The drive was quite comfortable. I’m a sedate driver for sure but that was also because I was being extra cautious driving such a big vehicle coming from the Jazz.
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Did a test drive of the Savvy Pro yesterday. I really liked it. To put in perspective, I am coming from a Honda Jazz. I also did quite a few test drives of other cars in the last few months. Here’s my thoughts:
- The drive was quite comfortable. I’m a sedate driver for sure but that was also because I was being extra cautious driving such a big vehicle coming from the Jazz. I took the car through some narrow and undulating roads and also had to take some off-road detours when the road was blocked by a bulldozer. The ride was very comfortable.
- Being a big car I was concerned around how easy it would be to handle and it was really quite good. The visibility is pretty good with the ORVMs and even stopping and reversing during a U Turn on a narrow road felt comfortable due to the 360 deg camera. The camera resolution is good and no complaints on it. In perspective, the Slavia reverse camera quality was poor and you can immediately notice it. No such issues here.
- The word “rubber band effect” sounds scary but in reality it was fine. Yes it wasn’t instant power like in the Slavia 1.5 DCT but you can’t really expect that for a car this size. I didn’t find it to be an area of concern. Its the way this car drives and we will get used to it. In fact, I noticed a similar “lag” in the Jeep Compass petrol as well. Maybe its the norm for big petrol cars on 1.5L engines.
- I saw forum posts and reviews about the steering feeling light. I didn’t find such issues. It felt responsive and good. Maybe this would be more noticeable in a highway drive but for city usage its fine. I am a sedate driver so maybe that matters as well.
- I was surprised to hear engine noise when I pushed the car the first couple of times. I expected much better NVH levels. However, towards the end of my 40 min test drive I was hardly noticing it. Not sure if it will be a problem during longer drives on highways.
- The touchscreen lag looked pronounced in videos but usage in person its quite decent. I would say its 90% there but obviously not butter smooth. CarPlay worked well. Music sounds great!
- The SA was a bit confusing when it came to BS6 Stage 2 norms. She mentioned that all Sharp Pro pre-bookings were delivered and more would come this month. For Savvy Pro she mentioned that they are waiting for the BS6 norms to go-live in April and they want to certify Savvy Pro for that and then start deliveries. Not sure how legit this theory is because both trims share the same engine. She wasn’t able to give a satisfactory explanation on asking further questions.
- The horn seemed fine. Not sure what people are complaining about. Then again, Im coming from a Jazz which has a weak horn.
All in all, i quite liked the car and I have a booking for Savvy Pro which I may change to Sharp Pro because I don’t think I need ADAS Level 2 which I will mostly not use for city travel.
A major blocker for me is the size of my driveway. Tried parking the Hector into that and I barely had enough space to open the door and squeeze out.
Keyword: A Honda Jazz owner drives the 2023 MG Hector & shares 8 observations