I have had this beast for 6 months now and have done little less than 5000kms. So no claims to being travel freak and heck - I am not even a’car’ person. I really love my Bullet Thunderbird and have been on umpteen trips on it. I also hate the much maligned and discussed Bangalore traffic with a passion and love to see the expression of hapless car drivers as I zoom away on my bike right under their A/C cooled noses.
All this changed after I bought this machine which has just nearly converted me to a’car’ guy(!). Here are some of the points(and I am not going to stick the normal’review parlances) that have more or less converted me(and I use the term’more or less’ loosely:))
ROAR - Damn this thing can scream. I know some folks complained about the engine noise reduction not being up to the mark inside the cabin but I am a person who likes to FEEL his vehicle and I suppose there are some folks like this around. I let the accelerator rip on the second gear and she just kept climbing. I felt exactly like a driver inside the NFS(Need for Speed to the uninitiated) game.
DRIVE - One of the main reasons for the conversion is the ride quality. I love the feel of the vehicle and like the way she responds to the wheel. I know it takes some getting used to the wider tyres if you have driven smaller cars(I used to drive a Palio) but once you get used to it, it’s a dream. In the worst of traffic you just glide on as if you are Lois Lane flying with superman! The suspension is great and you barely feel the bumps of our corporation’s incompetence:). The adjustable steering can be set high when you are going on bad traffic or low when you are cruising on the highway. The large tyres and the stupendous ground clearance also add to your confidence that namma speed breakers aka mini hillocks can do you no harm! On one trip, I hit a really bad CRATER at 110 kmph. I was expecting a bad hit and huge bill but no permanent damage. Also love the way you can overtake these tempo walaah on signals- AC or no AC. that is just priceless!
SIGHT - and is she one! Every traffic signal draws at least one unabashed stare and every bus stop(especially in bannerghatta road and MG-Brigade) is an experience too pleasurable to be put in words. I still get this for my thunderbird and believe me it’s something you can get used to;). The bold lines, the beautiful curves, the don’t-mess-with-me lights. makes you want to slap the joker who made that stupid ad and even kill the folks at maruti who approved it!
SPACE -Both inside and outside - it’s very spacious. Period. The boot can easily hold two bodies(ok you didn’t hear me say that;) and inside there are a lot of small cubby spaces for your stuff. I know the back-seat is a letdown with the hunchback of Notre dame in the centre but trust me - on long drives it isn’t so much of an issue as it is made out to be - It actually pushes the person sitting in the centre to the front so no two shoulders touch each other at the back. The front seat - well that’s a totally different story - I am no expert but DAMN those seats are comfortable!
CANDY - Hmmm - IPod ready music system, tubeless tyres, alloy wheels, climate control, ’kink’y windows, temperature view, speakers, tweeters, fog lamps - have I missed anything? I am reminded of the’life mien kuch jyada’ ad where the guy goes to buy tea and gets all the freebies he can think of. Its well worth the brag rights one gets!
Now for the stuff that’s making me reach for my Thunderbird keys(once in a while:))
SEAT CONTROLS - The controls for the seat height adjustment have a typical cheap feel about it. I am not exactly asking for hydraulic controls(throw in a cruise control while you are at it!) but having to pump like a water-sump - that’s not exactly classy is it?! Even the controls to recline the seat have a severe plastic feel to them - not good!
RIGHT SIDE A(?) PILLAR - That’s what they call it? Simply put the driver’s side of the’kink’y window leaves a serious blind spot. Especially when you are making that crucial U-Turn on Manipal junction, your heart will skip a beat. That’s a really big problem.
PAINT - In case you didn’t know - about 150 ml of sx4 paint costs about 3000Rs. Ask me - I have enough dents and scratches left untended:). I believe there is a paint spray - comspray that comes cheap - will have to research it further. Given the size of this monster and the average non-existence of driving knowledge in Bangalore - this will be the single largest cause for heart attacks in SX4 owners!
RUMBLINGS AND RATTLINGS - I may be hallucinating because of my 5 year old Palio but I really get the feeling there are these tell-tale rattles and rumbles especially at high speeds. I have removed all but the seats from the vehicle to test if it isn’t something else but I am unable to find the cause. The folks at my service centre want me to take an ear test.
Net net - it’s a great car that you can learn to love. I bought it from suraksha motors in electronic city(through mandovi) and the service rocks! My second service cost me all of 500 Rs! I had some problems with the headlamp which they changed in a jiffy and trust me - the ad about the maruti service stations? It’s ABSOLUTELY true. I found maruti service stations in places where I couldn’t find a decent food joint! Maruti has a definite winner in the SX4(at least I feel so) and I am very happy I bought this car(almost as a whim!). To think I was going to buy an Indigo DicoR.brrrr.