[AirWind]

You can not go wrong with a Santro! You can also try the Spark, its the latest & hottest in this segment - Service front, not sure of GM's service, but Hyundai's rocks and are definitely much better than Maruti's in Bengaluru...

I wouldnt recommend a Swift nor UVA nor Getz to a rookie in Bengaluru traffic, just a pain to navigate in this traffic crazy city man!

[DieselFan]

IMO you should go for Santro Automatic.

Pros -
1. Good car with very limited maintenance expenses ( I had a santro and was a gem for nearly 60 K KM). Don't be fixated on Maruti because in bangalore Triedent Hyundai service is best in class.
2. It is a tallboy. It is a great advantage for begineers like you and for ladies (Your wife will also use it).
3. It is automatic and much easier to use in Bangalore traffic (First timer and easy to adopt to bumper to bumper slow traffic also it will be highly beneficial for ladies to quickly adopt to driving).

Cons -
1. Can accomodate only 4+1 child. But this should be fine as you will be 4+1 99% of the time. for the other 1% of the time "Swalpa Adjust Maadi".
2. 1 to 1.5 KM lower mileage compared to manual. Small price to pay for the convinience you get out of automatic.
3. Slightly overpriced - 4.64L on road but you get discounts and freebies of about 20 L.

[LokeshG]

[quote=simonkayar;559965]I have a maximum budget of 4.25 Lakhs. I live in Bangalore with my wife and 2 yrs old kid.
My mother-in-law and niece are with us. So that makes 4 adults and 1 kid who will be travelling in the car 99% of the time.
This is my first car and I have absolutely no experience of cars earlier (No car in family) and am currently driving the Caliber 115. I am taking my driving classes.
My usuage would be max 1000 kms per month and occasional visit to Pondicherry (330 kms from Bangalore). As everybody else I am totally confused. I has settled for Estilo based on the reviews and after seeing the car. I felt that for that price I am getting a stylish wagonR. For some reason I felt that I should go for Maruti as my first car.
The car will be mostly driven by me (85%) but my wife will also drive it (15%). It will be driven mostly in City in the worst possible traffic scenario (90%) and only 10% on highways.
I want absolute peace of mind and will keep the car for more than 5 years. As every middle class family we are also obsessed with mileage and low cost of ownership but we wanted something bigger than the alto.
I am 5 feet 10 inches tall. I am planning to buy the car in cash and hence will not be able to strectch my budget by more than 20k (Don't want to take loan)quote]

As per your main requirements of space, comfort and maintenance, I would like to suggest the following cars.

WagonR : Go for it!
I am driving a WagonR since last 6 years and am extremely happy with it. It is a very practical car in terms of city driving and offers reasonable space at the front as well as back and also offers sufficient in the boot space for luggage etc. The driving position is good and it gives a nice commanding view over the road. In the last 6 years my only expenditure on my WagonR is around Rs. 6000 (for 2 new tyres and a battery), apart from the yearly service bills ranging from Rs. 500-1200. The current FE is 13-14 without AC and 12-13 with AC. I bought my WagonR VXI in 2001 at Rs. 4L and recently it was valued by Maruti's True Value at Rs. 1.85L.

Santro
Another good car with low maintenance and running cost.

Getz 1.1
A small car which is big from inside! Good comfort for the driver as well as the passengers. However, a bit low on FE.

Aveo UVA
Another nice car that fits into your budget. Offers great comfort and space. Comes with a 3 year/ 1 Lakh km warranty apart from the recent Chevy promise of low maintenance.

Before making any decision, you must TD all the cars you have short-listed and must compare them with each other in terms of your prioroties. All best!

[vivek_pinkoo]

For first timer I think only Japnees (Maruti) will fit the bill. No other Korean, European or American.

You should not do any R&D and go for ZEN with eye closed and buy the Estilo with your hard earned money if you like over all package (including looks).

I have run the Maruti for 100K in 6 years and no issue whats so ever. If you do regular service no one beat the Maruti as a practical choice.

[ashwin390]

Considering the fact that this is your first car, there is a good possibility that you will end up with dents and scratches on your car. So keep in mind that you may need to give your car for some additional work at your garage, and that you will not want to wait long for your spare parts.

With this in mind, i would recommend that you select between Hyundai and Maruti, since both these have good service support, and maintain good stocks of spares, so your car will get repaired quite fast in the unfortunate event of an incident.

Also, in order to minimize you "incidental" costs, it would be best if you go for a more entry level car. I would recommend the Santro, since i believe that of the lot, this has the lowest cost of spares, has a good fuel efficiency and being a Hyundai, will be low maintenance, and easily serviceable anywhere in India.

My two cents.....

[simonkayar]

Thanks everybody for all those good advices. My shortlist now is Estilo, Santro and WagonR. I want to eliminate either estilo or WagonR for finals, keeping the Santro.
Why are people freely suggesting WagonR while Estilo is a stylish WagonR. Shouldn't it be the case that people suggesting WagonR should actually be suggesting Estilo as it is less priced and with more features. I am not able to understand this.
Is there something else that I am missing in WagonR Vs Estilo dual. Is WagonR cheaper to maintain (?) or is better built (?).

So 1. Santro
2. WagonR or Estilo (depending on your advice)

I have left out Spark (*** is important for me and am doubtful of GM and Sundaram Motors in Bangalore)
Those who have suggested Getz, really sorry guys, but I want the top end model of any car I am buying and in the budget of 4.25-4.5, I think Getz lower end only will be available.

Waiting for your valuable feedback.... C'mon guys you are going to make somebody spend 4Lakhs of his hard earned money on something you suggest !!

[dr_aryan]

why dont you guys look out for chevy-uva. its one of the most comfortable drives i have driven. excellent suspensions,easy to drive.
i guess in your budget if you wish to keep the car for more than 5 years go for a premium hatchback like getz/uva/swift because you will have the feel of owning a big car. after 6 months if you go for a small car like estillo/santro/spark/wagon r you may regret that by just additional 20-30 k i could have gone for a bigger/better car! keep this in mind

[Venkatesh.C]

Sir, Like someone very rightly pointed out, you may in all probabilities end up with a few scratches and dents assuming you have an impeccable driving skills (that is to say.. the scratches and dents are gifts from other lunatics on the tarmac) you will end up being heartbroken.. with your first car and sentimental attachments will take a beating.
The rational approach will be to buy a used maruti 800, hone your skills and then go for a new car.
And when you do , go for a car like Getz,
It beats the competition by miles in terms of space (its wider than even accent and verna). Has loads of leg room and very comfortable to get in and out(your folks at home will love it), Hyundai is only next to Maruti in service.
Mileage and resale value may be small nigglers.but then the car makes a lot of sense.

If this is not in ur budget, go for a santro, you get almost everything for a good value and good resale value too. The car is a beauty for city drives with high torque at low rpm.
when i learnt driving, i bought a standard (companion) for 10k, learnt my driving and sold it for 12k. Then went on to my first new car .

not that I did ended up without any scratches on my santro, but it would have been worser had it been my first car

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by simonkayar

So 1. Santro
2. WagonR or Estilo (depending on your advice)

I have driven both Getz and Santro and Getz is a much better car compared to Santro. You should definitely have Getz on the list. It is not bumpy (Which I think Santro is, a little), has a lot of space, you can have 3 in the back without them getting to know each other very much. I seriously request you to consider Getz on the list.

Wagon R Vs. Estilo? Because Wagon R is a tested and tried, accepted vehicle and it has more space on the inside. However, I think seating 5 in a WagonR is again a bad idea.

You can have a look at the spare part prices of these cars, that would also give you a good idea about the long-term maintainence costs since all these cars approximately have the same FE.

U-VA is good, have driven it, but not too sure about the FE and maintainence part. Not reeeeaaalllly worth considering looking at your requirements.

[gopz]

I second rocksterraghu vbmenu_register("postmenu_560693", true); : Go in for Getz

[kumar2007]

Every one is suggesting new cars - for that budget the OP can get a bigger used car. He could take some help for buying and then his options would be much more.

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by kumar2007

Every one is suggesting new cars - for that budget the OP can get a bigger used car. He could take some help for buying and then his options would be much more.

I think big car (sedan) is not a very good idea for him, because:

1. He has not mentioned any major long drives (Only one, rest all in city). Boot space would not a big criterion in that case.
2. He is still learning to drive, so a big car means more difficulty in the city.
3. Except for a few, small cars are cheaper and easier to maintain (FE, initial cost, etc)
4. A new car is always preferable to a used one in a situation like his - where he wants to keep it for 5 years.

[kumar2007]

Originally Posted by rocksterraghu

I think big car (sedan) is not a very good idea for him, because:

1. He has not mentioned any major long drives (Only one, rest all in city). Boot space would not a big criterion in that case.
2. He is still learning to drive, so a big car means more difficulty in the city.
3. Except for a few, small cars are cheaper and easier to maintain (FE, initial cost, etc)
4. A new car is always preferable to a used one in a situation like his - where he wants to keep it for 5 years.

1. 4 adults and 1 kid? Much more comfy in a bigger car PLUS safer.
2. Once he learns how to drive it makes little difference with the size of the car.
3. Some of the bigger cars like a Baleno may not be that expensive to maintain.
4. A 1 year old car can certainly be kept for more than 5 years

[lamborghini]

Hey,
Since you have a big family and a growing child, i would advise the Getz 1.1.
The Estilo is a nice car but looks horrid, will have poor resale value due to low sales, cheap interiors and poor value for money.
The Santro would be a much better bet. It returns better FE than the Estilo, is simpler to drive and is much more powerful as well.
It also costs less and Hyundai service is quite good and so is their build quality.
I doubt the estilo would hold up as well as the Santro.
If you can stretch for the Getz, go for it.
It has good build quality, loads of space, decent interiors, good driveability.
However, the FE is a bit low and it is bigger than the Estilo/Santro.
I would advise taking a TD only after you get your license.

[dr_aryan]

for 1000km/month you should go for wagon r duo.
wagon r is tried and tested and with the company fitted lpg your running cost will be greatly reduced!