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-   -   1 Safe Car, 1 Convenient Car (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchbacks/193613-1-safe-car-1-convenient-car.html)

My sister, who has been in US for the last 6 years, is coming back to India. She pinged me yesterday to help figure out which 2 cars they need to buy once they are back.

Important thing to consider is that after another year in India, she might leave for US or Europe for another few years (or permanently) so buying both cars brand new didn't feel right to me.

First Car

• New or Used doesn't matter unless it goes to the service center for routine services only
• Will be used by my brother-in-law in the city, so has to be convenient to drive
• Automatic or Manual doesn't matter unless significant price/mileage difference plays spoilsport

Second Car

• Safety for all passengers is of utmost importance, including rear seat passengers as my niece would be buckled in there
• Should be able to do 300-400 km highways runs with all passengers in comfort
• Will be driven by my sister but even to her auto/manual doesn't matter
• Here also New or Used doesn't matter unless it goes to the service center for routine services only

While budget isn't an issue I was thinking 12-13 lakhs should be enough, especially keeping in mind that they might have to sell both cars in another year.

Given Gurgaon's terrible traffic, I suggested that they should both get auto transmissions since the highway runs would be once in 1-2 months. With a Celerio AMT in the garage, I know how convenient absence of clutch is in city traffic.

A new Alto or Celerio AMT may be the one for my BIL but for my sister I was thinking of a 6-12 month old Jazz, though I doubt if I can find a used auto transmission in the market easily.

Polo and i20 were probably the only other "safe" hatchbacks that came to my mind. Skoda cars are tank like but I just couldn't muster enough courage to recommend them given that they need super reliable vehicles only.

I'd recommend a pre-owned Figo AT for the city runs - it's decently safe, powerful, compact, and you'll find a good deal on one given the lack of suitable options.

For the bigger car - Don't go the hatchback way - a growing family on long trips will see a lot of luggage. Plus, the Jazz etc. aren't really safe vehicles. Instead try finding a pre-owned Jetta / Laura for around 7-8L
Focus on the car's condition to ensure it's mechanically sound. These cars if in good condition will give niggles no doubt, but as a second car - may be better suited to their needs of highway travels and requirement for safety.

I would highly recommend looking at the ecosport for the "safe car" if you are okay with the amount of space. Most other safer options would be substantially more expensive.

For the city car, since the ease of driving is the most important criteria, look at the WagonR/ Celerio AMT. They are cheap, reliable and dead easy to drive in NCR traffic. If you have money to spend, Jazz/Baleno/Figo AT are a good buy and you can choose whichever used option you can find.

Convenient Car a used WagonR pre K-Series would be the cheapest most convenient option. The design is bland but it lends the car easy ingress/egress, flexibility with seating, narrow footprint allows one to tackle traffic easier, the old 1.1L engine was very peppy and had a lot of grunt, the AC is an absolute chiller, honestly at around 1 lac rupees for a good example, nothing provides more ease and convenience at such a low price point. One can also look at getting a used Etios Liva if narrow footprint and absolutely cheap purchase is not as high a priority. If tiny footprint hatchback is not at all a priority, then a 1.6 SX4 might also make lot of sense.

Safe Car look into the Suzuki Kizashi. You will find loads of examples going for dirt cheap, the car outclassed all its German competitors in crash safety tests all the way upto 2014 was on par with the Volvo S60 in the IIHS small frontal overlap crash tests, also had the best in class akebono brakes, chassis comes with dollops of mechanical grip levels that allow for insane evasive maneuvers, service centers are actually easily able to procure parts even though the car is imported, seats both in front and behind are extremely comfortable and well designed from an ergonomic standpoint, it has immense road presence and munches miles on good highways like nobody's business. Don't need to take my word for it, a test drive of a good used Kizashi ought to suffice.

Considering your sister would only be in India for a year, which means she won't have to think about long term issues like bans and availability of parts in the distant future, these options IMO suit your requirements to the T, and with the Kiz, also adds a little X-Factor into the mix. :D

Suggested these options from personal experience ;)

Buying two cars for a year just does not make sense.

Convenient: Uber for the city runs.

Safe : Zoom cars for the highway runs. You can even rent a Mercedes GLA.

Depends on your criteria for what may make sense; From a financial standpoint, sure but from an absolute convenience perspective maybe not.

Really? Using the app to book a cab and then waiting for it and sometimes having the driver not understand your location, sometimes having to cancel and book another cab, all before you can even start your journey sounds convenient? If you don't know how to drive, sure. If you are too drunk or not in the mood to drive then okay, but otherwise?

Worn out brake pads, bad brake discs, unevenly worn tyres, etc. are all traits of rental cars. Honestly coming from a financial sensibility standpoint, you'd have to concede that rental cars need not be maintained anywhere near as well as your own car, thus jeopardizing their inherent safety quotient

For the first car, I would recommend finding a used Grand i10 AT. You can get good used options around 4 lakhs.

With the remaining budget, I would suggest you scour the market for Corolla Altis Automatic. You shold easily get it in your budget, and Toyotas are famous for being light on the pocket. You can also look at Vento, but maitaining that would likely be significantly heavier on the pocket.

I have very similar requirements. I use the Wagon R and Fiat Linea for similar reasons.

But as of now, the Wagon R and Ciaz combo is the best combination for the same usage and in your budget. The Maruti Ciaz is basically almost as big as the previous generation Corolla with a larger wheelbase and a bigger boot. The Wagon R will take 4 tall passengers around the city comfortably. The Ciaz is the best Sedan in the segment for rear seat comfort.

S-Cross is also an option with better build quality. Toyota Etios petrol with its 1.5 petrol may also be considered as a cheaper option.

Wagon R and Ciaz are no nonsense choices which are popular and service and spares will never be an issue. If Sedan is not absolutely necessary, i20 diesel is a great option. For peace of mind, buy new.If you have to sell them in a hurry, they will be easy to sell and give you the best resale value.

Sure could not agree more.

I have good experiences with Uber 7/10 times.

Just look at the whole selection and buying process and then the same hassle of disposing 2 cars in a year, it could easily knock off 2 months of the one year ownership to buy and sell the 2 cars.

Also considering they are coming down from another country, just getting used to our traffic and driving may take time.

If you really do not want to hire a Zoom car you could go in for a cab service with driver.

Also most used cars you were to buy will take some time to get it rectified/ repaired to your satisfaction.

The pros of not buying for the short term purely outweigh the cons.

I would have suggested they buy the cars if they were to spend atleast a few years in India.

My two cents.

Uber or Zoom just isn't an option, they definitely need to get 2 cars.

Jetta & Laura are available and probably the safest of the lot but reliability plus expensive spares isn't very confidence inspiring. I agree though, such sedans would be much more safer than hatchbacks.

Ecosport, why did I forget it, its definitely on the shortlist. I guess this would be one car that'd probably make it to top 3.

Kizashi, very few are available and they are at dirt cheap prices for what the car offers, for now its a contender but solely because I assume its spares & parts aren't an issue.

Corolla Altis, asking price reminds me of my Fortuner's purchase, seems like they hold their value in the used car market. But then these are no nonsense cars and super reliable. How safe are these though, any pointers around their crash test ratings?

Having experienced Toyota's A.S.S myself, this car needs a serious consideration given that they should be looking at sedans instead of hatchback for the "safe" category.

While Kizashi is too good a product to be ignored (at least for now) I would still want to stay clear of similar non-popular cars like Linea. I just can't ask her to deal with Fiat after sales knowing what may be in store. Friendly neighbourhood garage isn't an option for them. I doubt they'd have the time to even drive down to A.S.S, would probably use the pickup & drop service always.

Do you guys think it makes sense to narrow down the Safe Car first and depending on how much money they want to spend later, they can go about choosing the Convenient Car.

Ecosport, Corolla Altis & Kizashi (not very confident though) seem like a good start. I'll search the used car portals to see how good a deal is available for each of them. After all, I'll be the one tasked with scrutinizing the used car for them so have to be confident of the product myself before I hand it over to a non-enthusiast.

I suggest you read this thread

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...gt-tsi-me.html

This could replace the Polo in the above thread.

My other suggestion would be a Nano AMT for the City and a Skoda Rapid DSG for the highway.

City car :- Get any maruti with K series. Cheap to purchase, maintain and repair. Fill it and forget it.

For Highway :- I prefer sedans for this purpose until passengers are more than 4. Get a new Aspire (6 Airbags and USA Connection).

Combined price of both the vehicles~11Lakh(2.5 L will get you a good WagonR).

Cheers!!

I’d say buying 2 cars for just one year of usage in non-sensical. Get a safe car, which could be an Ecosport or something of that sorts. For India, SUV will be preferable.

For commuting, no better option than a cab. No headache over traffic jams. You could spend the loads of cash you would’ve spent on another car on the taxi fares and petrol for your main car and still save lot of money. Max 10 mins of waiting for the cab. Book in advance. Milions of people use it. Not a hassle.

Consider the decision of buying 2 cars again. I stress this because the stay period is only 1 year.

Look for a used Vento, Ecosport, or the S-Cross. You should be able to find a good one (especially the Vento and Ecosport).

Here I would suggest a Jetta or Octavia TDI. Again, the price for a used number won't be prohibitive and you'll be well-covered on the safety aspect.

First car
You could get a used Honda Jazz or Hyundai i20. Both cars are reliable, easy to drive, come with A/T options and get safety features on the top end variants. Alternatively, you could get a Maruti WagonR or Hyundai i10.

Second Car
Used Ford EcoSport, Toyota Corolla/Camry, Honda Accord, VW Jetta TDI.