Indigo Marina was my first car and I was pretty much excited about owning a car for the first time. I dont reside in India but the car was for my dad. We sifted through a huge list of cars available starting from Zen to Toyota and then we finally settled for the Indigo Marina - GLS.
There were two reasons to go for this:
1) Availability of a diesel version below Rs.6, 00, 000
2) Huge space.
I was in India for a month and happened to use the car then. The following is what I got to see in the first month of driving. Let me first talk of the cons and then let me get on with the pros.
*CONS:
*1) Very cheap looking plastic interiors. The sunglass holder is a useless piece of plastic in the car.
2) Within the first 5000 Kms, the tube for the wiper liquid broke down. But was fixed for free by the dealer.
3) The suspension started making some creaking noises and hence had to drive the car very slowly for 100 kms so as not to damage the suspension further. Fortunately, it was not a suspension issue but was a steel plate hanging loose from the suspension. Fixed by the dealer.
4) The transmission is not smooth. The gear sometimes gets stuck in between and the shift is requires more than a gentle push.
5) The rubber beadings in the car come out from the windows sometimes and had to be put back in plash with your fingers.
6) The headlights are really poor. For night time, highway driving we need more than whats provided with the car. Suffered quite a bit with this problem with heavy vehicles constantly troubling me throughout the journey.
7) Doesnt have a utility box between the two front seats. Could have been really useful to dump some stuff like CDS.
*PROS:
*1) Excellent mileage per liter. 17+ even when driving within the city.
2) Smoothness of the ride is good. Firmly beefed up suspensions.
3) Good space to seat 3 passengers in the rear seat.
4) Excellent boot space and foldable rear seats.
5) Multiple mobile chargers/cigarette lighters - can be very useful when you carry a hot /cold pack that works on these sockets.
6) The A/C was good in mid-june. However, the blower had to be revved up to speed 2 so that it really has a good effect. Speed 1 for the blower does nothing.
7) Fixed steering but was well placed and was comfortable to drive. I am 5' 9".
8) The power steering response was good.
9) Turbo kicks in 2000 RPM and after that it doesnt feel like a diesel car. Good to drive on a long stretch of highway. However, I had a torrid time competing with a Maruti Zen. The guy had amazing pick up and was flying but Indigo was quite stable.
My opinion is its a value for money if you dont mind bad interiors and a few glitches here and there. I bought it because of my love for India and I wanted to go for an Indian car. I was advised by quite a few of my friends to go for the Accent but my dad stuck with this option and he actually doesnt regret making the decision to own this.
For all it matters, If the owner is happy then there is very little to complain about.
Pradeep.
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