An office car

[TheDoc]

My Dad wants a car for his office which would essentially ferry him and a few associates between Chennai, bangalore and Coimbatore. It will be Chauffer driven. It will need to do some light off-roading also.

Price range - Below 12 lakhs

Average Distance travelled per month - 2000 km ( atleast 95% of it on hignways)

Requirements -
It should be very comfortable for three persons.
It should be diesel.
It should be able to carry a lot of luggage.
A good ICE setup (dvd video) either as standard or we should be able to add one without causing any warranty related issue
Should the need arise, my dad should be able to drive the car comfortably.

The car will be used for around 100000 km.

My questions-

1) Is 4x4 needed for any offroading or is it needed only for crazy offroading?
2)If yes, what about cars like the innova? Can its build take off-roading and rough roads?

Anyways, I have narrowed it down to these cars.

Tata Safari Dicor VX-

Decent vehicle. Very comfortable. The ICE setup is adequate and it has ABS, airbags, 4x4 option, etc. With the price cut and discounts being offered now, the ex-showroom price is around 10.7 lakh which is impressive.

Toyota Innova-

Good vehicle, decent engine, comfortable with good highway manners. Required safety features available. But no 4x4 option. Price around 10 lakh.

[tsk1979]

If you are talking about very mild offroading, Innova is a great choice.
If you are okay with the looks of Innova its the best. Very good quality and refinement.
If you want something with more pomp and show and more offroading capabilities, then Safari is for you.

[theMAG]

Innova it is. While the Safari also has a great middle row, its more for hands-on driving.

[suman]

Since there's a fair amount of highway driving involved and for the bulk of it your dad & associates will be using the middle row, its a no-brainer for me - the Safari VX 4x4.

Apart from the ABS, EBD & Airbags, ride comfort in the Safari is unparalleled; the Innova cannot match the middle row comfort the Safari offers. Nor can it match the SPACE inside.

And the Safari is a great self-driven vehicle as well, as & when your dad wants to drive himself

[himanshugoswami]

From your requirements, the Innova V fits the bill perfectly. with the discounts on offer (about 60K for the top end V version) you can kit out a pretty decent ICE- get it from teh dealer and you will have no warranty issues.

Since you mentioned that your father would also be driving, not sure if he would find the safari as comfortable to drive as the innova. take a test drive of both vehicles and then decide.

[GTO]

Innova undoubtedly. However, since it is only for a three passenger carrying capacity, you can opt for the Indigo diesel and save a good amount of $$$.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by TheDoc

Tata Safari Dicor VX-

Decent vehicle. Very comfortable. The ICE setup is adequate and it has ABS, airbags, 4x4 option, etc. With the price cut and discounts being offered now, the ex-showroom price is around 10.7 lakh which is impressive.

Toyota Innova-

Good vehicle, decent engine, comfortable with good highway manners. Required safety features available. But no 4x4 option. Price around 10 lakh.

Two very good choices. If they're doing a lot of highway stuff and need lots of space for luggage + a super comfortable middle row there's nothing like the Safari. No other vehicle comes close in seating comfort.

However, the Innova is a Toyota which means bulletproof reliability - you will obviously have no or a lot fewer issues. It is also a great vehicle, though not as comfortable over any road as the Safari is. In fact its hard to find fault with the Innova except for its morphed-van looks.

GTOs suggestion for the Indigo is good, but since you have a large budget of 10 lakhs I guess you expect more from the vehicle.

[aZa]

I'd say a Innova G4 or the V, we just bought a INNOVA G4 for our office staff usage and everyone is very happy i must say.

Average Distance travelled per month - 2000 km ( atleast 95% of it on hignways)

Requirements -
It should be very comfortable for three persons.
It should be diesel.
It should be able to carry a lot of luggage.
A good ICE setup (dvd video) either as standard or we should be able to add one without causing any warranty related issue
Should the need arise, my dad should be able to drive the car comfortably.

The car will be used for around 100000 km.

We have also added a Ceiling mounted DVD player for entertainment, had no warranty issues. Get the INNOVA with the buckets seats in the middle row its awesome. Toyota engines are trouble free in general and the D4D is no different. Just take a test drive i'm sure u wont look any further

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

I'd say the Safari is a very good deal, for the most comfortable middle row seats in a car in its class... And it looks the part too...

But... If you like the looks and the MUV image, the innova would be a better deal for travelling 3+... And more reliable too...

[rahul_intlad]

With an impending engine change for the safari,buying a safari at this point may just not be right.

Go for the innova V.However remember the innova can take bad roads[ones you find on highways and most roads in rural india] in its stride quite well but offroading is stretching it a bit too much.

Think it would be better if you could actually mention what kind of offroading you are talking about.

[gbpscars]

There goes another one,... "Off-roading"???

Please be clear.

If you mean you want a single car that can ferry your dad and colleagues on a Highway and sometimes rural areas, and later one day you / your dad would like to drive in a farm with slush,... then take the Safari 4x4.

Else there is nothing better than the Innova when it comes to looks that can be called "corporate", highway safety, a Toyota product, and still have some fun with it in rural Indian roads. Forget the 4x4. You will rarely need it if your idea suits the 2nd situation.

Happy choosing.

Pssst... take the Safari Dicor, mate, you will like it anytime

[ravibhat]

I own Petrol Innova, its really great car except for its look although we feel Innova looks cool after adding great stuff of accessories. I get 11kmpl as fuel economy on highway and 8 kmpl in congested bangalore traffic with 30% AC on.

I suggest you go for Petrol Innova If you use it for 1,00,000KM thats around 4 years you would like to keep. Its real silent and great suspension
on higway and quiet good suspension (better than all sedans except indigo I feel) in bad roads. Toyota is known for reliability.

Safari is great only for suspension and middle row comfort, offroading according to me. Its not so reliable but now its not bad package at all since TATA have fixed many stuffs year by year.

On good highway one can't see/feel any difference between Innova and Safari but I do agree on bad stretch TATA wins any time since TATA understands Indian conditions very well

I used my Innova in bad roads also, no problems at all ground clearenace is quiet good, no under body scrape.. but safari is better than Innova for offroading.

hope this helps.


Regards,

Ravi.

[jango]

Safari is a gud choice for highway use and mild offroads....go for it....you can also think abt the scorpio !!

[blueraven316]

3 choices,
Innova Innova and Innova and yes Petrol !

And with that budget you can get some really neat interior job done with a decent Audio system to watch Movies on the Highway.

[suman]

Sorry, I'm confused! Ravi Bhat, so which one are you actually recommending? Or is it a fence-sitting situation all over again?