Re: Maruti: Vitara Brezza vs S-Cross Thanks everyone for pouring in with the responses.
So today ended up being really interesting. Did not get much sleep last night, decided to stay in bed a little longer and then work from home for the day. Around 11AM got a call from the NEXA showroom I had visited earlier. My previous visit was very short. The RM inquired if I had decided on the S-Cross purchase. I said I have not but was hoping to get a long test drive-30-40Km in the 1.6. To my surprise he immediately agreed and offered me a 2:30PM slot. Said he can bring the car to my home but I decided to visit the showroom instead. With that settled I tried to finish some office work frantically by 2:00PM and was hoped I don't get any important calls when I was out. Had an alibi ready- I am out for lunch. Everyone is allowed to have lunch right? I was at the showroom by 2:30PM and 10 minutes later behind the wheel of a 1.6 Alpha, Urban Blue. The route:
We took the Hosur Rd, drove towards Electronic City. Then on to Nice ring road and drove till Mysore Road and back. I paid the toll charges. This gave us a mix of city driving(Silk board anyone? ), some potholed and rough roads, and excellent stretch of highway on the Nice ring Rd. Just the highway accounted for 50Kms(round trip) of the drive. The Experience: While navigating through traffic within the city, I settled down slowly with the turbo lag, gear shifts, seating and steering position(which I adjusted a couple of times). Once settled in, the drive just kept on getting pleasurable as we continued. On the highway I was doing 100-120. I knew it could do more but did not want to push. In reality I may never go beyond 100 with the wife and kid inside. The AC was keeping us cool with the afternoon heat still at it's peak. Seats were terrific. Tried some music- radio, bluetooth. The RM and I got into a conversation about the car, his opinions about other cars from the same segment, exorbitant registration charges of Bangalore RTO. He was a nice guy, not pushy or over the board. I switched over to the rear seat on our way back for a while. The TD lasted for almost 2 hours. Layman's Observations: Much has been said about the interiors/looks/features etc. And I concur with everything. So won't be talking about them in detail. These observations are only my personal views about certain important aspects to help me come to a conclusion about the car.
Turbo Lag- Let's address the elephant in the room first. I think I somewhat agree with Dr.Naren about the lag being psychological due to the sudden burst past 1800RPM. Yes the lag is there but it is nothing that cannot be managed with a few downshifts in city conditions. In fact I am at home with this because of regular down shifting habit in my Celerio. At the start of the TD I was paying special attention to how the lag was affecting my drive, how many gear shifts am I making etc. But towards the end of the drive I totally forgot about it and was driving unhindered. The Duster was slightly easier to amble around with lesser shifts. In one situation, right after a toll booth, the road circled around and rose steeply upwards to connect to the highway; I reduced the momentum in 3rd gear(RPM down to 1k), then floored the A paddle. But the RPM needle just didn't move. There were no judders as such, just the turbo waiting for ever to get spooled. I shifted down to second and the engine was alive immediately.
Clutch and Gears- The gears did not feel rubbery. Slotted easily without missing any gear at all. And that's something coming from a Celerio user driving the S-Cross for such a long period. The Clutch was heavy no doubt. I thought it was a little too heavy. Maybe because this was a Test Drive vehicle or maybe I am just too slender. Anyhow the RM assured the clutch is not so heavy in use, so maybe its because it is a TD vehicle.
Steering and Drive Quality- The steering response is great. Just weighed perfectly. At high speed the steering feels a wee bit light and gives less confidence to make those movie stunt like lane changes from behind a slow moving trucks. But nothing alarming. I won't be doing any stunts after all. I tried a 120Kmph to complete stop with hard braking. No kick backs on the pedal, no vibrations. The car confidently came to a stop in a straight line. That actually put a smile on my face because I know what it feels like to use the brakes in my Celerio Vxi. I have already talked at length about the turbo lag. It is there but did not affect me much once I got used to the car. I even did a few low lying speed breakers in the 3rd gear. But I think I have realized a nice driving pattern for the car. When driving in a city like Bangalore, if I stay below the turbo zone and just work around gears 1,2,3; I will have a decent driving experience. Once in a while I might get a bit of empty stretch when I go past 2k RPM, but then I won't be able maintain that for long. Will have to shift down anyways. So amble around(with quick upshifts) below the turbo zone when in city, then blast off on the highways.
Ride and Comfort- As avdhesh15 mentioned- you feel wrapped in a cocoon. That was the exact feeling. Such beautiful seating position in the rear. Phenomenal leg space(I am 6ft). Very comfortable driver's seat. Oh how I miss an arm rest in the middle during BLR-HYD drives. The AC was keeping us cool even though the display said it was running at Lo. On the highway the car was very very stable. Uneven roads were not felt inside at high speeds. Though at slower speeds on potholed roads, the undulations crept inside. But the car never lost composure. Excellent suspension with no loud thuds and clunks when the tires hit potholes. The engine noise is very well suppressed. At higher rpms there is some engine noise but that is nothing more than a nice note. Wind noise is audible but not irksome. The biggest gripe was the wheel noise. It was loud on the highway. Once I switched to the rear seat, it was unbearable. It was like a jet engine's ear splitting whistle sound on an airplane about to land. I thought I will soon hear a voice, the pilot announcing- Cabin crew to their seats, prepare for landing. I mentioned this to the RM and he said the car has done close to 30K Kms. Probably wheel balancing is off. I don't know whether to believe him. But let me know if anyone of you had the same experience. Moral: I think I am definitely sold on the 1.6 now. I always knew it was a good car. But it is actually a great car. Barring the turbo lag, which I am confident I can handle, and the wheel noise there is nothing much I took away from the TD as negatives. 90% sure I want this car. 10% hinges on taking a look at the money situation(based on what variant I want) and of course the all important convincing the wife.
For those who have high regard for Duster- I have high regards for it too. I think the only reason I have decided against is because I don't have the money for the AWD. And going for the FWD 110/85 PS with a dated model and interiors for a car that I will keep with me for more than 5 years; does not give me confidence. S-Cross might get lost in oblivion like the Kizashi did, you never know, but at the moment I find it to be a better option.
Let me know what you think about my TD. Thanks again. |