[LegalEagle]

BACKGROUND

Currently, we are using a TUV300 T10 (The Truck), which is sufficient and comfortable for me and my family consisting of myself, Better Half, and two angels - 7 and 3. The TUV is my daily drive, office and all other runs, and has to remain so, because I suffer from a lower back problem. We take a small holiday every 3 months, mostly by road, and two major vacations, one of them preferably by road. The TUV runs close to 10,000 kms a year, and we have absolutely no complaints whatsoever.

THE CONUNDRUM FACED

With the offices, and potentially schools opening during the first quarter of next calendar year, the TUV will be relegated to regular office runs. And as known by all members, the current schooling system is such that the parents play an equal role in the education of the children, with the requirements of making multiple short trips increasing daily. In addition, the office timing(s) and potential extension into home hours make it impossible for me to attend to any of these requirements. Coupled with all the above, the size of the TUV makes it a bit cumbersome to drive in the nearby markets, (People based in Hyderabad would know the awesome Ameerpet/HUDA Maitrivanam marketplace; for Chennai group, it would be close to Parry’s, Delhi Karol Bagh, and Mumbai the equivalent electronic/grocery market).

Thus the requirement for a second car for doing the “Dhaniya, Pudina, Mirchi” runs becomes essential.

THE REQUIREMENTS

Below are the requirements in descending order of preference:

1. Hatchback and Automatic.
2. Needs to be purchased and ready for delivery by February 1, 2022. No delays possible whatsoever.
3. Primary driver would be Better Half, who has learned driving, but is out of touch. Also, she would be potentially taking the two kids along always. Me driving would only be if we go to crowded markets. Else the TUV is the first choice.
4. Must be within 6 - 7 lakhs Ex Showroom Hyderabad, If OTR even better.
5. New vehicle only. Personal belief, no offence.
6. Will be retained for 10 years, and would rarely, if not ever, see the highway. Max highway drive would be the city - airport - city run, and that too on a emergency.
7. A.S.S maintained only, so should be reasonable in maintenance. (Definition of reasonable - I currently maintain a TUV300, and do major maintenance remotely for a Maruti Dzire 2017 Zxi. Also, have personally maintained a Ford Figo Zxi (First Gen) and a Maruti Swift Ldi (Second Gen Facelift Model. All vehicles maintained at A.S.S. only).
8. Needs to be top model or Top - 1 model. Don’t want to miss out on too many features.
9. Two driver airbags, Front Power windows, Central locking. (NOTE - Not listing ABS as it is now mandatory)
10. Rear wash wipe, rear power windows and split rear seats.

Other options but not important at all:

1. Fuel type - Not relevant at all, as don’t see vehicle running for more than 5,000 - 7,500 kms per year.
2. Gizmos and gadgets - No preference to touchscreen(s), sunroofs and others. We have our TBHP recommendation, Indian DeCars for all those things.

THE CURRENT OPTIONS (In no order of Preference).

Note - No test drives have been taken. Will start taking test-drives only after seeing responses on this post, due to time constraints, and inability to be open about this. (Married men would know how hard it is to keep a secret with the family).

• Tata Tiago - Liked for only AMT option from Tata family, and being present for quite some time, so ideally glitches should be ironed out. Neutral on engine performance. Worried about the Tata A.S.S.
• Suzuki Wagon R - Liked for Tall Boy design, and reliability. Neutral on ride quality and performance. Worried as it is no longer the Suzuki from 2000 - 2010.
• Hyundai Santro - Liked for Tall Boy design, and being present for some time. Neutral on ride quality and performance. Worried as no experience with Hyundai A.S.S.

Not considered -

• Suzuki Celerio - Pending next generation, and too outdated for current time (but open to the same).
• Suzuki S - Presso - I just can’t fit in the car and have a person sitting behind me while driving. (Yeah, I am too big for the car).
• Tata Altroz - No auto box.
• Renault Kwid - Not sure about the company’s future, as they have a limited lineup.

Based on this, need the help of members to decide which is a good choice, based on the requirements. I am open to other options also, which meet the criteria listed above.

[Asoon]

If I understand correctly you are looking for a small second car for the family for daily short trips. So reliability, cost of ownership, service network, ease of driving/ ownership, automatic will be the primary requirements

I would suggest to opt for the most reliable and trusted stables (Suzuki and Hyundai), with in there i would recommend following

- Ignis / Celerio
My choice would be Ignis 1) because of look (personal) 2) due to 1.2L engine (also serving baleno, swift), its most fun to drive 1.2L naturally aspirated engine with best track record (fuel economy, reliability) and million+ already serving Indian customers

Celerio - hmmm ...never liked the design + 1000cc engine is boring

- Santro AMT
Good, reliable small car, better than celerio in terms of the offering

[gkveda]

From your requirements, I see Hyundai grand i10 ( sports (o) or Asta Automatic) is the car that checks all the boxes.

1. Very peppy car with very easy to drive and maneavour in cities for ladies and fun to drive even long drives (I will rate 10 out of 10 here)
2.ASS is decent at Hyundai compared to other companies
3. Lots of gizmos and features in top variant
4. Space is more than adequate for 4 people (even 5 if within city)
5. Not a tin box like Maruti.
6. Ride quality is plush
7. Has decent power that is more than enough for city drive and even long drives
8. Price wise around 7 lakhs ex showroom (in Bangalore)
9. Very high reliability. Have heard very less about issues
10. Very successful car in the market.
11. Superlative degree of engine refinement makes you fall in love with the car and triggers your desire to drive it without any reason (This you may consider drawback )

Coming to drawbacks,
1. FE is around 12-13 kmpl.
2. Its not AMT but Torque converter.(I consider this an advantage looking at disadvantages of AMT)
3. Price wise, it may go up to 8ish lakhs OTR.

Other than these drawbacks, you/better half will really enjoy this car.

[self_driven]

Close your eyes and go for the Tiago AMT. It's a sorted product that has been around for a while. You'll have to deal with Tata ASS only once a year. As someone who already has a Mahindra in the garage, you should not fret over the service aspect at least.

[shancz]

If the AMTs work for you and if you want to save time TD the following :
- Ignis Zeta AMT and Tiago XZA about 7.84 on road Hyderabad
- Santro Asta AMT and WagonR 1.2 ZXi AMT about 7.65 on road Hyderabad


Some more points :
- WagonR : fits your needs at the lowest price point
- Santro : doesn't have 60:40 split
- Tiago : safest of the the lot, doesn't have 60:40
- Ignis : good city car, reasonably safe
- i10 Nios : good city car, slightly pricy compared to others

Don't think the i10 Grand is available anymore, at least can't see it in the listings, seems to have been replaced by the Nios and rightly if it has been.

Whatever car you finalize check our ownership reports.for niggles and issues.

Good Luck

[KPR]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

Thus the requirement for a second car for doing the “Dhaniya, Pudina, Mirchi” runs becomes essential.

For this small foot print of car is very important. We have purchased an Alto and it aces this need like a bike. Why not try out Kwid, RediGo, Celerio and revisit SPresso? (Tata ASS is something I'm worried about that's why I'm not including Tiago). Anything more than these will become an overkill for the above needs. All these entry level hatches are very much pocket friendly to maintain with almost nil ASS woes. It doesn't mater if Renault or Nissan closes, service is guaranteed. Buy a -1 variant from top and add more fun to it by installing component speaker setup with nice quality bluetooth audio player that supports component setup.

[Kosfactor]

10 years \ Long term ownership in the entry level segment. You can buy anything as long as its a Maruti. Don't even think about the others please.

[saisree]

Wagon R, eyes closed. This car will never go out of age. Though small, looks huge inside, non claustrophobic. 1.2ltr version is awesome to drive and light on pocket too. Try the automatic version, since you are going to use it in the city.

[LegalEagle]

Thank you all members for the responses. Below are my responses (Note - not using multiquote as it would become too long) -

1. Kosfactor - Plan is for a Maruti, but not happy with the steady drop in A.S.S support and overall service. But willing to consider Tata and Hyundai also - Thoughts on that?
2. KPR - Can't revisit the SPresso, it would effectively become a three seater. Also, I just can't fit into the car, without contorting myself.... Other options not being considered simply because god knows when they decide to say Bye Bye. Also, you tempt with the idea of component speakers and a subwoofer, but unfortunately, my wife would be the primary user. She can't differentiate between the speakers, tweeters and mic in my Truck...
3. gkveda - Grand i10, in the original format, with a budget stretch is an excellent choice, but in the NIOS format, it is too big for my requirements, and too much of a budget stretch.
4. Asoon - Ignis is a great choice, but the number of steering issues associated specifically with the Ignis worry me like anything. Celerio is way too long in the tooth for me.
5. self_driven - You spoke the truth. The Tiago is on my list, and the Tata A.S.S is not too worrisome, as I deal with Mahindra. Only question - Does the Tiago now have a 15000 KM/1 year service interval or is it still 7500 KM/6 months?
6. Saisree - Wagon R is indeed on my list, but the waiting times seem outrageous sometimes. A friend got quoted 4 months for the top end AMT, without any guarantees.
7. Shancz - Absolutely to the point. There is no perfect car, and I am now willing to trade the 60:40 split for all other features.

As of now, it seems my options are limited only to the Santro, Wagon R or Tiago. But still waiting for thoughts.

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

4. Asoon - Ignis is a great choice, but the number of steering issues associated specifically with the Ignis worry me like anything. Celerio is way too long in the tooth for me.

Bro, I own an Ignis and I REALLY tried lot of times to twist and turn the steering for it to NOT return to the center. But it DOES return very beautifully.

Test drive one before discarding. I used to hate the Ignis before but now I just cannot wait to drive it all the time (only fuel prices keep me sane).

It's so much fun to drive and in Blue, Orange colors it does grab attention.

All the best!

[shancz]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

I am now willing to trade the 60:40 split for all other features.

As of now, it seems my options are limited only to the Santro, Wagon R or Tiago. But still waiting for thoughts.

Like RavSam mentioned and I have read in some other thread that they seem to have fixed the steering in the later Ignis(and Swift) models so at least take a TD would be my suggestion since the car is quite capable as a city car, also fits your needs.

Personally I would choose between the Ignis and the Tiago based on the TDs and keep the wagonR and Santro as secondary.

[FHW]

Greetings to all fellow members.

Note to Moderator/Support:
Kindly merge/move appropriately the topic as per forum rules/guidelines.

Brief: I have been driving 2013 Alto 800 STD (with many DIY additions) for about 8+ years now.

Planning to buy a new car alongside the existing one.

Requirements:
1. Safety
2. Refinement
3. Good looking
4. Feature packed
5. Mileage
6. Manual
7. Petrol

Other things:
No AMT
No Diesel
No too low riding position

Budget was initially around 7.5L, later 8.5L but can stretch a bit too for better safety and must/good to have features. Preferably thinking of taking a top end version.

Shortlist:
Punch
Has almost everything except for rear vent (good to have) and driver armrest but the price for top end is 9.85L OTR without iRA. Delayed my purchase finalization only due to this one however the pricing disappointed.

Tiago
It was the car of choice some months earlier but the hype around Punch made me steer away. Hence enhanced budget.

Altroz
Punch pricing made me think about Altroz which comes at a similar price but with different looks.
XZ option I was thinking but removal of TFT instrument cluster from it is somehow forcing me to upgrade.

i20
Sorry but, I don't like the way it looks.

Baleno/Brezza
These cars have been for a long time now. Since I have no plans to sell the vehicle I own, so no to these.

Now I request my fellow members to kindly suggest/guide me to make a safer and VFM purchase of the car.
I shall be keeping the car and no plan to change/sell it anytime.

My current travel is:

About 20km daily from home to office and back.

About three to four 200km (to and fro) trips 80% highway in a month.

Thanking in advance.

[akash_v12]

Open to going used? If yes, look out for a used Honda Jazz. Spinny have a few on sale at reasonable prices (maybe you can bring it down). It makes for a really compelling package to be very honest. If not open to used, a few options are:

1. Tata Tiago/Punch - Punch might be a bit out of budget for the top -1 variant.
2. Hyundai Grand i10 Nios - I don't usually recommend simply to anyone because of the cost-cutting they've been engaging in.
3. Maruti products - Again, safety is a concern with this. Othwrwise, they're decent products.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

1. Kosfactor - Plan is for a Maruti, but not happy with the steady drop in A.S.S support and overall service. But willing to consider Tata and Hyundai also - Thoughts on that?

Hyundai will last the distance but I'm not sold on Santro besides Hyundai is not interested in that segment, the Grand i10 onwards is nice but they are expensive to own, maintain and not as fuel efficient as a WagonR which for City use is the perfect car , you will feel comfortable with its roomy interior. The new Celerio is up for launch too, perhaps worth a look.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by FHW

Planning to buy a new car alongside the existing one.

Don't know what feature packed means so will leave that to you and recommending only petrol manuals top/top-1

Some points :
- Tiago and Altroz will have a lower seating position than Punch/Ignis

- TD the Altroz turbo, hoping that the refinement would be better and the XT model should come under 10 lakhs.

- If you're already stretching that far and want a safe high seated car then the Nexon would also come in your striking distance so would the Brezza.

Skipped Hyundai and MSIL as you don't seem to be inclined in owning them due to looks and existing car respectively.

Do checkout our ownership reviews of the cars before purchasing to know about the issues beforehand.
Whichever car you finally choose do a thorough PDI.

Good luck