It's a Palio, no it's a Getz, no it's a City, no it's a, it's a...

[Jedi.Knight]

These were the cars that I and my wifey had contemplated as an upgrade to our Alto. My heart was set right away on the Palio once I took the TD of the 1.6 and the MJD. The thing to decide was which one of the two. But after reading about the issues faced with the car and the much talked about Tata A.*.*, we finally decided to give both the cars a slip. My wifey would be using the car through the week for her office commute and I did not want any unpleasant incident to happen during that time.

Next in line was the Getz, again both petrol and diesel. But since not even a TD was available for the diesel, it was to be petrol Getz. Only thing remaining was the choice of color.

Then wifey came up with a point. Why upgrade to another hatch which will require another upgrade some years down the line to a sedan? Why not directly go for a sedan? Right!! Back to excel files for the finance calculations and means to stretch the budget for a sedan.

Now the sedans that were on the list: City and SX4. No Tata, no Logan (we have had the most pathetic experience with Mahindra for my Dad's Scorpio. They had apparently "lost" our vehicle during servicing). No Dzire as we both don’t like the interiors of Swift and Dzire. No Ford for the A.*.*. Also got a negative feedback from couple of friends who own Fiesta.

Right, so one with it. One fine Saturday went to the Whitefield Honda showroom for a TD. Closed. Okey... Proceed ahead to Bimal Maruti. Closed!! Then it hit us. Today is Election Day!! Drove back home disappointed. Next day first called both showrooms to confirm if a TD vehicle was available. Went to Honda first. Absolutely loved the City. Won’t go into details as much is talked about all the cars. The service at Whitefield Honda was professional and up to the mark. Impressed. Bimal Maruti, here we come. Jumped in the SX4 for the TD. Ride was good. The first thing that came to my mind was these interiors are the same as my Alto. Wifey didn’t like the car much. Rear visibility was almost zero for her. For arguments sake, I mentioned about the features that were available with SX4 over the City (ABS, Airbags, climate control, integrated stereo, etc). On our way back home, she bluntly put that the SX4 did not have the feel of a 7 lakh car. We both were spoiled by the City.

So City it was. Decided to go for the Gxi and started on with the finances. But wait, the new City will be here by Diwali. After recommendations by fellow BHPians, decided to wait for the new City. But the wait was agonizing. We had tasted blood and found it hard to drive around in the Alto!!

Then comes in a suggestion from one of my friend. Why not go for a COROLLA?? The currently model is being phased out. Good discounts are being offered. This is one car that you won’t be selling for a long long time. So no worry about the resale value.

Called up Ravindu Toyota for a TD. Immediately loved the car. Felt more robust and secure than the City. Thumbs up from wifey.

Booked the Toyota Corolla. Details as below:
Model: HE (with ABS, without airbags, climate control, no alloys but with tubeless tyres)
On-road price before discount: Approx. 10.4 lakhs
Color: Champagne Mica
Banker: Axis Bank
Rate: 10.5% reducing
Total discount: 1 lakh+

We booked the car on Wednesday 4th June and asked for the delivery on Saturday the 7th. I must say, Axis bank was really efficient. By the time we reached home after making the initial down payment and submitting the documents, they had made verification calls to the references, my wifey’s office, and also saw missed calls on our home landline. By Friday morning, the loan was sanctioned. Made the balance payment on Friday and Saturday evening took possession of the car. It was beautiful. The ride and comfort of the new car was amazing. Got fog lamps, Autocop, V-kool film (for all windows and windshield) fitted from the dealer itself. Got good discount for the accessories also. The car is March 2008 make (think that’s fine, right?) and had run 49 kms. For ICE, got Panasonic CQ-C3403W CD/MP3 HU (Rs. 8000) from Cartronics, Koramangala. Did not replace the factory fitted Panasonic speakers. I am not too much of an ICE person and very much happy with the current setup. No details on the FE as of now. The service at Ravindu Toyota was excellent. What all was promised was delivered on time. Thumbs up for the dealer as well.

Sorry for such a long write-up but really had to share with the fellow enthusiasts who have helped us in all walks of the car owning process. Also, the things mentioned about other cars are our own personal opinion. Not meant for any bashing. Some pics below.

[gr8guzzler]

Congrats Jedi. The car looks great, love that color. Interesting story, but you sort of ended spending almost double than your initial budgeted plan.

Please leave some gap between the wall and car or else one day you gonna scatch it badly.

Take care and enjoy your ride.

Cheers!!!

[jazzy_2cool]

Congrats Jedi......
car looks great,Does it has Alloys ?? If Not Get It Done , A Sap

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by gr8guzzler

Please leave some gap between the wall and car or else one day you gonna scatch it badly.

Good advise! I lost concentration for a moment after I saw the millimeter gap between the car and that solid granite block wall.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Thats a nice upgrade from an Alto! And the price sounds real nice considering the car comes with ABS. Did they offer outright 1L discount, or accesories?

[sirajbose]

Congratulations! Excellent choice of car and the color just looks awesome.

IMHO the old Corolla's alloys (the 5 spoke ones) would just look fantastic on your car!

[1100D]

Oh God what a story! Congratulations. Have you gotten rid of your Alto? Don't yet, because soon you will find enjoyment with it.

[Samurai]

Congrats! You started with a Palio and ended with Corolla. Actually, I shouldn't be laughing, I started with Gama and then you know what.

Originally Posted by Jedi.Knight

But the wait was agonizing. We had tasted blood and found it hard to drive around in the Alto!!

It is just the eagerness for the new car, I still drive the Santro every day to drop my son to school.

Originally Posted by Jedi.Knight

This is one car that you won’t be selling for a long long time. So no worry about the resale value.

This is the exact thinking that landed us with the GV, no regrets so far.

Just add the alloys wheels, Corolla was always a great car, world over, in fact it was the first car I owned.

PS: Don't park so close to the wall, it was unnerving to see it.

[undead]

Congrats on your new car.

we have had the most pathetic experience with Mahindra for my Dad's Scorpio. They had apparently "lost" our vehicle during servicing

Lost your vehicle ? Got stolen ?

[musicmanaman]

Fantastic car, brillent colour choice, me likes eveything about your car purchase story and car choice, Enjoy the ride and keep all of us posted on the ownership report.

[filcord]

the wall, the wall, watch out for the wall!!
and how does the driver get out after parking like this?

More seriously - how does your missus feel after using it , what is her driving experience after the Alto?

[ashthedivx]

Do you understand you started with palio and ended buying up a Corolla !!!

Undoubtfully brilliant choice !! Congrats !!

[nkrishnap]

Great car and great color as well. Cant really go wrong with the Toyota. top notch as always

[Mr.Bangalore]

congrats for the new car, good decesion, a real VFM car. waiting for the full review of the car..

[Lalvaz]

Amazing write up man. Way to go. From an entry level hatch to a luxurious mid segment car. And the logic for selecting/rejecting each car was flawless. I think Maruti should realize how they're messing up with the SX4 segment after reading your post. Thats a great car ruined by pathetic quality of interiors. If only they would learn...

But great VFM and amazing choice. You cant really go wrong with a Toyota. Even though it looks a lil dated now, its an amazing car and the ride is simply superb. Wish you many years of driving pleasure with her.