[Neeraj Dabake]

I am planning to buy a new car and have shortlisted Santro/WagonR/Estillo/Alto..Since i am currently learning driving, want to keep the choices simple. I have driven santro/alto during my driving lessons, and no experience of driving wagon-r/estillo.

My usage would be pretty light - approx 400 km per month with an occasional long trip on weekends. Most of the usage will be in Mumbai city traffic - around 15 km daily. I dont care much for either looks or performance, but more concerned with seating comfort, pleasant driving experience, and would like the most easy-to-drive, responsive zippy car.

Few questions
1) Is power window a useful feature to have? Is it true that power windows face more problems and are costlier to maintain etc than normal windows?

2) I have a slightly weird observation on santro. The back seat of Santro is curved as in the middle portion is further back compared to the two sides near the two windows. So, if you are sitting at the back right hand side behind the driver, the portion of the back seat supporting your left side is further back compared to the right side - which means that you do not have flat back support, which i found rather uncomfortable. Has anyone ever noticed this before, or is it just my mind playing games?

3)On the Alto - i have read a lot that its interiors are very cramped and there is very little leg space. My question is whether the legspace is so cramped that it will cause problems for a person of thin-to-moderate build with a height of about 5 feet 6 inches?

4) I have also read that the Zen Estillo was launched hastily, and as a result, it is not very popular in the Indian market leading to poor resale value. Is that true? Apart from looks, any particular reason to choose Estillo over wagon-r?

5) Another observation on the santro and especially the indica - the high windscreen glass position seems to make visibility slightly difficult as in I seem to have to stretch my neck to see forward sometimes and at corners. (I am 5 feet 7 inches). Is this something that has bothered anybody here?

6) Apart from leg-space, what would be the only clinching argument to go for any other car than Alto in my list, if as i said earlier I dont care much for either looks or performance. I anyway believe that none of the above will seat 5 persons really comfortably, and so for example - what could be the reason for choosing estillo over alto?

Thanks in advance
Neeraj