Aura Safire..Great Value for Money eventhough there are some small minus points

Dear All, I am a first timer to a car forum on a website. But regular reader of Carwale. After going thru lots of reviews and advices I opted the Vista Safire Aura model. Earlier I was having right from Maruti 800, Maruti Alto, Maruti Swift and Chevy Spark. All these cars really good in those catagories respectively. But none of them are really spacious for 5 people which I was really looking for.

When Vista Launched in 2008 I really liked the car but did not want to take a risk as it was relatively new model and decided to wait. After closely watching it thru car forums for one year I was some what satisfied that Vista Safire is good value for money car.

Finally I bought the Aura model (Marine Silver) from Concord, Chennai during Diwali season. The OTR price is 4.2 lacs after discount (Free insurance and exchange offer).

So far I have driven 900 Kms. The feel is really good. Like driving Sedan. Really spacious. Comfortable Driving postion (courtesy: Driver seat Hight Adujustment and Steering Wheel Adustment and also Lumber Support ( Only In vista in this catagory)). Road grip is excellent eventhough the wheel size is 13 Inches. If it would be 14 inches the ride quality would be much more better..but Mileage :(.

The heaviness of the car (more than one ton) is really good factor for steadyness on high speed but troubles the puny 1.2 FIRE engine a lot in initial pickups. I drove morea than 500 Kms in my 900 Kms on highway. After crossing 60 Kmph the story is entirely different. You can over take any vehicle. The pickup is excellent. But if you happen to apply break or reduce speed below 50 the entire momentum goes down and you need to step down the gears to regain the speed. The fun is lost by that time. This part is little irritating. You need to Rev the Engine hardly which may result lesser mileage. If you are very patient press the pedal gently to save some fuel. The breaking is excellent. Very crisp even on 100kmph you would feel confident while applying break. Gears are bit stiff (may be new car) but sharp. All my earlier cars including swift had problen in reverse gear. Never fell in slot in first push itself. But in Vista all gears fall in possiton with out any hiccups ( FIAT eh :-))

I felt some what irritated about the power steering of vista. Bit stiff and tough. The FUN of EPS in Swift is missing here. I drove Swift for 2 years. It was really fun to drive (only because of its power steering). Very effortles and confident cornering. But in Vista its missing. For this heavy car the power steering should be more effective. I hope this could be rectified in my first service.

In city drive the car pulls really good. Better than Swift. My swift needed frequent gear shift in city traffic. But Vista moves without any jerks even on 20kmph at 4th gear.(Think about its just 1.2 engine and its weight) The engine is really well tuned. 96 bhp at just 3500 rpm. I think its really good. Experts what you say?.

Where as in Swift even in 2nd gear in 20Kmph the engine would beg you to shift to 1st gear. Vista is really good for slow moving bumper to bumper traffic.

Above all...THE MILEAGE..Vista gave me just 12.5 KMPL on highway. I did not check in city. IT must be lower than that. But I drove with 100% AC on with 100 kmph almost.

Hope mileage would improve to atleast 15KMPL on highway.

My elderly parents and my grand ma really enjoyed the rear seat ride for more than 100 Kms journey because of more legroom and large rear seat. I feel...its better than any entry level sedans. Boot is ok. Sacrificed for passenger comfort in rear.

The company fit Clarion Music system is with average sound quality. On high volumes only it shows some grunt. otherwise its very normal.

Switch controls are much better than earlier indicas. The pedals are really smooth. No vibration on pedals like in Maruti Vehicles. Spark was good in that way. The rattle and vibration free car it is. The same is Vista too. I was really surprised that the Vista is really rattle free even on very bad roads. And there is no cabin noice too ( WROOOOM sound) on bad roads. But it was there in my all Maruti cars. The build quality is really good in Vista.

And one more important thing is the suspension. Vista's suspension is a way head from Swift. Too good suspension like luxury Sedans like Honda City ( Am I talking too much?...but true...)

My only concerns are Mileage of Safire engine and stiff steering wheel and low pickup which are pinching my Feeling Good Factor of this excellent car. But I am preparing to live with it since we all know NO ONE IS PERFECT.

Please give your valueable feedback for this first timer. The Vista Safire owners please share your thoughts and ideas too.

Thanks

Regards

Mathi

Comfort, stable on Highway speed, good features, Big car feel, Seat hight adjustment, Lumber supportStiff Power Steering, Low Mileage, Low pick up till 40 Kmph, body roll while cornering in highspeed