[ssathiyanarayan]

Originally Posted by aniketi

New car dilemma

Meanwhile wife suggested that we should go for automatic as we already have other manual car. So basically my requirements are as follows -

1. Don't want low sitting car, height should be good (wife is 5.6, I am 5.11). Also mother will be sitting quite often, so big NO for low sitting cars.
2. Should have sufficient features, infotainment system is kind of must along with keyless entry, steering mounted controls etc.
3. Should have good ground clearance considering our roads & speed breakers we have in Pune.
4. Should have good average along with sufficient engine power.
5. Should have good AMT.
6. Should be good looking, don't like new Wagon-R.
7. Good space for 4 people along with good legroom & headroom for rear passengers.
8. Within my budget of 8 lacs.
9. Good A.S.S. is must.
10. Will be used mainly in City only, occasional nearby highways runs can be done. I already have other bigger, better car (Ertiga Zxi+) for highway duty and trips.

Hi aniketi

Based on your requirements, suggesting to have look at Honda, Tata and Renault cars. Suggest you to increase the budget a bit more as getting a good car under 8 lacs is going to be tough job.

Originally Posted by aniketi

Now I have set a budget of 8 lacs on road (+/- 50k). After checking various options, I have shortlisted 3 cars mainly.

1. Tata Tiago
2. Hyundai i10 Grand Nios
3. Maruti Ignis

Which is better car here considering my requirements? Which of the above cars has good AMT?

Other suggestions:

• Honda Amaze CVT - Come on it's a Honda. You can't discount their reliability. Had the dealership behaved properly on my TD and during follow-up, I would have got this vehicle only. Hope the same will be different for you and you might get a good experience.
• Tata Altroz DCA - This would be sensible choice for your condition. Compact, comfortable, safe option. Be prepared to take Tata's OEM experience head-on
• Mahindra XUV300 - quite rare to find used one. Try a lower variant in MT even. But this is built like a tank. Had my budget permitted me I'd have taken this beauty any day based on my TD from a neighbor in society.
• Mahindra Thar - You should be able to get this used market as well. Try the 2X2 new ones instead of 4x4 in second hand market. They would stay clear of your way in Pune. Forget the worry of driving over potholes.
• Renault Kiger / Nissan Magnite CVTs - provided you are prepared to handle the Renault/Nissan ownerships
• Citroen C3 Shine - Great car for money. Not sure about Citroen ASS

[mkumar79]

Isn't the Nexa service akin to Hyundai - attentive and expensive? A test drive of the new Alto K10 AGS is in order.

Saved money can be used for dual dashcam, leather seats, TPMS, speaker upgrade. Add a little chrome and alloy wheels to taste.

I won't play the TASS lottery unless it's a Nexon (which has a good resale).

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by mkumar79

Isn't the Nexa service akin to Hyundai - attentive and expensive? A test drive of the new Alto K10 AGS is in order.

Based on my experience in past with Hyundai and Maruti Nexa, I can safely say Nexa is far far better in terms of service experience.

Do also note, its not required to get a Nexa vehicle serviced at Nexa, one can service it at Arena as well (and vice versa).

[07CR]

Originally Posted by aniketi

This car will be for wife, so strictly small car, City or Yaris are too big for her.

You can go for the pre owned Jazz or Amaze cvt in that case.

These cars are also 4 * rated if you value the global ncap results. More importantly they carry a proper CVT box, than a woeful AMT.

Amaze with that diesel CVT is actually a dream at this price point. I had this diesel in my manual amaze and it used to offer phoenomenal FE (25 in city), excellent driveability and stupendous performance (due to 0 turbo lag).

[A350]

I was facing the same query in end of March this year when we had to upgrade my wife's Swift. We went with a Zeta AMT of Ignis and couldn't be happier. It is a very practical car for urban jungles so much so that I also drive it at least once a week. For reference my other two cars are a Honda City and an XUV 500.

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by ssathiyanarayan

Hi aniketi

Based on your requirements, suggesting to have look at Honda, Tata and Renault cars. Suggest you to increase the budget a bit more as getting a good car under 8 lacs is going to be tough job.

I started with 3 lacs & now came to 8 lacs. Don't want to spend more than this for now. Also this will be my second car at home, primarily for city duties. Honda don't have anything mate, what to look at? Tata is under consideration but again only Tiago fits my bill, others are costly, Punch too.

Other suggestions:

• Honda Amaze CVT - Come on it's a Honda. You can't discount their reliability. Had the dealership behaved properly on my TD and during follow-up, I would have got this vehicle only. Hope the same will be different for you and you might get a good experience.
• Tata Altroz DCA - This would be sensible choice for your condition. Compact, comfortable, safe option. Be prepared to take Tata's OEM experience head-on
• Mahindra XUV300 - quite rare to find used one. Try a lower variant in MT even. But this is built like a tank. Had my budget permitted me I'd have taken this beauty any day based on my TD from a neighbor in society.
• Mahindra Thar - You should be able to get this used market as well. Try the 2X2 new ones instead of 4x4 in second hand market. They would stay clear of your way in Pune. Forget the worry of driving over potholes.
• Renault Kiger / Nissan Magnite CVTs - provided you are prepared to handle the Renault/Nissan ownerships
• Citroen C3 Shine - Great car for money. Not sure about Citroen ASS

This is for my wife, we need small car strictly. So Amaze, Thar, XUV300 are out. Citroen I checked but it's around 9.5 lacs. Also not sure about it's service and resale value. Nissan? No way, not sure when they will close their shop here.

Originally Posted by mkumar79

Isn't the Nexa service akin to Hyundai - attentive and expensive? A test drive of the new Alto K10 AGS is in order.

Saved money can be used for dual dashcam, leather seats, TPMS, speaker upgrade. Add a little chrome and alloy wheels to taste.

I won't play the TASS lottery unless it's a Nexon (which has a good resale).

Nexa has good service and you can service at Maruti as well. Costs are also within budget, not expensive.

Originally Posted by DCEite

Based on my experience in past with Hyundai and Maruti Nexa, I can safely say Nexa is far far better in terms of service experience.

Do also note, its not required to get a Nexa vehicle serviced at Nexa, one can service it at Arena as well (and vice versa).

Thanks for the confirmation.

Originally Posted by 07CR

You can go for the pre owned Jazz or Amaze cvt in that case.

These cars are also 4 * rated if you value the global ncap results. More importantly they carry a proper CVT box, than a woeful AMT.

Amaze with that diesel CVT is actually a dream at this price point. I had this diesel in my manual amaze and it used to offer phoenomenal FE (25 in city), excellent driveability and stupendous performance (due to 0 turbo lag).

No Amaze or no diesel. Also Amaze has low sitting. No sedans please for now.

Originally Posted by A350

I was facing the same query in end of March this year when we had to upgrade my wife's Swift. We went with a Zeta AMT of Ignis and couldn't be happier. It is a very practical car for urban jungles so much so that I also drive it at least once a week. For reference my other two cars are a Honda City and an XUV 500.

Thanks mate for your valuable input.

[nitin_knw]

Originally Posted by darkfantasy

If you can wait, please wait for the Hyundai Exter. Of the 3 selected cars, if you are going for the automatic I'd choose the Nios. For your listed requirements though the Ignis feels like the perfect fit for now. The Ignis feels old inside out when compared to the Nios but mechanically should be reliable in the long run. Maruti's AMT coupled with the K12 is not far behind the Hyundai in terms of shift quality. I wouldn't consider the Tiago mainly for the ASS experience.

Have driven Swift AGS and it was tuned well, and If not wrong Ignis share the same engine , so Maruti do produce good AMT. Ignis is so underrated car IMO

[bravo82in]

I too was in the same boat when I was looking for an automatic for my dad last year. Went with Honda Amaze CVT (P) S variant. Little stretch of budget but worth every penny. For a lac extra (Over Tiago ZXA+) you get a butter smooth engine, a 4 star rated car and Hondas reliability. This difference will be recovered in resale value.
Else go for Tiago EV. Tata is the king here.

[jayram.r]

Originally Posted by aniketi

New car dilemma

Now I have set a budget of 8 lacs on road (+/- 50k). After checking various options, I have shortlisted 3 cars mainly.

1. Tata Tiago
2. Hyundai i10 Grand Nios
3. Maruti Ignis

Which is better car here considering my requirements? Which of the above cars has good AMT?

Well we were in a similar position recently & found the Ignis overpriced. (Dismal sales aside). Nios we found extremely classy but since we already had a Hyundai wanted to have something else. Tata was rejected due to service standards ambiguity.

We ended up buying WagonR for my wife. She was initially apprehensive but seeing the space & the airy feeling inside (compared to Ignis whose black interior made it feel smaller than it actually is), she felt at ease test driving the same. And the same 1.2 litre engine performs as spritely in the WagonR.

[Muscle Boyy]

If AMTs are what you’re looking for, you can consider cars from Maruti with the 1.2L engine. If the AMT is paired with a good engine, most of the shortcomings of the gearbox will be masked by the engine. Hyundai AMTs are superior among the competition but their petrol engines have a weak low end,which will disrupt city drivability. Maruti cars have a good balance between smooth shifts and peppy performance.

[Clown Prince]

Rule out Tiago. Tata automatic is not good.
TD Nios and Ignis both are good options. Choose whichever suits you better. i10 feels premium compared to Ignis.

[yatesh.92]

Back in 2018, I was in the exact same position as you are. My Santro Xing (I was 3rd owner) had started showing it's age and was getting troublesome to maintain. I had almost decided on the Tigor petrol manual but after speaking with an acquaintance at Tata Motors, he suggested me a Maruti car since the petrol engines from Tata don't age well. Hence, ended up with the Ignis Zeta manual and it has been a pretty good decision. Skipped the AMT as I felt it to be laggy in the TD vehicle. My dad still taunts me sometimes for buying manual as he prefers auto given that he's in the Middle East and has driven an automatic for a long time now. Won't get into further details around the car as TheWheelDeal has pretty much summed up everything in his post.

Purchased mine from Nexa dealer in Viman Nagar. At that time it costed me 6.05 lacs after exchanging my Santro and other discounts from dealer side. During the lockdown my RM from Nexa had called twice, "sir, if you have any reference feel free to share my contact with them. I'll get them a good deal on whichever model they buy from us and even you will get referral benefits ". Overall the experience has been fuss free so far. Only at one instance I felt that service could be better. Last year I had to replace the fuel lid opener cable and had to wait almost 4 weeks for the part to be available. Diwali holidays caused the delay else the part would've arrived sooner. As for the fuel efficiency, max I've hit is 13 km/l in the city. Blame it on my low running since I barely do 10-12 kms daily hence engine isn't able to reach it's optimum performance. To compensate I go on a slightly longer drive after logging out of work on Friday night. Although on the highway, it easily returns 20-22 since I have done Pune-Mumbai quite a lot of times. For the city I'd say, nothing beats the practicality of the Ignis.

As for Tata, the after sales is still a hit or a miss. Citroen C3 is another great option but no automatic available as yet and it will exceed your budget as well. So I'd suggest you decide wisely

[SID7115]

Originally Posted by aniketi

Now I have set a budget of 8 lacs on road (+/- 50k). After checking various options, I have shortlisted 3 cars mainly.

1. Tata Tiago
2. Hyundai i10 Grand Nios
3. Maruti Ignis

Which is better car here considering my requirements? Which of the above cars has good AMT?

Such kind of dilemmas are becoming more in today's times due to big changes in car prices.
Some points to remember-
1. The Punch has more space and is more practical than the Tiago.
2. If you're concerned about space, you have to try cars from a segment higher like the Baleno and the Altroz.
3. A decently equipped Tiago EV will cost you roughly 10 lakhs on-road and the upcoming Punch EV will cost higher too, so they're out.
4. The only EV in your budget is the MG Comet, which is a big no-no looking at your needs.

So, here are my options
1. Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Sportz/Asta AMT
2. Maruti Suzuki Baleno Delta AMT
3. Tata Punch Adventure AMT
4. Toyota Glanza S AMT

Also, if possible, you can wait for the Citroën C3 AT, it'll just be the right vehicle. It won't be as reliable as the others, but will definitely have the space and practicality.

[ByKaizen]

Have driven both Tata (Tiago/Punch) and Suzuki (Alto/Celerio/Swift) AMTs owned by family members extensively and here are my thoughts:

Though Tata has advantage in safety and high speed stability there are few minor things which have to be noticed and can be a deal breaker.

1. When we take leg off gas pedal, Tata AMTs will not slow down smoothly it will behave like as if we pressed brake (but in Suzukis the slow down will be linear) - This kind of tuning may be due to fuel economy but it causes lot of to and fro jerks in bumper to bumper traffic and in bad roads/speed brakers
2. Since the car slows down more than we expect we tend to press accelerator again, due to which again a surge will happen (if the gear was in 2nd during slow down and when we press gas pedal again - to regain a quick torque AMT will downshift to 1st and cause a gap in power delivery)
3. Also the time taken by TATA AMT to shift gears is evidently more than Suzuki's. While driving a TATA AMT we will know that a gear change is happening so we will lift leg off gas pedal for a second but even after a second when we press on accelerator sometimes the gear change would not have been completed. Due to which sometimes throttle response will be in tact and sometimes there will be a delay in throttle response

These are very minor things to be noticed but if we travel more on bad roads/roads with lot of speed brakers these characteristics will cause a lot of inconvenience which is totally against the reason why we want to go for an automatic car.

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by aniketi

1. Tata Tiago
2. Hyundai i10 Grand Nios
3. Maruti Ignis

Which is better car here considering my requirements? Which of the above cars has good AMT?

Dear Aniketi,

I was in same boat last month and similar car dilemma and am taking delivery of Tata Punch this week (here you can read more (Maruti WagonR vs the competition)). I commend your decision of choices and budget, as I too felt there is no point in spending a lot on a depreciating asset when that would be a 2nd car.

I did extensive test drive on all of them multiple times, and here is my take (all views are my personal view).

Ignis
+ve: It will give you cost advantage (quiet lot of them) and Nexa guys always almost ready to deal with a bit more cut. If you decide on it, don't forget to cross bargain across dealers and they are known to undercut each other.
-ve: Quiet a lot compromise. New BS6P2 engine is pathetic, A/C is DOA (I see you are from Pune, you need extra fan in rear seat if the summer remain similar to this year). But, certainly for sure, you will land a sweet deal and money can make everything go away.

i10
+ve: Everything included. Feels a segment higher. Maruti like support / service and resale.
-ve: Hyundais are thirsty. i10 rear bench is rather seat low, please have a look.

Tiago
+ve: SAFETY. You can bargain some good deal as petrol Tiago is not a fast moving car.
-ve: Heavy with astoundingly high body roll on speed. Weight is inversely proportionate to FE. I test drove a BS6Ph1 version and the engine was sluggish. I have heard that the Ph2 engine is much better. AMT is too jerky. And, also do look at the boot size. More or a less, test drove a lot.

I, almost finalized with Ignis, but then went with Punch (back gate entry, never was my initial selection) just purely for Safety aspect.

As it is a 2nd car for your wife, don't think much. Do give her the budget and pick up whichever she likes. That way, she will be happy implies you will be happy and you have your primary steed to make love to.