My "White and Lovely" Zuria: Honda City 2014 iVtec VX-MT Ownership Review

[SondurMadan]

Thanks Madan,
Your doubts are valid ones wrt tire upgrade. But by going from stock to 195/65/15 you are adding 0.8 inches of rubber to width. I feel its not that big of a deal for EPS motor to handle. Yes adding 205 size might add some extra efforts, but one rarely rotates the steering at standstill. At running it should not matter IMO. But I just upgraded it at the beginning itself and I feel its the worth upgrade. Car's breaking, ride quality and road grip has increased.
Regarding the waranttee, actually my dealer himself was ready for upgrading the tires, so basically I don't see big risk here at least here in Mangalore dealeship. If at all they refuse some costly repair because of tire upgrade, I will have to find a used stock tire somewhere to swap temporarily

If the dealer has offered himself then that's good. Anyways congrats again on the white beauty. Sunroof will be something that i will be missing for sometime in my car.

 

[Indian]

Just completed about 2000 KMs and this also included a Mangalore to Bangalore trip with 3 adults, 2 semi adults and a kid. The car behaved very well in all driving conditions, mileage wise I got 8~9 in bad Bangalore b2b travel, on the highway if you drive at 80km/h then 17, moment you push to 120, dropped to 16.
I felt loss of confidence as I picked up speed over 130, I think on straight highways one can drive upto 120 very comfortably.
AC performance is not that great atleast for rear passengers, Even with AC on moment direct sunlight falls your body heats up. I feel circulation(distribution) of the air is somehow not happening in the cabin properly. Never scrapped any road humps so far.
Engine performance is good, but at times especially at low speeds on overtaking on a upward elevation(such as ghat roads) I had to even step down to first gear.
Another issue for me, I am not able to find a appropriate place to mount the mobile holder, actually I purchased it for the GPS navigation purpose but not able to mount in in my direct vision and access. So its mounted on the left side of the front windscreen. Not very convenient as I have to keep turning my head away from the driving direction. BTW in the Bluetooth mode of the car audio the navigation instructions are spoken from the car's speakers and it worked very well.

 

[Indian]

Just completed about 3100kms and did my second service. Again its is a 'inspection' than the service and to my surprise the service person reported me there was a puncture in my rear tire and it was fixed. He said there was a tiny nail. But I had no visual indication on the tire puncture at all neither I felt anything wrong with the ride quality. Don't know since when it was like that, hope it has not caused any deformation to the tires internally.

Also I was getting a kind of bigger than expected sound(thud) from the front especially when riding a road hump. Specifically this used to happen when the front tires at the top most position of the hump and I would here a thud as if something is loose inside. Now its taken care, they said that they tightened some bolts and greasing is done. But now its absolute quiet inside.

It was a 'zero' bill inspection and minor things were taken care. BTW whole dealership is preparing for Mobilio!

 

[polo_rider]

Just completed about 3100kms and did my second service. Again its is a 'inspection' than the service and to my surprise the service person reported me there was a puncture in my rear tire and it was fixed. He said there was a tiny nail. But I had no visual indication on the tire puncture at all neither I felt anything wrong with the ride quality. Don't know since when it was like that, hope it has not caused any deformation to the tires internally.

Also I was getting a kind of bigger than expected sound(thud) from the front especially when riding a road hump. Specifically this used to happen when the front tires at the top most position of the hump and I would here a thud as if something is loose inside. Now its taken care, they said that they tightened some bolts and greasing is done. But now its absolute quiet inside.

It was a 'zero' bill inspection and minor things were taken care. BTW whole dealership is preparing for Mobilio!

Congratulations @indian!! Sorry for being late, but it's better late than never !!
Logging in after a long time & boy am i glad to see quite a few Mangaloreans in here !! :) the pic of your Zuria in the beach is near the port guest house in Tannirbhavi if m not mistaken ?

 

[Indian]

Congratulations @indian!! Sorry for being late, but it's better late than never !!
Logging in after a long time & boy am i glad to see quite a few Mangaloreans in here !! :) the pic of your Zuria in the beach is near the port guest house in Tannirbhavi if m not mistaken ?

Thanks polo_rider, yes there are a quit a few Mangaloreans here! You are right the pics were taken at Thannirbhavi beach my favorite weekend destination.

 

[carrfanatic]

Hello Indian..recently been through your report...amazing review and photographs

Regards,

 

[Indian]

Hello Indian..recently been through your report...amazing review and photographs

Regards,

Thanks carrfanatic, glad you enjoyed it.

Well I have done about 5700Kms so far and just dropped it off for 3rd service today. I was told only oil change is due and I have to pay for it. Basically everything is good from my end. Car is behaving very good and no issues so far. I have done long HW and dirt roads so far. HW ride is the best on City including windy ghat roads. HW mileage even has gone above 19km/l. Worst traffic has been 10.5km/l. Backseat comfort has been very good for everyone. Only issue is hard suspensions specifically felt in bad pot holed roads. They should have made it bit softer for the segment of the car. Preparing for the another long trip so I will post details once return back.

 

[jags2014]

hi indian .no update for such a long time .hope u and zuria both doing fine.u wrote earlier that you purchased capdase universal mobile holder.where have u fixed it and how is it? am planning to buy one just for fixing mobile for navigation purpose .kindly post me pictures if possible

 

[Indian]

hi indian .no update for such a long time .hope u and zuria both doing fine.u wrote earlier that you purchased capdase universal mobile holder.where have u fixed it and how is it? am planning to buy one just for fixing mobile for navigation purpose .kindly post me pictures if possible

jags, sorry, Yes I am bit busy with work so did not update this thread since some time.
Well me and Zuria both doing great, it has been a great car for me. Not repented for a minute about my decision. Even the mileage has been increasing regularly. It started with mileage of 11.5 and now it is at 13.5 at exact driving conditions for city drive. My swift never crossed 11 in the same conditions.
I have done some long tours, Mangalore-Bangalore-Chennai-Pondicherry-Mysore and back two months back covering 1800Kms and I should say that I enjoyed the driving! I don't get any tiring feeling after the full day of driving(which I used to get it in my Swift) I like the driving position much better. However the suspensions could have been little bit softer. I feel it to be extremely powerful and confidence inspiring during overtaking or passing a vehicle.

Regarding your question on the mobile holder, do not buy that! I did buy and used it, first thing is on bumpy roads the grip failed to hold the mobile secure and mobile phone got dropped down couple of occasions. Suction cup also looses it sucking power and it was not sturdy. Its also very difficult to find proper place to install it because of its shape. I did install it high up driver side position so that it wont interfere with the driver, but one day as I sat in the car and try to adjust myself and my head hit the mobile holder and something broke inside and its not usable now. So my advice, don't buy it.
Then I purchased another holder in local store for about 600rs which is like a holder clip, this is very good choice for City. Its working very good and very sturdy hold. So go for it. I don't remember the name now. Tried uploading the pics but for some reason its not working.

 

[Indian]

jags2014, please check the mobile holder in action.





Just a glamour shot of Zuria at Pondicherry!

 

[Bala2014]

Hi,

I am planning to buy Honda City Petrol SV MT.

Could you please let me know what is the mileage in City, service interval(months/km) and maintenance cost for each servicing, suspension in our TD vehicle it was bad not sure if it will be same with new vehicle.

Thought of going with Ciaz top end but my friends suggested to go for Honda City after taking test drive of both vehicles.

Honda brand speaks.

Engine noise is also audible asked Sales person, he told TD vehicle servicing not done.

Please suggest me.

 

[Indian]

..
..Could you please let me know what is the mileage in City, service interval(months/km) and maintenance cost for each servicing, suspension in our TD vehicle it was bad not sure if it will be same with new vehicle.
...
Engine noise is also audible asked Sales person, he told TD vehicle servicing not done.
..

Bala,
The mileage depends on various factors such as road condition, driving style, HW/City etc. For me I get about 17+ on the HW, City about 12+, this with AC on all the time. I drive sedate, no rash handling. On HW you got to maintain about 80km/h for good mileage. I drive at 100. Best I got in HW was 19km/h. Car handles extremely well in high speeds (petrol) for overtaking is effortless. However the ride is bumpy at low speeds. It has a hard suspension.
Regarding the service, they have couple of free services at the begining but they are more of a inspection than the service. First real service happens at 1 year, 10,000 kms, where there is a oil and filter change, tire rituals which would cost you about 5K. I just have dropped off my car for same service yesterday. Car is absolutely breeze to drive, I have done lot of long drives and there is no tiring at all at the end of the day.
CIAZ is a good car, so can't comment on it. But make sure you test drive both the cars on the same day in the similar conditions. Choose based on your experience than what people say.
Engine noise, absolutely nothing on petrol. Don't worry about it.

Good luck.

 

[Akins]

jags2014, please check the mobile holder in action.

View attachment 161562

View attachment 161564

Just a glamour shot of Zuria at Pondicherry!
View attachment 161563

wow what a shot of zuria. Looks like BMW with the shark fin.

 

[kashyapz8055]

Great thread sir !!
Kudos to your photography !!
Run millions of happy miles with your Zuria!!

Can you please update regarding service costs and mileage?

Cheers !!

 

[blackpearlvkd]

one doubt.
did you apply any protection film on AC panel and ICE panel?
AC panel and ICE panel are prone to scratches