an issue, the Cedia is much better than Magnum.

Originally Posted by avishar

Thats a nice fresh change from the usual...BtW that flyover which you are talking about,is it the AJC bose road flyover?

THanks, buddy. I have an Alto LXI that is over 2 years old now. I have seen this gear issue in almost all Maruti cars that I have driven - Wagon R, Dezire, 800 and Omni. I guess it runs in the blood for Maruti.

The flyover I was talking about is the one that takes you from EM Bypass into Salt Lake secotr V; the one over Chingrighata. I took that and went over to Rajarhat roads.

Originally Posted by camchennai

That was an informative comparison....becoming a history in India.

Thanks, partner. It is rather sad that a perfectly brilliant vehicle gets murdered by sheer company policy and strategy. I guess the same goes for Fiat. Both these companies aren't able to make up their mind about the Indian market. On the other hand we have a GM which is getting brutalized in its home market but its persistence in India has paid off to some extent.

Originally Posted by NoRules

That was a very interesting write up, ...wondered why it does not sell.

Thanks, NoRules. If only I had the cash to buy a Cedia....

[AirWind]

But the turbo zone in any Diesel has a very narrow band lasting just 1K RPM (starts 2.2 and ends 3.2 K RPM), so it pulls wildly within this band or the driver should be experienced enuf to shift up and get back into the turbo zone. But in case of the Linea 1.4T or any other tubo petrol (Laura or Octavia), IIRC the turbo band ranges upto 3k RPM (1.5K thru 4.5K RPM), so it pulls longer in the same gear.

Originally Posted by Torquedo

Thanks for the quick response mate,

It's kinda strange that both felt the same way, my reason being:

1) Optra has 314 Nm of torque which is class leading, about 80-85 Nm less than that of the Merc C 200, so I assume, Optra should have pulled better. Cedia on the other hand has 175 Nm of torque.

2) Optra has a turbocharger, after 2125 RPM it kicks in and kicks in like anything. I have driven the Optra not the Cedia though and with the added advantage of the turbo,Optra any given day should have pulled better.

With these 2 glaring differences, Optra should win Hands Down.

Happy Motoring !!

[AirWind]

Originally Posted by travelwriter

If only I had the cash to buy a Cedia....

While coosing a Cedia, buying preowned makes sense as it depreciates like a stink and you can pick up a decent example at 50% cost of a new car.

[travelwriter]

Originally Posted by AirWind

While coosing a Cedia, buying preowned makes sense as it depreciates like a stink and you can pick up a decent example at 50% cost of a new car.

You are right there. I checked out used car prices and found one 2007 model offered at a shade less than Rs.4 lakhs. I reckon that's a steal

[gaurav_chopra04]

Just bumped into this thread, dont know why it didnt have much replies but it surely is a great (crisp is the word) comparo between three brilliant machines. Kudos, we should have more of such reviews.

Havent driven the optra magnum, so cant comment, but I certainly agree with the comparison you made between cedia and T-Jet.