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Shortlisting
TD's started off casually for a car in April 2012, although i wanted the delivery sometime around August.
VW POLO TDi : Went to to VW showroom in Navi Mumbai with one of my friend (who was there in all further TD's & delivery of my prized possession) as POLO was my first choice. After a brief conversation and checking out the car in showroom, and a cup of coffee and some snacks, waited for the TD car to come back to the showroom. After about 30mins, came the vehicle and we went with quite excitement. (Driving a diesel pot after almost 4yrs), started the engine and took off in the by-lanes of Thane-Belapur highway, as the guy said this is their TD route. Initial impression, the car was too huge and felt out of my control, but drive-ability was great. Rear seat wasnt to my liking as it was bit conjusted and felt like a tight box with little light (no offence to any1. this is just my personal opinion). But yet, i wanted to go for this piece of craftmanship as i had long eyed on it. Discussions with the finance dept put me in a fix.![[cry]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Cry.gif "Cry [cry]")
The EMI was higher than what i expected and hence, had to seriously think of every angle before finalizing.
FORD FIGO: As the Ford showroom was closeby, went there to check out the Figo. Quite impressive we said to each other after checking out at the showroom. Went for a TD. The car alloted for TD was a piece of crap, with fuel which would have burnt out had we got a chance to have a long run. The salesguy was very stubborn to let us take our preferred route, and hence we ended up driving a mere 2kms. Even though the car condition was crap, we managed to drive, and i loved the way it was planted onto the road, and i felt this was a better option than VW Polo, which i felt was too huge. Spoke with finance team about all possibilities and went home with a cheerful mind, kinda fixed with the option.
There was another showroom close to my office in Mumbai, hence wanted to check out with my colleague and have a good TD. This was a good experience. My colleague was impressed with the planted behaviour of the car and said its a good choice.
I said to my friend, anyhow we are checking out cars, so lets have a TD of all options in the segment.
HYUNDAI EON: Too much rolling that the co-passenger even felt the slightest motion on the steering. Option discarded.
NISSAN MICRA: TDed both variants, and quite a long TD as the sales person was very cooperative. Liked the small turning radius of the car. But i wasnt happy with the overall package of the car, hence went on with my search.
SKODA FABIA: Good package and better control than VW is what i felt, but then, high maintenance of Skoda was always at the back of my mind. Hence went on
TOYOTA LIVA: Was disappointed with the built quality inside the car. No TD vehicle, hence dropped my number asking them to call me once its ready. But they never called. So didnt bother going back either.
HONDA BRIO: Me and 2 of my friends went on to check out Honda's new car with full rear glass. We were impressed with the looks of the car (very cute), built quality of Honda. Went on for a TD, and my my my, "fell in love with the car".
Even my friend drove after i was done with it and he also had same remarks about the drive - smoothest car ever driven. We went back all excited.
With Figo TDci ultimate option & Brio SMT(O) as final options![[confused]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Confused.gif "Confused [confused]")
.
We had dropped in at the Ford Chembur showroom & Honda Nerul showroom a couple of times more in order to have a finance feasible to my budget. There came a point wherein the Safety aspects of Brio over Figo's 2nd top end version (full option was on option but i would have to flex myself to own one is what i thought [thinking]) made me settle for Brio (taffeta White)in 1st week of May by giving a booking amount.
Teflon, Under coating, Boot protector, mats, insurance @ Re1/- and 2yrs extended warranty & RSA as freebies. I wanted Fog lamps (12k with installation) to be installed while taking delivery. Hence added that in my list.
Delivery Day
Finally 30th June was the D-day, took delivery around 730pm, after detailed briefing by the Sales team @ Hallmark Honda, Nerul. There was a slight miscalculation of balance to be paid, which they promised to pay back after consulting with the accounts dept. (Got the cheque for around 2500/- in 2 weeks time).
The car was parked in the Delivery Bay, with all freebies done, and no dealership name on Number plate & ribbons on car as per my instructions (i hate to see them done). We had a good look at the Breeze before starting off with 4 of my friends. We had a long night out that day, including a drive to Marine Drive @ midnight, reached home around 3am, all exhausted and driving around 150kms. Great drive, but slightly notchy 1st & 2nd gear, which i was sure would be gone in a matter of time. (I had experienced similar feel of the gears with our Family car in hometown - Hyundai Getz, a Power House indeed). The Brio has nice chunky steering (loved it) and handy steering mounted audio controls, which made driving so pleasurable (I found Getz steering mal-nourished after owning the Breeze). OE audio system is of good quality, unless one wants a home theatre kinda effect. Ground clearance, though, was a matter of concern when the speed breakers are overdone by unskilled labourers.
Accessories Opted (pictures to come soon)
It was somewhere in early August that i went for Orchis art leather (Powai), after a lot of R&D on the stuff to go for, the color combination which would retain the cabin freshness feel, but at the same time would be minimal in terms of getting dirty. I went for a combination of Black & Beige. It worked out to 7K, with 1 yr warranty on color and stitch. Verdict – Awesome work, especially since mine was the first car they did.
I also went in for Honda’s Rubber mats for Brio (I believe it cost 1500/-), as the carpets were becoming difficult to manage in rains. The quality is amazing, thick and great finish. I had checked out a few after markets, but wasn’t happy the way they appeared.
Map my India Zx250, to assist me in navigating through unknown areas was also bought. A very handy tool if one loves to explore places.
Had been searching for Side Step garnish (LED) since the D-day but couldn’t find one, as the one Honda provided were only for front two doors. Last week (Jan 2013), I found a seller on Ebay, selling LED side steps for all 4 doors for 1445/-. Placed an order and got it delivered this Monday (5th Feb 2013). I’m yet to get it fixed, as I don’t want to tamper the electrical warranty, and hence the Sales rep has promised to help me getting it fixed. The quality is good, and I hope it works without flaws.
On Cards:
- An upsize to 185/65 is due before monsoon (planning for Conti)
- Front windshield clear sun film from 3M is due before the summer sets in (need to go check out)
First Service (rather Check-up)
Got the first Free Service, rather Check-up done in 1st week of August with ODO reading 1200kms. The only irritating sound was that of the clutch pedal, due to moist environment. I was disappointed with the way they delivered the car, not washed well, dirty tyres, numbers missing from number plate (sticker type) and a scratch near the front fender. I had to have a long argument with the Service Rep, who was all nervous (later i found out he was a new joined and hence the nervousness). Matter reached the Service Manager who promptly asked the guys to get everything sorted. And in matter of minutes, everything was done, with the Breeze Smiling as ever.
{The Service Manager said that the Clutch is of Piston Cylinder type, and hence the squeezing sound when moisture comes in contact - it was monsoon season)
First Long Drive with the Breeze
23rd August - Much awaited drive to hometown (Calicut) begun with 2 other friends, to attend a friend's (who assisted me in TD's) wedding on that weekend, and mine on the weekend after that.
We started a bit late, as we were exhausted the previous night with hectic schedule at office. The route was via Goa, and we wanted to hit Goa at night. The drive was simply amazing all the way till Belgaum, the car behaved well at high speeds. In the pot-holed forest road from Belgaum to Goa, we were enjoying the ride to an extent and suddenly there goes the Breeze FL tyre into a big thud followed with the FR one, and in a while i had a flat FR tyre. We got the tyre changed within moments, in a pitch dark forest road, minimal vehicular movement. The only light was the cabin and car light. We started again but found a Skoda Octavia stuck with flat tyres. We found them to be a Family with kids, and hence stopped-by to help them out. It was a curvy portion and they were unable to fix the jack. During conversations, the owner said he had never had a flat in 5years of his ownership, and that they were stuck in there for over an hour unable to fix the jack, which was standing type, compared to conventional type. Another car passed by, with a few locals in there, who also stopped. After plenty of attempts to fix the jack properly (due to curve and slope, it was difficult), we finally managed to change the tyres. By then, almost 1hour had passed by. The owner was annoyed with the driver as he was acting funny. (He forgot to unbolt a nut before removing the tyre, which happened to be of a different type, requiring additional fittings on the rod. I guess this was Skoda's brilliance to prevent theft.
The road towards the end of the forest was covered with fog, and the Fog lamps, which I had installed, was very handy. The headlamps were making it difficult to drive, and hence I switched on only the Fog lamps, which helped move out the stretch without much pain.
We finally reached Goa around 11pm and found a good hotel in Panjim city, nearby the canal.
Next day, we roamed around the local markets for a while, got the tyre checked (a slit on the side walls, which made it necessary to add tube in order to use the tyre again. I hate MRF! I always felt their quality wasn’t up to standards), and resumed our journey, enjoying the Curvy roads of South India. We had fun driving till Honavar around 8pm, with a good chase in-between Goa & Karwar with a Tata Safari, who was also enjoying the challenge we were giving him. (Boy, i should say, the Brio is indeed a Peppy pot, capable of embarrassing even the mightiest of engines, when driven in the right way)
Honavar to Mangalore, there came pathetic road, with drizzling rain (it was monsoon season). We took 5hours for the stretch of 180kms. The roads were pretty bad, as informed by the road side food joints (thattu-kada, is what we call them), with some areas having pot-holes in which even the trucks would get stuck. Reached Mangalore around 1am, and decided to take nap for 3-4hrs and start by 5am. Rains were intermittent, but roads again, were pretty bad, with road works going on in areas, while other areas, the rains had made it worse for the already weak roads.
Finally reached our destination by 12 noon on 25th, (the traffic on Kannur-Calicut route was so heavy making it almost impossible to overtake a car in front of you. Its high time for a 4-lane road on this stretch). An amazing enjoyable drive, 1250ish kms all in all, and an FE of 17.0kmpl for the entire trip, including Excellent to Pathetic roads, Economic to Peppy driving.
Other trips around the time - Calicut - Coorg - Wayanad (family) & Calicut to Mumbai (friends).
The Breeze covered 8000kms in a span of 4 months.
Got the 2nd Service (official one since ) done after 6 months (Dec 2012 end), with engine oil changed and air filters replaced, service amt of 1240/- incl taxes.
The gears have become smoother. This is what i had expected once the car settles in.
Final call:
Pros:
- A brilliant package with an amazing Peppy Efficient engine for a small family
- Never found it tiring to drive alone (i love driving so much that i didn’t let anyone else drive)
- Visibility was good, so seat height adjustment (expected in the upgraded version, sources AutoCar India) should be opted wisely
Cons:
- MRF's need to be replaced by Michelins (at least) by default from Honda, and an upsizing to 185/65 from existing 175/65 would be ideal
- Boot is a bit small, but manageable for light travelling. A 60:40 rear seat would have done wonders to the car
- Rear defogger should have been there (expected in upgraded version, sources AutoCar India)
- Backlight for Interior Switches
- Wiper blades aren’t great
- Ground clearance could be improved, as I did manage to scrape a few speed breakers to date
TD's started off casually for a car in April 2012, although i wanted the delivery sometime around August.
VW POLO TDi : Went to to VW showroom in Navi Mumbai with one of my friend (who was there in all further TD's & delivery of my prized possession) as POLO was my first choice. After a brief conversation and checking out the car in showroom, and a cup of coffee and some snacks, waited for the TD car to come back to the showroom. After about 30mins, came the vehicle and we went with quite excitement. (Driving a diesel pot after almost 4yrs), started the engine and took off in the by-lanes of Thane-Belapur highway, as the guy said this is their TD route. Initial impression, the car was too huge and felt out of my control, but drive-ability was great. Rear seat wasnt to my liking as it was bit conjusted and felt like a tight box with little light (no offence to any1. this is just my personal opinion). But yet, i wanted to go for this piece of craftmanship as i had long eyed on it. Discussions with the finance dept put me in a fix.
The EMI was higher than what i expected and hence, had to seriously think of every angle before finalizing. FORD FIGO: As the Ford showroom was closeby, went there to check out the Figo. Quite impressive we said to each other after checking out at the showroom. Went for a TD. The car alloted for TD was a piece of crap, with fuel which would have burnt out had we got a chance to have a long run. The salesguy was very stubborn to let us take our preferred route, and hence we ended up driving a mere 2kms. Even though the car condition was crap, we managed to drive, and i loved the way it was planted onto the road, and i felt this was a better option than VW Polo, which i felt was too huge. Spoke with finance team about all possibilities and went home with a cheerful mind, kinda fixed with the option.
There was another showroom close to my office in Mumbai, hence wanted to check out with my colleague and have a good TD. This was a good experience. My colleague was impressed with the planted behaviour of the car and said its a good choice.
I said to my friend, anyhow we are checking out cars, so lets have a TD of all options in the segment.
HYUNDAI EON: Too much rolling that the co-passenger even felt the slightest motion on the steering. Option discarded.
NISSAN MICRA: TDed both variants, and quite a long TD as the sales person was very cooperative. Liked the small turning radius of the car. But i wasnt happy with the overall package of the car, hence went on with my search.
SKODA FABIA: Good package and better control than VW is what i felt, but then, high maintenance of Skoda was always at the back of my mind. Hence went on
TOYOTA LIVA: Was disappointed with the built quality inside the car. No TD vehicle, hence dropped my number asking them to call me once its ready. But they never called. So didnt bother going back either.
HONDA BRIO: Me and 2 of my friends went on to check out Honda's new car with full rear glass. We were impressed with the looks of the car (very cute), built quality of Honda. Went on for a TD, and my my my, "fell in love with the car".
Even my friend drove after i was done with it and he also had same remarks about the drive - smoothest car ever driven. We went back all excited.
With Figo TDci ultimate option & Brio SMT(O) as final options
. We had dropped in at the Ford Chembur showroom & Honda Nerul showroom a couple of times more in order to have a finance feasible to my budget. There came a point wherein the Safety aspects of Brio over Figo's 2nd top end version (full option was on option but i would have to flex myself to own one is what i thought [thinking]) made me settle for Brio (taffeta White)in 1st week of May by giving a booking amount.
Teflon, Under coating, Boot protector, mats, insurance @ Re1/- and 2yrs extended warranty & RSA as freebies. I wanted Fog lamps (12k with installation) to be installed while taking delivery. Hence added that in my list.
Delivery Day
Finally 30th June was the D-day, took delivery around 730pm, after detailed briefing by the Sales team @ Hallmark Honda, Nerul. There was a slight miscalculation of balance to be paid, which they promised to pay back after consulting with the accounts dept. (Got the cheque for around 2500/- in 2 weeks time).
The car was parked in the Delivery Bay, with all freebies done, and no dealership name on Number plate & ribbons on car as per my instructions (i hate to see them done). We had a good look at the Breeze before starting off with 4 of my friends. We had a long night out that day, including a drive to Marine Drive @ midnight, reached home around 3am, all exhausted and driving around 150kms. Great drive, but slightly notchy 1st & 2nd gear, which i was sure would be gone in a matter of time. (I had experienced similar feel of the gears with our Family car in hometown - Hyundai Getz, a Power House indeed). The Brio has nice chunky steering (loved it) and handy steering mounted audio controls, which made driving so pleasurable (I found Getz steering mal-nourished after owning the Breeze). OE audio system is of good quality, unless one wants a home theatre kinda effect. Ground clearance, though, was a matter of concern when the speed breakers are overdone by unskilled labourers.
Accessories Opted (pictures to come soon)
It was somewhere in early August that i went for Orchis art leather (Powai), after a lot of R&D on the stuff to go for, the color combination which would retain the cabin freshness feel, but at the same time would be minimal in terms of getting dirty. I went for a combination of Black & Beige. It worked out to 7K, with 1 yr warranty on color and stitch. Verdict – Awesome work, especially since mine was the first car they did.
I also went in for Honda’s Rubber mats for Brio (I believe it cost 1500/-), as the carpets were becoming difficult to manage in rains. The quality is amazing, thick and great finish. I had checked out a few after markets, but wasn’t happy the way they appeared.
Map my India Zx250, to assist me in navigating through unknown areas was also bought. A very handy tool if one loves to explore places.
Had been searching for Side Step garnish (LED) since the D-day but couldn’t find one, as the one Honda provided were only for front two doors. Last week (Jan 2013), I found a seller on Ebay, selling LED side steps for all 4 doors for 1445/-. Placed an order and got it delivered this Monday (5th Feb 2013). I’m yet to get it fixed, as I don’t want to tamper the electrical warranty, and hence the Sales rep has promised to help me getting it fixed. The quality is good, and I hope it works without flaws.
On Cards:
- An upsize to 185/65 is due before monsoon (planning for Conti)
- Front windshield clear sun film from 3M is due before the summer sets in (need to go check out)
First Service (rather Check-up)
Got the first Free Service, rather Check-up done in 1st week of August with ODO reading 1200kms. The only irritating sound was that of the clutch pedal, due to moist environment. I was disappointed with the way they delivered the car, not washed well, dirty tyres, numbers missing from number plate (sticker type) and a scratch near the front fender. I had to have a long argument with the Service Rep, who was all nervous (later i found out he was a new joined and hence the nervousness). Matter reached the Service Manager who promptly asked the guys to get everything sorted. And in matter of minutes, everything was done, with the Breeze Smiling as ever.
{The Service Manager said that the Clutch is of Piston Cylinder type, and hence the squeezing sound when moisture comes in contact - it was monsoon season)
First Long Drive with the Breeze
23rd August - Much awaited drive to hometown (Calicut) begun with 2 other friends, to attend a friend's (who assisted me in TD's) wedding on that weekend, and mine on the weekend after that.
We started a bit late, as we were exhausted the previous night with hectic schedule at office. The route was via Goa, and we wanted to hit Goa at night. The drive was simply amazing all the way till Belgaum, the car behaved well at high speeds. In the pot-holed forest road from Belgaum to Goa, we were enjoying the ride to an extent and suddenly there goes the Breeze FL tyre into a big thud followed with the FR one, and in a while i had a flat FR tyre. We got the tyre changed within moments, in a pitch dark forest road, minimal vehicular movement. The only light was the cabin and car light. We started again but found a Skoda Octavia stuck with flat tyres. We found them to be a Family with kids, and hence stopped-by to help them out. It was a curvy portion and they were unable to fix the jack. During conversations, the owner said he had never had a flat in 5years of his ownership, and that they were stuck in there for over an hour unable to fix the jack, which was standing type, compared to conventional type. Another car passed by, with a few locals in there, who also stopped. After plenty of attempts to fix the jack properly (due to curve and slope, it was difficult), we finally managed to change the tyres. By then, almost 1hour had passed by. The owner was annoyed with the driver as he was acting funny. (He forgot to unbolt a nut before removing the tyre, which happened to be of a different type, requiring additional fittings on the rod. I guess this was Skoda's brilliance to prevent theft.
The road towards the end of the forest was covered with fog, and the Fog lamps, which I had installed, was very handy. The headlamps were making it difficult to drive, and hence I switched on only the Fog lamps, which helped move out the stretch without much pain.
We finally reached Goa around 11pm and found a good hotel in Panjim city, nearby the canal.
Next day, we roamed around the local markets for a while, got the tyre checked (a slit on the side walls, which made it necessary to add tube in order to use the tyre again. I hate MRF! I always felt their quality wasn’t up to standards), and resumed our journey, enjoying the Curvy roads of South India. We had fun driving till Honavar around 8pm, with a good chase in-between Goa & Karwar with a Tata Safari, who was also enjoying the challenge we were giving him. (Boy, i should say, the Brio is indeed a Peppy pot, capable of embarrassing even the mightiest of engines, when driven in the right way)
Honavar to Mangalore, there came pathetic road, with drizzling rain (it was monsoon season). We took 5hours for the stretch of 180kms. The roads were pretty bad, as informed by the road side food joints (thattu-kada, is what we call them), with some areas having pot-holes in which even the trucks would get stuck. Reached Mangalore around 1am, and decided to take nap for 3-4hrs and start by 5am. Rains were intermittent, but roads again, were pretty bad, with road works going on in areas, while other areas, the rains had made it worse for the already weak roads.
Finally reached our destination by 12 noon on 25th, (the traffic on Kannur-Calicut route was so heavy making it almost impossible to overtake a car in front of you. Its high time for a 4-lane road on this stretch). An amazing enjoyable drive, 1250ish kms all in all, and an FE of 17.0kmpl for the entire trip, including Excellent to Pathetic roads, Economic to Peppy driving.
Other trips around the time - Calicut - Coorg - Wayanad (family) & Calicut to Mumbai (friends).
The Breeze covered 8000kms in a span of 4 months.
Got the 2nd Service (official one since ) done after 6 months (Dec 2012 end), with engine oil changed and air filters replaced, service amt of 1240/- incl taxes.
The gears have become smoother. This is what i had expected once the car settles in.
Final call:
Pros:
- A brilliant package with an amazing Peppy Efficient engine for a small family
- Never found it tiring to drive alone (i love driving so much that i didn’t let anyone else drive)
- Visibility was good, so seat height adjustment (expected in the upgraded version, sources AutoCar India) should be opted wisely
Cons:
- MRF's need to be replaced by Michelins (at least) by default from Honda, and an upsizing to 185/65 from existing 175/65 would be ideal
- Boot is a bit small, but manageable for light travelling. A 60:40 rear seat would have done wonders to the car
- Rear defogger should have been there (expected in upgraded version, sources AutoCar India)
- Backlight for Interior Switches
- Wiper blades aren’t great
- Ground clearance could be improved, as I did manage to scrape a few speed breakers to date
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