[NaXal]

With your budget & being first time buyer, I would suggest Grand i10 NIOS (1.2L N/A Petrol).

Go down a variant or two to save some money to spend on hard learning car ownership experience to counter those unexpected financial surprises.

It's better to avoid those enthusiasts choice for your first purchase.

Hyundai or Maruti may not be fun for experts & enthusiasts but they are extremely easy to drive for new drivers with their feather light controls & very easy to manage predictable power curve.

Grand i10 NIOS is a good looking, well packed package with decent power & highway capabilities. Hyundai is second to Maruti with their pan India service network. Hyundai also offers excellent resale value too.

Thanks.

P.S. Welcome to Team Bhp

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Quinn

Dear BHPians,
.. snip snip ...
Please throw in pointers that hopefully clear my confusion.

I'd go with the Figo or Freestyle if I was in your position. It seems to tick all the boxes, the service costs are not bloated and the car is in general a good all-rounder package even if isn't ticking all the enthusiast boxes that the older generation Figo did.

Originally Posted by NaXal

With your budget & being first time buyer, I would suggest Grand i10 NIOS (1.2L N/A Petrol).

I agree, this is also a good suggestion. The i10 Nios is a no-nonsense option packed with most goodies to keep one satisfied for a long while.

Go down a variant or two to save some money to spend on hard learning car ownership experience to counter those unexpected financial surprises.

On the contrary, I would say it is better to stretch if possible and get the higher variants which are packed with more safety features and goodies than the lower variants, both of which cannot be retrofitted outside at all, or will void the OE warranty.

It's better to avoid those enthusiasts choice for your first purchase.

Within powertrain options, mechanically the variants are usually the same, so there is nothing 'enthusiast' about choosing between variants Just better safety and better features fitted from the factory on the top variants make it worth the premium.

[Flyer]

Originally Posted by Quinn

My heart says go for Ford. Product wise Altroz is good too given the 5-star ncap and decent features but uneasy feel on the service. Will I be making a mistake if I choose ford?

Please throw in pointers that hopefully clear my confusion.

Your best options are VW Polo and Ford Figo/Freestyle. I would suggest you the Polo. The new 1.0 TSI and 6 speed manual is a killer combination. It ticks all your boxes. Don't lose the fun car worrying about the service part. For regular servicing VW is not a pain in the *** nowadays. Purchase the available extended warranty and you'll be good to go.

If you cannot convince yourself for Polo then go for Ford. But with Ford, diesels are the better option. With your budget and usage I think a petrol engine will be more apt.

Every forum is talking a lot about TSI highline plus but how about the lesser variants? will it be too low on power (75bhp and 95nm) for highway drives and eventually one will feel the need?

If you choose Polo, go with the TSI engine only. Don't choose the mpi version.

Will 3 pot vs 4 pot make a big difference ( hyundai and honda are 4-pot)? Please suggest.

Don't worry about it. The current turbo petrol 3 pots (like TSI) are much advanced than the existing 4 pots.

Probably I can live with it but they are still somewhat inferior to Tata (correct me if i am wrong and that will make me elated) in safety such as ncap (figo/freestyle 3 and altroz 5) and build.

Wrong. I would say Figo is among the safest hatchback one can buy in India today.

Also do consider Skoda Rapid. If you can get raider or raider plus variant you are buying a better car from a higher segment with slight extend in budget. You will appreciate this decision few years down the line. After few years with a hatchback you may feel to upgrade to a sedan. I would say invest a little more and get a sedan now itself and keep the car with you for longer term. It will turn out to be much cheaper for you overall.

[Quinn]

Originally Posted by anantpoddar

If you are a newbie w.r.t buying and owning a car, I would recommend not to rule out the used car route. The learning experience of owning/maintaining a car teaches you a lot over the first few months and you wouldn't want to get that at the cost of a brand new car. Plus the depreciation of a used car will be insignificant.

Thanks. Will take this input and checkout few pre-worshipped options but given the covid situation, I felt a new car is good as I dont have to spend time on getting the vehicle checked by an expert.

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

If I were you, I’ll add 50k to the budget and get a Skoda Rapid Rider variant.

Strictly from your short list, I’ll pick Altroz. And will then direct you to the Nexon XZ petrol manual...

I thought about Rapid and Nexon. Mainly the service experiences that made me not sure about Nexon or in general Tata which otherwise has good cars now. However Nexon XM is 1L more from my budget. Rapid felt like a deal for me. On the other hand I have a bit of tight parking spot (along with my enfield) and my drives will cover rural roads too where its low ground clearance may be a problem but I will definitely check it out. Any idea on Skoda's RSA coverage and experience?

Originally Posted by Bagheera

I was also shopping for my first car 6 months ago with similar requirements in a similar budget, i.e. a safe fun to drive petrol manual. I went with Tata Nexon BS4.

Thank you. Will keep these pointers in mind. My relatives have tata vehicles and they are also not happy about the service.

Originally Posted by NaXal

With your budget & being first time buyer, I would suggest Grand i10 NIOS (1.2L N/A Petrol).

Thank you. Nios also seemed very good and practical choice for a beginner but how about safety and its build quality? Its not tested for ncap yet right? Moreover, I feel Nios is more of a city car where one wouldnt need to worry much about safety. Nios sports is close to 7.8 L OTR Bangalore so in comparison isnt ford/altroz better buy?

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I'd go with the Figo or Freestyle if I was in your position.

Thanks KarthikK, I thought the same. Freestyle is good in rough roads too.

Originally Posted by Flyer

Also do consider Skoda Rapid. If you can get raider or raider plus variant you are buying a better car from a higher segment with slight extend in budget. You will appreciate this decision few years down the line. After few years with a hatchback you may feel to upgrade to a sedan. I would say invest a little more and get a sedan now itself and keep the car with you for longer term. It will turn out to be much cheaper for you overall.

Thanks. This point makes sense from a long term perspective and I will check Rapid. VW polo is expensive for the space it offers and I want atleast decent leg room for average height of 5.5 and polo seems to take a hit there. Else I would have closed my eyes and went for a polo given it is very practical for my usage and parking constraints.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Quinn

Dear BHPians,

I am a newbee here and am in this usual dilemma that most first timers face. Need to buy a new car for the first time and faced with that “not so sure” kind of feeling!!

There is no one car fits all criteria in this segment, so that makes your choice a bit harder. I would stay away from the Hyundai's, primarily due to their quality and lack of response from the manufacturer. As a new owner, I dont think you will want to risk the frequent niggles and extremely bloated service costs.

The Altroz is still new enough to not have long term ownership feedback. I am seeing a few of them on our roads now though, so that is a positive sign.

So, to me, your real decision should be between the Fords and the Honda Amaze. The Fords will have the edge in the fun department and have reasonable service costs as well but come with the 3* safety rating. The Honda is a more "family guy" car from that perspective, you get a higher safety rating and a solid do it all car with a decently sized boot minus some of the fun. As a new car buyer, you cant wrong with either one, do you want the slightly more fun Ford option or the more practical Amaze?

[Quinn]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

So, to me, your real decision should be between the Fords and the Honda Amaze. The Fords will have the edge in the fun department and have reasonable service costs as well but come with the 3* safety rating. The Honda is a more "family guy" car from that perspective, you get a higher safety rating and a solid do it all car with a decently sized boot minus some of the fun. As a new car buyer, you cant wrong with either one, do you want the slightly more fun Ford option or the more practical Amaze?

Thanks Neil. I think you narrowed it down a bit more for me. I will get Amaze S variant in my budget and Freestyle Titanium or Figo Titanium plus (this has 6 airbags). In terms of rear seats, I think fords are not that bad and I learnt driving in Amaze so I dont think its way better than fords (you can correct me though). I am not considering V or VX variants in comparison because as the other members pointed out, in that price one gets a skoda rapid rider.

The other differentiator is the boot but I think a compromise can be made for boot space for a car if that will make you want to go for a drive, just for the sake of it. So the real question I think, is this: If I choose ford (freestyle or figo), will it be a bad decision in terms of safety? If yes, then definitely Amaze but S variant.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Quinn

Thanks Neil. I think you narrowed it down a bit more for me. I will get Amaze S variant in my budget and Freestyle Titanium or Figo Titanium plus (this has 6 airbags). In terms of rear seats, I think fords are not that bad and I learnt driving in Amaze so I dont think its way better than fords (you can correct me though). I am not considering V or VX variants in comparison because as the other members pointed out, in that price one gets a skoda rapid rider.

The other differentiator is the boot but I think a compromise can be made for boot space for a car if that will make you want to go for a drive, just for the sake of it. So the real question I think, is this: If I choose ford (freestyle or figo), will it be a bad decision in terms of safety? If yes, then definitely Amaze but S variant.

Interesting dilemma, 6 airbags and a 3 star safety rating vs 2 airbags and a 4 star safety rating. I dont know if there is clear answer and personally, I will take the Amaze if I were you but I will leave it to the more knowledgeable members on the forum to give a more definitive answer.

I own a Honda Jazz CVT (same engine as the Amaze) and my Dad owns the petrol Figo 1.2. I have done 31,000 kms on the Jazz and around 1 to 2 thousand kms on the Figo. Neither car is super sporty to be honest and I wouldnt really say the Figo is a whole lot sportier than the Jazz on its OEM tires, for regular and new drivers. The steering on the current gen Figo is definitely lighter than the old Figo but its a really nice car for the city runabouts (99.9% of its current usage for my Dad) and the occasional highway drive.

Where the Jazz trumps the Figo is when four people have to be transported, my parents sit in the back and they love the comfort and space of the Honda. The Figo feels a lot more cramped and snug for outstation drives, even if it is for a day. Anytime I need to take my parents anywhere, be it in the city or for outstation drives, they prefer the much roomier Jazz than the Figo, so from a practicality perspective the Figo loses some points. The Amaze is very spacious and I have a feeling if it is a group decision, the elders in the rear will prefer the feel and comfort of the Amaze.

I'll suggest you ask the two showrooms to bring the test drive cars to your place so that you and your parents can take a proper drive in them to see what all of you prefer. Since you are a new driver, I will say dont read too much into the "sporty" aspect of the Figo for now and think about the decision more holistically.

[chiefpk]

Hi fellow BHPians!
This is my first thread after joining Team-BHP. Please pardon me for any mistakes or errors in my post. Let me get started with what I am here for.

I will start with what leads me here:-
We are a family of 4 and have never owned a car. My father and mother both have an individual two-wheeler(which of-course i drive) and we cover large distance trips using either the public transport or car-pooling which is readily available in my city. Now due to this whole pandemic thing both the modes have become real unsafe and my father has to cover 250 kilometres of trip on his 2011 Splendor Pro which is in itself highly unsafe considering there's quite a lot of traffic on the Ambala-New Delhi highway(which also is not in a good condition either). So this leads to the search of a new family car which serves the purpose of the same.

The car should meet the following terms:-

• Good Safety And Heavy Build as it would be more of a highway drive.
• Performance should be good with good amount of handling
• Practibility and comfort since long drives will be a port of the parcel too.
• Hassle free and cheap after sales service.
• Most importantly a Petrol since we dont have such a monthly running of more than 500 kms.
  

The budget was said to be strictly under 7 lacs, therefore, a B2 segment hatchback would suit us the best. So I took up the job of research and filtration of what the segment has to offer and what is more VFM. This lead me to the Team BHP forum and I was very surprised to see the community being so great and helpful and now here I am writing this thread.

Anyways, I found that there are only a few cars that suits the need.

1. Ford Figo 1.2L Titanium
2. Tata Altroz XE(not considering the XM since it is not much of an upgrade over the XE. I would rather buy an XE and get some after market alloys, music system and other stuff.)
3. Tata Tiago XZ

Now, I am a bit confused between these three and really need help of you guys to let me decide which one should I go for considering my preferences which I have stated above. Also Do let me know any other contender(if any) that is upto my requirement.

[samee_arian]

Hi Chiefpk,

Good that you have a very small list in your mind as it gets very difficult with so many options currently being available. Ford Figo is an amazing car but unfortunately not selling in numbers it deserves, so in case you are planning to sell it after a few years of usage, expect a low resale value. Out of the two TATA cars, they belong to two different segments. The new design makes Tiago a nice option but it still is one rung lower than Altroz, moreover Altroz is a newer platform and definitely more premium than Tiago. If I were you and had to choose between the three cars you have shortlisted, I would put my money on Altroz.

Now this is purely my perspective, but I hope it helps you make your mind. Looking forward to your ownership review soon.

[Nav-i-gator]

I am happily surprised to see a first time car buyer in this segment not looking to buy a Maruti! So I am guessing safety is non-negotiable here. Hence, an easy one - Altroz.

Or Figo Titanium + (with 6 airbags).

[Fordlover88]

Good to see you giving more priority to safety & not much bothered about mileage. My pick would be Ford Figo Titanium plus(with 6 airbags). You can consider Ford Freestyle as well.

[Grease_Monkey]

Good to see you choosing safety as a priority!

Of the options, I would choose Figo or Altroz. Figo has a better engine of the two, in my opinion but Altroz feels like a much bigger car from one segment above. Plus the 5 star rating for the Altroz makes for a brilliant package!

If you drive through bad roads, perhaps Freestyle could be a good choice too.

Take a test drive for both, but you can't go wrong with either of them

[chiefpk]

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

I am happily surprised to see a first time car buyer in this segment not looking to buy a Maruti! So I am guessing safety is non-negotiable here. Hence, an easy one - Altroz.

Or Figo Titanium + (with 6 airbags).

Well thank you very much for your kind advise. Coming to the part that I didn't pick a Maruti. I did pick a Swift in my list of cars available but it didn't cut out to the final list since it is poor on safety and build. I also wanted to ask something:- Tata is quite unfamous for its A.S.S, correct me if I am wrong?

[AYP]

Originally Posted by chiefpk

The car should meet the following terms:-

• Good Safety And Heavy Build as it would be more of a highway drive.
• Performance should be good with good amount of handling
• Practibility and comfort since long drives will be a port of the parcel too.
• Hassle free and cheap after sales service.
• Most importantly a Petrol since we dont have such a monthly running of more than 500 kms.
  

1. Ford Figo 1.2L Titanium
2. Tata Altroz XE(not considering the XM since it is not much of an upgrade over the XE. I would rather buy an XE and get some after market alloys, music system and other stuff.)
3. Tata Tiago XZ

Now, I am a bit confused between these three and really need help of you guys to let me decide which one should I go for considering my preferences which I have stated above. Also Do let me know any other contender(if any) that is upto my requirement.

I agree about your comparison of the XE vs the XM trim of the Altroz but you do have the XM with rhythm pack which costs around 39,000 more than the XM. For 39k, you get quite a lot over the normal XM which makes the Altroz a complete package without any major miss. I would personally avoid the XE trim as it quite a poverty spec variant and no amount of add-ons will give you the OEM premium feel.


Between the Figo and the Tiago, it is a difficult choice as one offers better performance with slightly lesser safety(Figo with a 3 star rating) while the other offers mediocre performance with a better safety rating of 4 stars(Tiago). I find myself gravitating more towards the Figo as it suits your requirement a tad more than the Tiago, keeping aside the deficit of 1 star in safety rating. Though considering the fact that the Figo Titanium in the BS-6 avatar has lost a lot of features and is sparsely equipped compared to the Tiago, would recommend you to stretch for the Figo Blu if possible.

If you can stretch your budget a bit, the Altroz XM rhythm will be my pick. The Altroz though shares the same average engine with the Tiago, considering its 5 star rating and contemporary interiors, I would still recommend it over the Figo. So here it goes in the order of decreasing preference-

1. Altroz XM rhythm
2. Figo Blue
3. Figo Titanium
4. Tiago XZ
5. Altroz XE

[chiefpk]

Originally Posted by AYP

I agree about your comparison of the XE vs the XM trim of the Altroz but you do have the XM with rhythm pack which costs around 39,000 more than the XM. For 39k, you get quite a lot over the normal XM which makes the Altroz a complete package without any major miss. I would personally avoid the XE trim as it quite a poverty spec variant and no amount of add-ons will give you the OEM premium feel.


Between the Figo and the Tiago, it is a difficult choice as one offers better performance with slightly lesser safety(Figo with a 3 star rating) while the other offers mediocre performance with a better safety rating of 4 stars(Tiago). I find myself gravitating more towards the Figo as it suits your requirement a tad more than the Tiago, keeping aside the deficit of 1 star in safety rating. Though considering the fact that the Figo Titanium in the BS-6 avatar has lost a lot of features and is sparsely equipped compared to the Tiago, would recommend you to stretch to the Figo Blu if possible.

If you can stretch your budget a bit, the Altroz XM rhythm will be my pick. The Altroz though shares the same average engine with the Tiago, considering its 5 star rating and contemporary interiors, I would still recommend it over the Figo. So here it goes in the order of decreasing preference-

1. Altroz XM rhythm
2. Figo Blue
3. Figo Titanium
4. Tiago XZ
5. Altroz XE

Well you are quite right in terms of your choices and based on the fact that the altroz rhythm costs around 7.4 lacs OTR without any ongoing discounts. Figo blu would have been my pick if it would not have those black interiors which makes it claustrophobic ( the fact that I really feel Nauseous and my family too, in a car cabin thats not spacious and airy). The figo titanium also is priced around 7.3 lacs OTR over which im getting it at around 6.7 lacs(if taken with 1 year zero dep as of now) is a great deal, considering I get better engine, alloys, adjustable rear headrests is also icing on the cake. Plus ford's excellent A.S.S as compared to Tata's which is a hit or a miss still needs a solid reason to put my money on. Do let me know your thoughts about the same