Indica Xeta or a Santro

[who_meee]

All,

I drive about 25-35 kms a day with the occasional (read once a month) trip to Kerala or TN. My current car is an old M800 and I'm looking to buy a new one this Feb.

The way I see it - my riding time does not justify a diesel vehicle. So I'm down to either the 'established city car', the Santro or the new Indica Xeta. Other than the obvious considerations of FE and reasonable power for a highway jaunt, I will need space for 5 adults in the car. My understanding is that the Santro will be a little cramped for this. And so,

1) Is the extra space I get with the Indica reason enough to go with it? I'm planning on the high end models of both - so Indica is costlier by about 20-30k.

2) How do you guys read the power estimates of the Xeta? I'm clueless on the relation between PS and RPM. But I notice that the Santro has a lesser PS with greater RPM and the Indica has a higher PS with lesser RPM. What does this translate to from a layman's perspective?

3) I don't believe anybody in this forum has undertaken a test drive of the new Xeta. Does anybody know how the Xeta is beyond the ads? (I will take a testdrive soon. But my problem is that I'm so used to driving my old M800 that anything will be an improvement .

Please advise on which one I should go for.
thanks,
vinod

[DCEite]

Who_me.. it would have been great had you given a proper intro of yourself..

Anyways to answer your questions:

1. Yes Indica is a lot more spacious than Santro and WagonR. Forget the tall boys, its even more spacious than Esteem/Swift/Accent. Now what does more space mean for you, only you can answer it.

2. Peak Torque at higher RPM means better highway driving, and peak torque at lower RPM means better city driving.

3. Atleast i have not taken its test drive, but, i guess it should have much better driveability because of its Improved torque which comes at a lower RPM (2600), so theoretically that should transform to better city driving.


BUT....my personal suggestion to you would be to look at the WagonR premea as well. I think they are still selling that model in limited numbers, and it was hugely populer (part of the reason why WagonR sales shot ahead of Indica and Santro). I own one(lxi), and its pretty hassle free for daily city driving. Its just that Santro is slightly more peppy in lower gears, but only just..

[tsk1979]

If space is your criteria, then go for indica. Santro with 5 people is very very uncomfortable in the back seat if any of those people are big.
As for power, indica is more powerful but also heavier so you wont notice much of a difference unless the car is fully loaded.
So if you plan to travel with 5 heavy people buy the indica otherwise go for the santro

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by who_meee

I don't believe anybody in this forum has undertaken a test drive of the new Xeta. Does anybody know how the Xeta is beyond the ads? (I will take a testdrive soon. But my problem is that I'm so used to driving my old M800 that anything will be an improvement .

Exactly....all the talk about the Xeta is just that - talk. I dont think we should be making recommendations about a car based on what the ad says, so perhaps you can take a test drive and post your impressions?

[Abhay]

5 people - go for the Xeta
It has enormous torque too compared to the Santro or any other smaller cars and hence much easier to drive in a city as well as being a stable and good highway car (having done plenty of highway drives myself).
Suspension (and ride comfort) is much better as well.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Abhay

5 people - go for the Xeta
It has enormous torque too compared to the Santro or any other smaller cars and hence much easier to drive in a city as well as being a stable and good highway car (having done plenty of highway drives myself).
Suspension (and ride comfort) is much better as well.

I agree about the ride comfort and stability, but the torque - the Tata website says 12.4kgm @ 2600 rpm....is that enormous? It IS better than the Indigo GLS, though...but that develops 85 bhp from the same motor. They sure are playing around with different stages of tune on one engine, especially when you consider that the Indigo LWB develops 100 bhp, ALSO from the same motor....

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by who_meee

my old M800

What is the FE you are currently getting in this car ?

I had bought the Indica over the Santro/Wagon R/Zen primarly coz I needed the space and was content with a ~10kmpl FE.

Anyways, what is your max budget ? And how long do you plan to keep the car ?

[who_meee]

I get around 10-12kmpl with my M800.

I checked with Concorde Motors in Blore and they gave me the on-road price of the top end Xeta as ~4.3lacs. That is within my budget. I plan on keeping the car for about 4-5 years atleast.

Thanks for all your replies, folks!

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by who_meee

I get around 10-12kmpl with my M800.

Well then FE wise you'll be fine with the Indica as it should give you similar figures. No change in monthly fuel bills

Originally Posted by who_meee

~4.3lacs. That is within my budget.

So if this is within your budget may we presume you can stretch till 5L ish ?
If so you could probably look at some sedan options ... but then if you specifically want a hatch then let's not go there ..

[who_meee]

Originally Posted by shuvc

So if this is within your budget may we presume you can stretch till 5L ish ?
If so you could probably look at some sedan options ... but then if you specifically want a hatch then let's not go there ..

Thanks for the tip. But I want to stay within 4.5l inclusive of a fairly decent audio setup (hint: expect a query in the ICE section some days later .

And yes, I specifically want a hatch.

Which Indica did you buy? The petrol or the diesel one?

/vv

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by who_meee

Which Indica did you buy? The petrol or the diesel one?
/vv

I had a Indica 2000 .. it was a 2001 model petrol. The current car (Xeta) should give you more FE.

If you are not in a rush to buy the car, maybe you could wait a while. The yet to be released Chevrolet Aveo could be an option at that range.

If I was in your position and had to decide today, I would have gone for the Xeta.
However, if I needed space for max 4 adults instead of 5, I would have gone for the Swift VXi.

[Sri_009]

Go for Xeta, with this you will get B+ seg car with good FE and very low price. With 1.4 engine if you get 13 to 14 is best milage.

[extreme_torque]

Why dont u look at the Indica turbo diesel.... after 2000 rpm is not a diesel car! The powerband is very wide for a diesel, almost 2500 rpm to play with.

[GTO]

I checked with Concorde Motors in Blore and they gave me the on-road price of the top end Xeta as ~4.3lacs. That is within my budget.

Why dont you strongly consider the Getz? There are some superb deals available, with 4.2 - 4.3 lacs being the on-road price for the base version in Mumbai. It will seat 5, and will offer you a motoring level far superior to the Indica / Santro brigade.

If you consider the Indica, please opt for the Diesel. Among various other reasons, it does not have the usual 1 lakh diesel - premium in its price.

GTO

[bilal]

but if u r lukin for peace of mind,santro would be fine.Power obtained at lower rpm means practical power ie,you can feel the quoted bhp in your normal cruises.I ve driven xeta and is a lot more responsive than santro.mileage for both would be comparable.passenger space as well as boot is substantially more in xeta.engine refinment is surprisingly good for xeta.

I drive about 25-35 kms a day with the occasional (read once a month) trip to Kerala or TN. My current car is an old M800 and I'm looking to buy a new one this Feb.

The way I see it - my riding time does not justify a diesel vehicle. So I'm down to either the 'established city car', the Santro or the new Indica Xeta. Other than the obvious considerations of FE and reasonable power for a highway jaunt, I will need space for 5 adults in the car. My understanding is that the Santro will be a little cramped for this. And so,

1) Is the extra space I get with the Indica reason enough to go with it? I'm planning on the high end models of both - so Indica is costlier by about 20-30k.

2) How do you guys read the power estimates of the Xeta? I'm clueless on the relation between PS and RPM. But I notice that the Santro has a lesser PS with greater RPM and the Indica has a higher PS with lesser RPM. What does this translate to from a layman's perspective?

3) I don't believe anybody in this forum has undertaken a test drive of the new Xeta. Does anybody know how the Xeta is beyond the ads? (I will take a testdrive soon. But my problem is that I'm so used to driving my old M800 that anything will be an improvement .

Please advise on which one I should go for.
thanks,
vinod[/quote]