[zee_bat]

Diesel engines are a known lung cancer carcinogen according to WHO. Diesel actually produces less CO than petrol in Euro 5 emissions, but the toxic NOx is where diesel is the killer fuel, although with Euro 6, the NOx levels have been considerably reduced, they are still higher than the petrol engine norms.

Paris is banning diesel vehicles by 2020, New Delhi will definitely and ought to be next but as of yesterday! Till euro 6 norms don't come up as bs6, diesel car registration should be banned pan India. Forget the higher mileage and fuel costs, treat it as a cost to curb pollution and buy petrol!

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by hsinxh

I am in this same dilemma and I have narrowed down my choice to the following two cars
Ritz VDi and Alto K10 VXi.

I have small family of 3 members and Alto K10 VXi satifies all our needs perfectly.

My monthly running will be around 1000 kms .

The difference between both the cars is around Rs. 267000 and I am planning to keep any these cars for atleat 7 to 8 years. So keeping all of this in mind, which one do you think will be more economical in the long run for me?

I agree with Karthik Chandra. Monthly running of 1000 km does not justify Diesel car. You would save more with a petrol car.

If the petrol prices rise, the Diesel prices too would rise in proportion.

The Diesel car is costing you more by Rs. 2.67 lakhs. Saving the EMI for these 2.67 lakhs will pay for your monthly petrol expenses.

Besides this, you will spent less on maintaining a petrol car.

Surely go for petrol car.

[TheARUN]

Originally Posted by hsinxh

I am in this same dilemma and I have narrowed down my choice to the following two cars
Ritz VDi and Alto K10 VXi.

It would have been easy to suggest if you were looking at a Ritz Diesel or Ritz Petrol, but suggesting the best out of the Ritz and Alto is going to be difficult

The Ritz is a very accomplished car, its better than the Alto in all respects, you would find it way better to drive on the Highway, also, as your family grows over 7-8 years it will help you adjust better. The 1.3 diesel engine is also a very good engine and you must experience it atleast once, as in own it for some time. As many on the forum would agree, its the 'National engine'

If you find the budget a stretch, please go for the Ritz diesel. To make the blow softer, you can go for the LDi model and add the power windows and RPM meter when time and money permit

If you still want to go for the Alto, then no issues, try and see if you can pick up the AMT version, it will be easier to sell that one off a few years down the line since the market is moving towards AMTs and it will put a grin on your face when you come up to slow moving traffic in the city

Sorry to confuse you further, but try and compare the Alto AMT and the Ritz LDi, the price difference should be lesser.

Since the Ritz is an outgoing model try and see if you can get more discounts

Also, the Ritz LDi is being pushed to Ola and Uber drivers, its still in production and is safe from becoming extinct. At the moment, it looks like it will go the Dzire Tour way

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by hsinxh

I am in this same dilemma and I have narrowed down my choice to the following two cars
Ritz VDi and Alto K10 VXi.
This is going to be my first car and I only want to buy a Maruti Car because of their excellent after sales service in our city. I am planning to buy any of these cars on EMI and I will only pay around 52 thousand rupees upfront. I have small family of 3 members and Alto K10 VXi satifies all our needs perfectly. Ritz is an option only because of lower running cost and I have read somewhere that Petrol prices are going to be around Rs.100/litre in next few years. My monthly running will be around 1000 kms . My office is about 3.5 km away from my home and there are going to be atleast three out of the city trips of around 150 Kms(up and down) each. Apart from this I usually go out with my family on weekend and all this combined makes around 1000km. The difference between both the cars is around Rs. 267000 and I am planning to keep any these cars for atleat 7 to 8 years. So keeping all of this in mind, which one do you think will be more economical in the long run for me?

You should drop the K10 as its the sort of car you will tire of in about 2 years, you should add about 50% to your planned running to arrive at the approximate figure. I planned 10k a year and after five years I've averaged 18k, so it was smart to get a diesel. The Ritz will be discontinued soon, so I suggest you get a Swift diesel, diesel means you can have the A/C at full blast with a negligible drop in fuel economy and performance. The out of town trips will become more as you get used to the convenience, diesel scores in this regard as running costs will stay low, over a long term, you can spread your EMIs with minimal outflow.

[ChupaRustam]

Originally Posted by hsinxh

I am in this same dilemma and I have narrowed down my choice to the following two cars
Ritz VDi and Alto K10 VXi.

I will highly advise you to buy only one of the top selling cars only. Alto is the No. 1 selling car in the country and the expertise+demand is high. It is great as a first car. It was my second car (after the second hand M800) and I drove it for 5 years and loved it. The next best selling cars are Swift, Dzire, WagonR, etc - you should rather consider those than Ritz. In my experience, they have more or less same size inside (a couple inches here and there) however the features, looks and the engine power/refinement increase. Unfortunately Ritz didnt't do so well in the market, so please try to avoid.

For your running, Diesel will not give any benefit. If you rather buy petrol and invest the 2.6 lakhs in a FD today, after 7 years you will have a much larger bank balance than if you buy the diesel (even after the savings in fuel).

Overall, If you have slim build with height upto 5'7' or so, will drive only 5-10 kms a day in high traffic, will have out station trips which will be in low traffic, then Alto K10 will be absolutely perfect.

However if you have heavier build, consider WagonR or Swift Petrols. If you expect high amount of driving in traffic, consider AMT. Also if you want higher pickup, then also Swft/Dzire are better as they have K12 engines. Or you can go higher also - only money is the limit.

Last suggestion: Before making any decision, make sure to test-drive the exact model for 15-20 minutes at least. Only then you will know what car is fit for you.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by hsinxh

I am in this same dilemma and I have narrowed down my choice to the following two cars
Ritz VDi and Alto K10 VXi.
This is going to be my first car and I only want to buy a Maruti Car because of their excellent after sales service in our city. I am planning to buy any of these cars on EMI and I will only pay around 52 thousand rupees upfront. I have small family of 3 members and Alto K10 VXi satifies all our needs perfectly. Ritz is an option only because of lower running cost and I have read somewhere that Petrol prices are going to be around Rs.100/litre in next few years. My monthly running will be around 1000 kms . My office is about 3.5 km away from my home and there are going to be atleast three out of the city trips of around 150 Kms(up and down) each. Apart from this I usually go out with my family on weekend and all this combined makes around 1000km. The difference between both the cars is around Rs. 267000 and I am planning to keep any these cars for atleat 7 to 8 years. So keeping all of this in mind, which one do you think will be more economical in the long run for me?

Your running does not really warrant a Diesel but in this case it seems like you are getting a diesel as well as a substantial upgrade in driving characteristics and build so might be worth considering. Alto will definitely be the more economical car. However, if you can stretch then the Ritz is perfect as it gives you a lot more car for not too much more cash. Whether it is worth it or not, is upto you.

[hsinxh]

I went to the nearest dealer and test driven both the cars. I must admit that Ritz is much more spacious as compared to K10. But K10 fulfils all my needs without making a hole in my pocket. Most people may not consider this a reason, but I do care about the environment and it also played a significant role in choosing the petrol car over a diesel one. I have finally got my K10 Vxi and loving it. Its very easier to drive in tight city traffic and it has great pick-up. I am happy with my decision.

[amit_2025]

With the A/T Creta being launched in Petrol, I am confused about switching the existing Diesel A/T booking

With an average monthly running of 1600-1800 kms, does it make sense to spend an additional 2.25 Lacs (Interest Included) on the Diesel or would a Petrol make more sense

[AYP]

Originally Posted by amit_2025

With the A/T Creta being launched in Petrol, I am confused about switching the existing Diesel A/T booking

With an average monthly running of 1600-1800 kms, does it make sense to spend an additional 2.25 Lacs (Interest Included) on the Diesel or would a Petrol make more sense

I think that if you are planning to keep the car for a long time(about 8 years), it does make sense to go for the diesel.
Diesel will have a higher resale value. This is especially true for SUV's. Also, in this case, the diesel engine is better than the petrol engine not only in terms of fuel economy, but also in terms of performance(going by the reviews).
I'd suggest you to test drive both the cars and take a decision.

[nmenon]

I have a slightly strange query.

I am looking to change my car sometime next year (early / mid).

So far having gone through the list of cars available in the market currently, I took a liking only to the S Cross (suits my needs i.e tall enough for my parents to get in comfortably, servicing is easy since I have MASS near my residence, I love the car!, 4 wheel discs, abs and airbags and decent build).

Now my running doesn't justify a diesel by any means, I average about 1000km a month at best now. And my old car has done only 41k KM in nearly 10 years (since I wasn't home, was working in another city).

This is where the problem lies, I'm happy with a petrol with my running but nothing with a petrol engine meets my other needs, hence I'm in a quandary.

My only hope is that Maruti launches a petrol engine in the S Cross by the time I'm ready to buy.

Another point is that I'll be keeping it for another 10 years at the very least, it is this scenario that is prompting me to say the hell with it and buy diesel though I love a petrol car's driving characteristics much more.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by amit_2025

With the A/T Creta being launched in Petrol, I am confused about switching the existing Diesel A/T booking

With an average monthly running of 1600-1800 kms, does it make sense to spend an additional 2.25 Lacs (Interest Included) on the Diesel or would a Petrol make more sense

With that kind of running, the diesel option makes much more sense.

Think of petrol only if you are planning to run below 1000 kms per month and are planning to change your car in in the next 5 years or so.

For all other criteria, diesel is the way to go. Even with a loan and the interest accrued on it, you will benefit more with a diesel option if the car stays with you for more than 5-6 years.

The Creta diesel AT is super-smooth. It has plenty of torque to zip through everyday traffic and is also a fantastic long-distance cruiser with minimum of fuss and fatigue on the highways. I support your decision of going for it, and I would suggest sticking to the same.

Originally Posted by nmenon

Now my running doesn't justify a diesel by any means, I average about 1000km a month at best now. And my old car has done only 41k KM in nearly 10 years (since I wasn't home, was working in another city).

My only hope is that Maruti launches a petrol engine in the S Cross by the time I'm ready to buy.

If you feel totally at home with petrol engines, you won't like the diesel option even with all the monstrous torque.

For one, the S-Cross specially in it's 1.6L avatar suffers from plenty of turbo lag which can catch you unaware more than once in in-city conditions. Secondly, having such a car and confining it mostly to in-city trips/drives is also of no value.

Since there has been plenty of recent news of MSIL bringing out a petrol option for the S-Cross soon, my suggestion is to wait it out. With petrol car sales on the constant rise, Maruti-Suzuki would be more than aware that they are missing ground with diesel-only offerings such as the Brezza & the S-Cross.

I bet that once the Boosterjet heart completes it's testing runs, we shall see it under the S-Cross's hood first.

By Diwali 2016, maybe? Who knows!

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Think of petrol only if you are planning to run below 1000 kms per month and are planning to change your car in in the next 5 years or so.

For all other criteria, diesel is the way to go. Even with a loan and the interest accrued on it, you will benefit more with a diesel option if the car stays with you for more than 5-6 years.

Can you please provide the calculations for your above statement?
What all factors you have considered. Right now, the market for petrol is on the upswing.
As per some calculations I did earlier, petrol did make sense for a running of 10K-12K kms even for a period of more than 5 years.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Can you please provide the calculations for your above statement?
What all factors you have considered. Right now, the market for petrol is on the upswing.
As per some calculations I did earlier, petrol did make sense for a running of 10K-12K kms even for a period of more than 5 years.

I am a bit pressed for time for details, but you can check the calculations using this simple online tool here.

I have put in the values and variables (loan amount, interest, per-liter cost of petrol & diesel, prices & maintenance costs) as per today's scenario, and here is the detailed analysis of cost-effectiveness.

As you can see, from the 5th year onwards, the diesel option makes more sense.

[amit_2025]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

With that kind of running, the diesel option makes much more sense.

Think of petrol only if you are planning to run below 1000 kms per month and are planning to change your car in in the next 5 years or so.

It’s great to have your opinion on this Sir, for two reasons i.e. your being a treasure of automotive knowledge and along with that being a Petrol Creta owner. Your review has contributed in a significant way in my purchase decision

Below are a few reasons that have put the Petrol Creta into contention:

1) The Delhi Governments recent steps towards Diesel engines and possible additional/similar such measures in the near future
2) The Odd/Even kind of measures with the intention of curbing pollution
3) Cost of maintenance in the long run
4) Saving on Fuel vs. Additional EMI equation evens out only in the 5th year

My monthly usage currently ranges anywhere between 1400-1800 kms and while I know the range variance is pretty high, it depends on a number of factors. So far my previous car has done around 93000kms in 6 years

I have never owned a Diesel vehicle and my current vehicle is a SX4 ZXI (VVT)

[RavenAvi]

Thank you for the kind words.

Originally Posted by amit_2025

Below are a few reasons that have put the Petrol Creta into contention:

1) The Delhi Governments recent steps towards Diesel engines and possible additional/similar such measures in the near future
2) The Odd/Even kind of measures with the intention of curbing pollution
3) Cost of maintenance in the long run
4) Saving on Fuel vs. Additional EMI equation evens out only in the 5th year

Not going too deep into the Delhi government's recent measures, but I don't see the diesel engine ban extending to 1.5L/1.6L diesel-equipped cars in the near future. A significant part of India's car market will then be out of contention for plying on the Capitol's streets.

In the long run, a petrol car's maintenance will be significantly cheaper than a diesel car's. Hyundai diesels are also notorious for costing a bomb in maintenance after the first 50,000 kms. Still, that is negated a bit by the diesel's better Fuel Efficiency figures and also, diesel will always be the cheaper fuel of the two, thus helping your wallet.

That is why long-term ownership of a diesel car is more feasible, if we are going by loan/EMI/cost of ownership + resale value ONLY.

Originally Posted by amit_2025

My monthly usage currently ranges anywhere between 1400-1800 kms and while I know the range variance is pretty high, it depends on a number of factors. So far my previous car has done around 93000kms in 6 years

I have never owned a Diesel vehicle and my current vehicle is a SX4 ZXI (VVT)

Again, for that kind of running and for 6-years+ ownership, diesel cars are more economical (taking all factors into consideration).

The Creta diesel AT behaves and drives a lot like it's petrol version - you will be hard-pressed to distinguish between the two in terms of engine refinement, in-city drives and response. It is on the highways, ghats and twisties that the diesel outshines the petrol with it's dollops of extra torque.

But, if you are a true petrolhead like me, even the best diesel cars won't truly satisfy you. You will end up going against the flow, because we usually lean towards the one which tugs at our heart the most.

My suggestion - take TDs of them back-to-back (if possible) and think over the whole list of your requirements, then take a decision. I have a hunch you will be happy with whichever one you choose.

Good luck!