Sunday, March 01, 2009

..and the solution

For Milk Allergy, the ped has now recommended a solution called Pediasure. Available in India as powder. We have been using it for 3 days now. Good results so far. The boy likes it and the allergy symptoms are much better.

On the car, I have test driven the following cars:
Logan: No go. They do not have the 1.6 l version for a test drive. No test drive, no sale. Simple.

Dezire: I have a diesel allergy. The company apparently only provides the diesel variant for a test drive, even if you want a petrol buy. But because it was the Dezire, we took a test drive nonetheless. The suspension is the best that i have encountered yet. The backseat space is 10 on 10. Seats are not collapsible. But the car did not purr in my hands. The rear view is bad and even in the highest end variant, the rear view mirrors cannot be adjusted electronically. The On Road price is about 6.3 lakhs ex Gurgaon. At 440 litres, the boot is spacious and adequate.
My main problem with the car is that there's just too much fume inside the cabin. The diesel variant definitely has a lot of diesel in the cabin. The plastic quality is expectedly tacky and the performance with AC suffers like in all Suzuki cars.
Its a good value for money vehicle and packs the most space in really small exteriors. The turning radius is big though, and not easy at all.

The Linea: Oh, this one is a babe from the word Go! She is responsive, purrs on the road, is sluggish with the AC on, has an excellent display panel for the driver and the controls are conveniently placed. The boot space at 500 litres is both great and well designed. But, the jackpot is that the rear seats are completely collapsible and when we did that, we found that there was enough place for the baby to play, sleep and in general, just more of a space thing for a child than the standard car seats. To me, thats important because Ishaan gets really restless in a car and quite covets the steering wheel.
The only thing that scares me is the spares and service quality.

Skoda Fabia: The car of dreams till one actually drove it. Too much engine noise. Everything else, perfect. Rich with features and the kerb weight sits lightly on the 1.2 l engine also. There is enough pep and on the highway, the car really revs and goes. But its not a city babe. She's a country dame, and in the country she is a pleasure. In the city, a pain. The handling is easy and responsive. Suspension a pleasure. Boot at 300 litres is enough, though not designed for those deep big suitcases. Rear seats are fully collapsible again. Great for a mother lugging groceries and baby in the same space. :-)

Honda City: Why, oh why, would Honda not provide basics like alloy wheels in the highest end variant of the City? Why is this car such a dissapointment? 1100 kilos of kerb weight on a 1500 cc engine means decent mileage, but not that "solid" feeling. Bad suspension. Poor ride quality. In general, just a dissapointment in a big way.

There, thats my review. What do u think?

7 comments:

OG said...

good that your kid is better..
and regarding cars... i have no idea on these new models... :)

iamnasra said...

Im glad that your baby is getting better and you git medicine for milk allergy ..I could think how a baby could get an elllergy from milk

Z said...

I hope Ishaan continues to thrive, nothing is more worrying than a baby who is poorly. Bless him. I want to come to India to give him a kiss (and you).

Looks like the Linea, if you can be reassured about servicing. I suppose you have no laws about safety seats for children? We've got altogether too many.

Indian Home Maker said...

Glad the baby is getting better. My son was allergic to milk and lived on Soya Milk, for the first two years...

By the way,
YOU HAVE BEEN TAGGED!

EXSENO said...

The only one that I know about is the Honda. I had one and I loved it. Mine road smoothly and got good gas millage. Never had any problems with it needing any work until it got really old.
Then it was a problems no one here wanted to work on them.

mathew said...

i dont know much about cars.but look wise i hate the logan..though i love honda city and linea.:)

Mampi said...

I would still go for the Dezire thingy. I am a diesel fan.