[jthomas]

Originally Posted by nikhil_ag

I'm facing an issue downloading the Virtual RC for Invicto. I know one other person with the same problem. The chassis number is a 17digit alphanumeric, followed by a "~" and 3 more digits. The virtual RC is not being retrieved due to mismatch.

Anyone else facing this? How did you get around it?

I had same character in RC and was able to retrieve the virtual RC. For last five chassis number, enter ~xxxx.
Its 2~072 in your case.

Here is a screenshot from mParivahan.

[Encyclopedic]

Just got 10,000 kms service done at local Arena dealer. There was just engine oil and oil filter change, costed me 2700 odd bucks.The car feels great to drive and I consistently get around 20 KMPL in normal mode. I feel the FE figures have improved slightly after first oil change.

[airwarrior]

Front Seat Ventilation
I often wonder if the front seat ventilation works. Only once when I selected the front seat ventilation I felt the strong draft of air from the seats. Now when selected I just don't feel it is working. What is the position on this ? Am I missing some setting ?

[nikhil_ag]

Originally Posted by jthomas

I had same character in RC and was able to retrieve the virtual RC. For last five chassis number, enter ~xxxx.

Unfortunately, that didn’t work for me. I’ve tried a lot of variations and it insists that the chassis or engine number is invalid, though I’m fairly sure I’m entering it correctly. Same with my friend who has this issue.

[saubi2299]

Completed Gurgaon-Shimla trip in my Invicto. It has completed 7000 km in 6 months. Drive was superbly comfortable and Normal mode also had enough grunt on the uphill drive. There were 4 adults, 1 toddler and unlimited luggage.

Very happy to get a mileage of 20.30 for the entire trip, with Power Mode on Chandigarh to Shimla section and Eco mode at other times.

On the narrow roads in Shimla, it was so easy to maneuver with significant body roll at speeds of 60+. But i largely restricted myself to 50kmph on hilly stretch, and 90-95 on Chandigarh-Delhi stretch.

[KI07]

I am so dissapointed in my Invicto's speaker setup.
It is a glaring mistake!
6 speakers for a 7 seater?

Is there anyone who has made any changes to this, and what is the policy on warranty for speaker change in the Japs?

My baleno and Ciaz has 10 times better stock speakers.

We have never made any kind of modifications in our cars, be it seat cover or mats, all are from the company.

The speakers need to go, and it will a very first for us.

[KI07]

Originally Posted by airwarrior

Front Seat Ventilation
I often wonder if the front seat ventilation works. Only once when I selected the front seat ventilation I felt the strong draft of air from the seats. Now when selected I just don't feel it is working. What is the position on this ? Am I missing some setting ?

One way to check is this,

turn it on for 5 mins while driving and then turn it off, if you suddenly feel your whole body's back get warm, that means it was on. you will feel that the ventilation or conditioner is now off.

if that's not the case, then I am sure your ventilation system is not working

[chinkara]

Some of you may know that I have been a proud owner if a Storme VX 4x4 for 10 years now. But with the 10 year rule in NCR, I have also been an enthusiastic participant in the what car threads for some time, and also discussing the dilemma in the Storme thread (Tata Safari Storme : Official Review).

So I thought I'll finally create a thread to discuss the options and the decision process. I will not go through detailed pros and cons but highlight what made us put a car in / drop a car from the shortlist.

Choices:
1. XUV 700
2. Scorpio-N
3. Jeep Compass
4. Jeep Meridian
5. Skoda Kodiaq
6. VW Tiguan
7. Toyota Fortuner
8. New Safari
9. Innova Hycross
10. Invicto

Then, the decision criteria. We already have a Tiago EV which is used mainly as a regular office commute by my wife, although I too use it for meetings within Gurgaon when she works from home. So we wanted a vehicle which would double up as a holiday vehicle. Thus a good cruiser was essential.

Do we need a 5 seater or a 7 seater? We used the 7 seat facility in the Storme well. We have gone on trips with my parents, in-laws and SIL and her family as well. But now, with both our parents 70+, it is unlikely they would join us for long tours. A 7 seater is good to have but not essential.

Do we need a 4x4? As I have said in other threads, we have probably used the 4x4 thrice in 10 years, but those 3 times were fantastic. Also, my long pending Ladakh trip (which I and a friend who is currently in UK promised to do together) would welcome a 4x4. Thus I would prefer 4x4 but not essential (hence the last 2 were added to the list).

Waiting for Godot redux... Last time I waited and waited for the Duster and delayed the Storme purchase by 2 years, only to conclude after the test drive that I liked the Storme more. (probably better as I got a more sorted, niggle free vehicle). This time I really wanted to look at the X-trail. I have driven my friend's vehicle in Dubai and wanted to snap it up if it was available around 40L. But in spite of waiting for 2 years still no sign of it.

Now my vehicle was completing 10 years in 2024, so I could not risk further delays and impounding, as happened to a colleague of mine. So started the test drives from Oct 2023.

1. XUV 700: We took a test drive and felt the suspension to be a problem - much like why we rejected the 500 10 years back. It simply did not have the handling particularly in curves, that we were used to in the Storme.

2. Scorpio N: I was really keen on this (the guy next to me in parking lot has one, and I have taken it out for a spin). But ruled out by the home office. Scorpio has a bad image problem in North with politico vehicles having Pradhan ji stickers all around. She felt same would be the case with the ScorpioN and she refused to drive or ride such a car.

3. Compass: A good friend was buying the compass. I took a test drive and liked it overall, but there was a small doubt about the turbo lag and overtaking from dead slow. Also, a colleague owned a Compass and had horror stories about both fuel efficiency and maintenance after 3 years. However, I overlooked such stories with the Storme and decided to stick the Compass in the list for now.

4. Merdian: We had a good test drive. Kids liked the last row. Wife liked the suspension. I liked the driving ergonomics, but gain the nagging doubt about the turbo lag and the overtaking power. We also loved the green colour and decided to stick it in the shortlist.

5. Kodiaq: I have used the Kodiaq a bit in Europe last year and loved the car. The reported transmission problems were ok with me. It is a good car with good suspension as well. However I had hesitation plonking 50 L plus on car, similar to Poloman (Want to buy a 45 - 50 lakh SUV | How to get rid of the middle class guilt?) -so decided to put it on the waitlist.

6. Tiguan: Loved the drive. It is such a smooth car. No turbo lag as well. But we felt it is effectively a 4 seater and overpriced at around 40L. So dropped from the list.

7. Fortuner: It was considered for being a 4x4, but the price, waitlist and the fact that currently only white and black are available made us drop it

8. New Safari: Now here comes a rant. Tata completely changed the Safari DNA. Just after they got it right with Storme and Hexa, they decided to vacate the 4x4 space. The new Safari is simple not there for old Safari owners. However, we decided to give it a shot as we were really happy with the Storme, and we decided that we would do without 4x4 if needed (there were no reasonable options except the Jeep duo).
So we took the test drive (actually it was the first test drive). And ended up with more frustration. Storme was a brilliant ergonomic car. I have done non-stop 16 hour drives with 2 kids, done Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Ahmedabad etc. several times. And drove extensively in hills, forests everywhere. Here, after 20 min, we all felt a lack of under-thigh support and I had the knee fouling problem. So we rejected it.

Then the 2023 edition was launched. I sat in the vehicle in the yard, spent 30 min to find a comfortable driving position, but no luck. So with a heavy heart, dropped it.

9. Innova Hycross: We were thinking of looking at the Thar or the Jimny when my wife spotted the Hycross and wanted to take a test drive. But they have been refusing to take bookings for the variants we wanted.

10. Invicto As soon as it was launched, we wanted to explore the Suzuki twin. So we took a test drive and we liked it, including the space in the last row.

Then the decision. It effectively boiled down to Compass / Meridian vs. Invicto.

Invicto was the cerebral choice, but I was not getting the thrill in the heart which I had while buying the Storme.

Between the Compass and the Meridian, the Meridian was more refined, but it was also 8L extra. Additionally, I had the nagging doubt about the pick-up and turbo lag. This, coupled with the FE were the doubts.

We spent a few agonizing days undecided. Both of us agreed that if we had a BS6 Storme available with comparable FE (I get 11-12 in city, 15-16 in highways) for around 30L, we would simply buy it with our eyes closed. Also we cursed the NGT ruling - our steed (solely driven by me, well maintained at Arya Tata) was good enough for another 3 years if not more.

Finally we decided to go with the Invicto. The doubts were too much for the Jeep twins and we did not have the unanimity of heart we had with the Storme. Completed the payment on 31st (year end billing incentive) and will take delivery on our new year in mid April.

[chinkara]

I forgot about the Isuzu Mu-X, which we also test drove, but at 47 L OTR it was a sub-Storme vehicle in seating ergonomics and driving position also was not as high. So dropped.

[aniketi]

As a car Invicto is damn good, looks better than Innova Hycross IMO. Basically both are same cars with different badging. What is killing Invicto is its price. Not everyone can buy car worth 35 Lakhs. I guess Maruti should get 1.6 liter engine for this or may be 1.8 liter and launch it only in petrol avatar (No Hybrid). That way they can price it below 25 Lakhs and lots of people will be interested. Also it will be better fuel efficient as well. I wish Maruti will listen to me, I will be the one to book first.

[Encyclopedic]

Originally Posted by manne

Post delivery changed the front Grill to black color as I did not like too much Chrome. To my surprise even Suzuki logo is also made by Toyota. Check the Pics.

How was the front logo removed,are there any screws involved or just the clips.

[chinkara]

So the Invicto has come home. However, been very busy both at work and at home, so not able to take it for a long ride. And now it seems I have damaged my hamstring, so long drive ruled out for some time.

Observations so far:
1. Suspension is very good
2. It is a very silent car, especially when it is in EV mode initially

The bad:
So far I have had FE of ~9KMPL which is a huge deviation from ARAI figures. Although I am a spirited driver, so far I have been able to get reasonable FE in all the cars I have owned / driven. Hope things will get sorted by first service. Below Storme figures do not make any sense - Petrol vs. Diesel should more than be compensated by no 4*4, BS6 and hybrid.

The Horrible:
I have received some 27 calls from Maruti in a week, trying to "explain the terms and conditions of insurance" or trying to sell something. I am fed up and wish there was something to stop this. I cannot put blanket DND as I often get business enquiries on my Phone. It was not this intrusive with Tata either for the Storme or for the Tiago.

[Encyclopedic]

The ride quality and stability is supreme over good roads but on broken and bad roads the ride is quite jerky.I am looking for suggestions to improve ride quality.

[Livnletcarsliv]

Congratulations on your Invicto ! Happy and safe motoring.

If I may ask why did you not even consider the Tucson ?

While you have only detailed your requirements to the minimum, it is not an apple to apple comparison to compare 700 and Storme. Storme is BoF 4*4 SUV while 700 is a Monocoque AWD Crossover. Similarly Storme with other Monocoques here.

[saubi2299]

Originally Posted by chinkara

The bad:
So far I have had FE of ~9KMPL which is a huge deviation from ARAI figures. Although I am a spirited driver, so far I have been able to get reasonable FE in all the cars I have owned / driven. Hope things will get sorted by first service..

1st service for Invicto is at 10000 kms. I don’t think you should wait that long if your mileage is this bad. I am regularly getting 18-20.
However, Highway drives of 100+ reduces the mileage sharply.