[KryptonMonkey]

Originally Posted by hoopsandbhp

Questions:
-Pride Honda (Madhapur, Hyd) is charging 5k for logistics and 12k for so called 'Basic Accessory Kit'. Can I refuse to pay these charges?
-Sundaram Honda (Secunderabad) is charging 12k for 'Basic Kit' (I think both dealers are offering the same Kit) and an absurd 34k for Signature Spoiler Kit. Shocking thing is this kit is not even a part of the 'optionals' section in the price sheet.
-I am quite sure the car will have a few swirl marks even if it is in the yard, I'm quite cranky when it comes to how neat the car is, so can I demand the dealership to place an order for the variant and colour I want specifically for my purchase or will they refuse?

1. Logistics/Handling charges are illegal. Please do not succumb to such sly tactics from dealers. You are well within your rights to refuse such charges. All their charges such as the cost of transportation from the stockyard to the showroom are already factored into the ex-showroom price. This is just a devious way for them to make money by fooling people.
   
   Beware of them striking off such handling charges and kit prices from their quoted price and making it appear as if they are providing you with a generous discount!
   
   Contact other dealers in Hyderabad who are more ethical to deal with.
2. All kits such as "Basic kit", "Essential kit" are completely optional to buy. They are only given such names to fool the casual buyer into thinking that they need to buy such a "basic" or "essential" kit as part of the deal.
3. If they do have cars in stock then please go and check them out. If you see a variant model in the color of your choice to your standards of liking, make a note of the VIN of that car and ask that to be allocated to you if possible. You will be able to negotiate much better discounts on cars that the dealer already has on their inventory than if you made them order new inventory as per your liking.
   In fact, they may ask you to commit to buying the variant that they will specifically book for you by asking you to pay the full amount up front before your PDI. This is because for them it's a risk to order more inventory on a booking from you that you could potentially cancel at a later stage, leaving them to foot the bill for the excess inventory.

[ajmat]

My wifes Polo 1.6 was 11 years old so it was time for a change.

What we wanted

• Petrol
• Auto - not an AMT
• Reasonable build quality
• Reasonably spacious
• Maneuverability in town

We eliminated the following

• Kia Sonet/Hyundai Venue - Nice on paper and in the showroom but found them bland
• Hyundai Creta - Poor safety record and the deconstructed looks
• Kia Seltos - Decent but a little bigger than required. Price and safety rating took it off the list.
• Hyundai Verna - strong contender but the design put me off
• Hyundai i20 N Line - Was concerned with its braking

We considered the following:

• The Kushaq/ Taigun twins. They would have been ideal but the interior finish, rattles, weak air conditioning (very important for my wife) were the deal breakers. With a demanding job, the niggles were things I did not want to deal with. They also were expensive comparatively
• The Toyota Hyryder was nixed as it was not fun to drive and interior plastics were scrappy.
• The Jimny - Cute but the turning circle is not that great for town and my wife did not really like it.

Along came the Elevate. I liked the styling or rather the absence of a chrome fest. Took a couple of test drives which reinforced that this was the one! Acceleration in town is brisk up to 60km/h. Responsive steering and the decent interiors sold it for me. What sealed the deal was was the left side lane change camera.

The City BHeV was under consideration but the price and dated interior put me off.

I ordered the car in October from Dakshin Honda and gave the details to my companies leasing agent who went and sourced the car from Whitefield Honda. (that's another story). The process was seamless and straight forward. It was much smoother than Hyundai (I was buying an Exter at the same time, they harassed you with phone calls for every small thing)

I tried to get the car before Xmas but an RTO snafu meant the car came on 26th Dec. The car is used by my wife. It was pressed into duty for the city use and the odd airport drop. My wife was a little scared of the size. Now she loves it.

What she likes

• Space
• Colour
• Visibility
• Smooth
• Easy to place with the cameras

What she does not like

• The size
• The ADAS system is a bit sudden

I tend to use Elevate in town as it is parked at home. The Audi is parked 15 min away in my mothers house.

What I like

• Brisk acceleration at city speeds
• Accurate steering
• Chuckable
• Ergonomics

What I don’t like

• CVT moos like a cow- under hard acceleration or press on driving
• Bump absorption is poor due to short travel suspension
• Seats are a bit flat
• ADAS is aggressive as also the radar cruise control. It is a 0 -1 game - full on or full off whether brakes or acceleration.

The Bangalore mods and I took it for a running in party to a nice curvy road. It kept up on the heels of a BMW 328i who thought it was doing tail-out slides. However using the paddle shifts for the correct torque band did not cut the mustard.

So I have become boring with 2 SUV's. - the Honda and the Audi



The Audi is turning 10

• It has the better build quality
• You feel really safe and secure
• High speed dynamics and grip
• Mid range acceleration
• Comfortable seats and driving position
• Bump absorption
• Better music system

The Honda is much easier to drive in town and has more modern features like Apple Car play but I am not exactly dying for this. The Audi's usage has come down since I prefer to use diesel for longer runs where the engine properly warms up. It is the pick for long trips and airport runs. Unless something interesting comes along, it stays. My office is moving to Whitefield so might use it for commuting if I cannot get time for a 30 min walk to the Metro station.

[INDIAFIRST]

Nice article.

How is the FE?
What's features / attributes is better in the Elevate

I thought Elevate & City top models have similar interior.

How is drivers seating position for you / better half?

[hondadriver]

Interior Mods to my Silver V-MT:

1) Fitted with Autoform's fitted seat covers.



2) Got the side door fabric covered in the same material as seat covers.



3) Replaced the stock speakers with Infinity Reference components in the front and Infinity Ref coaxial in the rear. The speakers can get on the car door frame without any drilling if a coupler is used (that's what I got).



4) Got a single layer of door damping from Infinity. This combined with replacing the stock Goodyears with Continental UC6s has made the cabin way quieter. Even quieter than my 4th Gen facelifted Honda City.

There is a HUGE difference in the sound response of the car post these mods. The original speakers were pathetic in its construction as well as response. Now the music is clear, crisp and it fills the cabin. Great sound for heavy metal, punjabi and western classical music (as tested). Highly recommended.

[M00M]

Between the Elevate ZX CVT new and a used 2019 CRV Petrol done 28000 kms - what would the petrol heads recommend ? Both cost the same almost.

CRV - Better build, safer, more plush and more space but expensive to maintain and spares maybe an issue.

Elevate - safety rating should be 4 or 5 stars, ADAS, new model but some omissions are there like road noise.

Thanks for the help in advance.

[Dead_Pedal]

Originally Posted by M00M

Between the Elevate ZX CVT new and a used 2019 CRV Petrol done 28000 kms - what would the petrol heads recommend ? Both cost the same almost.

CRV - Better build, safer, more plush and more space but expensive to maintain and spares maybe an issue.

Elevate - safety rating should be 4 or 5 stars, ADAS, new model but some omissions are there like road noise.

Thanks for the help in advance.

CR-V all the way if it's well maintained. A new car is a new car but, if the CR-V has a clean history, I'd pick that up without a second thought if I was in your position. Spares won't be an issue although they could take a week or two to reach your dealership once the order is placed. Elevate pros : you can book a new one.

[positivemks]

Originally Posted by M00M

Between the Elevate ZX CVT new and a used 2019 CRV Petrol done 28000 kms - what would the petrol heads recommend ? Both cost the same almost.

I would rarely prefer old cars. Only exception i keep is the history should be clean, owner should be an acquaintant, and maintains it like an enthusiast. Honda if well maintained, will rarely have issues on a long run. CRV can be opted if you dont care about all other features and highly passionate about driving and its dynamics.
Considering this one is 5 years old and CRV itself is neo-obsolete on roads, you will feel as if driving an old gen car and will struggle to find buyers with good resale value. The feel of driving a brand new car is different all together. And these days, cars are being updated like mobiles. Even Elevate at this time is a notch behind its generation but offers great VFM by cutting on all extras features but ticking all necessary boxes.

Only drawback of Elevate is road noise on highway speeds(its super silent in city). If you have limited highway usage, its easily manageable and not too discomforting. Its definitely not at par with current gen cars. But noise can be marginally reduced by additional insulation and maybe replacing low noise tyres.

[positivemks]

I recently drove Elevate around 120 speed on highways (cement one). I felt a bit of steering vibrations at 115-125 range. Not heavy but minor, and was evident. Is that found by other owners or am I the only one facing it ?

I have neo aftermarket alloys. Can that be the reason ? Should I check balancing ?

[ramki.grandhi]

Honda has increased Elevate's price slightly and added few safety features. And now, six airbags is standard across all variants.

https://www.financialexpress.com/aut...range/3442706/

[saket77]

Both the older models and new models are being sold side by side. The top end City (ZX) - older variant is 5K cheaper than the new one. Prices have been hiked though. The 'older' ZX prices have been hiked by 11K while the new ZX is 16K more.

Also, I think the only addition to City ZX is rear passenger seat belt reminder as it already had 6 airbags and 3-point seatbelts for all occupants. With the new rear sunshade and music system, VX is the most value for money variant though.

[sud153]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Honda has increased Elevate's price slightly and added few safety features. And now, six airbags is standard across all variants.

https://www.financialexpress.com/aut...range/3442706/

I think this should pave the way for 5 star crash test rating, if their structure is strong enough.

[Sg01]

Originally Posted by hondadriver

Interior Mods to my Silver V-MT:

1) Fitted with Autoform's fitted seat covers.

Attachment 2588013

2) Got the side door fabric covered in the same material as seat covers.

Attachment 2588012

3) Replaced the stock speakers with Infinity Reference components in the front and Infinity Ref coaxial in the rear. The speakers can get on the car door frame without any drilling if a coupler is used (that's what I got).

Attachment 2588011

4) Got a single layer of door damping from Infinity. This combined with replacing the stock Goodyears with Continental UC6s has made the cabin way quieter. Even quieter than my 4th Gen facelifted Honda City.

There is a HUGE difference in the sound response of the car post these mods. The original speakers were pathetic in its construction as well as response. Now the music is clear, crisp and it fills the cabin. Great sound for heavy metal, punjabi and western classical music (as tested). Highly recommended.

This looks fantastic...I am in two minds about going for the V CVT or ZX CVT...price difference close to 2.7 lacs OTR. It would be great help if you can share the costs for the above modifications....

[TechDoc]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Honda has increased Elevate's price slightly and added few safety features. And now, six airbags is standard across all variants.

https://www.financialexpress.com/aut...range/3442706/

Finally they are doing something that the market needs. Implementing these in the beginning itself would have attracted more customers. More sound dampening and better tyres (though I find the Turanzas are pretty good at its job) for increased cabin quietness would make this a sweet deal. Right now the VX variant is the most VFM variant, as one mentioned above. Hoping for a 5 star crash rating for both adults and child occupants...

[hondadriver]

Originally Posted by Sg01

This looks fantastic...I am in two minds about going for the V CVT or ZX CVT...price difference close to 2.7 lacs OTR. It would be great help if you can share the costs for the above modifications....

Seat covers ~ 11k
Sides ~ 3k
Infinity Refs ~ 16k
Damping ~ 5k

And for me,I didn't choose the ZX because tan interiors were a no-no given that the rest of the car interior is black and grey.

And I didn't go for the VX because the sun-roof cuts about 1.5" of head space which is precious for me at my height.

And in case anyone is wondering how the stock speakers of V model look
(before they were thrown in the trash):





The magnet's size and hollowness is enough to gauge how they perform.

[positivemks]

Mod note: Back to back post, use Multi Quote [Quote +] instead. Thanks.

Originally Posted by sud153

I think this should pave the way for 5 star crash test rating, if their structure is strong enough.

This is the reason for 6 air bags - to get 5 star rating. Customers like me who have 2 airbags feel a big let down. I will never know the actual star rating of my car. We are ready to pay extra for improved safety which earlier Honda was providing only on top model to earn more(2.5Lakh extra). They were unable to gauge the market before 6 months and now rectified it.

Originally Posted by Sg01

This looks fantastic...I am in two minds about going for the V CVT or ZX CVT...price difference close to 2.7 lacs OTR. It would be great help if you can share the costs for the above modifications....

I too have a V CVT and have did same modifications plus alloys and some other stuff. If you do the above changes ZX will cost around 2.3L more. But it has additional benefits of premium interior, alloys, ADAS & cruise control, sun roof + many other small features. If you have the budget and fancy these features ZX still is cheaper than competition. Although they have played well now by 6 airbags in V variant which makes it most value for money. I did not go for ZX as it was beyond my budget. V is unbeatable for value it offers. You get all necessary things sorted.