[IshaanIan]

My family is strongly considering buying a Verna petrol automatic except that the dealers I have enquired with so far, claim there is no automatic petrol Verna available for test drive. Does anyone have a good rapport with any particular dealership in Hyderabad that they would recommend I interact with?

[realcoolhand]

Talwar Hyundai in Jubilee Hills has SX(O) AT, the top end petrol model. I test drove it and even bought the new vehicle a month ago.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by realcoolhand

Talwar Hyundai in Jubilee Hills has SX(O) AT, the top end petrol model. I test drove it and even bought the new vehicle a month ago.

Thanks would they remember you if I told them about you? Because they are now claiming not to have any petrol at Verna test drive vehicle.

[madmaxvistian]

I've been seriously considering Verna Diesel Automatic and running out of patience & options after considering multiple vehicles across the segments for long. I've made up my mind after some confusion when I didn't consider automatic transmission seriously with Ecosport vs Verna which are priced almost closely in spite of being in different segments.

So... It is Verna now in diesel automatic guise Hope this stays this way until I book one!

Although I was able to get a test drive of SX Manual, I couldn't get to test the diesel automatic variant for over a week. It is quite surprising that the dealerships in Chennai are saying the same answers - No test drive vehicle allotted for diesel automatic and they can arrange if some customer vehicle is available in their stockyard

I don't get the logic of using the new cars as their test drive vehicle. It is completely unethical and don't quite understand that practice. I rejected the test drive and asked to arrange a vehicle which is meant for test drive.

V3 and HMP are the two dealers that I've contacted so far and need to see if this is the same situation with the other dealers as well.

Anyone has any inputs for a good dealership in Chennai?
Any help is very much appreciated.

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by madmaxvistian

I've been seriously considering Verna Diesel Automatic and running out of patience & options after considering multiple vehicles across the segments for long.

Verna Diesel is a great looking vehicle with great FE even in Auto guise. Only big fly in the ointment is the race-car-like rear legroom.

But since you are looking around, one more diesel automatic worth considering is the Skoda Rapid with the phenomenal DSG gearbox. If you know a good dealer in your area I think you should give it a try. It is much more dynamic and fun to drive than the Verna. If you're a young and spirited driver, that is. Else the Hyundai would do well too. Only grouse on the Rapid is not-so-good NVH which is not on par with the Verna. Other than that, technically it's the more brilliant Diesel Auto. Just my two cents. Hope it helps.

[madmaxvistian]

Originally Posted by pixantz

But since you are looking around, one more diesel automatic worth considering is the Skoda Rapid with the phenomenal DSG gearbox. If you know a good dealer in your area I think you should give it a try. It is much more dynamic and fun to drive than the Verna. If you're a young and spirited driver, that is. Else the Hyundai would do well too. Only grouse on the Rapid is not-so-good NVH which is not on par with the Verna. Other than that, technically it's the more brilliant Diesel Auto. Just my two cents. Hope it helps.

Thanks pixantz. I appreciate the suggestion

I considered all these options in my exhaustive hunt for my next car. Rapid fulfilled most of my requirement but the horror stories of after-sales support of Skoda which I knew of personally through my relatives / friends made me stay away from Rapid. It is certainly a superior car, for sure!

[realcoolhand]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Thanks would they remember you if I told them about you? Because they are now claiming not to have any petrol at Verna test drive vehicle.

Sure, he'll remember me.
I talked to the guy and he's saying it was available today. He'll check the availability tomorrow. I'll send you his number in private message.

[bhpfaninblr]

Originally Posted by madmaxvistian

Thanks pixantz. I appreciate the suggestion

I considered all these options in my exhaustive hunt for my next car. Rapid fulfilled most of my requirement but the horror stories of after-sales support of Skoda which I knew of personally through my relatives / friends made me stay away from Rapid. It is certainly a superior car, for sure!

The Verna diesel and petrol engines are definitely much superior to their Skoda Rapid counterparts. Verna diesel is more refined and smooth than Rapid. If you are looking at automatic, you get a reliable torque converter in the Verna vs. the DSG of the Rapid

[realcoolhand]

Originally Posted by realcoolhand

Sure, he'll remember me.
I talked to the guy and he's saying it was available today. He'll check the availability tomorrow. I'll send you his number in private message.

Could not figure out a way to send private message on TBHP. Name of the sales manager is Srinivas (9100677709). They send vehicle to office location as well. I'm Vikas btw.

[madmaxvistian]

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr

Verna diesel is more refined and smooth than Rapid. If you are looking at automatic, you get a reliable torque converter in the Verna vs. the DSG of the Rapid

Yup, agreed The diesel manual that I test drove has actually sealed the deal and cleared me of all the confusions. I couldn't believe a diesel engine can be that butter smooth and so silent (FYI I drive the noisy Fiat multijet diesel engine and can see the difference black and white with respect to NVH, lag etc )

[bhpfaninblr]

Originally Posted by madmaxvistian

Yup, agreed The diesel manual that I test drove has actually sealed the deal and cleared me of all the confusions. I couldn't believe a diesel engine can be that butter smooth and so silent (FYI I drive the noisy Fiat multijet diesel engine and can see the difference black and white with respect to NVH, lag etc )

I know the Fiat Multijet engine very well as it was my daily commute for 4.5 years before the Verna. The Fiat Multijet is a great engine and very lovely to drive and was real value for money for the price

The differences with the Hyundai diesel over Fiat Multijet diesel will include:
- No turbo lag
- Lower NVH
- Much power power and torque

Skoda 1.5L engine is more noisy and less refined. So it is a no brainer to go for the Verna diesel. The Verna petrol too would trump the Skoda petrol engine any day.

[kpkeerthi]

Can any owners of Petrol AT share fuel efficiency of the car in city driving conditions?

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr

Skoda 1.5L engine is more noisy and less refined. So it is a no brainer to go for the Verna diesel. The Verna petrol too would trump the Skoda petrol engine any day.

Speaking of "noisiness" and refinenement, I think these two are two different things and should not be confused with them relating to the sheer performance of the car.

The performance output of the car is a different thing altogether and would be measured in values like bhp, torque, etc. Whereas noisiness is decibel level. I don't think there is any relation to the noise a car makes as related to the output it gives.

The noise which we hear from an engine can be due to different things related to the way the car was built, materials used in the making (especially of the engine), sound damping materials used, so on and so forth.

Different manufacturers have a diffent take on how much "noise" is okay. Likewise different drivers also have different acceptances regarding the noise quotient of their car. Its a given that mostly lesser noise producing cars would be more widely accepted. But its also possible that there may be more important considerations to make when choosing cars other than its noise. That said, yes, the Verna is a quite silent engine wrt the Skoda 1.5 diesel mill. The Vento is even more noisy and I think it has the same engine. I think I should stop making any more noise myself now. :rolleyes:

Just my two cents.

[madmaxvistian]

Guys, I've finally managed to get the automatic vehicle for the test drive today from Kun and quite satisfied with the performance. The transmission is almost flawless albeit with a very slight hesitancy if you push around too much. However there is absolutely nothing to complain and I could still enjoy the fun with nice acceleration.

So I'll be confirming the booking of SX+ AT tomorrow if I get some reasonable discounts. It looks like Verna and Creta have no discounts at all. I've got an insurance quotation from HDFC Ergo and asked the dealer to match that which will help me saving 20k+. I'll also get a corporate discount of around 15k.

What are the additional discounts that we can push for? Any inputs?

[realcoolhand]

Originally Posted by kpkeerthi

Can any owners of Petrol AT share fuel efficiency of the car in city driving conditions?

My Verna is a month old and I drive to work daily in bumper to bumper. Giving me FE of around 7kmpl. I talked to service guys and they asked me to wait for first service which is due this month. Highway FE was good, gave me around 14kmpl, driven below 80kmph to allow run-in.