The Hindu Business Line : Reva Standard a practical car

I GATHER that Reva's new model is likely to be launched soon and obviously is yet to be proven for its performance. But what's your observation about its current Classe model? What is the running cost and what are the maintenance problems? Can these issues be conveniently tackled from a place where the company does not have its showroom? Will the Reva Classe be a good choice if my average daily commute is 60-70 km?

Chetan Sethia

The new car model that the Reva Electric Car Company may launch is the Reva NXG, a two-seater roadster. The car is, at present, only a concept. The regular Reva standard, AC and Classe models may see a few changes, including an extension of the range per charge. But at present, there is no specific information available about such plans.

As for our recommendation, considering the three variants available, we suggest that you stick with the bare-bone Reva standard. The Reva AC may be an option to consider if you are sure that charging the car at your workplace will not pose to be a logistics problem.

With a daily average of 60-70 km, you may be cutting it too fine with the AC model, which has a driving range per charge of 60 km. Despite your best efforts at driving within the economy band and despite regenerative charging, the battery pack may not be able to come up with a clean 60 km drive range if the air-conditioner is used.

The Reva standard will be able to offer about 80 km per full charge of the batteries and the AC and Classe models, 55-60 km. The eight, six-volt, batteries consume about nine units of electricity for a full charge. The cost of running the Reva could be 40-75 paise per km depending on the variant and the electricity tariff in your State.

The Reva's electric motor has very few moving parts unlike the conventional petrol or diesel engine and it does not require regular maintenance such as engine oil change, and so on. Similarly, the air-conditioner performance will be a drag on the batteries and not on the engine. Further, unlike the conventional fuel engines, the engine is not heat producing and, therefore, the AC performance will also be more effective.

Maintenance costs over the long term will be much lower compared to the regular fuel cars. The Reva comes with a three-year/40,000 km warranty on most parts. Body panels are all made of ABS plastic/fibre and the whole set will cost less than Rs 10,000.

If the air-conditioner is important, choose the AC model instead of the Classe. The Reva is meant to be more a practical car than a showpiece. So, the Rs 50,000 price differential for the Classe model may not be worth it. Choose the Reva only if you are convinced about its practicality and have come to terms with its limitations.

I am trying to make a choice between the Ford Ikon 1.3 or 1.6, Maruti Suzuki Esteem, Hyundai Accent and the Tata Indigo. I have read glowing reviews about the Fiat Petra 1.6. The car is said to be well engineered, offers good space and has adequate power and torque. More important, because of its seat height, it is claimed to be convenient to get in and out of the car; a feature which most of the cars barring the Indigo lack. The car is also attractively priced.

Is there any strong negative feature which over-rides all the positive features of the Petra? The nearest service station of Fiat is about 180 km from my place.

P. Damodaran

With any Fiat car the only negative factor that you will have to grapple with is poor resale value and relatively poor service quality offered by its dealerships compared to those of other car brands.

Fiat is trying to address this issue. Though you may not have to suffer patchy service quality from all the dealerships of the company, it may be an issue that you will have to carefully consider before a decision to buy a Fiat is taken.

The Fiat Petra 1.6 is good value for money and is still considered one of the best in class in terms of finish quality, build and ride comfort. The car's performance in the market has unfortunately been affected by the financial woes that the company's parent has been going through and the resultant financial troubles that the Indian subsidiary may be beset with have affected its image. The company's slumbering has only made matters worse and customer confidence has been sliding over the last two years.

You tell us that the nearest Fiat authorised service station is 180 km away. Though a generalisation about after sales and service quality cannot be made, we would still urge you to check about this neighbourhood service station's performance with a few of its customers before the decision is taken.

So, buy the Petra 1.6 only if you are not unduly worried about resale value and only after checking out this service station nearby. Otherwise, we would recommend that you stay with the more spacious and more modern Ford Ikon 1.3. Here too, choose the Ikon 1.6 if fuel efficiency is not an issue.

I am a senior citizen planning to buy a car. As I am not going to drive long distances and with my usage being limited, fuel efficiency is not a priority. Comfort, safety and ease of driving are what I am looking for. More space in the interior is also a feature that I will be considering. My choice is the Fiat Palio ELX petrol version. But a few of my friends are advising me that I choose from among the Tata Indica V2, the Maruti Zen, the Hyundai Santro Xing or the Getz. Before retiring from service, I was having a chauffer-driven, company-owned Hyundai Accent. I cannot afford such a large car. I only want an affordable small car, but with almost as much space internally as larger sedans have.

K. Venkatraman

The only car in that list which can comfortably satisfy your requirement for space inside is the Hyundai Getz. Considering that this B-segment plus car can offer almost as much legroom and shoulder space at the rear as does the Accent, the Getz clearly has a lead over the other cars in that list.

On the other parameters that you have mentioned, the Getz will score considering its overall dimensions (very easy to drive and park), its excellent suspension package and its responsive steering. Air-conditioning is effective and the Getz also offers the same benefits of easy entry and exit for the passengers, though its seats are not positioned as high as the Santro's. So, despite the fact that the car itself is comparatively lower slung than the `tallboys', aged passengers will still find it convenient to enter and exit the Getz.

The Getz's base variant is priced at about Rs 4.5 lakh. But you must be able to strike a much better bargain with the Hyundai dealer in your area now, after competition has also launched products (read Suzuki Swift) in this segment. You may also want to consider the lower priced Suzuki Swift as a possible option that will also meet almost all your requirements.

(Queries may be sent to: q&a@thehindu.co.in or by post to Q&A, Business Line, 859/860, Kasturi Buildings, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002.)

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