Well this is my first post on team-bhp. I am from Bangalore and I own a VW polo 1.6, a Nissan Micra CVT for my wife and a XUV500 for my dad. I probably have no good reason to buy another car except now I have a baby girl
Now being a survivor of 2 taxi car crashes and the only reason for me being alive is thanks to volvo's invention of the seat belt, I take her safety seriously. So off I went and bought the best chicco car seat money can buy only to realise that none of my cars had an ISOFIX to secure the baby seat.
(if you don't know what ISOFIX is then see the link below)
So off I went to check out cars with the ISOFIX with a budget of 20 Lakhs. Inspired by PM Modi, I check out Maruti and Mahindra to see what they had in store. To my shock, not a single car in their stable had it! Its like as if they don't care about babies in India. Being a big fan of Mahindra, I was soo disappointed it wasn't even funny. Make in India doesn't mean Made for India has to be inferior to what you sell abroad and frankly I won't buy any of their cars again. It was truly that pathetic and these guys ought to be ashamed of themselves. If you have a baby and don't want them ending up as just another statistic to India's roadkill, don't buy them plain and simple.
Same story with the Hondas, Renaults, Nissans and even the Toyotas. Only the Camry has it while even the mighty Fortuner doesn't have it. I mean thats your best selling SUV for crying out loud. The least you guys can do is put a few anchor points on the car after charging so much.
Then went to VW who were the inventors of the ISOFIX in the first place and all they had was the VW Jetta. Nice car but at 25 Lakhs on road was on the pricier side. Same story Skoda though they had the Yeti and the Octavia both at the same price range. Then I went to Ford and to my surprise the Ecosport had it and it was at 11 lakhs for an auto!!! I was thrilled and thought it was a bargain until I drove it and thats when it went downhill. Drove the ECO Boost and the powerful 1.5 and was left dumbfounded. They were probably the most underpowered cars I ever drove and I mean worst than even an Alto. Not to mention that the central locking is funny because a child can open the backseat when the car is moving even when centrally locked!!! Thats 1 lawsuit waiting to happen. It has tons of other good features I am sure but no it wasn't happening.
Almost heartbroken, I did what I swore I never ever do in my life... I went to a HYUNDAI SHOWROOM!!! Nothing against Hyundai. I loved to 1.6 Accent they had a couple of years back but since then every hyundai I ever drove (grand10, i20, versa) were completely underpowered and unbelievably boring. I however put all that aside in hope to see something different from the Creta. And well thats where things got interesting.
The Creta AT was the only car to have the ISOFIX and it only came with 2 airbags which sucked. The looks were nice and the interior was spacious and roomy. The trunk was descent and so was the infotainment system and what not have you.
But then you start the engine and thats when it hits you. The engine like the verna was not great. I mean I get it most Indians want a car with good fuel economy but all my cars hit 100 in 10 secs and thats the point and all those cars except the micra at times gives you love when you press that accelerator. They can easily touch 170 full loaded without a sweat and stop remarkably well. Sadly this car fails to do that. It has good torque but the acceleration is miserable.
My last hope was then my only hope. The Chevy cruze. It was only 3-4 lakhs more expensive than the creta and a lakh over my budget but it did have an auto with ISOFIX, cruise control and 4 airbags not to mention a 3 year maintenance free warranty. The test drive car I got was the GMs car and it drove about 50k kms and smelt of cigarettes which was not pleasing. But the minute you start that engine.....Well you get it. The sound, the power and that acceleration. An engine after driving 50,000 kms should not have more power than a brand new octavia or a creta but it does. It was spectacular not to mention the ground clearance was good and the fact that it was available in 15 days as opposed to 15 weeks for the damn creta.
But now came the point I have to make. Despite being such a beautiful car to drive, the cruze's backseat is well best word is cra(m)p and at the end of the day thats what the baby need. Space for toys, diapers and feeding which sadly the creta had and ultimately won the battle. Its got lesser airbags than even an eco sport not to mention the power of a 3 legged pony.
But at the end of the day, its about the ISOFIX and the safety and space it provides to my baby and frankly thats all the power I need.Which is why I booked the Creta and told them to give me whichever color they have I don't care. I only wish they had the 6 airbag option and had ISOFIX on all their models because I didn't mind the manual to be honest.
I bet I probably offended a lot of car owners and car companies who thought their cars were great. But I hope people start being more conscious to child safety and while I don't support rash driving one bit, I hope cars in India get more powerful for the pure joy of driving. And I also sincerely pray and hope that companies start putting ISOFIX in cheaper cars.
Oh and please don't put your child on your laps. Its probably the most dangerous thing to do with your child and even if you have to, at least ensure their head is not pointing at the door and they are in the back seat. (Doesn't do them any good but improves survival chances a little).They may cry a little initially but they will learn to sit strapped in the child seat at an early age which is great.