Optra Magnum 2.0 LT at 46,000kms (10 months)

Always wanted either a Hot hatch or a Sexy SUV (only Diesel) for myself.. That left very few options Getz CRDi, Scorpio and Safari (in 2007).. Fabia's probable launch ignited hopes and soon was dreaming of it.. I expected Fabia's performance to be atleast equal to Octavia's.. But 1.4 of Fabia felt too underpowered.. So was again disappointed and was confused which car to buy.. One fine day I was free on site and Captiva was just launched.. I felt like test driving it.. Me and my cousin went for a test drive.. Unfortunately, there wasn't any Test drive vehicle of Captiva.. Then we requested Test Drive of Optra Magnum (didn't had any intention to buy then).. We went for a good 20kms test drive on Palm Beach Road.. Was instantly in love with the machine.. Ride was superb and engine was mind-blowing.. My cousin commented, "If u going for a new car, go for this one only.. Forget Fabia and Scorpio.. Anyways we have 1 Scorpio"..
When actual time of buying came, I proposed Optra magnum to elders.. My uncle was like, " Why Optra? Go for Octavia.." I replied, "We've already used Octavia and now its too old (end 2007)".. My uncle warned against Chevrolet brand and asked me couple of times more if I was sure about my decision.. I though was confused frankly, made my mind for Optra..
Booked Optra in march 08 and got delivery of Cashmere coloured Optra Magnum 2.0 LT on 3rd May 2008.. Soon Optra won hearts of everybody.. In initial period it was used by all my family members including papa, uncle, 3 cousins, younger bro, 2 other uncles (I could not say NO bcoz I already used everybody's cars in the past).. It was everybody's Car of Choice to go on highways.. One day To Nasik and back, next day some one else goes to Pune and back, then next day Satara and back.. I used to be unhappy but could not help..
It was only after good 15000 kms, I got to use Optra full time.. Till then it just part time..
Looks: Everytime while going to office, when I see Optra, I feel as if shes winking me and i too wink at her.. Frankly, shes not soo good looking.. But I am in love with her.. What I like the most about its exteriors is the design of Alloy wheels.. I bet, these are the best alloys found in whole fleet of mine..

Comfort: Get inside, and I feel like "I am soo comfortable".. Dashboard is attractive.. Interiors are are very nice.. Front seats are very comfortable and Rear seat too are very comfortable and spacious.. Optra is much spacious compared to Octavia.. Special mention must be made about the factory fitted 2-din music system by Alpine.. Sound Output is just amazing..

Engine: 2.0 TDCI unit by Detroit Diesel is the best Diesel engine this side of Rs.30 lakhs.. Its butter smooth.. Power output is 121bhp.. Theres a bit of turbo lag till 1500rpm but car just takes off after 1700rpm..The pull and smoothness of motor is addictive.. 0-100 comes in 10 secs and max I hav done is 210kmph.. Fuel efficiency which I got is 15kmpl on highways and 10-12 kmpl in city.. But in leaner hands of my elder cousin Optra even gave 20kmpl.. Even uncle got 19 kmpl while the car was driven by his chauffer.. That is at speeds of upto 100 in 5th gear.. My problem is no matter how much i control, I feel as if car is not obeying me and speed increases automatically.. Wile I try to maintain 100kmph, car goes to 120.. I then make my mind to maintain 120 but soon, car goes to 140.. U just can't control your right foot.. Best part is theres no noise from engine in 5th gear even at 4500 rpm.. I mean while cruising at 200kmph, there ought to be lot of wind noise and tyre noise and u just don't realise that car is running at red line.. This is a seriously powerful motor and only car under 20 lakhs which can beat Optra magnum in max speed is Octavia 1.8 Turbo petrol.. None other can dare to..

Ride and handling: Ride of this one is outstandingly good.. Optra soaks all undulations with confidence.. Only issue in Ride department is while negotiating a big pothole and u don't hav time to slow down.. The "THUD" sound gets into nurves.. Handling is average.. Car is very stable in straight line but she dosn't likes to be pushed on corners at all.. Being front heavy, corner crunching is not Optra's cup of tea.. One serious limitation in this department.. Being front heavy, Car's front bottoms up on sharp undulations and worst part is the Oil sump kisses mother earth.. Its rediculous that Oil Sump happens to be the lowest part of the body.. In India we know how unpredictable roads are.. Already Oil Sump of my car had impact atleast 5 times and its just my Luck that everything is fine till now (Touch wood)..

Maintainence: Chevy's CPCO scheme (Chevrolet's Promise of cashless Ownership) was available for Rs. 20000 at the time of buying Optra. It assures free servies including parts and labour for 3 years/ 45000kms.. Best part is the scheme also covers wear and tear parts like brake pads.. Its as simple as, Drop the car for service and take it back in the evening with Rs. 0 Bill.. You get also 3 free Wheel Alignment+Balancing along with 10 free services..
Non-routine repairs: Nil..!
Spares: Special mention also must be made about spares.. Spares of Chevy are surprisingly cheap.. I happenned to damage right mirror at 28000kms.. I made my mind for expense of atleast Rs.6000 bcoz the mirror is powered and comes with indicator too.. I was really surprised when I heard that it costs Rs.2200.. 2200?? Is it powered? Does it hav indicator?? Yes yes.. Painting it costed Rs. 500 and lo mirror was back in total Rs.2700.. Didn't even claim insurance for such a small expense.. Even other parts like Bumpers, headlight, tail light, etc are lowest not only in its segment but also many segments below..
Tyre life is just upto 40000 kms.. Optra comes factory fitted with Apollo Accelere Tyres.. Tyre noise is very low and grip is outstanding.. But theres one serious limitation of tyres.. The front tyres gets damage easily in potholes in monsoon (partly bcoz of low profile tyres and partly bcoz of front heaviness. There is some problem with Appollo too).. 1 tyre developed a bubble at 17000kms and one more tyre had same problem at 26000kms.. So shifted one tyre to stepney and one tyre to the rear.. Still, I knew its not safe to use those tyres.. So contacted Apollo and demanded 2 free tyres.. After lot of arguement, got one tyre free and had to pay for one more.. Now my car is running on 2 new tyres and 3 old (including stepney).. I guess, this set will work till 55000kms.. Then will go for new ones before rainy season (preferably Goodyear, which comes factory fitted in Linea).. Another issue is GM recommended Tyre pressure.. Its just 28psi in all 4 wheels.. 28 in rear wheels is fine but front wheels looks like deflated at 28psi.. Theres also extra wear of sidewalls of tyres at this pressure.. Increase the Pressure to 30 psi and Ride quality affects.. I am just confused regarding this..
Warranty: basic warranty is just 3 years/ 50000 kms.. Thats almost gone for me and theres no extended warranty.. And I am also bit unhappy that I have to pay for services henceforth..
Till the time I bought Optra, could not see many of them on roads.. Octavia was the leader.. Now a days, get to see many Optra Magnums and very few Octys.. Thanks to VFM (Value For Money) of Optra.. Highest variant of Optra 2.0 is cheaper than lowest variant of Octy 1.9.. Of-course Octy is better built, quality is very good, handling is perfect and overall fuel efficiency is better.. But Optra better in Ride quality, Power, refinement, features and VFM..
Now the scene is, everybody from my family is suggesting Optra to anybody who is buying a car with budget of around 10 lakhs.. Already 4 Optras 2.0 are bought by our reference group.

Very well written review and awesome pics abhi. Yeah Magnum's diesel is one of the best available. I really surprised to see the price of spares. Logan's ORVM cost the same, but it is not powered and doesn't have indicators and also two segments differents between them.

woah!!
nice review abhi
and man u really love to test your cars' abilities!

gr8 review abhi, i believe its of the underatted diesel cars in our market, have driven it once and the experience was wonderful, superb silent cabin,smooth ride and yes its not for cornering, but for sheer smooth driving experience with good incabin interiors as well as exteriors, was disappointed not to see its aveo not available with diesel engine which for me also is a superb mid size car.

Are all of these your cars?

Yes.. All these cars belongs to us.. I personally use optra.. Check this forum for pics of all cars..

http://www.theautomotiveindiaforums.com/introductions-f3/hello-everybody-t402.htm

abhi_qpotsiavs wrote:Yes.. All these cars belongs to us.. I personally use optra.. Check this forum for pics of all cars..

http://www.theautomotiveindiaforums.com/introductions-f3/hello-everybody-t402.htm

Ya I just did, 10 cars . WOW. What do you do?

We r into constructions.. And all cars are used by family members..

yeah Zal he's richie rich guy buddy :D

Nothing like that.. We r just simple, humble and hard-working people.. :)

well all i can say is hard work pays off!

oh yeah i know that buddy, no offence on that abhi, as archit says hard work pays mate.

Couple of Points i'll like to add.. 1) The key comes with an inbuilt Remote Controller for Locking, Unlocking and Boot Release.. But the range of remote is very poor.. It only operates from distance within 5-6 feets.. 2) Head light beam spread is very poor.. Though sufficient in city, gives tough time on highways (reducing average speed drastically) Planning to Upgrade the headlight bulbs..

what are in your stock ones abhi??
Though a friend owns Aveo and his stock bulbs are good, never felt less on them though.

Stock bulbs are 45/50 watts I guess.. And I am upgrading to 100/90.. I don't know abt Aveo.. But Head Light beam spread of all Optras is poor..

As far as i checked, stock bulbs of all cars are poor, especially on highway. On speeds above 100kph, dangerous too.

I agree to you.. But only in some cases.. Stock Bulbs of Optra nd Verna are poor.. But those of Innova are brilliant.. Even Accent's and Tucson's are decent enough..

Changed the tyres to Michelin Primacy LC. Review is posted over here.
http://www.theautomotiveindiaforums.com/accessories-in-car-entertainment-f19/michelin-primacy-lc-tyres-t825.htm

abhi_qpotsiavs wrote:Stock bulbs are 45/50 watts I guess.. And I am upgrading to 100/90.. I don't know abt Aveo.. But Head Light beam spread of all Optras is poor..

the stock bulbs are 60/55 and are poor on highways, im sure that one will face problems with those bulbs on highways and in places where you dont have street lights on roads, it will be a terrible time driving in those conditions, experienced it recently in my friends santro, more over his front glass was also tinted so it was "HELL ON WHEELS"
btw how much does upgrading to 130/100 cost out there?
for me it costed 1200 including the bulbs from hella

nice pictures & a very nice car.
congrats.

Great review buddy.