Pakistan- best and Worst Cars (my experience)

[Retrograde]

as i will mention again, dnot know what people expect from non-ABS braking system. Still I will stick yo my point that City is not at a bad ride. We can see countless posts and examples of XLI accidents due to poor breaking.

Even my colleague at office who was a die-hard Fan of Rolla, bought an XLI then GLI and now owns a City IDSI

[Newton]

@autophile: I agree with you 100% :), we used to hav a margalla and it was a pain, kabhee suspension mein say awazain, kabhee power window kharab kabhee fuel pump kharab, every time we used to go to lahore it gave trouble and it was petrol margalla plus 97 /98 ash grey color it was the worst ride we ever had, then baleno it was much better then margalla (Glip 02) sluggish on cng but then some one gave an idea to put original lendi renzo advancer and emulator, it was no mmore sluggish on cng, now liana its an exceptionally good ride and trust me its more comfortable then rolla, city, civic (i know pppl r gonna kill me) its sluggish on cng but on petrol its excellent dont compare it to ivtec or vvti engines as suzuki dont make performance engines, no doubt rolla is the best car for Pakistan, but I am confused between liana eminent and city manual dont know wht to buy next year :s, friends r saying not to change the car as my liana is totally trouble free.

[internal_auditor]

As a senior in age here as far as I remember that Suzuki Margalla (at time it was called Swift Sedan) was a flop in the early 1990s.

About City breaking. I was hit by a city from the rear. It just skids like Xli.

About Xli, driving it since 2005 Jan, most reliable, trouble free, fule efficient, maintenance-free car. Have not hit anyone yet, but as I said I was hit by a city from the rear. Good for old uncles like me.

Nicely Put (y)

[Paindu]

@ rozz .. Several people including u have mentioned the height of the cars as the main reason for poor braking and instability at hight speeds.. This is simply not truee. A car can have high road clearence and still manage to not only handle well but also brake exceptionally well. It all boils down to the design, quality and the specification of the components used, not to mention the Structural integrity of the vehicle.

@Retrograde
I have been lucky enf to have lived in several countries and have hence had the good fortune to drive many cars over the past 20 years so i speak from proper experience.
I still rank city as the worst car ever along with the corolla even though i own both of them. This is because of lack of choice in the local market. By the way I also have a Civic prosmatic 2005 in the family with 75,000 km and a santro. further more I have driven pretty much all the cars available in pakistan, so when i speak,, u may wanna pay attention caz i speak from proper exposure and experience.

[Paindu]

@internal auditor
I agree with u that corolla's only fault is its braking and lousy handling.. one can also take some issue with a dull unexciting interior but the car is reliable and can take some serious abuse. This however applies to all corollas and this is wat made corolla famous.

@newton
your experience is an exception to the rule. the vehcile u had probably was not correctly maintained. I have had many margallas over the years. some were provided by the company as i got posted in different positions. One was owned by me. None of them gave me any problems whatso ever. Few of the company margallas had over 200000 km and they did seem as if they had just 20000km.
margalla has an independent suspension, this is a very costly setup and has many moving parts (unlike a torsion beam suspension) so it has to be properly looked after and maintained professionally otherwise it would have issues ( just like any other car including civic, mark x , lancer etc)

[Paindu]

@readers .. if u have drive a memorable car. a car dat u just cant forget .. a car that u continue to remember because it provided u with an unexpectedly good drive, value for money, reliabilityy etc than u should mention it or provide ur own best car list. I d request that u do not mention cars that r soo old that they r simply not available in the market

[copperz]

ratings by poster are much true!!!

regarding city, its among popular cars in Pakistan and at that price honda is giving its best...

but an undenaible fact is, i have lived in different middle eastern countries and in pak as well earlier i owned a 2004 city idsi... it is a nice ride if we talk about fuel consumption its fine.. but but but stability, sound ride and smooth braking is something we cant get in her as we aspect from civic coz its a lower grade car than civic however we can prefer it over 2005 corolla due to sporty interior and fuel economy....

honda city was a flop in middle east because of the only reason this car is not meant to drive beyond 120km/hr... if ur driving it at abt 100km/hr and want a stable braking like civic then its something impossible it is good to be owned as a moderate ride just drive it in city it ll serve its purpose... good ac, soundless ride at normal speeds, pickup is just fine to coop up at city roads soo nothing hardcore performance shudnt be expected from this ride..

the poster is rite and aligations are also ryt but the prospectives on both ends are not similar...

poster gave his views with respect to overall city and highway cruising studies.. therefore they seems correct!!

margalla indeed a nice car ..

on the other hand city is not a crap its also a good value of money..

no offenses to city owners u ppl forsure own a great ride

[Paindu]

agreed

[race_addicted]

@paindu

please no offence but what i don't have positive views about margalla.Poor interior, less leg room space (my knee touches the dashboard) poor pick and no luxury. Yes, compared to city & Xli, it is not luxury at all. My friend has Mehran and he has'nt driven other cars but he was of the view that Mehran is the best car in hatchbacks. Because everyone likes the car that he owns

[ati41]

I concur with reviews of the Poster. Margalla was and is t he best car and compares favorably to the best new cars in the market in terms of driving dynamics, engine power and braking. The vehicle was also comfortable.
margalla was an unexpected surprise from SUZUKI Pakistan which normally produces Crap.
I also agree with other reviews of the Post with Corolla and City being among the worst cars ever.

[Retrograde]

@Paindu: Its good that you have lived in many countries but better stick to Pakistan auto scene,

i used to own Margalla 1995, in deed a nice car but required too much maintenance. Also u are hell bent on declaring city the worst car ever but u still cound not justify your claim. It is very easy to brand a local car with poor braking and handling

[ati41]

@Retrograde .. I have noticed that ur the only one vehemently fighting against Honda City being ranked as one of the worst cars by the Old Man (Paindu).
Overtime, I have also owned the Toyota Corolla Gli 2006, a Honda City 2007 and also Margalla in it hey day among many other cars.

Unfortunately I have to agree with the Poster about his rankings. All the Best car List is RIGHT on the mark and the worst car is LIST is also Spot on. I would however like to add Mehran and Liana on the Worst car List but that is just my preference.

About Margalla maintainance, my company had many margallas in the late 1990s, many of them had clocked over 200,000 kms without any problems and felt as if they had just 20000 km. LIke all cars, margalla also needs to be maintained professionally to allow it to give proper drive. It wont work properly if u take it to street mechanics and den expect da car to run well.

I use to have a Corolla Lx Limited as well but u know wat, I was in da habbit of going for long drives and Margalla use to be MY PICK for those long drives

[Newton]

my cousin had baleno 2005 provided by Govt and it had 300,000 kms on it approx and according to him that car never went to workshop u know y coz it was on petrol, If we say liana is the worst car then compare all the cars on cng, I have yet to see a liana on petrol. Dont abuse the car if its weak on cng drive it on petrol and then compare it with other cars.

The car that I cannot forget is actually a truck which was provided to my father from his company it was toyota hilux double cabin man it was toooooooooooooo tough, we used to come to Islamabad every weekend on it, it used to take all kind of abuse, It completed 125,000 kms with us from 0 kms and trust me I never took it to any mechanic for any reason man it was a dream machine too bad cant own one ourself costs around 3 million now

[ati41]

@newton .... I agree that after market conversions to CNG, if not done properly and prefessionaly , can reduce the life of the engine. I also agree that keeping a car on petrol reduces wear and tear and extends the life of the car.

Hilux is not doubt tough as a rock.I would like to add Hiace to the Tough category as well. I have seen em, we have all seen em, take abuse like anything, and they continue to run forever. I have no doubt that most of the public transport Hiace have more than a million kilometers on them

[Retrograde]

@ati41: I dont give a Rat's a$$ what Mr. Paindu or you think.

[Retrograde]

totally crap nad illogical remarks by paindu sahib. Like i mentioned before, City IDSI has pretty decent fuel economy - 12 to 14km/l what more do you expect??? - No handling issues, unless u try to drive it like rally car. Engine noise, come on man give me break, City IDSI has the quitest engine around. As for the braking, it is fine. You have to knoe what you are driving. I am sure Paindu sahib has driven Merc and Jags so dont expect City to be at par with them.

How come he did not car like Liana that is a Global failure and has pathetic quality especially in Pakistan. You check all Liana related posts on PW and will find only half a dozen satisfied buyers who did not face "any" problem that even that I find hard to believe.

Who the Hell is Paindu to just spit out his guts in PW and people are following him like he is Jeremy Clarkson. I know this is the golden opportunity of some selected members to get back at City.

As for the pickup, no one claimed IDSI to be a fast car, now the new city iVTEC has taken care of that and will probably make most of the critics shut up forever. Dont even try to discuss steermatic as a paindu cannot really understand what is it all about

[Retrograde]

How come he did not mention Liana that is a Global failure and has pathetic quality especially in Pakistan. You check all Liana related posts on PW and will find only half a dozen satisfied buyers who did not face "any" problem that even that I find hard to believe.

Also what about the shitty Mehran and Cultus that makes the buyers literally weep after buying even a new one

[dr3vil]

this means i will buy a margalla in near future best suzuki eva
@ tp u 4rgot to mension mehran in worst cars

[Retrograde]

Margalla is indeed a nice car since i owned a 1995 model once. But its time has passed and now adays try to avoid buying a carby car. BTW Margalla requires frequent maintence and i owned it from 1999 to 2004 and sometimes faced problem in getting the parts. The thing that is suzuki cars are infamous for are the CV joints that screw up frequently

[dr3vil]

i have few ideas about margalla and i will buy one when its price will drop to lowest levels
well i will swap engine to b16a or a g15b with g13 head with some lite mods like down pinping etc 16 rims replace bumpers with jdm margalla etc etc