I was in the usual dilemma of which B segment car best suits me. The choice was between Indica, Wagon-R and the Santro as I have a back problem and wanted to migrate to a car which had high seating. Frankly, I hadn’t thought of the Versa at all, perhaps because there are presumably just a handful in Pune. Saw one in my neighbourhood, test drove it at a dealer and fell in love with it. Well, to cut a long story short, I now own a July 2004 Superior White DX. (had to wait for close to a month as the demand has apparently gone up post the exchange scheme that Maruti has introduced). It is an attention grabber. All my friends and colleaugues are bowled over by the space and the comfort of the vehicle. Every one of them has commended me on my choice. (I have this feeling that the versatility of the vehicle is what makes other car owners appreciate the Versa.) More importantly for me, my wife and kids just love it. There is oodles of space for all of us and our luggage and we are looking forward to our first long distance outing which hopefully ought to be in September after the rains subside. As the chap who drives it, I’m more than pleased with it’s maneuverability, the excellent visibility thru the windscreen and the pick up and braking. Am finding the gear shifting a bit ragged when compared to other Maruti vehicles like the Zen/Alto. I beleive after an appropriate running in period, this will smoothen out. Coming to fuel consumption, it’s early days still. I haven’t had a chance to drive it on a highway as yet. Driving on Pune roads is a challlenging task normally, and now with the rains and the innumerable potholes or should I say craters on most roads, getting to 4th gear is rare. I’d nevertheless hazard a guess that I’m getting between 8-10 kmpl with the ac on intermittently. Honestly, anybody who is thinking of a top of the line B segment car should look at the Versa. You get a C segment vehicle for the price of a B segment and this is a steal. Go for it!