[Stigissimo]

Hello fellow BHP-ians!
It's great to finally be a member on these forums! Thank you to the admins for accepting me. Been reading these forums for as long as I can remember so I'm pretty psyched about being on here.
I'm 18 years old and live in New Delhi, with the intention of going to college in Los Angeles this fall. I want to study Econ. and Computer Science while at uni.

As you can probably tell from my username, I'm a Top Gear fan. 'Fan' is an understatement, however. I owe my love for cars to TG so it only seemed apt to honor them in my own way

Right now, I don't actually own a car myself but do use my family's cars on a daily basis. The stable is as follows:

'06 Skoda Octavia Combi 1.9 TDI (L & K); 1.6 lakh km's on the odo.
'09 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 (G variant); 65,000 km's.
'14 Volkswagen Vento 1.6 Petrol (Manual, Highline); 3,000 km's.
'09 Tata Nano LX; 13,000 km's - my personal favorite.
'07 Hyundai Getz Prime (GVS); Recently sold.

Will put up pictures of all once I get my hands on a decent camera. The first car is pretty special, as it is used exclusively by my father who stoically refuses to buy anything that isn't a station wagon. We use the combi for long drives with the whole parivaar and accompanying paraphernalia, so I suppose an estate makes sense.

We're currently mulling over a couple of new cars:

1. Mid-range German luxe saloon (A6/E/5)
2. Jaguar XF Sportbrake/E-Class Estate/Passat Combi

My father has put me in charge of project no. 2, i.e. finding a willing importer and someone to service the thing in the long term.
Would really appreciate it if someone could help me find such entities.

Really looking forward to being an active member on this forum.

Cheers!

[noopster]

Welcome to Team BHP Stigissimo and hope you have a great time here! Nice combo that: Computer Sci and Economics! Future Silicon Valley millionaire in the making, I hope

Pretty awesome garage there too. I love the European tourers so I can totally get why your Dad is so possessive about his Octy Combi! The petrol Altis is a reliable and fine vehicle and Nano great as a city runaround. Curious about the Vento petrol MT, which is a rare choice (and I say that as a fellow owner, only mine is automatic!)

Please go through our What Car section and you should find discussions there that will help you find your Dad's next car. Look forward to some threads and travelogues from you too. Have fun!

[GTO]

Welcome to Team-BHP!

Originally Posted by Stigissimo

My father has put me in charge of project no. 2, i.e. finding a willing importer and someone to service the thing in the long term.

Since station wagons have universally flopped in India, the options are too limited. Importing one as a CBU will cost way too much $$$ and it won't be localised either (e.g. ground clearance). Servicing will pose its own challenges.

Would suggest you consider one of the CKD SUVs instead. Cheaper, more practical than a station wagon, immense cabin & boot space, better ground clearance for those long road trips, local billing & service support.

[Stigissimo]

Originally Posted by GTO

Welcome to Team-BHP!



Since station wagons have universally flopped in India, the options are too limited. Importing one as a CBU will cost way too much $$$ and it won't be localised either (e.g. ground clearance). Servicing will pose its own challenges.

Would suggest you consider one of the CKD SUVs instead. Cheaper, more practical than a station wagon, immense cabin & boot space, better ground clearance for those long road trips, local billing & service support.

Mr. GTO, sir. I'm so glad to finally be able to talk to you, your reviews are like gospel in the house!

I have tried to convince my father about the Volvo XC90/Range Rover/LR Discovery (before the latter two got priced so ridiculously high), but he seems set on a station wagon. As far as he's concerned, he'll stick with the Combi until either;
a) It falls apart or b) A new estate is available (which, as you mentioned, is unlikely)
We like understated cars, which sadly most SUVs in this country are not. Perhaps the 2015 XC90 will change things a wee bit.
As far as importing is concerned, I am aware of the challenges and costs involved but I also see an abject lack of alternatives. Fear this is going to be a long-drawn project but hopefully it'll be worth it in the end. At any rate, I shall keep things updated on this forum, should be interesting.

Originally Posted by noopster

Welcome to Team BHP Stigissimo and hope you have a great time here! Nice combo that: Computer Sci and Economics! Future Silicon Valley millionaire in the making, I hope

Pretty awesome garage there too. I love the European tourers so I can totally get why your Dad is so possessive about his Octy Combi! The petrol Altis is a reliable and fine vehicle and Nano great as a city runaround. Curious about the Vento petrol MT, which is a rare choice (and I say that as a fellow owner, only mine is automatic!)

Please go through our What Car section and you should find discussions there that will help you find your Dad's next car. Look forward to some threads and travelogues from you too. Have fun!

Hahaha thank you sir. I hope so to! Looking forward to going there and checking out some of the sweet rides in L.A.

Thank you for the compliment - we're all petrol-heads (car-spotting is a popular sport) and believe in maintaining and using our cars. The Combi is something I find very special indeed; some great memories with that car, many of which I hope to write about! The Altis is used an incredible amount (200-300 km's a day on some occasions) but still a good car. Zero complaints, nice backseat and great for longish drives (Gurgaon, Noida and what have you). I learnt to drive in the Nano and use it for about 100 km's a day so that's one review I'm looking forward to writing. As for the Vento, it's used by my mother's sister (or maasi) and she detests automatics (hardcore petrol-head). I test-drove the 1.6 TDI and preferred that, but my aunt also happens to be anti-diesel for some odd reason.

Will definitely traverse those bits of T-BHP! Thank you both for welcoming me