Handsome SX4(ZXi) Has It All; A Driver's Car

Dear friends,

I have been driving a fiat siena till now and wanted a change. It was a bit difficult for me to look beyond a FIAT product but one car which really took me by suprise ix SX4.

I had been to a dealer and then requested a good friend of mine to take me for a test drive, after thorough research on internet & after the test drive I was bowled over by this handsome SX4.

GOOD ONES

1. One thing I admired most is the style, its terrific, you might like to go for black as it stands out in the crowd
2. Height of ZXi impressed me as it let me in the drivers seat with much ease (possibly because of greater ground clearance)
3. The back seat supported my thighs well and there was enough leg room, the arm rest is really comfortable
4. Ground clearance is a boon, as it not only gives you a good ride (suspensions support well) but you just forget if your back bumper will get hit by the pavement (very common in NOIDA & DELHI) in the parking areas, but on the other hand the rear vision gets compromised. I wish with all the goodies in ZXi model a rear parking sensor could also have been provided (though on enquiring i was told it is available as an accessory). One tip I would like to suggest is that while reversing always adjust one of your side mirrors to look towards ground so that you know if you need to be cautious
5. The power is awesome and specially while driving on DND expressway, Delhi you dont even come to know when you have touched 140kmph speed on speedometer.
6. The wide Tyres (205/60/R16) offer good stability and ABS comes as a boon, while taking turn at greter speeds
7. ADJUSTABLE STEERING and DRIVERS SEAT comes in handy for tall and average height people. One thing which will be liked by tall drivers is the HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE seat belt (It really takes good care of your creased shirts and ties) 
8. Few things which come in handy are MAP LIGHT(many a times needed in Delhi), SEAT BELT reminder (much needed for forgetful people like me), DOOR AJAR warnings as sometimes you drive in haste or people sitting back seat do not close it properly, KEY OFF reminder etc
9. Safety features are unmatched for this price and ZXI version is a real value for money. Considering that I had been driving FIAT Siena, it was very natural for me to look on the safety aspect. I was impressed TO A GREAT EXTENT
   1. I would also like to add here a point, many people do not consider these safety features while buying a car but believe me it is far better to invest in safety features. ZXI will always be better buy as on any bad day these safety features will pay off.
10. You will always be looked with those (Neighbours Envy, Owner's Pride) attitude while driving the SX4
11. Let me add one more dimension to it, my wife who is not a car enthusiast, also approved of SX4 and quite liked it.

OK ONES

1. MILEAGE: I conduted a survey on atleast 15 drivers who had bought SX4 in various time frames in the last one year and they all were in agreement that this car delivers 11-13 KMPL as an average of driving in URBAN,EXTREME URBAN & HIGHWAY/EXPRESSWAYS. I would be satisfied to have this much mileage from a 1200kg car which provides so many safety features. Common we cant ask for more
2. A drivers arm rest could have been a boon (on enquiring i was told that it is availble as an accessory)

BAD ONES

1. I wish the integrated music system could have been better with better position of the speakers (definitely not in the doors, atleast the rear ones), which could have definitely been improved.
   1. The music system should be left to the customers to decide as many of you might agree that we have different likings for the music
   2. The voice creeks on putting the music systems on a louder music
2. Parking sensors could have been provided as option.
3. The driver side front pillar masks the view while taking right turn. people driving the car said one gets use to of the same after driving for some time.
4. In built bluetooth receiver in music system could have been incorporated to get rid of bluetooth devices and easy talking while driving (Am I asking too much???)

All in all i am impressed and would certainly request you to take a ride before you plan to buy a car in 8L budget. Do consider maruti's network & service as a boon. No body can understand it better than me who was a proud owner of a FIAT product but let down by servicing and after sales aspect.

Wishing you all a happy and safe driving.

Warm regards, Dr. K. Rajan, NOIDA