Full Review
I have driven the Petra purchased in 2004 for 20000 km. Good car, at a low price. The greatest risk in buying the car is the poor service network.
Highlight of my ownership was a very pleasant drive from Sambalpur to Mumbai and back in 2004 for which it averaged 14 kmpl in winter.
I stay in Sambalpur Orissa and the nearest service centre is in Bhubaneswar / Raipur which is around 300 km away. Recently, the brake vaccum booster prematurely failed. This perhaps can happen in any car and one should always be prepared for such an emergency when driving - especially at high speeds.
I could not drive down to the sevice centre as it is illegal and unsafe to drive a car with poor brakes for over 300 km. Finally, I purchased the the brake vaccum booster from Bhubaneswar and had a local "roadside mechanic" fit it for me.
I prayed to the Lord Almighty that the local mechanic would be given enough wisdom to do a proper job.
Fortunately he has done a good job, despite the fact that this seemingly simple replacement needed dismantling of the entire dashboard and steering column.
This is why although it a very good /great car, one should be cautious about buying any car that has a poor service network.The value for money is lower because of this great disadvantage especially if you live in a mom metro area.
