Goodbye Maruti 800 and Hello Maruti Brezza

After 14 years of driving a Maruti 800 and its asthmatic engine, we finally decided to get a new car. 

But which one?

Sedan, Mini truck, SUV or something else like a Thar?

I spent days watching YouTube reviews and reading them on the net and spoke with my wife whose opinion changed by the hour and colour of the offered picture. A woman's perogative after all.

To her credit she has driven a scooter since 14, 750 Triumph, a Bullet, cars, trucks, etc. and her life's ambition is to drive an Army truck. (Yet to be realized, but she'll get there)

My sincere belief is that she is secretely wishing to be an 18 wheeler truck driver in either the US or Australia. You know the kind I mean, you climb up 5 steps into the cabin, settle behind the wheel surrounded by an array of dials and switches and then lord it over the world from roughly 10 feet above the ground, King (or in this case) Queen of the Road indeed.

Considering that we live in a village, in the Sal forest and are only accessible by single lane road, this will hopefully remain only a fantasy, but I am not taking any bets, my wife is extremely strong willed and she might surprise me one day with an airhorn blast and a big grin....

We settled on a medium sized SUV. The main criteria is that the seat had to be much higher than the ground squirrel seating in the 800. That was about it. Engine displacement, diesel vs petrol, comfort, 4 x 4, safety, performance, reliabiltiy and so on all faded to insignificance when seat height was involved. My wife is normally 5ft 4in but when entering any automobile, a shrinking process, that is imperceptible to the naked eye, takes place. Nalinii beomes a midget with a desperate wish to be able to see beyond the edge of the hood. I don't understand it! Surrounded by towering cars, SUVs etc. in the 800, she was fearless and drove that damn car like it was the Rally of the Himalayas. Never mind it had the size of a rollerskate, she COULD SEE THE HOOD!

We went to Mahindra - Nope, can't see over the dash

KIA - Bad parts availability, unless you go to Chandigarh

Creta - Some drive Cretas, you know, at least they can see beyond the hood

Nissan, - Cool 360 degree dash cam, but seat is too low.

Are you getting this? There must be a diagnostic code in the annals of medicine for this syndrome. Just call it Munchkin syndrome?

Finally she drove a Maruti Suzuki Brezza LXI. 

Trumpets sounded, Angels sang in exqusite choirs, Rose petals were strewn on Canal road in Dehradun...

My baby approved and practically cooed:"I can see!" (Somewhat like a blind man whose eyesight had been restored and is looking at their first Playboy Centerfold picture..)

BUT, we made a very basic mistake. On the LXI model, the rail that the driver's seat is attached to is actually curved! Hence, when you slide the seat forward it also rises about 4 inches, an enormous amount for my diminuative lovely. 

When she got out, she gushed with happiness, this is something that my somewhat reserved wife has never given me the experience of enjoying. I wished that I was that damn SUV!

We couldn't afford the top of the line, so we got the bottom one. Lovely car, 1.5L engine, extremely pleasant to drive, comfortable, excellent safety rating etc. BUT it lacked the curved seat rail that elevated the driver seat when pushed forward. Baleful looks, mutters of imcompetent Angres, "thinks he knows it all", and somewhat worse ensued upon delivery.

In an effort to redeem myself, I called Suzuki, the dealer, the service centre, asking if the power seat from the LXI could be installed in our pretender model. I received back, NO, Maybe, YES but no guarantees, We can do it but.. etc.

I was desperate! My roses had died, the looks I was getting whenever I glanced at the driver would have frightened Zeus.

The temporary solution is a very expensive memory foam cushion and patience until I can arrange to drop off the car for a new Rs 4,000 replacement seat. A quite reasonable cost, I thougth. Look, face it, I would have given 10 times that not to get those looks or uncomfortable sighs anymore. More to come.