Tag: mileage

Test Drive: Etios Liva GD SP Diesel

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Etios LivaLIV TMRRW 2DAY is the tag line Toyota is using for its entry level Hatch – pitched at the millennial generation looking for a high quality brand name car – easy to drive and maintain. Suddenly after a long time feeling the need to do a TD – I requested for a test drive through the Toyota website on a whim on a Thursday afternoon scheduling a time for the next day 5 PM. No call no email till Friday morning when a person called to confirm the test drive request and mentioned the sales person would call and confirm the time for the TD. This happened like clockwork within a few minutes. There was a change in plan from my side and requested  the timing to be between 1:30 to 2 PM instead. This was agreed to. I gave my office address as the location for them.

At 1:28 PM I get a call from the sales person that he was outside our gate ! Wow – for the first time the TD vehicle has shown up at the time specified.  The sales guy made sure the vehicle was turned around and made easy to drive out for me (from a service lane still under construction that had open manhole covers) . That was a nice touch.

Test drive car was in Ultramarine Blue and was of GD SP (Safety Pack) trim. The color reminded me a lot of my Getz Electric Blue :-).  The test drive car came with a body kit that was an add on accessory – not part of the standard – but it definitely made the car look interesting and a bit sportier. The car without the under body skirts and spoiler looks very plain and unappealing.

There were stickers on the car to indicate it was a test drive /demo vehicle. Great – good to know am not driving a customer car. Digital odometer had around a bit over 9K Kms.  Interior of the vehicle was spic and span and clean.

Steering wheel was nice and chunky and of the right size to hold with a thicker portion at 10 and 2. Steering wheel had height adjust but the seat did not. Seat felt a bit lower than needed but I was comfortable within a minute of sitting in it with just adjustment for leg room.

For my height (5’7″) there was decent leg space in the driver seat and my left leg didn’t foul with the dashboard like it did in the Figo. No dead pedal available.

1st gear slotted in nicely and surely and starting off was a piece of cake with the clutch being light and easy to operate even for a first time user of the car. No heavy diesel car clutch issues I was expecting.

Pickup from stop was decent enough – didn’t push it but when moved into second the vehicle seemed a bit slow to respond. Unfortunately the lack of the tachometer meant I had no assistance to tell if I was shifting too early etc.

Drive in 3rd and 4th were decent – again within city roads the ride was smooth and minor bumps etc were not noticed.  Even on a badly paved road at slow speed the ride was comfortable. Only one sharp bump made the suspension make an awkward sound and the vehicle sprung up a bit.

The center mounted speedo is easy to read and I got used to it in no time.

Air-conditioning seemed adequate at fan speed #2  in the afternoon Chennai heat – but again the sales guys had the Ac running before the TD itself. Over #2 the noise was a bit much.

Doors felt a bit thin and didn’t have a solid feel on closing.

Rear hatch has to be opened via central locking and the hand grip of the opening was a bit awkward.

Positives:

  • GD trim comes with ABS. Need to go to GD SP for Airbags
  • Comfortable front seats – adjustable headrest can be lived with
  • Amazing space at the rear seat – 3 people in comfort with around 4 inches to spare of legroom till the front seat (set for my driving position).
  • Flat rear floor makes middle passenger comfortable
  • Fairly decent and usable bootspace of around 251L. When folded it goes to around 500L.
  • Service interval of 10K after initial service at 1K. Also option of Smile service packages for lower costs.
  • 3 years 1Lakh Km warranty
  • ARAI claimed mileage of 23.59 (Not able to test mileage in the short drive I did)

Negatives:

  • Noise from the engine sounded like a share auto. This was heard over the AC. I guess one will get used to it over time- but for the entire duration of the test drive – this bothered me.  The Figo in comparison had a muted thrum and the Maruti diesels had a similar muted thrum that was not annoying.
  • Horn sounded adequate but was only a single one.

Missing features (that would make this a truly great car):

  • Tachometer
  • Split folding rear seat
  • Seat height adjust
  • Music system (strangely they have speakers installed for the GD SP trim but no music system)
  • Fog lamps
  • Alloys
  • Climate control / switch for fresh air/recirculation – the slider is from 1980s !!!

Availability at this time is around 30-45 days. Price for top end GD SP Diesel trim on road Chennai is 7.14L.

Overall:

You get a Toyota badge on your vehicle for the price. Ride and handling are decent enough. Feature list is a bit short and makes the Figo seem like a major value for money deal.

Also points to think about – do you really need a diesel – if not then can you spend a bit more for the Etios sedan (in petrol) ? The pricing for the top end Etios Sedan diesel on road I felt was a bit too much coming at around 9.46 on road.

 

Other Notes:

PS: Images are from www.toyotabharat.com & toyotaetiosliva.in

I just noticed – almost every  image of the Liva on the Toyota websites – are with the body kit and spoiler and with alloys (found only on the VX petrol trim) !!!! One has to pay extra for the body kit to be added to the diesels.

 

Liva Without Body Kit, Alloys

 

 

<- What it looks like without the body kit (see circled areas). Couldn’t find any other image without the body kit on the site :-).

 

 

 

Liva With Body Skirts, Spoiler and Alloys

 

 

 

 

 

 

<- Looks much more improved with body kit, spoiler and alloys(see circled areas). Fog lamps as well.(Click on image to view larger size)

 

 

 

 

21 Radical Tips to Improve Fuel Efficiency

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With rising fuel prices and the prospect of them going up further – here are some radical tips to improve mileage of your 4 wheeler from a primary car driver and owners point of view. They can be easily adapted for SUVs, Minivans as appropriate etc. These have been collected from years of scientific research and of course from across the web.

Fuel Price Increases

This chart with prices of petrol, diesel, CNG & LPG for Chennai since 2002 is from  www.mypetrolprice.com

A lot of these tips are so simple and commonsense you will wonder why you didn’t think of them yourself.  Its ok – You can thank me later.

Here the list:

  1. Improve the aerodynamics of the car – remove all exterior mirrors, chrome, mudflaps, spoilers, badges, stickers and wheel caps. Door handles can also be sealed off to reduce drag. Cover all panel gaps in the body with clear cello tape. Seal the wheels as well with smooth plastic plates.
  2. Maintain the exterior of the car by regularly cleaning and polishing the surface – reduces wind resistance. Make absolutely sure there is no road tar, tree sap or bird poo that is on the surface – this reduces your aerodynamics.
  3. Stop using the AC all the time but instead use it from time to time. As a backup install a couple of Indian hand fans. The windows should be kept closed though for maximum aerodynamics.
  4. Perform weight reduction on self – if you are 10KG overweight – that’s an extra 10KG your cars engine has to drag around. Even bigger savings if you are really really overweight.
  5. Make sure you(the driver) and all passengers if any have finished daily ablutions and necessary bowel and bladder evacuations before the car trip. Weight reduction.
  6. Add the option to pedal power or kick power like in the Flintstones – this helps reduce your weight and also reduces the fuel used. Good for crawling in traffic jams.
  7. Fuel in the fuel tank is added weight – so calculate your daily distance based usage and fill petrol for just what you need.  That way your vehicle will be at its bare minimum weight. If you are the low risk taking type – keep an empty 2 liter soft drink bottle in the car for an emergency.
  8. Perform further weight reduction – remove all non essential items from the car – including but not limited to the following:
    • Remove one wheel from the car – I mean the spare wheel & tire the jack and  tools that you rarely use.
    • rear seat + seat-belts at rear , passenger seat+ passenger seat-belt – can be replaced with some good coir mats on the floor
    • Stereo + speakers and related wiring – if these are retained – then play only slow music – reduces th e temptation to speed.
    • Dashboard
    • Carpets
    • Door interior panels
    • Air-conditioning system
    • Windshield wiper fluid
    • If you drive primarily during the day – you can remove the headlight bulbs – add them back if you want to drive at night
  9. Do not take work material home or purchases of any kind or carry lunch or snacks. Buy what you need where you need it and consume it there.
  10. Wear thin soled shoes or avoid shoes altogether to ensure light presses of the accelerator.
  11. Install tough springs under the accelerator – to reduce the amount by which you can press the accelerator – burns less fuel.
  12. Join a BPO company that does night shift work or if you cannot shift your work that easily – volunteer to work in the night shift from 10PM to 6 AM. Guaranteed to beat the traffic in all major cities.
  13. If your workplace provides company transport that’s running at capacity – talk with your admin team to sell seats on your car for a price for the route you take. For e.g. if it costs you Rs 250 per day in petrol to use your car for a distance of around 35 km roundtrip – sell 3 seats per day at 100 each. Giving you a profit of 50 a day ! That’s a profit of around a 1000 per month counting 20 days !  Basically you are getting paid to drive.
  14. Getting smaller and narrower wheels will assist your mileage on multiple counts – lowers the vehicle height and also reduces the rolling resistance. Just follow the opposite of popular up-sizing guides to properly downsize your wheel and improve mileage. Also see next two.
  15. If your vehicle comes with alloys swap them out for cheaper and lighter pressed steel wheels.
  16. Fill Helium in the tires – helium is lighter than nitrogen and if nitrogen is supposed to give you an approximate 8% increase in mileage – this should give you at-least 20% more.
  17. Change the air intakes to be of hot air type. This increases and improves combustion efficiency burning less fuel. Similarly – smaller diameter exhausts should also help.
  18. Install solar panels on the roof, bonnet etc and use the solar power for charging the battery of the car – you can get rid of your cars alternator and reduce weight there. This has been proved to increase mileage by 10%.
  19. City driving in stop and go traffic is bad for mileage – therefore make sure you include highway trips into your commute – your mileage will automatically increase to become the average of your city and highway mileage.
  20. Push your car in stop and go traffic instead of using the engine.
  21. Remove power steering that requires the engine to run to assist the steering . Also make sure the steering column does not lock on switching off the engine.On all descents – switch off the engine and coast down. Make sure previous point is taken care.

 

Disclaimer: If you didn’t understand this post still do look at the categories. Its a bit late – I know.

All the best improving mileage and please do add any suggestions you can think of as well through the comments !

 

 

Automatic Cars in India costing less than 16Lakhs (Updated 2012, March)

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Ford Fiesta Powershift

I finally updated the list of automatic cars currently available in India today after close to a year.

Now the list has  12 vehicles with the Dzire, Rapid and Fiesta petrols being added newly. Verna details are updated with the new Fluidic which comes both in petrol and diesel. Civic , Cruze and Corolla have been moved out as they do not come under 16L.

Here is the complete list of automatic vehicles costing under 16 lakhs (on road-Chennai):

  1. Reva Maini (CVT)(Electric)
  2. Maruti Suzuki A-Star VXI AT(4 speed)(Petrol)
  3. Hyundai I10 1.2 Kappa Sportz (4 speed)(Petrol)
  4. Maruti Suzuki Dzire  1.2 (AT) (4 speed)(Petrol)
  5. Hyundai I20 1.4 Gamma – Sportz AT (4 speed)(Petrol)
  6. Hyundai Verna Fluidic 1.6 –  Petrol and Diesel Automatic (4 speed)
  7. Maruti Suzuki SX4 ZXI AT( 4 speed)(Petrol)
  8. Honda City(4 speed with paddle shift)(Petrol)
  9. Ford Fiesta  Powershift ( 6 speed, Dual Clutch)(Petrol)
  10. Skoda Rapid AT (6 Speed)(Petrol)
  11. Volkswagen Vento Highline 1.6 (6 speed)(Petrol)
  12. Scorpio VLX AT(6 speed)  (Diesel)

Only the Verna comes with a petrol and a diesel automatic.  Most of the vehicles on the list are petrols and it seems very obvious that Indian Manufacturers expect the automatics to be primarily used for shorter distances where the diesel advantage of mileage is not required. The Ford fiesta alone stands out as a petrol with 6 speeds, dual clutch system and very decent ride and handling.

Also the automatic versions typically higher in price than their equivalent manual siblings. Add a diesel engine to the mix and the pricing may very well come from one segment higher. So usually the automatic comes only with a petrol.

The post I had shared in 2011 March about Automatic transmission vehicles is here with the original list and some myths about automatics. With the traffic one has to face in Indian cities – the automatic will become a definite must have for some reduced stress.

Some vehicles being talked about that may come out later this year with Automatic Transmissions are the Nissan Sunny and the Tata Aria. The Reva NXR that has been talked about for years will also have a CVT – whenever it gets launched.

Wishlist:

Now that Maruti has the 4 speed auto on the DZire – when can we see it on the Swift ?

How about an automatic Figo and Ecosport ?

Automatic Jazz / Brio anyone ?

Automatic Fabia / Polo ?

Tata is conspicuous by its absence in this list – they need to get something done regarding this soon.

Honda Jazz – Owner Interview

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Jazz in Sherbet Blue

This is a short offline(done over email) interview with Mr Girish T.,  one of my close friends who is probably one of the first in Chennai (maybe in India as well) to buy a Honda Jazz. Many thanks to Girish for agreeing to this interview and sending over his answers in a very short time.

Sushil: What was your old car and how long did you have it ?
Girish: Fiat Palio – 7 years

Sushil: Why were you replacing your old car/getting a new one ?
Girish: The Fiat Palio was a Fuel Guzzler, Great car but was not backed by service. Fiat had stopped production as well. Time for change.

Sushil: What were your requirements for your new car?
Girish: Fuel efficient, Hatchback with lots of space and preferred that it be a Japanese this time

Sushil: What options did you evaluate ?
Girish: Jazz, I20 and Punto

Sushil: Why did you pick this car from the options you evaluated?
Girish: Lots of space, Excellent styling, Honda brand and tag of being decent on fuel efficiency

Sushil: Which dealer did you get it from and how was your purchase experience ?
Girish: Sundaram Motors – Nothing great. They have never been known to be great on the purchase experience or service. But went with it because that was the closest to my place. Can’t get a lazier reason 🙂

Sushil: Any freebies received ?
Girish: None – they managed to screw my chance to participate in the Honda festival and possibly get the Jazz free. They didn’t care much about it though. Speak volumes of their customer service. They did give me some money on the Fiat though. I thought that was a great freebie :-).

Sushil: What accessories did you add and what do you feel are must haves for someone buying this vehicle ?
Girish:Didn’t add any. But the rear parcel tray is a definite must. So is a USB port. They have brought in these options with Jazz X

Sushil: How many KM have you covered and how long have you had the vehicle ?
Girish: About a year now and 15K on KM

Sushil: What is the mileage it gives you so far ?
Girish: Gives me nearly 14 in city.

Sushil: What are the good points/features that stand out ?
Girish: Mileage, Drive, Space and Space

Sushil: Any irritants or negatives that stand out ?
Girish: Some more features for the price would have been great.

Sushil: Would you recommend the Honda Jazz to anyone and why ?
Girish: Definitely recommend for those looking for a hatchback to drive in the city with loads of space. The tag of being pricey and Honda has not been able to do anything about It has let the vehicle down.

If you have any further questions on the Jazz please post them here through the comments and will request Girish to answer them here.

Diesel Hatchbacks Comparison Chart Updated with Hyundai I20 CRDI

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The diesel hatchback comparison chart is now updated to include the Hyundai I20 CRDI Diesel. The comparison is for the highest end trims for all models. Why ? Because only then can we compare features to features. the lower end trims are basically diesel engine and chassis.

The list now contains the following:

  • Ford Fusion Plus TDCi
  • Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI Elegance
  • Getz Prime 1.5 CRDI GVS
  • Suzuki Swift VDI ABS
  • Suzuki Ritz VDI ABS
  • Grande Punto Emotion Pack Multijet
  • Hyundai I20 Asta (O) CRDI
  • Palio Stile 1.3 SDX
  • Indica Vista Aura Quadrajet
  • Indica Vista Aqua TDI
  • Tata Indica V2 DLS BS III

The specifications are now color coded to indicate the largest dimension/best value/cheapest cost(green) and lowest dimension/value /highest cost(red). Hope this sheet is easier to read now.

The costliest is still the Skoda Fabia and the cheapest still remains the Indica V2. 

The I20 is the second costliest in this comparison but also comes with a long list of features even longer than the Fabia.

Middle of the list with medium features and middle of road price is the Swift and the Ritz.

Here is the list : Diesel Hatchbacks Comparison Chart. Here was my original post on the diesel hatchbacks with more analysis on the data: Are you looking for a Diesel Hatchback ?

Thanks: A lot of feedback, errata identification and great suggestions from Jacob, Manoj and Vasu were used to update the older sheet  – Thank you for reading through in detail and giving valuable feedback and pointing out the many errors !

Some items still pending such as mileage data for the latest updated cars and the performance figures for acceleration and braking. This will be done in the next update.

The I20 & I: I tried checking with the Hyundai dealership I bought my Getz from but they still do not have a registered Diesel or Automatic available for TD. They have promised to get me a TD as soon as their vehicles get registered.

Are you looking for a Diesel Hatchback ?

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If you are looking for a Diesel Hatchback and need an easy reference comparison sheet for all the new vehicle models available in India – you have come to the right post. If you have reached here in error and Petrol Hatchbacks are what you want take a look at Petrol Super Hatchbacks Comparison.

The vehicles I have compiled the technical specifications and key features for include the Ford Fusion Plus TDCi, Skoda Fabia TDI Elegance, Hyundai Getz Prime CDRI GVS, Maruti Suzuki Swift VDI ABS, Maruti Suzuki Ritz VDI ABS, Tata Indica Vista Aura Quadrajet, Fiat Palio Stile Multijet SDX and the long running Tata Indica V2 DLS. The maximum price of the vehicles I have listed is under 9 Lakhs (on road). Frankly – if you are spending more than 6.5 lakhs for a hatchback – you better have some really good reasons not to go in for a sedan.

Indian Diesel Hatchback Trivia:
Shortest:Tata Indica V2 DLS
Longest Hatchback & Longest Wheel Base: Ford Fusion Plus
Widest: Ford Fusion Plus
Largest Fuel Tank:Fiat Palio Stile
Tallest:Maruti Suzuki Ritz VDI
Most Fuel Efficient:Maruti Suzuki Ritz VDI/ Runner Up: Maruti Suzuki Swift VDI
Most Powerful Engine, Highest Top Speed and Fastest in 0-100 time:Hyundai Getz Prime CRDI
Smallest Turning Radius:Maruti Suzuki Swift & Ritz
Lightest Weight:Tata Indica V2

**Best Ground Clearance: Ford Fusion Plus (The number needs to be checked – I got it from the Ford website – but it puts offroaders to shame)

Here is the data sheet: Diesel Hatchbacks Comparison to help you choose the car for you. If you need help deciding or have questions please feel free to ask through the comments or through the contact form.

PS: Please let me know if you have any additional data that can be added to the sheet to improve it.

Updated: June 18th to add details of the Fiat Grande Punto to the comparison.