Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Your first car is something you never forget. Mine was a rusty old Ford Fiesta 1.1 affectionately nicknamed ‘Drippy’ due to the oil leak, which eventually led to it being sold for scrap metal.
I loved that old banger, despite the fact it had no central locking, no power steering, the speedometer was temperamental and trying to manoeuvre it felt a bit like trying to steer a tank.
Nowadays, new drivers are spoilt for choice and there are many options more appealing than good old Drippy.
The 2013 Suzuki DZire is an entry-level sedan with a no nonsense attitude to motoring. It has a compact and well-rounded exterior, which sits low to the ground.
Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better and there are a number of advantages to driving a compact car, especially around Manama.
Press the remote unlock button on the key to slip inside the practical cabin and you’re away. The inside is straightforward and uncomplicated, which is refreshing in an age when it can take 15 minutes to figure out how to adjust the radio station in a new car.
The seats are upholstered in cloth and are manually adjustable so you can find a comfortable driving position.
As for onboard entertainment, there wasn’t a great deal on the model I drove besides the radio, CD player and USB port. However, that just means there’s less to distract you from the drive.
Under the bonnet of this compact car is a 1.2-litre engine paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission.
One of the obvious benefits of the DZire’s size is that you can find a suitable parking space without mounting the curb, as many SUV drivers in the kingdom have a tendency to do.
It’s great for city driving and weaving between lanes of traffic, providing its safe to do so.
This model certainly won’t set any speed record, but for a first time driver it’s ideal and offers ample power and handles well.
The DZire comes with cloth upholstery, power steering, dual airbags, ABS with EBD and a CD/MP3 player as standard. Options include full power features, keyless entry system, trip computer, fog lamps, 4-speaker stereo, tweeters, stereo steering controls, USB port and automatic climate control.
Prices start from BD4,800 for the GL and BD5,600 for the GL including registration, free insurance and five years or unlimited kilometre warranty. Trade-in and test drives are available.
For details, call 17252606, 39813081, 39237406 and 66331982.
