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Originally Posted by karanraheja But frankly any thing you have against Honda? Seen quite a few bashing posts from your end against their products . OT Would you like to throw some light on your not so good TD of City ? |
Yes, I do! Oh wait, no i don't. There is only one car in the Indian market (south of the Mitsu Evo that is!) that could make me go week in the knees every single time - and thats a Honda Civic. If i had limited usage, and could buy a petrol used car for modifications - there would only be 1 car in my shopping list.
If i dont have anything against Honda then - why bashing Honda products? Wikipedia says - 'Bashing is a harsh, gratuitous, prejudicial attack on a person, group, or subject.' Tough call - but yes, i sure would have seemed harsh for many. Prejudicial - No, because I do love the brand and twice recently went to the showroom to book their newest products. So i guess it all boils down to me being gratuitous - so let me put down the reason for my criticism.
1. Honda Amaze booking (almost!).
Car to be replaced: 2004 WagonR VXi.
Version considered: Amaze V automatic.
OTR: Little north of 9L, Trivandrum.
We needed a big small car to upgrade from our old 95k run WagonR VXi. Big in terms of feel, and for my parents from the typical middle class mentality - that meant 'sedan'. Small in terms of size due to our parking constraints. We were basically left with two choices - the DZire automatic and the Honda Amaze. DZire was ruled out for its lack of safety features. And so - last christmas season, we all set out for the Honda showroom, with the deposit in hand, to TD and book the Amaze. It looked perfect on paper.
Let me come straight to the point of what went wrong. Wife was the first one to say a solid no after checking out the build quality. Mom went next - mentioning we would be better off with the old WagonR than paying 9L for this car, and i believe the cheap feeling of dashboard played the biggest role here. Father was caught in two minds - the good part about it being a Honda and a practical sedan and the bad part of it being a not so worthy upgrade from a small car, specially after having to pay almost close to a million for it! Final Decision - we decided not to book the Amaze even though there were no other choices on offer. (5 months down the line - we are now waiting for the Hyundai Xcent SX(o) automatic to be delivered).
The best part - We were sitting in front of the SA ready to book the car, and he requested us to visit them another day since it was getting bit late for him, by Honda standards. Moreover, he asked us to remind him the next day incase he forgets to follow up our request for TD, which he never did.
2. Honda City booking (almost!).
Car to be replaced: 2012 Fiat Punto 90hp.
Version considered: City Vx, iDTec.
OTR: Little north of 14L, Bangalore.
TN registered Punto in bangalore. Rest of the story you can imagine. Cash strapped at the time - I had to borrow the money for the tax from wifey temporarily. She used the opportunity to come up with a better suggestion - that she was willing to put the extra money if we upgrade to a bigger car - a sedan - a Honda - a city. Why the Honda City? Because for an Indian household, City still defines the C segment sedan.
And so, last month - we went to the Honda showroom, to be greeted by one impressive package. The rear seat is a sofa and the legroom makes it the best place to be in! And it is loaded - even comes with a sunroof. As i posted elsewhere in the forum - If you buy a car based on initial showroom impressions, much like most Indians do, its the City for sure.
At this point - I might be sound prejudiced, as any other european brand customer talks about a Japanese car. Hence - let me first explain why my wife rejected the car. 1. You can literally feel the flex in the door plastics when you shut the front door! 2. The door itself feels shockingly thin and light- and we were sure it would take a dent if hit by a football/ basketball. You cant ask all the boys in the apartment to stop playing because you bought a new Honda, now can you?
3. Press your finger a bit hard on the dashboard plastics and you can hear the plastics squeak. Although the car boasts of lot of features, it didnt exude quality in whatever was offered. When you pay 14 lakhs on a car, it should make you feel good. The city made us feel ok, but not good. 4. Last, but most important - she was absolutely not comfortable in the backseat with the poor suspension setup.
Now coming to my prejudiced view - I rejected the car because it felt rather boring to drive - the diesel engine, the suspension setup. That, for a company, which introduced the culture of VFM performance sedans in India with the original VTec.
Just for comparison, we visited the VW showroom soon after the Honda city drive. The customer service, the product, everything felt miles ahead of the Honda. Vento has lesser features for sure, but every part shouted the quality of build.
Coming to the original question about Honda bashing. I dont agree it can be called bashing - as my criticism is with good reason. How is that reason relevant in the Mobilio thread?
Because there is a very thin line between feeling VFM and feeling cheap. I strongly believe Honda got it right on that line with the Brio, fell way short of it with the Amaze, and now - by putting the same interiors and build quality on a car that looks and feels way bigger than the Amaze and will be priced accordingly - is pushing the envelope too far! Not to mention that ugly side profile, just so that they can bring down the windowline and make it an airy cabin with minimal chances till the front door!