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Srini always wanted a grown up hatch. The moment Hyundai launched the Getz, he was ready with cash in hand. It was bigger than the Santro that was his transport then, it drove like a big car and it was still a hatchback. Sure, he would have loved a VW Golf GTi in white, but it was and is still not available for Indian consumption.
When my company decided to give me something better than the ageing Zen, they were thinking of sedans. Er, ageing three-box options that consisted of Maruti Esteems or Hyundai Accents. By then, the Maruti Suzuki combine had launched the Swift, and when the decision for my car was being taken, I was rallying one at the Raid-de-Himalaya. I was in love with the performance, the overall agility and the fact that the ZXi model came with airbags and ABS. So to the surprise of the admin boys, I settled for a two-box car, but one with safety features that the Esteem and Accent never had in their base versions.
The long and short of it is that Srini and I are stuck with red hatchbacks. Sure enough, these cars play the role of the second car most of the time – important tools to bring us back to reality when the BMW 3 Series returns to its maker after a road test and the Lamborghini Gallardo drive in Las Vegas fades into memory. They are also test beds for music systems, baby seats and aftermarket exhausts. Tyres are next in the list, we hear. These cars have been serving us well over the last three years (in the case of Srini) and over two years (in my case).
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