Alto or Xeta

[dileepd11]

I also had to deal with the same problem ( Alto vs Xeta ). I was a die hard fan of Alto and it's FE, until i drove a friend's Indica V2 Petrol to office one day. Although i had a tough time getting the vehicle out of my friends house which was at the end of a very narrow road, I realized its power, stablity and driving comfort once on the main road. Once i drove it there was no looking back. The Xeta is even more refined and smoother than the V2 Petrol. It even offers better mileage.

But i still had a tough time convincing my parents on the xeta as the vehicle was primarly for them (i am looking to go for the indica Dicor on its launch.). The resistance lasted only till they saw the vehicle at the showroom.

The very same day they decided on the Xeta as the price difference between Alto LXI and Xeta GLS was just 10k. And thus a Xeta was scheduled to arrive home on 14th of April.

The TATA agent at the showroom showed me a report in a Malayalam Auto Magazine called "Top Gear" which was titled "XETA : The Mileage Champion" It spoke of a whooping mileage of 16.X kmpl in city and 18.X kmpl in Highway, with an average of about 17.2 kmpl. Is this news true to any extent? The sales person also accerted that they had sold around 60 Xeta's in Trivandrum(although i am yet to notice one on the road) and most of the users have certified a mileage of about 16kmpl.

The showroom guys after booking dint have even 1 car of each color to show us. for selecting the color. The only proper car they could show us was a blue one in the showroom. We asked to see the other colors and they called up their yard, surprisingly the yard dint even kave a single Green or red car of any variant to show us . So they took us to their workshop to show us the cars.

Load of cars, old and even many new were lying around the workshop all dismantled. Finally they located a Grren one all dismantled to show us the color. And they showed us another green one all covered with dust and told us that it was the one they meant for us. They told ud that another customer wanted the same color but they had blocked it for us. the car looked like it had been lying in the workshop for over a month.

We declined the offer and asked them to inform us when the next lot of cars arrive. But they them selves are not sure when that will happen. As a result the release of the car has been extended infinitely and we have decided that we will select the car only after seeing all the colors and test driving the one we want. Cant take any chances.

The workshop gave me the overall impression that most of the new cars had some problem or the other, which are taken to the workshop dismantled and fixed before being moved on. Anyway i have booked a car and i will see to it that no matter how they try to coax us we will accept the car only after proper inspection.

After a week after the booking finally we got to see all the colors. We decided to go for the Lagoon Blue Xeta GLS. We have also been promised a (Pioneer Mp3 player + 2 Speakers) for Rs3000/- extra ie Rs3,30,000/- in all. The final delivery is now scheduled for 20th April.

[nevertouchme]

Originally Posted by rajdoll

Hi Guys,
One of friends is to decide between Alto and Indica Xeta. Both are now costing around 3 Lacs, most of the factors are in favour of Xeta, the only Info remains left for final decision is the FE of Xeta and any Issues with Tata's Petrol engine as far reliability is concerned.
Anybody owning Xeta please prvoide its actual FE though the adv. says 14kmpl.

Xeta is a better car. And i have a friend who drives the Lsi Model of Indica, says it's pretty p'wrful. If u want FE, go for ALTO. If not may be you can zero on XETA.
Attractive colors on Road... Give it a Shot

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by rajdoll

really great FE.
BTW how many people travelled with you and how comfortable were they at the back seat for this 10 hour journey?

Sorry for the late reply. I travelled with my parents. So 3 of us. One seat loaded with soft luggage apart from the boot fully loaded with luggage. Yes so a fully loaded car.

Ravi

[bullboy]

could any one compare xeta with santro ?
i think it is more relavant rather than
comparing with alto.

[nispatel]

Originally Posted by bullboy

could any one compare xeta with santro ?
i think it is more relavant rather than
comparing with alto.

Given that this post is for Alto and Xeta and you looking for Santro information as well, let’s compare all three here.

Engine
-------
Alto: Has a very small engine. Although we refer it as a small car, it's actually a micro car as per international standard. It has adequate power if you don't switch on AC. With AC running, it don't run, it crawls.
Xeta: Had a very good power and translates in good drivability. In fact, it qualifies to be a premium hatchback segment car to a large extent. More than adequate power even with switching AC on.
Santro: Adequate power in all condition. One of way to check this is switching on ac while running vehicle at around 50-60 KM/H and try to feel the lag. In Alto, it's very evident. In Xeta, you won't feel at all. And in Santro, it you are conscious, then only you'll realize.

My verdict on Engine: Xeta

Suspension
------------
Alto: Fairly OK setup. Independent suspension in front and coil spring at rear. It’s a reasonably good for the capacity of the car.
Xeta: One of the finest suspensions in its segment. It will very much isolate the cabin from uneven road surface. It can also smoothen out harsh metal bump you find in multistory parking.
Santro: Reasonably good suspension for it being a genuine small car as per international standard. I can get feeling that car is getting hurt (I'm not though) while running on metal bump.

My verdict on suspension: Xeta wins hands on with large margin. Second one is Santro followed by Alto.

FE
---
Well, everything comes in a package. You have Xeta with good power, Santro with adequate power and Alto with barely enough power. You get FE in the reverse order. But I must mention that there is only marginal difference between mileage for that of Xeta and Santro where Xeta drinks just a little more than Santro.


Build
-----
All of three are having reasonably good build quality. But if you are the one who plan to be carefree, Xeta will take it with smile while other too will do but you might get an idea that your car is getting hurt.

IMPORTANT - Drivers' comfort
--------------------------------
I put lot of emphasis on this aspect as this is very important for new drivers for thier own safety, safety of the car and also for the safety of the people you'll find yourself around.
Alto: Offers a reasonably good visibility to the driver and it is breeze to drive. Set up around driver's seat is ergonomic and makes everything easily accessible.
Xeta: High mounted dashboard significantly reduces visibility. You'll have to judge front left corner of the car new driver tends to get it scratched. And if you getting in and out of multistory parking, you'll for sure face some inconvinces.
Santro: Offers fantastic visibility and driver setup is top notch. I just love it's AC button design which combines fan and AC on/off switch into one single unit.

My verdict on this dept: Santro followed by Alto and then Xeta. My philosophy is that visibility inspires confidence in driving and that translate is sheer driving pleasure. (Although high mounted dashboard is considered international standard, it's fine in US where drivers leave a few feet of distance between their cars but it's a sheer inconvience in Indian metros having bumper to bumper traffic.)


Overall conclusion:
There are other department in the car which are untouched but for the buyer of a small car, I'll consider only the ones above important as these determines drivability. For first car and if you have just got your driving license you got to have Santro. If you are a careful type and budget is a criterion, it got to be, of course, Alto. If you are a good driver and thinking on any one of these cars, it got to be Xeta all the way.


Disclaimer: There are opinions of my own as a result of first hand experience with each of these cars. I recognize others rights to differ on this.

[abhijit 2284]

I think a alto is ten times better when it comes to fit ,finish ,FE , dealer service satisfaction and reliability.

A Alto stranded on the road due to some problem would be a rare occurance, but I bet you would get to see your fair share of Tata vehicles.

FE in alto in city is in the range of 17 and for xeta realistic figure in the same traffic would be 11 , so the the 10,000 that anyone would save over the on-road price would definately dissappear fast.

With regard to service normally the norm is that one out of ten MUL dealer's is bad and vice versa with TATA dealers.

In between I happened on the chance to drive the Indigo of my friends father in law.After driving it for 2 full days , when the time came to fuel it up did I come to know that its a petrol "Indigo"

Normally you hear about peole mistaking a diesel car for a petrol but such is the lack of refinement of the Indigi petrol that I was thinking that TATA have improved on the quality of their diesels . Never did I once even feel that its a petrol engined vehicle.

I have been driving since the last 14 years , so not much chance that I dont know enough difference between a petrol and diesel vehicle.

We used to have two TATA Sierra's at one time and after visiting the TATA dealer in Pune and Aurangabad I don't think the scenario has changed much.

[rajdoll]

A Alto stranded on the road due to some problem would be a rare occurance, but I bet you would get to see your fair share of Tata vehicles.

These are mostly cabs, where cabbies really push their vehicles to extreme to extract as much as possbile out of them giving less importance to timely servicing. Private owners never do that.

FE in alto in city is in the range of 17 and for xeta realistic figure in the same traffic would be 11 , so the the 10,000 that anyone would save over the on-road price would definately dissappear fast.

If FE is the only requirement, then buy 800 why even alto. Xeta can give you loads of space, comfort and big car feel, which you normally get in sedans.

Normally you hear about peole mistaking a diesel car for a petrol but such is the lack of refinement of the Indigi petrol that I was thinking that TATA have improved on the quality of their diesels . Never did I once even feel that its a petrol engined vehicle.

I think, you need to drive Xeta once. If is not that bad as you sound it to be. I have driven Swift and Xeta and I can tell you Xeta is not very far behind.

[condor]

Originally Posted by rajdoll

These are mostly cabs, where cabbies really push their vehicles to extreme to extract as much as possbile out of them giving less importance to timely servicing. Private owners never do that.

Check the running that these cabs have done - and dont be surprised if they have crossed the 150,000km mark. Combine that with the number of drivers that some of these cabs have had would seen - 50,60, & counting, and it's no surprise if they break down sometimes.

[alexrabbi]

Xeta would be more powerful , bigger and strudier.

Alleast u can ride without fear on highways and in b/w big vehicles.

Alto feels real small

Cheers
Alex

[anup7649]

Xeta is a car in which one will feel very secured travelling beside any vehicle. Owning a XETA from past 6 months, I have felt very comfortable driving on highways. The FE that I have been getting on highways is always >16kmpl. And in city regularly I get 13-14kmpl.
These figures are normally with A/C on. There is lot of difference to compare Alto and a XETA. I do not understand how an Alto is being compared with XETA. Upto some extent Santro can be compared with XETA, since the both these are nearly same sized engine(300C differenced). Alto is almost half of XETA. People who have rode bigger vehicles like SUV's would appreciate what the comfort feel is. Having started riding the small cars like 800 or Alto, one would be under lot of under-requirement of comfort that people will feel that FE is all one wants at the end of day. To tell the fact one requires comfortness while in car.

[kutlee]

i had to google to know what Xeta is. i thought all the indicas on road are diesels. no i have to watch how many are on the road. Price is very attractive. Even Santro doesn't give more than 12 in city.

[Ajay_J]

Originally Posted by anup7649

Xeta is a car in which one will feel very secured travelling beside any vehicle. Owning a XETA from past 6 months, I have felt very comfortable driving on highways. The FE that I have been getting on highways is always >16kmpl. And in city regularly I get 13-14kmpl.
These figures are normally with A/C on. There is lot of difference to compare Alto and a XETA. I do not understand how an Alto is being compared with XETA. Upto some extent Santro can be compared with XETA, since the both these are nearly same sized engine(300C differenced). Alto is almost half of XETA. People who have rode bigger vehicles like SUV's would appreciate what the comfort feel is. Having started riding the small cars like 800 or Alto, one would be under lot of under-requirement of comfort that people will feel that FE is all one wants at the end of day. To tell the fact one requires comfortness while in car.

XETA indeed had taken me by surprise when I first test driven it. Good looks (specially black), Good performance , Good space, Interior too were quite okay type. FE is somewhere 12 in city. All this for a extreamely competetive price tag. Thats a steal. Only negetive thing about vehicle is bit of niggling issue and heard that TATA A** is not as good.

[rahul_intlad]

Has to be the indiaca xeta.

Just drive the two and you would feel the difference.Morover for mumbai roads you need a sturdy vehicle like the xeta.

[panky12345]

XETA all the way.....u can install CNG for FE!!

[mail4ajo]

Everyone, talked about FE, power, space, Safety!!! No one talked about resale value(Sorry, If someone did)

How many years would one drive a car these days. Gone are the days, when our grandpas used cars for ages. Its use and throw now. Which car would give you better resale value - Ofcourse not Xeta. Check the second hand market to see for yourself.

After years of hard use, you could still get better resale value on a Maruti car than a TATA - no doubt