[humyum]

Go for the Swift Diesel Mate, you want to do spirited drives and the turbo kick + the handling in the swift is to die for. I own one and have driven 18500 kilometers in the 9 months that I was in India after I got it, have taken it to Goa, Mahabaleshwar and where not on the highway and yes with spirited drives. It has always got a smile to my face, no matter what.

Plus the mileage is brilliant too, with all that spirited driving all the way till Goa in which touching 150 to 160 on many stretches i still got an average of 18.5 with 5 people, 100% Ac, 185 tyres and driving style with no consideration for mileage.

I would go for the Swift Diesel if I were you, new cars can come and go, but that does not change the brilliant car that Swift is.

[TusharPrabhu]

Originally Posted by imp!

Hi Tushar,

Why not wait for a little while. The Toyota Avanza should be coming sometime this year, and it will suit you admirably. If you don't wish to wait beyond the next quarter, then why not consider a used Scorpio/Safari/Innova. It might be stretching your budget a little, especially once financing is thrown in, but any of those will be much much safer than most hatches.
If it has to be a new car, safety-wise, I think it will be difficult to beat Punto/Polo.
I'd stay away from swift if I were you. I own one, and if it were the only car I owned, I'd take a bus/train for my out of town trips. Its just a really dangerous car for long distance drives.

7 lakh is a stretched budget that cannot stretch further. That apart, the vehicle will be used at least half the time within the city and an SUV can be a pain within the city, with parking hassles and vehicles darting in and out of lanes. I would prefer a hatch for my first car and will decide after test driving just about anything that fits the budget. The purchase itself may be in the third or last quarter of 2010, and I am trying to gain from the experiences of fellow team-bhpians here.

[Houston]

Hey Tushar,
I feel you should take a test drive of I20 CRDI. It's a great highway car. I own I20 CRDI Asta and its been great driving on the highway.

[TusharPrabhu]

Originally Posted by Houston

Hey Tushar,
I feel you should take a test drive of I20 CRDI. It's a great highway car. I own I20 CRDI Asta and its been great driving on the highway.

I believe it would be way out of budget for me, though I do intend to test drive it as well.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by TusharPrabhu

I believe it would be way out of budget for me, though I do intend to test drive it as well.

That's the way to do it, test-drive each one and then decide.
My vote for the highway cars:

a. Grande Punto
b. Figo TDCi

Ruling the Polo out, although it has pretty good ride and handling, but GTO's review mentioned an unergonomic clutch, that's bound to be an issue on the highway, and the weezy 3-cylinder engines.

When you test drive the i20, drive to about 80-90kmph and try to get a feel from the steering, I wouldn't say anything about it, you should just try it out.

[TusharPrabhu]

Originally Posted by Amartya

That's the way to do it, test-drive each one and then decide.
My vote for the highway cars:

a. Grande Punto
b. Figo TDCi

When you test drive the i20, drive to about 80-90kmph and try to get a feel from the steering, I wouldn't say anything about it, you should just try it out.

Living in Bangalore, I am not sure how far I would be able to test the cars for speed, given the traffic conditions, even on the highways around the city.

[sree70]

To test drive @80-90kmph speed, we have to ride on Nice roads which are far from the city car showrooms.

[TusharPrabhu]

Originally Posted by sree70

To test drive @80-90kmph speed, we have to ride on Nice roads which are far from the city car showrooms.

Precisely. I am going to try and find showrooms that are close to the Nice road where possible and try talking the guys into letting me take it on the highways. But knowing that it may not happen is why I am looking at the members here for the high speed performance inputs...read that as speeds over 100 and 120...For the lower speeds and city runs, I am sure I will get a decent feel through the test drives.

[amoghchaphalkar]

I am looking at the members here for the high speed performance inputs

What do you mean by high speed performance inputs ? What exactly are you looking at ?

If you ask me, forget 120 : I have ripped the Punto till 150-160 (with 2 people on board) and the car is ROCK SOLID !!

Now how does it stand against the other cars you are comparing ? I really don't know because I haven't driven them. For me, Punto is the best highway hatchback !!

Somebody who drives a Swift will probably give you the same opinion about the Swift.
Somebody who drives a Polo will probably give you the same opinion about the Polo.
Somebody who drives a i20 will probably give you the same opinion about i20.
Somebody who drives a Vista will probably give you the same opinion about Vista.

The list is endless. I strongly suggest : YOU be the best judge yourself. Take the cars out on the highway (tell the sales guy : if he does not give you a highway test drive, you are not buying the car).

Read GTO's reviews, ownership reviews of the cars you have short listed, make a list of points that concern you the most and pay attention to them while taking the test drive. That is the only way you are going to make your choice soon and not regret it later.

[spindoc]

Amogh is spot on - you are your own best judge. Anyways, if you'd like to speed up your research, there are a number of opinions in the review / ownership report threads about high speed performance of all the cars on your radar - Punto, i20, Swift and Vista.

Also, please read Anshuman's report (he migrated from the Swift to the Punto MJD) here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ms-update.html.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by TusharPrabhu

Living in Bangalore, I am not sure how far I would be able to test the cars for speed, given the traffic conditions, even on the highways around the city.

Well, I believe you are right, I really am not that aware of roads in Bangalore, but in most cities you have a stretch of road where you can take the car upto 70-80. Try to see if that works out.

Amogh mentioned exactly what I said about trying out the car yourself, however, the general consensus is that the Punto is unbeatable on the Highway.

Beyond that, I'd leave the rest upto your own testdrives. After the test drive, all of us can share your notes and then give our point of view.

Good luck!

[absynthguzzler]

Hmmmm , hope the diesel Fusion has been included in the shortlist. I'm guessing after the figo introduction , this vehicle could be available with the same engine under 7L post discounts. They should be lying in stock at some dealers.



Yes its a hatch , a big one at that and an amazing highway handler. Its a niche vehicle as some may put it and yet 100k cheaper than i20 diesel .

[TusharPrabhu]

Originally Posted by amoghchaphalkar

What do you mean by high speed performance inputs ? What exactly are you looking at ?

If you ask me, forget 120 : I have ripped the Punto till 150-160 (with 2 people on board) and the car is ROCK SOLID !!

Now how does it stand against the other cars you are comparing ? I really don't know because I haven't driven them. For me, Punto is the best highway hatchback !!

Somebody who drives a Swift will probably give you the same opinion about the Swift.
Somebody who drives a Polo will probably give you the same opinion about the Polo.
Somebody who drives a i20 will probably give you the same opinion about i20.
Somebody who drives a Vista will probably give you the same opinion about Vista.

The list is endless. I strongly suggest : YOU be the best judge yourself. Take the cars out on the highway (tell the sales guy : if he does not give you a highway test drive, you are not buying the car).

Read GTO's reviews, ownership reviews of the cars you have short listed, make a list of points that concern you the most and pay attention to them while taking the test drive. That is the only way you are going to make your choice soon and not regret it later.

Hey Amogh, you answered what I meant about high speed performance of the car

You are right about owners speaking positively about their cars and I do intend to test drive all the cars on the radar before taking a decision, as I have said a few times already on the thread.

Like you also said, the attempt is to find issues, and things to look out for. Trust me, for every post that is going on this thread, there are many more that I am reading and making notes from. There's a lot I have learned since I joined here and started reading already and that is an end in itself.

If I had not started this thread, there would have been a lot of insights that I may or may not have got by just reading through the threads. To that extent, this thread has served its purpose already.

There may still be other insights that may come through this thread and the others that I am reading on the forum...and to those who have shared their experiences and opinions on this thread and the other threads here, I can't thank them enough...and sure enough, when a decision is made, members of Team-BHP will get to know, will get to see pictures and will learn about ownership experiences that I most certainly will share.

Just as I have gained from others, I hope future buyers will gain from my experiences too

[TusharPrabhu]

Originally Posted by Amartya

I'd leave the rest upto your own testdrives. After the test drive, all of us can share your notes and then give our point of view.

Good luck!

Thank you. I surely will share observations and will look forward to all your points of view.

[TusharPrabhu]

Originally Posted by absynthguzzler

Hmmmm , hope the diesel Fusion has been included in the shortlist. I'm guessing after the figo introduction , this vehicle could be available with the same engine under 7L post discounts. They should be lying in stock at some dealers.



Yes its a hatch , a big one at that and an amazing highway handler. Its a niche vehicle as some may put it and yet 100k cheaper than i20 diesel .

Yes, Figo is one of the contenders though i20, with it's price point isn't at this point in time. For now, the top contenders are Punto, Figo, Swift and Polo. I will be test driving all of these...and a few others too while I am at it. But these are the cars I am looking at for now, and in that order.