[Researcher]

Voted for the second option but with terms and conditions. It should not be eerily quiet that passengers next to me become the noise. Now how does one avoid that?

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

Among the five senses, the sense of sight and the sense of sound are the two most used senses while on the road. The sounds around us provide us with vital information on things which are not in our line of sight.

I absolutely agree with you. May be an unpopular opinion, but gradually cars are becoming quieter inside (my personal experience on a 2001 Alto, a 2008 SX4 and a 2018 Baleno. Yes the rattles are noticed more in the newer models with the reduced road noise) and this makes it a bit more difficult to hear the honks of vehicles, especially those which are in our blind spot. Except tyre noise and engine noise, the rest are dependent on us as road users and we should judiciously use our horns, not to irritate but to warn, at least till the time more safety features in mainstream cars here in India such as blind-spot monitoring and automatic emergency braking.
Maybe slightly off-topic, but I have noticed this trend that gradually most road users are not paying any heed to someone honking from behind unless repeated or continuous.

[GeeTee TSI]

Unfortunately NVH improvement and superior sound deadening only comes with higher size and prices - read upgrade to higher segments.
For a perspective, while a decades old S Class Mercedes will lack gadgets and connectivity, it will still probably pip the current crop of compact cars for NVH.

That said an easier way to experience a higher segment NVH (reduced tyre noise) is to change to silent running tyres. There is more than a perceptible difference after I switched to MC5 Continentals, an experience akin to turning on Noise Cancellation while cruising in a plane.

[InControl]

The road and tyre noise that filters in my 2014 Honda city is much much less compared to the Ritz 2010 which results in a more relaxing drive. Voted for the middle of the road option. I wont pay an arm and a leg for it but it definitely is high up on things that matter in my car.
Currently I am exploring ways to fit the City iDTEC insulation cover under the bonnet to cut out the CVT drone and underbody anti rust coating to further help with the road noise.

[smileline]

Silence is what I want in my car. I am so obsessed with silence that at times I switch off my music and search for squeaks and rattles. There is a bag full of materials to take care various rattles in my car. The obsession has been further transferred to my kids, who look for rattles with me, and give ideas to manage them.

My Brezza’s sound insulation is very ordinary. At high speeds can hear wind noise, in addition to the noisy 1.3DDIS.

Would any day prefer a car with superior sound insulation.

[dark.knight]

Silence is the most underrated, yet cheapest luxury you can ask for, in most philosophies silence alongwith its cousins peace and quiet are the equivalent of reaching the apex of spirituality.

YES, YES & YES, silence and refinement are the top 2 things I look for in a car, next comes low end torque (again due to silence, since great low end torque makes zero engine noise) and a good music system with great quality and reproduction, once again to cut out annoying sounds.

Hyundais are absolutely centered around low noise, vibration and harshness.. fantastic experience and a peaceful place to be, as has been said already, specially the high end ones.. many have said that my car is decisively quieter and smoother, quieter suspension than even Audis and Mercedes.

[sgm]

Originally Posted by InControl

The road and tyre noise that filters in my 2014 Honda city is much much less compared to the Ritz 2010 which results in a more relaxing drive. Voted for the middle of the road option. I wont pay an arm and a leg for it but it definitely is high up on things that matter in my car.
Currently I am exploring ways to fit the City iDTEC insulation cover under the bonnet to cut out the CVT drone and underbody anti rust coating to further help with the road noise.

Sharing my experience:
I'm extremely sensitive to noise and I get irritated with tire noise, so I explored a few experiments on my Altis (CVT Petrol) like extra rubber beeding for doors, all sourced from AliExpress.They come in various shapes(cross section) like v,p,D etc based on where it gets fitted but I couldn't get a noticeable difference. I used mobile based decibel application for checking. The next level was spending 6.5k to do 3M Shultz underbody coating. After I left the showroom, it rained heavily after 30min and most of the coating got washed away and unfortunately I couldn't measure the sound levels during the 30min drive.i did not feel any difference though.
Finally I ended with my C-class diesel because I like engine sound and I hate tire noise it is quieter under normal usage.
Once I had a chance to travel in S class but I can't remember the sound part, I was just enjoying by ride

[King_pin09]

Voted for Nice to have May be 5-10K premium for this.

Given the phenomenal rise that Mumbai has seen in terms of traffic volume and absolute apathy of administration towards road conditions, I have of-late developed a kind of phobia to city driving and prefer highways instead. I tend to take a cab / rickshaw, if affordable, for city commutes.

On an open highway the engine noise is minimal save for the mild humming of the engine which never bothers. May be, I would prefer to still tone it down completely if I could, without burning a hole onto the pocket.

[stanjohn123]

I started appreciating silence ever since I owned a Lexus. The premium was definitely worth it.

But after coming back to India and owning a Hyundai Verna, I was again blown over at how silent and refined it was for the money. Not Lexus level quiet, but Hyundai's are close as per me.

This is why I am always mad at Hyundai for not releasing the Genesis brand here. They really could have stood toe to toe with the Germans if they launched and priced it reasonably cheaper than them.