This has been the first car I have bought, and when I was looking for reviews on it. Couldn’t find any that were useful, so here goes.
Purchase location: Pune
Month: Nov ’09
Ownership of: 8 Months now,
Mileage driven: 8, 000 Kms
Fuel Economy: 10-12 kmpl in the city & 14-16 kmpl on the highways (without AC)
My intention, when I arrived at the 2nd hand car dealership was quite clear. It was going to be an M800, an old, beaten down, no frills, white color, point A to point B vehicle to satisfy transport requirements on a daily basis.
And then I saw this car and fell for it, this is as much a review for the public as much as it is a pathetic attempt to justify (to myself only, who else?) the extra money I had spent on buying a Hyundai Accent Viva ’02 model instead of an M800.
Let’s get this clear at the outset, every guy has a thing for cars. I mean, you may think that you don’t, you may think that you’re immune to the charm, immune to the throaty whisper that comes when you start up a 1600 cc engine, immune to the G’s that push you back into bucket seats at a feather touch on the accelerator, but wait till you get a chance to own your first car, and you’d find out.
Heck, who am I kidding. It was a totally impulsive decision. Here’s why it happened.
Looks: Beautiful design, I think the lancer and the accent were the last of the cars which looks like cards and not futuristic battery powered vehicles. Look, the new city has style, but I miss the grace and the hungry feel of the old V-tech city every time I look at one.
The hungry engine: It feels far from being a 1600 cc engine, it’s punchy at low speeds and cruises at 100 kph easily on the highways.
Interiors: Red and Black leather, could anything be more sportier ?
Space: Bucket seats, adjustable steering, a huge storage space at the back
Size: I keep reassuring myself all the time when I go on a long drive in a small car. But it’s a fact (alright, not a fact but at least a superstition of mine which I am not ashamed of) that big long cars were built for the highway.
So fell for it, bought it ...
Now for the ownership report:
Fuel Economy: HOLES, HOLES & More HOLES in my pocket when it comes to city driving with an AC. This beauty is a guzzler built in ’02 when petrol cost 31 bucks a liter & it shows :)
Reliability: 8, 000 kms without a single issue. Need I say more. This includes, by the way, a trip of 1200 kms in 24 hrs without even a cursory check up.
Handling: What can I say, this car was built for the 5th gear and nothing else. Potholes will be hell on your bones, but you would have to work hard not to fall asleep on a highway, because it would feel like you are cruising in outer space at anything over 80 kmph, no vibrations at all.
Verdict: They don’t build them like this anymore!