But then things took a turn for the worse and I decided that it was time to look for a replacement.
BHPian procrj recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Sometimes you fall in love with a thought, the early seed of an idea that promises to take you down some beautiful roads. Like the spindle on your grandfather's watch, you begin to wind up the strings that hold this tender idea, the sense of excitement growing with every moment. With a sudden burst of energy, this thread of a thought begins to flow, showering you with flashes of memories and experiences. With time, these memories and experiences begin to weave into your reflection and form a big part of how you perceive yourself. But many a times, we get lost in our perceived reflections and tend to forget that the seed of an idea is all that is needed to start all over again.
I was enjoying the TUV300 and had no plans of replacing the same until 2023-24. But then things took a turn for the worse and I decided that it was time to look for a replacement. More details on my TUV ownership thread. The seed of an idea was planted and I decided that it was time to upgrade to a more reliable machine.
1. What car?
I was very clear on what I need in the new car
1.1 Absolute must have
- Ability to comfortably seat 4 adults + 1 Sub Adult as I do travel with family many a times
- 2nd row AC vents
- A decent suspension setup - given that I was coming from a car that could dismiss bad roads with ease
- Good low end torque for easy city drivability
- Car with proven mechanical reliability
- Decent service levels and spares availability
- Minimum 3 Star safety levels
- OTR budget of ~15L - this was a hard constraint due to various financial commitments
1.2 Good to have
- Cruise Control
- Android auto
- Good braking - was hoping for something better than the TUV, not that it was bad
- UV cut glasses that could deal with the heat
- Reclining second and third row seats
- Third row AC vents
2. The Shortlist
Based on the above, the shortlist was a very small one
- Ertiga
- XL6
- Innova Crysta
- Mahindra Marazzo
The Innova Crysta and Ertiga need no introduction and I have driven, as well as been a passenger in the same many times. After a lot of debate at home, we decided not to go the used Innova Crysta way and a new Crysta was way out of the budget. Hence, Innova was crossed off from the consideration list. Ertiga was a prime contender in 2015 before I picked up the TUV300 and the new Ertiga was back at the top of the consideration list this time around.
Before test driving the new Ertiga, I decided to check out the XL6 and see if it is worth the premium over the Ertiga. I have been following Leoshashi's XL6 thread and decided to reach out to him for inputs, feedback, quirks and positives w.r.t the XL6, before I test drive the same. Shashi provided a flood of information on the XL6 and asked me to take multiple drives of the XL6 before I decide. I was also in touch with DBHPian Parag, discussing various options and and he also spoke about a few of his friends/relatives picking up the XL6 and the value that it delivers.
In the last week of Feb and first week of March, I ended up taking 3 test drives of the XL6 and was impressed with the package as a whole. After the first 10 km test drive, I was impressed with a) the almost diesel-like low end torque that the car managed to deliver b) ease of driving this long car in city traffic. The second test drive was a long 80 km drive where I managed to hit 3 digit speeds and check highway behavior of the car. Given that the car suspension and transmission are the same as the Ertiga, I was not expecting a lot of difference. The ride & handling is same as Ertiga but the captain seats impressed my family. After the second test drive, we were quite sure of booking the XL6, unless the Marazzo turned out to be a magic machine.
I was in two minds with the Marazzo as the primary reason I sold the TUV was the lackluster service experience.
I decided to test drive the Marazzo before making a decision. A couple of things that stood out to me after the test drive a) The ergonomics are a little off in the Marazzo. The seats were a little uncomfortable for me and even my family provided similar feedback on the 2nd row bench seats and b) The engine, power delivery, all of it is so much like the TUV. It was comforting as well as alarming given the niggles and issues I had experienced with the TUV. Given that the price of the Marazzo was upwards of 16L for the M4 variant, I was not too happy with the value proposition and decided to drop the Marazzo from my consideration list.
What about the Hector and Safari you ask? Both of these cars did whizz through my head a few times but after reading up on the various Hector threads and experiences of owners online, decided to give the Hector a pass. The Safari was a new launch, which would mean dealing with niggles associated with a new launch at an added cost. While the Safari is a great car, after checking out all the reviews and feedback online, I decided to stay away from the Safari.
3. Booking XL6 and the long wait
After another short drive of the XL6, booked the Auburn Red XL6 1.5 Alpha MT at Varun Nexa, Rajajinagar. The booking experience was smooth and I was informed that the waiting period is 6-8 weeks. All of March was spent looking at various reviews of the XL6, thinking about accessories/modifications and talking to Leoshahsi about the car. Started following up with my sales associate and his manager in the last week of March and over the next few weeks, the delivery goal post continued to shift. I was aware of the semiconductor shortage and its impact on manufacturing, but my frustration was with the inability of the sales folks to give me a confirmed timeline for dispatch from the factory. Quickly escalated my booking to the dealership manager and RSM, who was very prompt and kept me in the loop with the latest update. The RSM did indicate that I might have to compromise on the color if I was looking for a quick delivery and requested that I provide a second and third color option. I chose Magma Grey and Silver as my backup color options but did ask the RSM to push for red. After a week of following up with the RSM, the car was dispatched from the factory on 17th April.
Maruti announced a price hike for cars from April and I was very irked by this. From March end, I was talking to the dealership manager about the hike and he recommended that we hold off this discussion till he gets a confirmation from Maruti regarding the hike. As luck would have it, the price hike was formally shared with dealers on 16th April and was applicable on all cars, irrespective of booking date. I followed up with the RSM and Dealership Manager and they decided to offer a 5K discount on accessories that I was interested in. I had already managed to get a discount of 3K on accessories when I had opted to finance the car through Nexa, which implied that I could avail a net 8K discount on accessories. In between all this, the second wave of Covid decided to crash land and disrupt life once again. Karnataka went into lockdown from 28th April and I was unhappy to wait for my car as there is nothing worse than the itch to drive a new car!
4. PDI and Delivery
After 2 months of lockdown and riding out the covid wave, I received a call from my RM on 11th June and he confirmed that the car has reached the showroom. Bangalore was supposed to start opening up from 14th June and my RM confirmed that I could do the PDI on 12th June. Drove down to the showroom along with the TBHP PDI checklist and some pointers that I had noted down from Leoshashi’s ownership thread & discussions. The PDI was quite a straightforward affair and there were no red flags. Post inspection, cleared out all the finance formalities and gave the go ahead for registration. The car was registered on 18th June and I took delivery of the vehicle on the same day.
First look at the car during PDI:
My son had decided to call the car “Brick” as it was red, long and he hoped to have as much fun with it as he had had watching the character “brick” in The Middle, an american sitcom. I decided to keep the emotions associated with the name but give it a little twist as the last thing I wanted was a bricked car. Hence we decided to name the car “Brique”, not too passe, still very apt and it felt right.
Brique:
After a quick handover ceremony at the showroom, I drove Brique to the nearest petrol pump and filled it up with 45 liters of fuel. Tyre pressure was at a very sane 50 PSI, which was slowly reduced to 32 PSI. A quick visit to my parents and in-laws place and the car was back home, ready to wait out the 2 days of weekend lockdown. While it was frustrating to sit at home with a new car in the garage, I did use the time to give the car a nice clean wash, post which I applied a double coat of Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions to protect paint & plastic surface. Also managed to strip off the gunk that the dealer had applied to the dashboard and interior trims and cleanly wiped all trims as well as leather with a generous coat of CarPro PERL.
Shine on you crazy diamond:
Continue reading procrj's experience for more insights, information and BHPian comments.