[aseem]

Its been ages since I opened a new thread in TBHP, goes to show I havent had the moolah to buy a car off late. Finally the loan on my Esteem is finished and I am in the car market to buy a car. I will spell out my requirements and possible choices below and will await your opinion to help me decide.

In the market to upsize my ageing (3 years old) esteem to a bigger 3 box car or Swift Deisel.

Usage: I have driven my Swift 30k in 2 years. So I drive around 1500 KM per month. This is probably going to go up by 500 kms, so around 2k per month.

Budget: Max stretched I can go around 7.5 lakhs. This is assuming that my 3 year old Esteem will fetch me 2.75 lakhs. I plan to pay 2 lakhs, and finance the rest (around 3 lakhs).

Cars shortlisted:

Hyundai Verna (Diesel):

The car is over my budget by 50k. I had high hopes for this car, as 110 BHP was like adrenaline rush dream for me being a BHPian. I personally didnt like the looks of the car that much.

I test drove the car today. My impressions were that the car is slightly clausterphobic (this coming from a Swift owner), or maybe it was just my feeling. I didnt like the power delivery (maybe I had higher expectations), nor did I like it on the refinement front. It was jerky, fast, but somehow just didnt make me feel to shell out 8 lakhs on it.

I am not sure on the mileage front how this car will fair? How much Bhpians are getting? Is it that I just had bad experience with the test drive, should I test drive it again with a new dealer? I had the highest hopes for this car, so much so that I was willing to digest the looks, but the test drive was a big letdown

Swift Diesel:

Probably can buy it cash down without any finance. I havent test driven it, but I own the petrol sibling and it brings a smile to my face every time I drive it. Of course I wont get the upmarket feel if I buy it, but buying this would let me focus on other priorities in life and I can begin saving on tution fees of my future kids
Whats avg that can be expected? Is the Diesel engine more refined than Verna?

Ford Fiesta Diesel:

This is a perfect underdog. I had very low expectations from the car. Its the smallest of the other C segment cars I was considering (except Swift), really cramp on inside and smallish from outside. The 65 BHP engine made me think it would be worthless. Boy was I wrong. I found during my test drive the engine to be a zillion times smoother than Verna. Though it made you felt its a diesel beyond 3k RPM, but the turbo lag was lot less noticeable when compared to Verna and the power delivery was a lot smoother. I could just take the car to 90 kmph, but it was a joyful experience.
Concerns... Is it worth 7.5 Lakhs? The sales guy told me there are some vibrations above 110 kmph... Is it true? Whats the avg ppl get in real life?

Honda City (Only Petrol in contention):

Went with moodswings (fellow bhpian) to get his CRV serviced at Honda motors. Was drawn towards City. The EXI is 50k cheaper than Ford Fiesta Diesel at 7 lakh 7 thousand on road. The car though as common as 800, still carries more road presence than Fiesta or Swift. But is it really practical considering my usage? Doesnt my usage warrant a diesel?
I would hate to put CNG on my Swift or Santro, but I buy City, than I would have to consider CNGing one of my existing cars. In addition I have heard/read at TBHP that a new City is due late 2007, how true is this? Are folks 100% on the news. Is it a totally new platform or just a cosmetic change? What Fuel economy can be expected?

Logan:

Heard its not as good.

Baleno (new):

Any news on this? Is Deisel version coming soon?

These are some of the things that are haunting me. I need your opinions to help me make the correct decision. Thank you all in advance. BTW, I am not considering Chevy Aveo (as no Deisel), so lets focus on the cars in contention.


PS: Mods can you please add a poll for the 4 cars, I missed it!

[MaserQ]

If you want an esteem like experience - stick with the City. Swift diesel is a great buy, if you dont mind staring at 2 swifts on a regular basis! The new Baleno is a few months away atleast, and the diesel could take longer. If raw power is your thing, Verna is a perfect fit. If you can digest the slightly cramped interior of the Fiesta, then its a cracker of a car!

A new City...?! Anybody has more on that?

P.S - if at all they do come out with a new city, what do we call it? The OHC becomes V(ery)OHC, NHC could be the O(lder)NHC and the latest one - B(rand)NHC

[esteem_lover]

The NHC cannot even come close to the MPFI esteem's performance (not talking about the other things). Why not wait for the NMB ? i am sure it will be worth the wait & VFM as well ?

[Fiero]

wow ... thats a lot of cars to choose from ...

Take another test drive of the verna(110 ps afterall ... and the torque !!!!) and decide whether it's worth overshooting your budget ... bank statement is often the final authority :P ... It'll be fairly efficient(13-14 in city?? still pretty cheap to run) ... looks like an egg though :P and its been stripped naked from the inside

If you're not convinced with spending more on the verna , i'd say Fiesta TDci

No matter how efficient the honda is , you stand to save A LOT of money with a diesel over a 3-4 yr period ... 24000 km/yr and we're talking in LACS with such a price difference between the two fuels ... Do the calculations ... you'll be astonished

Swift is atleast 2 lac cheaper than the rest and probably the cheapest car to run (cost/km) ... but if you want a bigger car , in your budget , the fiesta seems pretty practical

Not as spacious as the city , nor a raging bull like the verna ... but if you can live with it ... why not ?? unless saving that 2 lac and spending it on your next car(alotta good ones coming in the next few yrs) is a good idea to you .

Cheers !!!

[tsk1979]

Do you need a boot? If not buy the swift, otherwise buy the car you like the most out of the three. It will be the most fuel efficient of all the cars in your list. Check out owners reviews, they are getting 18-20 in city too in some cases.

[abhibh]

Well partically FE you will get in cities like Bombay and Delhi from all the diesels you have mention will be around 15 -16 with AC.

Well fiesta is underpowered but its a gr8 car if u wanna drive it in city. Its a driver's car and has the best gear box, steering in its class.

Verna best engine in terms of power in its class even beats petrol siblings of a lot of cars as per tests. Maintenance of Verna is more compared to Accent is what i have heard. Has enough space.

City i wont recommend as you will spend almost same money for city as for diesel and your running may increase in near future so buy a diesel and save up.

Swift is over all nice diesel and is working good. But then u will have 2 swifts . And its good to have 1 sedan and a small car.

Overall its a choice between Verna and Fiesta. If your City running is more go for Fiesta and if Highway then Verna. Though both cars can perform well in both conditions. Fiesta can touch 130 easily and Verna can be driven in5h gear @40kmph.

But i think u like fiesta more than Verna so go ahead and buy it. But if you can wait then Ford should soon be launching the 1.6 diesel in the second quarter.

[arunforu1]

Hi Aseem,

From your post it seems intial budget & low cost of owner ship, along with fairly refined car with a big size is you requirement.

In my opinion Fiesta fits all, its cheaper than verna, decent FE, bigger than swift, 3 box, low cost of maintenace( my ex-boss have one & he is happy)

Go for Fiesta

[Jaggu]

put up your requirement list in details.

right now: 2000 km running and 7-7.5 lakh range. what about comfort, space etc etc

[navdeep]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

put up your requirement list in details.

right now: 2000 km running and 7-7.5 lakh range. what about comfort, space etc etc

Yes, What are your priorities?
All the car you mentioned are worth buying. And you cannot go wrong if you buy any of them. Its just which suits your priorities the most.

[benbsb29]

My opinions here, Aseem.
Since you already have a Swift, i guess you can rule out the Swift diesel, since you are looking at a more upmarket image. Also, since you would be replacing a sedan in your line-up, you could look at a sedan instead.

The Verna diesel is loved here for the sheer power of its engine. Looks real oddball, specially when viewed head-on. Since i dont have much idea regarding it, not commenting.

The Fiesta would make for a good buy, with its handling, and sharp steering. The gear box too is quite refined. We do have a member on this forum whose name i currently cannot recollect, who owns a TDCi. Hoping he would come in and pour in his ownership experiences. He hasnt voted on the 'WhatCar' ownership poll thread, and so cannot dig out his name.

[nbr]

Originally Posted by aseem

Logan:

Heard its not as good.

!

who said LOGAN isn't gud.As per the Auto reviews, LOGAN diesel is very refined and driveable. Ya, i agree, the quality of interiors r not class leading, but Its a RENAULT afterall, and shudn't really go worng with this car.
My advice is , u better take a TD of LOGAN, at d earliest.

[devarshi84]

Ford has been doing pretty good in India. It has outsold NHC in FEb and NHC has infact lost market share in this segment (April Autocar)

Also Ford has made the Fiesta to be India specific hence I would suggest it. Go for the fiesta.

there may be some hard edges to the car but you can certainly live with them and enjoy the car a lot.

[suman]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

We do have a member on this forum whose name i currently cannot recollect, who owns a TDCi. Hoping he would come in and pour in his ownership experiences. He hasnt voted on the 'WhatCar' ownership poll thread, and so cannot dig out his name.

We have at least three that I know of - Abhibh, Arif_t01 & Lamborghini. You can check out the long term ownership reports section for their experiences though Abhibh has already commented on this thread

[benbsb29]

@Suman : Arif is the one i was referring to. I remember his display pic very well, where he shows both his Uno as well as the TDCi. Thanks.

[gemithomas]

aseem, if would surely ask you to get rid of the diesel swift off your mind. anyways if you are upgrading why should you just upgrade your engine!! Though i'm sure you would love the feel of the diesel swift after you have driven the petrol variant. The diesel swift will not give you any accessory/comfort enhancers that you could have got at that price tag.

The verna too seems to be a little overpriced. Moreover i feel it has a very plastic feel on the interiors. But i guess it should be a pleasure to drive it atleast on paper. Just check out with another dealer/another car.

The fiesta would be my choice. But i would ask you wheter you really need a desel version @ 2000km/month. I think a diesel is rally advicable only if you run atleast 2500/month. COnsidering the extra money you are putting in. I guess you'll find lots of threads on this in this site. I would recomment the Fiesta 1.6 Petrol or the Fusion (in case you dont mind a stiff suspension).

However if you can really wait. Do wait for the Baleno. That should be a real good one if at all they price it well and dont show the "maruti mindedness" in including features!! If you dont mind waiting, i guess the fusion diesel is on its way too.
Just to confuse you a little more ....IF YOU COULD WAIT EVEN LONGER THE SCODA FABIA IS JUST AROUND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OTHER CORNER. (hah! hah! just kidding.) But really if you want to postpone your purchase by a year since your swift weems to be still new, i think the scoda and the grande punto should be really good vehicles to own. If you dont want to wait that long. Just forget this last paragraph.