The beauty and the beast

I've booked the SX4. The choice was a cinch - there were no real alternatives in the price range. Did quite a bit of research though - I guess you automatically become cautious when an EMI (although only for 18 months) is going to load you for the first time in life. The research only double-confirmed by decision.

Here's one comment in an expert Car Reviews forum that definitely went in favor. I didn't know such a great car related forum existing in India. What is really surprising is the forum never really comes up in any search - probably because it's page rank is lesser than that of my blog (??!!). You know you are in the right hands when people use an impossible number of abbreviations. I've expanded each one in brackets in the evaluation below.

This car is incredible. If the FE (Fuel efficiency) can get to the 11 kmpl mark, I don't see the petrol Fiesta and Verna, and even the NHC (New Honda City), left with any real reason to exist. If you slam it down 20 mm, and fiddle with the suspension, this car will be track ready, and how! Tight chassis, nice mill, good GC (Ground Clearance), Maruti's legendary A.S.S. (After Sales Service), this car has it all. At a price that's lower than its main competition by a lakh or so. If I had to buy a petrol A3/C segmenter, this would be it. Small gripes include the overenthusiatic ABS, the too-high GC, the hollow feel the rear doorpads have, the Swiftness of the whole car, the gripless OE tyres. But still, incredible VFM.

The forum is infested with people who wheel-spin, stress test, and even participate in Raid de Himalayas. You get the drift.

VFM (Value for Money) was pretty much what I was looking for. I don't think I would've fell for the snob value or spend this much on a car right now if SX4 hadn't been from Maruti. Let me see how things go from here. The car apparently goes to 98kmph in the second gear and 145kmph in the third. Wonder what one should do with the 4th and the 5th gear.

Some of the things that make you long for life.

P.S: Wrote all this down and then had this feeling that I shouldn't post this coz it's getting personal, but figured wtf!