[Torque123]

First Priority - The best would be to wait for Grande Punto. It is going to be launched in a few months and am sure it wil be better than swift (petrol or diesel) anyday.

I think for your height i10 or spark will be too small a car. Still you can test drive it and if you feel comfortable go for one among them. If you want to go in for a diesel then Getz Diesel is the one for you.It is way ahead in terms of space, comfort and power compared to its competetors. A.S.S of Hyundai is also good enough.

Fabia is over priced so a no no from my end. If you are looking at VFM then Dzire would fulfill your requirements. Why not have the same car with a boot if VFM is the priority.


All the best and keep us posted.

[Jaggu]

What are your priorities with the small car buy? List them please.

[redfire]

Many people stats that Swift Diesel is fun to drive than petrol? Hope this is a personal opnion than a general one. Is it related to torque? Coz I felt it otherwise. There are lots of people who love a bit torqy engine which moves in low revs but ends the fun soon, while there are few people left who loves the redlining engine where the fun begins(strictly personal again). Let the candidate TD and decide. Anyway would like to see the answer from M2S for Jaggu's question, regarding the prioroties.

[diabloo]

Agreed, every car has few -ves. But when it is one too many? I am frightened by the issues with Swift. I would rather buy an Alto (Alto owners have reported fewer issues). Swift can do 0~100 in 12s. But I would rather have troublefree car.

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Oh Common Diabloo !! Every car has its -ve's . There are few problems that are there in the Swift. But the good thing is the positives overshadow the negatives. Its surely value for money. Ok Diabloo please list the VFM cars
in that range ! Lets see your views!!!!

[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Agreed, every car has few -ves. But when it is one too many? I am frightened by the issues with Swift. I would rather buy an Alto (Alto owners have reported fewer issues). Swift can do 0~100 in 12s. But I would rather have troublefree car.

The Swift is definitely a trouble car. Rather, all cars nowadays are trouble free. Its only a few niggling issues which are inconsistent are being reported. Some are being blown out of proportions. I have owned a Swift for more than a year now and I cannot be wrong.

[redfire]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

The Swift is definitely a trouble car. Rather, all cars nowadays are trouble free.

@ bp - Did you mean "trouble car" or "trouble free" car? By reading your whole post, it is bit confusing to understand this statement.

[rider60]

well i think swift also sells so well because its a very good upgrade to people moving upwards indicas,santros, wagonRs,altos,M800s, and other such small cars.

its a 1.3L engine and its got the Maruthi Suzuki badge, we all know what that means and its only car in a segment of its own at that price. so it sells. Just like the INDICA DIESEL has no competition i dont think swift has one at price.

any opinions?
PS: this is purely my opinion and means no offense to any one what so ever.

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by diabloo

I would rather buy an Alto (Alto owners have reported fewer issues). Swift can do 0~100 in 12s. But I would rather have troublefree car.

Agreed that you would rather get a trouble free car. But if a person is upgrading from Alto, WagonR to B+ segment ( Swift , Getz etc.) then he has to choose between these two. Most of them would opt for the Swift. I think the issues are blown outta proportion. My rattles issue has been cleared . I only dislike the build quality of my car.

[married2speed]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

What are your priorities with the small car buy? List them please.

Hi
Thank you all for your all the support. Although, the choice is much much much more confusing now, I am loving this to the bit as your opinion would help me narrow down on that "almost perfect" car.

"expectations" from the car in order of preference are
1. Safety --> Airbag+ABS+EBD a MUST. EPS optional, although preferred.
2. Re-sale --> Should have a good re-sale as I'm a firm believer of changing cars within the 3-5 year span.
3. Good FE with low maintainace --> After every 5K of running, I have to shell out approx 5K for my NHC service. The break-up is around 2K for oil change and service charge plus a buffer of 3K for any part that might be required to change. So, i'm looking to maintain this if not lower. Under no circumstances should the service cost be any higher than the 5K mark. FE is around 12-14 with A/c
4. Trouble free car + Good A.S.S --> Would not want to purchase a junk of trouble coupled with bad A.S.S. The rattles I can live with if they are not too loud & can be rectified but If they are there from Day 1, then no point goin in for that car.

The least is the price but has to be under the 6 mark on road.

From the discussions goin, the i10 seems to be a good technical car and Hyundai does offer good A.S.S as well(my dad's santro would confirm) but haven't seen many of them on the road. Any particular reason for this or just a matter of taste? Also, any ideas how much of a wait period is for the i20?

The getz is a good car, no doubt but i guess just feels a bit outdated, so might not offer a good re-sale plus perhaps a tad expensive to maintain as well.

I'm contemplating the Honda Jazz as well, but not sure if it would be worth the wait? As for the Alto, that's a strict no no as the safety features are found lacking in that car plus the re-sale would take a hit 5 years from now with so many new cars on the block.

Fabia... ummnn... read it somewhere on the forum that it's overpriced, underpowered and the bookings were stopped. Something to do with giriraj motors.

Spark - hmmm, not sure that if I like the look of it. Having said that, I have no clue of what lies beneath the hood but honestly speaking, chevy cars havent' really kicked off.

Grande Punto - That is an eye opener. Let me google on this and I'll come back if I have some questions
Cheers!
M2S

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Agreed that you would rather get a trouble free car. But if a person is upgrading from Alto, WagonR to B+ segment ( Swift , Getz etc.) then he has to choose between these two. Most of them would opt for the Swift. I think the issues are blown outta proportion. My rattles issue has been cleared . I only dislike the build quality of my car.

I moved from Alto to swift.
My primary considerations were, I should not be spending lot more than what I used to spend on fuel for Alto. So I preferred diesel.
Build quality certainly is not great. Thats why I didn't go for dzire, since according to me(personal opinion though) is I can accept frugality in hatch back, but not sedan.
Rattles, can be handled easily. Now I guess most Maruti dealers/A.S.S knows how to fix it.
When I went for first service, when I said I hear some rattling sound, promptly the mechanic went for a test drive, with music off, all windows up, and pointed me to sounds, and then the supervisor told, "add some padding".
That is fixed instantly.

Disadvantages I see mostly is visibility.
I am used to clear rear view in Alto, and that caused some hindrance once I moved to Swift. Even while reversing, I used to turn back, and look through my rear windscreen. with swift, with same approach, I hit two corners
Thats because this rear view cuts the edges out.

[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

The Swift is definitely a trouble car.

Originally Posted by redfire

@ bp - Did you mean "trouble car" or "trouble free" car?

Extremely sorry to create this confusion. I meant that its a "trouble free" car.

[architect]

I will try to answer your original question: Is the Swift the best car in it's segment?

Different people look for different things in cars. But, I would say that in today's scenario, the Swift, particularly the Swift ZXI, is the best car in it's segment. As a package, it has a decent bit of everything, power, reasonable FE, safety, handling, A.S.S., novelty value etc.

Being an enthusiast and, perhaps, a discerning buyer, I had decided on the Swift Zxi about six months ago. Then, I calculated my loan instalments, my down payment and the fact that I was doing a combined kilometreage of 1500+ every month on my Pulsar and my sister's Alto. At the end of it, it made the balance sheet look horribly wrong. Hence the Palio MJD. And you are so fed up of Fiat it seems (maybe the memory of the pushing is stronger than that of the first date, or did the Fiat Service made you miss a lot of them? ), that this car doesn't even figure in your list.

[punterccrx8s]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Oh Common Diabloo !! Every car has its -ve's . There are few problems that are there in the Swift. But the good thing is the positives overshadow the negatives. Its surely value for money. Ok Diabloo please list the VFM cars
in that range ! Lets see your views!!!!

I got a swift vxi about 5 months ago.i got to say mine doesnt have any problems other than build quality.But i got to say, Swift is the best in the segment other than getz crdi.But as one member said,getz might be axed.So i recommend you stay away from it.And anyway not many people will choose getz over a swift.Buy swift and you wont regret anything.SWIFT is SWIFT

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by married2speed

From the discussions goin, the i10 seems to be a good technical car and Hyundai does offer good A.S.S as well(my dad's santro would confirm) but haven't seen many of them on the road. Any particular reason for this or just a matter of taste? Also, any ideas how much of a wait period is for the i20?

I don't believe dates for i20 are out yet. There are various speculations but I doubt if it will be released anytime soon. Regarding i10 sales, they are selling like hot cakes. Within months of its launch, it is selling more than 9k a month. Its just a matter of a few months when you will see them everywhere.

Spark - hmmm, not sure that if I like the look of it. Having said that, I have no clue of what lies beneath the hood but honestly speaking, chevy cars havent' really kicked off.

Spark is a great car to drive but interiors aren't half as good as i10.

[diabloo]

i20 will debut in October this year: Hyundai to roll out three new i-series cars

Originally Posted by hondadude

I don't believe dates for i20 are out yet. There are various speculations but I doubt if it will be released anytime soon.