I first laid my hands on the wheel in 2003. The car was just 1 year old and had done just 20, 000km. On my first drive I felt the steering postion angle was awkward. In a few days I overcame this feeling and began to admire the sheer driveability of this vehicle. It is incredibly smooth(the controls) compared to the many cars that I have driven which include, the Toyota Cressida 1995, Toyota Camry 1998, 2000, 2003, Hyundai Accent 2002, Nissan Patrol 2003. Ok it is kind of similar to the Cressida in terms of clutch pedal and steering wheel.
Steering, Clutch, Brake pedals*
The Steering wheel, clutch and brake pedals, the gear lever are extremely smooth and require least effort while driving which I feel reduces driver fatigue to a considerable degree, especially while navigating most roads(single lane, 2 way) in Kerala, which involves frequent braking, accleration, negotiating curves, overtaking and the like. Of course a lot of the roads have changed since 2003. But travelling the Malappuram-Calicut stretch of 50km with its blaring private buses as well as State transport still remains a daunting task.
But the Steering could do with some resistance, because I feel that’the not so careful’ driver could overturn the vehicle easily, considering the speeds which this vehicle can attain and its body roll. And when I spoke to the Service Advisor at the dealer, he said that most’total loss’ cases are that of overturn.
The brakes are very responsive and effective. Although, I did change the brake balance from stock to a setting with more brake force at the rear.
The Clutch is from heaven, even the Camry’s clutch pedal is no match. But there is one problem. If you try to release the clutch too quickly with considerable acceleration(not pedal to the metal), I mean more than usual, when you try for a quick start, the clutch engages and then disengages on its own(even though my foot is completely off the clutch pedal). It does this 2-3 times and then gets back to normal. Further, while travelling, if I release the accelerator for a while and then press it again(maintaining the same gear and maybe a few kmph per speed lost in those few seconds), there is sudden jerk that is felt, however slowly I do it. I showed it at the dealer and they said it is normal.
Engine
Regarding the engine(2.4L Diesel), well it is pretty good, but it could have been better if it had a few more horses. When driving alone with no passengers, it responds very well, but add the 7 passengers(I have a 8 seater model) and acceleration becomes sluggish. Ofcourse revving the engine to near max RPM for each gear shift helps. And when you turn on the AC, acceleration is reduced dramatically. So much that I switch off the compressor while overtaking some vehicles, which is annoying. To make matters worse a 2cm freeplay is introduced in the acclerator pedal when the compressor is turned on. Probably, the reason why I am being so demanding is because I have driven more powerful vehicles. Anyway, if you don’t consider acceleration seriously, I would say the engine is a real work horse(s).
Visibility
Coming to visibility, the front, pretty good, (you can look over most cars:)) which helps in adjusting to situations that are occurring way ahead of you. The Side view mirrors are fine and since the sides off the vehicle is pretty much straight and flat(without those bulges and undulations like in most cars these days), you can actually see your tail lights. The rear view is a problem. I wanted to fit rear parking sensors on my vehicle, but the dealer said that they get damaged easily because of the kind of bumper Qualis has and discouraged from fitting one though I had taken the trouble to procure one such system. I guess another option could be to fit one of those mirrors on the hatch back door. Infact many other Qualis owners have got them fitted.
Seating Comfort
Front row
The most comfortable with the most leg room.
Middle row
Reduced legroom and reduced height. So highly uncomfortable during long journeys for people with height near 175cm and above, because the Knee will be higher placed than the hip.
Last Row
Very uncomfortable. Take a ride on a bumpy road and the rear leaf suspension will make you experience what a basketball feels like!
Build Quality
Sufficiently Strong body, seating material(mine is fabric) is good. Though dasboard quality is little delicate as in, you can easily scratch it with your nails by mistake. Then the side step is also of fair quality. You can never get back the shine it had when you bought it. Then missing mud guards behind the front wheel cause the a lot of mud accumulation under the side step.
My only issue is with the reverse lights which stopped working within a year. The dealer managed to fix it, but not completely. It is linked to the hand brake and somehow, it switches off once you release the handbrake otherwise it is on. I haven’t got that fixed yet.
Otherwise I never had any serious issues with the vehicle.
Space
My dad managed to fit a 6 seater dining table inside the vehicle, back row seats removed and the middle row seats folded. He wanted to shift it from our apartment to the family house. So it is a people mover and luggage mover too. Definitely an MPV.
Overall
I like this vehicle so much, I just don’t want to give it away, though there are may buyers out there.