STYLE, COMFORT & GOOD VALUE

Exterior

Beautiful to behold styling.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

Well designed and comfortable seats, front and rear that aid in fatigue free journeys. Rear seat knee room is good for an average height (5'9"ft) person like me, with a cossetting effect that has me dozing off there very easily. Poor standard music system prompted me to upgrade to a more powerful Pioneer amp. with larger speakers from the accessories shop. Love the steering controlls which still work well even after 24000Kms. Classy instrumenntation that look great in day and night. Good gadetary for the money, but 'hi-beam' adjust should have been a degree higher for fast night time highway crusing..

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox 

Love the torquey nature of the engine, specially during steep hill climbs, where the Linea with load can out pace some better powered petrol sedans. Very good fuel economy for such a large and heavy vehicle, specially on the highway and also the hills. I achieved an average of 17.9 KMS/Lit on a tank full to tank full measure on a trip to Gangtok from Guwahati with average speeds of 108 KM/Hr on the flat stretches with the AC on 99% of the time! But the gear change does  baulk sometimes which is irritating at low speeds and when driving in stop-start traffic condition. Upto speeds of 120 KM/HR the engine sounds OK, but feels a little strained beyond that.

Ride Quality & Handling

Excellent, well damped ride comfort specially at speed, though sharp bumps can be heard but not felt. The vehicle handles with such poise and controll which inspires confidence. I'm always amazed at the speeds at which I am able to attack the twists and turns on hilly roads with the vehicle conering flat and no tryre squeel. Mid turning bumps and pot holes have never been able to throw this vehicle off its track.

Final Words

The great combination of the torquey engine ( once the turbo kicks in), and well controlled handelling were let down by the poor ground clearance specially when I hit rough partches of road or scraping the under carriage on higher than normal speed breakers, where I would have to reduce to crawling speeds. I managed to overcome this by fitting 16 inch alloy rims and having the suspension raised by another 2 CM's. Overall a well engineered, well built vehicle that is sadly let down by the quality of after sales service. I was charged Rs. 4000/- by their Guwahati based Dealer - Ghosh Brothers - against an engine oil change at the 3rd scheduled service,  but this was not done. At the time of taking delivery the work shop manager just plain refused to accept the fact, so i had this job redone at another work shop at additional cost.

Areas of improvement  

The ground clearance definately needs to be increased. The quality of the gear change needs to be more slick and precise. The throw of the headlights should be a little higher and stretch a little more into the distance since the low throw of the beam is a hindrance to confident high speed driving on open Highways at night.

Great long distance cruiser, with good fuel economy. Superb ride comfort and stability. Solid build.Odd steering Wheel height. Glove bod lid comes off sometimes.