Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Definitely Man!

BIG TYRES.....WOW..that was my first thought on seeing the SX4 ZXI first in white robes. Armed to the core with leather seats(optional), Climatronic, ABS, Airbags...all for 7.12 lakhs INR ex-showroom Dibrugarh. Man is Maruti joking? Or seriously are we gonna see more SX4s than 1.4 Fiestas ? Or Esteems for that matter.....Lets be a bit more Inquisitive and see how much this Man amongst the lasses have the balls!

Design/Engineering:

Run Honda Run! Like the City (Jazz) and the Fiesta (Fiesta), the SX4 is derived from a hatchback platform (Swift). Those who are familiar with Fiats will recognise the front end treatment first seen in the Sedici 4x4 crossover and the Suzuki SX4 hatchback. Very proportioned surfaces and finishing; the quarter-glass kink which makes the car easily distinguishable from a distance. The ZXi gets manly 16-inch wheels with 205/60 rubber, while the VXi gets 15-inch wheels with 195/65s. . Despite the long overhang at the rear, the SX4 has the profile of a notchback . Colour schemes are good and vibrant in dressing, but SX4 looks pretty flamboyant in Arctic White.

Interiors: Honda is safe!

Similar to Sedici again, very functional and swooping. Finally an integrated stereo with steering-mounted controls , adjustable steering wheel, automatic climate controland extremely comfortable seats. Two plasto-chrome strips line the centre console and mild beige two tone interiors, adding to the ‘expensive and sporty’ look. Dials are Swiftly Orange and clear. Lots of parts shared witht the Swift, means some parts are out of place in a car like this, notably the mirror controls and the . While the rear room is more than adequate, the elbow room for the driver and front passenger is left wanting. A very agreeable place to spend time in and the tall stance means getting in and out is easier too.

ENGINE?TRANSMISSIONS:

Settle in the comfortable seat, adjust the mirrors, fire the motor and you are in for an audible surprise. Unlike the previous Suzuki engines, this one makes its presence felt. You can pick up the valve gear and other mechanical noises. The new 16-valve M16A motor displaces 1586cc and it generates 102 bhp at 5500 rpm and 14.5 kgm of torque at 4200 rpm.

Under hard acceleration , the SX4 managed to dismiss 60 kph in 5.13 seconds and did a 100 kph run in 12.6 seconds. It is quicker than the 77bhp City ZX but nomatch to 100 bhp City VTEC. But surprisingly, the SX4 motor is quicker in the 100-140 kph run compared to the VTEC. Max speed garnered was 166 kmph on odo by me as Agra roads are devil's paradise!. The Gear lever from Swift(Again) feels substantial, but needs hard shove to slot in. Gearing is tall...2nd good for upto 96 kph! But Honda excels in the driveability, as seen in previous tests, and overall performance figures are in the difference of 1-2.4 secs max.


RIDE/HANDLING: RUN HONDA! AGAIN

190 mm ground clearance, large profile tyres; means this is a highway star! The UPSIDC roads which have huge pimples on their surfaces brought out the fact that this car can take any thing at high speeds, but at lows and mediums, this can prove quite handful, tossing you about in the cabin.

Good cornering comes naturally for cars from the Swift platform. The SX4 hatch is about to be unleashed into the WRC circuit early next year too. Similar JK Vectras and soft tuning meant decent cornering abits and great straight line stability.

EFFECIENCY: Combined for both: City- approx 8.5 kpl; Highway- approx 13.6 kpl!

VERDICT: Surely Go For This one! Its got a lot of character, cheaper than even the Gxi trim City, and better service network means effortless ownership experience. The new car did creep up with a few out of the place rattles, common to all Maruits, but thats not a deterrent to refrain from this technological safety tour de force.

P.S: Honda, Get ABS+Front twin aribags soon! Or prepare to lose your Kinghood!

Kindly Note: Pics Sourced: Still not purchased that much needed cam! Need sponsors :D

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