Jun 30, 2008 11:54 PM
11934 Views
(Updated Dec 01, 2009 05:30 PM)
I was looking for a three box car with a budget of upto 6L maximum. The options which I had, included various Indigo versions, Logan, and Swift Dzire. Also, the local maruti dealer told me that few new pieces of Maruti Esteem were available and were willing to give huge discounts so that they can clear the stock. I was not really interested in Esteem as I have had experience with it earlier. My brother had bought a Logan in Aug 2007 in Bangalore, so I had sufficient experience of driving it. It is pretty good car with huge amount of space inside.
Swift Dzire although good has a waiting time of anything between 8-9 months and I was not willing to wait for so long. Suddenly I heard about the new Indigo CS and thought of a test drive of it. I am not a great fan of diesel engines. Although fuel prices are soaring, still I prefer a petrol car. The test drive was good and I decided on CS.
I took the delivery on 7th June, 08 and till now done some 1100Kms and first servicing is also done. Since it is a petrol version, the engine is pretty smooth and silent. The AC is powerful and cools real fast. I like the lights of the speedometer. There is definitely an improvement in the gear shifting from the earlier Indicas'. Its smooth and you feel assured when you change gears. CS GLS is bit underpowered for its size and weight. The power could have been more than 65BHP. You feel the power lag during faster pickups. CS does take time to gain speed. But then me being in Bangalore, it doesn't affect much as traffic hardly moves at any pace. On highways it is super smooth. There were absolutely no vibrations and suspension is great. It was absolutely stable at speeds of 100-110(I did not go beyond that as the first servicing was not done). The steering is very responsive. Braking has also improved from earlier indigos. The vehicle remains in control during times of sudden braking. It is giving me a mileage of around 13 in city driving in Bangalore and about 15 on highway with AC on about 90% of time.
The car provides ample space to co-driver and rear seat passengers. There is good enough leg space in the rear seat. Definitely more than any maruti vehicle. Infact SX4 is terribly cramped in the rear and so is Swift Dzire. Also the beige interiors in petrol version give it a spacious feeling.
The boot space is also decent and I have no complaints with it.
For the price at which it comes it is pretty decent vehicle. You can only get this much for this price. Of course if you want more, you need to spend more. But still I feel, Tata could have included power windows for this price. Anyway I am pretty happy with my car and I guess I made the right choice by going for this car.
Aug, 06, 2008
It has been 2 months since I bought my Indigo CS GLS. I have done more than 2000 Kms. The car is doing absolutely fine with no problems at all. The pick-up has also improved over time. It is giving me a constant mileage of 13Kms in city driving with AC on most of the times. I got a chance to drive in lot of rains. The car responded beautifully, the braking is spot on! The AC with the heating option is also pretty good. it helps you a lot during rains when mist settles down on your windscreen. Also the fog lights which are a standard fitment in GLS give you that extra visibility in dark and during rains.
I am pretty satisfied with my car. Also, I do take care of it a lot with regular polishing and make sure that mud does not settle down in the lower parts of the body. I would say, money worth spent.
Oct, 08 2008
Well, well what do I have more to add? Hmm. so I have done close to 4500Kms. Recently went to on a trip to Coorg and adjoining areas. The car was with full load, 5 adults and boot filled with luggage! The car as mentioned earlier performed in an awesome fashion. It went through rains, climbed steep heights with ease. It returned an amazing 15Kms/liter mileage on hill ride with AC switched on about 60% of time. The top speed I touched was 110kms/hour. That is a pretty decent speed with full load. Again, car keeps proving that I made a good choice. A value for money car. Also, as I said earlier love your car like your kid and it will never fail you.
Dec 01, 2009
A small update on my car. Off late not driven enough due to various reasons. I have been biking a lot off late so all the mile crunching has gone to the my Bullet Thunderbird. None the less, I have completed close to 14, 000 Kms on my GLS. The car is doing just fine and extremely smooth. While driving you cannot make out that you are driving a Tata. The engine is dead silent. Recently on a traffic signal I started the engine and didn't realize it has started, and so cranked again. Only after the car made a screeeeeching sound, I realized that it is already fired up! Mileage is consistent around 13 for city driving, which I think is decent enough. On highways I get around16.
On a recent Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore highway, touched a speed of 140Kmph and the car stuck to the road. Good road grip on high speeds.
Again as pointed out earlier, take care of your car, it would take care of you!
Happy mile crunching:)
