Thread Starter
#1
It was 5:00 PM that day and my wife was back from her hometown and it was a weekday. I was waiting for her, near the bus stand and I saw a white meru genie cab pass by me. It kinda looked like a Micra but I was confused so left it. I picked her up and then had to deal with the evening traffic in Hyderabad. My legs were paining but I was not complaining . I drove a 2 wheeler for around 4-5 years(starting from my first day in job). Somehow me and my wife were thinking the same thing at the same time - I think we paid our dues ; Time to buy a car.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS.
We were really not clear about what we wanted from a car(except that our budget was in 6-8 lakhs range), in fact our families were only familiar with Maruti 800 and we never drove anything else apart from the 800.
I was very much confused between petrol and diesel, but my own experience with our neighbors noisy diesel vehicles(figo,swift etc) really drew me more towards petrol vehicles. Even when I understood what NVH/cabin noise was at a later point, I still wanted to buy a petrol vehicle because of the power and less maintenance cost involved. Also It was just 10-15 KMs of city travel everyday so I felt I didnt need a diesel car for that. I was recommended many brands and I got some more options from TAI's wonderful members. I had to test drive them all (no other option for me). SO I TEST DROVE THEM ALL.
Options were:
Etios Liva
Hated the looks. Looks very similar to Micra from behind and side. Interiors were cheap and of poor quality. I was about to leave the showroom with utter disgust. Salesmen were trying to lure me with logical reasons. Didn't impress me. I left the showroom. This was my first visit after seeing the meru genie cab so I went ahead and tried the below vehicles except Amaze.
Honda Brio
Great package at an affordable cost. My wife didnt like the rear look and I didnt like the interiors.
Honda Amaze
Same engine as Brio but more weight. Not fun to drive. Clutch felt really heavy(weird). Not worth the additional lakh for additional bootspace(more on this later).
Fiat Punto
Tried both 1.2l and 1.4l. Liked the 1.4l engine a lot. Tried the diesel as well. Love the ride quality and interiors. Not in my budget. Also unreliable ASS.
VW Polo
Great interiors. Poor ride quality and power. Most importantly VW ASS scares me.
Swift & Swift Dzire
We didnt even TD the vehicle(s) as all my friends and relatives recommended not to buy a MSIL vehicle. I didn't really feel like TD it as well.
At this point, I was really not sure If I really liked any car. My wife casually spoke about trying the liva once(she hated the looks and interiors more than me) and getting the TD done, so that I have no regrets. The showroom was barely 3 KMs from where I lived so I just gave in(why not). I walked into the showroom and a sales guy(different from the initial guy trying to impress me) walks in and asks me some questions. I told him with disgust about the bad interiors. He just nodded and smiled and asked me if I wanted a TD(why else would I go there?). I said yes and in 10 minutes we were sitting in a VX model of the Etios Liva(with all the basic bells and whistles).
Something really felt odd when I started the engine. There was nothing bad about it. The sales guy told me to move it. I dunno what was different but I was really liking it. I dont remember what I was thinking the next 20 minutes at all but later I found out from my wife that I didn't switch on the front lights(a night TD - cheers) as I was so engrossed in driving and I was smiling for no reason all through out the drive. I couldn't understand what was that I was feeling. My wife was smirking all this while. I told the sales guy after the TD that I need sometime to decide.Went back home and recollected all the logical facts the sales guy told me at the beginning. Looked at all the reviews and ownership reviews on the internet. If my decision to buy a car on that day was an emotional one, I wouldn't have started this thread. Me and my wife sat down. We looked at all the facts and came to a conclusion - Lets drive the Amaze and see if we like it more. The Amaze barely fit my budget of 6-8 lakhs. So we went for a TD. As you could see from the review above, we really didn't like anything about the Amaze. I was confused. I hated the interiors of Liva but I think I was slowly falling in love with it. The very evening we TDed the amaze, I suggested to my wife we go for a second TD the same night. My wife thought I was crazy. I didn't want to take chances with this. I really wanted to know If It was only infatuation due to desperation/lack of options or was it true love.I TD the same vehicle(VX model) again - the sales guy more than willing to join us. This time I was in my senses.
There it was. I WAS IN LOVE.. I got used to the central console slowly and made sure the vehicle tasted some potholes and speed breakers this time. Loved the ride quality. The lightest clutch I have experienced. Great power once you hit the 3rd gear. My wife drove it and loved it too. I felt we were too quick to judge the vehicle just on looks(like typical indians). Thank god for the TD. I would have missed a great vehicle.
Me and my wife sat down for a discussion. Were interiors really THAT important? Couldn't we customize it after warranty? We read about QDR and Toyota and felt we were about to make a decision based on logic and not the heart. We re read every review again to see if there's anything faulty. We found none(except for the looks and interiors part).
Immediately booked my vehicle. Didn't want my vehicle to look like a taxi so went for the Ultramarine Blue. It's been 3 days so far. I have already travelled 120+ KM![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
.
Will regularly update this thread with my ownership review .
P.S - Probably this is the only Liva Petrol Ownership Review out here, so I request other Liva petrol owners to share your experiences as well.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS.
We were really not clear about what we wanted from a car(except that our budget was in 6-8 lakhs range), in fact our families were only familiar with Maruti 800 and we never drove anything else apart from the 800.
I was very much confused between petrol and diesel, but my own experience with our neighbors noisy diesel vehicles(figo,swift etc) really drew me more towards petrol vehicles. Even when I understood what NVH/cabin noise was at a later point, I still wanted to buy a petrol vehicle because of the power and less maintenance cost involved. Also It was just 10-15 KMs of city travel everyday so I felt I didnt need a diesel car for that. I was recommended many brands and I got some more options from TAI's wonderful members. I had to test drive them all (no other option for me). SO I TEST DROVE THEM ALL.
Options were:
Etios Liva
Hated the looks. Looks very similar to Micra from behind and side. Interiors were cheap and of poor quality. I was about to leave the showroom with utter disgust. Salesmen were trying to lure me with logical reasons. Didn't impress me. I left the showroom. This was my first visit after seeing the meru genie cab so I went ahead and tried the below vehicles except Amaze.
Honda Brio
Great package at an affordable cost. My wife didnt like the rear look and I didnt like the interiors.
Honda Amaze
Same engine as Brio but more weight. Not fun to drive. Clutch felt really heavy(weird). Not worth the additional lakh for additional bootspace(more on this later).
Fiat Punto
Tried both 1.2l and 1.4l. Liked the 1.4l engine a lot. Tried the diesel as well. Love the ride quality and interiors. Not in my budget. Also unreliable ASS.
VW Polo
Great interiors. Poor ride quality and power. Most importantly VW ASS scares me.
Swift & Swift Dzire
We didnt even TD the vehicle(s) as all my friends and relatives recommended not to buy a MSIL vehicle. I didn't really feel like TD it as well.
At this point, I was really not sure If I really liked any car. My wife casually spoke about trying the liva once(she hated the looks and interiors more than me) and getting the TD done, so that I have no regrets. The showroom was barely 3 KMs from where I lived so I just gave in(why not). I walked into the showroom and a sales guy(different from the initial guy trying to impress me) walks in and asks me some questions. I told him with disgust about the bad interiors. He just nodded and smiled and asked me if I wanted a TD(why else would I go there?). I said yes and in 10 minutes we were sitting in a VX model of the Etios Liva(with all the basic bells and whistles).
Something really felt odd when I started the engine. There was nothing bad about it. The sales guy told me to move it. I dunno what was different but I was really liking it. I dont remember what I was thinking the next 20 minutes at all but later I found out from my wife that I didn't switch on the front lights(a night TD - cheers) as I was so engrossed in driving and I was smiling for no reason all through out the drive. I couldn't understand what was that I was feeling. My wife was smirking all this while. I told the sales guy after the TD that I need sometime to decide.Went back home and recollected all the logical facts the sales guy told me at the beginning. Looked at all the reviews and ownership reviews on the internet. If my decision to buy a car on that day was an emotional one, I wouldn't have started this thread. Me and my wife sat down. We looked at all the facts and came to a conclusion - Lets drive the Amaze and see if we like it more. The Amaze barely fit my budget of 6-8 lakhs. So we went for a TD. As you could see from the review above, we really didn't like anything about the Amaze. I was confused. I hated the interiors of Liva but I think I was slowly falling in love with it. The very evening we TDed the amaze, I suggested to my wife we go for a second TD the same night. My wife thought I was crazy. I didn't want to take chances with this. I really wanted to know If It was only infatuation due to desperation/lack of options or was it true love.I TD the same vehicle(VX model) again - the sales guy more than willing to join us. This time I was in my senses.
There it was. I WAS IN LOVE.. I got used to the central console slowly and made sure the vehicle tasted some potholes and speed breakers this time. Loved the ride quality. The lightest clutch I have experienced. Great power once you hit the 3rd gear. My wife drove it and loved it too. I felt we were too quick to judge the vehicle just on looks(like typical indians). Thank god for the TD. I would have missed a great vehicle.
Me and my wife sat down for a discussion. Were interiors really THAT important? Couldn't we customize it after warranty? We read about QDR and Toyota and felt we were about to make a decision based on logic and not the heart. We re read every review again to see if there's anything faulty. We found none(except for the looks and interiors part).
Immediately booked my vehicle. Didn't want my vehicle to look like a taxi so went for the Ultramarine Blue. It's been 3 days so far. I have already travelled 120+ KM
.Will regularly update this thread with my ownership review .
P.S - Probably this is the only Liva Petrol Ownership Review out here, so I request other Liva petrol owners to share your experiences as well.
Attachments
Last edited:
![[clap]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Clap.gif "Clap [clap]")
. Any plan for mods?? Please provide the price breakup if possible. Keep this thread updated.
![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
