First Impressions of the TUV300 (With a Thar Up Close) !

On my way back from work in the evening I noticed a Xylo in a similar red color parked behind my Thar in the parking building in office. I spent a couple of minutes trying to get a decent photograph with all the harsh lighting and multiple other vehicles cluttering up the space.

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I notice there is a TUV300 also there on the same floor and with empty spots available around it. Quickly abandoned the Xylo and moved the Thar close to it to get a better look and get some photos.

First Impressions on the Exterior:

It was a T8 version and seemed to have been just brought from the showroom as it had ribbons, flower garland and a paper on the front windshield with the owners name that wished him happy motoring. Poor chap probably had work to finish and had to do his first drive right back to office!

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I don’t like this angle of the TUV300. There is a problem with the high sides and small skinny tires. Also too much of body color without any contrast.

 

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Bonnets almost at the same level. TUV bonnet slightly higher.

 

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Rear visibility will be a challenge with the high rear tire and rear seats. I struggle to back up with the Thar in tight spots.
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The rear of the TUV300 ends a bit abruptly.
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Side view is ok. The Thar is not visible in this angle is parked just after the TUV300. Door angle will take some getting used to. Take care opening the doors else you will hurt your head.

 

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View from within the Thar.One of the very few other vehicles that has the same seat height as the Thar.

 

The paint quality seemed nice and color was good and the TUV300 definitely had presence. I was most surprised at the overall height of the vehicle and the height of the bonnet. The driver seating position is around the same height as the Thar.  This commanding seating position is what the whole SUV driving experience is all about for city dwellers where you get to see over the roofs of other vehicles. I think Mahindra have really got this facet right.

Tires look very skinny @ 215 . Up-sizing to 235 or going crazy till 245/255 may drastically alter its appearance (Don’t complain if your Fuel efficiency comes down as well) for better.

Overall appearance is really boxy but in a good way I feel. The photos without any other vehicle in the background do not do it justice. Up close in person it doesn’t look too awkward.

Wish its front had been better designed. The huge rectangular lower grille and almost square fog lamps don’t go very well with the upper grille and angular headlamps. With a rectangular headlamp design this may have been a true Bolero successor and really could have taken off well. Its current design has split the opinion of most people and most are really confused whether to like it or not. Some people on the floor saw it and came over to take a closer look and among the 4 that were there – 2 seemed to like it while 2 didn’t !

 

I was surprised to see the Dimensions as it shows the TUV is longer and wider than the Thar:

Thar TUV300
Length 3920 3995
Width 1726 1835
Height 1930 1839
Wheelbase 2430 2680

The width and height of the TUV show the reason for its square boxy look.

Tried my best to get the lens flare out but the parking lot lights seemed extra bright and my poor cell phone camera was not able to manage at all.

PS: Am still waiting a chance to go to the dealership for a TD as they didn’t want to bring a vehicle all the way for me :-(.

I’m Kwidding ! Not !

The Renault Kwid launches today. I had forgotten I had snapped the Kwid in the end of May 2015 at a toll both on the NH beyond Chengalpet. I wasnt too impressed but the jazzy pre-release press photos make it seem like it is much larger. Felt it was really between the size of an Eon/I10. Anways wishing Renault India all the best with the latest launch as the fortunes of their India operation now lie mostly on the small shoulders of this Kwid!

Renault Kwid & Indica
Renault Kwid & Indica
Renault Kwid & Indica
Renault Kwid & Indica
Renault Kwid
Renault Kwid
Renault Kwid
Renault Kwid

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Tata Nano AMT Short Review

genex-nano-2 genex-nano-11-large Had followed the pre-launch buzz about the Nano automatic from the time it was mentioned in the Auto Show in January 2014. Was hoping Tata would keep the price reasonable. Several months later finally after the launch was done I signed up on the Tata Nano Website for a Test Drive. Tata representatives called within a couple of days and organized the test drive. It took a couple of back and forth calls to schedule the time but finally it was to be done around 8 PM in the evening. The sales representative was very enthusiastic and interested in explaining the features of the Sangria Red Nano that was brought for the Test Drive. One point he kept repeating for me and for my father was to not use the left foot but to use only the right foot for both acceleration and braking. It was okay for me as I have spent 6 years driving an automatic Honda Civic, it took a few hundred meters for my father who has never driven an automatic to get used to it. But he managed just fine.

 

I started off and had to do a turn in the middle of our street to go out of the colony. The power steering made the turn very easy (I compared this with the manual non power steering Gen 1 Nano owned by my Father In Law which took some effort to turn). Starting off from a stop was decent and the acceleration though slow was adequate. Had to keep expectation in check as other cars I have driven recently have easily another 50+ BHP.  

 

AC was cooling rapidly even before we covered 500m and was on blower setting 1 ! In total got to drive around 3 km of the XTA. This included one steep flyover. Didn’t feel the car struggled at that time with me, my father and the sales guy in the vehicle. On flat surface however did wish it had a bit more power but for the city traffic. For a relaxed drive felt it was more than enough. Headlamps were more than adequate. Like any unfamiliar car the brakes took some time to get used to but once you got familiar with it it was easy. Horn was a pathetic bleating sound from the single horn but still enough.

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My Father with Nano after the TD

Throttle response was a bit better with the S mode. Manual mode was fine but figured best would be to put in Auto mode and drive peacefully (instead of using the AMT like a manual). Having the ability to use the 1st gear for a steep incline in manual mode is definitely useful. Didn’t get to try it however. Read about the AMT vehicles rolling back a bit before starting on inclines – some changes in driving style may be needed but for a new driver to get used to it should be easy. More power and better brakes would be welcome but will have to compromise on that as there is no other option at this price. For city only driving felt the car with AMT is brilliant. Interiors have improved over the original Nano. Sound of the engine is not very apparent in the cabin.  The exhaust note has changed from an auto sounding note to something that sounds a lot more muted. Likes:

  • Easy to drive in traffic with AMT
  • Turns with the power steering are very easy and will be a very nice car for city traffic. I have driven the non power steering version and feel power steering is a must and really feel Tata should have launched it with Power Steering right at the beginning.
  • Amazing AC(probably the best across segments). Very quick cooling even at the first blower position
  • Great Interior Passenger Space
  • Good seating position and easy to enter
  • Folding Rear Seat (sorely missed on earlier version)
  • Openable rear hatch (sorely missed on earlier version)

Dislikes:

  • Waiting period of 8-12 weeks (on a minimum)
  • Low on power(may be difficult to take steep roads with full load of passengers) Sufficient for flat roads.
  • Mileage may not be all that great (real world expect around 14 to 15 with city traffic and full auto mode)
  • Lack of all Safety features
  • Not so powerful brakes(drums only)
  • Luggage space (hatch) is only for city use(groceries etc)
  • Fuel filling still needs bonnet to be opened.
  • Limited color selections(for me at least). Felt they should have a lot of bright cheerful colors. Right now only the red, blue, purple are bright colors. Will not be caught dead in the pink (called Persian Rose).

My FIL who had bought the first gen Nano(as a second car) when it first came out went ahead and sold it in the end of August and booked an XTA Silver. He was been told it will take 2 months. He waited for 2 weeks and then was struggling a bit at home without the second car called up the Tata dealership and was not able to get a confirmed date of delivery – cancelled the automatic booking and went in for the GenX with power steering and Openable Hatch. He is pretty happy with it.

Requesting anyone here has family/friends driving GenX Nano XTA/XMA to please provide their inputs.

 

PS: For those wanting a long detailed test drives read the reviews here Team-BHP / Indian Autos Blog / Motorbeam I had earlier posted about Mr. Thomas Chacko and his Mano Et Nano trip around India in a Tata Nano. Do read this in case you think the Nano is a sad excuse of a car. You will be amazed where the Nano has reached ! The book “Atop The World” by Mr Thomas Chacko is now available. . PPS: First Two photos are from the Tata Nano Website.

3 Years Later

Mahidnra Thar Crde 4x4 CherieHave been busy with work and personal stuff. and didn’t realize that I have been away for so long  – over 3 years now. In this time have managed to buy my dream vehicle a Mahindra Thar 4×4 Crde. Have driven it for over 30000 Km now and it is my daily drive. Also been working on some very interesting stuff and had the chance to conduct a variety of experiments on my driving style and how it translates to fuel efficiency with the Thar. Best part about it is that I now know how to get mileage from the Thar that is comparable to many hatchbacks :-).

Mahindra Thar Crde 4×4 Cherie

 

 

Still retained the Getz (Now 10+ years and 36K Km) and Swift (8+ years and over 49K Km). Slowly thinking of selling one/both of the cars and getting a replacement.

Have done test drives recently of the Tata Nano GenX AMT and the Maruti Suzuki Celerio AMT so expect some short posts on those and of course on the Thar ownership soon. Hoping to resume blogging  at intervals definitely shorter than 3 years.  

Please let me know if there are specific topics I should cover on the blog and will be happy to do so.

“How To” Guide to Remove Sun Film From Your Car

Last Friday evening I posted some stats on sun film and what I felt was going on. I had managed to escape getting caught by the cops for a whole week and was a bit cocky because of it. I needed to go out a couple of times on Saturday and each time, I saw people get caught for sun film. I even had to take a side road to avoid going through a standard police check post – why invite trouble I thought.

By then I had decided that I was going to get the film removed. Had checked with a local accessory shop who quoted 350 on May 20th. I go in  to check if they would work on my car that evening, when the same guy without batting an eyelid said the price is now Rs 500! Says labor rates have gone up since they have no further hope of employment since the ban. They were doing the equivalent of a slash and burn farming – in this case more like rip and scrape ! I scooted from there resolute that I would not pay them a single paisa!

I worked on one car that evening starting at around 6:45 PM and finishing at 8 PM (some items left unfinished were rear quarter glass film removal and some cleanup of remnants of film stuck between glass and rubber beading. I woke up at 6 and finished some of the cleanup but couldn’t proceed further as my parents needed to use that car.

Worked on the other car starting at 8:15 AM and finished around 10 AM – this was including all the quarter glass film removal as well.   Then spent another 20 minutes removing the quarter glass sun film from the first car.

My Swift after film removal

 

Money saved: Rs 1000 (going by the accessory shop quoted Rs 500 per car).

For those that want to attempt a DIY here are the steps I followed with the items required in a FREE downloadable PDF: How To Remove Sun Film

 

Hope you found the steps useful. If you have any suggestions for improving this “How To” please reach Zimbly Cars here: http://cars.zimbly.com/contact-carszimbly/

Have you removed the sun film yet ?  Do let me know !

Sun Film Ban Infocharts

My last post To S(h)un-film or not to S(h)un-Film? lead me to think a lot about the ban and around the ban from what all could be going on behind the scene.  Here is an attempt to detail this out further using some Google Skills, Excel skills and some free time!  I hope I don’t start seeing conspiracies in everything. I found it interesting that so much data is available for India online and free !  Here is the PDF file I created:

The Chennai Traffic Police were doing some stop , check , fine and rip operations in couple of parts of the city. However this seems to have lost steam as the week progressed. I am still driving with the sun film on and Rs 100 fine ready to be paid in hand. If caught I will pay the fine and remove the film only post that. Have also resolved to not fix it back later as well !

Do let me know if you have questions and also please do share this with your friends. Do feel free to re-post/share !

 

To S(h)un-film or not to S(h)un-Film?

Sun Filmed Swift
My Sun Filmed Swift

The Indian Supreme Court probably wanted to take a break from looking at more weighty matters and chose to focus on a frivolous PIL submitted by someone who claims to represent the “Mango” People (Aam Aadmi). Supposedly sun film is the cause for all the law and order issues in the country and that it should be banned altogether – there is no legal % of visual light transmission that can be used. Only factory fitted tinted and laminated glass that conforms to the CMVR rules can be used.

Legality apart -the sun film manufacture/sales industry supposedly provides around 150 crore to the Indian economy. These people will be badly hit if all sun film is made illegal to use. There is a fee for getting the sun film removed – this is not something that is usually done – but now the installers themselves are getting a chance to make money by “assisting” the removal for a fee of anywhere between 300 -500 Rs ! They hope to milk this for at least a month and then raise petitions to remove the ban. The ban will get removed within no time. Then again people will flock to get the film added back. With all the FUD going on people will gladly shell out more money to get costlier “clear” film that reduces heat transmission. The sun film companies make money either way.

Doing a net search shows sun film bans have been talked about since 2007 in parts of India – but this has not been consistently enforced. I remember having a dilemma when buying my Swift(photo in this post) in 2007 about putting sun film but since there was nothing clearly specified or enforced I went in with tints with 50% VLT which were legal at the time. However now 5 years later the same tints are now illegal. Our 7 year old Getz has films with around 70% VLT as well.

My Next Steps:

  • I personally will wait and watch what will play out. All speculation online points towards the drives to strip out sun-film to be strong for the next month or so at most if not less
  • Plan on keeping Rs 100-1000 as the fine for getting caught and pay it and get a receipt for the fine as well. Why the range – because the cops do not have a clear fine specified – it seems to vary !
  • If forced to remove the sun film by the cops I will do so – but feel I will also park at the side and then make sure they catch and remove sun film from all vehicles that go by including cops, ministers, actors etc.
  • I will not put back the sun film on my cars after that – hate to spend more money on a commodity which can be legal one day and magically be made illegal the next. Also hate the feeling of being taken for a ride by the cops and the legal system which is not consistent nor effective in its mandates.

Points to Ponder:

  • Different states seem to be interpreting the rule differently – some targeting only the darker tints while some are targeting even the lightest and even the clear films – if you are planning drives across states – make sure you drive without sun film to be in the clear.
  • Are the cops so good at catching anti-social elements/terrorists by visually identifying them from a distance ? This is assuming they don’t already move around wearing some disguise in crowded buses and trains !
  • As many online have commented – is there a way to measure the crime rate coming down drastically when vehicles do not have sun film ?
  • Wont the kidnappers/rapists start using panel vans/load carrying trucks instead of just vehicles with dark tints?

Some Fun:

  • Just because of a rising trend in vehicle accidents – is the solution a ban of all vehicles altogether?
  • Just like knives are used in murders – they should be banned altogether
  • Terrorists use hotels, houses etc – so can they be banned as well ? Or as an alternative – ban all windows, doors and hey why stop there – ban all walls – we just need protection from the rain and just need the roof over our heads – walls should not be there – just to make sure all the moral police can happily peer into our bedrooms and bathrooms !
  • Full face helmets with tints on them obscure the faces of the riders/also there may be some nefarious activities going on under the tinted face shields- can they be banned as well ?

Question:
What are your thoughts on this ban ? Do let me know and what will be your action – comply or get caught or what ?

 

Update – May 18th,2012: 

Today’s news papers indicate that the Chennai City Traffic Police (CTP) has started their drive against sun films. They have posted a notice on their FB page as well. All are free to comment on this drive. I already have !

Do Show Your Support:

Do show your support against this ban by “Liking” this FB page calling for a Movement Against Supreme Court’s Decision to Totally Ban Suncontrol Films. There is also a petition here “The Supreme Court of India: Reconsider decision on a blanket ban on car films.”

Is This The Next Ford Mustang ?

Next Ford Mustang

International news on Zimbly Cars is a rare occurance but could not resist this one about speculation of the next Ford Mustang to incorporate styling cues of the Evos Concept from Inside Line.

Inside Line has come up with some renderings that mash together existing Mustang design and the Evos Concept. The overall looks interesting though. (Rendered images of the blue Mustang on this page are from Inside Line website).

Next Ford Mustang

Why am I bothered – well the Ford Mustang has held a special place in my mind always and has been a car I have wanted to own during my Detroit days. The reality of having to struggle with a RWD in snow was what stopped me.

The Mustangs featured in Bullit and Gone In 60 Seconds (both the original and remake) and countless other movies have played no little part in adding on to their timeless charm.

My last 2 weeks in the US I had planned on renting a Mustang  but as luck would have it the rental agency didnt have it in stock so had to drive around a stupid Monte Carlo instead :-(.  Anyways  I hope Ford will sell the Mustang in India someday and that I will be able to save up enough to buy one (before I am too old/unhealthy to drive) !