[nitinhegde]

Guys,

THIS IS MY FIRST CAR AND I need all the help I can on deciding on it...

My requirements...
-Daily commute from office & back (total ~ 35 kms) on Pune - Mumbai Bypass Highway (75 % driving on highway)
-Need a decent mileage (may be around 12 KMPL with AC)
-driving pleasure,performance,comfort,ride handling
-As of now,only me n my wife are going to commute daily ... I wd not be needing much boot space but rear legroom is reqd(sdnot be cramped at the rear as my parents may accompany me)
-Budget is around 4 ~ 5 L

Test drove FORD IKON flair 1.3 today....in Pune...Liked the car...
Nice handling,comfort...but may be a bit sluggish I feel for city driving...
Tomorrow , I am going for a test drive of PALIO 1.6...
Have already test-driven GETZ,SWIFT,PALIO 1.2 NV + now FORD IKON FLAIR added to my list....
I did not like the SWIFT (Its kindof hyped much due to its looks...rear is very cramped..and for a guy like me(6 foot tall)...I don't think SWIFT is a good option.My wife cursed it a lot :(...Initially,I was planning to go for a SWIFT blindly )

I searched the forum for FORD IKON FLAIR but did not find much...
Update : After the launch of FORD Fiesta...it seems only FORD IKON FLAIR 1.3 is available..any suggestions on FORD IKON FLAIR 1.3?its selling like crazy these days....

Personally,I like FIAT a lot...I also liked PALIO NV 1.2 ...after reading some posts on FIAT ....everyone kept suggesting to go for PALIO 1.6....so,tmrw,i am going to check it out..Met the director (Vijay Shah) of JAY - VIJAY Motors,Pune and he was offering fabulous features,discounts on all models...I wd be trying PETRA too but m not sure,i wnt to go for PETRA...
Neeed yr help in deciding....THANKS a lot......

Best wishes , Nitin

[gr8guzzler]

If boot is not a priority, I would suggest you go for a Palio.

1.2 or 1.6 depends on how passionate you are about driving and how important FE is to you.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!!!

[devarshi84]

Palio 1.2 is giving good FE.

palio 1.6 rocks with performance.

ikon flair is a jack of both cars.

If boot is needed then go for ikon flair

If fe is needed but city driving is a priority then go for 1.2 palio

If you are a enthusiast go for 1.6

[amit]

Hey Nitin, based on your requirements, this is what I feel would work good for you:

Need a decent mileage (may be around 12 KMPL with AC)

Having owned a Palio S10 I can tell you the Palio will easily give you that mileage. All the cars you have shortlisted will give you the mileage you want, the only difference is the Palio 1.6 will give you that mileage with the best driving dynamics.

driving pleasure,performance,comfort,ride handling

This is a no brainer. Palio all the way.

I wd not be needing much boot space

That makes it more difficult for the Flair to earn a spot in your garage.

rear legroom is reqd(sdnot be cramped at the rear as my parents may accompany me)

Again, the Palio will give you that decent leg room.

Personally,I like FIAT a lot

So whats stopping you? You only live once buddy!

I also liked PALIO NV 1.2

Oh boy! if you liked the Palio 1.2 NV then I can only imagine what will happen when you drive the Palio 1.6!

I'd say, Go for the Palio 1.6! Motoring Nirvana!

[revharder]

well, i m quite late here to reply, coz by now you might have made the mood to buy the Palio1.6!

i have a Palio1.6 with me for quite sometime. and i do enjoy it a lot.
but since it is going to be your first car i'd suggest you NOT to go for Palio or any FIAT car.
i'd suggest you to go for Ikon Flair. it is much more practical car for city commuting in comfort.

being a first car buyer, in no way you are going to use all those 100 horses of Palio1.6 in city. besides it is more thirstier than palio1.2 or ikon flair. so why waste all that money?

imho, u'd go for ikon flair.
hoping that it'd help you.

[Tech]

This segment of 4-5 lacs is quite empty with just 2-3 models available. Wish we had better choices in this range. Everybody has to go in for a Flair who wants a longer car.

[Fiero]

i'm sure the palio 1.6 is very tempting at the current price. but unless you are really yearning for that performance ... ikon would be the more practical of the two... moreover its gonna be a tough job getting a figure of 12kpl in the palio 1.6 ... and you really are gonna be tempted to have fun with it anyways ...

9-10 is a more realistic figure for the palio 1.6 ... if you can live with that ... and live without a boot ... go ahead.
fiat A** is probably gonna get better with tata backing now.

[sridhar24]

Ford Ikon flair is a better choice i think. Ford's service is also better than that of fiat's. At the current price its also very god VFM.

[amit]

since it is going to be your first car i'd suggest you NOT to go for Palio or any FIAT car.

I have heard this statement many times and never understood why a first time car buyer can't buy a Palio, specially the 1.6.

no way you are going to use all those 100 horses of Palio1.6 in city

Nitin says he is going to do 75% highway driving and I am sure he can use some of the 100 horses of the Palio there. This is what nitin said:

Daily commute from office & back (total ~ 35 kms) on Pune - Mumbai Bypass Highway (75 % driving on highway)

besides it is more thirstier than palio1.2 or ikon flair.

ts gonna be a tough job getting a figure of 12kpl in the palio 1.6 ... and you really are gonna be tempted to have fun with it anyways

Sure it is but the 1.6 will easily give 12Kmpl with AC with 75% highway driving even if the driver wants to have fun. My S10 does that with 60% highway driving.

[revharder]

Originally Posted by amit

I have heard this statement many times and never understood why a first time car buyer can't buy a Palio, specially the 1.6.

Nitin says he is going to do 75% highway driving and I am sure he can use some of the 100 horses of the Palio there. This is what nitin said:

Sure it is but the 1.6 will easily give 12Kmpl with AC with 75% highway driving even if the driver wants to have fun. My S10 does that with 60% highway driving.

palios are just too much for a first time buyer.
1.6 is having unnecessarily high power for such a person!
and the service part is quite a headache for firsttime buyer.
spares are costly and fiat dealers are known to make customers come back again and again!
so fiat cars are not a complete peace of mind for first time buyer.
he is not used to such an abuse at workshops!

and regarding his highway use,
do you think that those 75% of highway roads will be of any use to rip that car with 100 horses? such highways are very near to some villages and towns and hence there might be a possiblity of some local traffic.
so i considered it as say, 100% city driving!
moreover, i seriously doubt that whether a first time buyer will be able to extract true benefit of those 100 horses!
so why go for a car which "CAN" do a better job, if need arises?
and why not go for a car which can give you all, you are in need of and capable of?!

donot consider ikon as a bad performer just by reading about it on internet.
it is a very capable city commuter which "CAN" take you to cover highways too!

[amit]

1.6 is having unnecessarily high power for such a person!

Hey don't underestimate Nitin! I am sure he is not going to like that assumption about him.

and the service part is quite a headache for firsttime buyer.
spares are costly and fiat dealers are known to make customers come back again and again!

I have never had any headache with Fiat or it's dealers. My expereince with Fiat dealers, Anuroop and Angad are well documented here. Moreover, I have only heard good things about Jay Vijay Motors on this forum. Spares prices have been rationalised over the years and I wouldn't consider them costly. In fact I belive, Palio headlights are cheaper then Santro's. I used to pay about Rs. 75-84 for a oil filter at Anuroop which is pretty much the average in that segment IMHO.

do you think that those 75% of highway roads will be of any use to rip that car with 100 horses? such highways are very near to some villages and towns and hence there might be a possiblity of some local traffic.

Thats why I said he will be able to extract some of the 100 horses . Moreover, higher hp doesn't only mean you get a chance to drive really fast. The 1.6 has fantastic torque too which helps when you want to overtake that slow moving truck before the oncoming truck rams into you, or when you are approaching a traffic light and it turns orange and you have to zip through because you aren't sure if the moron behind you will also stop. Considering the death traps that our highways are, the torque of that "Torque" engine will be of tremendous help.

[devarshi84]

why cant the first car be the best car in the hatch segment?

It is powerful doesnt make it useless for first time buyers.

If boot is not needed then palio 1.2 is good with FE

if performance is needed that look at 1.6

but for a sedan 1.3 ikon makes sense. go to the dealers. test driveit and then decide.

[nitinhegde]

Thanks guys for yr suggestions...Keep them flowing..Don't stop...

SOME UPDATES :

I had a good long discussion today with both the Car dealers (Vijay Shah - director - Jay Vijay motors), Bharati kadam - Branch Sales head - PLANET FORD)...

This being my first car,I guess, I will have to settle with either PALIO 1.2 NV sport or FORD IKON FLAIR 1.3..

Few points :

-Vijay (of JAY - VIJAY motors) is willing to give me fabulous features(Leather Upholstery,Pop-up sunroof,Reverse sensor,Music system etc) on a ferrari red 1.2 NV PALIO SPORT or a cash discount of around 40K...
According to him, he has few models left with that discount or features..
Models left with him are 1.2 NV SPORT (red colour),1.6 NV SPORT (grey colour),PETRA 1.6(grey colour)...He said that only these models are remaining with this discount/features offer...
He also added that I can always go for the model of my choice but that would be ordered and i will have to pay the list price (no discount or features)...
I compared the pricing given by the TATA-FIAT dealers and those appear to be same as this...Vijay told me that FIAT has to sell the cars which were remaining after the TATA-FIAT alliance...these are the remaining few..

-The FORD lady isn't reducing a single penny from the the list price.I tried to bargain and told her that I had made up my mind for FIAT but if she can give me good discounts then I might even consider FORD IKON FLAIR.
She said that she can't reduce it further and thats the best she can do .... ...

One more suggestion required - How's black colour for the car ?I liked PALIO/FORD in black colour.Will it be a problem during summer ? my car would be parked in the open without any protection(direct under the sun).My office parking does not have a shed(Infotech park !)..

[revharder]

amit,
donot stretch the discussion unnecessarily.

even i can revert back with lots of "IFs" and some pluses of ikon over palio1.6, but wait till tomorrow.

let NitinHegde think over it and decide. donot confuse him.

he is taking a palio1.6 tomorrow for a spin, let him speak his mind too.
-------------------------------------
haha, nitin and me posted these posts almost at the same time!

he mentioned

This being my first car,I guess, I will have to settle with either PALIO 1.2 NV sport or FORD IKON FLAIR 1.3..

now amit, you can ask nitin for clarifications.

[nitinhegde]

One more update : Could not test drive PALIO 1.6 yet....the car was not available with the dealer today ..he askd me to test drive the 1.6 adventure instead as it has the same engine...but I guess it doesn't make much sense to test drive a different car to decide on it...