After five years of driving the Honda City 2008 10th anniversary edition it was time for a change of cars.Not that the Honda City was giving me any problems, it was just that after 75, 000 kms of active running I felt that the maintenance costs may go up from hereon. So here was I was in the market for a new sedan car in the same range( what segment is that B? C? D no is quite sure!) The first choice was the Honda City Automatic .Unfortunately Honda has a severe problem now with their production.
They have severely underestimated the demand for the Honda Amaze and to cool down increasingly impatient would-be owners who have been waiting for the last 6-8 months after booking the Amaze, they have now geared up their full production line for this model at the cost of all other Honda models. Added to this is the fact that the Automatic is never a very popular option in any car in India and you soon realize you are stuck with a lemon- You have decided to go ahead and book it and then the showroom tells you sorry there is no stock available and production has been suspended indefinitely.
So here I was back on the drawing board looking for a car in this segment again. In spite of very popular reviews and plenty of new cars that you see on the Mumbai roads, I was not very keen on the Hyundai Verna Fluidic and never reached the test drive stage, I agree that the Verna has been loaded with lots of features to compete with the Honda City but the new kid on the block is yet to develop what is called road confidence. It was then that I started eyeing the Corolla Altis though this was not in the same price segment as the City and the base model( the basic version is 1.8J) had only Chakka+ engine ie it was only a basic car with no features.
It was during a visit to the showroom that I finally honed onto the mid segment variant the I.8G Petrol This had all the features that I was looking for – 7 spoke alloy wheels, touch screen DVD/FM player with blue tooth, reverse parking sensors and AC with automatic climate control. This is however a car that you buy strictly with your head and not your heart!
The midlevel variant I.8G Petrol has plenty of bells and whistles which make all the difference in the overall experience for the driver and the passengers from the small ones like door lights at the foot of every door which guides you while getting off the car to passenger side seat belt warning sound and light. The automatic antiglare rear view mirror is another such feature; as soon as a car flashes the light on this mirror, the auto rear view gets into action and removes or rather dims the glare. Road handling is superb and gear shifts are a cake walk.
You will be unlikely to use the 6th gear in Mumbai city but a weekend trip to Lonavala will tell you what this is all about and one feature that hits you all the time – road grip, this car just grips the road like chewing gum and does not sway or yaw even at speeds in excess of 140 km/hr.
The inside color scheme is the black and beige combo which sits easy on the eye .Space all over the car for knick knacks is just enormous, everywhere this is a box or cavity or storage space for storing something and lets face it in India in a family car you will really use these spaces, that extra water bottle, that box for storing the CDs etc, the Ipad Mini which your daughter wants to take along even on a short ride, the works. The automatic climate control is another feature that you will use all the time – just keep the AC on auto and forget about any temperature issues inside the passenger cabin.
There is the small issue of the reverse gear shift- it is up and above on the extreme left next to the first gear and takes some time to get used to. Another important discovery – it is not such a big car as it is made out to be – the parking is easy and the reverse parking sensor certainly helps.
Which dealer you go to certainly makes a difference in the overall buying process- I first went to Lakozy Toyota in Andheri East; unfortunately the salesman appeared to be a disinterested one on a Saturday evening and they were closed the day I had a off day in the office. On the other hand Madhuban Toyota in Kurla West was very professional and helped in the final crucial hurdle – you have selected the model and the colour but that particular piece is not immediately available, they certainly took the extra effort to locate one within 48 hrs .
Now onto the most important part – Kitna deti hai? I have not yet got a hang on the Fuel consumption but expect this to be about 10 kms/litre on the city roads and about 14-15 when you hit the highway.
Finally there is nothing flashy about this car and no one will give you any jealous glances over the shoulder; just a quiet machine which will keep moving on and on.