I have been driving an Indigo LS since August 2004, I required a sturdy, rigid & refined diesel car.
I’ve mostly owned Maruti cars. Owned Old Gen 800, New Gen 800, Van, Zen & Esteem. Over the years ive noticed steel quality & thickness of sheet metal thinning. Am not at all convinced that for my long time use(will keep my car for over 6-7 yrs) Dzire Diesel would last. I have seen rattling a couple of Swift Diesels in my Indl Complex after 1.5 years so I shudder thinking about how it’ll last for many years, nothing to take away from its engine, its brilliant! On a trip to Kiev & Odessa in Ukraine, I saw a Dacia with over 3.5L kms on the odometer. On further enquiring, I came to know that in Ukraine they import used German(Opel(plenty of them!), VW, Audi’s), Czech(Skoda), Romanian(Dacia – Badged Renault here), Italian(Fiat - ‘Idea’ & ‘Multipla’ MPV’s) & French(Citroen, Peugeot, Renault) cars as they have a very long life span(built to last) coz taxes on new cars are v high there & its cheaper for them to get 1.5L kms run European imports & then use them till at least 5L kms.
Have always believed in the adage, Petrol get a Japanese make as they make fuel efficient petrol cars & diesel get an European make.
After using the Indigo for nearly 4 years whatever people say, ill never go for an Indian Engineered Car, sorry to say but its true. There are so many problems in the car that I may have to write a 500 page book about my experiences with the ‘More car per car’. The only aspect I liked about the car was its sheet metal is very solid.
Not keen for Ford, so Fiesta was counted out. Verna again coz of Korean build(I own a Viva though) was not convinced with long term diesel wear & tear with the flimsy body that it would last long. Also I had taken a TD of Verna but there was body roll when I was between 80-90kms & did not feel very confident at that speed, maybe coz of stock tyres or build I don’t know what. Though the car zipped post 1800-2000rpm it was exciting but I was holding the steering with both hands like my life depended on it plus the front seemed heavy compared to the back maybe that’s why it was rolling a bit side to side.
Took a test drive of the Logan. Looks wise I still don’t like the boot finish, the rear tail-lights look like fangs. But all that changed when I took a TD. It felt sturdy, solid as a rock at high speeds, excellent boot space(with family & friends airport trips I as a ‘driver’ have to make), amazing rear seat Legroom & Width. The Pickup was not earth-shattering, it was strictly respectable. Did not like LHD controls(I kept switching wipers on to give signal indicator), LHD wiper & no boot release(more on that later). The thing that will be most difficult is to get Dad, who is over 70 years old, used to LHD controls. Took the wife for Test Drive(Believe me she was totally against the Logan) & she came out a convert.
Folks don’t buy this car if ure more image conscious than practical, need a lot of fast tracking, need to impress ur girlfriend, neighbours, relatives, friends, need to assert uve ‘arrived’ etc. Am going for it coz I care two hoots about anyone. I am more impressed with the overall aspect of owning it i.e. VFM, Fuel Efficiency, Big on Interior & boot Space & Build Quality. Rear looks wise am still not impressed with, but positives outnumber the negatives by a Whopping Margin.
Now the booking part, which variant should I buy? After a lot of thinking am going for the model 1.5DLX Silver Colour & not the top end DLS for reasons below:
No boot release – dealer is offering it FOC as part of Accessories Bouquet.
DLS has Remote Central Locking – OEM Remote Locking that comes with car has one manual key & one remote key which I confirmed with dealer, suppose I keep one with Dad & one with me, don’t you think it will be inconvenient? Outside Piranha or Cobra provide at least 2 remotes.
DLS has Single Din CD Player – Note it’s a regular CD player & not a MP3 player, plus was not satisfied with speakers that they provide, hence preferred having my own choice of ICE. I can buy a system which can plug & play my iPod, USB Pen Drive & put better speakers with woofers, tweeters & amps.
DLS has Driver Side Airbag – This is a feature that I would have loved & advice all car manufacturers to have this as standard for obvious reasons.
DLS has a Computer which calculates Avg. Fuel Consumption – A couple of friends have confirmed that readings are not accurate & they trust tank full method to calculate Fuel Consumption, so that too goes out of the window.
DLS has rear defogger – Frankly I have a rear defogger in my Accent Viva which I have used precisely 3 times in 4 yrs, only on the days of very heavy rainfall with the climate in Mumbai here I don’t think I’ve used it enough. Hence I was not too concerned about this too even though it’s a good feature to have, I got to admit.
DLS has Front Grill Chrome Plated – can be fitted outside.
DLS has Driver’s seat height adjuster – Again in the Viva I can assure u ive hardly used it, once I got the judgment but I may be wrong.
DLS has Glove box Light – No problems; I’m not worried.
DLS has Ashtray – I don’t smoke
DLS has Lumbar Support – this I cannot comment as I have not driven a car with Lumbar support to decide, I just test drove the DLS version for a little while & plus did not use it.
Did not go for the base model DLE & opted for the DLX which has power windows, Rear Head Restraints & LH ORVM.
Last but not the least, the price difference between the DLS & DLX is approx 60k’s If I go for the DLS & trade-in the OEM Music system & speakers, I will not get anything substantial for it.
Have booked the vehicle for 7.05L on-road Mumbai after all discounts with free Remote boot release, Rubber Matting, Garware Sun Film & Mud Flaps. I have given him advance cheque of Rs. 25, 000 & he has assured me delivery with registration within 10 days. Will post more later about my ownership experiences once I get the car.
So these are my reasons why I took time to decide to go for the mid model DLX. Also last but not the least I add that this is my individual opinion & I recommend all readers to go as per their preference, their experience; in short buy as car which u think pleases your head, heart & most importantly pocket, don’t bother about my opinion or anyone else’s, after all you’re the one who is gong to use it, not your advisor. I hope that I have been unbiased towards other brands but if you feel I’ve gone OTT I express regret for the same but in the same vein I assert that I have written what I analyzed & felt with sincerity.
Anil
