Proud of it !!!

...contd from last review

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

 

Engine Performance: Certainly not a car for the enthusiast but has adequate power for city as well as highway driving.  For any change into a higher gear (say 1->2 or 3->4), one should ensure that the rpm stays above 1500 after the gear change. This would result in a spirited drive. Gear shifts below that rpm will lead to low pick up, but interestingly the car doesn’t stall even if you change gears such that the resultant rpm is below the idle rpm(~850rpm). It is uncomfortable but possible to drive the car in city in just the 2^nd & 3^rd gears alone with a speed range of 0-60kmph. For highways in India, going at speeds above 140 kmph is taking too much of risk even on excellent roads like the golden quadrilateral. Till that speed the Manza is very smooth and stable. Beyond that I haven’t tried yet. Vibrations are surprisingly low for a diesel engine, thanks to CRDI technology and are felt only at cold starts and die down as soon as the engine is warmed up.

Fuel Economy: I got 13.3 kmpl in city (Bangalore) with 20% AC before the first servicing with normal diesel and 14kmpl in city with 5% AC after the second service. All measurements are strictly tank-full-to-tank-full and with diesel filled at the same petrol pump and the filling dispenser set to automatically stop when it is tank-full (to get rid of different perceptions of tank-full by the person filling the diesel). These FE figures are for a faster than normal driving style but not a racing style. For highways, fuel efficiency was as low as 16kmpl without AC when I was cruising at 135-140kmph and was as high as 19kmpl without AC when I was driving at around 100kmph. So aerodynamic drag plays a major role. Same is the case with my cousin’s Swift Diesel where very high speeds lead to drastically lower FE……good motivation to stick to the speed limits J

Gearbox: Gears shifts are a little harder than the swift/dzire but precise. Trick is to shift the gears exactly as listed and not take any shortcuts. For instance, to go from 3^rd to 2^nd bring down the lever to neutral, push it to the left completely and only then bring it down again to 2^nd gear. Any diagonal shift/shortcuts will lead to hard shifts. Ladies may still find the gears a little hard, but will easily get used to in a couple of weeks (based on feedback from wife and mom). Clutch is okay.

 

Ride Quality & Handling 

 

Ride Quality: Ride quality is very good for the front seat occupants and pampering for the rear seat occupants. I am very jealous of persons occupying the rear seats when I am driving the car. This car has the best back seat comfort this side of the Hyundai Sonata (~15+lakhs).  I sat in the Skoda Laura and rear seat comfort was still a mark below the Manza. Potholes are smoothened out and no body roll unless you are racing the car around corners.

Handling: Steering is so nice to use that you don’t really feel like you are driving a large car. But there are some minor steering corrections required on highways at speeds above 90kmph to keep the car in a straight line. Turning radius of 5.1m is pretty good compared to the huge dimensions of this car. Moreover, since the bonnet is small (aka Innova !), the car manages to turn in smaller spaces than one would imagine sitting in the driver’s seat. Most importantly, brakes are fantastic with the vehicle coming to a halt in a short distance without any side movement or rear losing ground contact. ABS is the icing on top.

 

Final Words Well, needless to say that we have a champion here. All major areas like comfort, safety, fuel efficiency and pricing have been covered very well. As stated previously, performance is adequate and the car is not meant for the racing types. But with more and more vehicles pouring on our roads, performance has really lost its significance. The car/bike to pull off first from a traffic light is also the first to stop at the next light!! If your budget is in the range of 6-13 lakhs and comfort, space and safety are the main reasons for buying a car, and you don’t get overtly upset about some minor issues with fit and finish, Manza is the best choice.

 

VFM, Space, Comfort, Safety, Style and Fuel EfficiencyNothing major