Automobile Technology

Wow! what a huge difference in experience and ambience inside the car. Its simply spot on. I now feel a lot of things wrong in the Ciaz that is well done in the Verna. Let me explain.. I was able to reach the pedals with ease. For your reference, I am 5.6 and I did not have any difficulty reaching the pedals, but the clutch did feel a little harder than in Ciaz (same with the gear handle).  The dashboard is well designed. There is a good view from the driver's seat. In Ciaz, I felt like the dashboard was too high and a tad bulky. Finish and quality is premium. In Ciaz, you will see cheap plastic being used that is prone to scratches and damage. Boot space is awesome! This is an important criteria for me, and for some reason it seemed a little more than the Ciaz.. could be because of lesser wheel intrusion??? Engine is super responsive. I don't think I have to add more to this. The cabin is silent and the suspension feels a little stiff. The rear space is d

I finally got to test drive the Ciaz, Petrol. Having watched so many reviews, the one thing that concerned me was performance. So, I had three of my colleagues accompanying me and the test drive was basically on full load - i.e five of us in the car including the representative from Maruti Suzuki. Started the engine and pushed the pedal all the way down.. and as I had expected the output was very linear. It was not thrilling to drive and for obvious reasons; a 1400 cc engine and a big car.. what do you expect? But, it is not very boring either. I did not experience any lag, the gear shifts were super smooth and the clutch was light too. Overall, very good for city commute. And yes, we were wowed looking at the boot capacity. Ciaz definitely has loads of space.  Few other things concerned me. I am 5.6 ft and I had to pull the seat all the way to the front to be able to reach the pedal. Due to this, my head was almost touching the roof and the driver armrest goes way back and o

Ok, its been a daunting task but I have finally narrowed down to three sedans and a hatchback. The reviews from AutoPortal and AutoCar took a toll on me. Honestly though, I think I am loving the reviews of AutoPortal more than AutoCar as I feel it is more elaborate and covers most aspects of a car. Maybe it is also because most reviews on AutoPortal starts with the boot space; one of the most important criteria for me in a car ;-). Anyways, my list stands at the new Honda Jazz 2015, Hyundai Verna NS, Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, all petrol versions. I mainly considered Jazz and Ciaz for the CVT option. The other two cars offer automatic transmission as well, but way out of my budget. I am ok with a manual on Ciaz too. If its Jazz, then its got to be automatic for sure. Honda claims a better mileage in the automatic version, so it does not hurt to spend those extra bucks.  Lets get to the cars. Ciaz: Ciaz is definitely loaded with a tonne of features. In fact it is