Pure Exhilaration

Toyota maybe the world's leading car manufacturer, but in India Honda is by far the better acknowledged of the two, thanks to their space-age car design and the punctuality with which they introduce new cars or upgrade existing ones.

One look at the 7th generation Civic or the 8th generation Accord is enough to make you absolutely certain that there are a bunch of smart automobile engineers sitting in Honda HQ. Ever since it was introduced, the Civic had been my dream car.  It was introduced at a time when things like Paddle Shifts were jargons only hard-core F1 enthusiasts knew anything about. But suddenly you have a D-segment car sporting it!! I dont think competition has recovered from that blow yet. Granted that Honda products are over-priced. But over-hyped they are not!! If I am singing paeans about their products it is because visually and technically they knock the socks off the competition.

Today, I made my dream a reality. I bought a Misty Violet Civic 1.8 V manual.

To me, the decision was a no-brainer. I test drove the Innova before and the Jetta after driving the Civic and neither came close to the sheer visual magnificence, the irresistible appeal and the Pure Exhileration that the sight of a Civic's contours conjurs up. I gave the Optra a skip since it hardly sells these days and resale value is next to nothing. The Skoda Laura looked good and was impressive technically, but I am not convinced about the company's long-term commitment to India. Their cars are still mostly imported or assembled and therefore the cost of aquisition and maintenance are disproportionate to their pecking order in the automotive world, though Skoda  is perceived as a luxury brand in India.

The main reasons why I decided on the Civic are:

- Stunning appearance. Look at it from any angle (except maybe from bottom up) and it never ceases to awe you.

- The engine - 1.8 iVTEC with 132ps is kick-ass and a class-leader. It is also very quiet and, I hear, reasonably well-mannered when it comes to drinking fuel.

- The driver's seat. The dash and the steering are ethereal. The tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel takes laymen like me closest to an F1 experience as they can get.

- Big bang for your buck - Dual Airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, Automatic Climate Control, 6-CD intergated Audio with 6 speakers, Leather Upholstry, an out-of-the-world dashboard among other minor things like electrically retractable ORVMs, integrated turn-indicators etc

I do not take delivery of the car until two more weeks from now. From what I hear, mileage is pretty decent at around 10kpl in city - I will confirm this once I lay my hands on the dream machine.

The only grouses I ever hear are:

- low ground clearance - Honda claims 170mm. VW claims 152mm for Jetta and it looked definitely better than Civics. So there is some mistake in the way GC is calculated. Those claimed numbers contradict what you actually see.

- Limited boot space - with that elongated wheel-base this was bound to happen. But at least that extra space went into the passenger cabin!!

- After Sales Service - this is something I am wary of now, but with a 4 year 80000km warranty, I am pretty sure nothing major will break down too soon.

So then, Pure Exhileration it is. Driving the Civic is something I look forward to with so much anticipation. No other car in its class can give you that intoxicating feeling of seeing the digital speedo race past 60-100-150 in the blue ambient light of the dash. I hope I can still hold on to my civic-sense when I get hold of the car....

To be Continued...

Class-Leading Design, Rev-Happy Engine, Excellent Resale ValueLimited Bootspace, Low Ground Clearance