Big cars can be severely underutilized | Sold Innova Crysta, got Glanza | Have you ever "downsized"?

To recognize the crushed for this decision, I person to supply a little car purchasing past of my family. Our archetypal car was a Maruti 800 from which we moved to a Hyundai i20 petrol. That car was utilized a batch and we liked Korean cars, truthful my dada went up and got the Creta 1.6 SX manual diesel variant. Even though the car has been sold for much than 2 years now, it holds a peculiar spot successful my heart, due to the fact that it is the car successful which I learned to drive.

Towards the past fewer years of the Creta's ownership, idiosyncratic circumstances became specified that we were managing 2 households and the deficiency of an other car was truly starting to beryllium felt. And truthful began the hunt for a 2nd car to the Creta. While maine and my dada initially started looking for compact sedans and hatchbacks, we thought wherefore not spell for a higher terms point, truthful we get the feeling of an upgrade from the Creta?

Up until that point, our household had lone owned manual cars, truthful this adjacent large car would besides beryllium an automatic top-end variant. We began looking astatine assorted options successful the 7-seater category. My begetter did a trial thrust of the Tata Safari and liked the car, truthful helium made a booking for it. Somehow, destiny intervened and our car transportation began to get severely delayed. This was astir the clip Sanju Techy (the now-famous Kerala YouTuber who made a excavation successful his Tata Safari) started making videos astir his horrible experiences with the car and dealership.

My dada began to ticker his videos and started to get disquieted astir spending a hefty 32 lakhs connected what present seemed to beryllium a instrumentality with highly questionable reliability. I told him to hold and spot if they would yet present the car. However, I excessively began to probe the car and go much acrophobic with each video I watched. So, 1 time maine and my dada decided to wage a sojourn to the Nippon Toyota showroom successful Kalamassery, Kochi, to cheque retired the Innova Crysta.

We had initially not considered the Innova due to the fact that we were turned disconnected by however communal the car was connected the roads. It besides had a expected antagonistic representation of being a taxi car, which did not beryllium good with america erstwhile we were initially looking astatine large cars. How our caput plays tricks connected us! The showroom acquisition was radically antithetic from each of the Tata dealerships we had visited (we had made bookings astatine aggregate dealerships due to the fact that of the hold with the archetypal one). Test drove the Innova and we were perfectly floored with however comfy the car was. Immediately aft the trial drive, we cancelled each of our concern with immoderate and each Tata dealerships and decided to spell up with the Crysta.

The car was delivered to america wrong immoderate clip and we were rather blessed for 2 years. This was each the mode backmost successful 2022. Now I volition stock my experiences regarding the car itself based disconnected of 2 years of owning the car. Since then, we person besides bought a Kia Seltos DCT, which influenced our determination to springiness disconnected the Crysta.

What I liked:

• The car perfectly excels astatine long-distance question and road cruising. The suspension eats up tiny oregon adjacent somewhat large undulations connected the roads and it conscionable flies done the road.
• Despite being a expected taxi vehicle, radical inactive cheque retired the car rather often (maybe due to the fact that it was the top-end variant). So nary complaints astir it being viewed arsenic a 'taxi vehicle.' Even if determination are, the car is truthful reliable that it hardly matters to maine anymore.
• The 2.4L diesel motor is simply a gem. Loves to rev and the gearbox works decently good with it. Overtaking and accelerating is simply a breeze connected this machine.
• It has small to nary gimmicks oregon unnecessary features. Many radical recovered this a large crook disconnected successful the car, but I loved however elemental it was.
• I recovered the brakes to beryllium rather crisp to the constituent wherever you benignant of person to beryllium a spot cautious astir however unit you are applying.
• Loved the information that Toyota gave agleam Halogen beams for the headlight and LED projectors for the low-beam. Makes for a champion of some worlds benignant of situation.
• As an idiosyncratic who likes cars, thoroughly enjoyed the dependable that motor makes upon acold starts and erstwhile revving it out.
• Despite being specified a premium offering, the car has small attraction and our household recovered astir work bills to beryllium tenable considering the size of the car.
• Interiors are done highly good and you volition consciousness your money's worthy successful the cabin.

What I didn't like:

• The car is BIG. I cognize I said my household was looking for a large car, but I deliberation we each collectively underestimated conscionable however large this cars feels connected the road. Adding to however horrible roads are successful Kerala, I often recovered myself feeling claustrophobic connected astir roads. This size besides means that parking is simply a chore. You perpetually person to marque definite that the tail-end of the conveyance is wide of obstacles and aft extended commutes successful the city, it becomes cumbersome. Overtakes besides necessitate a spot of other attraction arsenic you person to marque definite that the tail-end has crossed the car you are trying to overtake.
• Building connected the erstwhile constituent of a large car, the steering instrumentality besides has immoderate heft to it. Three constituent turns are not thing that I looked guardant to. Moreover, the conveyance is conscionable not astatine each agile. It prefers to beryllium driven a definite mode and immoderate deviation from that volition person you moving your full limb to crook the car the mode you privation to.
• Mileage is abysmal. I bash cognize that we could not expect large mileage considering conscionable however large the motor and car is. But I was rather dismayed to find retired however rapidly the motor guzzles substance aft our inaugural Kochi-Trivandrum trip. Our Creta gave america fantabulous mileage (15-19 kmpl) and the substance guzzling of the Innova was not thing that I was excessively blessed to see. Since the motor is besides precise anxious to rev, I recovered myself wrestling with the motor to get decent substance economy.
• Body rotation is acold excessively evident and affects driving assurance erstwhile ascending hills oregon taking curvy roads with spirited driving. This is perhaps, a nonstop effect of the ladder-frame chassis. A driver's effort to support a dependable enactment done a crook volition astir apt scare passengers arsenic the car tilts to 1 broadside similar a bus.
• Even though we upgraded to constituent speakers, the dependable strategy conscionable lacks that punch you want. I shudder to deliberation however atrocious the banal strategy connected a 32-lakh car is.

The Seltos GT arrives
So astir a twelvemonth into getting the Crysta, my dada decided to merchantability the Creta arsenic our trusty instrumentality had crossed 1,20,000 km. And we wanted an automatic variant of a akin size. We some ever wanted to cheque retired the Seltos due to the fact that of however value-for-money it was and it had go an instant deed successful India. After a trial thrust and a fewer different considerations we decided to spell up and publication the car.

The accomplishment of the Seltos showcased conscionable however unnecessary the Crysta was for us. Here is simply a little reappraisal of the Seltos:

What I liked:

• It is conscionable the close size for each of the drivers successful the family. Compact capable to thrust successful the metropolis and compression into parking spots, portion besides not compromising road stability.
• The 1.6L diesel motor is ample, amusive and astir importantly rather refined.
• The steering instrumentality complements the car's zippy nature, with it being airy and precise responsive.
• Coupled with the supra point, the suspension being connected the tighter broadside and you person a car that tin clasp a bully enactment each time long. The Seltos is truly amusive to thrust astir twisties and puts a grin connected my look everytime.
• The DCT gearbox is close and I didn't deliberation that it was excessively laggy oregon unresponsive.
• Paddle-shifters are seldom used, but are a bully diagnostic to person for the occasional burst of speed. Not that you NEED to usage the paddle shifters to get the downshift that you need.
• The compartment is spacious and the beforehand seats are ventilated, emotion that.
• The dependable strategy is astir apt 1 of the champion banal systems I person ever seen successful a car. I volition astir apt ne'er consciousness the request for an upgrade with it.

What I don't like:

• Too galore features, which don't truly extremity up being utilized by astir household members. Most of the time, they hide astir the ventilated seats and connectivity features. Kia could person chopped costs by not including truthful galore useless things.
• I americium good with LED for low-beams but consciousness that could person opted for halong bulbs for the high-beam.
• Suspension tin beryllium unsmooth astatine times and truly springiness rather a jerk if you don't expect a pothole successful the road. But I americium good with this due to the fact that it improves handling.
• Certain parts wrong the interior are wherever cost-cutting is evident. Not that determination are immoderate rattles oregon anything, it conscionable doesn't consciousness precise premium for having a terms of 22L on-road price.
• Kia someway thought the car needed disco lights astir the door's astatine nighttime and did not supply lights for immoderate of the doorway controls. Why bash they bash specified things?

What followed aft regular usage of the Seltos:
The Seltos precise evidently began to go the workhorse successful the family. It had ample footwear space, handling and show that was much than capable for what we required. My parent ne'er drove the Crysta, which efficaciously meant that the Crysta was a joyride for conscionable 2 retired of 3 drivers successful the family. It was besides overmuch superior to the Crysta successful presumption of mileage, which is however we ironically began to usage the Seltos alternatively of the Crysta for agelong drives.

I volition beryllium moving distant soon, which meant that it did not marque applicable consciousness to support maintaining the Crysta for the decreasing magnitude of rides it was being utilized for by conscionable 1 driver.

The determination to publication the Glanza
Wanting to enactment little of a strain connected our finances, we realized that what we needed to travel the Seltos arsenic the superior car was a reliable Japanese hatchback, with bully mileage and astir importantly, small-form factor. The Crysta had go a chore to thrust successful the metropolis and we truly wanted immoderate bid of caput with a smaller car. After immoderate research, we went astir and trial drove hatchbacks and sedans and came to the decision that the Glanza is precise bully for our usage case. I volition station a abbreviated reappraisal of the conveyance erstwhile it finished its archetypal service. We did look astatine different options from Suzuki, but their work has a estimation of being precise poor. And since we had an fantabulous acquisition with Nippon Toyota, we went up with the Glanza from there.

Lesson learned:
I consciousness that astir of the time, large cars are severely underutilized by astir buyers. The Crysta is meant to beryllium a tourer and not for commuting wrong the city. Furthermore, adjacent if 1 were to person regular agelong drives, large cars conscionable don't marque consciousness connected Indian roads. Sure we bash person expressways and decent highways, but astir of the clip you bash yet person to spell done smaller metropolis oregon colony roads. In summation to that, if you are not a operator who clocks a batch of kilometers with road driving, astir large cars are conscionable a large discarded of worldly and money. Over the full people of ownership, we hardly had 4 trips for the Crysta wherever we were capable to truly unleash its afloat potential.

For us, we were consenting to compromise connected that 'Big car' feeling for much relaxed driving. And personally, the full large car sentiment I deliberation is highly overrated. How agelong volition 1 support satiating oneself with that feeling, throwing distant wealth connected substance and glamour? Car driving continues to go much hard successful galore Indian cities. I accidental spell for the smallest car imaginable car that you are blessed with and prevention yourself a batch of currency and headache.