My Chevrolet Tavera. EDIT : Now over 100,000 kms up!

Chevy_lover · 14th April 2008, 17:24

Team, finally my "Baby" completed 51,000 kilometres.

I thought I should share some of my experiences with fellow BHPians. My car is 2 years old now and with an average running of 2000 kilometres per month, I am a normal to heavy user. I get a mileage of 12.2 in the city with AC.

I bought my Chevy because I was always a lover of SUVs. I fell in love with the Tavera after my Sikkim trip. We travelled from Gangtok to Siliguri in a Tavera and the quality of the ride, made me a Tavera fan for life!!!

I took a test drive in the Tavera as soon as I reached Pune and I simply fell in love with it. I booked the car that same day!!! I bought the NY L2 Elite model, with triple AC, Power steering and power windows. I have been on an extended ride ever since!!!

General impression:- The Tavera is very easy to handle and the gears are very easy to change. The centre console provided in higher end models like mine, are very good and spacious. The power steering responds to the touch of a finger!!! The Tavera has a very small turning radius. So taking a U turn will not be problem even in the narrow streets. The Tavera has amazing pickup and torque. It is possible to drive in the 3rd gear with a speed of 20Km/hr. This is specially useful in the city. The steering wheel is very beautiful. My wife simply loves the leather covered steering, with a beautiful Chevy cross on it.

I have taken my Chevy to a lot of places including Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karwar, Mumbai, Matheran, Bhandardhara, Mahabaleshwar (about 25 times!), Kolhapur, Srivardhan, Alibag, etc. I have always felt so comfortable and never felt any back pain till this moment!!

Maintenance :- I do my Chevy's service every 5000 kms. Eventhough the company says 10,000, I never wait that long. My average expense per service is just around Rs. 3600. I have never had ANY accidents!!! I thank God for that! The only accident/mishap I had was because of a tyre bursting and there was not even a scratch on my Chevy!

After the 50,000 km service, my brake pads were replaced. I had to replace two torn tyres. It happened due to nails and an iron bar! I have already installed Hella 500 projectors and changed my headlights to Phillips Rally 130 W.

My car has never faced any problem whatsoever and the only maintenance I have done is the regular servicing! The AC, Clutch, Suspension, Silencer, etc, are working in perfect condition. The engine has settled down very well. Infact my Tavera's top speed is 151 km/hr. The pickup is also very good.

If I had to buy a car again, I would defenitely go for the Tavera again!!!

extreme_torque · 14th April 2008, 17:30

151 Km/hr.... now thats interesting.
Besides tavera's ride quality isnt quite good. Its very bumpy in the middle seats, rear seats are a different story altogether.

Karandeep81 · 14th April 2008, 17:41

a happy chevy owner !! a nice write up mate, enjoy ur ride !!

jkdas · 14th April 2008, 17:56

Tavera rides like a car. My cousin gets 16-18kmpl on highways trips. Havent sat at the rear and hence cant comment on its rear seat comfort.

Akshay1234 · 14th April 2008, 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

Tavera rides like a car. My cousin gets 16-18kmpl on highways trips. Havent sat at the rear and hence cant comment on its rear seat comfort.

i have. all the way from dehli to badrinath. i never get carsick but sitting at the back even in the 2nd row i got carsick this time.

diabloo · 14th April 2008, 18:06

Hey buddy, I know about Jet-Lag. What is this new stuff called 'Car-Sick'? How to experience it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay1234

i never get carsick but sitting at the back even in the 2nd row i got carsick this time.

Akshay1234 · 14th April 2008, 18:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloo

Hey buddy, I know about Jet-Lag. What is this new stuff called 'Car-Sick'? How to experience it?

have you heard of sea sickness? same thing in a car.

Chevy_lover · 14th April 2008, 18:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay1234

i have. all the way from dehli to badrinath. i never get carsick but sitting at the back even in the 2nd row i got carsick this time.

Mate, you must have travelled in a poorly maintained tourist vehicle. Tavera NY 2006 ELITE edition and the later Neo editions come with a much better suspension and more comfortable captain seats. The ride quality has improved by leaps and bounds!

Akshay1234 · 14th April 2008, 18:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chevy_lover

Mate, you must have travelled in a poorly maintained tourist vehicle. Tavera NY 2006 ELITE edition and the later Neo editions come with a much better suspension and more comfortable captain seats. The ride quality has improved by leaps and bounds!

maybe the ride has improved but the car i went in was about 3k kms old.

extreme_torque · 14th April 2008, 18:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chevy_lover

Mate, you must have travelled in a poorly maintained tourist vehicle. Tavera NY 2006 ELITE edition and the later Neo editions come with a much better suspension and more comfortable captain seats. The ride quality has improved by leaps and bounds!

But its still a leaf spring and no matter how good it cant match coil spring.
And if there isnt too much load in the car, the ride is going to be bumpy.
I love Tavera's engine though, sounds purposeful and bullet proof. The whole car is infact bullet proof. I have sat in Tavera's abused by some of the most notorious drivers, rattling less than any people mover of the same age except Innova.

Chevy_lover · 14th April 2008, 18:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

But its still a leaf spring and no matter how good it cant match coil spring.
And if there isnt too much load in the car, the ride is going to be bumpy.
I love Tavera's engine though, sounds purposeful and bullet proof. The whole car is infact bullet proof. I have sat in Tavera's abused by some of the most notorious drivers, rattling less than any people mover of the same age except Innova.

I am in no way comparing my Tavera with any other car! I am not talking about leaf spring or coil springs! Simply put, my car is indeed comfortable.

Tavera is very sturdy and it can take any amount of abuse!

Jaggu · 14th April 2008, 19:02

Have driven Tavera when i had made Kerala trips and it is really a user friendly car, very easy to manage. Only thing i hated was the front seats which didnt have proper side bolstering and had a tendency to slip and slide the driver.

HappyWheels · 14th April 2008, 19:03

Chevy_lover,

Thats a good ownership review. 2yrs & 51k kms later you are still in love! :-)

Happy riding mate.

greenhorn · 14th April 2008, 19:35

i don't understand. the tavera middle seat was heaven compared to my indica's back seat ride - which most people say that that is good. In fact, it's spoilt my dad who keeps criticizing the indica for its ride :(

Eddy · 14th April 2008, 20:08

Avg service Rs 3600 ? Do you use synthetic oil ?

14th April 2008, 17:24	#1
Chevy_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Köln Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 130 Times View My Garage	My Chevrolet Tavera. EDIT : Now over 100,000 kms up! Team, finally my "Baby" completed 51,000 kilometres. I thought I should share some of my experiences with fellow BHPians. My car is 2 years old now and with an average running of 2000 kilometres per month, I am a normal to heavy user. I get a mileage of 12.2 in the city with AC. I bought my Chevy because I was always a lover of SUVs. I fell in love with the Tavera after my Sikkim trip. We travelled from Gangtok to Siliguri in a Tavera and the quality of the ride, made me a Tavera fan for life!!! I took a test drive in the Tavera as soon as I reached Pune and I simply fell in love with it. I booked the car that same day!!! I bought the NY L2 Elite model, with triple AC, Power steering and power windows. I have been on an extended ride ever since!!! General impression:- The Tavera is very easy to handle and the gears are very easy to change. The centre console provided in higher end models like mine, are very good and spacious. The power steering responds to the touch of a finger!!! The Tavera has a very small turning radius. So taking a U turn will not be problem even in the narrow streets. The Tavera has amazing pickup and torque. It is possible to drive in the 3rd gear with a speed of 20Km/hr. This is specially useful in the city. The steering wheel is very beautiful. My wife simply loves the leather covered steering, with a beautiful Chevy cross on it. I have taken my Chevy to a lot of places including Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karwar, Mumbai, Matheran, Bhandardhara, Mahabaleshwar (about 25 times!), Kolhapur, Srivardhan, Alibag, etc. I have always felt so comfortable and never felt any back pain till this moment!! Maintenance :- I do my Chevy's service every 5000 kms. Eventhough the company says 10,000, I never wait that long. My average expense per service is just around Rs. 3600. I have never had ANY accidents!!! I thank God for that! The only accident/mishap I had was because of a tyre bursting and there was not even a scratch on my Chevy! After the 50,000 km service, my brake pads were replaced. I had to replace two torn tyres. It happened due to nails and an iron bar! I have already installed Hella 500 projectors and changed my headlights to Phillips Rally 130 W. My car has never faced any problem whatsoever and the only maintenance I have done is the regular servicing! The AC, Clutch, Suspension, Silencer, etc, are working in perfect condition. The engine has settled down very well. Infact my Tavera's top speed is 151 km/hr. The pickup is also very good. If I had to buy a car again, I would defenitely go for the Tavera again!!!
	(1) Thanks

14th April 2008, 17:30	#2
extreme_torque BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 4,462 Thanked: 5,534 Times	151 Km/hr.... now thats interesting. Besides tavera's ride quality isnt quite good. Its very bumpy in the middle seats, rear seats are a different story altogether.
	() Thanks

14th April 2008, 17:41	#3
Karandeep81 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: UK/Ahmedabad Posts: 192 Thanked: 0 Times	a happy chevy owner !! a nice write up mate, enjoy ur ride !!
	() Thanks

14th April 2008, 17:56	#4
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,496 Times View My Garage	Tavera rides like a car. My cousin gets 16-18kmpl on highways trips. Havent sat at the rear and hence cant comment on its rear seat comfort.
	() Thanks

14th April 2008, 19:02	#12
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,383 Thanked: 17,293 Times	Have driven Tavera when i had made Kerala trips and it is really a user friendly car, very easy to manage. Only thing i hated was the front seats which didnt have proper side bolstering and had a tendency to slip and slide the driver.
	() Thanks

14th April 2008, 19:03	#13
HappyWheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,145 Thanked: 571 Times	Chevy_lover, Thats a good ownership review. 2yrs & 51k kms later you are still in love! :-) Happy riding mate.
	() Thanks

14th April 2008, 19:35	#14
greenhorn BANNED Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,878 Thanked: 4,910 Times View My Garage	i don't understand. the tavera middle seat was heaven compared to my indica's back seat ride - which most people say that that is good. In fact, it's spoilt my dad who keeps criticizing the indica for its ride :(
	() Thanks

14th April 2008, 20:08	#15
Eddy Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 9,558 Thanked: 14,518 Times	Avg service Rs 3600 ? Do you use synthetic oil ?
	() Thanks