Re: Some questions related to test drives?
Parulji,you can declare me arrogant or whatever in other threads,but let me help you out of this..
And yes,
my reply is going to be painfully long..so you need to have a very strong mind to read it and even stronger heart to bear it..
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Friends,tomorrow I am going for the test drive of various cars to check them out for my new car buying decision,but the problem is that this is going to be the first time I am going to buy a vehicle for myself,weather its new or used so I need to know the DO's and DON'T's for the test drives.
Do-Test the car at its best.
Don't-Don't talk to anybody,just talk to the car.Ask for the opinion of others only when needed.
How to see which car is having more usable power?
Power is always usable,only difference is between the way its delivered.
The cars which have a fantastic mid range(RPM) are always considered better because any car is driven in its mid range only for 90% of its life.So you will need to check the mid range and low end of the diesel car and mid range and top end of the petrol car.
In other words,any car which offers the maximum power where you want has more usable power.There is difference like some cars jump due to sudden power up while some remain slightly calm and deliver a power very smoothly.Like Swift jumps after 2000 rpm and Punto delivers power very smoothly.
I'll explain the power-range checking style in an another question.
How to see which car is really more comfortable?Actually some cars seem to be faking comfort which ends up after an hour of driving.
Comfort always comes from 2 factors:-
Suspension:Softer suspension gives more comfortable ride at lower speeds or city speeds while tighter suspension gives a flat ride on highways.Also cars with softer suspension roll more than the ones with tighter suspension and body roll is also associated with comfort as more the roll less is the comfort.
Seating:Seating also comprises of two parts:-
- Seats,their placing and their adjustment:Placement of seats plays a very vital role,they need to be placed perfectly,neither too tightly,nor too away from each other.Same way the back angle,lower squabs and seat height all needs to be perfect.How to check all three of these?Simple it is:-
To check the back angle,you need to rest your back on the seat for 5 minutes and if you feel strain only on head and lower back then the back angle is okay but if you feel strain in the back also then the back angle is not that good.
To check the lower squabs(lower portion of seat) you need to first check if the squab is completely resting your thighs or not.If its resting them completely then its good.Larger than thighs squab is always good but smaller must be avoided.
To check the seat height,you need to sit on the seat and rest your feet on the floor.Now check if your thighs are completely resting on the lower portion of the seat and is the backrest perfectly high for your back,backrest must be as high as your neck(atleast) and above are headrests.Now again return back to thigh support(it can make or spoil the comfort so be extremely careful with it)check if the thighs are completely resting on the seat,they must not rise up above the seat.This will result in back ache in long journeys.Now if the thighs are perfectly resting on the seat then you need to use your hands,the hand method is simple:Open your hands perfectly and try to push your arms under your thighs just above your knees at the corner of the seat.If they get pushed inside easily then the thigh support is not that good and if they don't push inside easily then the thigh support is perfect.Take Honda Cars or Skoda Laura as a benchmark here.They have perfect seats.
- Cushioning:Simple it is,neither very hard nor very soft.Again benchmark a Civic or City here or a Tata Safari.
Fake comfort means the seats look big and comfy but they are not well contoured,are either very soft or are not well placed.
Which car is really more easier to drive?
Hmm,its upon you..you may like the hatch for its practicality,sedan for its comfort and performance or SUV for its commanding driving position,its totally upon you.
The only factors that influence the ease of driving are:-
- Good seating position.
- Light clutch.
- Good gearbox.
- A responsive engine.
- A good steering wheel which is light in city and well weighed on highways.Benchmark Fiesta Diesel here in this field,its simply perfect.
Which car is really more fun to drive?
Again its upon you,for me fun-to-drive means acceleration,dynamics and net performance.Now it depends on you what you want from your car,what makes you happy in your car?
How to understand the power build-up of any engine?
Let me carry on from the first question,I'll mention just one method to check the power build up and the method is called
'Second or third gear extreme push method(invented by me)'.This method is very easy to implement,which is as follows:-
Move the car,now shift to second gear and leave the accelerator.Let the engine RPM fell to 1000 and now leaving the clutch and brake pedal(just remove your feet from them)press the accelerator completely to the metal(though its not good but here its to be done)now notice the RPM raising and this way you can notice how engine is performing in any rev range.This way you can easily notice the power build up by increase in performance and power trailing off by decrease in performance in any rev range.
If you wanna check the power delivery in more detail taking more time then do this in 3rd gear.If you don't get it once then try it twice,or thrice and you will understand it completely in no time.But yes,
ENGINE IS ALWAYS TESTED USING TACHOMETER NOT SPEEDOMETER.So keep your eyes on RPM not speed of the car.
How to understand the gearbox of any car?
The simple method is
'push in lower three gears to the redline'.Higher two or three gears are always meant for cruising and are always long while first three are for accelerating the car so push in all three,check the top speed you attained in each gear at the highest possible or any fixed RPM and get the ratio between them.This will let you know which gear is shorter and which is longer.
Many times I have read about suspension being soft,hard etc,but how to feel it exactly in the real world?
Soft suspension means the ride at lower speeds is very good and at high speeds the car remains unsettled for even small bumps.
Tight suspension means the bumps are always felt at lower speeds but as the speed builds up the car becomes more and more planted.The ride becomes even more settled.
In this you need to benchmark Skoda Laura TSi or vRS.And if possible then drive a Ford Fiesta 'S',it has the perfect suspension setup for enthusiastic drive.
Many times I have read about ride quality,so how to check the ride quality of any car?
Already mentioned in the suspension part,softer suspension means better ride at lower speeds and tighter one means better ride at higher speeds.
What is body balance?How to check it?
More the body rolls bad is the balance.More is the tendency of car leaving the line from back(can be easily noticed in older DZire,Scorpio and sometimes in Innova too)on sharp turns at high speeds,worse is the body balance.
Here you need to take the Fiesta as a benchmark and for SUVs you need to take the Aria as a benchmark.
There are many more questions,but I have forgot them and hence will ask them as soon as I remember them again..
Bring the questions on..I am here to either answer them or to forward them to right person.
BTW,I deserve at least 10 repo points for this post!!
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