[pratim]

Congratulations on your new car. Very good choice I must say.

Let me try to answer the following:

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I'd like to ask you, how different is driving a AT in the sense of pickup, smoothness during acceleration and braking w.r.t. a MT?

Also, given the fact that you can't manually control the gears in AT, has it impacted the fuel efficiency?

About the dual horn, I really when the dual horn is activated or what purpose it serves. I tried several things like pressing the horn and simultaneously pressing and releasing the brake; tried that with the clutch and accelerator too but the horn seems to have a mind of its own! I can't reason it out somehow!

Pickup might be a split second slower, but in a real world scenario, while overtaking things could be bit different. If you consider the effort of changing a gear in MT versus AT, overall, the AT might turn out to be a bit quicker. Because, in MT one needs to depress the clutch and then slot the gear and release the clutch where as in AT, just a flick of the paddle shifter is needed; electronics do the rest.

Smoothness should not be an issue, at least I find my car to be very smooth and of course, I have not driven a MT. So, my experiences are limited to AT.

Fuel efficiency wise AT will be poorer compared to MT. The torque converter in an AT saps some portion of the engine power thus, delivering lower efficiency.

In ANHC AT ( and I think in Civic AT as well) one has options to choose the gears one wants the car to be in with help of paddle shifters. However, I wont say that's manual gear selection. Things work differently in these cases.

I heard that brakes are stronger in an AT compared to an MT since ATs will have less engine brakes at disposal. However, I have not compared this. Braking in my car is perfect and I have no complaints.

I have also experienced the "dual horn" thing: basically sometimes the horn does sound at a different frequency than normal. It's quite random at that and I though I told about this to my SA, I could not reproduce it in front of him.

Cheers
Pratim

[libranof1987]

hey folks..

got the 2nd free servicing done yesterday..
been 5 months since we got the car but parents were abroad so couldn't get it done earlier..

had bought the car from Pearl Honda, Gurgaon.. went to them for the 2nd free service itself..

this service is done at 5k km/3months whichever is done..
it entails a general check-up, engine oil replacement and a wash..

I'd told him to put mineral oil rather than the "Honda-recommended" syntethic oil.. Also, asked him to check the reverse sensor caliberation since I found the lady's instructions wrong w.r.t. units..

I'd given the car at 1 and got it back at 6..

Jobs done : General check-up
Engine oil replacement (100ml)
Wash

The reverse sensors were fine apparently; although the the mirror gives accurate distances, I found the lady speaking distances in diff. units earlier. Guess, she just uses a diff unit.. mirror uses 0.XX m while the lady says XX..

Bill amount : 892.

Btw, asked the mechanic about the "dual horn"..

He said, the City has 2 horns.. When you honk, both horns are activated.. If you keep pressing for more than 3sec, the frequency of one is reduced..
This is for "noise-pollution" reduction..
He suggested, one honks are intervals so as to get the usual tone..

[ajay_satpute]

Hey libranof1987

I wanted to know about the quality of the stock system in S M/T. Also, would you recommend to change the stock speakers to something better or they are good enough?

Even I always thought that S M/T is the most sensible choice of variant in ANHC. It has everything you need. The additional features in V are nice to have features.

[monkey_wrench]

The stock system is pretty decent, depends on how much of an audiophile you are! Of course, there is never any end to upgrades. If you compare apples to apples, the HU and stock speakers are slightly better compared to similar competitor cars like the SX4 and the Verna. (IMHO!!)

Personally I've left the HU and stocks as they are, and added a 2-channel amp driving a 1300W sub to my ANHC.

As for the S being the sensible choice, well...ahem!

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by monkey_wrench

The stock system is pretty decent, depends on how much of an audiophile you are! Of course, there is never any end to upgrades. If you compare apples to apples, the HU and stock speakers are slightly better compared to similar competitor cars like the SX4 and the Verna. (IMHO!!)

Personally I've left the HU and stocks as they are, and added a 2-channel amp driving a 1300W sub to my ANHC.

As for the S being the sensible choice, well...ahem!

Thanks for the info buddy.

Regarding S being sensible choice, I meant to say that if your budget permits go for V. If not S is very good. Ofcourse, if you have 10 lakhs in your pocket, then you ought to go for V M/T.

Sorry, no offense meant to V owners. I should have worded it better.

[monkey_wrench]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Thanks for the info buddy.

Regarding S being sensible choice, I meant to say that if your budget permits go for V. If not S is very good. Ofcourse, if you have 10 lakhs in your pocket, then you ought to go for V M/T.

Sorry, no offense meant to V owners. I should have worded it better.

Haha, i completely agree mate don't worry. What made me go for the V were the alloys. Sat and did the mental math for almost a week...put together every last rupee, agonized over it even further...and then just did it!

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Hey libranof1987

I wanted to know about the quality of the stock system in S M/T. Also, would you recommend to change the stock speakers to something better or they are good enough?

Even I always thought that S M/T is the most sensible choice of variant in ANHC. It has everything you need. The additional features in V are nice to have features.

Hey,

Well, as monkey_wrench mentioned, the stock system in the SMT is decent; I have had no problems with the radio or playing songs on the USB. Most of the music I have has audio bit rate at 256 kbps so doesn't really have a problem at high volume. The speakers suffice too.

I think the SMT has most of the things you need; but then one member on the forum got an Exclusive model; which looks stunning with chrome sashing on the door.

monkey_wrench, how about an upgrade to Exclusive?!

[monkey_wrench]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

monkey_wrench, how about an upgrade to Exclusive?!

Hahahahaha! I wish! Those EMIs aren't gonna forget about me anytime soon!

[charthom]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

hi folks.. thought I'd post my experience with my new red honda city 1.5 SMT.

Libran,read your ownership thread,now. Nice,precise review. Seems like most guys have red colour on ANHC.Even I had no problem with red- but the lady of the house vetoed it!! We had a red Santro-she wanted another colour.

Looking forward to the updates you promised.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by charthom

Libran,read your ownership thread,now. Nice,precise review. Seems like most guys have red colour on ANHC.Even I had no problem with red- but the lady of the house vetoed it!! We had a red Santro-she wanted another colour.

Looking forward to the updates you promised.

Thank you

Within 2 weeks, there will much more on this thread.

The red colour is an interesting story. Parents did not want white ans silver since all our cars have had those colours and this being our first sedan, we wanted to indulge. When they'd gone to book the City, the UT wasn't available yet. Which left black, red and beige. Now black was ruled out so I suggested red. Now the dealer probably didn't have red SMT with him so he gave folks all sorts of reasoning - red will absorb a lot of heat, a/c won't be effective blah blah.

I was firm on red and soon folks were too and red it is! Though had UT been available then, that would in our garage.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Though had UT been available then, that would in our garage.

The Urban titanium color was launched just a week after we booked our ANHC in October 2010. I would also have gone for this color; it looks so perfect on Honda City and adds further exclusivity. But overall I still will rate Habanero Red as best color for ANHC. (Not because I own one but I have compared it with my brother in law's ANHC).

PS - It's been quite long since you updated the thread, waiting for some nice snaps.

And yeah be prepared for the worst humid weather conditions here in Gurgaon/NCR.

[libranof1987]

Hello fellas!

So, I finally got back to my doll; have clicked tons of pics but have strict orders to sleep now as we leave for Valley of Flowers at 5am tomorrow.

For starters, here's are 2 teasers!

[charthom]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Hello fellas!

So, I finally got back to my doll; have clicked tons of pics but have strict orders to sleep now as we leave for Valley of Flowers at 5am tomorrow.

For starters, here's are 2 teasers!

Libran-immaculate- while you are there at the valley of flowers,the valley will definitely appear to have one more flower!! A fairly big, red, heavenly one. Wish she smells heavenly too there-what car perfume do you have?!

Libran, all the best for the journey- in Swamy Rama's "Living with the Himalayan Masters" there is a chapter in which he claims that he and a fellow Japanese pilgrim got intoxicated at the valley of flowers and even forgot their identities.

Please retain yours,preserve your driving skills and drive safe!! May God bless you and your family- enjoy!!

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by charthom

Libran-immaculate- while you are there at the valley of flowers,the valley will definitely appear to have one more flower!! A fairly big, red, heavenly one. Wish she smells heavenly too there-what car perfume do you have?!

Charthom buddy, you sure have a way with words!

About the car's perfume, she still smells new!

Please retain yours,preserve your driving skills and drive safe!! May God bless you and your family- enjoy!!

Thanks a ton buddy!

[bluevolt]

Hi Nishad,

I feel very happy whenever I see any habanero red beauty. And your ride looks as beautiful as mine. I am also coming back to my place this Friday and will meet my Venus after long time.

Waiting for the travelogue and lots of snaps.

Wishing you happy and safe journey. Good Luck.