But I was wrong.
So.
Wrong.
I got to do what most others did not.
I.
Drove.
The.
Bolt.
They checked out THE BOLT in a swanky mall nearby and got to fidget with the controls and take pictures with celebs etc...
But I had a Na Na Na Na Na badoing badoing ...moment today.
Me and Sweet Child.
It started with plans to visit the photofair in Pragati Maidan ,Delhi on the 8th of January , which were (now fortunately) laid to rest by mums high blood pressure on the said morning ...
So Tata Motors and Blogadda ensured that I got to test drive this at home...coz Jalandhar does not have a mall swanky enough to show off THE BOLT.
So our ride came home...
Impressed!
And how!
OK first up...since we have drive petrol cars ,I wanted to try out the diesel.
So 1.3l Quadrajet ,75 PS@4000RPM is powerful.(Yes, I know the numbers etc...read high school teacher there!)
1.The back...
Yes I know y'all will start from the front,but no kidding...this is what caught my eye.
The Blackened pillars at the back give the impression of a floating roof top. The tail lamps are nice...
The Platinum Silver BOLT was shiny and looks a Tata Vista. But the bumper looks clean and strong, that minor nicks wont really harm. The stress is on 15 inch alloy wheels, tubeless tyres and all that.
I love the tail lights..smart.
The chrome lines are blingy... nice.
And there is a rear lamp in the middle of the bumper, I guess that could aid a rear camera that can be installed for better parking. But since I've parked without a rear camera for 22 years, I'm damned if I need one today.
The boot is big enough to get in a couple of suitcases and loads of shopping bags...
Its deep and capacious for a carting anything...if you really want to treat this as a delivery van...fold the seats.Shame on you!
2. The front...
Love the front grille mesh ...whatever..
And the head lights. And this has nice fog lamps , great yellow light for when you literally have to feel your way out through the fog.
The engine is silent with almost no vibrations.Not getting too warm either...the engine was running here.
And the Quadrajet stuff,I have heard about the 1.2 l Revtron turbo petrol motor but this 75bhp 1.3lQuadrajet has POWER.
And yes it looks quiet international with great quality.
The doors look great and the fact that the door handles are also platinum silver is a big bonus.
3.The Control Panel...
The console is piano black...black and the panels are exclusively the drivers property. I didn't like the Vista's control panels...in the center...why???
The steering is a ePAS -electronic power assist steering...very easy to maneuver. As you can see through the pics, we have a lot of space outside...so we tested the tight turn...cool turning radius of 5.1 meters radius. So you will be able to park easily, swing in and out of traffic fast-great for the mad drivers of north India.
And you can move the steering with the flat of your palm while reversing or parking or turning. I learnt this trick from Keanu Reeves in Speed. That was the fun bit.
4.The Interiors...
The seats are plush and comfortable. Enough leg room, I am a tall girl, but I still had to pull my seat forward to be able to drive comfortably. Yay...so no nudges from the back where big boys keep adjusting their long legs...
The air conditioning vents are trapezoid... not rectangular as in the regular cars but trapeziums.So that means that cooling or heating will be more effective. Because generally the driver and co driver will freeze before the passengers at the back have a chance to cool off.So a big plus for people who have kids.I didn't really like the upholstery , but that can be altered...The salesman looked pretty darn scared when I started. I guess he didn't really trust women drivers...Well, the first thing I checked was if I could see myself and that my lippers on in the side mirror -of the passenger side. Yes, you can maneuver the mirrors and power windows and central locking on doors and all that is pretty standard today.Thank god there is no vanity mirror in the drivers sun shield!He He... that a woman for you...5. The best-The drive...I asked the salesman if I could take the car onto NH1 -that's just a km outside my area-against his better judgment he said yes.I just popped my drivers license into my back pocket, pushed sweet child into the back and took off before that guy could change his mind.Clutch start, powerful ,noiseless engine and fantastic controls...We were so caught up in the drive that we forgot to take pics of the dashboard and the speeds...
If you know Punjab roads ,you'll know that the roads are either great or just terrible. 'These were bad...and I drove into the potholes...to check the suspension.very few jerks at the back,despite Sweet Child's monolog about the better diesel engine.The salesman was telling me about the power of the engine etc...but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.And boy ,was it sweet.I wish I could have done 0-60 in 5 secs like Jeremy Clarkson...but even with trucks and cars and other mad drivers for company on NH1, the car picked up fantastically.I went about weaving through the traffic like the crazy woman driver that I am, but that was only to test for the steering wheel's power.Totally responsive, the steering kept its cool when I was driving fast and was softer when I was slow.Brakes...On the dot.Excellent.The gear lever was smooth, in fact I didn't drop the 5th gear even when I slowed down to 30kmps...No knocking.A big plus.The car picked up to 120kmps even with the AC on...yes and we were climbing the flyovers...so all terrain read moutain road driving with the AC on should be no problem.Had I been on the highway in Rajasthan ...I bet THE BOLT could've gone upto 160 or more without vibrating...
6.7.8.9.10.....AND NOW...Now the terrific bits, the Music, Sat Nav, Media centre, Phone etc...OK, our pics were not clear enough... This system by HARMAN(I honestly thought that this was a desi punjabi munda stuff-you have so many Harmans here)is in a word fantastic.You can plug your USB, I-phone/android, use blue tooth whatever...With the controls on the set and on the steering and VOICE , you can answer phone calls, dial, change radio stations, play from a play list increase and decrease the volume...All you need are two Apps on your phone and you are set to go.No expensive GPS apparatus and stuff...The HARMAN set does it all for you.A ride into the unknown would be a good idea in this.Awesome!Sweet Child was dictating radio channels and he also commanded the sales guys playlist of upbeat punjabi playlist.And the best...Speed Activated Volume Control.As the speed increases, the volume rises.Super Cool.With Imran Khan's Satisfya playing...So you feel like the boys who are doing a gedi(total punjabi vella panthi)...just driving around to show themselves off...
team-bhp.com
After 15 kms of bumpy and smooooooooooooth roads ,we came back happy!
Enough room for posing for pics...
“This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda.”
PS Cargo Motors Jalandhar, BSF Chowk was really prompt ...great service.
