[brraj]

Your situation screems for a used petrol hatchback as anyway you are planning to invest 12+lkhs on car in future.

by this
- No need to worry of depreciation.
- No need to worry of maintenance.
- No need to invest 7lkhs instead 3-4lkhs is more than enough.

Swift petrol zxi it is.

[bigben]

My suggestion would be either a Swift or a brio. Both are small and will be easy to maintain and besides if you are going to get a 12+ lakh car, it makes sense to go for a smaller one.
The brio being a Honda, you can be assured of peace of mind and good resale.

[phamilyman]

If you want a car for limited running (with much higher price car coming in for highway duties) and good resale, i can only think of santro / wagonR - max swift VXi (no one will give u a penny for the airbags etc - though I would advise it).

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by overdose142

Now I don't know what I should go for. A smaller petrol car, a bigger petrol car, a bigger Diesel car, a second hand petrol or a second hand diesel. I hope you guys help me take a decision which I don't regret. That's the most important thing right? Not regretting the decisions which you've taken in life. Thanks a lot guys!

I'd suggest a test drive of the Ritz. Notwithstanding its quirky looks, am sure you will be pleasantly surprised by it. Considering your height, it'll be quite comfy w.r.t to ingress/egress too.

Cheers,
Vikram

[neofromcapone]

@overdose142 - keeping the below point in mind.

The Plans that went Kaput
Three weeks back, I went to test drive a Polo. Finalized it. Them some bugger told dad about the high maintenance cost. He dropped the idea of it.
The next week, I test drove an i20. Loved it. Finalized it. Spread the news as well. Now dad again plays the spoilsport.
His argument now is that I should be buying a cheaper Petrol car like a Brio or a second hand car since he's planning to upgrade to a 12L+ car in the near future and the EMI for both the cars would burn a giant hole in our pockets.

Don't buy a new car for yourself, IF, your Safari is in good shape, then make the Safari your daily ride for 8 - 12 months.

Because, I would rather you have more money to buy a bigger, better car for your dad, as his commute is much more than yours. Stretch your budget on that car, and within 12 months, replace the Safari with a petrol, till then the Petrol-Diesel difference will also be clearer.

Or look at the Ertiga for your commute.

[hellmet]

Originally Posted by overdose142

His argument now is that I should be buying a cheaper Petrol car like a Brio or a second hand car since he's planning to upgrade to a 12L+ car in the near future and the EMI for both the cars would burn a giant hole in our pockets.

I initially thought you wanted to replace the Indica that you sold recently. However, on reading this quoted sentence, one thing comes to my mind. What will you do with three cars?

Warning: Weird advice follows:

If I were you, I'd cut the budget by a 7th and get myself the most comfortable motorcycle possible and put the rest of the cash in my pocket.

If you're not much of a motorcycle guy, get an automatic scooter and enjoy your commute with the twist of your throttle.

40-50km per week is very little usage and a 2 wheeler could take you there in comfort most days of the year. Hell, I do 40km per day on my motorcycle, but I'm not saying you should.

No old car repair bills and wasted-time issue, no new car depreciation, and you'll always have a two wheeler for quick nearby puttering.

[overdose142]

Originally Posted by neofromcapone

@overdose142 - keeping the below point in mind.

Don't buy a new car for yourself, IF, your Safari is in good shape, then make the Safari your daily ride for 8 - 12 months.

Because, I would rather you have more money to buy a bigger, better car for your dad, as his commute is much more than yours. Stretch your budget on that car, and within 12 months, replace the Safari with a petrol, till then the Petrol-Diesel difference will also be clearer.

Or look at the Ertiga for your commute.

I'd love to. But my father uses the safari on a daily basis.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by hellmet

No old car repair bills and wasted-time issue, no new car depreciation, and you'll always have a two wheeler for quick nearby puttering.

Not to mention, you feel alive and young every day as you twist the throttle

When i'm not traveling, I miss my motorcycle commuting days - though even now as a father taking my 2 year old to daycare and dropping wife to office, its a different sort of fun spending time with him. But I would LOVE to commute by bike if I could.

[desertfox]

Originally Posted by am1m

What about Honda? They're Japanese too. How do they, in your informed opinion, stack up in terms of quality, reliability and maintenance costs wrt to their India-specific models?

In other markets the Honda Jazz competes one to one with Nissan Tiida and the Yaaris hatchback variants, but here in India it was overoriced from day 1, therefore it is not a direct match into this segment.

Quality wise of course a Jazz too is very much a Honda, excellent quality, technology and engineering.

But Honda has opened another segment altogether with the Brio and Amaze combination and that too with Diesel engine options as well.

[overdose142]

Was in office all day and used my phone for the forums. So couldn't write a proper reply to each one of you.

Originally Posted by drsingh

It seems you'll be sharing cars with the family.In that case it makes sense to buy a simple petrol for the commuting and spend more on the 12 L+ highway car your dad is planning to upgrade to. Its a good idea to have a small city petrol and a big highway diesel in a two car family. As your family holds on to cars for a longer period depreciation doesn't really come into the picture. Brio petrol is a good choice.So is the i20 if youre after features. As youre going to drive less,affordability is not a problem, buy any car that appeals to you.

I would be sharing it only on a sunday if it's a diesel hatchback. If it's a petrol, then not. Well, I kinda agree with the small city petrol and big highway diesel in a two car family. I've seen the Indica + Safari days and boy wasn't it comfortable.

Edit: Another option might be the new EcoSport diesel. Although it is not really going to be "fun to drive" in the purist kind of way. But it will serve with efficiency, commuting, highway runs, and resale value.

It serves everything, but it's slightly over my budget. We don't want two SUVs in the family. Don't want to pull out a giant even if I'm going out for buying milk.

The 1.2l petrol is one of the most refined units around and real world fuel efficiency is 11-12kmpl.

My bad. I've been driving diesels all my life. I consider anything below 15 as "bad". Need to rethink about petrol efficiencies now.

Another option is the Honda Brio. I am not a big fan of its looks or interiors but you may like it.

I'm also not a fan of the rear end or the interiors. But I've read that it's a peppy and fun to drive car. All my friends disagreed with the decision of even thinking about Brio.

Originally Posted by diyguy

I would just go with a Swift, new or second hand since it is a VFM car and both petrol and diesel have their pluses. I have a 2006 Zxi Swift and a 2000 Qualis GS myself. I was amazed when I got to drive the Swift diesel of a friend. Amazing pickup and terrific FE.
Maintenance of the petrol is very cheap too and I've driven my Zxi intercity as it has air bags and ABS.

I don't really like the new Swifts looks. But I like the old one. I might as well start looking for a pre-worshipped one.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Based on the requirements I would suggest a Wagon R since it suits you the best. Space wise, maintenance wise and fuel efficiency wise. Also its a tall boy design, will not be a problem during ingress/egress for your height. Quite a nimble city car.

Even though a Wagon R suits my needs perfectly, my dad pretty much hates it. I don't know why.

Originally Posted by saket77

Thorny shoes to be in! Anyway, I will suggest you only 2 cars from the lot:
1. Wagon-R: Easy on your bank, low maintenance cost, fuel efficient, good space for a tall guy like you, decent ergonomics, decent drive and good for city.
2. Fiat Punto: Very good car, matured road behaviour, good build quality, a great Diesel option to satisfy you dad's wish, and excellent safety, but outweighed in terms of service & maintenance costs by the other Maruti option.
Regards,
Saket

Wagon - R : Dad hates it.
Fiat Punto: Again, I tried to convince him about looking at the Punto. He grumbled something about Fiat and made himself busy.

Originally Posted by brraj

Your situation screems for a used petrol hatchback as anyway you are planning to invest 12+lkhs on car in future.
by this
- No need to worry of depreciation.
- No need to worry of maintenance.
- No need to invest 7lkhs instead 3-4lkhs is more than enough.
Swift petrol zxi it is.

Sometimes, you just need an affirmation.

Originally Posted by bigben

My suggestion would be either a Swift or a brio. Both are small and will be easy to maintain and besides if you are going to get a 12+ lakh car, it makes sense to go for a smaller one.
The brio being a Honda, you can be assured of peace of mind and good resale.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

I'd suggest a test drive of the Ritz. Notwithstanding its quirky looks, am sure you will be pleasantly surprised by it. Considering your height, it'll be quite comfy w.r.t to ingress/egress too.

Quirky Looks. Too quirky.

Originally Posted by hellmet

I initially thought you wanted to replace the Indica that you sold recently. However, on reading this quoted sentence, one thing comes to my mind. What will you do with three cars?

Warning: Weird advice follows:

If I were you, I'd cut the budget by a 7th and get myself the most comfortable motorcycle possible and put the rest of the cash in my pocket.

If you're not much of a motorcycle guy, get an automatic scooter and enjoy your commute with the twist of your throttle.

40-50km per week is very little usage and a 2 wheeler could take you there in comfort most days of the year. Hell, I do 40km per day on my motorcycle, but I'm not saying you should.

No old car repair bills and wasted-time issue, no new car depreciation, and you'll always have a two wheeler for quick nearby puttering.

Dad will sell off the Safari before he buys the next car. I've driven a Chetak for two years and a Pulsar 200 for the better part of my college days. I sold off my Pulsar when I moved out for my higher studies. Sometimes, I really regret my decision of selling it off. But I didn't want it to eat dust in the hostel. Sometimes you part away with things to preserve them!

Well, back to topic. I live in North India. Here's what the year is like:
Jan - Mar - Too cold
Apr - July - Too hot
July - September - Too much rain
October - December - Too cold

Don't want to bother my dad time and again every time it's raining. Also, my dad is pretty concerned about safety issues while riding a bike. So he's not comfortable with the idea of me riding a bike.

Thanks a lot for taking out the time and showing interest!

Cheers!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

4. Nissan Micra (New Model Change) - the dealer had brought the old one for TD to our home - we plan to visit the showroom this weekend to check the new one out

Do you have a plan to look ar the AT (CVT) ? As per ARAI it has an FE claim of 19. I am sure in Bangalore you should easily see 14-15 and that for an AT is amazing. In my opinion you should seriously give the CVT a thought. Its loaded as well and for the Bangalore city traffic, its ideal.

Originally Posted by overdose142

The Moolah
I'm not willing to spend more than Rs. 7-8L on the car. I'm planning to go for an overdraft based loan for five years. I can easily prepay a Rs. 6 lakhs loan within a year. Luckily, I earn good. But the real problem is not the affordability. It's whether I should be shelling out Rs. 7 lakhs for a car when I'll get to drive it for say, an hour a day. I've got long office hours so I cannot even think of going for a spin on a weekday. What I'm basically asking for is not advice from a motor head, but advice from an experienced person who's been in a similar situation. What decision did he take, what was the outcome and what would he recommend to me.

As per me one hour a day is an appreciable time to be spent in a car. And if your dad says he wants to use it for the highways over the weekend, I would hands down say the Punto MJD (90bhp). It falls in your budget bracket as well and its a GREAT highway car. Do check it out. Also keep a watch on how the newly panned out Fiat service at your place is before you decide.

[desertfox]

Not to forget, the Renault Pulse is also a competitor in this segment. Is the engine the same as Nissan Micra ?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by desertfox

Not to forget, the Renault Pulse is also a competitor in this segment. Is the engine the same as Nissan Micra ?

Renault Pulse is the exact same car as the Micra. However there is a serious issue with the Car.
There is no Nissan Sticker on the car.
I have been told, that Nissan sticker, being Japanese has a chi energy flow which envelopes the engine, the transmission and suspension, and acts like a quantum flux force field, with warp problem transport mechanism.

So this does not allow any problem to come, and any problem which comes, gets transported through a space-time warp to a parallel universe, so end result is "no problem"

I am told, when you take an indica, and stick a Toyota sticker, the field gets activated, and the Japanese chi field protects it from all problems. That is the reason you will see so many cabs with Toyota and Honda stickers, even though they are Indica.

If you are looking at the Renault Pulse, make sure you take a nissan stickers and put it anywhere.
Even though its the same car is Micra, it won't be as reliable as its not protected by the Japanese Chi field.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I have been told, that Nissan sticker, being Japanese has a chi energy flow which envelopes the engine...it won't be as reliable as its not protected by the Japanese Chi field.

While I love the humor, and since we're going elsewhere anyway, on an OT note isn't 'chi' when used to mean 'energy field' a Chinese and not a Japanese concept?

(I know, I know, 'same thing', but try telling that to a Chinese or a Japanese person!)

[9thsphinx]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

The primary requirements for the hatch are -

1. ABS + Dual Airbags (No compromise whatsoever)
2. Premium look/feel interiors
3. Reasonably peppy + decent handler (i am spoilt after Cedia, but my wife is OK with anything)
4. Should feel like an upmarket hatch
5. Finally - budget of ~7.5L OTR Bangalore (Cant stretch too much , maybe another 30-40k)
...

Since you've shortlisted 4 and your requirements are pretty clear, one of them being that the car will be primarily driven on the highways, I would go for the VW Polo if I were you. Tank like built. Very stable on the highways and fulfills almost all of your requirements. With the other three you will have to make some compromises.