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Old 30th March 2015, 19:23   #16
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

I suggest you to consider Toyota Etios Cross 1.2 Petrol or Tata Zest XMS Petrol for your requirements.
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Old 30th March 2015, 19:24   #17
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

granted that Leh sees all manner of small cars, but if one were to drive to Leh everyday in a alto, santro, i10 then that would be tough on passengers and the car as well.

these cars are excellent city, smooth road commutes.
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Old 30th March 2015, 19:46   #18
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

Having driven the M800 and now Alto K10 for more than 25 years, I would always go for an Alto K10 at the lower price end and Duster at the higher end for village roads. The Mahindra vehicles may offer more ground clearance, but their heavy weight and high engine noise goes against them.

If budget is a problem, then the Alto K10 is the best buy. Wagon R is a bigger and heavier car. The advantages of a K10/Omni are
. Low price
. Narrow width, hence can go any where. I have seen Alto and Omni travelling between wheel ruts on rural roads, all other vehicles have one wheel in the rut due to wider track.
. Short wheel base
. Excellent engine and good AC
. One of the lightest vehicles, so it will rarely bog down in mild mud. I have seen heavier vehicles bogged down, where the lighter Altos and Omnis just breeze through.

If budget can be upped, then is the Gypsy is the next best choice. It will beat all the heavier and wider 4x4 vehicle hollow on treacherous village roads. It only dis advantage is its low highway speeds, but then how many old people drive at 100+ on the highways?

Regarding riding comfort, all vehicles, south of 30L will be a problem on very bad roads, and here the Duster has the best ride.

Last edited by Aroy : 30th March 2015 at 19:48.
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Old 30th March 2015, 19:55   #19
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

As I was reading the first post, the name Wagon R was popping up.
So happy to see that so many people have mentioned this awesome tall boy as the first choice.

Have owned one from 2006 to 2013. Beautiful car.
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Old 30th March 2015, 20:04   #20
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

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Originally Posted by lurker View Post
Marutis in villages can develop suspension problems pretty easily. In fact it will be a pain to maintain them. Every 6 months something will go wrong with the bush, boot etc or the entire thing will be rattling and grimacing all over. Buy something with sturdy suspension.
On the contrary, Maruti 800, Alto, Omni and Wagon R are hugely successful in the villages, due to light weight and narrow body, plus the tremendous reach of Maruti service.

Quote:
You can go for Mahindra Bolero, Toyota Liva, Fiat Punto, Linea, Xylo, Trax Toofan, Nissan Terrano, Duster. All strong beefy suspension.
Apart from the Mahindra & Trax, the other options will be a nightmare in a rural village with no access to service centers and lack of spares.

Quote:
Do not opt for agon R, Eon, i10, i20, Alto, Honda anything, Verna, Elantra, Maruti Ciaz.
The Honda's, Verna, Elantra, Ciaz are not even on his radar, so why even bring that up?
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Old 30th March 2015, 21:12   #21
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

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Originally Posted by khan_sultan View Post
Any other choices I should be looking at or other factors that I should consider for a car primarily intended for village use?
If buying new: Which manufacturer has the nearest authorized service centre? How crowded are they on a normal day?

OR

If buying pre-owned: Which car can the nearest FNG handle/repair best (apart from the jugaad )? Which car's spare parts are most easily available at the nearest spares shop?
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Old 30th March 2015, 21:43   #22
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

If you want to go in for a Petrol, Dont look for anything beyond the Wagon-R. Parag sir has anyway mentioned all the points. If you are keen on a Diesel then the Ritz/ Ertiga Zdi are your best bet.
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Old 30th March 2015, 22:04   #23
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

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Originally Posted by khan_sultan View Post
While in city they can get around in a sedan but the same car in village (all the time) represents a different challenge of several dimensions -- ranging from bad roads to narrow alleyways, to suspect fuel to service issues and others.
Which car is your parents using currently? How long do they intend to keep this car?

I would recommend moving comfort to the top of the list of priorities. As people get older, it becomes very difficult for them to sit in an uncomfortable car and travel through bad roads.

Indica- My mom had no complaints about the Zen initially but she started disliking the ride once we started using it as one of the cars along with Indica and Swift. Her preferred option was always Indica followed by Swift though no one wanted to drive the non-turbo Indica we had. From a comfort perspective, no other hatch can come anywhere near the Indica. Considering your parents would have a driver, I assume enthusiastic steering manners is not on your checklist. Indica has been a proven work horse in the village roads and even FNGs can easily look into this just like a Maruti. Also, this should cost roughly the same as Wagon R. Long term reliability is a suspect, but considering your monthly running, it would take a long while before you get there.

Zest- Modern version of Indica which carries all the advantages and a lot of new gizmos but at double the price of Indica.

Ritz- Better option that Wagon R according to me considering the comfort levels is an important factor for elderly people.

Verito- Mahindra tag and a reliable K9K engine makes this another option you can consider.

Last edited by zenren : 30th March 2015 at 22:06.
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Old 30th March 2015, 23:33   #24
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I would strongly suggest you to go for the Renault Duster, if budget is not a constriant. Agreed that local FNGs won't be enough to maintain the car, but hey, you get 'magic carpet' ride quality. This is a car which is mechanically robust and can take ample abuse. Luggage space? Well you don't need to worry.

Someone recommended the Gypsy. Though everything goes positive for it, the backbone crushing ride quality will stop your parents from getting anywhere near the car. No use telling you eh? Ex-Spidey owner ?

Another good option would be to go for a used Grand Vitara or CRV.

The Toyota Etios (Liva as you are keen on a compact car) is another robust friendly car and it has good ride quality. It is mechanically a simple car too and has oodles of space and comfort.

According to me, your answer lies within these cars. Happy shopping!

Last edited by petrolhead_neel : 30th March 2015 at 23:52.
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Old 31st March 2015, 02:40   #25
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

I agree of WagonR, as we have one, 2006 F10, and still rides amazing, and always reliable.

If for Petrol one has to go to Tehsil, hope WagonR Diesel gets launched soon, sites do mention April 2015 as launch month.

Few years back a friend from Mulki in a similar situation got Diesel Logan for his parents, also as family members/ grand kids visit during summer, so need for a bigger vehicle.
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Old 31st March 2015, 05:19   #26
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

Khan sir, my family lives in a village with the nearest town being 20kms away. The roads are pretty bad and we have the bolero. Its been a workhorse and ours is a 2002 model with about 85k kms on it.

I do see a lot of Dusters around too and Wagon R has been spotted in good numbers. These are good options. Take something which is comfortable and also willing to take the abuse.

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Old 31st March 2015, 07:34   #27
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

I would suggest to pick up the AMT offering of the new WagonR (Stingray?). It should be out soon.

The new WagonR is very spacious, easy and comfortable to ride, drive, get in and out. It is a compact hatchback with the good traits of a UV. And add AMT to that package its becomes completely hassle free to drive and own.
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Old 31st March 2015, 08:22   #28
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

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Originally Posted by deetjohn View Post
I would suggest to pick up the AMT offering of the new WagonR (Stingray?). It should be out soon.

The new WagonR is very spacious, easy and comfortable to ride, drive, get in and out. It is a compact hatchback with the good traits of a UV. And add AMT to that package its becomes completely hassle free to drive and own.
Why opt for AMT in a vehicle that would always be driven by driver?
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Old 31st March 2015, 09:37   #29
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

Why not Nano?
  • It is spacious
  • Comfortable
  • Easy on pocket
  • Have materialistic features like AC, Power Window, Remote etc.
  • Good on mileage
  • Excellent ground clearance
  • It is Tata, so service center available in most of the small towns.

I saw in some of the villages Nanos are used predominantly.
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Old 31st March 2015, 10:37   #30
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re: Which car for personal use of an elderly couple in a village?

if there is a cheap tata mech/FNG nearby, an indica is a very decent option.
The WR is easy to get into, but the ride quality is not so forgiving
but having a half decent FNG who works on indicas is key, because even though the bills should be low, the driver and mechanic are going to become very good friends.

I'd suggest buying a second hand NA Indica from the city & taking it there.
Buying a New CR4 indica/MJD zest are probably beyond the capabilities of a small town FNG - In that case stick to the wagon R

another option (better than a jellybean hatch) that I'm surprised nobody has mentioned is the Santro. Also pretty rugged not so sure about the ride quality and rear space though.

Last edited by greenhorn : 31st March 2015 at 10:42.
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