Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/15/2019 in all areas

  1. It's been a while since the last entry where I rambled on about the minor details but now for the all important part how does this actually drive. I've done over 5000 Km's now and I guess spend enough time with the car to give my honest feedback on how it handles etc. I'm not going to dwell on the statistics and figures since that is readily available on the internet - but for formalities sake the Civic comes with the P10A2 engine - Honda's 3 cylinder turbo charged engine which has somewhere between 125-130 BHP. So the overall driving experience ? Well it's adequate and after the break-in period it seems the car is actually quite eager than it was initially. There is a bit of turbo lag and coupled with the torque at low revs you feel a bit like driving a diesel ....no complaints though. A question I usually get from some people is whether this model comes with the much maligned DCT - well surprise surprise it does not. Honda have mated the P10A2 with a CVT. Of course there is always the manual and that is actually supposed to be great as per reviews from the UK - but considering I use this car to drive daily to and from work in the colombo traffic I had to be a masochist to opt for a manual (which I'm not - and god bless future me when I try to sell a manual in Sri Lanka ) . Those who have driven the GP5's and Graces know that the Dual clutch set up is actually a blast to drive - which is not the case with the CVT. My previous car also had a CVT gear box and frankly I'm not a fan of them at all. But then given how DCT's fared locally I guess having a rubbery CVT over a DCT setup is not a huge deal. All grades of the FK6 comes with paddle-shifters - now I know it's a bit funny to see paddle shifters and CVT in the same sentence but what the setup actually does is have more of a simulated shifting mechanism going when you use them. When you're in normal 'Drive' mode you can use the shifters to change gears but the car is too eager to override you and kind of spoils the fun. However if you change your gear to 'S' then the HUD will display an 'M' indicating that the car is ready to receive manual input and a blinking indicator also indicates when the time is right to shift up. Of course if you don't shift at the right moment the car will give you some time and after a while will override you. S mode, and the 7-Speed CVT with the shifters is a little fun time to time but I think it's there more as a gimmick to be perfectly honest. I will upload a video on this later on and update the entry. There is an ECO mode which can be enabled/disabled by a switch on the gear shifter console. Turning off the Eco mode will give you a more fun driving experience as the car is much more peppier. For more fun on an open road shift to S and use the shifters. I use the E03 expressway daily and that's where this car really feels home at. I mentioned the low end torque - around 2250 RPM there is a sweet spot and you can feel that pull. Due to it's dynamics the car feels very well planted and very stable at high speeds. You just feel the car hugging the road and hurtling forward - which is a really nice feeling. The handling is quite good -the steering is a little lifeless but adequately sharp and the ride is very controlled. I drive an SR which does not have the adaptive damper system found on the EX. The ride is generally smooth even with some potholes - though I cannot give any feedback about the rear since I've never actually traveled in the back seat. Road noise is something I've always associated with Honda's and once again this is no exception though the road noise insulation is comparatively better than that of smaller cars like the Fit. But it does a good job of cutting out the racket from that noisy 3 pot engine - which believe me is quite loud and rough when you actually open the hood and take a look. But inside the car it's generally quiet. To sum it up ... Cars with downsized engines for the sake of reducing emissions and improving gas-mileage are not meant to be fast performance cars in the first place. But Honda have tried to give the driver a bit of feel-good factor with the fake air vents and the paddle shifters and the overall 'sporty' feel. I wish it didn't have the CVT gear box and the steering was a little less lighter. But the noisy little 3 pot engine pulls really well given it's size and the weight of the car. The 1L Turbo Civic is no Type R but for a bird with clipped wings it flies pretty well. And now for the FAQ Section ---------------------------------------------------- [1] "Nice car bro how does it do on fuel ? " : I drive in generally bad traffic I wouldn't claim it to be the worst since I don't travel to areas like Rajagiriya/Dehiwala etc. And the car returns around 7-8 KMPL. On general I get about 10 KMPL in a 50-50 City/Suburban drive. On the Expressway I get around 6L/100Km which means about 16.6 KMPL. On the average long distance drive on non expressways depending on the time of the day the car will do between 12-16 KMPL. [2] "The car is a bit low isn't it? " : One fear I had earlier about the car before purchase is it's low ground clearance - somehow I have found it to be ok so far. I recently traveled on one of the most horrible roads I have seen in the western province - it was a tiny impossibly narrow dirt road with immense pot holes and pieces of rock jutting out leading to an almost forgotten home for the senior citizens where we had to give dinner. It was a hellish drive in pitch darkness but somehow i got through without a single scrape. For a better understanding I will try to upload some daytime pics of the said road. [3] "Aren't the back seats a bit cramped?" Leg-space wise no. There's quite a lot of leg space . The thing is due to the curved shape of the roof some may feel that head-space is a bit lacking. The only person to complain so far was my 6'3" /125Kg cousin. So unless you're some behemoth you are OK. Having said that I must say the Civic is a little too driver oriented with a lot of care given to the driver and lesser focus to the passengers: for instance the seat height adjustment is not available for the front passenger. It's a little darker in the back too.
    3 points
  2. Restoration work began. The idea is to work at home. Found a person to do the tinker work. I do the mechanical work and hoping to do the paint job as well in the future. Firstly removed the interior parts such as car seats. After that, the four doors were removed. Then front and back wings, bonnet & boot. Finally the differential and the engine were removed.
    1 point
  3. I am looking to replace my Alto with a Automatic Transmission car. AT is required for my wife (she is more comfortable in AT). Well my options are listed below. 1. Suzuki Wagon R 2019 2. Perodua Axia 2019 3. Toyota Vitz 2018 (Recondition) 4. Kia Picanto 2019 Please help me which one to go for. Recommendations for any other car is also welcome and do share any other comments, suggestions and ownership experience of the said cars. Thanks in Advance.
    1 point
  4. Wow this is brilliant - so much old world charm. Good luck with the project @kusumsiri - the car already looks nice so after you've finished we will probably see an absolute minter ?. Back in 2007 when i had just finished my AL's my dad and i bought a Morris Traveller to restore sadly neither of us had the time to spend on it so we sold it off - that car was in horrid shape compared to this ( It even had it's own in-house eco system of insects - ants spiders etc) it traveled more miles by being pushed than by it's own engine ? that picture of the engine brought back some memories
    1 point
  5. Discussed in great detail over the last year or so so many times I just can't type the same thing anymore for example there are just so many .... please do a thorough search there's enough content there for you.
    1 point
  6. Awesome!! Happy new year and best of luck with the project
    1 point
  7. 1 point
  8. Yes. You need to get a cabinet paper approved through the parliament. Thereafter, you can bring one over. All the best.
    1 point
  9. Try this https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lsp2a1h129ymgfu/MjwC-XTIAE
    1 point
  10. As I said earlier the problem with the Wagon R's and Kei's are not the vehicles themselves but the way people use them. These are purpose built cars made for the city with their small engines - not meant to run to the moon and back. Yes the old dolphins and townaces and 110's would run even without proper maintenance and would haul bricks and run on kerosene so the buyers expect these to withstand all that abuse.
    1 point
  11. Out of all three models, Suzuki wagon R is a better option due to these reason 1. All three operate in 3 cylinder engine. when it comes to 3 cylinder, dynamic balancing and overcoming the vibration have been a challenge for decades. But Suzuki has manged to get around this problem to a satisfactory level. When you sit on all these models in idling, you feel the difference. So better go and experience by yourself rather depending on what others say. 2. When it comes to maintenance, there is no big difference out of all three. But Suzuki engines are very reliable and less wear and tare. I don't agree with the below post of early stage sludge formation. It happens either if you use wrong type of engine oil, delayed oil replacement or problem with the oil filter. Our people are very smart to change odo meters, be careful to get it from a reliable place unless it is not from agents. 3. Interior quality ( comfort, finish) and other options are far better than other two models. In Question: 1. wagonR are, kei models , so they have physical car size and engine capacity limitations. Example you are not allowed to carry three people in rear seat. Other two options comes with 3 cylinder 1.0 L engines. So people think it may be quicker in initial pickup. But for me I don't find any issue , since it uses s-ene technology. During the pickup, it extract additional power from the hybrid battery. If you can manged to get a turbo version it would be far better. But only a few people getting down turbo versions. 2. Idling stop: WagonR is built to save power. so it automatically stops the engine in longer idling times. If you do more frequent stops, it may be a problem to the life of the hybrid battery. 3. Other two models are non-hybrid. So if you worry too much on hybrid battery life and replacement cost don't go for a wagon R. Usually you don't get any problem with the hybrid battery within first 5 years. But our car dealers are very smart to swap the batteries with unused cars. what is the mileage of this car ?
    1 point
  12. Total cost of ownership will be your initial cost+ fuel costs+ maintenance costs etc. For example if service costs are high for car A but it does good on fuel and Car B service costs are low but does not do good on fuel eventually the total cost of ownership might be the same. So don't think ONLY about fuel consumption. As for the Axia - it's a simple but solid car. Peroduas have fared well in SL (Kelisa , Viva etc) You get it from the agents and u***mo are one of the better agents out there. Out of the two other options the wigo is more or less the same as Axia but more expensive. The wagonR will give you more bells and whistles but is more expensive (assume you're not buying a used one)
    1 point
  13. Yes you are correct but there is a car also call wigo but I don't see it much in Colombo and suburb area I don't why..
    1 point
  14. Axia should be the best option for normal usage.
    1 point
  15. 1 point
  16. Out of them other than wagon R and Stingray, others are non-japanese makes. If you worry about second hand market go for a japanese make. Obviosuly WagonR and Stigray ares far better in its interior quality than other two.
    1 point
  17. Axia and the Wigo are more or less in the same class with the buyer ending up paying more for the Toyota name plate. Peroduas are time tested tough cars with simple mechanics quite suited our conditions. If fuel is a huge concern the Wagon R would make sense but do a calculation and see the total cost of ownership. Sri Lankan car buyers place too much emphasis on the fuel efficiency IMO... if it was me I'd go for the Axia.
    1 point
This leaderboard is set to Colombo/GMT+05:30
×
×
  • Create New...