Thread Starter
#1
Hello All
I have finally taken the plunge and have brought home a very tame looking beast. Below are some of the teaser pictures.
Well, the story started about 6 months ago when I felt the TJet was almost 7 years old and I would need a new steed soon. Though, I loved the “Jet” and it has many many more miles and years in it, but the urge to get a new car had pinched and me. The “Jet” is an awesome car and quite powerful too. It had served me in numerous trips and I never felt short on power or the car out of breath. Even the ghat sections that were quite steep were munched away without switching off the AC, with 5 adults and luggage on board.
So, the search for the new car started. I was willing to stretch the budget to 2.5 million for the right car.
A disclaimer first – All the opinions mentioned here are my own and I do not mean any disrespect or offence to anyone else who has a differing opinion. So, please take it in this spirit.
Below were my absolute requirements:
Other features that I was looking for are listed below, but these were not essential.
With these points in mind, began the search for my next steed. The initial search began with the help of reading on the internet and finding out the worthy competitors. Remember that I wanted an upgrade to the “Jet”, so the new car had to drive a lot better than it and the interior also had to be a lot better. Marginal increases just would not satisfy…
The first big task was narrowing the type of vehicle. In today’s scenarios, there are quite a few types available:
Compact SUVs / Crossovers – This is a very in demand type these days and cars like Creta, Eco Sport, Duster, Terrano etc. fall in this category. I first all struck out the Compact SUVs as in my perception the SUV should be very large, luxurious and powerful. They need not necessarily be 7 seaters but should have all the luxuries. So, these baby SUVs looked like beefed up hatch backs to me (Hatchbacks on steroids). The space they offer is not better than a premium hatchback, neither do they offer all the luxuries. Further, I think people are just buying them to fulfil their long-standing desire of owning an SUV and these cars fulfil that pseudo need by just making one sit a little higher. This gives one a false sense of being in something big and owning an SUV. Plus, these pseudo SUVs do not provide as much comfort as a sedan and the ride is also not that much better. I hate the herd mentality of doing something just because the majority is doing it. So, I lost interest in these crossovers and moved on. I was tempted by the Compass for sometime but careful study and comparison of features on the Petrol automatic made me feel that this particular variant in very overpriced and one gets a much less car at almost 24 big ones. Plus, I also heard that Jeep has given its engine for Harrier so old ghosts of FCA being an engine seller, started to show themselves.
MUV – Cars like Ertiga, Innova etc. fall in this category. The Ertiga was straight away ruled out as it is no where near to the class I was looking for. The Innova was considered for its rock-solid reliability and practicality. However, we are a family of 5 including my Mom & Dad and ~80% of the time, I am the sole occupant. So, the 7-seater MUVs were also given the boot.
7 Seater wannabe SUVs – This segment consists of cars like XUV 500 and Hexa. Did not even look at Scorpio and Safari as they are very inferior cars without any safety. I feel this segment is for wannabes and these cars are not real SUVs but cheaper counterfeit SUVs. I would buy an SUV at some point in my life that will have to be the real thing. Real SUVs in my mind are the likes of Evoque, Land Rover Discovery, Kodiaq Endeavour etc. But these were way above my budget.
C Segment Sedan – This is another segment that kept my interest for quite a bit of time. Gave some real thought to the cars in this segment so this will be little long narration.
I further divided the segment into C1 & C2. Let’s take the cars one by one –
Somehow, I am severely biased towards European cars for their driving dynamics, handling and the ride. The Japanese ones seem very boring and laid back, and the build quality of the Europeans is also much better.
Long story short, I tried all these cars and found them to be almost at par with my TJet. None of these cars felt like a true upgrade to my existing possession. The City, Verna and Yaris are good cars on their own but none of them made me feel like I was upgrading. They just felt like I would be buying a more expensive car in the same segment and with almost everything same as the TJet.
D Segment Sedan – After none of the cars impressed me, I decided to look at the segment dominated by the Germans.
Mercedes CLA – This is a fantastic looking car. The drive and the handling are immaculate, and I really liked it. After the Test Drive, I calculated that it was over budget by almost 6 to 7 lakhs. Upon further calculation and feature comparison, I felt that they are asking for 36 Lakhs only for the Tristar and not much else. I mean, the CLA does not even get automatic climate control!! Dropped it like a hot potato. The BMW and Audi were also eliminated as per similar criteria
So now, the search was narrowed down to Elantra, Octavia and Corolla…
All these activities took place over a period of 6 months, which included long hours of reading the reports and opinions on TAI, TBHP, ********* and many other popular forums on the internet. I also studied many videos from known internet reviewers and experts. I would like to convey many thanks to everyone on TBHP who had expressed their thoughts on all these cars and the experts on Youtube. Special thanks to “sawnilrules”, “imidnightmare”, “krishnadevjs”, “adi_petrolhead”, “krishnadevjs” for providing valuable insights, opinions and guidance by means of their threads. These threads are a genuine source of important information for people like me.
Now coming to the shortlisted candidates:
Hyundai Elantra – I called Elantra for a test drive with a fair intention and an open mind. (Hope you remember that I don’t really like Korean cars). Anyways, once I sat in the car, it felt good and the driving posture is not bad. The ventilated seats are a boon on Delhi’s summers. The A/C in the car was also OK, not chilling though. The front seats are quite comfortable, and the hand rest is also not bad. However, it is, at the end of the day, a bloated-up Verna. The same features are available in Verna at almost 5 Lakhs less. When one really thinks about it, Verna seems like a better buy, compared to Elantra. The space in the back seat is also not very great. Plus, it lacks certain features like Rain sensing wipers etc. So, I let it go, as compared to buy it, I would rather wait for Harrier or the Civic (if nothing else works out).
Toyota Corolla Altis – I went with my brother to the Toyota showroom to see this one. One look inside the cabin and we ran out of there, without even talking to the salesman. The interiors are so bad; To call them bland would be an understatement. For a car costing more than 2 million, Toyota needs to give a lot more. They are simply cashing in on the herd mentality of us Indians and giving us inferior products as much higher prices.
Skoda Octavia – This is the car that I test drove the last. I was having apprehensions about its service, reliability and overall brand in India. I never really care about the resale as car is a long-term asset for me and I love to drive so the car must give pleasure. I took the test drive of the car and instantly fell in love with it. It became the benchmark for all my comparisons. The features it has, the way it seats, the way it drives and handles, the way it cools, the way it sings and the way it pleases, everything is extraordinary. Before taking the test drive, I thought that sun roof is a gimmick and it is feature one does not need. However, after the test drive I realized that it provides certain roominess to the cabin. I also liked the translucent shade as it lets the light in and gives an airy feel. Also, the sunroof does not hamper the cooling of the cabin in anyway. Post the test drive, I was really inclined in buying this, so I got onto the internet to mine the information on Octavia’s reliability, service, DSG and other’s experience. After a lot of due diligence, I decided to take the plunge.
Next step was to get the best deal and discounts on Octavia. For this, I called up all the dealers in Delhi and started the negotiations. In parallel, I started looking for the best insurance quote, online. After all the negotiations, I landed up a very sweet deal where the final price that I had to pay included an overall discount + insurance benefit to the tune of 75K.
The overall sales experience from Jai Auto, Delhi was a very pleasant one. I was promised a 4-week delivery time for the white Octavia. However, got it in less than 2 weeks, so I am happy. The whole delivery, paperwork as well as sales experience was quite pleasant. Though, I had to follow up with the salesman on a few occasions to know about the delivery status.
After driving the car for almost 350 kms, I found the following things that I like and a few others that I don't really care for:
Likes
Not so much
Now for some pictures of the car. I’ll keep on updating the thread as I get used to the car and learn its ways.
In the showroom, final documentation before the delivery.
At the mandir
I have finally taken the plunge and have brought home a very tame looking beast. Below are some of the teaser pictures.
Well, the story started about 6 months ago when I felt the TJet was almost 7 years old and I would need a new steed soon. Though, I loved the “Jet” and it has many many more miles and years in it, but the urge to get a new car had pinched and me. The “Jet” is an awesome car and quite powerful too. It had served me in numerous trips and I never felt short on power or the car out of breath. Even the ghat sections that were quite steep were munched away without switching off the AC, with 5 adults and luggage on board.
So, the search for the new car started. I was willing to stretch the budget to 2.5 million for the right car.
A disclaimer first – All the opinions mentioned here are my own and I do not mean any disrespect or offence to anyone else who has a differing opinion. So, please take it in this spirit.
Below were my absolute requirements:
- The car must be a proper upgrade to TJet.
- Petrol
- The fun to drive factor must increase over the “Jet”.
- An extremely refined and smooth engine.
- The interior must be modern and spacious
- The Air Conditioning must be very effective as Delhi summers are very long and hot
- The driving comfort is supreme
- The back seat must be comfortable too, for my mother, wife and daughter. (My mother is very particular about the seating posture as she has a slipped disc case and needs to be comfortable)
- The transmission must be automatic with butter smooth shifting and fun to drive (again)
- Large screen for the multimedia
- Automatic climate control was a must
- Full safety with good number of airbags, brake assist, ABS etc.
- Apple Carplay and other gizmos
- Interior space must be much better than the Linea TJet
Other features that I was looking for are listed below, but these were not essential.
- Sunroof
- Luxurious feel
- Keyless operation
- The trunk should have enough space to carry the bags of 5 of us, when we go on vacation.
- White LED Headlights
With these points in mind, began the search for my next steed. The initial search began with the help of reading on the internet and finding out the worthy competitors. Remember that I wanted an upgrade to the “Jet”, so the new car had to drive a lot better than it and the interior also had to be a lot better. Marginal increases just would not satisfy…
The first big task was narrowing the type of vehicle. In today’s scenarios, there are quite a few types available:
Compact SUVs / Crossovers – This is a very in demand type these days and cars like Creta, Eco Sport, Duster, Terrano etc. fall in this category. I first all struck out the Compact SUVs as in my perception the SUV should be very large, luxurious and powerful. They need not necessarily be 7 seaters but should have all the luxuries. So, these baby SUVs looked like beefed up hatch backs to me (Hatchbacks on steroids). The space they offer is not better than a premium hatchback, neither do they offer all the luxuries. Further, I think people are just buying them to fulfil their long-standing desire of owning an SUV and these cars fulfil that pseudo need by just making one sit a little higher. This gives one a false sense of being in something big and owning an SUV. Plus, these pseudo SUVs do not provide as much comfort as a sedan and the ride is also not that much better. I hate the herd mentality of doing something just because the majority is doing it. So, I lost interest in these crossovers and moved on. I was tempted by the Compass for sometime but careful study and comparison of features on the Petrol automatic made me feel that this particular variant in very overpriced and one gets a much less car at almost 24 big ones. Plus, I also heard that Jeep has given its engine for Harrier so old ghosts of FCA being an engine seller, started to show themselves.
MUV – Cars like Ertiga, Innova etc. fall in this category. The Ertiga was straight away ruled out as it is no where near to the class I was looking for. The Innova was considered for its rock-solid reliability and practicality. However, we are a family of 5 including my Mom & Dad and ~80% of the time, I am the sole occupant. So, the 7-seater MUVs were also given the boot.
7 Seater wannabe SUVs – This segment consists of cars like XUV 500 and Hexa. Did not even look at Scorpio and Safari as they are very inferior cars without any safety. I feel this segment is for wannabes and these cars are not real SUVs but cheaper counterfeit SUVs. I would buy an SUV at some point in my life that will have to be the real thing. Real SUVs in my mind are the likes of Evoque, Land Rover Discovery, Kodiaq Endeavour etc. But these were way above my budget.
C Segment Sedan – This is another segment that kept my interest for quite a bit of time. Gave some real thought to the cars in this segment so this will be little long narration.
I further divided the segment into C1 & C2. Let’s take the cars one by one –
- Ciaz – Ciaz is a C1 segment car. I quickly realized that Ciaz was in no way comparable to my “Jet”. The “Jet” already was a much better car than Ciaz. The AT in Ciaz is a measly 4 speed Torque Converter unit. This is way below par and combine this with weak engine performance made Ciaz the first casualty. The engine of the Jet is much better than Ciaz’s mill and just look at the contours of the seats in both the cars, you’ll realize that the seats of TJet are much more comfortable. I have done upto 15 hours of non-stop driving in my Jet and never felt tired. The new car had to cross that benchmark.
- Verna – This car falls in the C2 segment. I was looking for a petrol car and petrol Verna is not all that good. However, the ventilated seats tempted me but the driving dynamics, handling and the transmission voted against it.
- City – Spent quite a lot of time in thinking and evaluating this car. The petrol engine is a good one and the car is a reliable one. Drove it, and instantly felt the “CVT rubber band” tagging at my nerves. The fun to drive factor took a nose dive from there on. Plus, after driving a turbo charged rocket, a naturally aspirated petrol just does not cut it.
- Toyota Yaris – To confuse things further Toyota launched the Yaris. This car spanned across my C1 & C2 segments. However, the high variants are quite overpriced, and the car did not sing to while driving it.
Somehow, I am severely biased towards European cars for their driving dynamics, handling and the ride. The Japanese ones seem very boring and laid back, and the build quality of the Europeans is also much better.
Long story short, I tried all these cars and found them to be almost at par with my TJet. None of these cars felt like a true upgrade to my existing possession. The City, Verna and Yaris are good cars on their own but none of them made me feel like I was upgrading. They just felt like I would be buying a more expensive car in the same segment and with almost everything same as the TJet.
D Segment Sedan – After none of the cars impressed me, I decided to look at the segment dominated by the Germans.
Mercedes CLA – This is a fantastic looking car. The drive and the handling are immaculate, and I really liked it. After the Test Drive, I calculated that it was over budget by almost 6 to 7 lakhs. Upon further calculation and feature comparison, I felt that they are asking for 36 Lakhs only for the Tristar and not much else. I mean, the CLA does not even get automatic climate control!! Dropped it like a hot potato. The BMW and Audi were also eliminated as per similar criteria
So now, the search was narrowed down to Elantra, Octavia and Corolla…
All these activities took place over a period of 6 months, which included long hours of reading the reports and opinions on TAI, TBHP, ********* and many other popular forums on the internet. I also studied many videos from known internet reviewers and experts. I would like to convey many thanks to everyone on TBHP who had expressed their thoughts on all these cars and the experts on Youtube. Special thanks to “sawnilrules”, “imidnightmare”, “krishnadevjs”, “adi_petrolhead”, “krishnadevjs” for providing valuable insights, opinions and guidance by means of their threads. These threads are a genuine source of important information for people like me.
Now coming to the shortlisted candidates:
Hyundai Elantra – I called Elantra for a test drive with a fair intention and an open mind. (Hope you remember that I don’t really like Korean cars). Anyways, once I sat in the car, it felt good and the driving posture is not bad. The ventilated seats are a boon on Delhi’s summers. The A/C in the car was also OK, not chilling though. The front seats are quite comfortable, and the hand rest is also not bad. However, it is, at the end of the day, a bloated-up Verna. The same features are available in Verna at almost 5 Lakhs less. When one really thinks about it, Verna seems like a better buy, compared to Elantra. The space in the back seat is also not very great. Plus, it lacks certain features like Rain sensing wipers etc. So, I let it go, as compared to buy it, I would rather wait for Harrier or the Civic (if nothing else works out).
Toyota Corolla Altis – I went with my brother to the Toyota showroom to see this one. One look inside the cabin and we ran out of there, without even talking to the salesman. The interiors are so bad; To call them bland would be an understatement. For a car costing more than 2 million, Toyota needs to give a lot more. They are simply cashing in on the herd mentality of us Indians and giving us inferior products as much higher prices.
Skoda Octavia – This is the car that I test drove the last. I was having apprehensions about its service, reliability and overall brand in India. I never really care about the resale as car is a long-term asset for me and I love to drive so the car must give pleasure. I took the test drive of the car and instantly fell in love with it. It became the benchmark for all my comparisons. The features it has, the way it seats, the way it drives and handles, the way it cools, the way it sings and the way it pleases, everything is extraordinary. Before taking the test drive, I thought that sun roof is a gimmick and it is feature one does not need. However, after the test drive I realized that it provides certain roominess to the cabin. I also liked the translucent shade as it lets the light in and gives an airy feel. Also, the sunroof does not hamper the cooling of the cabin in anyway. Post the test drive, I was really inclined in buying this, so I got onto the internet to mine the information on Octavia’s reliability, service, DSG and other’s experience. After a lot of due diligence, I decided to take the plunge.
Next step was to get the best deal and discounts on Octavia. For this, I called up all the dealers in Delhi and started the negotiations. In parallel, I started looking for the best insurance quote, online. After all the negotiations, I landed up a very sweet deal where the final price that I had to pay included an overall discount + insurance benefit to the tune of 75K.
The overall sales experience from Jai Auto, Delhi was a very pleasant one. I was promised a 4-week delivery time for the white Octavia. However, got it in less than 2 weeks, so I am happy. The whole delivery, paperwork as well as sales experience was quite pleasant. Though, I had to follow up with the salesman on a few occasions to know about the delivery status.
After driving the car for almost 350 kms, I found the following things that I like and a few others that I don't really care for:
Likes
- The ride - The ride quality of the car is amazing. It is butter smooth and I can't feel any undulations or road vibrations in the car. My mother who has a back problem also sits very comfortably in the back seat of the car.
- NVH - The NVH levels are also fascinating. All the traffic and road noise is totally blocked out. This makes the ride very comfortable.
- The steering is also very light at low speeds and weighs up nicely as speed builds up.
- The DSG - The transmission is so smooth that the gear changes are not felt at all. However, I am taking precaution of shifting to the 'Manual' mode and driving in 1st gear in bumper to bumper traffic. Hope this improves the longevity of the gearbox. Experienced bhpians, please advise.
- The Engine - It is a gem of an engine and the car just flies at the tap of accelerator. The turbo also starts to spool up from very low RPMs and the lag is almost invisible.
- People say that it is a petrol drinker, but I am getting an average of 12.5 kmpl. This, however, is from only 350 km so will have to drive more and see.
- Interiors - The interiors are just wow! Anybody who see it, gets fascinated by it. The instrument panel and the console is so well laid out.
- The headlights - The Full LED headlights are just great. Plenty if illumination and the road gets lit up like a stadium. Plus the white lights make the look totally upmarket. The cornering lights are also a good feature and very helpful. Am yet to experience the adaptability of the lights and how they change the geometry of the light cone.
- The Music system - The music system is also awesome. I would rate it almost as good as the one on Hexa. The subwoofer also does a great job and the 8 speakers makes sure that all the undertones and low frequency beats do not get missed.
- Auto dimming RVMs - Auto dimming rear view mirrors make driving at night very easy. The glare from vehicles does not disturb and the mirrors automatically adjust to this.
Not so much
- The Voice Control - I can't seem to get the voice control to work. Every time, I try to activate it, the car shows a message in the MID that "Voice Control is not supported". Don't know what that means. Will have to show to Skoda when I go to collect my number plate.
- The wipers won't stand up. The hood obstructs them and I can't raise them. This makes cleaning the windshield a little difficult. Thankfully, I have already fired my cleaning guy otherwise, he would have definitely scratched the hood by now.
- There is no separate button to unlock the boot and the fuel tank lid. This is a little inconvenient as the whole car gets exposed at petrol bunks and mall parking entrances.
- The transmission tunnel is really tall. It gets difficult for the middle passenger to slide and put the legs across it.
Now for some pictures of the car. I’ll keep on updating the thread as I get used to the car and learn its ways.
In the showroom, final documentation before the delivery.
At the mandir
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