Car with Safety ? (and not SX4 please)

[mandrake]

I had booked an SX4, waited for 2 months, and the company doesn't know when they can give it to me yet. So am looking for another car.

Prime factors:

1. Safety - I drive pune - mumbai expressway every month
2. Car with a more luggage space than the esteem
3. Fuel efficiency - a minimum of 11 kms works for me
4. Comfort factor - need automatic climate control, good seats, 5 people seating
5. Speed - Not a speed crazy person, but for my highway drives, i need a car that can overtake well.
6. After Sales Service - A good after sales service network is important for me. But am willing to look at ignoring this if the car is robust and stable.
7. Since i drive only 15kms per day and the occasional outstation (taking to abt 1000 km per month), don't want to go for diesel.

Most important, it should be available in less than 10 days.

A few names come to mind Ford Fusion 1.6, Toyota Corolla H2, Toyota Innova 2.0 V (Petrol), Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia

I don't like the Skoda cars, so that is out. Verna has a huge waiting period, so thats out too.

Any opinions / comments / suggestions ?

[theMAG]

Mitsubishi Cedia should work for you

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

I feel you should look a segment above the SX4 as it appears your budget will permit that.

Choose between Corolla/Cedia. Cedia as a car is gaining popularity, and owners here in team-bhp stand by it. Comes with a good price tag, and is decently loaded too.

Why not have a look at chevy magnum too? Although you have mentioned running is not much, this is one car that could put some petrols to shame with those power and torque figures.

[ravibhat]

Based on your requirement my suggestions:

Cedia (has many variant choose right variant for your need) Best package in its segment except I don't know if it has automatic climate control.

Corolla (again need to decide right variant based on your need) bit costly but its toyota so expect overpricing feeling. bargain hard for discounts.

Innova V spec really good car with respect to space space space everywhere, very nice interiors, comfy ride, great practical MUV/CAR. no atuoclimate control available.

I own Innova Petrol G3 2005 model. Expect FE between 7kmpl-11kmpl in city-highway with AC on if its Petrol and it has almost no takers if you want to sell it. If you are not bothered about resale value buy Innova Petrol.

Now about Diesel Innova it comes close to Petrol Innova in performance and better than other few Diesels SUV give FE of 10-13kmpl in city-highway with AC on. no atuoclimate control available. It has good resale value the moment you want to sell it you can find buyer. One thing I noticed with Diesel Innova is speeds above 80kmph it cabin become noisy actually its the same case with other Diesels as well since its 2.5 ltr engine. Innova has un matched performance for sure. People who drove my Innova are really impressed with it.

Innova is overpriced by more than lac. so bargain hard on discounts.

Optra Magnum Petrol or Diesel: Its new car but heard its quiet good.

I feel one car among the above will suit for your requirement!

Ravi.

[mandrake]

Looking at all these, it seems that automatic climate control is a "nice to have". Also, the Innova Petrol seems like a bad idea. Innova Diesel - I don't know if I want to buy it.

If there are going to be no buyers when i want to sell, whats the point ? Not that I worry about the price, but there need to be buyers alright. Will there be buyers for the Cedia in 7 years time ?

I figured that the Corolla HE has no climate control, no airbags, but fits other criteria. I will have to fit an audio system since it does not come with one. The Corolla is good, and I don't need to test it.

The Cedia seems to fit most, except for the climate control. Will test drive the Cedia tomorrow.


Any other ideas ?

[rahul_intlad]

All I can say is been there done that,I have waited approx 3 months[finally car has arrived at dealership and will pick it up tomorrow] for a supreme red sx4 in pune city,did look at a few options but was not satisfied with some while some I just could not afford so I decided to stick with the sx4 itself.

My consolation dealer has agreed to pay interest for this massive wait period of mine.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by rahul_intlad

All I can say is been there done that,I have waited approx 3 months[finally car has arrived at dealership and will pick it up tomorrow] for a supreme red sx4 in pune city,did look at a few options but was not satisfied with some while some I just could not afford so I decided to stick with the sx4 itself.

My consolation dealer has agreed to pay interest for this massive wait period of mine.

I think that is the smart thing to do, having decided to buy a car & after waiting for 2 months, you can wait just that little longer & take it.

@rahul.. great to know that you are about to take delivery of the SX4. I remember you joined this forum looking for a qualis/innova, right ?

[gemithomas]

If you can affort above 9L go for the corolla. If you want something at a lesser price go for the Fiesta 1.6 with ABS.

What about the Elantra. Why is it not in your list? I think Hyundai has the better service network when compared to toyota and Ford.

[rahul_intlad]

OT:
Very very sorry for hijacking this thread mandrake will refrain from further deviating from the topic

@john
Thanks a lot buddy,your memory is really sharp.I am always thankful of team-bhp for giving me such ever helpful and knowledgeable buddies like you.

[dj_2006]

@ Mandrake

I will say go for the Corolla, it is a safe bet, it has nice resale value, good engine etc.

Regarding the Cedia, it is a nice car but there are some negatives - unreliable A.S.S and bad resale value.

[rahul_intlad]

The aveo is the other car in this segment which comes with abs and airbags as optional so you could have a look.There where some good deals there for the aveo,chevrolet have surprisingly however left out ABS for their petrol optra[magnum]so if that is a necessity it rules out the optra.The older optra models[non-magnum] which have not been sold as yet are having massive discounts right now.

There are some good deals with the ford fiesta too but I think you do not get airbags,while the fusion does not have airbags or abs

If you are looking at a segment ahead then there is the honda civic[I recommend you the civic,no discounts for civic say deccan honda ],the corolla is a very good car but compared to other toyota dealers DSK's offers seem to be very limited both with the innova as well as the corolla.
Don't have much idea about the offers on the Mitsubishi Cedia but can definitely say this is one car you would love to drive.

[reignofchaos]

Pune Mitsubishi after sales service is pretty good. Amey (a member here and a good friend of mine) has a Lancer Diesel and he's completely satisfied with their service. You might want to look at the Cedia seriously. About resale, 7 years down the line, all off them would go for peanuts anyway. The Cedia has better build quality than the Corolla, way better high speed stability and probably the best brakes in the segment. You should expect a highway mileage of around 15 if you drive it sanely (read 100-120).

[akroy]

Check out Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia !! You will love it, I really loved RoC's Cedia during the meet and felt it is way ahead of others in that segment.

Abhi

[tsk1979]

Cedia is indeed a good option.
About Verna huge waiting periods?? I don't think the petrol version has waiting, unless the ABS version comes with a waiting period.

[mandrake]

Ok folks. Here's updates. I just test drove the car and I have to say, it feels very satisfying. I have decided I am going for the Cedia. Probably the Select version (with fabric interiors). Even if I can get it at 9 lacs on road (discount of 35k), it should be a good deal. But if anyone else knows how much I can go, it will help me while negotiating.

The Corolla H1 is way more expensive at 11 lacs.

Am planning for the red color. They said they can get it in less than 7 days. So thats brilliant.

Looking forward to this. Will update this forum once I have booked and taken delivery. In the mean time, keep your comments coming, If there is something that can make me change my mind