Ownership Review of a Star "A-Star"


Thread Starter #1
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
13
Likes
3
Location
New Dilli
hello everyone,
This is my first thread on this forum and also the first ownership review.(really??)

I bought this car (sorry no name of my car) in feb 2011. Was set out with a limited budget of 3.5l (Max) and the theory was the cheaper the better.

i know people would say i bought the wrong car if my preference was cheap but let the story unfold.

so where were we?? oh yeah. the budget. Now 3.5 will get u some nice options in the market (not the second hand one). so was spoilt with choices. Not really.

Now the requirements:
a) should be big enough to give me breathing room.
b) should be cheap to run. ('cheap' is the key word of this thread)
c) would be driven by me and would carry me only most of the time. well 99% of time.

The selection Process:

Now i consider myself as a guy who has fair knowledge of automobiles and i knew what i was looking for. (in short MARUTI). remember the key word!

these are the options i TDed.

Alto: have driven this car many times but i somehow feel that inspite of being more powerful than an 800 it isnt as peppy as one. Maybe i am wrong.
was being pushed by my pop for this car but ye dil maange more.

K10: now thats a pocket rocket. lively engine better looking than alto.
but and this is a big but. i couldnt breathe. there was no room to move my right arm after sitting in it. No i cant live with something like that.
and yes the brakes leave a lot to be desired.

Wagon R: the new k10b engine has given this box some fangs. it really moves. while TDing it i suddenly encounered a hole in the road. big enough to eat a truck. so i swerved and by god i tell u this that was scary. the car was almost out of control. ya ya i was doing some good speed so what?
why give so much beans to this car whose handling is a goner.

any way the next was estilo and threre were pretty nice discounts on this car at that time. free stereo, speakers, wheel caps and much more.
but the looks were very girly. my opinion.

Now comes the star: test drove it. nothing special. same k10b engine i have been driving in TDs. it just did some things differently.
it gave me space to move. my right arm was thankful. seats were awesome.
the front seats are like Sofa. lots of travel. nice height. and thats where i am going to be. loved it
it did not scare the bejesus out me when i tried to swerve at high speed. nice composure.
Brakes were up to the mark.

Decided. A-Star it is.[cheers]

booked the car and initiated the loan process.

got the car on desired date. my pop accompanied me.
Now the dealership: SA was nice. even got scolded by my pop. since we had to wait for the car to arrive from gurgaon. and this was after i told SA the delivery date well in advance. we waited for around 3 hrs doing nothing.(well drinking chai and eating chips doesn't count). i was hungry. in the meanwhile the manager came to meet us explained the cause of delay. nice. it might be because my pop again scolded SA and senior SA. (i know he is short tempered). any attempt to pacify him from my end would have backfired. since he had to travel on that day to attend a marriage some 300kms away.

finally it arrived. got it washed. in the meanwhile my mom arrived as well.

so got the delivery and set off alone for home. and yes the SA poured some 5ltrs of petrol in it. i filled fuel at nearby bunk and then set off(again??).

My car is a white A-Star Lxi.

now why white. simply because i can not clean my car on a daily basis.
why Lxi. coz it was cheap(er). anyway doesnt make a difference since i managed to get front power windows from the dealer Free of cost.

Now the driving experience.
i didn't strain the engine in first 2k kms. after that i did. off course i had to. because of that keeda i have in me.

Lovely drive. very less cabin noise. and the built quality is nice. the plastics are cheap off course because that's what i aimed for.

My observation: i have heard so many people talk about that German thud when u close the door. well we have that as well in an Indian made car and that's A-Star. Don't believe me? check it out yourself.

now comes the driving experience part:
i love to rip it and the engine sounds sweet at high rpms. have bruised egos of many cars and suvs much costlier than my own. nothing else to say.
summing it up- its a car to drive.

Now the question of rear seats: i have sat in rear seats about two or three times and i did face problem. why because i am more that 6'. my mom also sat and did not complain.

The million dollar question: kitna deti hai.
my answer would be ' it depends on how you drive'
for example my dad had this car for over a month and he constantly crib about the poor mileage of 13kmpl he was getting and how bad a choice i have made.

so decided to call CID. Tagged along pop an his driver and immediately got the answer. he was changing gears at very high rpms. 3rd to 4rth was made at 70-80 kmph!!![frustration]
ACP Pradyuman pointed it out but dad decided thats he doesnt know what he is talking about.
finally got a chance to do a long drive along with father. i managed 21 kmpl at expressway speeds(read 100-110) along with AC.
pointed it out again this time dad agreed.

so it all boils down to how u drive. I get around 18.5 kmpl in Delhi. with occasional ripping. i get a range of about 550-600 kms on a tankful. pretty happy with it.

now the boot: sufficient enough for me and thats all i am going to say.
Since i am thinking of making it a running journal i will keep on updating it.
and i will also keep on updating the Mileage i get along with the conditions it is running in. and would like to see the trend being followed on this forum as it will give us a better idea of how a car is going to behave in particular condition. For the country that's obsessed with mileage. i know i am.

Packing up.

[:)]
 

lxi.

Suspended
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
916
Likes
13
Location
New Delhi
Congratulations on the star wildkid. Read the whole story and yep, it is based on the cheap the better [:D]. If you drive alone 99% of the time, A- star is the best for you. Yes, the german thud, i have also checked it on my family friends car, its the VXI silver. Go for some nice alloys and debadge it. Totallly , rockstar you will become and what about dark tints (not that dark, but black) and get the foglamps and your car is a stunner. Actually your pop does too much revving, i think, because 70-80 in 3rd sounds a bit harsh. So where are the pics[rules]?.
Also one question, how is the experience while reversing the car, because of its extra nano sized rear glass?
Keep revvin.
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Messages
9,164
Likes
330
Location
Chennai
Nice write-up buddy , i think this is the first ownership review of A-Star in our forum!


Glad to know you are enjoying your car , please post some pics.
 
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
Messages
2,757
Likes
437
Location
Pune
Nice review and good first post, please post more pics. Also service history and experience. Have you got any discount?
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
6,206
Likes
4,220
Location
Meerut, U. P.
Wildy guy,a fantastic write up that was,it looks like I and me both have something same among us!!
Cheaper is the better theory has simply impressed me..:biggrin:
Rest,CONGOS FOR THE DRIVER'S CAR-THE A-STAR.
Although I am a Ritz fan but have driven an A Star vxi couple of times and I am really impressed by this car.
At high speeds its really very planted,even better than the Swift too.I have done upto 140 kph in an A-Star between Delhi-Mathura and was really impressed by this car's dynamics.
 
Joined
May 11, 2011
Messages
4,095
Likes
948
Location
Bangalore
Congrats for your new ride Wildkid! Wishing you a safe and happy motoring in throughout the ownership!
That was nice review and i enjoyed reading your thread and i must say you got the car according to your purpose kudos again.
Please post the pics of your new A-star:-)
 
Thread Starter #8
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
13
Likes
3
Location
New Dilli
thanks everyone.
some additional info about the car. it has done 17000 kms till date. and the cost of running till now has come to somewhere around 3.80 paise per km.

Sorry about the pics as i dont have any and the car is not with me right now. will post as soon as i get it. anyway a white unpimped a-star is not difficult to imagine.

@lxi: i also plan to get these modifications done and thought exactly the way u told me.
well the view while reversing is ok for me as i am able to crane my neck. either way its not difficult and is easily managed.

@surfer: i have got three services done till now. 1k, 5k, 10k. i did get heavy discounts on my car. and thats the reason it came within my budget in the first place.

@tsivipul: the car indeed is planted at high speeds. infact it was a surprise for me once i crossed 120 mark. a pleasant one. just love the stability.

p.s. How can i quote text written by others? newbie needs help!!
 

350Z

Core Team
Joined
Aug 10, 2009
Messages
21,193
Likes
7,835
Location
New Delhi
Very interesting way of writing, wildkid. Your username is also equally interesting by the way. Do consider sharing some images with us and keep updating in future. I would love to follow this thread.
Since i am thinking of making it a running journal i will keep on updating it. and i will also keep on updating the Mileage i get along with the conditions it is running in. and would like to see the trend being followed on this forum as it will give us a better idea of how a car is going to behave in particular condition. For the country that's obsessed with mileage. i know i am.
Excellent idea. Point noted and we will spread the word.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #12
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
13
Likes
3
Location
New Dilli
hey,

Not much activity on the odo front as i've been using Ikon for some time.
as of now it stands at 23000 kms. got the 20k service done recently.
SA quoted 6000 rs for service which included some non essential dos as well.
did not go for engine decarbonisation, skipped wheel allignment and balance.
so finally the bill came out to be 3200 rs.

the efficiency has been 19 kpml through out. The car has done mostly city runs from my village and some highway runs.

they really try to juice the customer in paid services.
inputs are welcome.

i would again like to apologize as i have not been able to post pics on any of my reviews.
 

lxi.

Suspended
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
916
Likes
13
Location
New Delhi
1 Pic! Just one would be enough for us to have.

Anyways, i also refused to get the alignment balancing done, they quoted me 550 rupees. And i got it done for 300 and next time free!
I got the decarbonizing done. My car stands at 40k kms, 20k kms and 22k kms(alto, city and scorp respectively).

Waiting for more updates.
 

Top Bottom