When a car is more than just a car.

I’m looking for a car that’s cute & sturdy,versatile,reliable,comfortable and technically advanced.

I am a city driver whose route generally consists of driving through narrow , congested lanes when I go for my weekly bhaji shopping. So my current Santro is ideal for me. But I also love zooming down Marine Drive and would love to push the pedal past 60kmph without feeling a wobbly protest. So perhaps it is time for me to get a new car. And what kind of car do I want?

STYLISH & STURDY

So when I went to Phoenix Market City to have a look at TATA’s latest offering , the BOLT, I was struck by its stylish good looks. Unlike the Nano with its “blow and I’ll flyaway looks”, this car looks like a mean machine with its sturdy, solid look. But it doesn’t look menacingly powerful, it looks friendly too. Just look at the picture of me with the car. Doesn’t its grill look like it’s smiling at you?

VERSATILE & FUEL EFFICIENT

There are cars and there are cars. There are cars that are meant for driving up to a red carpet event – cars that are as long as the train behind your dress, sparkling like the diamonds you wear around your neck and classy like the purse you clutch or the person attached to your elbow. And there are cars that need to be tough, to drive over dirt roads while you travel the country side in search of adventure or chasing the deer. And there are cars that you need to fly with the wind as you speed down freeways alongside the coast. But can you really have three in a garage for just one? A car for each mood and each fancy of yours

The BOLT Petrol variant comes with a 1.2 cc engine that allows you to drive in three modes – Sport with more power, Eco with more fuel efficiency and City that perfectly combines the two. So with a BOLT, I’ll get three cars for one, coupled with fuel efficiency.

RELIABLE

It’s embarassing to have cars honking behind you as your car huffs and puffs on a steep slope, gasping for power, or revs up viciously when stuck in the dirt. BOLT’s Revotron 1.2 l turbo charged power steps up with a slight touch of the accelerator and makes steep slopes seem flat and getting out of sticky mud a breeze.

But safety comes first and always every time, so there’s no point in being fast if you’re going to land up in the emergency room in no time. With traffic the way it is, you have to be able to stop within the blink of an eye, and stop safely so that you don’t crash into the car in front or skid on a road that’s just wet with the first slush of the season.

I was also relieved to hear that BOLT has a service centre close to my house

ROOMY & COMFORTABLE

Even for a small person like me, space is important. especially when I have to squish in the back. I was amazed at the leg space for the passenger at the back even after the front seat is pushed to the back! But what really amazed me was the fact that the driver’s seat could be moved UP as well as in the FRONT so that short drivers like me can drive with ease.

With its Rugby seats ( great for large people) and 60/40 rear seat arrangement, the small dickey space can easily accommodate 3 passengers + luggage for an airport/station pick-up or drop, with a smooth, easily manageable and collapsible back seat mechanism .

And what’s more, its roomy back seat allows three passengers to comfortably fit in without having to clutch on to the sides for fear of sliding in so on a day it can easily sit 4 passengers+driver.

But what I really liked was the ease with which I could operate the dickey with a simple lever to store my vegetables and kit bag leaving the car interior clean and tidy and free of fishy smells.

TECHNOLOGICALLY SMART

I was thrilled to find that the music system was none other than Harman, a system used by luxury cars like Mercedes Benz. But that apart, the music system is easily controllable with buttons on the steering wheel.

No more “go straight, straight left and then right”

And what’s more with GPS that enables navigation from MapMyIndia, I don’t have to stop strange rickshaws, taxi drivers or people on the road, for directions to places I don’t know.

No clandestine calls while passing the cops

Equally exciting is the possibility of making phone calls with Voice Recognition and BLUETOOTH connectivity that enables you to ask your car to call your mom while you are still driving! And you can continue talking and driving without the mobile phone .

Easy to spot the time

With a hundred things to do, I always want to know exactly what the time is, something I find hard to read on my current dash board display. So I was happy to see this clear display where I could read the figures without squinting my eyes or groping for my spectacles.

This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda