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Old 11th December 2008, 11:55   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rjvora_2000 View Post
I will vote for spark because A STAR is not available for minimum 3 to 6 months.

Source : - Navneet Motor's Thane - Mumbai.
In vitesse Worli, the commitment was 2-3 weeks if no finance is taken.
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Old 11th December 2008, 16:49   #17
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Originally Posted by straightdrive View Post
Ritz830, Now you have four in favour of the AStar, one for the Spark and one or two agreeing the Spark is good value. I know it can be confusing - I have been in your position.

My humble opinion - when you have two choices, both of which have plus points, just follow your heart and go for the one that appeals to you, without worrying too much about reasons. In this case, you can't go very wrong after all - one of them is an acknowledged value-for-money car and the other, even if it is still new, has the Maruti backing.

My impression from the tone of your messages is that you prefer the Spark. Am I right?
Yes Mr.drive. You are right, I am tilting towards spark. Its more fun to drive in city. I will be using spark as my second car for city commute only. A-star seems to be designed for more of a highway driving, with stiff steering wheel and reclining seats, & high mileage, combined with poor visibility to nearby objects. Driving the spark, I could see almost everything, judge my driving with great ease.

I am no way gonna drive for long hours. I will suggest A-star for people who are gonna take a long drive and in highways. But for city commute, the Spark rules.

And, I don thing there is any delay for A-star. You gottu ask different dealers, only few dealers don not have stock and cause delays, other than that its readily available. Let me give a hint, check with dealers who have Maruti true-value division combines, they are the guys who sell cars in large numbers and have a good stock

For instance in chennai, true- value dealers are
Popular vehicles ,anna nagar
ABT care, Mount road and Egmore

Both have A-star readily available.

Last edited by ritz830 : 11th December 2008 at 16:52.
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Old 11th December 2008, 17:07   #18
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http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchb...3-3-lakhs.html

Did you rule out the Palio or A-star, or buying two cars? Why two similar threads? after reading one thread, chanced upon this one, and was wondering what happened!
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Old 11th December 2008, 17:10   #19
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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR View Post
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchb...3-3-lakhs.html

Did you rule out the Palio or A-star, or buying two cars? Why two similar threads? after reading one thread, chanced upon this one, and was wondering what happened!
I ruled out the palio dude. Initially I had to choose between palio and spark. Then I decided on spark, coz I am gonna use this car mostly on city. Then A-star option was open too because it was a small car. Then again, spark looked more nimble and easy to get in and get out and pretty much nothing can beat it for a quick ride around the city. I literally felt like driving a bike. So I am choosing spark again

More explanation(unwanted crap):
Few months back I had major plans of purchasing the Fiat grande punto, then after big delays I had no other choice but settle with palio. Now finally, I have opted for spark and decided to wait till the G punto is released. I will buy that later.

Last edited by ritz830 : 11th December 2008 at 17:13.
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Old 11th December 2008, 17:21   #20
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Why is the Hyundai i10 not a part of your consideration set? You might have to pay slightly extra for it, but it is worth while.
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Old 11th December 2008, 17:31   #21
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Why is the Hyundai i10 not a part of your consideration set? You might have to pay slightly extra for it, but it is worth while.
and why not Zen estilo too?
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Old 11th December 2008, 17:40   #22
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Now this is going to leave the poor guy even more confused. In the said price range, one can look at the WagonR, Indica & quite a few sedans from the used car market
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Old 11th December 2008, 18:48   #23
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this one's a big time no-brainer.. A-star on account of better looks, features, economy, drive, interiors, instrument panel (not in the center :P)
go for it~!
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Old 11th December 2008, 21:22   #24
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Buy A-star only if you are going for the Zxi model.
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Old 11th December 2008, 22:22   #25
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no i10, no estillo.

I have test driven all. I will prefer spark for city. Nothing beats it. For occasional highway driving, I am going for some big SUV car later. Lots of new cars coming next year
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Old 12th December 2008, 00:09   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ritz830 View Post
I am no way gonna drive for long hours. I will suggest A-star for people who are gonna take a long drive and in highways. But for city commute, the Spark rules.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ritz830 View Post
I ruled out the palio dude. Initially I had to choose between palio and spark. Then I decided on spark, coz I am gonna use this car mostly on city. Then A-star option was open too because it was a small car. Then again, spark looked more nimble and easy to get in and get out and pretty much nothing can beat it for a quick ride around the city. I literally felt like driving a bike. So I am choosing spark again

More explanation(unwanted crap):
Few months back I had major plans of purchasing the Fiat grande punto, then after big delays I had no other choice but settle with palio. Now finally, I have opted for spark and decided to wait till the G punto is released. I will buy that later.
A Star can be your second car and the Grande Punto your highway crusier. What was the OTR price they gave you for the Punto and any waiting period?
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Old 12th December 2008, 09:00   #27
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actually , the spark is much better than the other small car alternatives ( except possibly the indica) on the highway too
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Old 12th December 2008, 09:11   #28
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A Star can be your second car and the Grande Punto your highway crusier. What was the OTR price they gave you for the Punto and any waiting period?
Well, you would know that G punto hasnt been released. It might cost around 6 - 7 lakhs OTR.

The other car I am waiting for is the Toyota prius. That may cost 13 lakhs.
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Old 12th December 2008, 16:57   #29
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Originally Posted by ritz830 View Post
no i10, no estillo.

I have test driven all. I will prefer spark for city. Nothing beats it. For occasional highway driving, I am going for some big SUV car later. Lots of new cars coming next year
Hey ritz830,
I have a small disagreement with your opinion. I don't know what speed you would normally drive at on the highway, but I just (the day before) got back from a trip to Pondy from Bangalore. Went via a state highway after travelling around 100 odd Kms on the Bangalore - Chennai expressway and returned via Kanchipuram with around 90kms on state highway and 280kms on the Chennai - Bangalore expressway (for Bangalore/Chennai people).

The going was pretty awful after the expressway, with ruts, potholes and washed away road leaving stretches of truly terrible surface. Bad idea, but the good news is that the car hasn't developed a single squeak. Coming back was much better, with the state higway surface being pretty good. I maintained 110 on the return expressway bit with ease, and the car willing to go faster. The average my Spark returned for the entire trip (90% AC, including around 85kms of town driving in Pondicherry and around 40 kms of town driving in Bangalore while leaving and returning) was 18kmpl (rounded to the lowest whole). I think that is pretty good.

I never once felt that the car was not in my control. I especially like the thick, smallish steering wheel (big change from the Marutis I've been used to earlier).

My point being that I agree that the Spark is a wonderful city car, but I disagree that it is not a capable higway performer. Don't expect to zip past other cars while overtaking, though. And in hind sight I probably should have put in the extra for ABS. I wanted it, but didn't cos it is part of the option pack and all together would have taken the car out of my budget. Brakes need a good progressive shove to stop in emergencies. But now that we've completed 5500kms in the Spark, I have no doubt about it being an excellent buy, and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who asks!
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Old 12th December 2008, 17:20   #30
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Originally Posted by greenhorn View Post
actually , the spark is much better than the other small car alternatives ( except possibly the indica) on the highway too
I wouldn't really consider the Santro, because it does rock too much over undulations and bad roads. Quite an old model too. The A* has a fantastic engine. A real driver's car (or small car). Front seats are superb, with the seating position and comfort levels way beyond what one normally expects from a Maruti. It should also be pretty frugal. I think the A* is a good buy for a newly married couple at most; makes sense for people who rarely expect company or to carry much luggage in the car. It has add-ons for rear seats and the tiniest boot ever!

I think the Spark is a great overall package. Forget about comments that the car has brought down the company. It has more to do with the fuel guzzling models which are not selling well due to high fuel prices and the recession in the US that are the cause of GMs current woes.

Decide your car on what you need and the merits of each model, and then go for it. All the best!
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