I traded with my old esteem to buy a new esteem.
Yup, thats what I did. I was driving an old model Esteem LX (second hand), for 2 years, and after the same got ousted from the market, I purchased it this february, and my belief never went wrong.
Since , i’ve got used to the car already, I didn’t have much trouble with the same, the usual problems like getting in and out, and the low seating. In fact, i’ve gotten more comfortable with the low seating. So what, every car has some problem. That list would be endless.The point to make here is that , i’ve driven other cars too. but this one just solves the purpose, no over-commitments, and no hassles.
The 85 bhp engine, with some amount of increased kerb weight for the LXI model , feels good. I’ve taken it for couple of longer drives, and have used it more in the city side. Gives me an avg of 12 kmpl in the city with AC on , in the chennai heat, all the time. I’ve not figured it out thoroughly , how much it gives in long drives, but in rough calculation, it was around 16 kmpl. I believe it gets better with more long drives.
The car is fairly new, 3 months old, and I’ve driven 3700 kms. Never had the fatigue (which , I found that I had in my old car...was that due to the old styling, or was it 2nds? ...) in either city drives or in long journeys. I’ve taken old people in my family accompany me for long drives, and they’ve felt the same too.
Since , I do the driving all the time, I get to know the pulse of the car, like when to rev it up, and when to be slow. So, it’s more comfortable to me as a driver’s car.
Time and again, a real good car, which makes u feel a proud owner of a good vehicle, with less maintenance, and more happiness.