[Rajeevraj]

Dropped in at a Tata Showroom today (for the 4th time) to try to get a TD. The SA first said that the car has gone for a TD and I'll need to wait 20 min. I was fine with that. After 10 min another SA told that they are not sure when the car will come back and better not to wait. Said they will call tomorrow to fix up a time. Not very hopeful-I have been there 4 times, left my number 2 times, but no one has bothered to call. Maybe I don't look like a guy who can afford a car.

Walked across the road to a Maruti Showroom to check out the K10 AMT. Again no TD car and have been promised a call back tomorrow. Was offered the Celerio which I declined since I had already TD'ed the Celerio. Got a price list. The K10 AMT comes to 5.2L OTR (I was assuming it is around 4.8). That is a full 1.6 L more than then Nano.

Having seen the Nano and its features, current thought is that for a 2nd car as a City run about, the K10 is not worth it. But will reserve judgement until I have driven it. The performance and the braking are 2 key things. One can live without bluetooth and few fancy stuff. But very difficult to live with poor performance.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by deltheking

This is a very interesting and informative discussion. Thanks to all for contributing. And A4Anurag - thanks a lot for the detailed side to side comparison between K10 and Nano. That was very useful !! Each car has its pros and cons. I think the long waiting periods for some of Maruti's AMT versions are getting annoying to a few people.

The only thing that worried me about Renault was their dealer network. I did not know that they had dealers in Hyderabad.

Thank you sir for the kind words. I had to put that comparison in because I am a potential AMT customer scouting for the best option that I can get. I feel the Alto K10 is the best in the lot even though it priced on the higher side.

The Renault look like a miniature Duster!

-------------------------------------------------
My wife and I had two back-to-back TD's of the Nano and Alto. The TD was in peak hour traffic hence speeds were between 30-50 kmph and one part on the highway where I did take the cars to 80 kmph. My wife didn't like the Nano even though it is almost 1.3L cheaper than the K10. The below likes and dislikes are penned down by my wife who was on the drivers seat majority of the time.

Tata Nano:

What I like:

• Overall Space + rear seat space;
• Steering wheel;
• Seating position;
• Airy feel;
• Pricing;
• Features.

What I didn't like:

• Engine sound,
• Brakes bite and feel,

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10:

What I like:

• Performance (Obvious I know);
• Better insulation levels.
• Interiors feel.

What I didn't like:

• No storage space;
• No rear seat space;
• Pricing.

The Nano had clocked around 3.8K kms whereas the Alto K10 has 17.3K on their odometers. Maintained pretty well for TD vehicles and both the cars were rattle free. I'll be driving them once again though.

I can say that 90% the Alto K10 is our final choice (It has been shipped from factory and is 'In Transit'. Delivery can be anywhere between 30th May or 1st June.

[barathvajan]

Hi Friends,

I am planning to buy Nano AMT as my first car.
The reason being
1. My dad will also be using this car and he prefers to have an automatic to drive rather than manual
2. This car will be moved to my native place for our use when we reach there and I will upgrade to a better car in an year or two when we move the same.

My doubts are

1. Is it ok to go ahead and book now or should I wait till Christmas / New year. If I wait, will I get any benefits.
2. Which dealer to approach? I stay near Nungambakkam. I prefer dealers close by.
3. What to expect from service? What could be the average service cost? How much the spares will cost?

Is there any offers w.r.t interest rates for car loans?

Awaiting for your answers.

Regards
Barath

[deetjohn]

I think we need to add the WagonR AMT to this poll. That's certainly more budget friendly than the Celerio.

Originally Posted by barathvajan

1. Is it ok to go ahead and book now or should I wait till Christmas / New year. If I wait, will I get any benefits.
2. Which dealer to approach? I stay near Nungambakkam. I prefer dealers close by.
3. What to expect from service? What could be the average service cost? How much the spares will cost?

Is there any offers w.r.t interest rates for car loans?

1) Don't think there are any discounts on Nano AMT. So, waiting till year end might not fetch you anything substantial. Picking a 2015 car in 2016 will be beneficial, but then you will have to compromise on colour, variant etc. Besides, the RC will also state the year of manufacture as 2015. Might not be worth it for Nano AMT.

2) Use this dealer locator to select the dealer. http://dealerlocator.tatamotors.com:...or/main.action I would suggest you to visit two different dealers at least.

3) The service cost is very very economical. We can even say its the best in industry. The quality of service totally depends on the dealer.

You can also pick the AMC package from Tata which is very cheap (INR 4k approx.) and you wouldn't have to bother about service cost for the first 3 years. Besides, a 4 year warranty is also standard with the car. All the best and keep us posted.!

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by barathvajan

Hi Friends,

I am planning to buy Nano AMT as my first car.
The reason being
1. My dad will also be using this car and he prefers to have an automatic to drive rather than manual
2. This car will be moved to my native place for our use when we reach there and I will upgrade to a better car in an year or two when we move the same.

Just crossed my mind; how competent are the ASS in your town. Since you plan on getting an AMT, you may want to think about the ease/convenience of repairs, should repairs be needed. I know, far shot, but still, do consider the possibility.

[barathvajan]

Thanks friends for the quick reply.
Will try to visit the dealer this weekend.
As suggested will check with two different dealers at least.
As long as I am in chennai I don't see any major issues regarding service.
Yes I would like to check the same near my native.
And really happy and surprised to see that I can get AMC for around 4k.
Will keep you posted.

[AkMar]

Yes, its about time WagonR is added to the poll. And that would get my vote without a shred of doubt. I would anyday prefer a WagonR over Celerio. The VXi trim is fairly loaded as well, with rear wash/wipe, electrically adjustable ORVMs, ICE (quality may be average) as standard equipment and ABS, airbags as an option. Combined with the practicality on offer, it is a no brainer, actually!

[Prodigyy]

Had been on the lookout for an automatic hatchback and had taken a TD of a pre owned hyundai i10 auto and also for the current generation of AMTs by tata and maruti this weekend.

The auto hatch will be primarily used by wifey and ageing parents, and thus comfort and good view from the car is a must.

I personally loved the view from wagon R and nano as compared to the celerio / Alto, but then i am a tall man of 6'2", whereas my wife is short and stands at 5'1" only.

Wifey rejected the nano outright as she did not want to buy the hassles of tata service and was image conscious too :-P.

I did not want the alto as it was too short on space and safety features. So we are basically left with the Wagon R Vxi (O) and the celerio zxi. Maruti seems more pushy on the Wagon R maybe due to the low FE of the Wagon R.

Even the discounts offered on Celerio are far less than that on Wagon R.

Wifey who has recently learnt driving is clueless which car offers a better view from the driving seat, any short drivers here of the Wagon R who can give me some words of wisdom ??

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Prodigyy

Wifey who has recently learnt driving is clueless which car offers a better view from the driving seat, any short drivers here of the Wagon R who can give me some words of wisdom ??

What I'll suggest is look for both Alto K10 AMT and WagonR VXi AMT.

My wife currently drives an Alto K10 AMT. She loves that car. You can see my ownership thread for details.

[jeevadeepan]

In spite of owning a genX nano XTA, I voted for Alto k10 AMT. From my 2000 kms of owning/driving a Nano AMT, I would recommend Alto K10 for the following reasons,

1) Maruti's excellent after sales. I had to visit Tata ASS a couple of times. Trust me, you don't want to be there. Especially, if you had experienced Maruti's service earlier(like me).
2) Better engine - In Nano, You will definitely feel the lack of power if you are not a sedate driver. In Auto mode, pickup is seriously slow, thanks to the lethargic gearbox mated to an under powered engine. Alto's performance is far better.
3) Better brakes - Those puny drum brakes doesn't inspire confidence at all in nano. A safe distance of at least 10-20 mtrs with the vehicle in front is a must while driving in city. There is nothing called panic braking in a Nano. You may panic while braking, but the car won't! In spite of my sedate driving, I had many close misses of rear ending vehicles in front. On the other hand, Alto gets Front disc brakes.
4) Better suspension - I feel my nano's suspension setup to be very hard making it irritating to drive in potholed (Bengaluru)city roads. Even a very small uneven surface on the road crashes into cabin with a huge thud sound.

If feel the 1.26 Lakhs premium for the Maruti is totally worth it!! If I could have afforded it, I would have definitely gone with the K10.

[kvsingh13]

It would be Maruti Celerio for me. A much better looking package, feels more upmarket than the rest two. Reliability of Maruti serves as an added advantage.

[WorkingGuru]

Pricing : Nano (Top End) is ~2.9L ex-Showroom.

The Alto (AMT only avbl in Mid Variant) is priced ~30% higher.
Celerio (Top Variant) is priced ~60% higher!

The Celerio AMT (at 5L) wouldn't even figure in MOST of the potential buyers shortlisted options. So that's out.

The Alto has its advantages, yet, it's no tall boy or spacious like a Nano. Higher seating position with easy ingress and egress is preferred for better visibility in city commute.

Power is definitely adequate for city use & brakes can be gotten used to within a few days.

TATA even has better warranty assurance & AMC offers seem attractive.

Service at ASC isn't consistent, but there are also very good dealers providing decent service.

IMHO any person stretching for an Alto AMT, really needn't bother. A Nano AMT should easily do the job, often better too.

Anyway. Voted for GenX Nano AMT.

[WorkingGuru]

Dear mods, please delete duplicate post.
Rgds

[sjcherian]

We were looking for a small automatic purely for city driving and specifically for short distances. Boot space was not a criteria and power also was not a criteria within the city traffic so stayed focussed on the Nano AMT. My FIL had a First Gen Nano and was happy with it and recently moved to a Gen X manual as he didn't want to wait for the AMT. I liked the exterior and the interior space so decided to go ahead with it. Another rule I decided to follow from around 2007 was to never spend more than 6L on a car. So far managed to do so.

We took delivery on Jan 20th and I have been driving it and enjoying it in traffic. It is our 3rd vehicle at home and will be used mainly with just me wife and son in it. For airport runs with multiple people and luggage we have always booked an Innova/Tavera so never felt the need for a large vehicle. Will put up a detailed thread soon. Am wanting to cover atleast 500 Km before I publish it.

[Mik]

Weighing in with my views since we recently had this requirement.

The Objective: Second car as wifey's office shifted some 13km away. So the scooter (her current commute) was no longer suitable in BLR traffic and she was simply not coming to terms with my Ford Figo (I generally commute in it but would have shifted to the bike)
After two separate driving schools and many weekend 'husband driving school' sessions, she was struggling with it. So she came up with the thought of an automatic car.
Since the Figo was our primary car which does the touring duties, buying another similarly sized car seemed pointless - so we decided to check out two of the cheaper automatics.

The Contenders:
Nano XTA AMT: 3.54 L AI
Alto K10 AMT: 5.0x L AI

Our driving notes.

She on the Nano
1. Very easy to turn.
2. Brakes were a bit weird.
3. Spot on handling and lots of airiness and visibility. Nifty features.
4. No bottle holders. Boot is ok for just some bags.
5. Cute -- or as she said it "Too cuuuute"
6. Distracting engine noise.

My take on the Nano
1. Felt like a nice little golf cart.
2. Good handling. Though I hate the steering position.
3. Creeping up ramps (a big pain point for people who are not too adept at manuals) is a breeze.
4. So spacious!

This gen Nano has come a long way from its earliest avatars.

Her takes on the Alto
1. Good brakes.
2. Some cubby holes.
3. Seating felt low to her (compared to the Nano).
4. Jerky AMT (as in it interfered too much with her driving style)
5. Boring interiors.

My Thoughts

1. Decent power, but the AMT operation kills the fun.
2. Brakes are much better.
3. Super cramped!
4. Unispiring dead steering with a hint of understeer in my opinion.

For her driving style, the bumper to bumper commute and the sheer convenience of taking turns easily - she was sold on the Nano.

So yes, a Sangria Red GenX Nano AMT shall be joining the family soon