Team-BHP - YAWCT - Yet another what car thread! (Safe sporty hatchback <5.25L)

Posting on behalf of a friend, whose writing skills sadly belie his automotive experience :)

My friend is looking for a car in the range 4.5-5.25L. He is a keeper (11 year old Zen still with him!).

What he wants:

Handling
decent power for city
about 1000-1500 kms per month
NO specific requirement for brand
really looking for driving pleasure - sporty side preffered.
would really like to have ABS and Air bag

His options:

i10 Asta - i think the extra investment over the sportz version for air bags and ABS is needed.
Swift VXi - I have seen ABS stickers on some of them - is it optional?
Fiat Grande Punto (petrols preferred - breaeven mileage for diesel? 1.2 ltr petrol any good? )- have driven one in videsh - liked it. though still to look at the options and price ityadi.
Skoda Fabia - petrol - they are offering discounts and even base version (as per website) is having ABS and airbags. Pus the adverts say the prices start at 5 lakhs or so.
Lowest on the list but looks like value for money - Chevy U-VA specially after beige interiors came in. though i think will have to sell it in exchange for a new cellphone when selling! Re-sale is bad for chevies.

Though he could wait for VW polo but looks like it would be expensive and outside the budget.

My recommendation to him is to go in for an i10 asta :D What do y'all say.

Just for reference - this boy is used to cruising all day at 100+, and has owned a ZX7R in the States before coming back to India!

Yahoo!

The Swift does come with an ABS option. I guess it might topple his budget though. Great car though!

The Punto probably has the best handling of the lot. The 1.4 doesn't run cheap on power at higher revs. Lower revs at 2-3 gears are a nightmare and need you to adapt your driving style their way. Never driven the 1.2, but reports suggest it isn't much of a stonker.

Skoda...? Really? ;)

i10- Does it fall in his budget? Anything w/o ABS just isn't safe enough IMHO. I don't think its very confidence inspiring in triple digits. Might be wrong.

After having Palio 1.6 and Zen at home and still driving, owning Palio 1.6 now in the year 2009 fag end is too much to expect out of the car, considering that you mentioned your friend is a keeper for long time to come. Our Palio though is the SP model with ABS and one airbag, which is not even an option now, so out of contention at least to me. The best I can think of for a sporty drive now is the top model of Punto 1.4 if it falls in the affordable range (after stretching the budget you have mentioned though). Otherwise, its Swift Vxi ABS eyes closed. Hyundai has terrific engine, but doesn't match Punto and Swift for all other driving characteristics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 1558634)

My friend is looking for a car in the range 4.5-5.25L. He is a keeper (11 year old Zen still with him!).

Lowest on the list but looks like value for money - Chevy U-VA specially after beige interiors came in. though i think will have to sell it in exchange for a new cellphone when selling! Re-sale is bad for chevies. Though he could wait for VW polo but looks like it would be expensive and outside the budget.

After 11 years any car would command that sort of an exchange value.

The U-VA LT should fit in the 4.5-5.25L budget and I got a proof of its capability, comfort level and fuel economy (LS version) during my recent (26Sep-01Oct) GGN-Srinagar-Amritsar-GGN trip. The LT should be better considering the enhanced level of creature comfort and larger and wider tyres.

After driving the Zen, your friend will never be happy with the Punto 1.2 and the 1.4 will be way off his budget. I think the best bet is the Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi. It has great power (85 BHP), excellent torque (113 Nm), handles like a dream, and the ZXi has Dual Front Airbags as well as ABS with EBD. And to top it all it comes with Alloys, 185/70 tyres, Climate Control, Steering Mounted Audio Controls, all 5 door central locking and other frills. If he can wait a little, the K series engined Swift is just around the corner.

This is the only car in his budget that will keep him happy for a long time.

The running being over 1000 kms monthly, I'd say, go with the Swift VDi (with ABS) option. Heck of an engine. Should come close to 5.5/5.7 OTR.
Later, upsize, add better rubber and then 'Pete' it.
That'll make it sporty + reliable + economical.

You may get a Fabia version with Airbags (Active) but wont get a Skoda with ABS (Ambiante) at less than 5.25 OTR. Its more like 6 for the 1.2 MPI.
I wouldnt say the Fabia is a very sporty car. It is far more elegant/classy however.

UVa wasnt very inspiring IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 1559009)

Sporty hatchback? Swift and Palio 1.6. He'd get killer deals on the Palio 1.6. May also be worth his time to hunt for left-over Getz CRDi's. Can't beat that stonker of a diesel!

yes i do agree and missed getz D, stonker of a diesel plant and ride as well.He might be able to fetch one if left out at dealer or at hyundai plant.

As you mentioned, he is a keeper and I guess he would like to keep the new car for at-least 5 years. In that case it would be better to avoid the Palio and Getz, both of which will soon be discontinued or have been discontinued. Even though these are excellent performance cars, they will be more difficult and expensive to maintain than say an i10 or a Swift, once they are phased out. Keep this in mind when you are looking at attractive deals on older models.

My preference would be:
1. i10 Asta - the car feels fun to drive around in the city, economical in the long run & fits well within his budget along with the safety features
2. swift vxi - ageless beauty, drive is still exciting even after all these years of its launch

Since you mentioned he's probably going to keep the car for a long period of time, *** by Maruti & Hyundai are tried and tested.

Please stay away from Palio1.6, Getz or the like as *** will turn into a real pain after a while