Mar 02, 2006 05:59 PM
11895 Views
(Updated Mar 06, 2006 07:15 PM)
My feedback is based on testdrives I have undertaken of the Optra-1.6(the middle model), Honda City(the VTec ZX version) and Corolla(H2). I hope to give a perspective to new car buyers in order to decide better.
Your views could differ, but these are my perceptions.
The easiest to drive among these was Honda City. Not too say that others are difficult but just comparatively.
In the Honda City, the controls are well placed and no issues in driving. The problems arise either if you are tall - I found that there was not even an inch over my head at the driver's seat and my hair was touching the roof on the rear. I am not used to this crampedness having space to stretch my arms in my existing Santro.
If you are in Bangalore or any other city with jumbo speadbreakers, bear in mind that the Honda city will touch(scrape) practically every speedbreaker that comes your way with just 2 or 3 people. You need to manouevre around these and I personally don't relish the thought at all. This was the primary reason for my rejection of the Honda City(160mm clearance but soft suspension)-(as well as Octavia-135mm though a rigid suspension but too low nonetheless)
The Optra was overall ok. The drive was good etc. If you are not the finicky kinds and can manage, its ok. However I found the controls odd. The indicators on the left are not to my liking. The sales guys might tell you its a matter of getting used to but I feel there are umpteen instances where you would be changing gears while approaching a turn and need the indicator switch on the right side to do them simultaneously. The other thing is having a feeling of being let down by the manufacturer not customizing stuff to India when they bring a model from elsewhere.
Another thing you might ponder is that GM has this habbit of changing models and the model might not be sold say 6-8 years from now (Opel Astra, Opel Corsa, Chevy Forrester being a few examples). If you are the kinds who are planning to hold the car for 6-7 years, apart from the lower brand than a Corolla, the aspect that you are unsure if the car would be around should be considered.
The other issue was horn being bang in the center. In an emergency, you would need to grope for the horn and move your hands off the steering wheel. Other than rest is ok. Seating is a bit low compared to corolla.
In the Optra, one big issue was not being able to see the console clearly from the seating positions. Only parts of the console are visible from different positions, you would need to move positions slightly to see all parts of the console.
The plushness of corolla is missing but then its a lakh and a half cheaper for the 1.6 which is a lower engine than 1.8 but should suffice and suit if you want to not cross the 10L mark overall. overall a decent car.
With the current discounts on Corolla(the insurance & handling harges waived), the H1 is just a lakh odd costlier than the Royale. Might be worth a look. You will not get the goodies though that you would in the Royale or the H2/higher variants of Corolla.
