[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by heydj

For the purpose of this thread only worthwhile premium Hatchbacks worth considering in my opinion are Polo, Figo, and Punto. Rest all don't match up on safety & build quality.

Hey heydj, agree "Almost" with everything you have posted buddy, but the last bit.

I have been driving a Polo GT for over 2yrs and +33K kms now, and the build quality is really astounding. No rattles and almost no squeaks to a great extent. But this also tends to fade a bit on really bad patches. Probably the insulation of the his German car also adds to keeping some of the outside noises away.

Coming to the last bit of your post, I have also owned 2 Hyundai cars before (Santro & Getz) and take my word on this that these machines also offer some exceptional build.

The 'All New Figo' has lost the charm that its predecessor actually had, though it is not really as bad as a Maruti.

Personally, I think Germans, Czechs, Koreans & Italians really have a finesse in putting the cars together, that also holds up a lot of abuse for a long time.

[Crazy_Bean]

Originally Posted by ashis89

I drive a Baleno (petrol) quite regularly and I must say, there are much better alternatives in the market.

Thanks. I dont like the Baleno that much either. It was the Maruti badge and features that made it to my consideration list. All scales heavily tipped towards the Figo.

Originally Posted by heydj

@ Crazy Bean please don't think of it as gyan but preference should go to safety & build hence between your choices my vote is Ford Figo.

Completely agree. Figo it is. We are almost set.

Quick question: it is worth it to consider the Titanium Plus variant for Sync and 6 airbags. I am fine with 2 airbags as this will majorly be a city car, But Sync adds some oomph to an otherwise drab cabin.

Additonal 70k for T+ seem a bit too much but again, you dont buy a car everyday

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Bean

Quick question: it is worth it to consider the Titanium Plus variant for Sync and 6 airbags. I am fine with 2 airbags as this will majorly be a city car, But Sync adds some oomph to an otherwise drab cabin.

Additonal 70k for T+ seem a bit too much but again, you dont buy a car everyday

If you have the budget then the titanium+ any day. 6 airbags at that price point is VFM in my opinion. 70k over 5-7 years is not much in terms of EMI, if going for a bank loan

[Crazy_Bean]

Team, There has been a bit of a development. After a lot of discussions with friends and family, looking at the crunch traffic situations, we decided to also consider the Automatic options.

1. Baleno Petrol CVT (Delta or Zeta) is in my reach. It promises good/ cheap ownership and fuel efficiency. It is underpowered and unexciting though.
But if its a good car overall, then I dont mind trading performance for an Autobox.

2. Jazz CVT (S) : Expensive, Not so well loaded, Apparently has a better CVT than Baleno.

3. Figo DCT: Ruled out!, FORD <> Petrol, recipe for a bad buy. In my opinion, If it has to be a Figo, only Figo diesel makes sense.

4. Figo TDCi: This was the car booked and almost bought. It is frugal and peppy. Also cheap.

Again: my running is fairly low, 700 Km/Month. And I spend most of my time in the city.

Please advise if there are any other good Automatic options in this price point or, I should go with one of the above.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Bean

1. Baleno Petrol CVT (Delta or Zeta) is in my reach. It promises good/ cheap ownership and fuel efficiency. It is underpowered and unexciting though.
But if its a good car overall, then I dont mind trading performance for an Autobox.

Baleno Zeta as per me. No second thoughts. You get best of every thing. Good build, good service network, a loaded car and also good rear space.

[Lalvaz]

IMO, you're better off with a CNG or petrol. Allow me to explain.

Your current running is 1000 kms per month. This is going to be your second car, so your running on this new vehicle is probably going to be even lesser than 1000 kms per month. If that assumption is correct, then the economics just does not warrant a diesel. Also bear in mind that a diesel vehicle costs more in maintenance, for example the battery in a diesel car is more expensive than a petrol. Same goes for routine 10k kms service costs.

All the best for your new car.

[Crazy_Bean]

Originally Posted by ampere

Baleno Zeta as per me. No second thoughts. You get best of every thing. Good build, good service network, a loaded car and also good rear space.

Thanks so much. What is your view on the CVT box and the petrol engine in general. Is it better than the competition?

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

IMO, you're better off with a CNG or petrol. Allow me to explain.
.

Thanks. Yes, my running is fairly low with this car. I have heard that the Maruti 1.2 petrol is very economical to run. I am into diesels and have very less info on petrols.

Is this engine better than the competition and the CVT box too, It has that rubber band effect but is it still good.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Bean

Thanks so much. What is your view on the CVT box and the petrol engine in general. Is it better than the competition?

Look at this way: You are just looking for city round about. From that point of view, rather than performance, you just need something which will give you a functionality with space and creature comforts. (From a same perspective, I had an i10AT for 7 years). I did not worry too much about the 1.2 performance with the AT gear box.

If you are really looking at performance, then you need to look at Polo/Figo AT and Figo AT works within the budget. But you any way shot down that option (Figo) with your own reasons. Hence Baleno is still my answer.

[Lalvaz]

The Baleno is a competent car for sure, however, the safety of the car in a crash is questionable.

The only 2 cars which meet the GNCAP crash tests were the Polo and the Liva.
I would suggest you go for the VW Polo, since even the base model has twin airbags and is a reliable sturdy competent car. It will serve you without much fuss. Take a comprehensive zero dep insurance policy and an extended warranty and you're all set for a troublefree ownership of one of the safest cars sold in India in its segment.

Only hitch is that it is manual, but I have driven it extensively and it is a breeze to drive, especially in city traffic. Clutch is light, and the ergonomics are excellent. Car itself is sturdy, elegant, and well equipped.

All the best.

[Crazy_Bean]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you are really looking at performance, then you need to look at Polo/Figo AT and Figo AT works within the budget. But you any way shot down that option (Figo) with your own reasons. Hence Baleno is still my answer.

Hi Ampere and BHPians,

Baleno has a 6 month waiting for the AT variant. I need a car in 2 weeks. We are trying everything and anything to get ourselves a car allotted.

Got a call from Ford aswell, the Figo AT DCT is readily available. I have not test driven the car but read about it extensively online.

On paper it looks like a win win, but based on reviews, owners complain about judder, reliability, gearbox confusion, hesitation, lack luster 1.5 mill performance and bad fuel economy. Add to that, Petrol fords dont sell.

Whats your opinion on this car? Is it still leagues ahead of the Baleno CVT. or is Baleno CVT even worse or better?

I did drive the Baleno and the performance was non existent, but, i liked the fact that upon relaxed driving the RPM dropped to 1200 at 60 kmph. I think Baleno can really deliver great fuel economy numbers.

My assumption is that Baleno will give out 15-17 kmpl under relaxed driving and Figo will give 13 kmpl. Thats a big difference already, I might be wrong though.


Also, considering economics, Ford has some discounts going on and I am sure they can be improved after further haggling.
Basically, Figo DCT come close to 70k cheaper than Baleno Zeta CVT.

Also, if the car is sold after 4 years, what kind of resale can be expected comparing Baleno and Figo. My point is that is it going to be a small difference (50k - 1 lac), or big enough (2 lac).

I am confused. Please help. I know I have asked a lot of questions but please take some time to answer. I am on the verge of getting my car and dont want to make a wrong choice in a rush.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Bean

On paper it looks like a win win, but based on reviews, owners complain about judder, reliability, gearbox confusion, hesitation, lack luster 1.5 mill performance and bad fuel economy. Add to that, Petrol fords dont sell.

On the Figo:

- Lack luster performance? I disagree. I think other than the Polo TSI, its best out there in AT class.
- 1.5 NA @ 110 gives you the best configuration of a time and tested engine with a dual clutch gear box (comes with 100K / 2 Year warranty)
- How is it to drive? Awesome. (We have one at home as the second car)
- Gear judder: I dont know. Not experienced yet.
- Feature wise: Loaded.
- FE : Poor. ~10/11 at best in the city. (Since our monthly running for this comes <1000km, the fuel bills dont add up)
- Re-Sale: Should be bad. Ford wont sell. But the question is as a second car, why do even think of selling it in 4 years; when the expectation is: it wont run more than 800-1000km at most per month. (~40K in 4 years)
- Service: Banaglore seems OK. I had a Fusion for 7 years. Was able to manage.
- I would suggest try the Figo DCT once. I am sure your perception about performance will change.

Having said all the above; yes Baleno makes a very practical and compelling proposition (and hence would always be the first choice). But Figo DCT in my opinion is no less.

As to why we went for the Figo and not Baleno? The Zeta then was non-existent then.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Here's how these guys have been fighting it out for sales -



Consistent players -

• Hyundai Elite i20 - Consistent sales of around 10k units. Remains unaffected by other players.
• VW Polo - Consistent sales of around 2k units.
• TATA Bolt - Consistently at the bottom of the list.

Gaining Market Share -

• Suzuki Baleno - On the rise and is only capped by production constraints from Maruti.

Losing Market Share -

• Suzuki Swift - Has lost a bit ever since Baleno was launched. But Swift + Baleno takes Maruti to a HUGE lead over the others.
• Honda Jazz - Seems to be on the decline just after few months since Baleno was launched.
• Ford Figo - Slowly sliding towards a sales flop.

[ashis89]

Got back after a 500 kms drive in the Baleno. I had done the same trip 2 months back in the same car. Some key observations from the trip:

- Five people in the car is definitely a squeeze (5 medium built adults). We were 5 of us and 3 people struggled for shoulder room in the rear seat.
- Leg space is sufficient for two 6 ft'ers, one driving and the other sitting behind.
- Passenger side leg space is slightly less than the driver side. Presence of the glove box, instead of the scooped out steering column, makes the difference. I face the same problem in my WagonR.
- The suspension is pretty stiff. It is a pain to drive the car on bad roads (almost 40% of the 500 kms were broken roads or under-construction single lane/no-lane roads). The rear seat occupants were not at ease. I was tailing a Grand i10 for some distance and it appeared to have a much better ride quality in those sections.
- We covered a small ghat section and some twisty roads. The car was a joy to drive and handled beautifully on those curves, even when fully loaded.
- The engine feels very weak below 2k RPM (but much better than the K10 engine). It pulls well after the revs build up.
- The MID showed 15.7 kmpl for the trip. I never got to check the actual FE as it was my friend's car.

Note: The car is a petrol Alpha with 3k kms on the ODO. In my previous trip, we were 2 of us only and drove through the night. This time we were 5 of us in the same car and on the same stretch of road, driving through the day. I drove around 6-700 kms of the total 1000 kms covered over the 2 trips.

[Swarag]

All,

Wanted to write my first post for a long time but took time recovering from the chennai floods gobbling my Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI.. Needless to say I miss it everyday. Need your advice on a new buy. My requirements are

a. Petrol ( since I won't go more than 15 k a year)

b. Stable at 100 + speeds since I like to really rev it on good , wide highways

c. ABS, dual airbags (minimum) since I travel often with wifey and 2 kids

d. Reasonable boot space to carry out stuff ( 300 plus at b least)

e. Good drive quality

f. Rear seat leg room and comfort necessary since do frequently go on 300+ kms drives.

g. budget is 7 ish with willingness to stretch to 8 ish

h. Reasonably good resale value i. Low maintenance car.... i20? Baleno? Swift? Any other choices?

Really need your help to sort out this confusion since I plan to buy one this month. Thanks.

[Aaron:)]

Originally Posted by Swarag

All,

Wanted to write my first post for a long time ...plan to buy one this month. Thanks.

Go for the Jazz, it's the most spacious car in its class, and is pretty decent to drive too. It should serve you well.
Otherwise, check out the Baleno and Figo.
I20 is another option, but since you hit the highway quite often, it would not be the wisest choice.
Hope I was able to help