These days I have been keeping an eye on cars. There are small cars, big cars, medium-sized cars. We started out with small aspirations. So it was naturally the Nano that we tried. Price was of course a big consideration. We bumped our way from Vasco to Bogmalo and came back via Mangor hill. I always feel I am buying the car I am driving. It makes everyone feel good.
The Nano was good in 2nd but terrible in 3rd. It was nifty around the bends, but seating was far from comfortable out back. And could someone turn off the noise? It's a 600 cc so it's pretty light on its feet but with no boot space we'd be confined to our kitchen. The driver who accompanied us informed us very charmingly that it was mostly bought by housewives. I think it was then that I lost the plot.
Stacks of Car and Bike magazines now started adorning/disgracing my shelves at home. Summons to dinner would find me buried in car specs. All that reading plus the noticing of a Chevrolet Spark outside gave me the hots for her. Of course, this was the car I'd been waiting for all this time. A 1000 cc, it was as mean as it looked genteel. Friends around the country vouched for it and for 3.5 (LT) it seemed a steal. I had already brought my cheque book down to the showroom, when I re-examined the space between my thighs and the steering. Being almost 6 feet I found no legroom to react swiftly or to put it more graphically- lift my foot from the accelerator and place it on the brake. This was after we test drove the vehicle.
The Maruti Estilo was next on the list but the power steering was more of a joke. It was wooden to handle and the new WagonR completely turned me off. The Alto would present the same height problem even though I had already put down 500 chips after the sales person pushed her advantage when I was a greenhorn in August last. 'Will Ecru Beige do' she had asked.
I hadn't thought much of Hyundai, until when I dropped in to the Verna showroom and took out the Aeon. Its brash looks make it look defiant, like my son days after his birth. But I figure all the hype around the bonnet only masks the fact that it is still a 800 cc with a 1000 price at 3.8.
You can buy a car as though you are 30, 40, or 50 years of age. Being middle age the choice becomes even more difficult. I think we need to try the i10. . .
Until then I will always be eyeing those show stoppers like the Etios Liva, which I saw yesterday on my way back from work.
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