[shajufx]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

....The preference now goes like this Alto > Spark > Nano......

I have personally gone through the same classification as wifee wanted to drive in the coming months and I prefer to travel around the country (train and Bus) for my hobby. Our sedan was never used by her due to its size and lack of her confidence to park it in many city areas, although she holds multi country licenses ! Therefore we sold our sedan and downgraded to a Nano all for her

Everything is good about Alto, specially the K10 version which I loved test driving. Spark also has very decent features and qualities to talk about. But when it comes down to the cheap and best, nothing beats a Nano. I loved the enormous space than anything else, 20+ kmpl, 4 years free maintenance and a cute Sunshine Yellow made our decision towards Nano. Very frankly speaking, one will feel cramped in an Alto after sitting in a Nano, difference is not marginal, but HUGE !

[advaitlele]

Thanks all for the suggestions and help.

Finally, I booked Alto F-8 LXi white color and got it delivered yesterday. On road came to 3.05 lakhs. The overall exp. with Mahalaxmi Auto - Senapati Bapat Road (ICC) Pune is worth a mention. The SA - Ayush - made it absolutely hassle free for me. Will tell about the final deal later. Am going to the dealer again on Saturday for underbody coating etc. that came with the offer.

The Alto scored over Nano on (i) left ORVM and (ii) ease in reversing where my wife is see thru the rear glass better in Alto than Nano and (iii) higher console right in the middle of dashboard reducing the front left visibility.

[akshay4587]

Booked a Sunshine Yellow Nano Lx today.
Didnt really needed it,but Dad always had a soft corner for one.
And the Beetle was another one,but its waaay tooo expensive.
She will be home on friday.
Let the good times roll.

[KMohanan]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

Thanks all for the suggestions and help.

Finally, I booked Alto F-8 LXi white color and got it delivered yesterday. On road came to 3.05 lakhs. The overall exp. with Mahalaxmi Auto - Senapati Bapat Road (ICC) Pune is worth a mention. The SA - Ayush - made it absolutely hassle free for me. Will tell about the final deal later. Am going to the dealer again on Saturday for underbody coating etc. that came with the offer.

The Alto scored over Nano on (i) left ORVM and (ii) ease in reversing where my wife is see thru the rear glass better in Alto than Nano and (iii) higher console right in the middle of dashboard reducing the front left visibility.

Congratulations. It is nice to see that finally you could take a decision. Decision taking has become very difficult for all new car buys in segments below 5 lakhs. So many choices and each are having some advantages and some disadvantages...

[girishglg]

My brother is planning for a second small hatch and the options are the new Nano or an pre owned Alto Lxi which will be used by his wife who is a first time driver for short runabouts in the city.

The budget is not more than 2 lakhs which would get him an Nano Cx or a 3 plus year old Alto Lxi X. So the question again is why Nano?

Would need some suggestions that would help him make this decision.

[foby.sebastian]

For me it was a second hatch. For dad its his soft corner. For my brother its replacement for our most obedient M800(no one matches its reliability). Now after 13 months and 5000 kilometres, 3 Tata service centre visits.
1- routine service
2- s/w upgrade
3- alternator change

Don't expect you will get customer is king attitude by TASS people.

Current draw backs:-

Back pain while on long drives , so I prefer my vista.

Change in idling while switching on the standard electrical accessories including ac,HL,fog lamps and viper. I don't know why it happens.

Everlasting plus points:-

My grannie always preferred to travel in nano. It was pretty easy for her to get in and out of nano,than my dads merc.

Since its a yellow nano, it is always priceless hearing kids shouting manja (yellow) Nano

[foby.sebastian]

Few snaps of my sunshine yellow.

The front tyre size and back tyre size is different. Any comments on how do we do the tyre management in long run ?

I have never checked the tyre size of the spare tyre.

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

Change in idling while switching on the standard electrical accessories including ac,HL,fog lamps and viper. I don't know why it happens.

Cute car there. The idling change occurs when the a/c compressor switches on and off and not with other electricals. Check it out with just a/c on and other electricals less a/c. Happens all the time in my 800 however in bigger cars the a/c load is borne easily by bigger engines hence it does not have to work harder.


Off this topic, any suggestions folks on my previous post on Nano Cx (new) vs Alto Lxi (used)

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by girishglg

My brother is planning for a second small hatch and the options are the new Nano or an pre owned Alto Lxi which will be used by his wife who is a first time driver for short runabouts in the city.

I would suggest a pre owned Alto. It is much more reliable and poweful than the nano. Also, the A/C is much better. Because of the petrol price hike, you should be able to bargain hard for a good deal.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by girishglg

My brother is planning for a second small hatch and the options are the new Nano or an pre owned Alto Lxi which will be used by his wife who is a first time driver for short runabouts in the city.

I would recommend the Nano simply for ease of parking and higher seating position for the driver. For first time women drivers it can be a bit tense to maneouver an Alto in city traffic though this depends on which areas she is going to be driving/ parking in.

If he wants to save more money, he could consider buying a preowned Nano. Should be available for around 1.2L based on age/ kms clocked. Though the 2012 Nano is the recommended option and I am sure will be available with quite a few offers. Bargain hard.

[foby.sebastian]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Cute car there. The idling change occurs when the a/c compressor switches on and off and not with other electricals. Check it out with just a/c on and other electricals less a/c. Happens all the time in my 800 however in bigger cars the a/c load is borne easily by bigger engines hence it does not have to work harder.


Off this topic, any suggestions folks on my previous post on Nano Cx (new) vs Alto Lxi (used)

I would suggest a used alto if you have more focus on reliability. Tara's really lack reliability.

The idiling issue is because of the valueo alternator. The idiling issue caused by the ac is understood. But in this case if the ac is off and we switch on the other eletricals I have the same feel as of the idling change like AC on !

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by girishglg

The budget is not more than 2 lakhs which would get him an Nano Cx or a 3 plus year old Alto Lxi X. So the question again is why Nano?

Would need some suggestions that would help him make this decision.

I would pick the Nano anyday over a used Alto. I have driven the Nano and found it to be an amazing car in that price bracket. It offers you much more space inside. The alto feels cramped. Also the Nano looks more stylish to me than the Alto. Nano also gives you that exclusivity according to me since there are very few of them even today. Tata has taken care of most of the initial niggles and I am sure you can bargain a very good deal for a new Nano.

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I would suggest a pre owned Alto. It is much more reliable and poweful than the nano. Also, the A/C is much better. Because of the petrol price hike, you should be able to bargain hard for a good deal.

The problem is that in Bangalore every pre owned car of it worth is much more costlier compared to say North. Hence recent enquiries of a 2-3 year old Lxi is around 2.3-2.5 lakh range which is similar to a Nano Lx or even more. Hence the question how old an Alto is good enough?

Also had TD'd a pre 2012 Nano and found the a/c chilling. Not sure if a/c is an issue in Nano.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

If he wants to save more money, he could consider buying a preowned Nano. Should be available for around 1.2L based on age/ kms clocked. Though the 2012 Nano is the recommended option and I am sure will be available with quite a few offers. Bargain hard.

Yes ease of usage is a big plus and if it is a Nano then it will be a brand new 2012 one for sure since it will be owned for a long time in the family as a second car.

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

I would suggest a used alto if you have more focus on reliability. Tara's really lack reliability.

What are the reliability issues in the 2012 Nano, would like to know if there are any and how severe are they since it will be used mainly by a first time user apart from others in the family.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Tata has taken care of most of the initial niggles and I am sure you can bargain a very good deal for a new Nano.

Yes there are some good exchange offers that are out there for the Nano including two wheeler exchange. He would try to push out an old bike at home if it gets really great value.


If it was a new Alto then there were some good offers as well but the budget is strictly around 2 lakhs hence it has to be a Nano Cx or preowned Alto Lxi

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

I would suggest a used alto if you have more focus on reliability. Tara's really lack reliability.

In what aspect do you say that the Nano lacks reliability? I would like to check if there is a problem with mine that I am not aware of.

Originally Posted by girishglg

Also had TD'd a pre 2012 Nano and found the a/c chilling. Not sure if a/c is an issue in Nano.

AC chilling is not a problem in either Nano, 2012 or pre.
I found the rubber beading of better quality in the 2012 version among other cosmetic changes. Other tweaks to the engine have been offered in pre 2012 versions via upgrade recalls.

I think it would be best for the most frequent intended users of the car to try and drive/ park the Alto and Nano. This will be a better way of understanding which car is more suitable for them. After all both the Alto and the Nano are good products.

[foby.sebastian]

The reliability issues from my point of view. (mine is not a 2012 Nano !)

Eletricals :-

Its understood that in normal idling if we switch on the AC the idling of the engine will increase. But in normal idling if you switch on the headlamp/Foglamp/wiper/use power window the idling is changing. I have noted the same in very few nanos which I have seen. Nano users please check yourself and confirm.

Tatas are normally in to valueo alternators which is not that much relaible when compare to the others in the market. I belive that might be the culprit in the idling issue.

Different sounds :- These are really irritating. we cant even figure out from where its coming out. If we complaint the TASS people will not even bother it.

Cheap plastic components :- The plastic beding on the RHS front door fallen off. The plastic/rubber ring out side the lock on the front RHS door fallen off.

The plastic/rubber component which holds the bonnet stand fallen off as a result the bonnet stand is not in place. I have raised it with the TASS but they told me they fiex it. What they did was they put another rubber/plastic thing which was fallen off later due to vibration.

The break fluid is spilling out through the lid of the break fluid container. I made sure that the needed amount of liquid is ther inside the container not excess.

Breaking :-

Thats a security concern . In good speeds if you go for a sudden break it will be similar to you riding an auto.


Recently i went for a marrige at Mannarkkad from thrissur, Hardly 200 KMS up and down with some other rounds. My wifey , 6 months old son , mom and brother accompnyed me. All the adults felt back pain because of the seating. I think the 2012 Nano has bucket seats rather than the bench seats in 2011 Nano.

The AMPLE space car terminology can be only used for micro families like a couple and kid,the rest space will go for luggage(shopping/travel). Remember the Nano dosent have a boot.

Monitoring your own vehicle :-

Self monitoring of the engine is very very difficult. To check the mechanicals of the engine you may need to always relay on TASS. I used to check the coolant level,oil level and the belt tension in my old maruthi.

To check the same in a Nano I may need to remove the back seat then open the lid with 4 screws.(almost same effort in a maruthi omini)


Blind spot on front pillars which can be nullified by increasing the the usage of Nano and getting used to the car. But for multi car users blind spots are around the 4 pillars which has to be cautious. The lack of the LHS rear view mirror adds a cent to it.

The fog lamp switches are well integrated to the Head lamp switch, but its confusing at times.

Then comes the major relaibility issue TASS , I have never had a good experience with the TASS people around in Thrissur/Trivandrum. TASS always have high volume of cars/passenger vehicles but less work force.

Also they really need to focous on the Csat.