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Old 19th January 2010, 17:37   #1
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Which LPG car under 4lakhs?

Hi All,

My brother wish to buy a LPG car with a maximum budget of 4lakhs OTR (Bangalore). From the initial research, we found following fits our budget:

1. Chevrolet Spark 1.0 LS LPG [995cc]
2. Maruti Suzuki Wagon R Duo LXi LPG [1061cc]
3. Hyundai Santro Xing GL LPG [1086cc]
4. Tata Indica V2 Xeta 1.2 GLS LPG [1193cc]
5. Any more?

May I request your help in deciding the best from above list, by considering low running cost (fuel/maintenance), reliability etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.
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Old 20th January 2010, 11:12   #2
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Go for Spark.
Decent looks(except the back), good mileage etc
It fits all your criteria.
Remember it also comes with 3 year free maintenance package.
But the only problem would be, not many dealers(only 2 ?? Sundaram , Kropex) in Bangalore for service.
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Old 20th January 2010, 11:32   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sushrutha View Post
Go for Spark.
Decent looks(except the back), good mileage etc
It fits all your criteria.
Remember it also comes with 3 year free maintenance package.
But the only problem would be, not many dealers(only 2 ?? Sundaram , Kropex) in Bangalore for service.
Thanks for your advice. How about the visibility? Will a 5.3ft person be able to drive Spark around in city without trouble?

We have 4 service centers in Bangalore (Sundaram, Frontline & Kropex):

Sundaram Motors
Service Center, 107 Kasturba Road, Bangalore, 560001.
Phone: 080-22210327-337 / 22129631-632. Email: sundaram2.service@gmidealer.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sundaram Motors
Service Center, 19/A,4th M Block, Rajajinagar, Bangalore, 560010. Phone: 080-23115000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frontline Automobiles
Service Center, # 36/2 - A, Pattangere Main Road, Next to R.R. Nagar RTO , Mysore Road, Bangalore, 560059.
Phone: 080-28603884/ 28605550 /9743249170. Email: frontline2.service@gmidealer.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kropex India Ltd
Service Center, 49/1 Singasandara, Hosur Main Road, Bangalore, 560068.
Phone: 080-43574357 / 9663388832 / 9663388833. Email: kropex.service@gmidealer.com

Last edited by wmanu : 20th January 2010 at 11:35.
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Old 20th January 2010, 11:42   #4
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How about taking up a test drive and judge for convenience yourself rather than relying on others experience. This way you'll be able to take better decision.
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Old 20th January 2010, 11:50   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ashthedivx View Post
How about taking up a test drive and judge for convenience yourself rather than relying on others experience. This way you'll be able to take better decision.
Of course, test drive will be taken on all four models before making the final decision. But it is always worth considering an expert opinion, isn’t it? That’s why we have this forum, right?
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Old 20th January 2010, 11:55   #6
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Yes, pls do a TD to get the look & feel. There's no substitute to it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wmanu View Post
1. Chevrolet Spark 1.0 LS LPG [995cc]
2. Maruti Suzuki Wagon R Duo LXi LPG [1061cc]
3. Hyundai Santro Xing GL LPG [1086cc]
4. Tata Indica V2 Xeta 1.2 GLS LPG [1193cc]
5. Any more?
In my opinion, WagonR's, Santro's are proven & seen lots on the road. To try something different, Spark would be a good choice.
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Old 22nd January 2010, 12:23   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wmanu View Post
Thanks for your advice. How about the visibility? Will a 5.3ft person be able to drive Spark around in city without trouble?
Visibility is really good in Spark. AFAIK it has to be one of the best. Window glass is also quite deep, and the design of the glass adds more to visibility.
Also remember speedo console has been centerally mounted.

5.3ft person will be able to drive Spark with very much ease.
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Old 22nd January 2010, 12:54   #8
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For LPG - of your list, pick any that you like from the first 3 choices.
There's not much of a significant difference in terms of running cost, maintenance, relaibility etc.

Santro and Wagon are tall-boys and are a proven / well sold lot. They'd offer a tad better resale if it matters.

Sparky looks better than the other two. I'd just ignore the Indica LPG - dont know why

On a separate note, why LPG?
Why not think about the cheapest Diesel option (Swift/Ritz/Punto) ? LDi variants. Sure, it'll be a little over 4L OTR.

But it will be a better car overall, long term.

I mean it offers more 'full tank distance range' than the LPG kits. Matters on highway drives.
More options of 'refuel bunks' in the city.
More 'safety'.
As economical as the LPG/CNG.
More luggage space.
Proven reliability long time / longer mileage (ODO kms).

Last edited by jigbarai : 22nd January 2010 at 12:58.
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Old 22nd January 2010, 13:03   #9
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My cousin is having a Santro LPG bought last year. He always complains about the mileage. He is always getting less than 10KMPL. Tried to explain this to service center n number of times but no improvement in the mileage.

The funniest advice they gave once is to look for the tyre pressue everytime.

But with WagonR the story is different. My uncle is using this from past 3 yrs without any prob. He infact travels between Pune and Hyderabad with his family in this car only.
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Old 22nd January 2010, 13:48   #10
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For low running cost, why dont you consider CNG instead of LPG ?
It is really cheaper in running and also safer than LPG.
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Old 22nd January 2010, 13:59   #11
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I think WagonR LPG is a safe, proven and tested vehicle on roads. Besides, Maruti A.S.S. is the most widespread. And not to forget the usable boot space even with the LPG tank is quite decent.

However from what i gather Spark will be slightly more fuel efficient than WR and Santro.

Last edited by DCEite : 22nd January 2010 at 14:01.
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Old 22nd January 2010, 18:14   #12
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Wow, what a response! First of all thanks a million for your time and suggestions.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sushrutha View Post
Visibility is really good in Spark. AFAIK it has to be one of the best. Window glass is also quite deep, and the design of the glass adds more to visibility.
Also remember speedo console has been centerally mounted.

5.3ft person will be able to drive Spark with very much ease.
Thank you. That is an added advantage to Spark.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jigbarai View Post
For LPG - of your list, pick any that you like from the first 3 choices.
...
I mean it offers more 'full tank distance range' than the LPG kits. Matters on highway drives.
More options of 'refuel bunks' in the city.
More 'safety'.
As economical as the LPG/CNG.
More luggage space.
Proven reliability long time / longer mileage (ODO kms).
Thank you. Yes, we did consider the entry level diesels initially but later on dropped the idea. Because my brother's wife is a beginner in driving and she plans to drive/experience driving in this vehicle. I head clutch in diesel vehicles will damage sooner if we do not drive properly. Am I correct in this take?


Quote:
Originally Posted by rnidumolu View Post
My cousin is having a Santro LPG bought last year. He always complains about the mileage. He is always getting less than 10KMPL. Tried to explain this to service center n number of times but no improvement in the mileage.

The funniest advice they gave once is to look for the tyre pressue everytime.

But with WagonR the story is different. My uncle is using this from past 3 yrs without any prob. He infact travels between Pune and Hyderabad with his family in this car only.
Thank you. Yes, I think I should avoid Santro.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cool.aquarian View Post
For low running cost, why dont you consider CNG instead of LPG ?
It is really cheaper in running and also safer than LPG.
Sorry, I haven't seen CNG's in and around Bangalore. Are they available in Bangalore?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DCEite View Post
I think WagonR LPG is a safe, proven and tested vehicle on roads. Besides, Maruti A.S.S. is the most widespread. And not to forget the usable boot space even with the LPG tank is quite decent.

However from what i gather Spark will be slightly more fuel efficient than WR and Santro.
Yes, I think we can short-list WagonR and Spark from the above list.

Well done everyone, we narrowed down the list from 4 to 2. Now I need to take the test and see, what is the best among these two.
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Old 22nd January 2010, 18:29   #13
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I'd say go the LPG route only if the car is for mostly city runs. Otherwise I would buy a diesel.
Futher discussion on the topic here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-electric.html
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Old 23rd January 2010, 01:27   #14
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Wagon R would be the safest bet. IMO Spark's FE would be lower as compared to Wagon R.
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Old 23rd January 2010, 12:15   #15
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There have been issues with wagonr duo. Do a through research before you decided on it. There a few threads on tbhp/carwale regarding this, do check up.
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