Ok, here I am waiting at the signal for the light to turn green. A two wheeler motorcyclist waiting behind my car decides that the microscopic gap between my vehicle and the next is good enough for him to squeeze through and zoom ahead (inspite of the red light on signal). Result - I hear a minor thud and car shakes for a moment. I figure that there could be minor damage. I didn't bother to get out of the car to pick a quarrel with him. Figured it's not worth spoiling a morning for.
Checked the vehicle later. Minor nick/scrape on my car's rear fender. First one. Hardly visible - but still there.
It's times like these which make me wish I had a taser in hand or special gizmo attached to the wheels of the car which at the flick of a switch bring out shining swords like those that were seen attached to the wheels of a chariot in Ben Hur's final chariot race !
Showing posts with label car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car. Show all posts
Friday, May 09, 2008
Saturday, May 03, 2008
My new Dzire Zxi - Silky Silver
Finally, got the time to post a brief note on my newly acquired Maruti Swift Dzire Zxi Silky Silver. A longish post. Some Photos towards the end of the post.
Prologue:
My previous vehicle was Tata Indica DLS (diesel), purchased Mar 2003, sold Dec 2007. Done about 36000 kms. Sold primarily because niggling issues were slowly turning into painful ones. Fairly satisfied with the overall experience, however kinda "promised" myself not to get another Tata vehicle in the future.
Competition to Dzire for my garage space, at various points of time from Dec 2007 were mainly the following - Sx4, Tata Safari, Tata Sumo Grande (inspite of the above "promise").
Had decided on a petrol vehicle - note my fuel analysis take here (Petrol Vs. Diesel (Swift Dzire)).
Main Story:
Got delivery of the vehicle on 24-Apr-2008 (about a week earlier). About a month in all is what it took to nail it down.
Had a chance to pick up a Biege Zxi from one of the dealers in the very first few days, but slipped it up 'cos the color wasn't very appealing to me. Finally, decided on the Silver.
Did take the Team BHP PDI checklist with me, but didn't make it a point to cross check it physically during the delivery, although I made it a point to mentally go thru' most of the things on the list.
Total OTR (on the road) is about 6.25L (includes registration, life/road tax, insurance, number plates, basic accessories, 3&4th year extended warranty).
No freebies from dealer (didn't try negotiating as well). No corporate discount on Dzire yet.
Basic accessories - floor mats, boot mat, mud flaps.
Still missing - in my opinion (IMO) - sunfilm. Can live with the stock ICE (in car entertainment), although I wished it packed more thump and volume. The music controls in steering wheel are a pretty nifty feature !
Still pending from dealer:
* Road/life tax book/coupon - 30 days ETA (expected time of arrival)
* Insurance NCB cheque (albeit it's actually coming from the insurance company) - 1 week ETA (initially quoted 30 days)
* RC book - 30 days ETA
* Extended warranty booklet - 30 days ETA
The vehicle's done around 450kms in this one week time, most of it in the city and some of it in longish night drives on empty/almost empty roads. Don't know if I'm doing full justice to the recommended run-in period. Making it a point to stick to around 2K RPM max. Most of the riding during the day is in 3rd gear at around 30-40kmph.
That hopefully qualifies me to write a small piece about this vehicle.
What I like, in no particular order:
* AC cooling effect
* Automatic climate control
* Music control on steering wheels
* The automatic lock after reaching 20kmph speed
* General responsiveness of the vehicle
* The outside temperature indicator (although I strongly believe it isn't working perfectly - as it showed 49 degrees celsius y'day anoon around 2pm in Chennai).
What I don't like, in no particular order (some of these are obviously in comparison with my earlier ride):
* The lack of good leg space in rear (I'm 5'9". With driver seat adjusted for my position, there's still decent space in the rear. However, putting any luggage - like shopping bags, etc - cramps the available leg space extremely).
* The lack of space in glove box.
* The lack of space in the driver/co-driver door "magazine holders".
* The fact that my hand (driver's) sometimes scrapes the leg of the front passenger while shifting gears (never happened in Indica) - maybe lesser width - will have to check out the specs.
* Not yet been able to fix myself the best driving position - still getting a slightly sore back after "long drives".
* The lack of good visibility via the rear view mirror due to the high boot.
* The change over from diesel to petrol still inconveniencing me.
* The power windows don't operate when key is not turned on. They don't close automatically when vehicle is locked. (Autocop power windows and keyless-entry/anti-theft system on my earlier Indica had this nifty and useful feature). Looks like this is a "feature" of OEM fittings !!!
* The volume and thump (bass) on the music system isn't exactly top notch. The Pioneer system on my older vehicle used to generations better than this and had tons of features as well.
Regarding dealer experience:
Overall it was a pleasant sale, nothing to really crib about. However, here are some interesting bloopers from the dealer sales/service.
* I thought I'd seen a red color EPS (with those letters as such) sign on the display panel during delivery explanation. However, when I searched for it next day morning, couldn't find it on display. Read the manual and saw that it was supposed to switch on and stay on till ignition kicked in. This was the morning after I'd picked up the vehicle. Panicked a bit and called the sales guy first. I was amused and irritated when he gave me crap that it will be switched on only once first time of the day and not after that. Called up service and had an appointment fixed with them to check it out. A "specialist" showed to me that the EPS sign wasn't in actual letters (as I'd imagined) but had a different symbol. To allay my fears, he showed in another vehicle as well.
* When I spoke to the service people for recommended driving speeds in various gears, I was given total crap. The guy just didn't have a clue.
* NCB refund from my earlier vehicle was supposed to take 1 month. My dad who is an ex-insurance officer says it's an over-the-counter affair and should hardly take more than a few days if not minutes.
Some questions:
One of the leaflets given with the vehicle recommends the following speeds for maximum FE.
1st gear 0-10 kmph
2nd gear 10-20 kmph
3rd gear 20-30 kmph
4th gear 30-40 kmph
I'm however maintaining 3rd gear even while in the 30-40 kmph range (from my Indica days). Does one know if that is fine ? Any recommendations ?
I had owned a Tata Indica DLS (diesel) for about 5 years earlier. The change over from diesel to petrol is still taking some time to get used to. Vehicle gets switched off once in a while, while in traffic, when I start inching forward from a stationary position. This stopping is however beginning to become lesser. Hope I'm able to overcome it completely in a short time. Any recommendations ?
Fuel Efficiency:
First full-tank-to-full-tank measurement yields 9.14 kmpl. This was at about 85% AC on.
---------------------------------------------------------------
This post is an "almost duplicate" of the one posted in the Team BHP forum.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Prologue:
My previous vehicle was Tata Indica DLS (diesel), purchased Mar 2003, sold Dec 2007. Done about 36000 kms. Sold primarily because niggling issues were slowly turning into painful ones. Fairly satisfied with the overall experience, however kinda "promised" myself not to get another Tata vehicle in the future.
Competition to Dzire for my garage space, at various points of time from Dec 2007 were mainly the following - Sx4, Tata Safari, Tata Sumo Grande (inspite of the above "promise").
Had decided on a petrol vehicle - note my fuel analysis take here (Petrol Vs. Diesel (Swift Dzire)).
Main Story:
Got delivery of the vehicle on 24-Apr-2008 (about a week earlier). About a month in all is what it took to nail it down.
Had a chance to pick up a Biege Zxi from one of the dealers in the very first few days, but slipped it up 'cos the color wasn't very appealing to me. Finally, decided on the Silver.
Did take the Team BHP PDI checklist with me, but didn't make it a point to cross check it physically during the delivery, although I made it a point to mentally go thru' most of the things on the list.
Total OTR (on the road) is about 6.25L (includes registration, life/road tax, insurance, number plates, basic accessories, 3&4th year extended warranty).
No freebies from dealer (didn't try negotiating as well). No corporate discount on Dzire yet.
Basic accessories - floor mats, boot mat, mud flaps.
Still missing - in my opinion (IMO) - sunfilm. Can live with the stock ICE (in car entertainment), although I wished it packed more thump and volume. The music controls in steering wheel are a pretty nifty feature !
Still pending from dealer:
* Road/life tax book/coupon - 30 days ETA (expected time of arrival)
* Insurance NCB cheque (albeit it's actually coming from the insurance company) - 1 week ETA (initially quoted 30 days)
* RC book - 30 days ETA
* Extended warranty booklet - 30 days ETA
The vehicle's done around 450kms in this one week time, most of it in the city and some of it in longish night drives on empty/almost empty roads. Don't know if I'm doing full justice to the recommended run-in period. Making it a point to stick to around 2K RPM max. Most of the riding during the day is in 3rd gear at around 30-40kmph.
That hopefully qualifies me to write a small piece about this vehicle.
What I like, in no particular order:
* AC cooling effect
* Automatic climate control
* Music control on steering wheels
* The automatic lock after reaching 20kmph speed
* General responsiveness of the vehicle
* The outside temperature indicator (although I strongly believe it isn't working perfectly - as it showed 49 degrees celsius y'day anoon around 2pm in Chennai).
What I don't like, in no particular order (some of these are obviously in comparison with my earlier ride):
* The lack of good leg space in rear (I'm 5'9". With driver seat adjusted for my position, there's still decent space in the rear. However, putting any luggage - like shopping bags, etc - cramps the available leg space extremely).
* The lack of space in glove box.
* The lack of space in the driver/co-driver door "magazine holders".
* The fact that my hand (driver's) sometimes scrapes the leg of the front passenger while shifting gears (never happened in Indica) - maybe lesser width - will have to check out the specs.
* Not yet been able to fix myself the best driving position - still getting a slightly sore back after "long drives".
* The lack of good visibility via the rear view mirror due to the high boot.
* The change over from diesel to petrol still inconveniencing me.
* The power windows don't operate when key is not turned on. They don't close automatically when vehicle is locked. (Autocop power windows and keyless-entry/anti-theft system on my earlier Indica had this nifty and useful feature). Looks like this is a "feature" of OEM fittings !!!
* The volume and thump (bass) on the music system isn't exactly top notch. The Pioneer system on my older vehicle used to generations better than this and had tons of features as well.
Regarding dealer experience:
Overall it was a pleasant sale, nothing to really crib about. However, here are some interesting bloopers from the dealer sales/service.
* I thought I'd seen a red color EPS (with those letters as such) sign on the display panel during delivery explanation. However, when I searched for it next day morning, couldn't find it on display. Read the manual and saw that it was supposed to switch on and stay on till ignition kicked in. This was the morning after I'd picked up the vehicle. Panicked a bit and called the sales guy first. I was amused and irritated when he gave me crap that it will be switched on only once first time of the day and not after that. Called up service and had an appointment fixed with them to check it out. A "specialist" showed to me that the EPS sign wasn't in actual letters (as I'd imagined) but had a different symbol. To allay my fears, he showed in another vehicle as well.
* When I spoke to the service people for recommended driving speeds in various gears, I was given total crap. The guy just didn't have a clue.
* NCB refund from my earlier vehicle was supposed to take 1 month. My dad who is an ex-insurance officer says it's an over-the-counter affair and should hardly take more than a few days if not minutes.
Some questions:
One of the leaflets given with the vehicle recommends the following speeds for maximum FE.
1st gear 0-10 kmph
2nd gear 10-20 kmph
3rd gear 20-30 kmph
4th gear 30-40 kmph
I'm however maintaining 3rd gear even while in the 30-40 kmph range (from my Indica days). Does one know if that is fine ? Any recommendations ?
I had owned a Tata Indica DLS (diesel) for about 5 years earlier. The change over from diesel to petrol is still taking some time to get used to. Vehicle gets switched off once in a while, while in traffic, when I start inching forward from a stationary position. This stopping is however beginning to become lesser. Hope I'm able to overcome it completely in a short time. Any recommendations ?
Fuel Efficiency:
First full-tank-to-full-tank measurement yields 9.14 kmpl. This was at about 85% AC on.
---------------------------------------------------------------
This post is an "almost duplicate" of the one posted in the Team BHP forum.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, March 28, 2008
Desire for Dzire
In continuance of my earlier post, I still haven't got my next car.
Now, it's the turn of Maruti's Dzire to be the object of my desire.
Not that I love the piece, it's just that it fits most of my requirements to a T, except for the restricted legroom in front of rear seats. But I guess I can live with it before I pick up my next car a few years down the line.
Now the hunt is on to find out what color I like and which dealer can give it at the earliest.
Now, it's the turn of Maruti's Dzire to be the object of my desire.
Not that I love the piece, it's just that it fits most of my requirements to a T, except for the restricted legroom in front of rear seats. But I guess I can live with it before I pick up my next car a few years down the line.
Now the hunt is on to find out what color I like and which dealer can give it at the earliest.
Monday, February 04, 2008
The wait is still on
Sold my close-to 5yr old Tata Indica V2 DLS in the month of December 2007. Kinda vowed to myself that I would not buy another Tata vehicle due to the small nagging issues that always come up.
Almost made up my mind on buying the Maruti SX4 and was ready to sink in the money (Chevrolet Aveo was a hot contender, however pathetic resale value of GM cars prompted me to think otherwise). And, that's when Tata announced the new SUV Sumo Grande. In fact, heard the buzz before the vehicle hit the Auto Expo 2008 via TeamBHP.com.
Vehicle was supposed to be in showrooms in first week of Feb. However, calls to dealers in Chennai prove that the wait period could be more.
Being stuck without a car after getting used to one for so many years can really be painful.
Am often tempted to just go out and get one of the A/B-segment cars without thinking too much about it. But then, I do kinda know that the Tata Nano or a variant of one such is what will become a second car down the line - once I get my C-segment car/suv (Maruti Sx4/Tata Sumo Grande).
For now, the wait is on.
Almost made up my mind on buying the Maruti SX4 and was ready to sink in the money (Chevrolet Aveo was a hot contender, however pathetic resale value of GM cars prompted me to think otherwise). And, that's when Tata announced the new SUV Sumo Grande. In fact, heard the buzz before the vehicle hit the Auto Expo 2008 via TeamBHP.com.
Vehicle was supposed to be in showrooms in first week of Feb. However, calls to dealers in Chennai prove that the wait period could be more.
Being stuck without a car after getting used to one for so many years can really be painful.
Am often tempted to just go out and get one of the A/B-segment cars without thinking too much about it. But then, I do kinda know that the Tata Nano or a variant of one such is what will become a second car down the line - once I get my C-segment car/suv (Maruti Sx4/Tata Sumo Grande).
For now, the wait is on.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Fuel Chart for my Tata Indica V2
Fuel Chart for my Tata Indica V2.
Contains mileage, distance per trip, litres consumed per trip, cost of fill up per trip, various other ratios.
As you can see, mileage is dropping pretty badly in the recent trips. This is thanks to the 2km trip from home to office which can take anywhere between 15mins to 30mins+ and makes me travel only on 2nd-3rd gear :(
Contains mileage, distance per trip, litres consumed per trip, cost of fill up per trip, various other ratios.
As you can see, mileage is dropping pretty badly in the recent trips. This is thanks to the 2km trip from home to office which can take anywhere between 15mins to 30mins+ and makes me travel only on 2nd-3rd gear :(
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