It's been four long months since we've reported on our long term SX4 and I've just got the keys back after a good 9,701 km on the clock. The last time we reported on our SX4, it was parked in our friendly neighbourhood Sah & Sanghi service centre after being caught in a Mumbai deluge. The body control module, the power steering unit, the carpets, the seatbelts and a few small bits were replaced. The bill was a whopping Rs 80,000 outside the claimed insurance amount. The guys at Maruti Suzuki spared me the huge salary cut and were kind enough to pick up the tab.

With the SX4 back in the BSM parking lot, and myself too engrossed with the extra horses that we'd just extracted out of the Swift, Srini took the keys to the car. Now, he's a busy body and is always in the process of moving house, ferrying people and taking Junior around for drives, apart from commuting just listen to his heavy metal with the stereo turned the way up. And he's clocked a good 7,000 km on the SX4 and has come back with a list of his likes and dislikes about the car. So while he finds the ignition key a bit fiddly and sorely misses a dead pedal in the car, he thoroughly enjoys playing with the audio system through the steering controls on his way to work, while singing praises of the huge boot without placing a single piece of luggage in it.

We've also had an unusual number of punctures with the front right and left rear tyres of the SX4. The tubeless tyres, though allow for quick fixes. The power window controls also refused to work one morning, but this was traced to a faulty fuse which was promptly replaced. Srini also did manage to give the rear bumper a shapely dent after reversing into the sharp edge of a Minidor, but no major damage there.

With the SX4 back in my possession. I'm now nursing the hair-trigger clutch thanks to Srini's long stop-and-go commute. The gears have become notchy as a result of that clutch and my quick shift antics don't seem to be as quick anymore. A few hundred kays on the clock and the SX4's due for another service. I have some relatives visiting soon, so here's my chance to take Srini up on that boot space boast as well. No, not for my relatives, for their luggage. But until then I'll enjoy the growl of the motor and turn up the volume using the foot controls.