test drive – Zimbly Cars

Tata Nano AMT Short Review

September 23, 2015 admin

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.

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.

Test Drive: Etios Liva GD SP Diesel

April 9, 2012 admin

LIV 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.

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

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

Hyundai I10 Automatic – Short Test Drive

July 16, 2009 admin

One of my colleagues at work mentioned a problem he was having. He had one car (Wagon-R) and was trying to teach his wife how to drive. For days he and his wife would venture out early in the morning for his wife to attempt getting familiar with the car, the gears, the roads, pedestrians, two wheelers and also slopes of flyovers and railway underpasses. To top it all they stay in a place called Choolaimedu which has one long really really crowded narrow lane permanently full of all types and modes of transport. Very little progress was happening from the aspect of the wife learning driving.

Finally they test drove a semi-automatic with the contraption called an “auto clutch” which gets fitted to a regular manual car. I remembered some ownership reports of the same and pointed them to it and they decided not to attempt getting it. They ventured back to the driving sessions but without much interest. Somewhere along the way when I was asked about the auto clutch I had told my colleague about the Hyundai I10 automatic which now replaces the original cheapest Hatchback from Hyundai – the Santro. He and his wife test drove the I10 and felt their needs would be met by it and decided to buy it. They got it for 4.85 lakhs on road with some corporate discounts and some offer. I got to see the car one evening last week. :-).

Outside:The exteriors look like any other I10 – just a small badge at the left rear stating ‘Auto’ shows something different. The car color was Electric Red. The pull type door handles worked well and the door was light easy to open. Felt very similar to a Santro. I don’t care too much for the front of the car but can live with the looks of the car from the sides and the rear. The rear roof spoiler accessory makes the car look much better. So will wider tires, nice alloys and dark tints.

Inside: The interior was beige mostly except for a dark brown section on the dashboard which seemed to have no reason to be there and looked very weird.Front fog lamps not present and neither were the rear wash wipe and demister. I sat in the passenger seat initially while my colleague got the car out of the parking lot and onto the road. The engine sound was almost nil inside the cabin and the transmission didn’t have any weird jerks while shifting. He didn’t have any trouble maneuvering the car from the basement through streams of people walking around. We finally got to an empty stretch of road and I was offered a chance to TD, I had initially refused but didn’t want to pass this opportunity so I got into the driver seat.

The seating position was good and very “Santroish” with good visibility all around including from both outside mirrors which were just the right size and in the right place. The gear knob had a silver finish piece on top and felt just the right size to hold and also had the button to lock the gear in place when not pressed.

Drive: I pressed the brake down, started the engine and moved from Park into ‘D’ for Drive. When I lifted my leg off the brake the car gently started moving without any jerks. To pick up pace one has to gently push the accelerator and the car does respond. Of course not with the urgency of a manual but decent enough.

I didn’t want to push this new car much but before I knew it it was touching 60 KMPH ! No harshness from the engine nor any significant increase in sound. I could feel the automatic transmission shift up through the gears – but only since I was keenly expecting it and listening for it. Making a ‘U’ turn at a break in the median was really nice, just stop wait and when a good sized gap appears in oncoming traffic just ease into it by pressing the accelerator. No attention required to shift gears up and both hands are free to manage the turning of the wheel.

The stretch of road I drove the car on was mostly well paved so didn’t hit any potholes with the car. The only rough stretches that were there we covered with great care since this was an brand new car without even its number plates. It had decent enough clearance for normal bumps and speed breakers without any issue.

Slowing down also was easy enough just press down on the brakes accordingly and the transmission moves down accordingly. I didn’t get to test panic braking but wish this car came with ABS as it would be good to have.

No tachometer on the version I drove (Magna trim) was the only negative I could think of… But again it is not really required for an automatic where the transmission will shift up a gear before things get too hot.

Overall I think it is a good car.It felt much better to drive than the last automatic I had driven ( a Santro automatic). I have driven an automatic Honda Civic for a couple of years – this one comes nowhere near that car – but for India and the space and traffic that exists here – it is definitely sized right. The pricing as always I wish it could have been cheaper as it makes a lot of sense to get an automatic in crowded cities.

Ownership Experience:Since I took my time writing this up I got to hear of the ownership experience one week past purchase. The views of the two drivers of the car echo the differing expectations men and women have of the vehicles they own and drive.

The husbandwho was very enthusiastic about the ease of driving the car still says its very easy to drive in peak traffic but has now started cribbing that it doesn’t give the rush and response as his car a manual transmission Wagon-R. He is back to driving his manual shift car.

The wife on the other hand is overjoyed at getting a car of her own that she can drive almost everywhere due to its compact size, good visibility and most of all she can concentrate on the road and on avoiding the many million maniacs driving alongside without any worry whatsoever about stalling the engine on starting or needing to worry about shifting up and shifting down and clutch modulation etc. Within a day of purchase she was happily driving through the railway subway near Loyola college coming from Nungambakkam towards Choolaimedu which has a pretty nasty upward slope ending at a stop light which 99% of the time will always be red forcing the motorists to wait on the upward slope.

Agony usually happens in new drivers who have to start off from a stop on a slope and usual mistakes while starting are rolling too far backwards and hitting the vehicles behind, cars in front rolling back and hitting your car or the most common one of stalling the engine and not being able to start back again. Honks from motorists behind the new driver will add to the stress. This crazy slope is now handled by this new driver with the automatic geared car where she only has to press the accelerator just enough to move up. Husband still has to sit with his eyes closed beside her but that’s better than having to watch the road, her and keep reminding her to shift up since the 1st gear alone cannot be used :-).

The wife who loves this car so much hasn’t driven manual transmission cars enough to appreciate the fine level of control – for such a driver the automatic makes a lot of sense and can be the best thing for them to drive. For drivers very experienced with squeezing out the most of mileage and power from their vehicles an automatic may not be very engaging to drive.

PS: One item I do not have but will update later is the actual fuel efficiency of the car. Hope to get it from the owners after they drive it for a bit.

Photos: From the Hyundai India I10 Website – since I didn’t have my proper camera with me and the ones with the phone camera suck 🙁

External Link:An old post on Cybersteering that has a round up of automatics available back then and with tips on how to drive with an automatic: http://www.cybersteering.com/cruise/feature/karma/auto.html

Auto Clutch review : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/accessory-part-reviews/47407-autoclutch-review.html?highlight=hyundai+I10+automatic

Other I10 Auto Reviews: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/50519-another-automatic-house-i10-automatic.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/56981-my-new-hyundai-i10-automatic.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/57765-yet-another-hyundai-i10-automatic-w-pics.html

Accident, Repairs, Ritz Test Drive & Recovery

June 23, 2009 admin

The title just about sums up the end of my past week and my weekend.

Accident: Last Thursday on the way back home from work was trying very hard to drive without getting bugged by the many jokers/morons/imbeciles on the road. I get no further than 5 km from office, when starting off from a signal, in my Swift get hit by another Swift ! I was in the center lane going straight, had a Tata Ace to my left and the Swift on my right.

The signal changes and I start off on the way ahead since there is no traffic ahead of me. Tata Ace also starts off to my left. There is some two wheeler in front of the Swift to my right, waiting to turn right so he cannot go straight ! What does the Swift joker do ? Turn left suddenly without checking whats moving on his left. I hear a the screech of metal on metal and though it didn’t sound too bad I knew my car was hit. Since there was a lot of traffic I had to take car to go straight put on my left indicator and try to move to the left. I see the Swift that hit me also come up and ahead of me and stop. I get out of my car to see that my car is scratched from the driver side door all the way down the rear passenger door till a little before the wheel arch :-(. Another point – the driver at the back has to take care not the one in front – our dude doesnt know all such rules. The location of the scratches is proof enough for me – from my driver door and backwards. I didnt even see the car to my left cutting into me since he was behind me and in my blind spot – but I was very clear – I was going straight and was in my lane.

Swift Accident — Scratches on Swift. Me and the Swift at the service center.

The guy driving the other car has come to my car by then and guess what – he asks me why I didn’t check before turning in front of him ! I was pretty shocked and told him dude I was in the correct lane going straight and he was the one cutting lanes without looking. He just didn’t want to listen. Kept repeating that I turned in front of him and that he was in the right lane turning right and that I was turing right as well !

I go look at his car. Its hood and bonnet was covered with bird droppings and there were several dents and dings all over and the car looked like it hadnt been washed since the last rains. Its front number plate was bent in two places. It was very obvious he was not a careful driver and more obvious that he didn’t take much care of his car. His left mirror was folded in (probably busted already) and his bumper was hanging off its mounting brackets. The height of irritation for me was knowing that most of the dents on his car were not due to my car. Maximum there was a scratch on his bumper. I am willing to bet the bumper was already hanging loose !

I told him listen – your car has damage and so does mine – so what do you expect me to do ? I stood there quietly for a while and said nothing (fuming inside). The guy realised he is not getting any money out of me – he seemed more than happy to go away. I was bugged and furious that I took a photo of his number plate with my phone cam. I have the plate number with me. What good is it for – will mention it a bit later.

I sat in the car for a bit to let my BP and heart rate come down – then resumed my journey. Worst part was I was watching my speed before the hit while usually I have to admit I would have been speeding down that stretch ! The one day of all days I was going carefully.

Another 7 km later and within 2-3 km of where I stay I see the bird crap covered car. All that he told me earlier about wanting to turn right was all lies. The place he was going to was totally in the direction I was going. He was in the wrong lane at that signal and cut lanes at the last minute ! I get the damage to my car !

Anyways after spending a miserable evening at home, the next day I leave the car at home and take the train to work. I schedule a service appointment for my 20K service and also to get the paint touched up. I was supposed to do a service booking but had forgotten about it till the scratches reminded me.

Repairs:

I was glad the service advisor wasn’t pushing me to get the whole door panels repainted and said that a touch up was enough. Luckily there was only minor denting and nothing too drastic. I mentioned the rattling sounds that were driving me nuts that came from the left passenger door and from the right driver door and from the hatch. No mechanical issues. Mileage I was getting was on par with what was expected of the petrol swift. Was getting around 11.5+ when they said around 12 was normal for city driving. I have 205 section tires so was expecting only that much.

One of my many buddies at the Service center offered to lookup the number plate of the Swift that hit me after he heard about the accidental damage – but I told him not to bother since there was nothing further I was going to do to him anyways. I can fantasize about it but reality is that I am no goonda and dont have time to go take panga with every moron on the road. :-(.

Yet another service advisor was intrigued and puzzled by the dog-bite mark damage on the front wheel arches. My car is being recognized as one with the bite marks by pretty much all the folks there !

Ritz VDI Diesel Test Drive:

While scheduling the service I had called up my favourite sales person at the dealership Mr. Jayavel who had sold me my Swift and asked to schedule a TD of the Ritz diesel. I was not able to TD it the last time I had visited there with my friend who was looking to buy a new car. Mr Jayavel knew I had no interest in buying a car but still ensured the car was there waiting for me. He even delayed a trip to a customer location to ensure I got my test drive – waiting for over one hour from the original time I had mentioned since I was stuck waiting for the service advisor to meet me and take my vehicle in for service. That’s what I call service from a sales person who knew from the beginning that he will not make a paisa from giving me a test drive but still took the pains to arrange one for me .

For that reason alone I am doing something I haven’t done so far – If you are in Chennai or know someone in Chennai looking to buy a car (specifically a Maruti) – please do give a call to Mr Jayavel at 9841727884 and mention you heard of his service from his old customer (me). He is part of the dealership team that is specific to handling corporate customers so be assured of professional service from him. Please note – I make no monetary benefit from mentioning his number or this – this is just my way of saying thanks ! (I refuse to mention which dealer – as I am not endorsing the dealer – please do not ask).

Ritz Diesel Experience: Only at the start was there some noise to indicate it was a diesel. After that it was super smooth and silent just like the Ritz Petrol. The clutch was as light as my own petrol Swift and the gears slotted in very very nicely with good feel just like the petrol Ritz. As I had mentioned in my comparison post the gear selector seemed better than the Swift. The steering was light and the car was easy to move through traffic. Just managed to drive it for 2-3 km as the sales person was needing to take it someplace to a customer’s home and was already late. I didn’t get a chance to check its pickup or braking since it was in traffic but just one time I was able to floor the accelerator , the car hesitated a very little bit before picking up speed at a very fast pace after 2000 RPM bringing a wide smile to my face. I really want a longer test drive. :-).

Recovery:

On Sunday managed to rest and recover from the shock the bill of the 20,000 Km service gave me. Around Rs 6800 was the total amount of which 250 was for mud flaps that were changed on my request since one of them was torn after having been hit by a biker. The scratches were mostly removed by polish but the deeper gashes had to be touched up by hand. This wasn’t done very well but hides the damage for now and I do not have to worry about rust. I didn’t realize that the 20K service was this costly. Will scan the bill and put up the detailed break up in a separate post. This is the highest ever I have paid for scheduled service so far in my 2+ years of ownership.