[Sri Vathsa]

Originally Posted by 07CR

My dad plans to replace his Sonet iMT Turbo Petrol. ....the low mileage he gets (10 KMPL in Pune traffic, I get 12-14 in same region). Somehow he is not able to extract more mileage from it.

He has shortlisted the Fronx Delta + MT (NA motor) and Baleno Zeta MT. He expects to get 16-18 kmpl from both these cars.

1. How old is the current car? - Depending upon the age, you will lose Money, even if this is a NEW car, when you sell it. Minimum 1.5 - 2 Lakhs loss compared to On-road price (if this model has waiting period, then you can sell immediately with minimum loss) IF this model is readily available with discounts, 2nd hand car price will fall further.
2. How many Kms does he drive per month? - I don't think, Fronx or Baleno gives you 16 kmpl in traffic conditions (it would be around 14), best way to test it would be to hire a Car for one day or ask the showroom guys to tank up before test drive and then drive for at-least 20-30 kms and refuel, you can easily calculate the mileage, now assuming if your Dad drives for 2000 km per month in traffic, he will need at-least 2.5 years to recover the loss from previous car sell and then after he would start saving money (monthly).

2000 KMS - 200 Liters with 10 KMPL
2000 KMS - 133 Liters with 15 KMPL

200-133 = 67 *105(fuel cost) - 7035 Rs per month saving (~2.5 Years to recover 2 Lakhs loss).

But if he really wants a new car - I think new Baleno is a good car.

[TheSMG]

Do not expect Baleno or Fronx to deliver more than 14 kmpl in city driving with heavy traffic. I was not able to extract more than 14 kmpl from by 2022 Facelifted Baleno even with auto start-stop and light footed driving in the city. On highway it can easily deliver north of 20 kmpl when driving at 80-100 kmph.

Instead consider New Swift it has improved mileage. If you are okay with CNG cars, consider Baleno Zeta CNG, it will deliver you good mileage in city as well as highway. It will be in your budget. Although with the sacrifice of boot space.

When I purchased Baleno company fitted CNG car was not available. However, I have installed after market CNG kit and I am able to get the mileage of around 20 KM/KG in the city.

[idontdrivedoi]

Originally Posted by 07CR

My dad plans to replace his Sonet iMT Turbo Petrol. Rationally (There are some irrational reasons that is driving the need for replacing Sonet, unfortunately can't share those here)speaking there is only one issue with this car, i.e. the low mileage he gets (10 KMPL in Pune traffic, I get 12-14 in same region). Somehow he is not able to extract more mileage from it.

He has shortlisted the Fronx Delta + MT (NA motor) and Baleno Zeta MT. He expects to get 16-18 kmpl from both these cars.

Any other car I should checkout? Budget is under 10L and can't be stretched. It has to be a manual transmission. No to AMTs. CVT/AT can be considered.
Fuss free, cheap ASS and great mileage are prime requirements. Everything else comes later.

Would be very helpful to hear your comments. Thanks!

Well, the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios as suggested by another commenter is a car you could look at — the Tata Altroz feels underpowered but is quite safe and gives good mileage too. I would also suggest going the pre owned route for some other cars too - the older i20s, or a Ciaz hybrid.

[sonmi-451]

I have driven a 2022 baleno cng for 30,000 kms and in hyderabad traffic I used to get 17 to 18 kms/kg in the city. Like some commented above, I do wonder how can get 18kms/litre in a petrol car in city! I am
Not heavy footed. I am now driving a Brezza cng which has clocked close to 3000 kms and I get about 15 kms/kg of cng in the city. As it was with the baleno, I expect the mileage go up by 2 to 3 n the city as I cross 10k. My father drives an Ertiga CNG and has covered 36000 kms so far. He gets 17 to 18 kms/kg of cylinder in the city(2nd tier city). Recently on a highway trip i maintained a speed of 85 to 90 on the way on the ertiga and it returned 28 kms/kg of cng with 4 people and 3 bags of lagguage. Best I got in the baleno was 31 kms/kg while maintain speeds of 90 to 95kms/hr.

Between baleno and ertiga covering more than 65,000 kms we never faced any issues or high mantinatenance costs. Of course it’s a little early in the life if the car. Hope this information helps you. I would highly recommend a CNG car, especially from Maruthi if you can put with the lines at the cng pumps and limited boot space(baleno is far better with bot space than Brezza in cng form).

[mugen_pinaki27]

Hi, 07Cr!

While the Fronx Delta MT would be a worthy contender, given that you mentioned traffic, I would recommend checking out the Citroen C3 automatic apart from the Tigor I-CNG. The XZA variant comes to around 10.08 lacs on-road Pune. I haven't come across the price for the Citroen Automatic but going by the on-road prices on CarDekho and Carwale, it should also be in the same ballpark. Please do take a test ride of both cars. Despite its recent entry, the C3 is a gem of a car. Hope this helps!

All the best!

[Phantom 510]

Originally Posted by 07CR

My dad plans to replace his Sonet iMT Turbo Petrol. Rationally (There are some irrational reasons that is driving the need for replacing Sonet, unfortunately can't share those here)speaking there is only one issue with this car, i.e. the low mileage he gets (10 KMPL in Pune traffic, I get 12-14 in same region). Somehow he is not able to extract more mileage from it.

He has shortlisted the Fronx Delta + MT (NA motor) and Baleno Zeta MT. He expects to get 16-18 kmpl from both these cars.

Any other car I should checkout? Budget is under 10L and can't be stretched. It has to be a manual transmission. No to AMTs. CVT/AT can be considered.
Fuss free, cheap ASS and great mileage are prime requirements. Everything else comes later.

Would be very helpful to hear your comments. Thanks!

If ground clearance is a priority then it's the Fronx. However, 16 kmpl (with AC on) from Baleno/Fronx in b2b traffic is hard to achieve no matter how high their ARAI claims are. Mild to moderate traffic might help the FE figures reach 16 kmpl without taking drastic measures. However, if fuel efficiency is a major deciding factor then nothing beats the new Swift with it's brand new Z12 engine. It should deliver atleast 1 kmpl higher than Baleno/Fronx when driven sanely. Swift AGS is a good bet if driving convenience is high up on one's priority list. AGS are much better than it used to be and nothing beats one when it comes to affordable two pedal driving. It's best to drive them back to back and then you should put your hard earned money down IMO.

[Beastyerza]

Won't getting a aftermarket CNG kit installed from some reputated place solve all your issues???

Fronx ,Baleno and everything else below 10 lakh rupees is a downgrade in terms of interiors.

[killferd]

If I may give my two cents,
If the current vehicle is not giving any serious issues then I would suggest to wait for few months till next year. The reason being Maruti has confirmed its own Hybrid tech for Fronx and other smaller cars.
They will surely outperform anything currently in the market in terms of mileage.
I believe in the first two quaters next year we may see the launch of these new Hybrids.

[stxrboy77]

If your father is a person who spends majority of his driving time in cities, why not consider an EV? The likes of MG Comet EV will nicely fit in your budget, plus being an EV, the city is where its value will truly shine. The mid or even top variants of the comet will fit in your budget. The maintenance for EVs will be less too. Might want to give it a thought!

[07CR]

We booked Fronx Delta + MT Petrol. Thanks to all for your suggestions-

Some of the answers for your queries-

Sonet was sold, because it was an irrational decision. Great car no doubt, but sometimes you can't help such situations.

CNG/EV was out, because the monthly running isn't much. 500 Kms at max.

Tata was never in consideration set because of the associated horror stories.

The car arrives in next week! Thanks again!

[sonmi-451]

Good decision, if the running is below 500 kms per month, its not worth the hassles or the extra upfront cost with EV/CNG. Happy motoring.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by 07CR

We booked Fronx Delta + MT Petrol. Thanks to all for your suggestions-

Just wanted to know if you checked out any other brand’s cars like Basalt or even C3. I hear real world mileage are upward of 14.5 Kmpl for C3 and they just introduced an Automatic version.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by anu21v

Just wanted to know if you checked out any other brand’s cars like Basalt or even C3. I hear real world mileage are upward of 14.5 Kmpl for C3 and they just introduced an Automatic version.

Lots of things need to be factored in when buying a car for a 64 year old person. With the way the things are at Citroen India, I am not sure if this company will exist in India in say two years from now. I am even reading about dealerships shutting down in multiple cities.

The after sales and maintenance cost is also a huge variable in this.

This is one of the biggest and yet underrated reason MS cars still excite dad folks (PS- I myself am at a dad age!). It's just too easy to own and run a MS car.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by 07CR

Lots of things need to be factored in when buying a car for a 64 year old person. With the way the things are at Citroen India, I am not sure if this company will exist in India in say two years from now. I am even reading about dealerships shutting down in multiple cities.

The after sales and maintenance cost is also a huge variable in this.

This is one of the biggest and yet underrated reason MS cars still excite dad folks (PS- I myself am at a dad age!). It's just too easy to own and run a MS car.

Thanks, it makes sense to own a car with fuss free service experience at an advanced age. Please keep posting your ownership experience along with the real world mileage that you get with Fronx. Not to miss out on how those irrational reasons panned out with a new car.

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by 07CR

My dad plans to replace his Sonet iMT Turbo Petrol. Rationally (There are some irrational reasons that is driving the need for replacing Sonet, unfortunately can't share those here)speaking there is only one issue with this car, i.e. the low mileage he gets (10 KMPL in Pune traffic, I get 12-14 in same region). Somehow he is not able to extract more mileage from it.

He has shortlisted the Fronx Delta + MT (NA motor) and Baleno Zeta MT. He expects to get 16-18 kmpl from both these cars.

Any other car I should checkout? Budget is under 10L and can't be stretched. It has to be a manual transmission. No to AMTs. CVT/AT can be considered.
Fuss free, cheap ASS and great mileage are prime requirements. Everything else comes later.

Would be very helpful to hear your comments. Thanks!

Go for Ignis Alpha variant which has many features. It surprises you in many ways and you will actually save some good amount of money. You will get better average than Fronx and Baleno being a lighter car. Also this is better for your dad than other 2 options for city traffic. Just give it a try.

CNG is a big NO from me as it takes hell lot of time to fill CNG in Pune and waiting periods in peak time can be more than 30 mins easily. Also at a time you cannot fill more than 7-8 kgs which hardly lasts for 170-200 kms.