[Frontosa]

Yea I considered that!


Btw any dealer someone knows who can source a red Honda jazz in Mumbai ?

Also any idea when polo tsi would be launched?

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Hi guys. I am having a 2004 WagonR LXi. It's becoming too old so I want a new hatch. Please give me few options. Here is the budget and priorities:

Budget: 5 lakhs to 8 lakhs. ( Diesel )

Priorities: Efficient
Fast to run
Safety features are a must
Features.

Please help.

Cheers,

Achyuth

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Budget: 5 lakhs to 8 lakhs. ( Diesel )
Priorities: Efficient
Fast to run
Safety features are a must
Features.

Does the Maruti family of diesels appeal to you ? Swift/Ritz. If yes, nothing like an exchange.

Else you look at other options. Figo/Micra is the other set to look at.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by ampere

Does the Maruti family of diesels appeal to you ? Swift/Ritz. If yes, nothing like an exchange.

Else you look at other options. Figo/Micra is the other set to look at.

Swift is overpriced. Ritz looks way too odd. Ford's ASS is really pathetic. Micra does not have Passenger Airbag + ABS. I think the Figo will make the deal for me.

Thanks,

Achyuth

[superbhikari]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Hi guys. I am having a 2004 WagonR LXi. It's becoming too old so I want a new hatch. Please give me few options. Here is the budget and priorities:

Budget: 5 lakhs to 8 lakhs. ( Diesel )

Priorities: Efficient
Fast to run
Safety features are a must
Features.

Please help.

Cheers,

Achyuth

Why not chevrolet beat diesel? Its the most efficient diesel hatchback. Full value for money.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by superbhikari

Why not chevrolet beat diesel? Its the most efficient diesel hatchback. Full value for money.

Ok, That's two on the list. Figo and Beat. Will read the official reviews and comment on that.

Cheers,

Achyuth

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Ok, That's two on the list. Figo and Beat. Will read the official reviews and comment on that.

Your budget has a range which can accommodate most of the hatch segment.
So I think you should set your priorities before you begin hunting.
- Space
- Ride/Handling
- Power
- Usage/Abuse/Service requirements
...

A look at the higher end of the segment gives you Punto, I20, Figo, Swift.
The mid segment with the best VFM in my opinion is the Ritz diesel. The ZDI is at least 70-80k below Swift ZDI. So looks not discounting, you get the best engine, power, space, tall boy design and Maruti service.

Then you have the Europeans in the game. (Polo/Fabia). You also have the americans. New UVA sail and the Beat.

So if you need a beater car which has to endure lots of miles thanks to daily usage, I would say choose the Ritz diesel (This I am suggesting in spite of your dislike !)

Else Figo Punto are very good options. Do also check out I20 diesel.

[HighOctane]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Budget: 5 lakhs to 8 lakhs. ( Diesel )

Priorities: Efficient
Fast to run
Safety features are a must
Features.

Since your requirement is on more features and budget upto 8 L, you can consider i20 crdi sportz for 8+ L

i20 is the only hatchback with lot of bells and whisles. In sportz model, you get alloys, climate controlled AC, music system with bluetooth, electric folding ORVM with heaters in them, Electrochromic IRVM with rear view display with rear camera, plush interiors, rain sensing wipers etc etc., But has only driver side airbag, you can add rear disk brakes for additional 20k. But beware of expensive servincing costs.

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Ford's ASS is really pathetic.

No, it is'nt in Bangalore. They are very cooperative.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Ok, That's two on the list. Figo and Beat. Will read the official reviews and comment on that.

Cheers,

Achyuth

It is surprising that the Figo figures in your list. This is because on another thread you called it a flop model.

As regards Ford service, it has improved by leaps and bounds. And my past experience of 6 years with Ford A.S.S in Hyderabad has been excellent.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by HighOctane

Since your requirement is on more features and budget upto 8 L, you can consider i20 crdi sportz for 8+ L

i20 is the only hatchback with lot of bells and whisles. In sportz model, you get alloys, climate controlled AC, music system with bluetooth, electric folding ORVM with heaters in them, Electrochromic IRVM with rear view display with rear camera, plush interiors, rain sensing wipers etc etc., But has only driver side airbag, you can add rear disk brakes for additional 20k. But beware of expensive servincing costs.


No, it is'nt in Bangalore. They are very cooperative.

I don't want all the bells and whistles. I want a proper car with decent amount of features.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

It is surprising that the Figo figures in your list. This is because on another thread you called it a flop model.

As regards Ford service, it has improved by leaps and bounds. And my past experience of 6 years with Ford A.S.S in Hyderabad has been excellent.

I said that because I have not seen many in Chennai,Bangalore and Vellore.
My guess on Ford's ASS was on existing T-BHP threads. I have not had a big experience with my town's dealer, Will check and tell soon.

Originally Posted by ampere

Your budget has a range which can accommodate most of the hatch segment.
So I think you should set your priorities before you begin hunting.
- Space
- Ride/Handling
- Power
- Usage/Abuse/Service requirements
...

A look at the higher end of the segment gives you Punto, I20, Figo, Swift.
The mid segment with the best VFM in my opinion is the Ritz diesel. The ZDI is at least 70-80k below Swift ZDI. So looks not discounting, you get the best engine, power, space, tall boy design and Maruti service.

Then you have the Europeans in the game. (Polo/Fabia). You also have the americans. New UVA sail and the Beat.

So if you need a beater car which has to endure lots of miles thanks to daily usage, I would say choose the Ritz diesel (This I am suggesting in spite of your dislike !)

Else Figo Punto are very good options. Do also check out I20 diesel.

i20 with it's highway behavior and sensitive steering is not confidence inspiring. Ritz is really tempting me after reading the wonderful review by n_aditya. Polo might be considered as the dealer is my father's friend. Beat and U-VA are also good options. Punto with FIAT's shoddy ASS will mean a lot of trouble. Figo,Ritz,Beat or U-VA might make the deal for me.

Cheers,
Achyuth

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

I said that because I have not seen many in Chennai,Bangalore and Vellore.
My guess on Ford's ASS was on existing T-BHP threads. I have not had a big experience with my town's dealer, Will check and tell soon.

- I had a Ford Fusion Petrol for 7 years before I changed.
- I had no issues with the service. Though it was a bit on the higher side, but they did the job for me.
- And I drove about a lakh

i20 with it's highway behavior and sensitive steering is not confidence inspiring. Ritz is really tempting me after reading the wonderful review by n_aditya. Polo might be considered as the dealer is my father's friend. Beat and U-VA are also good options. Punto with FIAT's shoddy ASS will mean a lot of trouble. Figo,Ritz,Beat or U-VA might make the deal for me.

- I hear good things about Fiat nowadays. They have their service centres coming up now.
- Not a bad idea to check it around.
- Even I have heard/read about the light steering of i20. But I cant comment, because, I have not driven one. But its one well rounded package and its loaded too.
- Between Beat and the UVA, I would go with UVA if space is a concern. But I also hear about high ownership costs of Chevrolet (Good to check with some owners).
- So I would go with Figo/Punto/Ritz (Not in the same order)

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Budget: 5 lakhs to 8 lakhs. ( Diesel )

Priorities: Efficient
Fast to run
Safety features are a must
Features.

Please help.

Is time an issue for when you want to or need to buy. Two reasons I ask this. One is sales of vehicles are going down, which is leading to offers that were not there even two or three months ago.
The second is other cars should be coming in soon, particularly the Honda diesel brio (possibly the sedan amaze coming first but still).

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Priorities: Efficient
Fast to run
Safety features are a must
Features.

If "Fast to run" is from what I understand, quick footed, then you can eliminate everything else from the list apart from i20 and Punto 90. Just kidding.

i20 with it's highway behavior and sensitive steering is not confidence inspiring. Ritz is really tempting me after reading the wonderful review by n_aditya. Polo might be considered as the dealer is my father's friend. Beat and U-VA are also good options. Punto with FIAT's shoddy ASS will mean a lot of trouble. Figo,Ritz,Beat or U-VA might make the deal for me.

From your initial 4 requirements, i20 is the only thing which satisfies everything along with servicing peace-of-mind, and would be my pick if you can compromise on handling, bouncy ride and steering feedback. If you want to retain everything - good dynamics, features, safety and can compromise on some top end grunt (68PS of Figo vs 91PS of i20 vs 93 PS of Punto 90), Figo and Swift will do the job excellently for you.

Beat TCDi is not "fast to run". It struggles to even "walk", plus it holds no particular advantage against the i20 even in driving dynamics. It is as bad in handling as the i20, if not worse. If you're eliminating i20 based on poor dynamics, the Beat diesel should go the same way. Neither of these can match the Figo, Swift or Punto.

You could check out the U-VA if you like it. They might even have some good discounts since that model is not selling at all. At one showroom in Bangalore, they have even removed Sail U-VA from the showroom space .

Most of us Fiat owners in Bangalore are quite lucky to have good service centres here, but I wouldn't generalize and say the entire country network is trouble-free. I understand the concern on servicing in some areas.

The Polo and Fabia are notorious for bad servicing and/or maintenance costs too. Point is, if you are eliminating Fiat based on servicing worries, please also consider this point for Skoda and Volkswagen brands as well - neither of them are angels. Also note, both of these cars have unrefined, noisy 3-cylinder engines which don't feel very good to drive in.

What I would suggest for you in order of most to least priority :

- Swift / Figo
- i20
- Ritz

Good luck with your decision!

Originally Posted by pganapathy

The second is other cars should be coming in soon, particularly the Honda diesel brio (possibly the sedan amaze coming first but still).

Personally, I wouldn't want to be an experimental guinea pig for Honda's diesel debut in India. They were adapting the i-DTEC engine to Indian diesel fuel quality and all that, so it is by all means a new venture. There might be issues in the beginning, and I would probably wait a while before putting my money on diesel cars from the Honda stable. Knowing Honda, everything may end up going fine in the end, but that's just my opinion.

[vnabhi]

I've driven the i-20 CRDI both in the city and on the highway. I think it handles decently, but the light steering gives one an impression that it does not handle well. Agreed, it may not handle as well as the Punto or Figo, both of which have HPS, but I guess on the handling front, it would be on par with the Swift. But I do agree that the ride is bouncy at triple digit speeds due to its soft suspension.

Even the Swift as an EPS, which lacks sufficient feedback, but the feedback is better when compared to the i-20. But the Swift is let down by a miniscule boot and a claustrophobic rear bench. So if the Swift is in your list, then even the i-20 should figure in it. But the Swift has better and cheaper A.S.S. when compared to all other contenders. I guess the i20 is the costliest, as I've heard Hyundai's labour costs have gone up quite a bit, and that one needs to change the diesel filter very often, and that it costs a bomb.

Hope I've confused you enough.

You may also take a look at the other thread--'Looking for a budget diesel hatchback'.

[ganesc]

For the budget mentioned, you could even look for a proper sedan if you ask me; as being in Vellore, you might travel at least within border of 3 states in highways If I am not wrong and it's good to have a proper CAR. why not wait for Amaze?

I think I20 is not that bad as stated here by some. Its quite ok to be frank. you have used your Wagon-R in highways? then you would not feel uncomfortable with I20. If you are looking for a pure driver's car(well, to an extent), then look else where or I20 would check most of the boxes. Quality and features are better than many in this segment. Better check all the features before deciding which you wouldn't want, Time is changing fast and better go for the cars with most features at present so that your car wont feel spartan over time.

I am saying this because our 2001 Wagon-R had almost all features that our current Fiesta Classic has! and i am slightly worried how it would fair down the line and in comparison with current gen cars. Having said that, I selected Fiesta for how it drives and I am pretty happy with my selection.

Service: Go for the longest gap like 10,000/15,000 kms or 1 year interval, you wouldn't regret. If you know some in A$$, then any service center is ok. if not, then almost all are same from my experience with Ford, Chevy, Maruti & Tata. Maruti being better in comparison.

Trust me, you will start loving any car once it becomes yours