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Old 9th July 2008, 15:09   #16
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Sumit. Come to Delhi. Name a car and I'll show you a taxi service using it

/Yes even the 740 Li
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Old 9th July 2008, 15:17   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddy View Post
How about the Optra ? I think it has a pretty comfortable ride
Optra would be the best option. SUV might be the best option as getting in &out aint dat easy especialy if its for your wife. I would suggest you to go for a sedan.
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Old 9th July 2008, 16:47   #18
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Off late I've been suffering from lower back pain. I drive my esteem to work and back which is approx. 60 kms of daily driving.

Around a year back I TD'd a corolla and it had lumbar support on the driver's seat. This could be "activated" with a small handle on the side of the seat. Seating comfort and support was very good in comparison with the esteem.

Is it possible to get the driver's seat modified for lumbar support?

With regard to this thread however, my honest opinion and suggestion will be to buy a car which has good adequate lumbar support on the seats. Ingress/Egress issues cause knee pain and not much of issues to one's back.
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Old 9th July 2008, 17:16   #19
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If a car doesnt have lumbar support seats, you can always buy a lumbar roll or a back support cushion and use that with a regular seat. These are available at most physio therapy centers.

Since you already have a swift, you should consider which big car suits your driving requirements and buy. Most of the cars in the 10L+ range should come with lumbar support.

From experience, back pain is not just because of driving ergonomics, but gets aggravated due to driving on bad roads or with bad suspension. The actual cause can be something else, unless you drive more than 60kms/day.

cheers!
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Old 9th July 2008, 17:48   #20
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I own an innova & let me tell you it has good handling but not so good ride. Safari has a good ride , but climbing in it is a chore & moreover innova & safari being so huge are not ideal for ladies driving.
A saloon has the best ride of all & an SUV or MUV. cant match that. But as a saloon is not in your wishlist, I would suggest you the next best thing & that is the SKODA FABIA. German cars have best ride comfort & skoda though a czech. company, is now under VW.
Palio is too old a car & you would also not want to be stuck with fiats poor service standards.
Fabia apart from being comfortable , would be easy to drive by your wife.
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Old 9th July 2008, 18:08   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phamilyman View Post
Sumit. Come to Delhi. Name a car and I'll show you a taxi service using it

/Yes even the 740 Li
There is a difference between a BMW, Merc., Lincoln Limousine and an Innova taxi but that is a different matter of discussion.

BTW, I have seen it all. I have been in Delhi for a good 5 years of my 30 years while pursuing my Masters.
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Old 9th July 2008, 20:02   #22
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Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. Am definitely avoiding hatchbacks, because already have swift. How I wish it had better suspensions. Any mods to go about that.
I am shortlisting cars which I should try:
SUV - Will try Safari. It driver is not around, then she can drive the swift - so big car is not a problem. In SUVs don't see any other good option. Dont like Innova's looks so much and don't like Scorpio for its bad braking
Sedan - Cedia is good and I just love that car. Optra magnum looks like uncle waali car. How is civic in ride quality terms. It might also be a good idea to wait for the new corolla.
Hatchback - Fabia, if nothing of the above works out.

For a temporary second hand car - how is the drive comfort of santro.

Thanks for help everyone.
Anand
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Old 9th July 2008, 20:15   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ap9dm View Post
Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. Am definitely avoiding hatchbacks, because already have swift. How I wish it had better suspensions. Any mods to go about that.
I am shortlisting cars which I should try:
SUV - Will try Safari. It driver is not around, then she can drive the swift - so big car is not a problem. In SUVs don't see any other good option. Dont like Innova's looks so much and don't like Scorpio for its bad braking
Sedan - Cedia is good and I just love that car. Optra magnum looks like uncle waali car. How is civic in ride quality terms. It might also be a good idea to wait for the new corolla.
Hatchback - Fabia, if nothing of the above works out.

For a temporary second hand car - how is the drive comfort of santro.

Thanks for help everyone.
Anand
Safari is tough to get in & out, sways on high speeds.
Cedia has good ride, but has other issues for which it did not sell.
Civic too low.
Santro- bumpy ride
Waiting for new corolla - wise option.
In hatchbacks- Fabia has best ride.
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Old 9th July 2008, 20:29   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ap9dm View Post
don't like Scorpio for its bad braking

For a temporary second hand car - how is the drive comfort of santro.
That's something new! For the first time I am hearing that Scorpio has got bad braking! How did you reach this conclusion? Did you test drive any Scorpio before making this statement? Can other members and Scorpio owners throw some light on this?

The Santro is a good car in terms of ease of driving and comfort.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bhp1 View Post
Safari is tough to get in & out, sways on high speeds.
On the contrary, I have only heard good things about the Safari. My one and only test drive of the Safari also makes me understand and believe that it is one of the easiest vehicles to get in and out of! Also the new 2.2 Dicor has minimal body roll! Please get your facts right.
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Old 9th July 2008, 22:45   #25
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Most ladies love the santro for easy to drive nature and wonderful ergonomics.
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Old 9th July 2008, 23:31   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SumitB View Post
That's something new! For the first time I am hearing that Scorpio has got bad braking! How did you reach this conclusion? Did you test drive any Scorpio before making this statement? Can other members and Scorpio owners throw some light on this?

The Santro is a good car in terms of ease of driving and comfort.

On the contrary, I have only heard good things about the Safari. My one and only test drive of the Safari also makes me understand and believe that it is one of the easiest vehicles to get in and out of! Also the new 2.2 Dicor has minimal body roll! Please get your facts right.
You have gotten all wrong & need to get your facts right.
Ask anyone scorpio has poor braking & fades quickly & santro has bumpy ride in the back.
You are talking about safari, its a pathetic vehicle to say the least, for getting in one has to climb. It has excessive body roll also. so, please place your facts right before asking others to do so . & dont go on post count for lack of knowledge.
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Old 10th July 2008, 00:01   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ap9dm View Post
It might also be a good idea to wait for the new corolla.
IF new corolla is what you want to wait for, then might as well wait for VW JETTA due this month. It is a throughbred german car & for sure will have the best ride quality in its class.
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Old 10th July 2008, 01:32   #28
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My two cents,

Back Pain should be caused more by a bad seating posture than a bad suspension. Most cars have reasonably decent suspension with some variation in ride quality from soft (NHC) to hard (Palios / Swift), but that actual variation is not so much, as long as you keep a Mahindra CJ or Gypsy out of this discussion.

A good seating posture is based on the relationships between seat height, pedal position, steering wheel position and gear shift. A higher seat height maybe comfortable to sit, provided the pedals are placed accordingly (which is not, in case of the Indica / Indigo platform). A steering wheel placed too high can be painful too (again an Indica / Indigo problem). And so on and so forth. If somebody has a low seating position but has to keep craning one's neck to see the front, that's not good either.

Perhaps the best way to find a comfortable car is to do a typical Delhi-style 40 km each way commute in it morning and evening in rush-hour traffic to find out how it affects your body. That may not be possible practically. Also, back pains and all other body pains show effects in a latent manner.

The best way would be find a car that has a good position between the ABC pedals, seat height and gearshift. Also, one should go for a car with lumbar support and seat height adjuster and a tilt / rake adjustable steering wheel. With so many possibilities of adjustment, people will find a comfortable position by trial and error. You should be able to do that during the TD.

And yes, a bigger / wider / luxurious seat is not always a comfortable one, especially for shorter people.
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Old 10th July 2008, 01:55   #29
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Another thing about safari is that its unsafe & not crash worthy, apart from the fact that its in no way modern, overweight & full of niggling problems. So, risking life & saving the back is not an intelligent preposition.
Buy a car thats a complete package & dont just go in for 1 feature only. The bad parts come to the fore once you start living with it.
If you dont want a hatchback, CEDIA is the next best bet.
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Old 10th July 2008, 09:26   #30
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Off Topic: We expect your car to outlast back-pain, we don't expect/wish the person to have back-pain throughout the life of your new car. So, while looking for new car, please don't let back-pain to be sole deciding factor. It can be valid factor in short term, but also have a look trim levels/ comfort levels that you wish to have in your new car.
Hope that your wife is undergoing adequate exercise/yoga sessions to ease/cure back-pain & her back-pain is of curable type.
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