[vivekz]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

For this budget, i'd pick none. I suggest- stretch the budget and get atleast a Celerio/Wagon R/i10.

Originally Posted by Eddy

I agree on both counts. WagonR over any of the above cars is a much better bet.

However, I'll pick the Eon from the list above.

Reminds me of my car search a couple of years ago. Consideration set started with Eon at one end, test drive with i10 and ended up buying the Polo.

Which is what makes this segment so difficult to get right. There are so many options at each incremental price point. And with some "flops" like Beat and Brio available at discounts, it is enticing for anyone to stretch a bit and get a more accomplished car.

[rlakhanpal]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

For this budget, i'd pick none. I suggest- stretch the budget and get atleast a Celerio/Wagon R/i10. Alto K10(Scary Handling and Weak Structure) and Datsun(Terrible Build and Awful Safety Rating in NCAP) are sure shot safety compromises, i won't put my money in either of these.

If i have to pick one, My vote goes for Hyundai Eon

1. EON : Had the same choice a couple years ago. Had to buy under 4l OTR. Picked the EON and turned out an awesome choice. Good package and over the last 60k km in 29months i havent felt the need for a diesel. Disciplined driving gets me 19kmpl in summers and 24 in winters.

2. Cut to now when we are looking for a Santro replacment for my dad. Better to stretch and buy Celerio AMT.

3. I picked Nano in the poll here. For a disciplined driver it is the best A-B car.

This sure is a tricky segment, choice can vary per time of day.

[vasoo]

Interesting comparison. in fact I am looking to replace my 2000 Santro and it looks like I will end up buying another Santro !!! There is simply no other car which feels as roomy and dependable even after 15 years of its existence. Eon is also something to look at but then I doubt it will feel less spacious inside. I will take a TD anyway. What about the entry level WagonR models ? Are they too expensive? I believe they were the main competition for Santro for quite sometime.

[jagzrk]

Originally Posted by GTO

The problem with the Nano is that it ages too quickly. On Tuesday night, I'd taken my brother's company maintained one-hand driven yellow Nano for a spin around town.

It's 4 years old but felt terrible. With the use of such cheap components, it feels acceptable when new, but awful once the odometer crosses a certain level. In comparison, my cousin's 50,000 km Santro felt so nice & tight!

Tata's wear & tear rate is much faster than others. Seen it first-hand with my Indigo too. The Tata Indigo remains the only car our family has sold within 4 years of ownership and less than 40,000 kms on the odo.

That's exactly the pain point of Tata's. While I cannot comment on Tata's higher segments, I am a 2012 Nano owner myself. Its been 2 and half years with nearly 28K on the odo. Hardly, 1 year after the ownership the rattles started. I used to visit service station nearly every 2 months to get things fixed which were minor but irritating niggles. Now, I've just dropped it and live with those niggles.

But if you ask me about the mechanicals, electricals and handling, touche'. We now use it as a secondary car. Since, Nano wasn't on the poll before, I've picked Spark because of its practicality as well as decent costing. Though it wears a dated look which is not much of a concern to me.

[wishnipon]

The Alto K10. Because of the following two reasons:

Looks good after the design revamp. Sober design, not too quirky like the Eon. Spruced up interiors. Good looking dashboard. The redesign changed the my earlier perception of the Alto brand.

If the car is to be self-driven in the city, AMT will be great.

[hillsnrains]

I have voted for Alto K10.
Santro missed by a whisker mainly because it is going to be phased out sooner than later.
Simply ruled out Spark, nano because of looks. Datsun Go is too new to pick. I personally like the simple and clean lines (though understated) than the fluidic curves of EON. For me EON has too many curves for its size...simply looks funny for me, no offense meant for EON owners.

Alto K10 has better power to weight ratio, simple yet cute looks, AMT option and Maruti service wins for me.

[zenren]

Here are the cars currently in the poll and what you'll get for 3 lakhs ex-showroom in each of those:

Maruti Alto K10 - base variant without PS at 2k extra; LXi with AC+PS at 18k extra
Maruti Alto 800 - LXi with AC/PS.
Tata Nano - XT with AC/PS.
Hyundai Eon - only base model without AC & PS; AC/PS variant starts at 15k more.

Hyundai Santro - base model at 9k extra without AC/PS; 75k extra for AC/PS variant, just 4k less than Wagon R LXi.
Datsun Go - not even the base model which is 12k more and comes without AC/PS. T-variant with AC & PS at 79k extra which is the price of Wagon R LXi
Chevrolet Spark - not even base model which is 45k more and comes without PS. Wagon R LX is just 4k more!

Wagon R - LX at 50k extra, LXi at 79k extra.

Prices according to prices at carwale.com.

A car without AC is a clear NO for me and it would be preferable to have Power Steering too. That requirement and 3-lakh cap means there are only 2 options - Nano XT or Alto 800 LXi. Nothing else, not even Eon or Alto K10 is available at 3 lakhs. I would have to pick Alto 800 LXi if it is a strict 3 lakhs budget.

If I can stretch, I would go for the LX/LXi Wagon R depending on how much I can stretch. Hyundai Santro, Datsun Go and Chevy Spark costs as much as Wagon R for a variant with AC.

EDIT: Putting a cap at 3.25 lakhs would mean the competition is only between Nano, Eon and Alto 800/K10. In that case, my pick would be K10 LXi with 1000cc engine since Eon still has only 800cc.

@Mods, no offense but this poll seems to be really meaningless with the most popular option based on sales numbers (Wagon R) missing from the list while 3 other cars in similar price range are available for the poll. If possible, please reset the poll and provide only meaningful options.

[swiftnfurious]

Can anybody tell me what makes Santro more expensive than Eon? But I am impressed with the build quality for sure. The taxis in Mumbai are almost rattle free inspite of rude handling & belting. Maruti can ONLY dream of this kind of build quality.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by zenren

@Mods, no offense but this poll seems to be really meaningless with the most popular option based on sales numbers (Wagon R) missing from the list while 3 other cars in similar price range are available for the poll. If possible, please reset the poll and provide only meaningful options.

Would be better to include the WagonR as well, as the good old competition of Santro and Spark are present in the poll. My vote would go for the WagonR as it one hugely practical city car.

If not- Eon comes across as the better package IMO, but looks way too weird for my taste.

[SIMKIM]

Originally Posted by vasoo

Interesting comparison. in fact I am looking to replace my 2000 Santro and it looks like I will end up buying another Santro !!! There is simply no other car which feels as roomy and dependable even after 15 years of its existence. Eon is also something to look at but then I doubt it will feel less spacious inside. I will take a TD anyway. What about the entry level WagonR models ? Are they too expensive? I believe they were the main competition for Santro for quite sometime.

Should be the other way round, isn't it ? WagonR has not competition whatsoever, even if you consider Santro ... the sales tell it all.

BTW :

WagonR VXi is having some 62000-65000 discount including exchange and consumer offer.
WagonR Stringray has some 80000 discount. Also heard that Maruti may have it with AMT version.

Just traded my 2002 2nd hand WagonR for a Ritz. Got about 1.15-1.20 L for my WagonR and 40K discount on the Ritz ZXi.

Cost of WagonR on road is about 4.85 then you can reduce the discounts and price of your old car. Stingray is about 5.2 I guess . It has alloys and project headlamps, steering mounted controls.

WagonR is better as it has 14inch tyres for VXi, not sure if Santro has got 13 or 14 inch tyres.

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

For this budget, i'd pick none. I suggest- stretch the budget and get atleast a Celerio/Wagon R/i10. Alto K10(Scary Handling and Weak Structure) and Datsun(Terrible Build and Awful Safety Rating in NCAP) are sure shot safety compromises, i won't put my money in either of these.

If i have to pick one, My vote goes for Hyundai Eon.


Not only this car ages so fast, it's also a fast depreciating car. A decade old Alto/Santro retains more resale value, cannot expect the same for Nano. My Sister's 4 old Nano sells for as much as a 12 year old Fiat Palio!

Even Manza has joined the low resale value club. Firstly no
takers and finally the asking price is a heart burn.

[Car-go-man]

Given that Santro's still available, I would go for it, simply because it meets my requirements- space, city drivability, reliability and it's awesome resale value.

[joe_antony]

Why I voted Alto K10.

1. Maruti's A.S.S and niggle free experience.
2. Mileage
3. Drive-ability in the tight traffics.

[Aficionados]

Voted for Eon! Simply because this is the best looking Car in this range with futuristic styling. The interior design looks far far better than others and still feels upmarket despite 2 years old.

But, if I'm on hunt for a car in this price bracket, I will better add few bucks and go for WagonR which is a complete package for a small family and yet affordable.

[Sebring]

Voted for Eon. There isn't a single EON ownership review on the forum, you could probably post yours.

Picked the EON and turned out an awesome choice. Good package and over the last 60k km in 29months i havent felt the need for a diesel. Disciplined driving gets me 19kmpl in summers and 24 in winters.