Honda Civic Long Termer

Now those readers who know a thing or two about long-term test car may move on to the next paragraph. For others, here goes what a long termer is. We get a car or two every week as soon as the launch takes place . We drive them over a considerable distance for many days before giving you a reasonably accurate review. What we cannot tell you however is how the car will be like after a couple of month’s usage, whether it will still run effectively or will it break down whenever you are in a hurry to reach somewhere, how much fuel economy you can expect from it over the time and whether servicing and taking care of it burn a hole through your pocket. It is to know these cars better that we get long term test cars from companies. These cars will be in our fleet for a considerably long period, and we’ll be using them as our own cars, doing regular stuff that you would do if you were to buy them. Depending on our experience, we suggest you to buy one tomorrow or perhaps today afternoon itself, if you have the time or to keep your money in a safe and hand over the keys to your mother to be taken care of.

Over the years we have had quite a big number of long termers, some of which have done no more good than consume valuable parking space at the garage. So when the decision came to have a new fleet of long termers, it is the idea to have only the very best ones in their respective segments that won most applauses. We didn’t want to know what the weaknesses of the ‘average Johnies’ were. Instead we thought it much better to retest and highlight the real talents and flaws of the best in the segment. Also, a long termer is always under the threat of being called ‘useless and seriously flawed’ at any moment and for this reason only the most confident companies send us their long term cars. So when Honda sent us the Civic Automatic, we were more than happy to make way for it. The Civic is a highly desirable car and we wanted to know more about it. And the best part is that it looks dramatic.

Honda has achieved a very slippery body which also looks special. The style looks more futuristic than contemporary with sharp creases and a flowing body line. The short bonnet and the cab forward nature are well hidden by the fluidity of the design. Despite being nearly a year old it is still like a powerful eyeball magnet attracting glances from the young and the old alike.
Stepping inside makes one feel like an aircraft pilot. The tachometer dial has a fluorescent blue backlighting, white lettering and white needle which looks great. The speedometer, fuel gauge and temperature gauge are digital affairs which are at line of sight with the base of the wind screen. The advantage is that you need not look down to see them. But in fact, they are so clear and large that you are kept informed from time to time without having to look at the gauges every now and then.

The Civic is a low slung sedan which means getting in and out of the low seats is a small problem as most people pointed out. You need to exercise your calf muscles to get out of it which means you need to spend only less time in the gym. The seats are quite comfortable once you settle in. The back rest angle, the additional thigh support and the well padded central arm rest make life comfortable at the rear. The rear armrest comes with audio controls within the armrest, great when you have a chauffeur.

The 1800cc engine, is mated to a 5speed automatic gearbox, is a perfect combination. It puts out 130bhp which is adequate. The paddle shifts work wonders too when you are in a hurry. The automatic gearbox with provision for manual override allows the engine to be revved right up to the red line. When driven carefully, the Civic auto is almost as fuel efficient as the manual version. We manage to get around 11.8kmpl under regular 50:50 highway / city use which is commendable for a 1800cc automatic weighing 1.2 tons. More on the engine - performance and driveability later.

The Civic was showered by many awards including the ‘Car of the year’ by several magazines. Even Autocar crowned it as the ‘Car of the year 2006’. But all of them did miss out something. What they really wanted was to pick the best car launched during the year, but the Civic was more than simply being the best for that year. Nothing this brilliant has come our way until the Civic and nothing will, atleast for the next two years. They could have called it the ‘Car of the decade’ or something like that.

Volkswagen Passat 2.0TDI DSG

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway. 160kms of bitumen-coated tarmac stretching across the heart of Maharashtra and connecting two of the busiest metros in the country is surely a motoring enthusiast’s paradise if ever there is one, in India. There is no speed limit in all except the most winding sections which means you can go ‘pedal to metal’ and see what your car’s top speed really is. It is best enjoyed with a sportscar, perhaps a Bugatti Veyron or even lesser an Audi R8. Interestingly, I was in the Expressway, driving a front wheel drive diesel sedan with an automatic gearbox and four people on board. The only thing I had in common with the cars mentioned above was the famous DSG gearbox and the Volkswagen DNA that runs through the brands of other cars that are under the VW ownership.

I must remind myself that the Bugatti and Audi are too far off in my career but I was not disappointed with the Volkswagen either. Firstly don’t be fooled by that diesel engine. It may be slightly noisy and the 140bhp output may not give you any bragging rights, but it is more than adequate when it comes to making the VW rocket off the line. Secondly the VW is capable of cutting distances so fast that before I knew it I reached the end of the 160km expressway. And thirdly, it is an expert at disguising speeds that 150kmph felt like 100 and no one was complaining when I was bettering 180kmph.

The Passat comes with all the equipments that you can possibly think of in a car and has more. For a start it has six airbags, 12-way adjustable front seats, ESP(Electronic stability Programme), cruise control, cornering headlamps, rain sensors, parking sensors and two zone climate contol. It is the attention to detail that interested me more than these. For instance, the vehicle manual is stowed away in the glove-box and is accessible by pulling a strap. The front door has a thoughtful umbrella holder with holes for draining away water. The rear door has curtains that can be neatly tucked away, when not in use. The front cup holders have a unique revolving design that is not only good for accommodating containers of varying sizes, but also feels tech laden. I can go on…

The greatest thing about this car is the brilliant DSG gearbox. Not only does it take the load of shifting gears off your shoulders but it also lets you shift gears at will and have fun by allowing shifting in four ways. One in the sedate Drive mode, another in the quicker Sports mode, a third by pushing the mushroom like gearknob back and fourth and finally a fourth one by operating the paddles (think Honda Civic) behind the steering wheel much like in a Ferrari. This last one was my favourite since it reminded me of the Veyron again and this proved to be faster in the hills of Mahabaleshwar as the big VW was darting from corner to corner.

The engine produces 140bhp and 32.6kg-m of torque. The fun part is that this torque is concentrated at a narrow powerband. When you hit this, it immediately catapults you forward while the DSG gets the next appropriate ratio ready for you. The surge is so enjoyable that you will be looking for gaps in traffic to shoot the VW arrow. The engine is also very fuel efficient which offsets the only concerning parameter, the noise it produces.

The ride may appear slightly stiff when you hit the road, at first. It is stiff, but the ride is not anything to complain about except when you have a broken patch of road. In fact the ride quality only gets better with speed and at very high speeds it was quite well damped and the car goes in a serene way much like that of an ocean liner. And the upside to that stiff suspension set up is the handling which is very sporty and involving had it been not for that slightly numb steering. The steering loses precision and feels vague at the centre position but this is probably there to minimize the need for frequent corrections at high speeds. The body control is excellent and the car feels eager to change directions. The brilliant chassis fools you into thinking ‘rear wheel drive’.

And its talents didn’t stop just there… it went on to become one of my favourite sedans sold in India right now. It is much more capable than that 3series or C class but a lot cheaper. I can forgive the noisy engine and the stiff ride quality of this car. I can even see myself waiting with a bag filled with a lot of money, at a nearby dealership…but wait, as of now, there is no such VW dealership as the one nearby. The nearest one is in Bangalore and the farthest one in Delhi and in between, you have one in Mumbai as well. There are only three. And that is the only fault I can find with it.

Tata Safari 2.2

It is SUV time this year. Last week, we had the Montero which is a plusher version of the good Mitsubishi Pajero and is primarily meant for American markets. At Rs.40 lakhs it was way beyond the reach of many. So here is the Tata Safari which many call as the 'Poor man's Pajero', reborn with a new 2.2 L common rail diesel engine. Starting from Rs.7.5 lakh onwards, it is more of a ‘Sensible man’s Pajero’. For the price, you get a lot of well painted metal and glass. And unlike the Montero, you can take this for some great off-roading without worrying about the scratches and minor damages since it costs nowhere near those horribly priced SUVs out there. Even if you damage something, you can fix it at a fraction of the price as well.

Thankfully I didn’t break anything. The Safari can take a fair degree of beating in itself, thanks to the strong ladder frame and supple suspension. It took the rough terrain in its stride and didn’t complain a bit. See the pictures of the jumping Safari which was a demo vehicle and had only two wheel drive. It was doing this stuff all day in front of the camera and still didn’t show any signs of fatigue. The capabilities of the chassis and the battle tank like rigidity did impress us a lot and we think that the sticker ‘DEMO vehicle’ should have read ‘DEMOLITION VEHICLE’instead. It handles quite well for its size, despite the vague steering lacking consistent feedback. But care should be taken not to unsettle the vehicle and it is advisable to scrub some speed when there is too much wallowing when going over rough terrain. Tata has improved the suspension and consequently the ride quality with this vehicle and it shows.

Now the heart of the matter is the new 2179cc Direct Injection COmmon Rail(Hence Tata calls it the DICOR) engine developed in collaboration with AVL, Australia . It produces 140bhp and 32.6kgm of torque and incorporates a DOHC 16valve cylinder head and variable geometry turbo charger to minimize turbo lag. What amazes really is the refinement compared to the previous version which had the agricultural 3L engine from the 407 truck. The new engine is now sweeter sounding and more silent than even the Scorpio’s.

Despite the Variable Geometry Turbo, there is a slight turbo-lag until 1800rpm after which it pulls cleanly. The urgency of the previous 3L engine or the Scorpio will be missing but this is decent stuff indeed. This engine can pull the 2200kg Safari from standstill to 100kmph in about 15.4 seconds and haul it to a top speed of 156kmph and still remain fuel efficient. The car in its latest iteration has one of its serious flaw addressed - lack of power. Overtaking is now easier as the Safari does not run out of power as before. It has power band between the 2000rpm and 4000rpm which can be efficiently tapped by the five speed gearbox. As for the shift quality, it is smooth but precision could have been improved.

The Safari has the best rear seats in the business and that involves not just the other SUVs, but also some luxury sedans. The reason is the perfectly reclined back rest and the upright seating position which is not possible in many low sedan cars. The front seats are also quite supportive and come with individual arm rests. The middle row gets a roof mounted blower and the top end variant comes with Blaupunkt DVD player with LCD screens on the back of front head rests. It also has dedicated air conditioning vents and a 12 volt dc adapter that can come quite handy when you spend time in the backseat. The inside rear view mirror hides a small LCD screen that comes active once you slot into reverse. The reversing camera is mounted low in the rear bumper and has a good field of vision. It works well even in the dark but was tricky at times when the lens caught mist and dirt.

The Tata Safari 2.2 is an SUV that you cannot ignore if you are shopping around for one. There are various attractions like the immense road presence, great ride quality, a proper diesel engine, good rear seat accommodation, reasonable equipments and a very friendly price tag. This new engine is the result of a three year effort and will feature for the export markets as well. So you can buy it with your eyes shut. Quality has improved a lot over the past years but still leaves a lot to be desired. As for the new version, I would have liked to see a major facelift along with the new engine. But Tata has wasted this opportunity and restricted the facelift to a new double slatted front grill and spare wheel cover. But the design of the Safari still looks good and that for a ten year old design is saying a lot. The new variant may not be perfect but it is the best Safari yet.

Mitsubishi Montero

One great car, one good road and enough time are three vital ingredients that make a drive enjoyable. Unfortunately I didn’t have the latter two when I wanted to catch a plane within the next one and a half hours from a place 120 kms away. After the monsoons, roads were as bad as they could get and as you can see cars were slowly crawling around huge potholes before they got swallowed by one. Thankfully I was in the new Mitsubishi Montero and didn’t have to slow down a bit. Being a fan of Mitsubishi and their huge rallying heritage, it reminded me of the innumerable Paris-Dakar victories when I was racing against the clock, running over huge craters at insane speeds and not noticing them even.

From delicate cell phones to heavy cranes, Mitsubishi makes them all. For a company whose roots lie in the thriving Japanese shipping industry, the Montero is no mean feat either. It is built like a battle ship and goes like one too. And unlike the previous version, this one is also a luxury liner with every possible gadget that you can imagine. It has got powered seats, cruise control, six airbags, a compass, an altimeter, a very intelligent trip computer and a lot of others. My favorite has to be the twelve speaker Rockford Fosgate audio system which is among the best factory fitted music systems, I have come across recently. It even includes a punchy subwoofer integrated into the boot.

The Montero looks imposing with its wide chrome grill and chin. This is banked by sufficiently large Xenon head lamps on either side. The detailing of the headlamps is remarkable with three circular elements fused into one cluster. The front bumper houses pop-out washers for the headlamps as well as two fog lamps in circular pods. A robust metal skid plate, two black strips and a rectangular air dam built into the front bumper complete the front end.

Stepping inside, one gets to notice how much of an improvement the new Montero is over the old one. This one feels like the money spent at the least. There is a bright ambience thanks to the beige theme, the carefully stitched leather seats and the well built dashboard. The fascia is finished mostly in black even though there are lashings of fake wood and brushed aluminum. The top part of the central console houses the information display which has the trip computer, compass and altimeter. The instrument panel comprises of dials with violet and white back lighting and red needles which create a very sci-fi look. The steering wheel is well built and has controls for the audio system and cruise control. The gear lever and the control for the transfer case are housed deep down in the central panel.

Seating position upfront can be adjusted electrically to our convenience and finding a comfortable position takes very little time. However it could do with a memory function for the electric adjust which will keep the adjusted position in memory for you, even if someone alters it to their tastes. The front seats are very comfortable and you sit tall giving you a commanding view of the road. This is not the case with the middle row of seats which are a bit low and lacks thigh support. The third row is quite cramped and their head rests block rear vision, but can be tucked completely away into the floor- a neat touch. All the three row of seats gets their own AC vents. The front seats are the most comfortable of the lot with adjustable arm rest at the centre.

The Montero is a thoroughly modern SUV employing a ‘monocoque with a backbone’ (integrated ladder frame) construction. The result is great handling on the road with little compromise in off road performance. When I say great handling don’t expect the Montero to be doing 120kmph slaloms and 80kmph J-turns. It goes where you aim it and that is good enough for a bulky SUV. None of the road undulations will deviate it from its intended course. And it also rides brilliantly. The brakes are superb too.

The engine is a 3200cc direct injection diesel unit that produces 165bhp and 39.1 kg-m of torque. It provides enough power to haul the 2380kg SUV to 0-100kmph in 15.6 seconds and has enough torque to move mountains. The five speed gearbox has short throws and a delightful shift action even if the shifts are slightly on the heavier side. Everything in the Montero feels manly and built to last. The transfer case is perfect and has some sort of electronic wizardry to keep you from sliding even. The only fault you can find in the package is the clattery diesel engine which sounds crude and noisy as if it has been plucked from a cement mixer.

To sum it up, the Montero is a serious rival to other SUVs of the Rs.40 lakhs’ price range. It has got a torquey diesel engine, seven seats, loads of equipments, amazing off-road ability and great ride and handling. It is a good alternative to those luxury sedans if you have to tackle bad roads quite often. As for me, I reached the airport in time rather than on time having tested the Montero’s superb off-road potential on the ‘road’, if you can call it that.

Big Car for small car money

Between sumptuous feasts of brand new cars tested, I sometimes think of the used market which is flourishing as a result of the ever increasing level of consumerism. It is now that most cars are seen as poseur’s items, which means that once it is more than two years old, it loses its brag points. The result, very excellent cars go dirt cheap in the used market. If you see the classifieds column on this newspaper and some magazines, you can find some very good examples going for mouthwatering prices. I saw a four year old Ford Mondeo with very low mileage for less than six lakh rupees. An old Accord in Maharaja Gold with 45k on the odo for around Rs.5 lakhs was a good bet too. And did I mention that there were a couple of rare imports for all price ranges?

But that is not where I’m taking you to. What I’m trying to say is, forget the costly imports and luxury cars out there, instead take a look at some of the real affordable deals. For the price of a new small car, you can get a barely used midsize car. Now, please don’t throw an argument that small cars are the only way to drive around in town, but take a look at the large number of people driving big cars and you see that they are not wrestling. Small cars may be easier to drive around in congested areas and park, but a bigger car like the Honda City is not too big to be cumbersome either A new small car is just fine and is the safest choice for the family man, I agree. But what if he has a family of grown up people? Why should they be treated to the ‘spacelessness’ of many small cars especially when there is a bigger car available for the same price, which is nearly as new?

For the price of a new Santro, you can get a properly maintained Mitsubishi Lancer or Hyundai Accent which will serve well for the next four or five years without any hiccups. Or how about an SUV like the Scorpio or the Safari? Well, the fuel consumption will be slightly higher in a big car(offset by a diesel power-plant) and also parts may be costlier but only marginally. So why do I say it is still a sensible idea to go and get yourself a larger car in prestine condition? Well, I have some points to substantiate.

· A big car has better space, comfort and equipment levels than a small car.
· A big car usually has better performance and is more enjoyable to drive.
· A big car always offers better safety features.
· A big car will have better ride quality.
· A big car is engineered to last longer than a small car, so even a used one will be good enough.
· A big car has a better image accompanying it. Please read twice.

Small cars are very well equipped these days, but big cars always are. You can get the essential power steering, power windows, powered mirrors as standard with most big cars while these features are available only in the top end versions of smaller cars. Small cars however large they are, are smaller and can play only second fiddle to a midsize car when it comes to space for passengers and their luggage. Big cars are also safer and their average life expectancy is also longer which means they can endure more mistreatment and still be very reliable for longer periods than fragile small cars which carry the ‘handle with care’ stickers.

Now the last point is what I’m asking you to concentrate on. When you drive around in a big car, you get more attention and respect than you get if you drove a tiny hatchback. Drive a big car to the lobby of any grand hotel and a widely smiling sentry will hold the door open for you and take care of the parking. That will not be the case with your small car which you will have to park by yourself, among other big cars and walk back to the lobby while the same sentry will not be caring too much about your presence. You get elevated among friends and colleagues when you own a larger car. Image does count in some places but it isn’t too costly to procure either.

If none of this excites you, let me remind you about the unavoidable depreciation factor. A car depreciates most in the hands of its first owner. When you buy a new small car, you will be paying for the depreciation which will be around twenty percent for the second year. On the other hand, if you bought a used car, the previous owner would have already suffered the devaluation and you will be suffering only the second reduction which is around ten percent of the already low price. Having said that you can pick up a clean Ford Ikon or Maruti Baleno for approximately Rs. 3 lakhs, have a blast in it for the next two years and sell that for almost the same price. It’s all about making the right choice for your budget.





Used Midsize Cars available for the price of a Small Hatchback
Prices in Rs. as seen for 2002-04models
Mitsubishi Lancer
2.75 to 4.50
Maruti Baleno
2.60 to 4.25
Opel Corsa
1.80 to 3.50
Ford Ikon
1.75 to 3.80
Honda City
2.45 to 5.50
Hyundai Accent
2.00 to 4.60
Tata Safari
2.00 to 5.00
Mahindra Bolero
1.60 to 3.50

Mahindra Scorpio Getaway 4X4

Here is a life style product from Mahindra, the Getaway. Tata had their own version of a similar lifestyle product, named the TL4X4 a few years back but it didn’t work well. And even though, they all want to call it ‘lifestyle’, it is not much a part of our lifestyle to look cool by driving a pickup truck. It has worked well with the Americans who think that a car needs an open loading bay at its rear rather than an enclosed boot. An open loading bay enabled them to carry around the bikes, canoes, tents and other utensils when they were on a weekend getaway (oops!) and to bring home the entire supermarket while on shopping. Ford made the best out of it with their F150 range of trucks which went on to become arguably the best selling vehicles across the world.

Mahindra wants to change the way people take to pick up trucks with the Getaway which they are exporting as the ‘ Goa ’ to many rural markets across the world. To the uninitiated, the Getaway may look like a commercial vehicle. The body style is what you call as a crew cab, which simply means apart from the loading platform, there is a cab for the crew as well. And unlike a crude utilitarian commercial truck, this one comes with all the amenities of a regular SUV. And Mahindra says it is for the macho man, hoping that someone whose ego they can tickle will want to look the part and will hopefully buy it.

Actually it is not too bad to drive around in a pickup if you are far away from the place where you normally live in. Nobody will even bother but drive one to a marriage function and you will win no friends, except a bunch of college kids, who will eulogize about anything slightly removed from the conventional. Having said that, this is a car for the urban youngster than for the family man, unless the latter lives in a remote village where he owns a farm and hits the market on a monthly basis for selling and buying. It is all about attitude.

And not much else. It is short on interior space like the Scorpio but the rear backrest is much more upright. The ride is simply bone shaking and bouncy. Imagine yourself being closed in a metal box and given to a three year old to throw around and have fun with and you get half the picture. Unlike the normal Scorpio, the Getaway gets to do away with conventional leaf springs, great for carrying loads but not passengers. It is acceptable at slow speeds on rough terrain and city roads, but gets unbearable as speeds increase. There is the additional wheelbase of 36cms over the Scorpio which has affected the turning radius - not much of a concern since it is still manageable around town provided you get an idea of the extra length of 60cms. The vehicle retains the same engine as in the Scorpio, which means the acceleration is brisk. Sadly the vehicle dynamics and ride quality doesn’t allow you to stay comfortable at high velocities. Try speeds above 80kmph and it bounces so much that it forces you to hit the brakes which you soon realize are vague enough. And that loading bay will remain vacant for most of the time, with our not so outdoorsy lifestyle. But I have come up with an idea to make the best out of it. Fill it up with sand when you are at the beach next time and see for yourself, how much of an improvement does it make for the ride.

Enough said, it is now time for the Getaway to redeem some of the points it has lost in terms of body dynamics. Firstly there is the steering that is slightly better than that of the regular Scorpio which is a bit over-servoed. Then there is the option of four wheel drive. It comes handy with loads of mud-plugging ability and with that tough body shell, can take a fair amount of abuse as well. The torquey engine and the clever differentials help. What it lacks on the road, it makes up with its great off-road ability.

Those youngsters out there, who crave to look different should go and get yourself one, before you get any older. It will relieve Rs.8 lakhs off your parent’s bank account, but doesn’t matter. It will be the right stuff to be seen in your campus with. You will surely look different when you arrive at someone else’s party, driving a mean and large pickup truck rather than a sedate looking sedan but so would you if you walked in covered in leaves. Buy the top variant in red, put up some large chrome alloys and thick rubber, fit half a dozen hella fog lamps at the top and on the bull bar, pump up the music volume and there you are- ready to hit the road with a party machine for yourself.