[luvDriving]

Originally Posted by yogibear007

I think you are reaching the obvious conclusion on the brand. Vista is indeed an extremely VFM preposition.

You are correct. Also the 1.3L was a part bluff - which did have its effect of the SA increasing the exchange price and valuation. Although we have buyers coming in now with around 1.1L the top offer so far. Despite it being a 10 year old car with 1L+ on the odo, its engine is still in a good shape.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

I'm curious as to why you are not considering an upgrade to a pre-owned sedan. Is it because of parking constraints?
Cheers,
Vikram

It is not off topic since you all are helping me make the right decision
There are a couple of reasons for not buying a pre-owned sedan. My family consists of my mom, wife, 10 month old daughter and myself. This car will be used mostly in Pune for office drives through the thick traffic. Additionally as you mentioned, parking is a serious issue. So a sedan while tempting seems to be practically lesser decision. Also since we have now used a second hand car for 7 years - and it turned out to be a very good car - we decided that now we wanted to go in for a new car.

[theexperthand]

Now that they have agreed for 1L, tell them you will seal the deal if they offer a combined 1.1L.

Or, visit some pre owned car dealers and see how much you will get for your car.

Provided you have a buyer for 1.3L, the plus side (for the dealer) of going through the dealer is that, you will get 1.3L, but dealer will keep the exchange bonus for himself. So, customer will pay him 1.3L out of his pocket but the dealership will get 1.3L plus 30K exchange bonus as the exchange bonus is a company offer. If at all you decide to go through dealer, keep this in mind and ask for a better deal.

I personally think 1.1L is a good price, but then I have not seen the car, so I may be wrong. Usually deals through dealers are hassle free since they take care of all documentations, so if you are getting an almost equivalent deal from a dealer and from an outside guy, I would prefer to go with the dealer.

[heysac]

Hi All,

Nissan has launched Micra Active at a very attractive price point starting 3.5L ex-showroom. I have been debating which car to buy as a second car for wife. She is a new driver so a compact car with low window height would be ideal since her office is nearby.

It seems if one wants to go for a basic version, Active is better but otherwise Brio looks attractive coming from the Honda stable.

Is Brio as big a platform as Micra or is it comparable to a compact platform like i10/A-star? Jazz might be a more comparable platform to Swift/i20. Can someone shed more light?

Has Nissan stripped down any of the safety aspects (impact beams, etc) of the Micra to make it cheaper?

Any insights will be appreciated.

Happy driving!

Best,
Sachin

[jkrishnakj]

Hi Sachin

I really am not too familiar with Micra. For a similar situation that i was 5 months back, the decision for me was quite simple - Wife wanted a RED Brio, with Beige seats - period, and she gets exactly what she wanted.

Having said that, i must say that she is finding this easy to drive in the Bangalore traffic. We have done 3 long distance trips - 500KM's on way - and each time, the Brio was fabulous. Though the boot is small ( i feel so, i own a Safari ), the rear seats are very comfortable ( for seating 2 adults). Good leg space as well at the rear.

Its quite zippy and sporty and is a fast wind on straight highways, giving a run to the bigger UV's / sedans - easily lapping up 110-120 KM speeds.

No, i am not trying to say that Brio is better than Nissan Micra or otherwise, but only thought i can tell you the experience with my Brio.

[adityasiera]

My wife ordered a Red brio with red/black seats and she got that too. Its a different thing that I use the brio to satisfy my craving for the i-Vtec growl


Done a few long distance trips on it, including one to Chennai for the F1 marshall interview. 10k kms in 1 year, and its been awesome. No major sweaks, decent fuel economy (13-15km/l) in hyderabad traffic.

Platform wise Brio fights it out directly with swift, and the likes.

I am not sure whether you get the SMT(O) with Abs/air bags any more.

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by heysac

Nissan has launched Micra Active at a very attractive price point starting 3.5L ex-showroom. I have been debating which car to buy as a second car for wife. She is a new driver so a compact car with low window height would be ideal since her office is nearby.

It seems if one wants to go for a basic version, Active is better but otherwise Brio looks attractive coming from the Honda stable

Yes,Nissan has indeed introduced a good value proposition with the Active.I think you can get a higher variant with more features for the price of the base Brio.
Brio is the one to go for if you are looking for a better driver's car as it has a superior engine with more power.
Also,Honda's dealer and service network is denser than Nissan's.

Is Brio as big a platform as Micra or is it comparable to a compact platform like i10/A-star? Jazz might be a more comparable platform to Swift/i20. Can someone shed more light?

I don't quite understand what you mean by "big platform'.If you're comparing overall lengths of the cars then Micra is bigger and has more space inside the cabin.

Has Nissan stripped down any of the safety aspects (impact beams, etc) of the Micra to make it cheaper?

That's highly unlikely as that kind of re-engineering would cost more than using the old car body panels,parts etc.

[anky]

After driving the alto for 9 years I said to myself that it's a good car. But never will I buy another 3 cylinder car. Its more on the rougher side . Now before anyone gets angry at me for saying this please let me stress car matters are purely subjective . My wife's new wagon r k10 3 pot too is on the noisier and rough side compared to a similarly specked 4 cylinder motor . So go for the brio as to my best knowledge the Micra has a three pot engine . Guys if I am wrong please feel free to erase my post .

[abhijeetsng]

I think you should go in for Brio. IMO Brio gets placed ahead of Micra in terms of quality, space, engine, etc.
Honda has a higher satisfaction level within consumers in India with a great service backup.

my 2 cents.

Cheers..!!

[swami.n]

Originally Posted by heysac

Hi All,
...
Any insights will be appreciated.

Happy driving!

Best,
Sachin

Originally Posted by anky

Its more on the rougher side. So go for the brio as to my best knowledge the Micra has a three pot engine. Guys if I am wrong please feel free to erase my post.

Having driven my cousin's micra for a considerable amount of KMs, I can say the 3 cylinder unit in the Micra is a lot quieter than a lot others out there. The cabin noise is also very minimal and as is the vibes. Its only beyond the 100KMPH mark that the engine gets throaty. The steering is one of the easiest to drive in bumper to bumper traffic & parking. Yes it is also a lot feminine & would suit the ladies better.

But I would still recommend the Brio.

Reason:
If this is going to be your only car, I would recommend you the Micra for its huge interior and boot space and better road presence compared to the brio. But seeing your signature, and I assume you have a swift, you can avoid buying another similar sized car. The brio as it feels a lot more premium than the micra.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by heysac

Hi All,

Nissan has launched Micra Active at a very attractive price point starting 3.5L ex-showroom. I have been debating which car to buy as a second car for wife. She is a new driver so a compact car with low window height would be ideal since her office is nearby.

Active Micra is the way to go!

It seems if one wants to go for a basic version, Active is better but otherwise Brio looks attractive coming from the Honda stable.

Active's top variant's price is similar to Brio's base variant. Brio's base variant does not give ABS and Airbags but the Active gives them.

Is Brio as big a platform as Micra or is it comparable to a compact platform like i10/A-star? Jazz might be a more comparable platform to Swift/i20. Can someone shed more light?

Micra's platform is the one comparable to the likes of Swift, Jazz, i20. Brio platform is similar to that of A-Star and i10.
Has Nissan stripped down any of the safety aspects (impact beams, etc) of the Micra to make it cheaper?[/quote]
Nope. Only the steering system is localized to reduce the price further.

Overall, go for the Active Micra as the quality is much better than that of the Brio and the features are also nifty. The Micra has the most lightest steering out there, will suit city uses.

All the best.

Cheers,

Achyuth

[AbelAFC]

I would say you go in for the Brio. Its very refined, has excellent interiors and the engine is perfect for city traffic.
A friend of mine bought the Brio S for 5.23L in Bangalore about a month ago. That's excellent value, considering today's market. Also, its quite a fuel efficient car if you're considering petrol cars.
Also, the Micra looks like a granny car IMO. The Brio looks miles nicer and more pleasant. I don't think the Active has done much to change the Micra's drab looks.

[vivekkp]

Hey mate i have a Brio S(O)MT. I have never driven a Micra so cannot comment on it. Let me list out a few +ve and -ve of Brio.

+ve:
1. The i-Vtec is a gem of an engine. I wouldn't rate any other 4 cylinder better than this. The driveability blows away all other petrol engines i have driven till date.
2. The Pick up and acceleration is super smooth.
3.You get a premium feel inside a Brio cabin.
4. Maneuvering the car inside the city is child's play with Brio. The steering is that light. In highways it weigs up adequately according to me.
5. Turning Radius is one of the best.
6. The max speed is limited to 140Km/Hr
7. The wheel size is optimum for this car. The base and top end variant gets 175/14 section wheel.
8. Space at the rear is really too good. Looks can be deceptive from outside though.

-ve:
1. The boot is very small.
2. The suspension could have been better tuned for our roads.
3. The base variant is now EXMT. EMT and S(O)MT has been discontinued.
4. Gear shift could have been better.

My friend is getting this car and dealers here in Bangalore are ready to give a 30k discount.

[ahmad.007]

You can go for either.
Below are my thoughts, mostly based on common knowledge and perception.

Brio for- smaller footprint, compact spacy car, gem of an engine (though more for an enthusiast), refinement, smoothness, fresh looks outside, Honda reliability, 4 cylinder.

Brio against- ugly rear(my opinion), small boot, ugly unconventional dashboard (its purely my perception, how can you place 2 ac vents one over the other and stereo to the left side?), low end torque of ivtec.

Micra active for- lower price, cute car inside out, easy to drive(i felt completely at home within the first min of my drive), great visibility, better driveability (i did not drive the petrol, but 3 pots are inherently more torquey than 4pots of same displacement), bigger car, bigger 250+ litre boot.

Micra active against- Innova like tall gear lever, 3 pot cannot match smoothness and refinement of a 4 pot, and that too a Honda engine, but otherwise micra's engine is not bad in itself, bad only when compared with ivtec.

Rest of the features depend upon the variant.
I would go for the Micra active, cannot stand the Dashboard of Brio, LOL (Dashboard freak). I drive a Beat LT. Chose Beat over the Swift(old), due to the dasboard only, hehe.
And Hey!! Speaking of the it, why don't you check out the Beat!! Quality wise, its better than the Micra,and prices are comparable. I strongly recommend you to check it out if you have not already ruled it out.

Final decision is yours.
Good luck, all are good cars, you cannot go wrong with either.

[heysac]

Originally Posted by Marauder

you mean by "big platform'.If you're comparing overall lengths of the cars then Micra is bigger and has more space inside the cabin.

By platform size I mean which segment it really falls into: A Star/i10 OR Swift/Jazz.
The platforms are different for different segments. Brio/Amaze has a smaller platform than Jazz/City.

Originally Posted by anky

After driving the alto for 9 years I said to myself that it's a good car. But never will I buy another 3 cylinder car. Its more on the rougher side . Now before anyone gets angry at me for saying this please let me stress car matters are purely subjective . My wife's new wagon r k10 3 pot too is on the noisier and rough side compared to a similarly specked 4 cylinder motor . So go for the brio as to my best knowledge the Micra has a three pot engine . Guys if I am wrong please feel free to erase my post .

I am not sure if Nissan would put such a motor on Micra. Someone using Micra can probably share his experience.

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

Only the steering system is localized to reduce the price further.

Overall, go for the Active Micra as the quality is much better than that of the Brio and the features are also nifty. The Micra has the most lightest steering out there, will suit city uses.

Have you driven Active? What effect did localization have on the steering?

How has your experience been with Sunny?

Originally Posted by vivekkp

My friend is getting this car and dealers here in Bangalore are ready to give a 30k discount.

Thanks for your feedback!

That's true, with a good discount, a Brio is better than 0 discount Active!


From my experience living and driving in the US, Honda & Toyota are considered great cars, Nissan has tried hard and improved a lot over the last 15 years (I met Carlos Ghosn in the US!), GM trails in terms of quality/longevity.


Note from Support: Please use MULTI-QUOTE / QUOTE+ when responding to multiple posts. Thanks!

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by heysac

By platform size I mean which segment it really falls into: A Star/i10 OR Swift/Jazz.
The platforms are different for different segments. Brio/Amaze has a smaller platform than Jazz/City.

Although lines are blurred in this segment as there are many sub-segments IMO in this space.But for most purposes Brio is a 'smaller" platform than Micra.
Although if you go by T-BHP sales analysis,except for the A-star all the other cars you mentioned are in the same segment.

P.S. Use Multi-Quote for your replies,there are too many back to back posts