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-   -   Which luxury / sporty hot hatch for 30 lakh rupees? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchbacks/213013-luxury-sporty-hot-hatch-30-lakh-rupees.html)

I am an SUV guy and my daily run about is the Skoda Kodiaq ever since my return from Canada, my wife is complaining about the lack of a city run about car for her since our other car is a Jetta which is a pain to move about in the city. A decision has been made to acquire a sporty luxury(preference is for something from the german trio or Volvo) hatch to meet our needs. primarily i am thinking about

1. Mercedes A class,GLA(technically a SUV but is like more of an elevated hatch)
2. Volvo V40 cross country
3. Mini Cooper JCW
4. VW GTI (not interested in a GT TSI since it is too common)

budget is 30L ex showroom

If you want a true 'hot' hatch you should only seriously consider the VW or the Mini Cooper IMHO. Both the cars are extremely fun to drive and would be perfect for use in the city. Few things to note though -

1. As the VW GTI is no longer available at showrooms, your only option is to go the pre-owned route. (1-2 listed on team-bhp classifieds too)

2. Mini Cooper would require you to spent a lot extra on optional extras, some of which may be considered essential now. That would drive up the price considerably.

3. Sitting in the VW GTI you don't feel the need to baby the car around which you would if you buy something as special as a Mini Cooper, this would make your rides a whole lot more fun without the worry. Find yourself a GTI and enjoy it!

Your wife would love the A-Class. It's small, yet a true Mercedes in the experience. I loved the design, cabin & city drive. Do note that the newer 4th-gen version of this car is already on sale abroad & it's not clear if / when Mercedes will bring it here.

Your wife will also love the Cooper for its style, "cool" factor and styling. Both of you will find it to be immensely fun to drive and the Cooper is an incredibly likeable car.

There are discounts available on all the cars in your list, yet be prepared to go over your stated budget for some models / nicer variants.

I would add BMW 1 series to the list. Is it still on sale in India?

Quick Update on the choices:

VW GTI is officially discontinued and there is no timeline on return of the model,Volvo V40 has some limited stock but not many color options. BMW 1 -series is also discontinued.

Now the only remaining contenders are the Mini and the Merc A Class

The Merc A Class will be slightly more comfortable in terms of ride quality (as much as a German car can be, anyway), the Mini will be more fun to drive but will get unsettled easily over bad roads (my experience with the previous gen Mini, but most reviews say that they've softened up the ride with current generation). The Mini will have easier proportions to live with and more predictable dimensions, the A Class looks like a proper Merc from outside but the interior space is shockingly low, it sits low and even i felt claustrophobic inside it thanks to the pitch black interiors and I've sat in smaller cars.

I'd say go for the Mini, it will have higher re-sale value than the A Class as well.

A class and B class are not available. Only GLA and CLA are available in Merc.
BMW 1 series, V40 and GTI stopped long ago.
Mini Cooper does not feel very premium and also has a very poor resale value @dark.knight
V40 cross country select stock is available. Only XC40 is available.

In short, there is nothing in the premium small car territory except GLA, CLA, X1, Q3 and XC40. None of which really fit the bill.

My advice, wait till Apr 2020 when new models may be introduced. If in urgent need, Hyundai Kona seems ok. Everything else Jeep Compass TH, Kia Seltos, etc. are going to be a compromise.

X1 and Q3 are find but i think even they are too big for weaving through in the city. the only remaining contenders are the GLA and the cooper.

Also looking at the GT TSI too since i am used to VAG cars.

If I can be a little honest, I think the Mini & A Class both will be a little of a struggle to drive in the city owing to the width which is similar to the Jetta.

The X1 has the advantage of better visibility which should be a boon - my wife loves driving the Tiguan solely for this reason, compared to her daily driver the C Class.

A slghtly different option : The Abarth 595. There maybe a few old stocks available at a ridiculous discounts and the car is as compact as needed for city driving.
That being said, there will be the worry of Fiat servicing + stiff ride + jerky AMT taking away from the fun.

A practical option : A Polo GT TSi - small, compact, and you save a ton of money which could be used to get a proper FUN car for when the Jetta needs replacing.

This is indeed interesting - any idea where and how much? please:

To be honest, not sure myself as we aren't in the market.
I did see a few low mileage pre-owned ones online when casually browsing the other day, and my wife & I loved the idea of the car as a city run-about; but it wouldn't fit into our garage at this point.

Have you considered hiring a chauffeur?

The Kodiaq is my daily drive to office , the jetta and sometimes the Kodiaq is the car in which my dad is chauffeured around to his worksites.

This leaves no cars for my wife who mostly works from home and my mom who complain that they are dependent on us and have to rely on us to go to errands or elsewhere hence the need for the city run about

Ah! Okay.

So this will be in addition to the Jetta.
Your post made it sound like your wife drove the Jetta, and found it too large.

I am going to give you a very off-beat suggestion of either the Venue or the Kia GT.
Both of them have fantastic DSG gearboxes.
The Venue has dimensions identical to the Polo, and has good high driving position.
Yes, its not a premium car, but then neither is the Polo GT.
And the Kia Seltos is going to be roughly the same size as a GLA, which is one of the contendors.

I see a Volvo V40 in red everyday, and it looks fab, but unfortunately, its been discontinued.
If you must have a premium SUV for the badge, I fond it very hard to look beyond either the Volvo XC40 or the X1.

Would Jazz be consider lowly? If not, it would score high on her needs!