[Serenity_Nimble]

I am planning to buy a car for about 5 Lakh. After skimming though a ton of reviews and roadtests and scanning most of the threads in T-BHP(I was very much impressed with the content and management of this forum) , I am a little confused as to which car would suit me. Please help me out guys in choosing the right car.
I am in the US now and hence cannot test drive the cars also.

• Cars short listed : Swift Petrol / Swift Diesel / Fusion / Zen
• Price range : about 5 Lakh (+/- 50,000)
• Maintenance & A.S.S. expectations : Expecting a low maintenance and a very good After Sales Service since I expect my visits to the dealer to be hassle free.
• Total distance traveled in a month : about 30 - 40 km per day OR about 1000 km per month.
• Where car will be mostly used : primarily in Chennai suburbs and a little in the main city and rarely on long drives on ECR and NH.
• Chauffer driven/self driven : self driven
• Whether vehicle will be shared by other members of family : No sharing
• Any specific requirements from car (ex. Better luggage space, responsive engine) : Space is not a major constraint but should be adequately comfortable , I need a small car to help me navigate in Chennai traffic and to aid parking, engine should be responsive since I love driving.
• How long you intend on keeping this car : 3 - 5 years.

I have a feeling I have missed out on many cars and I am also not sure if the Swift Diesel would do justice to my needs.Reason being , I have read in a few threads that diesel engines are for ppl who travel a lot and not for ppl who travel inside the city.
Thanks guys and congrats on being part of such a wonderful forum....

[ballkey]

Please browse through the "What car" section. Since your requirements aren't special, chances are you're likely to find what you're looking for.

My only recommendation is to test drive your shortlisted cars before you buy them. Good luck!

[devarshi84]

why not look at WAGON R CNG WITH ABS and Airbags?

Its cheap, powerful, FE, reliable and spacious. The interiors are the best thought out I have seen.

[jkdas]

Swift diesel isnt out yet.

New WagonR will be out by next week. New Zen should be out soon. Fusion would be 5.5lac plus OTR I guess. Do look at Palio 1.6 GTX if you like driving and aint concerned abt FE much. Or get the Swift.

[brainscooper]

If you are stuck on the models and price range you have mentioned, the Fusion is out! It costs about 6 lakh on the road in Chennai, after discounts.
Otherwise, it would fit your bill, except that it isnt exactly a small car.

The Swift petrol may be just for you, as it is said to be a drivers car, and is small to boot. There are some issues with rattling, parts coming loose etc which you may have to handle. Have you considered the Santro, which may be cheaper than the Swift and will give better mileage too? The fully loaded version is a real value for money proposition. The Wagon R now looks dated! If you are interested in a sedan, consider Ford Ikon-the negatives are that it is an old car, looks a bit dated, and does not give great mileage.

[gshankar]

Go for the Palio mate - its been discounted by another 50 K!! Good, comfortable, trouble free. Contrary to what people say - its maintenance costs are pretty low - probably lower than a zen.
The Ikon also is a good bet - but it does give some microprocessor related problems in 2-3 years.
I've driven and ridden almost all the cars - but nothing compares to the feeling in a Fiat... Palio...

[Serenity_Nimble]

I somehow missed the Santro from my list. Thanks Brainscooper for the idea.I will read the roadtests and reviews for the top end Santro.

[drpullockaran]

If I were you there would be no two ways about it. If you do not mind 11kmpl then your best option is the Palio GTX/sport. If you are keen on squeezing a bit more out of your gasoline then the option you have is the santro zing which will give about 15kmpl. Both cars with AC on all the time and light right foot. If you stomp and screech then deduct another 1-2km from the kmpl figures. I have both the cars and the Zing cannot be compared even remotely to the PalioGTX in any department except fuel effeciency mainly because its a tin box compared to the tank like build of the Palio. I am not mentioning my Indica as an option as I gather you would have known by now that its just a piece of junk, best left in the hands of TAXI DRIVERs. Infact my age old Padmini is far better than my Indica when troublefree performance is expected. If you are willing to wait then probably by year end there could be a Zing beater in the form of a Maruti vehicle which is a cross between the Zen and the WagonR. In order of my personnal preference of the wheels I own.
1)Palio GTX(way ahead of the rest) 2)Santro Zing 3)Premier Padmini 4) Piaggio Scooter 5)Hero Cycle 6)Tata Estate 7)Indica. I sincerly hope the work ethics and build quality of the Indica does not rub off onto the Palio since its sold and serviced by TATA now and compared to TVS service the present TATA service cannot hold a candle to it as far as knowledge about the machine goes.
Bye and wear your seatbelts

[naveendhyani]

palio is a wonderful choice in case u can compromise on FE & if tata can b trusted with the servicing. but indica is not a bad choice either. though its rough but its still trouble free unless u r really really unlucky, but that can happen with ny car. my brother's bajaj city bike was giving a FE of 35 whereas everybody was getting close to 70. just one odd piece.

one thing for sure, pls dont buy without personally test riding ur choices. lot of times ur perception of a vehicle changes after sitting in the driver's seat & turning the ignition key after all not all humans are alike

[GTO]

THis topic has been discussed extensively before. Please use the search feature on the "What Car" section. It will answer all and more of your queries.

This topic is closed.

GTO