I am in a dilemma here. Ritz Zxi vs i10 Asta.
Let me first list out my requirements from the car.
- This is my first car and will be used only by me and my wife 95% of the time.
- This car will be my weekend trips companion as I will use my bike for city commute. So 95% of the time it will be on highways (though this may change after couple of years).
- My monthly usage will never exceed 700KMs.
- I plan to keep the car for at least 5 years as I can't afford switching cars every 3-4 years. Hence, build quality matters lot to me, I don't want to hear rattles after say 2-3 years of usage.
- Resale doesn't really matter as I may never sell the car.
- I don't want to compromise on FE, I should get around 17-18 KMPL on highways and I'd be happy.
- Safety features are must. No compromise on that front. Hence Zxi vs Asta ONLY.
I have test driven both the cars and found that i10 was easier to drive compared to Ritz (I am a novice driver with very few - read negligible - experience of driving in India.). Ritz felt heavier to me compared to i10. i10 was just boon to drive and I was happy with the power. The gearshift in Ritz was short but hard compared to i10. Because Ritz is wider at it's base, it was difficult to judge the space required for the car in traffic (not a big deal I think). I was a bit nervous when driving the Ritz that I don't want to hit something and damage the car. The moment I floored the pedal of i10, it gave me some good confidence and within moments I felt comfortable driving the car (that never happened with Ritz).
Overall visibility from inside the car was much better in i10 compared to Ritz. Rear windscreen of i10 is much better. I had test driven both the cars in rainy weather, i10's wipers did a much better job than that of Ritz's. Though the steering felt a bit light at high speeds, I think upgrading to better/wider rubber should help here.
If we compare both the cars from features point of view, Ritz takes the cake. It has 14" tyres + alloys, seat height adjustment, steering mounted audio controls, 60:40 split rear seats, not present in i10 Asta. Whereas dealers are giving discounts worth 26K (without asking, I think I can negotiate more) for i10 Asta. This covers for the cost of better tyres and alloys. Seat height adjustment and steering mounted controls are something I can live without (but I find 60:40 split seats very usable). I could easily find a comfortable position in i10 and never felt the need for height adjustment.
Now comes the FE part, here I feel Ritz is ahead of i10. Though there are i10 owners who have reported 18+ FE figures, they are rare to find. Ritz owners have reported consistent good FE figures.
My wife was just amazed at the interiors of i10 and she was like WOW at the exterior paint job of i10. Exteriors and interiors of the Ritz didn't excite her at all (I am not really going after looks, but it matters for her). When we were in Maruti showroom, we were confused about which color was best looking on Ritz as no color looked really good except Black and Red. We were confused in the Hyundai showroom too, but in a positive way. All the colors looks so good that it's difficult to decide which color to go for. I just hate the instrument cluster of Ritz, it looks like that of a toy car. I would prefer analog gauges for fuel level and temperature.
Dealer experience was also in favor of Hyundai. We have been to Sagar and Bimal for Maruti and Advaith for Hyundai. In Maruti showroom, nobody was interested in selling the car to us (Bimal was much better than Sagar though). We felt like king in Hyundai showroom. We were attended by a knowledgeable guy who explained every bit of the car whereas the Maruti guy didn't know most of the things about the car. He kept making false claims about FE (was claiming 18+ in Bangalore City). The Hyundai guy was honest in accepting that FE is not as good as Maruti's KB12 engine, but isn't that bad to rule out the car. One more thing going against Ritz is the waiting period. I have been quoted 1.5 months to 3 months for the Ritz Zxi version. i10 will be available in 15 days from booking date.
So now this is a head vs heart decision. Head says Ritz but heart wants i10. It's the build quality of Hyundai and fit and finish of the interiors that is tilting the decision towards i10.
I have these questions for i10 -
- I plan to upgrade the tyres to 185/60/R14 with alloys. Will this affect the FE too much?
- How are the maintenance costs of Hyundai vehicles in long run? By maintenance cost, I mean spare parts and service costs. Will it be really expensive to maintain in long run?
- I felt that Hyundai should come out with a facelift for i10 and fill the gaps in features. Even Hyundai sales guy didn't had any answers when I countered him for features in Ritz. Is there such a facelift planned for i10? I can wait till Feb, not more than that.
Are there any other factors need to be considered before I go ahead with the booking of i10? Please help.