[GSHA]

Between Estilo and Santro, GO ESTILO. It is Japanese (better sorted out chassis-engine balance), bigger service network of Maruti. And of course, you like the looks!!!

Alternately,

For 4~4.25L, the Tata Indica is the best value for money. Considering your 1000km/month usage, the Petrol variant makes more sense.

Cost of car: It is more car per Lakh of rupee by sheer space
Fuel efficiency: around 12kmpl in petrol and around 14kmpl in diesel
On the scales: Indica is heavier than the other two and feels more planted than a Santro/WagornR/Estilo at highway speeds

Flip side: Most Taxis are Indicas.

[shajufx]

Hey Simon,
If you want to take a final decision based on the suggestions here, you will take atleast 6 months (from my experience). Even after you shortlisted your choices to just 2 (santro or wagon R), I find members suggesting U-VA, Getz and other brands. That can only add confusion to the decision. If you want to decide between santro and wagon R, there is a dedicated thread on that, do a search and you will find too many infos on both santro as well as wagon R. Let me write my opinions (no prejudice on any brand), I was in your state of mind exactly 6 months back:

1. You are new to the road, you need a very good road view, probably slightly higher seating, compact car with all features you want as basics.
2. Its not necessary that you get dents and scrapes on a car just because you are new, size of the car helps in a big way avoiding such things.
3. FE, Low maintenance, good service back up, on-call-help 24 hours, easy availability of service and parts anywhere should be your top priority.
4. Last but not least, enjoying the driving part, feel of having a big car, enough space in all sense, maximum utilisation of space etc. must be considered.

Summary: All the above are met by Wagon R. Only drawback with wagon R is slightly harder gear shift which can be smooth by 2nd service or probably before that.

Santro meets most of the points except road view and bumpy ride. In fact I did a test drive on wagon r, alto, santro, estillo,getz and swift. I will put a short summary of each one I felt personaly ( considering your budget of 4.25 - 4.50 lc), may be it will help.

Wagon R = mentioned above ( I chose this for my family, spent 4.40 till today with all the additions you find on my photo gallery details, now completing 2500 kms without any dent or scratch, I started driving a car in April 2007 and this is my first self-driven car)
Santro = mentioned above
Alto = bad leg space, too small for a family of 5
Estillo = Didnt like the shape, bad plastic interior, very new launch in India, it might go through many modifications by Maruti in the coming batches including engine, body etc.
Getz = Lot of good things but way above budget for a standard model
Swift = Best shape and overall performance, very bad rear seat positioning, rear passengers will always suffer on long drives, also way above budget

Final word of advise: Dont decide on anything without test driving atleast 10 minutes, its an individual choice on buying a car, so if your decision is purely on others' suggestion, you will regret about missing a proper test drive later. Things to remember while you test drive: Ease of driving, proper road view, comfort. Thats all.

go for chevolet aveo uva or hyundai getz.. they both are very comfortable cars.. chevy aveo uva has a better build and ride quality it comes with 3 yr warranty and chevy promise of low maintenance.. wheras getz has a better gear**** and the interior looks little better than uva and the boot is little bigger too.. both have almost the same FE...

[Nimz]

@Simon - sorry for butting in so late..

In Bangalore A.S.S should not be a concern for any car maker.

You have 4 adults who will always be travelling.

In the Estilo, have you tried to push the drivers seat fully back and sit in the rear. Try it. It will be a revelation. Atleast in the TD car it was.

In 4.25 you will not get UVA or the top end Getz. That gives you comfortable options to choose from ranging from Alto to top end Santro and the Spark.

Since you are just learning to drive a TD may be an issue.. but you could sit inside the car and see if it seats you comfortably..the view and so on.. try this and do inform the forum about your new shortlist

[simonkayar]

Thanks guys. It is overwhelming to see so many responses. Again as I said there are just 2 cars short listed and I will not be adding to the confusion. So Estilo Vs Santro. Here you go. As mentioned earlier I did check sitting in an Estilo (of my friend) and found it to be comfortable than the Santro that I am using for driving classes. But it is true that on pushing the seat to the max limit, the rear passenger (unless it is my kid) will find it difficult. But I found that my ideal driving position is not to the max but one stop next to the first (my friend of the same height as me drives it fully pushed in - even though there are no people at the rear). With the seat locked in that position, I sat behind and found it to be ok (Not great but ok). Also as cleared earlier they will be on just 10% of times in car and my niece will be leaving us in 15 months. (So then my kid might take that place behind the driver). I don't hate the looks of either Santro or Estilo, though estilo in beige or silver looks a bit better (for me). Yesterday I was not able to TD Estilo as there was heavy rain in bangalore. I have asked them to come today. Also I have asked my driving school person to bring the santro, so that we can compare them side by side, (the entire family can also sit) and we can take a small drive. Once done tomorrow I will update you with my experience on both of them clearly. I still do not have any clear inclination towards Estilo or Santro. But I am clear on one thing. No more cars to confuse me. Only of the two
Thanks again for all the good points that you guys have come up with.

[vivek_pinkoo]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Is it better only because its Japanees? I personally think the Santro's torquey engine is its strong point - it really is 'Zip'py!

Here I am talking about the engine life not character. But I can not say that Estilo engine is rubbish and might be opened even at 25K running as someone mentioned in the forum.

Hyundai's A.S.S is better than Maruti's is. May not be as widespread, but what it may lack in quantity it more than makes up with Quality.

As far as quality of A.S.S. is concerned we can start a separate thread for that, who is better.

Here I am just mentioned that in a remote location chances are good that Maruti can be found but not Hyundai.

Let me tell you one thing atleast in NCR (Noida) we can find only two Hyundai A.S.S. and people have to book the servicing in advance whereas Maruti has more than 10-15 A.S.S in Noida it self.

[vivek_pinkoo]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Estillo = Didnt like the shape, bad plastic interior, very new launch in India, it might go through many modifications by Maruti in the coming batches including engine, body etc.

Are boss he has already told that He is liking the look and feel of the vehicle so what is the point in saying that? Let us talk about overall package as a car. OK?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by vivek_pinkoo

As far as quality of A.S.S. is concerned we can start a separate thread for that, who is better.

Here I am just mentioned that in a remote location chances are good that Maruti can be found but not Hyundai.

Let me tell you one thing atleast in NCR (Noida) we can find only two Hyundai A.S.S. and people have to book the servicing in advance whereas Maruti has more than 10-15 A.S.S in Noida it self.

Does this transalate to more quantity = more quality?
AFAIK, Hyundai's service quality is as good as, if not better than MUL's.
Between the two, its just a question of choosing the car which is more to your liking, rather than one claiming the upper hand just because of its A>S>S, that too just in having more number of service centers.

[vivek_pinkoo]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Does this transalate to more quantity = more quality?
AFAIK, Hyundai's service quality is as good as, if not better than MUL's.
Between the two, its just a question of choosing the car which is more to your liking, rather than one claiming the upper hand just because of its A>S>S, that too just in having more number of service centers.

Exactly, that's what I am trying to say.Being a first time car buyer and driver he needs better A.S.S. support apart from liking of the Car.

By the way what kind of quality you are talking about? can you explain that?

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by vivek_pinkoo

Are boss he has already told that He is liking the look and feel of the vehicle so what is the point in saying that? Let us talk about overall package as a car. OK?

Hi vivek, when it comes to choosing a car, its not about the looks and shape alone, if that was the case nobody in the whole world would have liked Wagon R. I myself hate the shape of a wagon R, its a tiffin box look. Estillo has a better design than wagon R, nobody will argue on that too. Your reply is based on the 1st word in my comment about estillo. May be you forgot to read the most important points that followed.

Estillo = Didnt like the shape, bad plastic interior, very new launch in India, it might go through many modifications by Maruti in the coming batches including engine, body etc.

Two of my family members already drive estillo (different versions) but after checking my wagon R, they regret not test driving a wagon R. Do I need to explain more ? The most important part I mentioned in my previous post.

Final word of advise: Dont decide on anything without test driving atleast 10 minutes, its an individual choice on buying a car, so if your decision is purely on others' suggestion, you will regret about missing a proper test drive later. Things to remember while you test drive: Ease of driving, proper road view, comfort. Thats all.

[vivek_pinkoo]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Two of my family members already drive estillo (different versions) but after checking my wagon R, they regret not test driving a wagon R. Do I need to explain more ? The most important part I mentioned in my previous post.

I meant to say that keep the look and other thing which can be seen, apart from internal beauty (engine etc). His wife already discarded WR on the basis of look only. If some body does not like some thing then you can not force him/her to like it.

Let us know what they liked in your WR and hence regreted?

We are here to show the things as clear as possible supported by the logical points. Isn't it?

[shajufx]

Hi Vivek,
With all due respect, I am not a maruti sales person, nor am I sharing a profit from wagon R sales . I had gone through the same confusion of chosing between 4 cars of the mid segment 6 months back and I know there are 100s of new buyers getting into the same confusion each day. There is hardly any method to call something the "best" or even "better". I dont even remember how many reviews I read those days, how many friends I called up and asked opinions, how many posts I made here, how many phone calls I made to different dealers and engineer friends to make up my mind. Believe me, I started without any specific budget, checked all the cars ranging from 3 lc to 5 lc. I never ever liked the boxy look of a wagon R, I went to the extend of teasing wagon R drivers telling they are driving tiffin boxes. So if I have to end up buying a car with a shape I always hated and made fun of, there is a reason for that. Just trying to put them here thats all. I will give a useful link here which can open your eyes to lot of good and bad about both Wagon R and Estillo. Its better explained here. There are many reviews like this you can find online. Top Story - Old wine in cute bottle? - Business Standard Motoring This review is dated 24th March 2007. I took my delivery on 1st April 2007.

[vivek_pinkoo]

I think we have given enough inputs and now let simonkayar decide which car he wants. All the best simonkayar. Happy motoring.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by vivek_pinkoo

Exactly, that's what I am trying to say.Being a first time car buyer and driver he needs better A.S.S. support apart from liking of the Car.

By the way what kind of quality you are talking about? can you explain that?

My question here is, how is Hyundai lacking behind MUL in support of their small car, which is the Santro?

As for what i mean by quality, its inferred as pretty much the same thing which you refer to when one says A>S>S.

Simon, time to take your call.

[vivek_pinkoo]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

My question here is, how is Hyundai lacking behind MUL in support of their small car, which is the Santro?

Because they have lesser no of A.S.S. centre.

As for what i mean by quality, its inferred as pretty much the same thing which you refer to when one says A>S>S.

Simon, time to take your call.

NO . you are not agreed that more no of A.S.S. means more better support. Thats is what I am asking what do you mean by better Quality service.