5-7L No car we can buy?

[LightningSpring]

Here's the deal. My fiance and I are both busy professionals, soon to settle in Good-gaon. Constraints to our requirements are as follows:
a. The lady's a total newbie. Budgeting a burnt clutch in first three months!
b. Expect the car to get nicks et al, so don't want no pansy.
c. We both love the mountains, and want a car that can take us to the hills regularly - mostly Kumaon/Garwhal, and maybe one day to Leh. GC is our middle name.
d. I AM a safety freak. With nearly 1 lakh km under my belt, and seen countless crashes on the road, I will want ABS/airbags, else Nothing else will do!
e. Easy to park. Good-gaon rules. Madam needs the extra breathing space.
f. Steering with feedback. EPS, please excuse.
g. No maniac for speed, but cruising at 120 all day is what it must be capable of. Else my Karizma will do the job.
h. A.S.S is critical. My sales job keeps me out of town atleast 20+ days a month. Tata will just not make the cut for Madam (else palioD is what I love).
i. July is as far as we can wait for the car.
Budget: 5-7L (stretchable a bit)
Expected running: 600km city, 800-1000km highway on weekends (one hill/rajasthan trip a month minimum) - wanted diesel but..!
Current frontrunner: Chevy UVA.
TD Experiences:
i10. Superb interiors, lots of thoughtful ideas, safety too, but smaller engine, horribly vague EPS.Disconnected odo.
Fabia. Unbelievably nice interiors, very well designed, safety, OK pickup (compared to dZire), EXTREMELY Noisy, Overpriced. TD on delivery car!
UVA. Smooth, extremely refined, confused about FE, A.S.S quality?, priced decently, no safety features (only ABS in top end-option model costing 5.41 lakh). Unbelievable GC.
Spark. Ruled out for reasons of space
dZire ZDi. Fell in love with the overall experience. But, eight months waiting period is not OK, nor the "take it or leave it" attitude at Apra for dZire - the salesman seemed insistent on pushing VXi. Rattles were not there (3100km done TD car) as also ride quality seemed decent. Was confident at 120 kph, not really bad steering but had tyre noise at 140 kph. Seems to be better than the swift on those counts!
Palio D. Fantastic car but neither safety package nor A.S.S peace of mind and that SUV of a turning radius rule it out.

What's left:
Logan (horrible interiors but pretty good ride quality and expensive diesel- lower down in priority)
Scorpio lx (might extend budget for it)
Bolero SLE (fulfils my requirements but madam may have a tough time, image issues).

Completely undecided. Would appreciate inputs on both safety/ease of driving as well as ruggedness pov. Swift LDi is tempting, but quality/safety questions remain. For UVA, ***/mileage/airbag question remains.

[Jaxy]

buddy, why skoda fabia is an option.

[ballkey]

Ford Fusion+ Petrol can be suggested.
Comes with ABS,EBD, and can do 120 handily, with acceptable FE.
Great all-round visibility, superb handling and 190mm GC, so a little on the rugged side.
Might fall in your price range; resale is a concern, though.

Otherwise the Swift Zxi. SX4 might feel too big for a lady.

[mhafeez_13666]

Did you see Fabia 1.4 Petrol Elegance? Definitely expensive but I think it has everything what you wanted. Style, safety, small Car, luxury etc.

Else as Ballkey said, Swift looks like the best option (but you will be driving along with 2 Lakh on the road )

1 more Lakh more and you have more cars to get confused about (Verna, Fiesta, City etc )

[neon_daytona]

Ford fusion - Plus Diesel. Good GC (198mm), Diesel, Spacious yet easier to drive.
No idea about A.S.S and Resale. Comes with Alloys, ABS/EBD and Driver seat height adjuster

Airbags is one thing that you would miss.
Should come at 7 lakhs on road with some bargaining.
Palio diesel SDX would be well within budegt. Again lacks safety features.

-Shashi

[sukiwa]

Please test drive Ford Fusion(Petrol). This vehicle suits your needs well & few fusion owners have ventured on hilly sections and beaten all other vehicles including SUVs. Decide variant of fusion depending on comfort levels you are looking for.

[Rotorhead]

Try the new fiat MJD if you are not too worried about the fiat association. you will defenitely face some issues with the A.S.S etc but the guys are really trying to change its image in india. The cars are built like tank and the MJD is a damn good engine. You might also want to take a look at the adventure which IMO and for the price it is offered its a good bargain. Other than that, the swift and Dzire also are a good option. If you are able to stretch your budget by another lac then you have the SX4 which for a little above 8 lacs you get all that you asked for ABS et all .

[whatcanthisbe]

what abt the accent the Airbags might be a concern but overall great 5.5 otr in delhi

[karanraheja]

Frankly speaking i wouldnt advise you the Chevy U-va . Chevy 's A** is improving no doubt but i would not recommend you this one. Instead i ll shortlist 3 cars for you:-

1. Swift VDI : Awesome car. Will suit your needs. I think you can get the car in 2 months .

2. SX4 : Our very own RkBharat got his SX4 Zxi for 7.35 lacs OTR last week.
Would be a decent option as it comes with all the goodies for a decent
price.

3. Fiat Linea : 1.3 MJD 90 BHP !!! Expected to be launched after July.
Expect all bells and whistles in this one. I would strongly recommend you to wait ( Wait till Sept atleast) and get this one.

[mobike008]

After going through your long list of wants and don't wants, I think you should be taking a hard look at Fusion Petrol or Diesel depending on your runnning as it completes your safety desires and will serve you well on mountains due to its high GC.

And, Fusion also has good safety features ( not sure if it comes with Airbags as an option). A.S.S is improving considerably and should not be a worry. IMO, Diesel is a much better choice than petrol.

If your running is more in the mountains than in city then it should be either a scorpio or an innova ( budget needs to be stretched quite a bit)

So let us know finally which one you picked up!

[vkochar]

Welcome to T-BHP Mr. Spring !! That's a nice first post there. BTW what is the city of 12 hr power cuts ??

After going through your long list of options and wishlist - I would recommend the following cars ( not in any order of preference ) -

Chevrolet Aveo ( Option Pack ) - After discounts should be near your budget, has safety features and stylish and good to drive.

Logan - Diesel or Petrol - You decide - But it's in your budget, good to drive and has A driver's Airbag but sadly no ABS.

SX4 - A fuel guzzler is the only minus point.

Fabia - I have not driven a Petrol one yet, but has most of the feature you would want. I hear FE is tops !!

[PAVAN KADAM]

How did you forget the Hyundai Verna.

Thats a great car for your requirement.

Thats the Best diesel avilable for the price.It punches in so much power.

Verna's got much more than you've asked for in your requirement list on a car.

FORD- heavy on maintenance.

TATA's- Indigo CS.Not much of Features on the car. but a great VFM

CHEVY- Not the best in A.S.S set up. very unpredictable.

LOGAN- Not worth for its outdated looks.

SX4- Wait till the diesel arrives. petrol guzzler.

SWIFT- both the hatch and the added boot variants are cramped,

HYUNDAI VERNA- Its a complete package- go TD one today.

[vkochar]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

How did you forget the Hyundai Verna.

Thats a great car for your requirement.

Thats the Best diesel avilable for the price.

Yes, it is a great car BUT his budget is 7 Lacs and Verna Diesel is much more expensive.

He also wants Airbags as a must.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

How did you forget the Hyundai Verna.
Thats a great car for your requirement. Thats the Best diesel avilable for the price.

At his budget of 5-7 lacs ? Dream on, buddy. I doubt he would even get the base Petrol version at 7lakhs OTR.

I would think the SX4 ZXi is a good choice for you, fulfilling almost all your requirements, except the non-EPS criteria. IMO, there is no car in the upto 7-lac range that can fulfill each and every one of your criteria.

And if you dont really need the boot, Swift Zxi would be another option - though again a car with EPS. But then as someone said, you would be one of 2 lakh people in India. SX4 would give a little more exclusivity.

[rkbharat]

I think if you extend your budget a bit you can get SX4 ZXi fully loaded. Its is 7.35 on road in Gurgaon.

In my first full tank I got 11 Km/Ltr. And I am sure it will increase after first and second service