Sleek and sexy as her car, pop star Mehnaz finds nothing as thrilling as burning some rubber in her new Honda City automatic. Fareeda Kanga buckles up for a ride.

“One look, and it was love at first sight!” says singer Mehnaz, describing her reaction to the Honda City 1.5 L automatic. After test-driving the Opel Corsa and the Mitsubishi Lancer, Mehnaz flipped for this sleek Japanese machine since it had all she was looking for in a car. “Nothing compares to the sleek styling and sporty feel of the City,” she croons.

Just like the popularity of the Honda City, Mehnaz's career is in top gear. From the release of her debut album 'Miss India' in 1996, Mehnaz has come a long way. Undoubtedly, tracks like 'Main Hoon' and 'Miss India' won her instant recognition as a singer with great promise. Then followed the Channel V award for Best Female Vocalist in the Indian Pop category, and this spunky singer was well on her way to stardom.

Mehnaz's latest project was a song from the motion picture Split Wide Open titled ‘You Are’ in collaboration with the world famous group 'Air Supply'. The song was recorded in Hindi whilst the video was shot in the Mojave Desert, California.

Mehnaz reminisces about her early driving experiences when she would nervously drive a Maruti 800 to her dance rehearsals with Shiamak Davar. "Eight to ten dancers would squeeze into my car and we would be packed tighter than a can of sardines,she laughs. Amongst her automobile escapades, Mehnaz rates her encounter with a cockroach high on the horror scale: “I’m petrified of cockroaches and when I spotted one of these creepy-crawlies inside, I jumped out and abandoned my car at a traffic light!”
Sensing a true ‘Bakra’ in Mehnaz, the MTV team planned an elaborate trap for her on April Fool’s Day. Two actors, masquerading as robbers, forcibly entered Mehnaz’s Honda and demanded money and jewellery at knifepoint. “I was trembling and fell for the gag in a big way,” she says.“In fact even my driver, who was in on the plot, has become a mini-celebrity thanks to the Bakra show, not to mention my car!”

M U Khan, Mehnaz’s driver of 20-odd years, pips in: “Kya gadi hai, aur Honda ka service hai lajavaab! (what a car, and Honda’s service is fabulous!)”

Zipping down Marine Drive at 3.00am with some Steely Dan on for company is Mehnaz’s perfect idea of a great drive. “The automatic is such a pleasure to drive. Sometimes, it feels strange having my left foot free from the clutch.”

Leaving her Honda behind in Mumbai, Mehnaz indulges in speed thrills on her jaunts abroad. “I sat in a Ferrari in London and was definitely blown away, both literally and figuratively,” she says. “I guess if I had to pick a dream car, it would be a Ferrari or the Merc C-class.”

Besides jumping out of cars and being held at knifepoint, Mehnaz reckons she’s had a pretty sedate driving experience. “I’ve never banged any of my cars,” she says with authority, “and don’t intend to ever!” Interview over, she jumps into the driver’s seat and zips down the road towards another milestone.