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I know I have delayed in posting this review but here it comes will be adding more info in coming days. Feel free to send me messages in case of any questions.
Section One: Background and Buying Overview
I had a Swift Diesel 2.5 years old, loved the car. Very practical and takes all the abuses of driving in Delhi /NCR. Reason to change was stuck in heavy rain once and saw cars floating in front so wanted to upgrade to an SUV, but due to limited budget did not want to spend more than 14L. Wanted the vehicle with atlas 2 Airbags, ABS as safety was very important while buying the car anything which did not had these were dropped out of race. As my running is close to 80 KMs daily so wanted a Diesel vehicle only. Test Drove all the Vehicles below:
Around 6 Months of Research and Wait, Vehicles test driven during that time:
1. Ford Ecosport Diesel & Ecoboost: Was waiting for this Ford Ecosport and even wanted to book in advance before the price release. I never in my life imagined going to an American brand as I have seen them rust after two years while I was in Canada. Had seen this vehicle outside India and hated it when I saw it first time but started liking it for practicality in Delhi Traffic. Dealerships were asking 2L advance booking if I need the car on release so did not do that and after the launch went with a cheque to book either Diesel top model or Ecoboost but Riddhi Ford said I need to buy Insurance from them and Accessories than only I will get the vehicle from them, so I told them I will not book this vehicle from them and never buy a Ford again. I just don't understand Car companies in India they can easily solve these issues by making booking process online specially when there vehicles are not selling they should be more innovative and fare to remove these Blackmailing by Dealerships.
2. Renault Duster: Liked the Driving, but it was worse than Ford Figo from inside. Discounts were good but did not like the inside space or finish. Was getting 67K in Insurance and cash benefits 2013 Vehicle.
3. Nissan Sunny: Liked this car, drive was good pickup was a little on weak side, practical and spacious with all gadgets and safety features but was not sure of Nissan as there sales team was very slow. Was getting 1 Lac in Insurance and cash benefits 2013 Vehicle.
4. XUV 500: Like the vehicle design from outside, inside can be improved. Major issue was its suspension, I can saw worse than Swift so what is the use of Vehicle this size. Was getting close to 60K in Cash discounts for 2013 Vehicle.
5. Tata Safari Storme: My first choice even today, drive was good, Suspension nothing compared to Duster but was much better than XUV. Loved the sitting and very spacious and airy interiors. Dislikes: Plane Jane from inside. Why I did not buy? after calling 5 times got one test drive, tried to get second test drive and got excuses like boss has taken the car to Kanpur etc etc etc… so many excuses for a test drive, weak sales team (not interested in selling I can say), family and friends were against buying a Tata Vehicle. So this Vehicle is on Hold till I can afford two vehicles for myself. Was getting close to 1 Lac in Insurance and cash benefits.
6. Hyundai Verna: Test Drove CRDI Automatic, car was great with all gadgets and safety features loved the new Projector Lamps, Leds, diamond cut alloys, 2 Airbags instead of 6 from previous model. Dislikes: Car was not spacious from inside even though I am only 5'11" there was not enough head room. My heart was set on Honda City by than so went for Honda City. Was getting 65K in Insurance and cash benefits 2013 Vehicle.
Section Two: Initial Ownership Impressions
> Exteriors and Design: Design is something that is personal, my views are the car looks impressive. Everyone has mentioned it is similar in design than the previous version, I would like to disagree with that, it is a totally new design from inside and outside. If people were expecting an audi type design from Honda than they did not do that lol as it is a Honda in the end. Back looks very much inspired by BMW 3 Series, sides look inspired by Verna and Front from Honda Civic. Interiors also from BMW 3 Series specially AC vents. Built quality is decent, the roof lining quality looks weak, when you lower your windows the whole door segment from inside moves inside don't know why. Door quality looks solid overall a good built better than Maruti's haven't driving VW Vento so can't compare.
> Interiors and Features: Interior Design is good, no new ways of adjusting side mirror like in Renault, or stereo buttons being hindered by gear lever like in Tata Safari Storme, indicators and wiper switch at right places, I would say everything is perfect no learning curves. Basic Music system which is good for Radio, haven't tried anything else. Sound quality is good, bluetooth with my iphone works like a charm did not expect that. Bluetooth voice quality is perfect no one notices that I am on speaker phone which means sound quality and noise cancellation must be good. Boot door is not covered from inside I would say Honda should have covered that. Seats are very good drove for 3 hours in the city non stop without any issues, In Swift I would have changed positions at least 10 times in that time period. Back Seat is also very comfortable and spacious. Huge amount of space in the boot, my brother just came from abroad last week and we are able to easy to put two full suitcases and two small bags. everything looks in place I can say not, not missing anything from my Swift at all.
> Engine and Performance: Engine capacity is good compared to Swift pick up (acceleration) is little slow but the car definitely has more power at high speeds without any vibrations. There is some engine noise but nothing compared to Swift, not much vibration either. 1st gear is little sticky have to get that addressed when I go for first service, brakes are good.
> Ride and Handling: Ride Quality is excellent the seat just adjusts to your body giving full back support and very comfortable. City driving and highway driving both are very comparable to car is very stable at high speeds on highway. Giving 20.1 average in city driving bumper to bumper traffic for 3 hrs at a stretch and 21.5 on Highways driving between 75-95 KM/Hr. This should improve after 2 services already driven around 800 Kms in 10 days.
Section Three: Good Bits and Bad Bits
>I think after driving Swift this car feels very comfortable, if you are upgrading to this class and looking for a sedan I think Honda City is the car to buy.
> I haven't seen any minuses in the car yet, will be adding more info as I drive the car.
> Already installed rear parking sensors planning on Alloys, leather seat covers, maybe ICE with NAV and Reverse Camera. Have lots of ICE equipment that I brought with me 3 years ago lets see if I install it my City.
I hope this helps people to decide which car to buy.
Mods please let me know how do I move my prev pics here?
Section One: Background and Buying Overview
I had a Swift Diesel 2.5 years old, loved the car. Very practical and takes all the abuses of driving in Delhi /NCR. Reason to change was stuck in heavy rain once and saw cars floating in front so wanted to upgrade to an SUV, but due to limited budget did not want to spend more than 14L. Wanted the vehicle with atlas 2 Airbags, ABS as safety was very important while buying the car anything which did not had these were dropped out of race. As my running is close to 80 KMs daily so wanted a Diesel vehicle only. Test Drove all the Vehicles below:
Around 6 Months of Research and Wait, Vehicles test driven during that time:
1. Ford Ecosport Diesel & Ecoboost: Was waiting for this Ford Ecosport and even wanted to book in advance before the price release. I never in my life imagined going to an American brand as I have seen them rust after two years while I was in Canada. Had seen this vehicle outside India and hated it when I saw it first time but started liking it for practicality in Delhi Traffic. Dealerships were asking 2L advance booking if I need the car on release so did not do that and after the launch went with a cheque to book either Diesel top model or Ecoboost but Riddhi Ford said I need to buy Insurance from them and Accessories than only I will get the vehicle from them, so I told them I will not book this vehicle from them and never buy a Ford again. I just don't understand Car companies in India they can easily solve these issues by making booking process online specially when there vehicles are not selling they should be more innovative and fare to remove these Blackmailing by Dealerships.
2. Renault Duster: Liked the Driving, but it was worse than Ford Figo from inside. Discounts were good but did not like the inside space or finish. Was getting 67K in Insurance and cash benefits 2013 Vehicle.
3. Nissan Sunny: Liked this car, drive was good pickup was a little on weak side, practical and spacious with all gadgets and safety features but was not sure of Nissan as there sales team was very slow. Was getting 1 Lac in Insurance and cash benefits 2013 Vehicle.
4. XUV 500: Like the vehicle design from outside, inside can be improved. Major issue was its suspension, I can saw worse than Swift so what is the use of Vehicle this size. Was getting close to 60K in Cash discounts for 2013 Vehicle.
5. Tata Safari Storme: My first choice even today, drive was good, Suspension nothing compared to Duster but was much better than XUV. Loved the sitting and very spacious and airy interiors. Dislikes: Plane Jane from inside. Why I did not buy? after calling 5 times got one test drive, tried to get second test drive and got excuses like boss has taken the car to Kanpur etc etc etc… so many excuses for a test drive, weak sales team (not interested in selling I can say), family and friends were against buying a Tata Vehicle. So this Vehicle is on Hold till I can afford two vehicles for myself. Was getting close to 1 Lac in Insurance and cash benefits.
6. Hyundai Verna: Test Drove CRDI Automatic, car was great with all gadgets and safety features loved the new Projector Lamps, Leds, diamond cut alloys, 2 Airbags instead of 6 from previous model. Dislikes: Car was not spacious from inside even though I am only 5'11" there was not enough head room. My heart was set on Honda City by than so went for Honda City. Was getting 65K in Insurance and cash benefits 2013 Vehicle.
Section Two: Initial Ownership Impressions
> Exteriors and Design: Design is something that is personal, my views are the car looks impressive. Everyone has mentioned it is similar in design than the previous version, I would like to disagree with that, it is a totally new design from inside and outside. If people were expecting an audi type design from Honda than they did not do that lol as it is a Honda in the end. Back looks very much inspired by BMW 3 Series, sides look inspired by Verna and Front from Honda Civic. Interiors also from BMW 3 Series specially AC vents. Built quality is decent, the roof lining quality looks weak, when you lower your windows the whole door segment from inside moves inside don't know why. Door quality looks solid overall a good built better than Maruti's haven't driving VW Vento so can't compare.
> Interiors and Features: Interior Design is good, no new ways of adjusting side mirror like in Renault, or stereo buttons being hindered by gear lever like in Tata Safari Storme, indicators and wiper switch at right places, I would say everything is perfect no learning curves. Basic Music system which is good for Radio, haven't tried anything else. Sound quality is good, bluetooth with my iphone works like a charm did not expect that. Bluetooth voice quality is perfect no one notices that I am on speaker phone which means sound quality and noise cancellation must be good. Boot door is not covered from inside I would say Honda should have covered that. Seats are very good drove for 3 hours in the city non stop without any issues, In Swift I would have changed positions at least 10 times in that time period. Back Seat is also very comfortable and spacious. Huge amount of space in the boot, my brother just came from abroad last week and we are able to easy to put two full suitcases and two small bags. everything looks in place I can say not, not missing anything from my Swift at all.
> Engine and Performance: Engine capacity is good compared to Swift pick up (acceleration) is little slow but the car definitely has more power at high speeds without any vibrations. There is some engine noise but nothing compared to Swift, not much vibration either. 1st gear is little sticky have to get that addressed when I go for first service, brakes are good.
> Ride and Handling: Ride Quality is excellent the seat just adjusts to your body giving full back support and very comfortable. City driving and highway driving both are very comparable to car is very stable at high speeds on highway. Giving 20.1 average in city driving bumper to bumper traffic for 3 hrs at a stretch and 21.5 on Highways driving between 75-95 KM/Hr. This should improve after 2 services already driven around 800 Kms in 10 days.
Section Three: Good Bits and Bad Bits
>I think after driving Swift this car feels very comfortable, if you are upgrading to this class and looking for a sedan I think Honda City is the car to buy.
> I haven't seen any minuses in the car yet, will be adding more info as I drive the car.
> Already installed rear parking sensors planning on Alloys, leather seat covers, maybe ICE with NAV and Reverse Camera. Have lots of ICE equipment that I brought with me 3 years ago lets see if I install it my City.
I hope this helps people to decide which car to buy.
Mods please let me know how do I move my prev pics here?
Last edited by a moderator:
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. Happy mile munching. Btw, you have mentioned XUV ride quality to be worse than Swift. I seriously doubt that even-though it cant match the handling but pothole absorption has to be way better than Swift. May be poorly maintained one could lead you to think like that. Anyway, you own the best sedan in overall terms this side of 15L. Once again congrats![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
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