Feb 23, 2005 10:35 AM
16998 Views
(Updated Feb 23, 2005 11:00 AM)
Due to the options available & positioning of variants the selection of car is very challenging (at times confusing) job.
When I started looking for my car, the criterions were budget (~5L), petrol (limited driving),looks,preference to safety (attributes also to learning driving around same time) , easy maintenance and average FE.
Started the exploration, medium -: going through magazines, websites and discussions with friends. (BTW, MS was found for same cause and its a daily routine now).
After first pass the choices were new look Esteem, Getz, Palio and Ikon Flair (B+,entry C). Started with test drives, Esteem & Palio were fun to drive...but missed the same in Flair & Getz. Moreover Palio & Esteem were giving me lot more with same money.
It was now choice between the Esteem and Palio..both were fun to drive. The choice was difficult. Esteem had the VFM tag + Maruti badge support. Whilst the Fiat badge was against it . Esteem body is light & doesn't give the sense of safety.
Secondly, the boot (3rd box) had limited use in my case..so why to carry it? My friends were suggesting me to avoid Fiat, but I was for the calculated risk. The Fiat dealers in Pune (Jay-Vijay & Aswamegh) are comparable with Maruti, Hyundai and are in the game for long time. Finally the build quality & the test drive made me to go for Palio. The clear preference of liFE over FE also helped me a lot here. My take, the Palio cabin space is bigger than Esteem...agree?
Started the negotiations phase..it was the Aswamegh who blinked first & after comparing the variants EL PS,ELX and Sports. The price difference of Sports over the former two were well matched by additional goodies..The sports has alloy wheels, leather @ gear knob & steering,aluminium pedals also the chrome finished dash. Finally the pick was - Hazel Grey coloured Sports NV
I bought my Hazel grey Palio Sports 1.2 NV in September. The beauty is amazing..it takes the pot-holes & speed brakers with ease. The seat comfort and suspensions are best amongst the lot. The AC is powerful and chills every corner uniformly. The boot is adequate. Its bit sluggish, takes a while to reach 60 (but how many times we get that chance in city drive). I have taken it one Mumbai-Pune expressway twice & at the speed of 110 it was stable & vibration-free.
Two instances to talk abt the build -
1) You close or open the door, the kind of efforts you need gives some idea of the gauge of metal sheet used
2) With the frequent power loadshedding, the signals were not working & I was literally amidst the jungle raj. An autorixa came out of no where & banged on left side@speed. I did not felt the impact inside, when checked later there was big scratch on door..Imagine what would have been the case with doors in other light cars.
The first free service was mainly check-up. The one beam light bulb has recently fused. Will change it next time I visit the dealer for the service part..
The not so good part - the visibility problem (shorties like me 5.5ft) - engage the reverse gear, u have to be very careful. The beams hamper the visibility, very ricky when the bikers merrily overtakes you from left . And FE for the record, it 12kmpl (50% AC)..am happy about it.
Whenever I enter in the car, the beauty impresses me & I am coming across more of her intelligent and practical features. This is my first MS review & let your suggestions flow-in. Thnx for your time.
