Don’t be fooled by its size. This is the original attitude car, albiet on its last legs.
Man was I confused when I was buying a car .... I dont quite understand (now) why I was then, but boy I sure was confused. Finally, I thought enough is enough .... its high time I made up my mind (I am a Libran you see ... someone has to live up to that reputation, let it be me). Anyway, I decided I was going to buy a car with spunk, which was fun to drive, which was easy and cheap to maintain which had enough space to carry three people and some luggage and which would have a great resale value, in case I changed my mind later. Three years down the line I have had ample opportunity to validate my choice against all these parameters except the last one (resale value) coz I have no plans to sell it you see.
Coming back to the "Attitude Car" bit. Let me tell you this car has a mind of its own. It just cant see the Scorpio’s and Indigo’s overtake it. It has to be right there in front of everyone (Its a bit like an Apso dog, never seen itself in the mirror so takes on people who are bigger in size). The list of victims are long though (ones who have been fooled by its size) ... Scorpio’s , Indica’s , Indigo’s, Sumo’s, Santro’s and the occasional Accents (basically bad drivers) and Esteems (bad drivers again). How does it do it .... well simple , its a real light car , with an amazingly peppy engine and handling which is exceptional , so it can carry a lot more speed into corners compared to a lot of other cars. I always wanted a car which is fun to drive, and this one has not dissapointed yet. Believe me, its a joy to drive !
So what are the other good things ?
Its cheaper than some bikes to maintain (atleast cheaper than my bike).
Has a solid engine , you can really abuse it but it holds its own .
Gives a pretty okay milage (around 13 kpl with ac on) .... now I know the Honda City guys out there must be saying thats no big deal even my car gives me ths same milage ... true ... but this thing costs a lot lesser not only to buy but also to maintain.
Spare parts are dirt cheap .... you can go to a restaurant and come out with a bigger bill than it takes to replace the bumper and paint it.
Looks good (but thats a matter of opinion). But its the type of car that you can modify a bit and it will really rock (for example fatter tyres a muffler and a sun roof) :-)
And like I said earlier, its fun to drive. It really really is !
Comfort. The ride is pretty good (assuming that there are not too many people in the car so that you can push the seat way back).
What are the negatives. Unfortunately there are a few.
It has a real bad road clearance. Load up the car and you end up having a lusty affair with all the speed breakers in town. Boy does it kiss & caress those speed breakers, can be quite irritating and embaressing too. I have seen people raise the suspension a couple of cm’s, I have not intention of doing that though.
Has a bit of a tall gearing. What does that mean? You need to keep shifting gears all the time while driving in the city. Now this is fun for some people (me included) but some folks might not like this aspect.
Space .... you need a microscope to find space in this car ... he he he :-)
Turning radius ... larger than probably Honda City ... but still nimble though.
So do I recommend this car? Well only if you love driving and dont care about the space, else buy a Santro .... honestly !