[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by fiestarry

There is no better car than the Fiesta S for this requirement.

+1

We have recently bought a used Fiesta 1.6 for a friend (ownership review is in other forum, sorry no time to compile in our forum. will make it soon)

I had a 2007 Honda City vtec and Fiesat 1.6 is at-par with Honda in terms of acceleration and handling. Also it comes loaded with features. You can get a well maintained specimen for less than 3L, spend the rest of our budget to add her more bells & whistles.

PS: we got 2006 model SXi variant with 40k on odo for 2.43L

[thumpingheart]

I would suggest just go for a fiesta 1.6. You'll find good ones in your budget easily. I own a Fusion 1.6, and have driven the fiesta also quite a lot, so i know how reliable and sturdy these cars are. Superlative handling and amazing power from the engines. On paper its not as good as a city or your options, but one heck of a thing to drive. It will definitely give you loads of goosebumps while you drive.

I dunno how mod-friendly it is, but a tuned exhaust and a better filter will give you a more grunt. The MOD-gurus will guide you. And you should get the spares etc easily as its still on sale as the classic. Plus our experience with Ford has been excellent here in Pune. No issues ever. Reasonable costs as well.

[suhaas307]

I gotta agree with Vikram D on this. The Mondeo is a fantastic car to buy and you can get them for dirt cheap. But you need to be good and have a sharp eye for cars. If you've zeroed in on a particular Mondeo which you've found interesting, a thorough diagnosis would help. A clean service history is important as well.

It's loads of fun. Spares will be expensive though.

So if the Mondeo doesn't float your boat, the Fiesta 1.6S would, most definitely.

The safest option would be a Civic but for that you'll need to beef-up the suspension if you really want to have fun with it. The driving-position and gearbox is great. And the lack of bottom-end torque is not difficult to fix either.

The Cedia would be another great option but the only thing that would keep me away from it is the uncertain future of Mitsubishi in India. But even that shouldn't reeeeaaly matter because Japanese products are 99% bullet-proof can run tens of thousands of miles with just periodic services.

If I were you, my top two cars on the list would either be a Fiesta 1.6S, or a Civic. Even a regular Fiesta 1.6 would do. (do keep in mind that both these cars don't have the largest boots out there.)

[ram_hyundai]

Originally Posted by fiestarry

There is no better car than the Fiesta S for this requirement.
The Civic has ground clearance and low end grunt problems,
The Cedia is passe,
the Octavia etc are best admired from far.
The Fiesta S is company modded for the enthusiast. Spares are cheap, the car has all the bells and whistles, is extremely low on maintenance.
The best drivers car south of a 3 series BMW.
Go for it maan.
However S owners are so possessive that it is not easy to get hold of a used one
Good luck hunting. Saw one in the classifieds though.

I would definetly second this.The Fiesta is fully loaded,spares not an issue and maybe can be your full time car too.I was looking for one my self but failed to get one.So i decided on a baleno myself as it also is a 1.6 ltr beast(almost).If yo happen to get hold of a fiesta then nothing like it.

ram

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by prateekm

No, the Cruze will be at Gurgaon where dad is currently based. This car will be at Mumbai. I'm very confused between the cedia and the civic, because the Cedia is 2 lacs cheaper to buy and the Civic has the Honda reliability and a bit more snob value. It also is a segment higher compared to the Cedia.

Okay, I didn't know that. ;-)

The Cedia might be cheaper than the Honda. But then think about the time when you are in the market as a seller and not a buyer of that particular model. Not trying to discourage you in anyway. If today spares of any car are hard to find, in 2 years time they will be even harder to get a mere sight of. This will have drastic effect on the resale as you might know. So, lets say after 3 years, you don't want to be stuck with a Mitsubishi for any longer. Ultimately you'd have to sell it for peanuts!

This is where the Honda will trump every other car here. You will definitely get good deal even at the time of resale. Better than any Skoda, Mitsubishi or Chevrolet.

And, also, take a look the Ford Fiesta 1.6 as others have suggested. I had completely forgotten about that car.

[infotech58]

you have already upped your budget from 2.5 to 4.5 lac; the best option for you would be to look for a single owner, low mileage Civic. there are plenty available, look around for some time with patience and you shall find one within 4.5-5.5 lac. throw in an FFE and take care of soft suspension (not expensive to fix) and you shall be all set for fun.

problem with other cars you have listed is that it would be very hard to find a clean example (for VRs, Optra, Cedia) and when you find one, you'd pay a premium over market price and later on while selling your car, you'd still get peanuts. they have their own share of problems too along with not much certainty around spare availability down the years.


EDIT: why not look for a W124 E220 and do it up. shall be within your budget and would be a keeper for life.

[46TheDoctor]

Vrs will provide the most thrills but it will cost you a bomb if you have to replace critical parts like clutch assembly(52k), turbocharger(60k+), etc. So get the car checked thoroughly.
Cedia is 2nd best choice as you will get it cheaper and is equally fun to drive or more than civic and also more efficient. Reliability is also good and parts cheaper, so no worries.
Civic is 3rd choice for the reasons already stated.
Magnum doesnt have sharp handling to be called Enthusiast's car. So, avoid it.

[fiestarry]

Dont look beyond the Fiesta S. The Civic will scrape every speedbreaker, take you to the cleaners at A$$.
Just test drive a Fiesta S if you know ant owner and you will know what I'm talking about.
Also its a very diiferent animal from the Zxi, Sxi and revels in tight corners, roars in straights and has the ABS, Alloys and Airbags.
What more for a true enthusiast?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Blow Horn Ok

You can also look at the Old fiesta 1.6 S or 1.6 SXI. The engine is a good performer and the handling is superb. The car is proven & not prone to regular niggles and high maintenance bills. Will be cramped in comparison to a VRs or civic, but you will be spared from high maintenance costs of the VRs and poor low end grunt of the Civic!

+1 to that. You blew the right horn mister.

I would suggest the 1.6 SXi the older gen. It was packed with goodies (except no Auto temp control). Its known to be an enthusiasts car and surely you will love the 0-100. Should be within budget too. Do give it a try and let us know.

[d_himan]

If you don't mind a slushbox, the Accord V6 it is - mouthwatering deals in Mumbai - you can get one well within your budget

Pros: ticks most of your requirements. safety, power, great for highway drives, for your usage, mileage won't be a deal breaker
Cons: might need a suspension mod for better handling

[brraj]

My preference
- Fiesta 1.6
- Swift 1.3 zxi

[kpzen]

Damn! Why do you even wanna think about buying another car when you have a corolla.
Bullet proof reliability + Toyota back up + Its pretty FAAST in stock form itself.

All you wanna work on is the looks, and then you can work on more power and handling at the later stage.
Lots of bolt of suspension/lowering kits and turbo kits available for Corolla abroad, if you can source them.

Attaching one crazy corolla from the God's own country.

[ashis89]

How about confusing you a bit more? Since you are looking for a high performance but reliable sedan, you have limited running per annum, will you consider a Accord V6?

It is heavily loaded with features, very powerful and very spacious indeed. It can used by your family if and when needed.

The negatives are- lower FE(7-8kmpl) and might be expensive to maintain if and only if it fails(though it is unlikely).

You can also consider a top-end Fiesta/Fiesta S.


PS: If I choose from your options, I would blindly go with a Civic. If the low-end torque is too much of a problem, I would mod it as it wouldn't cost much( FFE?).

[brraj]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Damn! Why do you even wanna think about buying another car when you have a corolla.
Bullet proof reliability + Toyota back up + Its pretty FAAST in stock form itself.
Attachment 960554

He requires ABS+EBD aswell.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

Prateek, go find yourself a good petrol Mondeo. You should be able to get one for max 3 lakhs. Spend the rest of the money on whatever little maintenece it will need when you buy it. I did this 2 years ago and trust me I have not regretted my decision even once and I plan to keep the car for another 2 years.

What say Suhaas?

Originally Posted by Blow Horn Ok

You can also look at the Old fiesta 1.6 S or 1.6 SXI. The engine is a good performer and the handling is superb. The car is proven & not prone to regular niggles and high maintenance bills. Will be cramped in comparison to a VRs or civic, but you will be spared from high maintenance costs of the VRs and poor low end grunt of the Civic!

Fords are hilariously unmodifiable.
Hilarity is the final stage for your keenness, going from eager to painful to finally hilarity.
Any serious mods will cost much MUCH more than a honda or suzuki, and with much less guarantee of any "fayda" or longevity at all.
I checked out some components in the UK recently.
You could import stuff easily enough, but getting a reliable and trained enough guy to mount it is almost impossible.


For OTS driveability, nothing like 'em, though.
Do explore as a final resort only if planning to mod.

EDIT: @vikram_d, read your post below.
Thats what I meant, the cost in case of the mondeo.
For the fiesta, though, I have not been able to find anything bolt-on with any kind of guarantee that it will work.
suspension overhaulers, yes.