[lurker]

Wagon R/Nano, kindly look at 12 inch wheels and 145mm width. Rural roads are going to offer bone jarring ride with this wheel specification. Kindly skip these vehicles as they are not going to offer comfort to passengers.

Tata Zest OTH is something that can be looked at. It is a car I skipped in the first instance.

[benbsb29]

IMHO, the Bolero is what you should get for them. It handles abuse like it doesnt care a dime, and yet manages to fetch handsome resale too. Spares too come rather cheap. A friend who was replacing the ORVM of his Bolero remarked at how it cost just Rs 400 about 3-4 years ago!

[phamilyman]

Alto esp the old ones, or even the EECO anyday (does it sell in those villages as it does up north?).

They do a lot of duty up in the hills and not without reason. RWD in the Eeco should help.

[lurker]

Eeco is good in villages, good ground clearance but it is difficult to expect elderly folk to climb into one. Have you ever seen 60+-yr old folks in sarees climb into Eeco ? It is a struggle. There are other issues as well, the Eeco is horribly undertired. Expect to change all 4 tires and rims to atleast 14" for any chance of ride quality. Also the front suspension gets messed around very quickly. Wheel alignment regularly and retorquing all the lower arms nuts and bolts with every wheel alignment is mandatory.

[GypsyKing_775]

Wagon-R is definitely a great choice & one can easily choose it in a situation similar to yours.
You can also look at the tata bolt, cause it's a relatievely new(?) vehicle, you can also bargain for discounts as its not selling big. But considering the price gap with its sibling zest, you can get that too with a reasonable sized boot at a low premium.
I personally feel that the bolt/zest duo are modern looking vehicles who can take abuse.
The Revotron 1.2 has received decent response from the junta as well.
In my recent trip to a village near Kolhapur saw 4 tata Zest's (Revotorn) ready for pooja near the village temple at the same time
If you plan to stick to MUL, please consider the Ritz also as it will offer more power & dealers will give away more discounts. (on petrol,diesel both)
Happy Shopping!

[GTO]

What your folks really need is a reliable & practical car. Don't even look beyond the WagonR. It's absolutely bullet-proof & can handle abuse. A close aunt drives one and I've seen the abuse she puts it through - multiple drivers, village roads (she spends 6 months of the year at religious destinations) and no care for maintenance. Yet, the damn thing just goes on & on. I think it's like 7 years old today.

Your folks will love the easy ingress / egress, and the improved space & ride quality of the new WagonR.

If either of your folks intend to drive themselves, the WagonR AMT is confirmed for this year. Would be well into the 2nd half of 2015 though, because of AMT supply restrictions.

If you're up to extending the budget, the Duster's base variant would be something else. That car rides as good as any 50 lakh luxury sedan in India.

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Did you consider the Mahindra Quanto?

Originally Posted by caged_nomad

How about a used SX4?

Both of these cars have a bad ride. Not recommended for elderly people.

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

The ride quality is harsh, but the kind of roads it will see, I am not sure which car will offer a pliant ride anyway.

The worse the roads are, the more you appreciate good ride quality. Any car rides well on flat roads; it's on bad roads that you need a comfy suspension. The Bolero is too bumpy for the intended usage.

Originally Posted by noopster

You may want to give the Verito a dekko.

100% agreed. Very robust, excellent + comfortable suspension.

Originally Posted by zenren

Why opt for AMT in a vehicle that would always be driven by driver?

While the AMT is too unrefined, I personally would choose a conventional automatic, even if the driver is behind the wheel. Smoother shifts, no clutch slipping, no driving in the wrong gear...I'd trust the electronics over a poorly trained driver.

Originally Posted by anujmishra

Why not Nano?

Ages too fast. Engine is too unrefined, especially at the back where his folks are going to sit.

[narendra.vw]

My neighbor aged 75 yrs self drives Maruti Ritz diesel past five years. He has a Driver for his Innova.
I have never seen his Driver driving the Ritz.

[heydj]

WagonR does not have a rear seat that's comfortable, other than that it fits almost all requirements.

Why not consider Hard top Gypsy. It can take lots of abuse, suspension is pretty okay, parts are easy to come by. For village or uneven terrain this vehicle is better than almost any hatchback or sedan.

[Jaggu]

What is your budget Khan saab? And hope you are ok with second hand?

- Sx4 will be very comfy. Size is the only disadvantage, rest its maruti and it will just run.

- Etios is another option, they are bullet proof and can take a hell lot of beating. Comfy and cheap to maintain.

- Ritz is much more comfortable and spacious for elderly folks and comes with same (if not more) robust suspension than Wagon R. We had many Wagon R and Ritz in the family stable and i can vouch for Ritz.

A relatively less mileage Corolla also can work wonders except for size. Since they have access to delhi finding a dealer should not be an issue right?

I would NOT recommend Wagon R since its too tinny and uncomfortable compared to the other options. Yes it will run, but why do you want to torture them with constant rattles and suspension thuds.

EDIT: With the kind of running you mention, if you are buying a New or relatively New (under 20k kms) car you really don't have to worry about maintenance. Once a year take it to Delhi and get it serviced. And do stay away from Tata.

Mahindra is much better so a verito or a bolero also works but then a Ritz will give the same at a lesser cost??

[suhaas307]

This sounds like a job for the Toyota Etios Cross. Reasons:

- The ride quality is very good.
- There is plenty of room in the cabin.
- It has adequate ground-clearance to deal with the sort of roads your parents intend to put it through.
- It's fairly bullet-proof and reliable. Should be easy to maintain and cheap to run too!

It may be a tin-can, but it can take quite a beating. I've personally seen a friend's Etios being put through things I wouldn't dare dream of.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

This sounds like a job for the Toyota Etios Cross. Reasons:

- The ride quality is very good.
- There is plenty of room in the cabin.
- It has adequate ground-clearance to deal with the sort of roads your parents intend to put it through.
- It's fairly bullet-proof and reliable. Should be easy to maintain and cheap to run too!

It may be a tin-can, but it can take quite a beating. I've personally seen a friend's Etios being put through things I wouldn't dare dream of.

I would actually recommend the regular Etios sedan over the Etios Liva Cross. Having owned both the vehicles, the Etios is far more comfortable than the Liva. The Liva tends to jump around a lot, a trait I had mentioned in my ownership review.
It could be because the 2013 Etios came with a revised suspension, but given the changes were relatively minor, the change is quite substantial.

However - completely agree about the Etios being a well built, cheap to maintain, comfortable tin can that is suited for our roads. Our Liva has taken a whole lot of abuse, and still goes about its daily routine without much fuss or issues.
I would like to add that the seating is also just at the right height for the elderly and tall, unlike some of the lower cars like the Sunny, etc. which really makes a big difference on longer runs.

[sidhu_hs]

A rather bizarre suggestion nobody has made so far is i20 Active. If the budget permits, of course!

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

I have zeroed in on WagonR

My suggestion would be to not zero in on your own. Let them in on the process. Sometimes they enjoy the imperfect choices they make own their own more than the perfect choice we usually have in our mind for them.

About six months back, I too was zeroing in on for a hatchback for my father. While I was all for Ritz or Swift, he ended up choosing Elite i20. When he accompanied me on Test Drive, he thought the only issue of ingress/egress that bothered him in Elite i20 can be overlooked! And no problems so far. Touch wood!

[vb-saan]

I would suggest to have a look at the Ecosport. Easy to drive and park, high ground clearance etc. are some attributes which can work for the conditions you mentioned. And it should be pretty reliable too.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I would suggest to have a look at the Ecosport. Easy to drive and park, high ground clearance etc. are some attributes which can work for the conditions you mentioned. And it should be pretty reliable too.

For the elderly, getting in is a bit cumbersome, even with the additional Foot Board, which Ford calls Side Running Board in their accessory parlance. Closing of doors would also need some effort by them.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

For the elderly, getting in is a bit cumbersome, even with the additional Foot Board, which Ford calls Side Running Board in their accessory parlance. Closing of doors would also need some effort by them.

The Ecosport is definitely not the right choice in this case. Ride quality is bad aka stiff and the rear is not that spacious. It's a urban SUV after all.

What I don't agree with is the ingress/egress being cumbersome. It's one of the easiest vehicles to get in and out of. It's not high like Duster, Innova and not too low. You can just walk right in. This is one of the highlights which my folks love about the car. My dad just had knee replacement a few months back and he was preferring the Ecosport to travel in as it was easy to step into.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

This sounds like a job for the Toyota Etios Cross.

Etios cross? Seriously? It has nothing additional that the regular Liva doesn't have. Even the ground clearance is the same at 170mm.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

- Ritz is much more comfortable and spacious for elderly folks and comes with same (if not more) robust suspension than Wagon R. We had many Wagon R and Ritz in the family stable and i can vouch for Ritz.

Great minds think alike.

I agree with Jaggu. I would choose the Ritz over other options any day. Petrol engine is very nice, reliable, good FE and extremely practical with boot space.