[jetsetgo08]

A drive through the frail roads in this monsoon and one is certain to go for a compact SUV for sheer comfort of gliding over the pot holes.

If we had to choose a hatchback for ourselves, which (non european)car offers the best ride quality and comfort for the roller coaster commutes in the monsoon?

[Captain Haddock]

Originally Posted by jetsetgo08

A drive through the frail roads in this monsoon and one is certain to go for a compact SUV for sheer comfort of gliding over the pot holes.

If we had to choose a hatchback for ourselves, which (non european)car offers the best ride quality and comfort for the roller coaster commutes in the monsoon?

One cannot rule out all hatches as having bad ride quality, the Hyundai i20 and the Tata Bolt/Vista does the job well.

[haria]

Originally Posted by Captain Haddock

One cannot rule out all hatches as having bad ride quality, the Hyundai i20 and the Tata Bolt/Vista does the job well.

+1. This might sound sacrilege to some who consider only premium cars and luxury sedans offer great ride quality. Believe me, my mom and wife prefers to travel in the rear seat of my Vista Vx over many so called premium cars.

The reason ? fantastic leg room for a hatch and the rear seats are quite comfortable. I can't personally vouch for it, as I have never sat in it, maybe except for 5 or 10 minutes during the initial test drive! I enjoy my vista in driver seat.

[silverado]

I read this as Baleno vs Brezza.

Personally speaking, i could not justify spending another 2.5 -3.0 lacs more for Brezza, since Baleno offered almost everything that Brezza does ( except maybe ride quality and SUV image ).

Also since I was in market for a petrol car, I would have to force myself to buy a diesel brezza.

Also @Vivekgk - Baleno Zeta has Auto headlamps, but there are no Automatic wipers even in Alpha

[advaitlele]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

Which is the better driver's car, out of the Ecosport and the Ciaz? I'm asking,. In terms of handling, road holding, and general behavior when pushed through a nice winding road.

I know that a sedan is supposed to be the better handler, but the Ciaz reviews all say that it's not a good handler, while the Ecosport reviews say it is.

As a Ciaz owner, I can say Ciaz is a good VFM, but a "boring to drive" car. It would chug along munching the miles happily and tirelessly, and you as a driver won't feel fatigued as well. But you cannot compare it with driver's car like old Fiesta or some other car which are labeled as "good handlers".

I have not driven EcoSport on winding roads, but the longish TD during my buying process made me happy with handling.

[sudeep11787]

Hi Guys ! Long time since I started this post !
I am ready to take the jump. Had halted the buying process in between.

PLEASE HELP ME OUT !

Cars I have in mind:
1) Figo 1.5 TDCI Titanium
2) Aspire 1.5 Trend
3) Brezza LDi (O) with ABS
4) Ecosport Ambiente ! NO ABS, Can't extend budget over 8.5L
5) Save money and buy a Tiago XZ

Things I am looking for:
1) Good torque, turbo surge and decent fuel economy
2) Low maintenance
3) good ride height

I am almost sure about Figo, only thing that is lacking is a bit more ride height and smaller tires. After discounts 1.5 D titanium is a no-brainer. Don't want to look at Baleno or swift, I am just too used to them. Have driven them a lot. In fact brezza also felt like an overgrown swift.

Should I go ahead with the Figo? I keep my cars for long, my esteem is over 10 years old with 1.2 Lakh kms done with no major mechanical issues.

thanks !

[landcruiser123]

For ride height, look at the TUV 300. But I think Figo is a brilliant choice.

While the ride height is like any other hatchback, I think the Engine is simply brillliant.

If it's only a city car, why not buy the Tiago?

[drchernish]

A perfect thread for discussing which premium automatic to buy polo gt tsi vs ecosport at - I think both of them are priced more or less equally! Ecosport being more safety oriented with 6 airbags while polo more fun with its 7 speed dsg. Ford dealers are more customer oriented than vw. Very difficult choice. Let's discuss and take a final decision , please join everyone.

[navdeep.rana]

Originally Posted by GTO

Excellent question, and very relevant in today's time.

In terms of practicality & functionality, a FWD compact SUV (Vitara Brezza, EcoSport etc.) offers nothing over a hatchback. Their ground clearance is more, yes, but most hatchbacks in the market do have adequate ground clearance for 99% of the terrain they're going to see in their lifetime.

The main reason for the popularity of compact SUVs is style & the higher seating position. You got to gauge just how much these matter to you. I'll be the first to say that looks are important; it's definitely one of the topmost priorities when I'm buying a car for myself.

Would I buy a compact SUV over a hatchback? Would I buy a Vitara Brezza ZDi+ over the Hyundai Elite i20 Asta CRDi (O)? Fat chance! I'd pick the Elite i20 any day, any time. Better quality, engine, seats etc. Equally, I'd buy the Ford EcoSport over the Figo. Not because it's a compact SUV, but because the EcoSport is a far superior product to the Figo. My point: Choose based on product competence, not because it's a taller vehicle parading as an SUV.

The TUV300 is a great attempt by Mahindra. However, it has 2 deal-breakers - the 3-cylinder diesel (no power, vibrations) and bouncy ride quality. It won't ever be as stress-free to own as a Maruti, Hyundai etc. either. Look up the official review and you'll see many reports of niggles by owners. Best to buy a Mahindra 2 years after the launch as niggles are ironed out by then.

I would agree with GTO One-Hundred Percent. Considering the amount of knowledge he has over cars, its a relief to read that he shares the same thinking . I too was going through this 1.5 years ago while buying a new car. Was even ready to extend my budget if the need arises to buy a compact SUV or a proper SUV. But settled down with a hatchback considering that it offers the same (if not more) practicality of a compact SUV.

The reason that compact SUV's are getting so popular in India is the same why compact sedans are selling so much. People in India have an ego to fulfil while buying a car and I have seen most of people saying why buy spend 7-8 lacs on a hatchback when you can have a compact SUV for few more. But a hatchback offers better ride quality over a compact SUV with more features for lesser price.

[sudeep11787]

Originally Posted by sudeep11787

Hi Guys ! Long time since I started this post !
I am ready to take the jump. Had halted the buying process in between.

PLEASE HELP ME OUT !

Cars I have in mind:
1) Figo 1.5 TDCI Titanium
2) Aspire 1.5 Trend
3) Brezza LDi (O) with ABS
4) Ecosport Ambiente ! NO ABS, Can't extend budget over 8.5L
5) Save money and buy a Tiago XZ

Things I am looking for:
1) Good torque, turbo surge and decent fuel economy
2) Low maintenance
3) good ride height

I am almost sure about Figo, only thing that is lacking is a bit more ride height and smaller tires. After discounts 1.5 D titanium is a no-brainer. Don't want to look at Baleno or swift, I am just too used to them. Have driven them a lot. In fact brezza also felt like an overgrown swift.

Should I go ahead with the Figo? I keep my cars for long, my esteem is over 10 years old with 1.2 Lakh kms done with no major mechanical issues.

thanks !

FINALLY! Guys thank for pouring in your suggestions!

I have booked a Ciaz Vdi(o). With almost 70k discount (including exchange) I couldnt choose a brezza ldi or ertiga vdi over a ciaz vdi for the same price- OTR- 8.7 L

With an increasing family, I really loved the space and practicality ciaz offers.

With someone in a similar sort of situation, do look at Aspire as well. Good discounts, you can get a titanium for 7.6 OTR with exchange and all.

Will post pictures soon!

Ciaz wasnt even in the options i was looking at ! Crap

[sandeepmdas]

We have shortlisted two cars for immediate booking (before 31 MAR) and these two are:

a. Vitara Brezza ZDI+ (Pseudo SUV)
b. W-RV iD-TEC VX (CrossHatch)

Our original plan was to Vitara vs Ecosport but the latter was dropped as the home department is not in favor of tailgate-mounted spare wheel. Secondly, a facelift is scheduled for the Ford by OCT or NOV. Some other options like the Duster, Creta and B-RV were also considered but dropped since we already have a XUV which totally trouble-free. In fact, we visited the the Honda showroom to check out B-RV but ended up driving the W-RV VX.

The task is cut out for the new car. She'll be driven 500 to 550 kms per week on busy, single line and utterly chaotic TVM-Kollam "highway". Unlikely to do any other trip other than this route. No night-time driving. Only driver + a single passenger.

The requisites are, in order: a. SAFETY, b. mileage, c. reliability and d. 5 years of ownership costs.

Can't make up my mind, please advise!

[nilpat]

Hi Sudeep, I was in similar situation when I started hunt for my first car one and half year back. First thing on my mind was Ford Ecosport since it offers Looks+Space+Safety+GC but then was it wise to spend 10+L by stretching my budget by spending 3L more. That too when 90 % usage was in City traffic conditions. so budget constraint was kind of deal breaker for me. Later I booked Grand i10(petrol) which barely fit into my requirements. Luckily NextGen Figo was launched in very same month with the same diesel engine that too at affordable price; that was enough for me to change my decision in favor of FIGO hatch. It offered me almost everything that compact SUV offers except higher sitting. Although I'm satisfied with my ride but my heart occasionally feels for EcoSports whenever I see it on the road.

BTW congratulations on booking your off the track CIAZ !!

[krishnadevanur]

Hi All,

I am a long time lurker of team bhp planning to buy my first car in India.

I have only driven the automatic transmissions in USA and haven't got a chance to get behind the steering in India.

I am planning to go for Brezza or Baleno. I stay in Bangalore and my monthly usage will be around 2000-2500 kms. My max budget for the car will be 9.25L.

I used to drive SUV's in US and I like the high seating position. Based on my budget, I can either go for a Baleno Delta or Brezza LDI(O). According to the review, anything below Zdi for Brezza is not good. When I went through the specs, I saw that for LDI(O), I get abs, airbags, decent ice and going by the ownership reviews, a pretty good mileage. I am not keen on rear seat does not get power windows because most of the times, it will be 2 people in the car. Also, there isn't much difference in the accessories between LDI(O) and Vdi. The only missing feature I desperately need is reverse camera and parking sensors which I can get fixed as add on.

On the other hand, if I select Baleno Delta, I get most of the features inbuilt rather than going to it as an add on, but, I am not a fan of the low seating.

I searched through the forum and found people have asked questions about cars in same class i.e. sedan, hatchback, mini SUV etc. But, my requirement is strictly based on budget since I don't want to bite more than what I could chew.

Let me know your thoughts whether selecting a Brezza LDI over Baleno Delta makes sense.

[AkMar]

Baleno Delta gets some things which cannot be fitted later (or will be very tedious to fit), like Rear defogger, rear wiper & washer, climate control. In the aesthetics department also it scores better than Brezza LDi as it is not the base variant. Wheel caps, body coloured ORVMs & door handles, turn indicator on ORVM to name a few.

Brezza LDi on the other hand is a very barebones variant. It doesn't even get wheel caps - you will get silver painted wheels which IMHO don't look good after spending 9 lakhs. On the other hand, it gets the engine in more powerful state of tune.

The decision will solely depend on you - what your priorities are. If high seating is a must have, then you cannot consider Baleno. I suggest you have a look at an LDi Brezza & do a calculation of how much you will need to spend on it to accessorize it as per your needs. That will give you an idea of how much the car will actually cost for you. Then take a test drive of both, see which one you like more after driving it, and then take a final call. Without test drives it will be difficult to decide!

All the best with your car hunting

[agambhandari]

The Brezza suits you as a better car overall, keep the features aside and consider the car as a whole first.
Look at a Brezza LDi Variant to come to terms with how barebones it is. Though, from a safety POV it has the essentials and I would recommend it since you like an elevated seating position. You can keep adding on accessories like parking sensors and camera as and when your budget permits, but you can't get a Baleno on stilts later.