| Mitsubishi Cedia Sports- the Red Beast!
Hi Guys, I have already been active awhile now and have just recently been bestowed the BHPian status. Well, it all started with my office shifting from Andheri (E) to Vikhroli. The ones from Mumbai will know how it’s like to travel from West to East and then almost to Central; yes every day. My wife is a big Honda fan; read Honda City; so the hunt began with a used car and it was a big fiasco.
This dealer in Andheri W; one Modest Carz; duped me by selling me a Toyota Corolla with 29k on the ODO; whereas when I called Toyota to book a service they said the car’s due for 90k service. What ensued is for another thread but I was sternly ordered to steer away from used cars and look for a new car.
My consideration set had the foll.: Toyota Corolla Altis, Honda Civic, Skoda Laura TPI (didn’t get to TD since they had none in stock). I had posted about my TD experience earlier and since it is of relevance here goes:
1. Altis- was eyeing the 1.8G but the sales staff was a bit of a put-off; no discounts; nothing; that too in December. drove it around but found it too sedate to my liking and somehow the driving position was a bit low even considering I am all of 6 feet; felt uncomfortable.
2. Skoda Vrs- well; what can I say there; even PMd Ajmat; but the VRs had clocked over 87k so wife said NO and even my incessant pestering didn’t help there. There was also the new Laura Petrol which I was vying since it was falling well within budget too, but never got to TD it since neither did they have one in stock nor could they arrange a manual transmission.
3. Civic- all was going well; the wife was all for it; but while coming off a sloping turn the front bottom scraped; I was dead slow and did not hit it straight; but that sound hurt a lot. the drive was fun; I’ll give it that; low etc but fun. The sales guy kept harping o the discounts offered 1 lac + Honda Assure worth 40k FREE + ORVMs with turn indicators FREE (they come on the VMT and I was planning on the SMT)
4. The Cedia- well finally. Actually visited the showroom at Malad Link Road on a Sunday after the Altis TD (they’re both next door to each other; Toyota & Mitsubishi) and they only had Outlanders and Pajeros in there.
I waited patiently for one of the sales guys to be free, as there was actually a lot of enquiries for the Outlander and Pajero both. 2 Outlanders and 1 Pajero were also being booked and that was something. When I asked the sales guy for a ‘Cedia’; his response was ‘huh?’ and I said ‘never mind’ and started walking out; this is when maybe he was struck by some revelation he came after me saying ‘oh, sir I could arrange for a TD vehicle in a day’. Well; like I said earlier I had started walking out and walk out I did; not without giving him a smile. And then somehow over the week I studied all the posts on the Cedia here on TBHP.
From tire upsizes by reignofchaos to the kcnetid’s buy in Hyderabad and gaurav’s white to khoj’s blue streak and then there was rajataurus, arun rangamani, sj_koova and decided I will at least give it a TD.
Ok, so one fine evening I was told that there is a car available for TD and I picked up my wife to get there. Upon arrival we saw a white (read Great White; it looked the part too) parked and it looked intimidating; if I may use the word.
This was not a TD car since that one was involved in some accident and hence unavailable. So we took this one out; and I will have to start from the moment I got in. Ok, I will give it that it might be all about what’s under the hood but the Cedia scored even in the interiors department.
Run your hands over the MOMO and you know it’s not just another sedate sedan you are in. the trims and dash all look very subdued but aggressively superior quality. The seat is comfortable and the door closes with a reassuring thud. I turn the key; although I don’t like the key that much; and the engine comes to life. The needle hangs comfortably near 1000rpm. The sales guy tells me something about how the cabin is soundless and the AC does not draw much power etc but all I have on mind is to get this thing on the road. This was somehow not the same feeling sitting behind either the Altis or the Civic. We move out and it’s a bit distracting looking at the road, then the MOMO and then the sporty pedals on the floor bed; in that order too. The car handles well; feels very very strong and you can feel the drive (don’t know how to explain; I am not very technical). It corners well; even though the gears are a bit tough the gear stick is very well placed. The first thing I noticed was how the car pulls away with ease and élan; be it 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear. I did not push it too far and drove the usual I drive and I was only impressed how it took the bends, potholes, speed breakers, traffic everything in its stride. Even my wife drove it ad was surprised how it goes around corners and pointed the turning radius didn’t seem like a big car to drive. She even found the braking a tad too effective since the car would come to a dead halt every time and the sales guy explained it’s all 4 disc brakes. He also said something about the best rear suspension in the industry with multilink and something about the front suspension having gas filled struts. There was also an instance when taking over from my wife I accidently turned ignition on the already running car. My bad; but even on the quietest stretch the engine was not audible. I am afraid if I go on, this might not end, so cutting it short I finalized the Cedia.
Finally with all the paperwork through, we took delivery as promised on the 6th January. Must state here that the dealer Autodrome Malad was very helpful and accommodating.
Point to mention would be Kumar Saurabh, their sales manager who has immense knowledge of the Mitsubishi lineup, engines and the do’s n don’ts. I noticed most of the interior finish & the snugly fitted engine only on delivery day. My TD was all about the drive and I barely paid attention to detailing or interiors etc since it was also night then.
Starting from the outside the machine looks beastly and wild in Rally Red. Also, on the day of delivery there were two Rally Red ready for delivery. The other one was bought by a Lovato Gas official for carrying out tests. Standing there next to each other the Reds looked almost going at each other. The Outlanders even with their jet-fighter nose could not intimidate the looks of those two Reds parked side by side. Well, there’s a lot that’s already been talked about the interior and exterior; hence I will skip it.
Overall I was only pleased with the quality of interiors and fit + finish. There was a bit of utilitarian approach to the entire interiors; although I felt a cup-holder or space for a water bottle would’ve been great. The only nag I felt was the LHS door trim was somehow ill-fitted an I could see the red paint peeping at me. The driver seat is very commanding view of the road and sides with the front column pillars not posing any blind spot whatsoever. The ORVMs could have been motorized but I realized later that these rugged gems are best the way they are given the bikers and autos in Mumbai. The drive is superlative and the car is very torquey.
I have now covered over 1200kms and every day it just feels better and more refined.
The only minor hiccup being the Motordrome guys changed the stock air intake and installed a closed one on the 1000km service.
The car felt the same at lower speeds (read bumper to bumper) with this new intake; but when going a bit higher it felt Labored, Weighed Down, Sedate, Out of Breath when Revved to a higher speed and Sluggish.
Now it could’ve been my imaginating suspicious self or because of the 'air duct' (yes, that's what the Motordrome staff described it as). I feel it's a 'devious ploy' to exact more FE from the car whilst excessively straining the engine for air. I also doubt it would not come OEM had it been such a significant piece of plastic.
The car almost started dying a slow death while on that new intake for the few days it was there.
Drove up to Lonavala and back with this new intake; clocked 215kms and found the spike missing from the entire drive. There was intermittent stuttering in the engine at low speeds and while going up gears from 1st to 2nd and then 3rd. I did not floor it but was doing a restrained 160kmph at 3500rpm on the Expressway with 4 adults on board and the AC on (which is standard always). Felt good but could've been better; will give it some time.
However, a Civic glided past effortlessly and I could only see it go; this while I was going past 150kmph. Both the cars have great straight line poise.
Once back I got the stock intake fitted back and yes it has made a drastic difference in drive. It feels like my car again, the same car I had TD’d and had been driving these past 1000kms prior to service.
The feeling can be described as ‘more power on tap’ and the ‘swimming’ feeling is back. About the ‘swimming’ feeling- this is what I feel when on corners or overtaking in traffic; what exactly happens is I come in to the turn or bend and lift my foot off the accelerator and pres the clutch, and let the momentum carry the car through and it feels wow. Not that I’m drifting or skidding, but just freewheeling. This particular feeling was missing the past few days and is back now. The engine ‘hum’ is also back; the same engine was sounding strained and felt as if it was an underpowered mill pulling a heavier load; with the closed intake.
The stock intake definitely has made a world of difference. No sputter or stutter and gears 2nd and 3rd feel like automatic transmission. The 4th gear now feels more powerful than the fifth which was the reverse case with the closed air intake. The car pulls away effortlessly now and there is really more on tap and no getting out of breath for this one.
Well, that’s my opinion/ imagination, but I am enjoying the drive again. Most of my driving is done in Mumbai’s traffic but the car seems to handle it effortlessly.
It could be my imagination again but the car is very intuitive and it behaves itself when you are negotiating in peak traffic. The beast comes to life the moment u give a bit of a chug on the pedal and it overtakes with surprising ease and elan. Even when the gap seems a bit tough to make through, a slight nudge to the accelerator pedal sends the car lurching forward and through; all this without losing its poise. This I particularly love about the car, and it gets me thinking whether is it really a 117bhp engine; it really feels much more powerful. The other part is the car is very well weighed and feels planted around corners with absolutely no roll and no flare. The suspension is said to be stiff but I guess ‘stiff’ is a relative term here. I find it the best suspension I have driven and its completely suited for the Mumbai road conditions. Given it’s GC the car goes over the harshest bumps, potholes and speed breakers even with all four passengers.
Braking is not exactly to my liking although it’s all 4 discs; will give it some time or else have it looked up. It stops yes, but just about short, which is a bit suffice to get that ATP kicking in. the car is definitely ‘built for it’ and the rally pedigree shines through even in city driving. The Rally Red as is turns heads and I can only imagine what havoc would a Cyclone Yellow Cedia wreak on the roads. The turning radius is mindboggling and it feels as if the car just got up, turned around and sat itself on the road again. I have found the drive very pleasurable and its one car that’s not tiring at all. The rear leg room is also spacious enough. HM has been kind enough to give a great set of floor mats with the package and I intend to get another set soon for backup; in case they discontinue these mats.
Have been looking around for a boot mat; but the entire Milan Subway market is the same ‘huh?!’ response to the Cedia. They somehow seem to understand it as Lancer-Cedia; but that’s ok, I forgive them.
I have retained the stock Potenzas and find the ride is actually not that noisy; given I rarely roll down the window. Will see them through and try Michelins the next time. The ICE will be the next pit stop, as although the OEM speaker system is decent and could do with a sub hooked to an amp or a bass tube. I got an RTO approved Llumar film which is great and doesn’t compromise on visibility in non-lit areas. Planning to get Llumar clear film for the front windscreen too. Fitted a chrome exhaust tip, one with a wide bored net, the naked tip was quite bothersome for me. That’s about it for now, just spending time driving around to best get in sync with the car.
I know it’s an old horse which has neither been promoted/ marketed well nor has it been upgraded with time but it does it for me. Ordered TBHP stickers and they are going on both my cars in Mumbai.
So here’s to all Cediazens and taming the Red Beast!
Last edited by GTO : 3rd February 2011 at 19:17.
Reason: Adding spaces between paragraphs to make the review more readable
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2nd February 2011, 14:59
(3)
Thanks
unique and humorous way of putting it. Well done!!
I cant agree more.
