[hurtem]

Hi all,

I have been a passive member on this forum for quite a while, could not post a decent introduction for the lack of time. Whatever time I did have, was spent on feasting on the extremely informative posts on this forum.

The vital stats: I am 24, lived in Bombay (apologies, but I prefer this to Mumbai) almost all my life. I am a financial analyst and drive a SX4 Zxi (grey) daily, Santro Xing (silver) occasionally and Pulsar 180 DTSi (red) once in a blue moon. I love F1- Ferrari rules! Am a life long fan of Michael Schumacher.

What follows is a longish and possibly sleep inducing write-up on how I fell in love with driving and discovered this forum.

I was what many would characterize as a late bloomer in my love for automobiles (cars and bikes). Whilst my dad has had a number of iterations of Padminis and Ambys, my access to them was restricted till I went to college. Hence, my first car was a brand new Santro Xing (2003) at the ripe old age of 20. This was the car in which I learnt driving again at the same ripe old age from my soon to be better half (ironically enough, she had been driving for half a dozen years then). Whilst driving the Santro dint exactly make me fall in love with cars, I did fall in love with my instructor. My clandestine love affair with biking started with my first bike (a red Pulsar 180 DTSi 2004) in my first job in Bangalore. Whilst at first I liked driving on empty stretches of the inner and outer ring road at good speeds (highest was 110Km) and on the way to Nandi Hills (where I did have a crazy experience, may write about it some day), the inane network of one-ways and auto infested roads got me hooked to my other passion while driving- weaving through traffic.

After a year’s stint in Bangalore, I came back to Bombay to my current job. Whilst the Pulsar served well for short distances, and the Santro for my daily office commute (I travel close to 35 km in each direction out of and into the city each day), the journey seemed increasingly laborious. However, I did fall in love with driving cars this time- found the Santro extremely capable in zipping through traffic and also better than what I expected from a small car on highways. I am also getting married soon, so the hunt for a new car comfortable mid-sized car for long drives for mainly 2 ppl started in mid 2007. I religiously read most automags (OD, Autocar, CAR, BSM, What Car?) and websites such as Mouthshut.com. I found a reference to this forum on Mouthshut. Signing on and access to user reviews was extremely easy, and most importantly the quality of information has been phenomenal. A number of TDs and reviews on this site helped me make my decision in September, and I am now a proud owner of a SX4 ZXi (3.5K Km). Whilst I did plan to put in my inputs from my car search, the plethora of articles on this topic suggests, further inputs are likely to be superficial. I hope a longer term review can add some value at some point.

After my car search, I had expected that my interest and regular visits to this forum (in office and home) would fall. Unfortunately for my better half (while she loves driving, reading about cars doesn’t excite her) and fortunately for me-I have been hooked on, I rarely spend Sat/Sunday afternoons not peeping into the forums to read about new TDs and long term reviews. Find most posts very interesting. My experience with the SX4 has been great- it gives you a lot of control in weaving through cab/auto/truck/BEST bus infested roads in the City and suburbs and amazing performance and comfort on highway dives. Whilst at present I am mighty happy with my choice, I hope to upgrade in 3 years and current wish list includes (New Camry, New Accord V6 and BMW 3 series).

Wish you all a Rocking, Happy and Prosperous New Year and hope I will be able to add a few "more interesting" and shorter posts to this forum in due course.

cheers:
Ankur (Didn’t get the login I wanted, hence the unusual login)

[GTO - Touring]

A great new year to you too, and I extend a warm welcome as well. It is nice to hear that our ownership reviews helped you, vis a vis the "paid test-drive" reports of our beloved car media. The SX4 is a really neat sedan for the price.

After my car search, I had expected that my interest and regular visits to this forum (in office and home) would fall. Unfortunately for my better half (while she loves driving, reading about cars doesn’t excite her) and fortunately for me-I have been hooked on,

LOL! Since you are with us only since 5 months, let me warn you that this is only the beginning. Do visit the board rules section just once, to familiarise yourself with our forum policies.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Happy new year.

Welcome to the forum!

[burnt.]

Happy New Year!!

Welcome to the forum. Good choice with the SX4. Good to hear that you are enjoying your car. Have fun.

[BAKIYA_2K12]

Happy New Year

Welcome