Yes, the beast isn’t your weapon of choice to cut through city traffic, but the ride is plush on good surfaces and the (8+1) audio system is simply phenomenal.
BHPian anup996 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Me, myself and a car:
Once upon a time in a land far down South, in God’s own country, there lived a 41 year old who worked with the Government and drove a Santro. Yes, a common man, but no – not Srikant Tiwari (wink emoji). The 2003 Santro Xing XE in silver was the last car that his father had purchased and the emotional attachment towards the car made him hold on to it. In fact,, he had even got it re-registered after the 15 year registration period. However, the upkeep was becoming an issue and the safety features that were limited to having brakes and seat belts was playing on his mind as well. His other car was a Ford Fiesta 1.4 Sxi which he no longer had access to, due a change in his marital status. So come the year 2021 when his employer announced an auto loan scheme at an interest rate that was about half the market rate, he decided to take the plunge and acquire a new set of wheels. It was September, he had just got married again and his partner was all for an upgrade in the transport section. Thus began his quest to buy a new car.
He started out by limiting himself to the loan amount provided by the organization which was Rs. 8.0 lakhs. The intended use for the car was the daily round commute of 5 km (no, not a typo) and there would be a 500 km drive that could be bi-monthly at best if not at longer intervals. He was open to pre-owned cars, but this was shot down by the home minister who wanted a new car as she felt that it would run trouble-free for longer. Her bad experience with a second hand Esteem many moons ago was the reason and so the criteria was fixed – the car had to be a new purchase. After initially shortlisting the i10 Nios and the Altroz, they decided on the Altroz. Now this was the time when spy pictures of the rumored Altroz turbo/automatic were being posted on forums. Also the fact that this was a car that they were going to use for at least 10 years made them re-evaluate the budget and their choices. The budget got a significant upgrade to Rs. 20 lakhs and the choice of transmission was made – the new car had to have an automatic transmission. The better half possessed a valid driving license, and having an automatic meant she could drive if she felt like it, such as when on the highways. In came a new set of cars – the Ecosport, Nexon, Venue, Creta and the Seltos. As a wild card entrant, they also included the new Honda City, the lone sedan in the ring. The Ecosport went first, as rumours of the Ford-Mahindra JV collapsing were everywhere on the interwebs. The Nexon was eliminated next because the better half did not like the way it looked. Small but significant issue as people see the car with us inside when we travel, said the better half – and the man like all husbands who love their wives did not argue with such sound logic. There are unconfirmed reports that he might have made an aside about “The things I do for love” before moving on.
The Venue was nice to drive and the turbo variant was immediately shortlisted. Test driving the City was as exciting as drinking tepid tea. They felt that this was one product made in a boardroom, full of tired experienced men in black suits who wanted to make a sensible sedan, one that would completely insulate the driver from the world and as far as possible, from the car itself. However, the back seat comfort was excellent and they decided that once they were old and rich (in no particular order), the City would be their choice for being chauffeured around in the city (stifled laugh emoji). The Creta was eliminated only because it looked strange. Now this was something they both agreed upon as they found the design far too busy and full of unnecessary creases and design details. Only the rear looked acceptable to them but the nose – there was no excuse, said the better half, an artist by profession. The best selling SUV in India may have 6,00,000 owners who think otherwise, but they thought that if they were spending that kind of money, the car needed to look good to their eyes right from day one and not have to have the looks grow on them. However, the Creta was rated higher than the Seltos as the rear seat comfort was markedly better.
The sales consultant of the Seltos, on the other hand, was head and shoulders above all the others they had interacted with till then. The depth of knowledge, proactive attitude and dedication was a far cry from the lackluster manner which the Hyundai sales consultants exhibited during the Venue/Creta test drives. They actually felt bad to let the Kia sales consultant know that they were passing over the Seltos. After going through the mind-boggling combinations that Hyundai offers for practically every vehicle (fuel/transmission/variant), the Venue emerged as the eventual winner and money changed accounts. As the protagonist had a cousin who worked with Hyundai in Corporate Sales, he was promised early delivery of a Venue S Turbo in white with dual tone roof. It almost came as a relief to finally arrive at a decision, as the test drives had been taxing affairs, and most of their evenings for close to a month were spent on test drives/ comparing/ debating features/reading everything on Team BHP on the specific car/watching reviews on YT/ having arguments and debates with the 99 other colleagues who were also buying cars based on the loan scheme. All seemed well in the land of Chinese fishing nets, but the One above had different ideas.
A week later the cousin let him know via a Whatsapp message that a new model from Hyundai was due to launch soon. Neither the protagonist nor his wife were really inclined to go through the whole process again, but then the cousin sent a few YouTube links of a car – the i20 facelift. After one whole week of online research (and positive reinforcement from the said cousin), they decided to take a leap of faith and requested the dealer to change their car preference to the unpriced/untested i20 facelift. They attended the launch party and had pictures taken in front of the showroom car. However, the question as to when they would get the car was left unanswered, “We are having some technical difficulty in reaching the driver of the truck transporting your vehicle, please give us a few days’ time” was the parroted answer. After a series of escalations, an absolutely unbelievable (but later verified as true) reason was given by the dealer over the phone. Long story short, they cancelled the order and the amount paid was refunded. Now they were left with making the choice once again. Not wanting to do anything else and feeling drained by the whole experience they booked the Seltos. They were elated and felt justified in placing an order with the Kia sales person, who had put his heart and soul into his job. They were given a reasonable delivery timeline of about a month and they were happy to finally bring the issue to closure. That is when they truly found out that the One above had a wicked sense of humor.
Three days after making the Seltos booking, the Global New Car Assessment Program results were published. They were literally shell-shocked to see the Seltos being awarded with just 3 stars for adult protection. The part in the report where it spoke about the Seltos body shell and footwell as being rated “unstable” and “not capable of withstanding further loadings” was the final nail in the coffin. With a heavy heart, they contacted the sales executive and cancelled the Seltos booking. At times they wonder how many of the 2,00,000 or so Seltos owners feel about their (Rs. 18 lakh) car post the test results, but that is a debate for another day. When contacted for the cancellation, the Kia executive had nothing to say about the Global NCAP ratings, and even in the trying situation was extremely gracious and helped out in getting a quick and full refund of the amount paid. Some things – just aren’t to be, as someone once said. The better half asked the protagonist to take a breather from the car purchase process and restart with a clean slate after some time. As all good husbands do, he proceeded to do just that.
A week passed and the common man had still not taken up the car hunt again. It was during this time that a colleague told him of a test drive she had taken of the Jeep Compass. The colleague was very impressed with the test drive and had shortlisted it. The Compass was not in the protagonist’s budget and hence was never test driven. However his colleagues’ words intrigued him and while on a visit to his in-law’s place he requested for a test drive of the vehicle. It was a holiday and they were pleasantly surprised when the test drive vehicle arrived on time. It was a white Compass Petrol in the Limited Plus trim. This was in 2020 November, and rumours of the facelift had just started to trickle in. Right from the start of the drive, the calm and composed manner in which the Compass handled the rough patches of road was made strikingly clear. The wife had asked her mother to come along and the mother, a senior citizen, later testified that the rear seat was very comfortable. The sheer quality of the vehicle was evident. This was a test drive vehicle with more than 10,000 kms on the odometer but there were no sounds inside the cabin. Not a single rattle, shake or squeak. The white leather interiors looked none the worse for wear and the single standout feature for all of them was the (Frequency Sensing Damping) suspension. The better half was deeply impressed by the button the passenger could use to safely bring the vehicle to a stop in any unprecedented situation. No other vehicle had that feature (the MG Astor wasn’t around then) and the better half discussed this feature at length with her immediate family. The engine felt responsive enough and the huge list of active and passive safety features that were standard across the range was amazing, to say the least. Initially they had discounted the sales person’s line “We are not aiming at Hyundai/Kia, we are in fact competing with the German Trinity” – the test drive proved otherwise. The design was definitely understated and in terms of number of facile and fancy features, the Seltos/Creta simply wiped the floor with the competition. However, in terms of safety, build quality, ride and sheer premium feel, the Compass was in a league of its own. The count of vehicles in Kerala (17) labelled as “Total Write Off” by insurance agencies Vs fatalities (0) was a startling piece of information that validated the 5 star Euro NCAP rating. It was almost as if nothing could happen to you or your family if you were in a Jeep. To quote part of the marketing line “There’s Only One” . Then started another quest to stretch the budget to accommodate the Compass. However due to a number of reasons, this effort did not reach fruition. At times reality hurts, and with heavy hearts they said goodbye to the Compass.
Another week had passed and the protagonist was still in heartbreak mode, when the thought came to him – if not the Compass, why not the next best thing – the car with the Compass’ heart? That thought brought them to the diesel Harrier with the same 2.0 liter engine powering the Compass, albeit mated to a (better tuned) Hyundai transmission. A quick test drive and they made the decision. Though it was a bit of a stretch, they finally brought home their new car, a Harrier XZA+ in Sparkle Cocoa. Yes, the beast isn’t your weapon of choice to cut through city traffic but the ride is plush on good surfaces and the (8+1) audio system is simply phenomenal. Yes, they do miss features like the tyre pressure monitoring system/wireless Android Auto/ powered tailgate and ventilated seats with memory function, but hey these could well be the upgrades on the 2022 Harrier, along with the petrol engine. No, the handling does not hold a candle to the Compass, and though not officially crash tested under any NCAP the vehicle being based on a watered down optimized Jaguar Land Rover platform and the fact that other Tata vehicles have excellent safety ratings gave them a degree of peace of mind. The daughter loves the panoramic sunroof, and likes to have just the inside part open when it rains. She feels like she is in the rain but is not getting drenched. The pandemic around the world was one factor that has seen the vehicle log just 6000 kms, but it has been a completely safe, uneventful and hassle free experience. No leaking sunroof, no fuel tank with missing bolts, no misbehaving entertainment unit – everything’s shipshape. The common man was even surprised to see the mileage figures on the information screen show 19.1 kmpl on a highway run, and the overall mileage with only city duties stands at 10 kmpl. As on date (04.12.21), it has been exactly a year since the Harrier came home – the One above seems to have finally given his approval.
This is my first post, thank you for reading.
The old and the new:
Keyword: My experience: How I ended up buying a Tata Harrier AT