Being born in the mid-90s, I had the privilege of witnessing some automotive legends, the Ambassador, Contessa, Omni, Zen, the first-gen Safari, and many more.
BHPian LHRider recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Hey fellow BHPians, I hope you’re all doing well! I’ve been a silent reader for quite some time, but today I feel inspired to share something special. This is the story of “my car” a journey that has forged an unbreakable bond between human and machine.
To give a little background, being born in the mid-90s, I had the privilege of witnessing some automotive legends, the Ambassador, Contessa (what a beauty!), Omni, Zen, the first-gen Safari, and many more. These machines shaped the golden era of the Indian automotive landscape that followed.
I have learned driving on the Santro zing, what a car it was. The handling, fit and finish, air conditioning, and the seating comfort. Family upgraded to this from maruti 800 and yes this upgrade made all the difference in our perspective of automobile.
Fast forward to 2009, family welcomed the Hyundai i10 (Kappa), and it completely redefined driving aesthetics for a daily car. With its sharp handling, power, and comfort, the i10’s European-like design may not have been love at first sight, but it grew on me quickly. This was the year I began my driving journey—a dream come true for a kid who could recognise cars just by their headlights, taillights, or side profile. Sitting behind the wheel of the 1200cc Kappa engine delivering 82 PS, I instantly fell in love with driving.
The downside of falling in love with driving was that I didn’t have access to the car whenever I wanted. Since it was a family car, and my elders were frequently traveling both in and out of the city, I only got to drive it about once a week—definitely no more than twice. So, my dream of being behind the wheel was a bit limited. This was the time I made a firm promise to myself-once I complete my undergrad, I will land a job and buy myself a car-my car.
By 2021, despite having completed my undergrad and working for three years, I still hadn’t bought my own car. Instead, I drove a 2008 WagonR, fondly called “RWagon” The reason was simple-while I wanted to buy my own car, my finances weren’t in the best shape—not because of low earnings but due to poor money management. Plus, my family insisted I use the RWagon, as we already had three cars at home and there was no need for a new one.
2020 was a surprising year with COVID, and it was also when I started my own venture in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. This meant frequent drives between Delhi and Manali in RWagon, and I truly realized how reliable Marutis are—no fuss, no major maintenance issues, and the car never needed a service above 5K, even after 12 years and 1.2 lakh kms on the odometer.
However, there were downsides-safety, power on steep hills, and overall ride comfort. Don’t get me wrong, RWagon was incredibly dependable, but considering its age and the heavy load it carried during those 13-hour trips between Delhi and Manali, it was starting to show its limitations.
Then came the real test in 2021, while driving between Kanpur and Delhi, the air conditioning failed, and the car began overheating. We somehow made it to Delhi, and my trusted mechanic, Ejaz bhai, informed me that the cooling system needed a complete overhaul, costing around ₹20K. After a thorough inspection, he advised, “Bhaiya, aap gaadi badal lo” (Bro, it’s time to change the car). He had two solid reasons- RWagon’s age and the demands I was putting on it. While he did some jugaad to fix the AC, it only worked at night, failing in the slightest sunlight.
It was clear—RWagon had done its time.
By this time, I had saved a good amount from my corporate job, and my Manali venture was generating decent returns. After a few hours of financial planning, I decided it was time to finally fulfill my dream of owning my car. With a budget set at 7 lakhs, my options were the Kwid facelift, Ford Figo, Swift, i10 Nios, and Tiago facelift.
I test drove the Kwid and i10 Nios. The Kwid’s top model lacked essentials like a good music system, power, seating comfort, and space—definitely not for me. The i10 Nios Magna, though tempting due to my soft spot for the i10 brand, didn’t meet my expectations in terms of drive stability, build quality, and rear-seat comfort, though it scored well on tech and front seating. Ultimately, it was crossed off for its build and power.
The Ford Figo was out of the running as the dealership itself warned about service issues and Ford’s exit from the Indian market. I also ruled out the Swift after a friend warned me about its safety, especially considering 70% of my driving would be on highways.
Then came the Tiago facelift. I had driven the first-gen Tiago and was impressed with its driving experience and safety, although I wasn’t a fan of its looks. I skipped the Baleno and Altroz as their base models under ₹7 lakhs lacked key features.
I headed to ARYA TATA in Gurgaon for a test drive of the facelifted Tiago. After a 30-40 minute wait, the car was ready.
YES the test rive was impressive, the strong thud, music system, the seat height, driving dynamics- this car impressed me on all these fronts.
In terms of space I actually noticed that the rear seat offered good amount of legroom- I am exact 6ft tool and with the driver’s seat height adjusted to my driving position, I was able to sit comfortably in the rear row. Me and my childhood friend closely checked the car on all fronts and after 15 mins we landed onto the conclusion- This is IT!!
Now came the time to go for the right variant- the offerings were XE, XT(O), XT, XZ & XZ+
XZ+ was crossed off as this was crossing 7 lakhs mark.
XE & XT(O) were also crossed off as both were base models and something was missing from both of these.
The final decision was between XT and XZ – very inclined towards XZ as it offered touchscreen with andriod auto and apple car play, along with look like alloys, fog lights and it was right in the budget – 6.85 lacs with basic accesories. But as the world works – you always don’t get what you want!!
The SA told that XZ has 6 weeks of waiting period and he would try to get the vehicle delivered in 4-5 weeks but I have to wait.
The problem was, I required the vehicle within 2 weeks of time as I had to travel to Manali for my business and because of covid situation public transports were not available readily.
But as said-you don’t get what you want but still you can have some!!
The next day SA called and gave me some good news- There was a couple who booked XT but their loan was not getting processed, hence after much try they cancelled their booking and the vehicle would be arriving in the next 3 days.
One man’s loss is another man’s gain
Well the XT lacked 3 things – no touchscreen, no alloys and no fog lights.
After analysing I concluded that touchscreen is a good to have feature not must have, XT offered 4 built in speakers and Harman in Dash music system and the sound quality is BOMB , *look like alloys doesn’t create the vibes of alloys eventually and both XT & XZ have same tyre dimensions, fog lights can be fitted as accessories. Finally it was decided Tiago facelift XT will be the 1st “my car”
Since it arrived in 2021, this little machine has never failed to put a smile on my face every time I drive it. From the mountain roads of Manali to Darcha La, highway trips from Himachal to Delhi, Delhi to my hometown Kanpur, and adventures through Mussoorie, Almora, Gangolihat in Uttarakhand, this car has seen it all. One of the most memorable journeys was the epic 2100 km drive from Kanpur to Bangalore in 2022, when two friends and I moved to Bangalore for work.
Whether it’s been trips from Bangalore to Ooty, Coorg, Munnar, Pondicherry, or other hill stations, this “little tiger” has conquered every terrain—tarmac, concrete, sand, stones, mud, snowy slopes, and the slippery monsoon roads of the Western Ghats, through it all.
With 3 years complete and 34K on the odometer it has never failed to impress, making every journey memorable.
I somewhere read this -“The bond between a machine and its driver is like the soul of the machine and the body of the human-where the soul intuitively understands what the body desires”
Well this is my first post and definitely a long one, please give it a read and apologies for mistakes while typing (have crossed checked though)
Let me know for any feedback or any of you want to know about the travels with the “Tiger”
For now just some images to cherish together!!
Thank you folks
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
