OF RED ROSES AND REJECTS

I happen to get a chance to drive two cars a Honda city ( the new old one that is) & Maruti Suzuki Baleno. These 2 cars are generally not compared but tell you wat these two cars would actually belong to the same group if Maruti hadn’t so “aggressively” cut the price of the Baleno. These two cars command a very unique position in the market, while the Baleno has been dropped like a hot coal the City sells like hot cakes.
The city is totally futuristic, at least in de looks dept., is wat many ppl say but in my opinion the front looks as if somebody kicked the bonnet really hard & the boot seems to be design afterthought. The interiors of the Honda are good but what were de engineers thinkin when they put such a fat A- pillar which has blind spots that would shame David Blaine at de vanishin act.
The Baleno is no looker either, its plain Jane looks never turned heads and probably won’t. Its interiors are of vintage pedigree of a bygone era. They still seem to have slider switches. The odometer and tripmeter haven’t yet caught up wid de digital age. The icing on de cake is probably de climate control unit on de top end models. Wow! Only the Swift is another car which is close by the price range which boasts one.
I was raring to have a go at de Honda city. I missed out on the older generation city and I sure wanted to make amends. Boy oh boy, was I disappointed & how the Engine is dull with almost no throttle response. The steering wheel is vague & too damn light to transmit any feedback. The car is more like playin on your comp wid de force feedback switched off. I think Honda is too much into virtual simulation and stuff, things just crept into de City project.
The Baleno has a fine Engine & a finer steering. It’s well weighted I cannot wonder wat it would be lik if de tyres were a lil lower profiled. As a car if you looked at it from an enthusiastic driver’s point of view it’s a stellar performer. The cars steering just oozes confidence into de heart and mind of de driver. It’s remarkably sensitive. The car bein a low rider has very minimal body roll. You could just close your eyes for a moment, imagine you are Schumacher or whoever your favourite car racer is, and de car wouldn’t disappoint you as the City would.
Agreed de city goes more kilometers per liter, the Engine is a refined one. It seems as though the Honda has been designed by ASIMO & it naturally chucked out de character that de old City had. The Baleno bein a great car doesn’t get the recognition it requires. To top it all if u look at de sales chart u would see de city probably outsells de Baleno one is to ten minimum. It seems ppl don’t lik any open exhibition of character. Oh dear Oh my! Wat is de world comin to??