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Hi Friendz,
After lot of R&D, Test drives and recommendations, I bought a City VTECH. Though yet not ready to give a full length review, I can mention some findings as results of my search.
My important decision points were 1) Comfort, 2) Fuel economy and 3) Looks. My options were Corolla & Magnum on higher sides and Verna, SX4 and Fiesta on the other end. I do have experience with Fords, Toyotas and Hondas outside India but wanted to test each of them before a decision.
Corolla gave a very classy and comfort feel when I sat in the rear seat. It also left me with a feeling that I’m inside a stronger shell (though not as much as Skoda). The discounts offered by Toyota made the price difference between City and Corolla (HE) almost negligible (a lac and a half) but then I need to go for at least H2 to get the features that we may need in a luxury car. Magnum was had good features but was the worst compared to all the cars tested for its engine quality. If you place your foot on the accelerator and feel the clutch you get the vibration of the engine through your body which the salesman blamed on the test vehicle alone. Overall it the feeling was that I was in a boat with a roaring engine.
While SX4 and Verna are comparable to City in most aspects, they fail badly in interior and looks respectively. But these models offered economy and better value for money. SX4 comes with the safety features that I wished and with a drive comfort which is comparable but the two important factors that I disliked were its poor rear visibility and the Big A**. Verna on the other hand made a closer comparison for City with its diesel and petrol versions on power and performance. Both SX4 and Verna had the dashing looks from front and sides but I was not comfortable with their rear shapes.
Fiesta was another one which was another option ‘cause of it cost vs performance. I was better of with its looks compared to SX4 and Verna. My friends who bought the same said high about it too, but then it was not giving an above average car from overall feel. Above that, my experience with ford is that 3 years drive it cool and then throw it off. No resale value and lot of repair works.
As I mentioned above on the decisions points, Honda was one which was above average in all the 3 factors (Comfort, Economy and Looks). When high end models offered better comfort, Security and quality, their economy and maintenance costs were not digestible as they just fall in to the luxury segment. But I too agree that City is not an actual value for money but may be worth a lac less and on performance side, my UNO diesel gives me a much better power though I’m spending more than a luxury car to maintain this Fiat. The bumpy feeling of City at regular roads was against City. But then, when I checked its performance history, parts quality and the resale value ended up making that compromise and zeroed in on this one. Now one thing that I’m yet to experience is the after sale service which is told to be poor with Honda dealers across the country.
So far, I’ve been able to experience its worth in terms of the interior quality, steering and comfort but fuel economy is one yet to be proved. I feel better of with its looks than any other as well.
Could I afford anything better, a Skoda or Civic is what I dream and have parked them for my next buy.
Hope this helps some of you…
Nitto.
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