[indrasis_gun]

One of my friends is willing to buy a petrol hatchback. He has shortlisted Swift zxi+ and Grand i10 Nios Asta. Which will be a better option considering driving pleasure, reliability etc?

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by CCRider

I am planning to take another test drive of the Santro and I10 nios to check for the lag and also TD the ignis AMT.

Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated.

You can't go wrong with any of the above 3 choices.

In my personal opinion, Santro would be a good option for a beginner because of the high seating and good all round visibility.

But, I'd suggest that you wait for the BS-6 variants to be launched for Santro and ignis (nios is already BS-6)

Rohan

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by indrasis_gun

One of my friends is willing to buy a petrol hatchback. He has shortlisted Swift zxi+ and Grand i10 Nios Asta. Which will be a better option considering driving pleasure, reliability etc?

I will suggest Swift. I have owned and driven Swift (1st and 2nd Gen) and Grand i10. Grand i10 Nios is a great car but, in my opinion, it can't beat Swift in terms of driving pleasure, reliability, road presence, hassle free ownership, etc. etc.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by indrasis_gun

One of my friends is willing to buy a petrol hatchback. He has shortlisted Swift zxi+ and Grand i10 Nios Asta. Which will be a better option considering driving pleasure, reliability etc?

The Swift, eyes closed. Nios is nowhere in terms of fun to drive, especially when compared to the legendary K12 engine. Have owned both the last generation Swifts for more than 10 years now, and its a no-brainer to get it when the main two criteria are driving pleasure and reliability.

[destrukt]

Posting this for a friend here who is not on team-bhp.

He is in the market looking for a new car, preferably hatchback.
Requirements -

• Room for 2 adults and a newborn
• Petrol because running is low
• Safety conscious (hence most of budget segment cars like Kwid, cars from maruti stable are ruled out)
• Budget 6-7 lakhs
• Car will be retained for long, say 7-8 years
• It will be his first car. Doesn't know driving as of now.
• Manual is preferred

He really liked Santro initially but then he came across this excellent thread by GTO about benefits of buying a great car in the long run.

https://www.team-bhp.com/advice/how-...rk-out-cheaper

This pushed him to have a look at Grand i10 NIOS Sportz. It was striking all the right chords and it looked like a done deal.

And then, Tata launched Altroz

He is smitten by the looks of Altroz and perplexed now if he should stay with his choice of NIOS or stretch his budget and get Altroz XM + Rhythm.

Of course, in such cross shopping you gain some, you lose some -

Gains -

Prospect of owning a bigger and premium hatch
Safety rating of 5* is confidence inspiring
Bigger boot
Better looks
May be a better ride quality
Built on a modern new platform
Rear flat floor

Loss -

Several creature comforts like rear AC vents, DRLs, Cooled Glovebox, Height adjustable driver seat etc.
More refined 4 cylinder engine
Alloy wheels
Front fog lamps
Fully automatic AC

Comparison is between NIOS Sportz petrol vs Altroz XM + Rhythm pack.
With some discounts NIOS Sportz can be purchased in 7 lakhs ORP.
Dealerships are not willing to part any money for Altroz citing it as a new launch so ORP is touching 7.7 lakhs. Altroz XT is about 8.1 on road in Pune but it is going out of budget.

Any other VFM hatchback we missed to consider ?
Is Altroz mid variant really worth it to let go of all the additional features we get in NIOS ?

[Fordlover88]

Apart from the above two, you can consider ford freestyle as well. It's a true vfm product & it's safe too.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by destrukt

Any other VFM hatchback we missed to consider ?
Is Altroz mid variant really worth it to let go of all the additional features we get in NIOS ?

Wont prefer going with Altroz for another 6 months at least. In the said budget, Freestyle is one option which suits your requirement.

The petrol engine is good, features are segment best, safety is segment best, lower service cost and decent sales support.

Another one you can think of is the Tigor top end. Now most of the niggles are ironed out. It looks good and has excellent feature list. The petrol engine is sluggish but decent for a new driver. After sales support is dicey but they are improving.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by destrukt

[*]Manual is preferred

Maybe

From your description, I assume your friend to be in his late 20s to early 30s, he would be learning to drive now, wants to buy a car which won't be used that often. I also assume he won't be driving other cars available within his family/friend circle and mostly be driving his own car. If my assumptions are correct, won't it make life easier for him to buy an auto transmission car?

He will also be keeping this car long term. With automatic transmission and EVs gaining popularity, and with our roads growing more and more congested, we are moving towards an auto gearbox dominant market in the future. IMO, It wouldn't make sense for him to have both manual and automatic transmission driving skill set. Please ask him to give this a serious thought.

[arindambasu13]

Top of the line Swift ZXI plus.

Full safety kit, fantastic K12 engine, and good mix of practicality and performance, especially for a new driver. He can take his pick between the manual and a auto tranny version. Add to the equation the reliability and unparalleled service support of a car from the Maruti stable. Can't go wrong with this as a choice for a first car.

[destrukt]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

If my assumptions are correct, won't it make life easier for him to buy an auto transmission car?

You are correct with all assumptions. This came up during our discussion but then in his budget most manufacturers offer AMT which haven't fared well if I go by popular opinion here on team-bhp.

By skipping on auto transmission he can buy a version higher in same price.
For example, NIOS AMT Magna and NIOS Sportz manual are equally priced.

[destrukt]

Originally Posted by Fordlover88

Apart from the above two, you can consider ford freestyle as well. It's a true vfm product & it's safe too.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Wont prefer going with Altroz for another 6 months at least. In the said budget, Freestyle is one option which suits your requirement.

Freestyle seems a good option. I hope to get some BS IV discounts on that.
Wont't ford figo be a good option as well considering that it is the same platform underneath ?

What are your thoughts on NIOS Sportz ? It is BS VI compliant and offers everything once would need in a new car.

[Durango Dude]

He should consider the Tiago/Grand i10/Polo/Figo/Triber. It would suit him and would have enough space if in-laws came calling!

[subhraDS]

I am in exactly similar situation like your friend. Need a safe car for outstation travels, will be mostly travelling with my wife. Booked freestyle titanium+ petrol but I had to cancel it with a heavy heart due to an unplanned event related to job, got nearly 45k of discount as well.

Planning to book again when the job related matters settle down in another two months but I am really concerned by seeing the accidents on road and crumpled vehicles, especially the small cars. I can stretch for EcoSport titanium but then will have to settle with 2 airbags.

Not able to decide, EcoSport is bigger and has more structural integrity than freestyle for sure (because freestyle is basically a figo, same platform) but the lack of airbags making me confused.

Another factor is the size of the car, smaller cars are better for new drivers like us, e.g i10, figo or tiago, buying a bigger premium hatchback or crossover might bump up the maintenance cost. Again for our roads slightly higher GC would certainly help.
I was planning to ask for help here and your post came up.

Altroz looks really good but TATA is not providing 6 airbags even as an option and GC (165 mm) is a concern, figo has 174mm. above all Altroz is a recent launch, minimum of 6 months time is required to go for it as suggested by another member above.

[Fordlover88]

Originally Posted by destrukt

Wont't ford figo be a good option as well considering that it is the same platform underneath ?

Yes, ford figo is also a very good option. If your friend is tight on budget, he can consider figo as well. But as an overall package, freestyle is much more attractive than figo.

[TejasV]

Hello dear Bhpians,


I wish to share my recent experience with car dealerships in my city, Hyderabad.

To give you a perspective, I am looking for a car under 10 lacs, may be hatch or a sedan. My choices are all over the place mostly because of the budget - under 10 lacs. It will 90% be driven in the city, only on weekends and may be doing about 1500 kms in a month.

These are the cars I have considered:

1. Rapid Rider - Petrol @ Rs.8.3, Diesel @ 9.5 lacs. Both cars went out of stock before I could book as the dealer was hellbent on taking a full/upfront payment as he had very limited stock and wasn't accepting a part payment booking amount. Still my no.1 choice had it been in stock.


2. Baleno CVT Petrol - Rs.9.5 lacs. The odo wasn't working, there were noises from the dash & the sales rep said that's how test drive cars are. He also promised that he would swap the 15 incher steel wheels with 16 inch alloys without the need for changing tyres, really didn't understand how. He said AMTs are bad and CVTs is what Maruti uses all across NEXA. Crosschecked and he was adamant that he was right. He isn't because the XL6 has an AMT, and so does the Ignis as far as I know. Gave Baleno a miss.


3. Triber - Rs.8 lacs - Was just curious because I really liked the way it looked. Went to Renault @ Kondapur. The sales reps looked like the MBA students selling encyclopedias. They did not even bother to greet or show the car to me. Asked me to go out and take the keys from the watchman to test drive the car. I just walked out, and they went back to watching tiktok videos on their mobiles.

4. Honda Jazz CVT @ 9 lacs. Honda's was the most deserted. Went to Pride Honda @ Madhapur. They said they stopped getting cars since Decemeber and only a few Amaze variants were available. Told me to come back in May/June when BS6 kicks in and they have new cars coming. The customer support person called a day later to ask me how the test drive was, I was stumped at the lack of coordination between their teams.



5. Swift AMT Petrol- 8.5 lacs, did not got check it out. Was not even considereing it till I saw a friend's AMT going great guns with minimal head nods that we generally see in an AMT. Only reminds me of the great support & service the sales staff extended when we bought an Alto for my dad. Yet to visit the Maruti Arena showroom and hoping they will be better than Nexa guys as they are more seasoned and may be knowing their cars better. Already owned a Swift for the longest of time so still thinking on whether go with a Maruti again.



6. Amaze AMT Petrol @ Rs.10 lacs. I was surprised by how efficient in the CVT was, it was a good to drive but the build quality was unlike any Honda I have driven. We have had the current gen and the 1st gen ones in the family and they feel solid. Amaze sadly doesn't and cost cutting is very apparent from the start. There's no light near the internal rear view mirror and the panel gaps were very uneven on the dash board. There was also noise coming from the dash which reminded me of the older Marutis post 50k km.

7. i10 Nios AMT Petrol - Test drove this car at Hyundai @ Kondapur. The test drive itself for an adventure of sorts. There was so much paper work, it felt as if I was signing loan docs for the car and not requesting a test drive. The sales rep also insisted on taking a selfie saying we cannot have a test drive without it. He wanted me to pre-fill the feedback form too. Both did not happen. I was finally given the keys to drive while he was at his desk filling the triplicate set of forms!

Now coming to the car itself - I loved the way it looked, the new colors with gun metal shade allows really turned heads on the road. I was surprised at how responsive the engine was and how the AMT was much, much smoother than Swift's. The car was almost fun to drive.

The interiors looked great, but did not feel better built than the previous gen Grand i10. I could see the change especially because I went to the showroom in a friend's i10. Also I am not sure how well the grey interiors would age, especially as the white dash may not look as good if we change the colour of the seat covers.

Conclusion: It is as much about the cars as it is about the dealership experience, especially when they options as so varied. I am yet to decide on a car - might pick up the Nios as it was the one that felt like the best package for my use-case. BUT it was an eye-opening, almost shocking experience to see so many different brands being so ill-equipped with how they market their cars. At some level, I believe it is one contributing reason for the fledgling car sales. With this recent experience (which could be a one-off/region specific occurrence), it felt as if the brands/dealerships just don't care about the customers anymore(at least they should try when somebody is buying) - yet complain about low sales.

Also, what would you buy if you were in my shoes?