Background:
My current ride comprises of a 13 Yr ols Apache 150, now converted to RTR 180, using its parts and a 2017 21000 driven Alto K10 VXi (o)
Although, financial wisdom would say keep the car, it is new and selling it would mean loss. But, can't stand the bad ride quality and the total lack of safety, especially since we are becoming 3 by next year 2021
. Also, the lack of space means parents or friends at the rear seat are uncomfortable, when they visit.
Me and my wife love to travel, and me being a shutterbug love going to offbeat places. We have driven the car 21000 kms, of which around 90% is on highways alone! For office commutes, we used to travel by motorcycle (people living near Whitefield, Mahadevpura would understand – 10 kms to my home takes 1.5 hours in the evening by car and 45 mins by bike)
While I love the small footprint of the car enabling me to park it anywhere, and squeeze in the gaps, there are a few things I can’t really digest and want to upgrade:
1. Total lack of safety – TinCan would be an understatement
2. Not so cheap service – it costs me anywhere between 4-6 k per annual service, same as my Dad’s Ecosport
3. Soft suspension, yet the car crashes into each and every pothole, small bump and uneven surface. Even changing to XM2 and reducing pressure to 30 doesn’t do much. Bangalore roads are going from bad to worse now since there hasn’t been much repair this year due to COVID. Driving on the poorly made white-topped roads, I can actually feel each and every joint and every stone inside. However, the new tires have improved the cushioning and grip levels quite a bit, but still not enough.
4. Steering devoid of any weight at any speed above 60. While the engine and low seat wants me to drive it like a Go-Cart, the steering brings the fear of God back in me at highway speeds. Wife is afraid of driving it above 40 in city and 60 in the highways due to this. Also, the excessive vertical movement on highways is scary at times to the passengers
5. Weak brakes, have missed hitting the car ahead in city quite a few times. Maybe something brake cleaning can fix since the pads have plenty of life left
6. Car feels totally made cut down to cost. And rattles galore no matter how much the service centre tries, come back within a few weeks
7. Lack of space. Yes, I know it is a small car but friends (all less than 5’8”) don’t like sitting in the back seat. Space is enough for 2 adults and kids
8. Bigger cars bully on the road, and want to push me off the road – Bangalore drivers, sigh!
9. Poor low end torque and high NVH levels means I have to keep shifting gears in city, unless I pump the tires to 35 PSI, when the ride goes for a toss
Present: While this year we haven’t been able to do any long trips yet due to Covid, there have been quite a few short ones nearby Bangalore. Also, our family is expanding as we would be 3 by June 2021! Safety, space and comfort is on the top of my mind, while my plan of upgrading my bike is on pause for the time being, until next year.
What I want in my next ride:
1.
Safety – Atleast 4-star NCAP Rated. 5-star would be the best though -
Non-negotiable
2.
Fun to drive – can’t bear to drive boring cars anymore
3.
Good, if not excellent ride / handling balance – Body roll should be controlled on ghats, but have decent ride quality since most of the roads in Bangalore are dug-up with moon size craters everywhere and concrete roads elsewhere which are not aligned
4.
Hassle Free Service - Can’t be running around the service centre getting things fixed since the little one will keep me busy for the next two years atleast. Although, I love DIY and have been fixing my motorcycle and keeping it in top shape for the last 8 years.
5. Don’t really care about resale since I will keep it for atleast 8-10 years
6.
Should be easy to drive in city – wife will be using this too, and she is a new driver
7. Transmission choice – Open to Auto, although prefer manual. No AMTs though, hate them absolutely!
8.
Fuel efficiency – anything above 10 in city is fine. Not a priority, but don’t want a fuel guzzler
9.
Space – Should be able to accommodate 2 + 2 parents in the back seat + 1 kid in the child seat and their luggage
10.
Android Auto – Need to be able to see maps, and play Spotify / Amazon Music. If system is not supporting AA, should be swappable with an aftermarket system which supports it
11.
Ground clearance – Although haven’t yet grounded my car even when driving on off road trails (very basic offroad), inspite of its soft suspension and low GC of 155mm even when fully loaded with 4 adults and luggage, due to its short wheelbase, should be able to navigate the moon crater roads of Bangalore with ease.
12. Body type – I prefer Sedans with their spacious cabins, and better handling while Wife prefers CSUVs. Anyways, Sedans are out of the market it seems now.
Contenders: 1. Nexon XZ+ / XZ+S 1.2 (Top Contender 1) Likes:
a. 5 Star NCAP rated. ISOFIX mount on rear seats
b. Good Driving position
c. Well weighted steering. Ride quality is pretty good too
d. Overall, well equipped and a VFM proposition. Well-rounded package too
e. Plenty of space in the back seat and the boot. 3 of us could easily fit and sit for long drives
f. No squeaks / rattles on a 17k Test drive vehicle
Dislikes:
a. The engine sounds a bit gruff when pushed and is not free revving perhaps due to it being a 2-valve/cylinder engine, being used to the K10 motor and RTR 180, both of which love to be driven hard. Had a good mid-range though, and the turbo lag isn’t much of a deal breaker for me, being used to poor low-end torque of the K10
b. Clutch feels strange, having a springy feel even before the bite point. Probably bad upkeep of the car.
c. Sales and service – not really sure. Heard quite a Haven’t heard back from Tata after the test drive while the Ford ones keep calling every week. Also, sales staff attitude seemed quite casual
d. Start stop button of the test drive vehicle had its paint off and had turned white!
e. Don’t like the digital speedo/ tacho console design, looks too busy. Am a fan of sweeping needles and clean instrument design
f. Roof line is curved, egress and ingress for wife and parents was a bit of an issue and they claimed head would hit the roofline while entering the car. I didn’t face any such issue though
g. Touchscreen design didn’t find much favour with the missus and mother, looks cheap as per them
h. C pillar is too thick. While reversing out of the parking, had a huge blind spot on the rear left side and couldn’t see the incoming traffic
i. 2 Yrs standard warranty, as compared to the Ford and Skoda, it is quite less, although can be extended to 5 yrs. Puts a question mark on the faith Tata has on its cars
Questions:
1. How good or bad is the fuel efficiency in city conditions? The test drive car had 8.9 kmpl as the average value. Being a small turbo, efficiency could be compromised in the b2b conditions
2. Delivery time is 10 weeks, for any colour / variant! Any dealer which can deliver it earlier?
3. No Discounts, apart from insurance which is overpriced anyways
2. Altroz XZ (o) 1.2 Likes:
a. Interior feels very upmarket, and posh
b. 5 Star NCAP rated. ISOFIX mount on rear seats
c. Good Driving position
d. Well planted and well weighted steering. Ride quality is pretty good too
e. Well-equipped and a VFM proposition. Well-rounded package too
f. Plenty of space in the back seat and the boot
Dislikes:
a. That petrol engine! Has been discussed umpteen times already
b. Gear shifts felt notchy, especially 2nd to 3rd. Although it could be because of it being a new test drive car
c. Nothing else really
d. Egress and Ingress could be an issue for the elderly
Question: Should I save money and buy the Diesel instead of Nexon?
3. XUV 300 Likes:
a. Highest NCAP rated car in the segment.
b. Powerful engines – both Petrol and Diesel
c. Good Ride Quality, with decent handling – as per reviews, haven’t driven it yet
Dislikes:
a. Boot space is extremely low. Could be a dealbreaker
b. All white and silver interior seems a bit tacky
4. Ford Ecosport T+/ Thunder P/D
Dad has a 2017 Titanium + Petrol Auto Ecosport. Have driven it extensively, on the highways and city, off beat places with bad road conditions
Likes:
a. Decently powerful engine for the Petrol, has good low-end grunt and doesn’t mind being revved to the limit. Good NVH too
b. Excellent high-speed handling, gives good confidence
c. Good Instrument cluster design for the S variant, clean and easy to read
d. Easy ingress and egress for the elderly due to high roofline
e. Bright and well-designed touchscreen on the S variant
f. Most well priced services of the lot, as per 3 years’ experience by dad. Each regular service costs less than 4.5 – 5K, almost as much as my Alto K10!
g. Diesel engine is superb too, as per reviews
Dislikes:
a. Stiffly sprung, but still couldn’t feel a lot of big potholes. Low speed ride gets a bit jiggly in city
b. A pillar obstructs visibility. Could hide a bus perhaps there! Same for the C Pillar
c. Feature deletion by Ford! Can’t get Android Auto in T+ variant
d. No Cruise control, sunroof in both variants
e. Rear space is a bit less
f. Sideways opening boot door
g. Shallow and odd shaped boot can’t fit a lot of suitcases
h. Heavy clutch on the Petrol variant! Not sure if it is due to bad upkeep, but the car had run about 15K Kms only. Yet to test the diesel variant’s clutch
i. No NCAP Ratings yet
Questions:
1. What kind of fuel efficiency numbers can I expect out of the 1.5 Dragon? Diesel is well priced, will have to stretch a bit for that though the excellent number out of the TDCi will probably save me a lot of money in fuel
2. Which variant makes the best sense. I’m confused totally, especially since T+ / Thunder are priced same
3. Does it make sense to go for Ecosport over Nexon? Considering Nexon is a newer platform, proven safer and has a slightly better ride in city
4. How much can I bargain? What kind of discounts can I expect in Bangalore?
Wildcard Entry: 5. Rapid Ambition 1.0 TSi Likes:
a. Drove both the Montecarlo (Manual) and Style (Auto) variants. Don’t know why but I felt grownup and upmarket driving this car! Despite it being an age-old platform
b. That sweet engine! Made me forget all my worries, and just keep driving. Turbo Lag wasn’t much pronounced, and I usually don’t let the engine lug below 1k to protect the big end bearings
c. Decent visibility out of the car
d. Smooth gearshifts in the manual
e. Steering felt the best – direct and light at city speeds
f. Took a high-speed turn, car was extremely planted as if saying – is this all you got
g. Enormous boot
h. Pottering about in second gear in traffic was easy, no jerks or complaints from the engine
i. Smooth Auto gearbox! Don’t notice gearshifts unless you pay attention
Dislikes:
a. Skoda service nightmares. Keep reading about them, almost every month
b. Only couple of service centres in Bangalore. In case of breakdown while travelling, could be an issue
c. Car is under-equipped for the price.
d. Huge central tunnel. 5th passenger would be uncomfortable
e. Speakers are meh. Definitely would have to upgrade them first. My Alto’s Morels with the stock Nippon system are on a different planet as compared to these
Questions:
1. How easy is it to source parts over the counter, to get them fixed at FNG
2. How is the ride quality in Bangalore roads? I drove over smooth roads, so couldn’t judge properly
3. Does the car get grounded over unscientific speed (car) breakers, when loaded with 5 passengers and luggage?
4. What kind of fuel efficiency are owners getting for the manual TSI variant?
Heart says, go for the Rapid Ambition / Style manual, but is scared of the Skoda Service Gremlins, save money and spend it on car parts/fuel
. Mind says go for the Nexon / Ecosport which is the safe choice. But the 10 weeks waiting for Nexon P is a bit too much though.