[jackgreat]

Hello Everyone,

I am planning to buy a small car (hatchback) and my budget goes upto 5.5 lakh.

I already have 2 sedans and I need a small one. The I may sell off one of my sedan. I live in New Delhi and need a car primarily for city driving. My driving in city also is not high as my office is located closer to home.

Among the cars that are on road right now, I narrowed down my choice to i20, Ritz or Swift. I was waiting for Honda Jazz but the price tag of 7 L (ex-showroom) is too high.

Among the three vehicles what would you guy recommend ? I am looking for a safe, comfortable and a good looking vehicle. The I20 is new, Ritz as well but I dunno how it is, swift is good but its been around for a while now.

Any advice as to what should I go for ?

Thanks,

Cheers,
Jack

[cherishk]

I would suggest you to check out Grande Punto. Its releasing today and its within your budget. Check out the activity going on in this thread.

[Parm]

i20 holds the best value for money package!

check out the service centre conditions of hyundai, maruti and TATA/FIAT and see which has the highest CSI (customer satisfaction index).

we go to a showroom just once to buy the car, but have to visit service centres again and again for servicing the car!

hyundai has the higher CSI than maruti/tata/fiat!

[adithyav]

Would you be needing A/T for the city or are you ok with M/T? Because the Ritz doesn't have an A/T option and it is probably the first car that you will be dropping from this list. The Swift is fun to drive and shares its platform with the Ritz but is so popular that you'll be one among the crowd. Is image important to you?

Check out the Grand Punto as well, based on the papers today the base price is just under 5L. But I agree with Parm above, A Hyundai would be a better bet than these considering their build quality and A.S.S. . So my vote goes for the i20, a tad underpowered but loaded with features and is the most comfortable of the lot.

Any reasons why you didn't consider the Indica Vista?

[gaurav_chopra04]

I would say add Fiat Grande Punto to the list.. its new, its well prices and looks awesome. However, I have seen my cousin burn his hands from Fiat's awefull after sales service when he bought a new palio. Although the collaboration with Fiat has helped the company to improve their services.. we still need to wait and see how good it is, since both Linea and Punto are new to the market.

But if I was to choose between the three you listed... I would say Swift Zxi. Although, its a fact that every other car you see on the road these days is a swift, its because its a good VFM car. I have driven both I20 and swift… i20 is very underpowered car according to its weight. The swift is a much better car in terms of drive. However, the i20 looks very contemporary, very good looking and the interiors are better compared to the swift, leg room is more, its slightly bigger as well, but still its not VFM. In swift Zxi, you get climate control, airbags, ABS, alloys, better tyres, steering mounted controls and a few more goodies… for 5.5lacs. However in the lowest model of i20 which is for 5.25, one don’t get these features.

Rits.. I felt swift is anyday better..

So either wait a bit to get more detailed reviews of Grande Punto or go for swift.

[AirWind]

I suggest you pick an AT variant to keep you comfortable in the city - only choice now is the i10, while the i20 should follow soon.

[pedrolourenco]

I would say blindly go for the Punto. The Swift is now quite dated, Ritz looks yuck and the i20 is underpowered.

[shuvadips]

GP would have problems wiht it A.S.S., cannot trust the Tata guys so much. Otherwise GP is the best amond all the other 4.
Ritz have a yukk look especially from the back but have a very good engine and is infact more spacious that Swift.
Swift is the most common car you see these days, its actually too common to buy now.
i20 is the the best in looks with all accesories but power is just adequate.

I vote for either Grand Punto or i20.

Did you try the Getz CRDi, its now about 5.6L on road now, with amazing engine and good space. but since your driving is less, not sure if this car is good for you.

[muralisk]

Definitely not Ritz. It really looks wired, not sure what were they thinking while shaping the car. Punto should be a great choice as it is one of the best selling cars in Europe and did get Fiat back into black.

[Rotorhead]

Now with getz all powerful CRDi dropping the price and the new stud from fiat, the punto being launched, i think you have more choices before you can finalize on your car. If you are not keen on these then between the cars you have mentioned, i think i would prefer i20 for its fresh looks, good interiors and fresh design, but one might find it a little underpowered. If you really want a good performing and proven car then swift would be the way to go.

[h@r$h@l]

Hello All,

My question is similar to the one going on here. We are looking at buying a hatch. Currently have a Cedia, Wagon R & M800. Planning to sell M800 and upgrade. Need a car that can do short distance Highway trips. Dont trust Wagon R on highways above certain speeds. Average running is about 1200 kms per month. 700 in city and 500 on highway.

I have narrowed it down to SWIFT OR i20 OR FIAT GP.

Also I have a doubt weather to go for petrol or diesel with a running of 1200 kms a month? Is diesel expensive to maintain in long run? As this car will stay with me for atleast next 5 years. Can be more but surely not less. Dad insisting on Swift as he trusts Maruti more then other brands as you can see 2 of my 3 cars are Maruti vehicles.

Awaiting some feedback.

Thanks to all in advance.

[phamilyman]

I would say keep your old sedan. Why lose resale etc when you can manage for as long as you can

[Parm]

swift has a small boot and the rear seating is conjusted and cramped and ofcourse its outdated!

Ritz petrol has the most techinically advanced engine in the whole maruti family!

i20 is NOT underpowered by 1.2 ltr engine, infact i10 is over powered by 1.2 ltr engine. as you said you need it for city driving, so the 1.2 ltr i20 is enough for it. i20 offers the comfort of a sedan in terms of seating 5 and a big boot.

for city driving you dont need a diesel unless you running a taxi!

forget punto as you will go mad and sell it after going to the TATA/FIAT service centers! trust me on this one!

service of hyundai and maruti is much better.

[phamilyman]

Parm,

I don't think the Fiat-logic applies that much anymore. The network is less, which rules it out for road warriors who tour bigtime. But the vehicle is superb, and comes with a lovely service interval.

Coming from a JEEPer (esp your signature ), that is an interesting logic.

Like GTO said, you buy Punto because you love it - and no other reason!

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Parm

Ritz petrol has the most techinically advanced engine in the whole maruti family!

i20 is NOT underpowered by 1.2 ltr engine, infact i10 is over powered by 1.2 ltr engine.

forget punto as you will go mad and sell it after going to the TATA/FIAT service centers! trust me on this one!
service of hyundai and maruti is much better.

-The Ritz engine is new, but is is good? We'll have to wait and see. Remember the A-Star was also supposed to have a good engine. Why is not selling like hot cakes. Even if the Ritz engine is good, the car looks yuck.

-The i10 1.2 is far from overpowered.

-TATA-FIAT service is not very good but remember Maruti and Hyundai are soon catching up with them. Read some horror stories in this forum itself.