I am a thoroughbred biker and have been biking for almost ten years now. Most of my experience has been on Indian stuff and although I should have upgraded to something with more than a single pot a long time ago, I still haven’t. And you know the sad story behind that — the highly exorbitant duties we have to pay. My budget is a maximum of Rs 2 lakh, which puts the Kawasaki Ninja 250R out of my reach. Thus my options are the Yamaha R15 (and I really don’t want another single-cylinder bike) and a used Hyosung Comet. What’s the Comet like to live with, and where can I find spares in Delhi, or anywhere?
Ankur, New Delhi
We feel your pain, we really do. The plain truth is that the Comet should be stayed away from — spares are very hard to find and service is non-existent, plus the bike tends to fall apart over time, in our experience. The Yamaha R15 is a great little bike and a lot of fun can be had on it, despite its relatively tiny engine. We’ll throw in a googly here — consider the new Royal Enfield Classic 500. It’s a single, but it’s a great bike — quick, fast, good-looking, reliable and a surprisingly good handler
Funky Beets
Which is a better car, the new Fiat 500 or the new Volkswagen Beetle?
Suman, via email
Good question! We think that the Fiat 500 is the better car in most respects. It’s a newer design (the Beetle is almost 12 years old), it's a funkier car, there are more personalisation options, it's more fun to drive and it comes with a diesel engine (you can’t order the petrol versions, unfortunately). We’d buy it over the Beetle — but we have to say that you’ll get much better service with Volkswagen, and that the Beetle, with its petrol engine, is more refined.
Better Yeti
I live in the foothills of the Shivalik range. My work requires travelling to the plains as well as the hills. My daily driving is about 30-40 km on either side (towards the Shimla hills or Chandigarh plains) and it’s a mix of highway and city driving. I prefer to drive my vehicle myself. My budget is Rs 15-20 lakh. Kindly suggest a vehicle which is hill-worthy as well as elegant on the plains. Fuel economy is one of my concerns.
Rakesh Chandra, Pinjore
We think you need a diesel vehicle, given your driving pattern. The Skoda Laura and the Chevrolet Cruze are both excellent sedans, with the Cruze being especially good value for money and with a powerful engine. If you want to be a bit different, wait for the Skoda Yeti, which is a very capable off-roader and has very good on-road manners as well. It should be launched before the festive season. If you really want road presence, you could opt for the Toyota Fortuner, which is a couple of lakh over your budget but is a very capable vehicle.
Any automotive questions? Ask us at bijoy.y@bsmail.in
