[BrakeDancer]

Test drove the Seltos, Kushaq, Thar, Creta, Compass and the Harrier before taking a test drive of the City, sometime towards the end of 2021. I'd never considered sedans but one test drive, and a subsequent second one to be sure, had me convinced that it was the way to go. The finesse, reliability, and utterly hassle free ownership experience of Honda (from whoever I spoke to and what I'd read) was a major factor in the decision.

[abtyagi]

Fortuner, Endeavour, MU-X.
The endeavour was the top choice. MU-X was the most value for money.
Got a good deal on Fortuner, which was hard to resist. Hence bought the Fortuner.

[pranavGTI]

I tried 3 cars before buying my current car – 1st Gen Honda Amaze petrol 2014.

Tata Zest: Dealer brought a TD car to my office. I liked it when I drove it for first time. However, boot space was a concern. I didn’t want to decide immediately. So, I kept the zest on the back of my mind.

Hyundai Xcent: I did not like when I drove it. The steering feel was same at any given speed. Though the rear space was lesser, boot was bigger in comparison to other compact sedans. This was ruled out.

Maruti Dzire: I liked the car when I did a test drive. It was a good engine and Maruti reliability. I TD’d a VXI. This variant didn’t have ABS, Airbags, EBD etc. back then. Rear space and boot space was a concern.

Honda Amaze: I liked it in the first TD. It was a carried over engine from Brio. Good engine, Honda reliability, rear space, adequate boot, ABS, Airbags and moreover this looked like a proper CS. All these ticked my purchase.

I am happy with the car and the decision that I made. I took this car on different kind of roads. It had never let me down. I also drive this to my hometown which is 1100 kms away from Pune. I recently upsized the tires to 185/65/R14 Yokohama which has made the ride more comfortable than before.

After driving it for initial couple thousand kms, I knew my car’s limits. With a slight adaptation to my driving style, I am thoroughly enjoying this car .

[SulemanP]

Hyundai Nios
Did consider this product from Hyundai but unfortunately, they did not have TD vehicles with them. Their pricing was a little over Tata & most importantly they did not give any discounts whatsoever.

Tata Tiago
Did TD of both Petrol & Diesel options read a lot of TBHP's inclination towards Diesel. Tata was giving discount on BS4 products and that's how went with diesel option. Tata however deleted some features from XZ model like alloy wheels, fog lamps, rear wash & wiper etc. out of these i feel they should have considered giving at least the alloy wheels. 2019 was a time when they were still turning around in the market and they could have continued giving these features. Today, its a different scenario and Tata has changed a lot with their product line improving every year. Today they have iCNG options & a variety of EV options to choose from.

Ford Figo
Tried to get in touch with the showroom people but their response was very poor. Hence decided not to consider Figo as an option. Otherwise, the product is quite good.

[GeeTee TSI]

Voted for Zero

From the time I have been tracking cars decades ago, I have had favourites in each segment. My current Octavia was the aspirational choice from my earlier GT TSI whenever the opportunity presented for the change

My next car in all probability might follow the same course of going behind a favourite

That said, I never suggest a favourite to a casual buyer seeking my view on choice, in which case it would always be 3+ options

I will admit I am not this confident of a choice for an EV if and when I plonk for one, might have a shortlist of atleast three in that case!

[TheVegabond]

I was 99.99% sure what I wanted but, the 0.01% changed my vote from 0 to more than 6.

Hyundai Creta Coming from an excellent experience with my Hyundai Grand i10, the Hyundai Creta was the car that I was 99.99% sure about. So I went to the same dealer from whom I had purchased my Grand i10 and asked for a test drive which was promptly arranged, the intention was to book the car right away. And then, within a minute into the test drive the 99.99% turned to 0%. There were no negatives but it felt as if I was driving my Grand i10 sitting a bit higher up. My wife rejected the car saying everything feels the same as Grand i10. It was only the Sunroof which got my kid excited.

So, the new car booking and delivery which was supposed to finish within couple of months took more than 6 month as the search began afresh and the only criteria was to have a feeling of an upgrade and newness with the car we were going to buy. With this, I decided to check as many cars as possible before making the final call.

Renault Kiger/Nissan Magnite CVT Both the cars drove ok but the interior felt a let down even compared to my 8 year old Grand i10 - both Rejected.

Rnault Duster/Nissan Kicks 1.3 Turbo CVT I always had a soft corner for these cars and test drove both. Both cars were excellent to drive and took bad roads with aplomb. The interiors again were rejected by my wife and the overall space in the cars was just about adequate - Rejected.

By this time my kid had put in a condition that Sunroof must be there.

Skoda Kushaq/VW Taigun 1.0 TC As expected the cars drove great. Despite all the noise around the build and interior quality, I did not find anything special. The cars felt 1 size too small for the price they asked for. Still the Tiagun rang a couple of bells in my heart and I shortlisted it while rejecting the Kushaq.

Tata Harrier Another car which ticks a lot of right boxes. Test drove the AT and everything felt great. I live in NCR so, lack of a petrol engine was a big question mark. The endless niggles and ASS stories ensured that the car was rejected.

Mahindra XUV300 Great car without a proper AT and the boot space equivalent to a small hatchback. Still, shortlisted the W8 Petrol MT.

Mahindra Bolero Neo Poor man's Scorpio! (no offence to the owners). While I liked it, the family rejected it. Lack of Petrol engine and AT made the rejection easy.

Mahindra XUV700 Although the AX7 AT was out of my budget, I still wanted to check the car. Everything was great about it and I wanted to stretch my budget but, the insane waiting period forced me to stay away.

Honda City ZX CVT Every middle class Indian's dream car not too many years ago. The test drive proved why the car is still loved so much. I could not find any loophole with the car except for the infotainment system which looked like an aftermarket setup from yester years. I shortlisted the City as top contender assuming that it is going to be my next car.

Kia Selltos 1.5 IVT Although the car is similar to the Creta it feels a lot different and that in a good way. I liked the interiors and the test drive was good. Also, the design and stance is likeable with right proportions. I shortlisted it as a challenger to the Honda City.

MG Astor Took a test drive of the 1.3 TC, it was impressive. The interiors were by far the best as compared to all other cars I checked. It was the second row which let us down - it was a cramped place and the sloping window line made it dark in the back. The transmission tunnel hump was a big let down and the car looked like an extended hatchback rather than a crossover - Rejected.

MG Hector While checking the Astor, the SA requested me to check the Hector as well. Somehow I never considered this car as it was going to be out of my budget. I took a test drive on SA's insistence and WOW! The seating position was that of a proper SUV with a commanding view. The car felt big but really easy to drive. My family loved the amount of space available inside the car. I also loved everything about the car. The SA showed us the recently launched Shine variant which had everything we wanted and was within the budget. While I did not want to rush the booking in the heat of the moment, my family had already decided that it was Going to be the Hector. Still, I took couple of days to make the final decision and then brought home the MG Hector Shine 1.5 Turbo Petrol CVT.

I have done about 8k KMs in last 10 months and every drive has proved to be a great experience

[KPR]

In 2015 I bought a Punto Evo 90 Hp in exotica Red colour. No other car or colour was even in the list. In 2022 I saw, TDed many cars as replacement to Punto. Nothing available in my budget of around 12Lakhs. So still continuing with Punto. I'm sure nothing can replace this car at sub 15L budget in near future.

[theabstractmind]

More than 6. Currently drive a pre-owned Yaris CVT. Cars considered (tested)

1. Pre-owned Skoda Rapid - the one I tested wasn't well maintained, didn't find any other within my budget. Gave a pass to 1.6 NA models, possibly prematurely.

2. Pre-owned BR-V - 2 cars. First one from Cars24 was in a bad condition, the second one owned by an individual was in excellent condition. Couldn't close the deal as couldn't dispose my Ameo then.

3. Pre-owned Duster - 2 Dci and 1 Petrol CVT. DCI models weren't in a good condition (Spinny, CarDekho), Petrol CVT - drove it just for the sake. The car was in excellent condition, though. Low on features.

4. Pre-owned Nexon - 2 cars. The harsh ride (primary reason for my upgrade), AMT, and average condition was a deal breaker.

5. Pre-owned Vento TSI - The car from Cars24 wasn't clean when it was brought. And somehow looked a bit fishy under the bonnet as I could feel that the factory seal was not intact. Was out of my budget. Finally, overall it didn't feel a big upgrade over the Ameo, the ride was better but not as good as the Rapid.

6. New Kiger CVT - The wild card. Overall quality was a bit disappointing. The drive experience was awesome. The waiting period was deal breaker as I prefer to always have a car on hand.

7. New Amaze CVT - it did its job well on ride and comfort. Didn't feel like an upgrade. Diesel was not available for test drive. Considered it a few times but couldn't come to convince myself to go for it.

So totally 10 cars I tested. My heart was all for the Rapid but the thought of having to shell out on DSG in the future (also a risk on my Ameo) made me not hunt for it seriously. The Yaris felt like a proper upgrade with the leather seats and ride comfort, ease of steering and space. The engine and gearbox I made a compromise. And I'm good with it. Long drives are very comfortable, so are city drives. Takes the Bangalore potholes and speedbreakers in its stride and the fairly light steering makes driving easy. The exact things I was looking for.

[vinu_h]

1. Fortuner - Too noisy, bumpy ride
2. Superb - Read my signature
3. Camry - Fantastic but couldn't afford it
4. Octavia - Skoda folks are evil. They display these right beside the Superbs.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

We got the City in August 22 as a replacement for Ciaz

Cars considered - Too Many
Test Drives - Many

Renault Kiger 1.0 Turbo CVT:

Why: This was the cheapest car with decent comfort levels.
Where: Renault Showroom Andheri West Mumbai
On road: ~12 lakhs (April)

Pros:
1. One of the excellent value-for-money cars. Excellent bang for the buck of the vehicle
2. Loved the drive train. Sports mode brings it close to GT response. I hate to see Honda not doing this with their powertrains
3. Decent space. Dad 5'11" and me 6'3" can sit comfortably. Good ergonomics
4. Available within 4 -8 weeks

Cons:
1. All black interiors. I am not a big fan of all blacks.
2. Touch & feel felt a downgrade over the Ciaz.

We drove it in April and liked it. Parked it for serious consideration if the Ciaz goofs up again before finances streamline.

Maruti Suzuki XL6 1.5 TC

Why: One of the best back seats under 20L
Where: Nexa Andheri East Mumbai
On road: ~17 lakhs (April)

Pros:
1. Space. Nothing beats this in volume per rupee
2. Middle bucket seats are supremely comfortable
3. Ingress/Egress for mom and dad was one of the best
4. Suzuki has a mental safety net that you can get it repaired anywhere (though I prefer it not breaking down altogether)

Cons:
1. Drivetrain is hopeless after you come from a 1.2 TSI & 7 DSG or even the 1.3 DDiS
2. Black interiors though premium make the space feel less
3. I could not see myself driving it as my car.
4. Bucket seats meant city outings with a chauffeur would require one of us in the last row of seats.
5. Ertiga bench seats did not get the ahh factor from parents

Again we parked it for revaluation in a longer timeline


Volkswagen Virtus 1.5:

Why: Sexy looks, hot powertrain, VW quality
Where: PPS Motors, Hyderabad
On-road: ~22 lakh

Pros:
1. Looks. I & my wife were absolutely smitten by the looks. It felt like an absolute sleeper and a worthy upgrade to our GT
2. Fast gearbox, decent fun to drive quotient

Cons:
1. Rear space felt restricted. It was not the best of the rear seats
2. The 1.5, though fast, felt missing the punch of the 1.2. Linearity is overrated in turbo petrol motors. I would have loved it if it belted out a punch.
3. VW badging did not translate to the quality expectations and the fit finish. Significantly a downer to the GT
4. Going for a DSG has its own risk. With one already with us and that has run 93 k without failure (touching wood, adding nimbu mirchi, etc) gave us the confidence to buy one. But it needs to be babied. DSG in the chauffeur's hands can have his own risks.
5. At 22 lakh I found it a tad expensive.

Parked it for revaluation if it was to become my primary drive

Honda City 1.5 CVT

Why: Good tradeoff between Fun to Drive, Reliability, Looks & Cost
Where: Pride Honda, Hyderabad
On-road: ~18L (June)

Pros:
1. Excellent space all round
2. Nice interiors, good fit & finish, and good materials used
3. Silent motor
4. Decent feature list
5. 5 th seat 3-point belt
6. Value for money

Cons:
1. CVT is an insult to the engine.
2. Co passenger floor is a mess. Too many humps and inclines that do not match perfectly with my wife's height of 5'3"
3. Despite good space, headroom is eaten away by the sunroof. I barely have an inch and a half to the top.
4. No test drives for Manual

We shortlisted as a serious car in the near future.

So far mom was not actively participating in the discussion. Then one day comes the bomb. "We are stuck with this segment for the last 10 years(Manza, Ciaz). You should get a nice car". Adding fuel to the fire, her school friend's daughter of my age got a Jeep Compass and that got anchored in her mind.

While the SUV craze is high, I am not a big fan of the pseudo SUV segment. Yet to ensure that we go from partially confused to totally confused, we go on test drive sprees.

Scorpio was launched and simply loved the car as I have a tremendous emotional attachment, hence we headed to the Mahindra showroom at Chowpatty. Scorpio test drives had not started but wanted to check if the middle row seat had been improved in static condition or not. While we were there, we checked out the hottest car in the Indian Market the XUV 700. They did not have the Diesel AT so simply got into a Petrol one to check the comfort impressions


Mahindra XUV700 Petrol AT:
Why: Hottest selling car in India, Dad always wanted an SUV
On-road: AX7D AT AWD is ~30 l with no guarantee of delivery price (June/July)

Pros:
1. Interior is a major step up as compared to the old Mahindra.
2. Punchy Engine mated to a good drive train

Cons:
1. Too many gizmos. I simply could not drive the 5 km with the screens changing and distracting me. Right Indicator- camera in some place; left indicator camera in some other place, speed limit alert by ADAS camera. At a point, I wanted to throw the screens out.
2. AX5 glaringly misses out on the rear camera and auto AC. Otherwise, the variant that I would have gone for.
3. Seat Cushions are on the firm side. Dad did not like it in the middle seat. He liked the front seat though.
4. Longish delivery timelines and price hikes coming every quarter.

Skoda Octavia 2.0 TSI

Why: Nice to drive, 2.0 TSI, DSG
Where: Mody Skoda Worli
Price: ~35 l for the L&K IIRC?

Pros:
1. An SVWAIPL that felt like an SVWAPIL upgrade to the GT/Ciaz
2. Rear Leg space is amazing
3. Extremely fun to drive. 2.0 with DSG is a keeper
4. It was a car that we felt we would keep for long.
5. Interiors are rich. I like the way they have deleted the gear lever. I also liked the 2 spoke steering wheel.

Cons:
1. Low seating is not the best seating to have
2. Risk of DSG (and putting a sweet car in the hands of a chauffeur)
3. Even though I had a good experience with VW, I could not eliminate the horror stories of Skoda.
4. At 35l was stretching the budget all the way.

Skoda Kushaq

Why: Because we were at Skoda Showroom waiting for the Octavia to be ready for a test drive and sat in a Kushaq because the seats were full
Where: Mody Skoda Worli

Pros:
1. Good space management & ergonomics
2. cSUV wagon

Cons:
1. After the Octavia, it was a bleh.
2. Road noise filtering in felt like Polo and nothing new or better.



Hyundai Creta 1.5 D AT SX(o)

Why: Because too many people have it, DAT was the point
Where: Arsh Hyundai Sion Mumbai
Price: ~23l (June)

Pros:
1. D AT is refined.
2. Good compact package for the prices
3. Many around give confidence in the reliability
4. Good space, good ingress-egress
5. Sunroof and bling features attract people
6. Potholes are better tackled in this than in a sedan

Cons
1. Too much bling on the outside
2. Upswept rear window makes it dark for short rear passengers
3. Concerns about crash safety and brake failures
4. Diesel upkeep issues in BS6
5. Did not emotionally connect with the car
6. Distracting Gizmos

That aside, this one was the second car that we shortlisted for serious consideration.

Hyundai Alcazar 2.0 PAT SX(o) equivalent - style/signature don't remember

Why: Because we were in the showroom checking out the Creta
Where: Arsh Hyundai Sion Mumbai
Price: ~23l +2l (June)

Pros:
1. Marginally better ride
2. Optional captain seats

Cons:
1. Middle seat space is reduced to make space for the last row
2. Did not as such require a 7 seater

Tata Harrier:
Why: Immediate Availability; looks
Where: Wasan Tata? Chembur
Price:~24 XZA

Pros:
1. One of the higher volume per rupee quotient.
2. Looks

Cons:
1. Pretty much everything else- All round car; did not have a star.
2. Safari felt much better
3. Wide car with not much space inside.

Tata Safari

Why: Immediate Availability; Safari
Where: Wasan Tata? Chembur
Price:~24 XZA


Pros:
1. Way better than harrier- Steering was better than harrier despite the larger car
2. Dad's boss had one of the first gen Safari's - Very high desirability quotient

Cons:
1. Low seats- Short drivers have a massive blind spot, Rear window line was high for my liking
2. Crudeness for the money spent - XUV felt miles ahead
3. Pathetic cleanliness of TD car and then the doubts about Tata ASS
4. Wishlist of AWD

Toyota Crysta:

Why: Comfort, Toyota & Innova
Where: Toyota Chembur
Price:~32L

Pros:
1. Comfortable middle seat
2. Immense torque
3. Proven model

Cons:
1. End of life
2. Did not connect to the car while driving
3.~ 32 L for the top end meant death - 3-4 l over XUV/Safari
4. Maneorability in city

Jeep Compass
Why: Mom's friend's Jamai got it; lovely looks
Where: Landmark Worli
Price: ~38 L for the S variant; ~32 for the Limited 4x4AT

Pros:
1. Luxurious interiors of the Limited Variant
2. Felt nice to drive despite the stupid gearbox
3. 4x4
4. Jeep the brand
5. Comfortable ride
6. Leg space
7. Optimum dimensions for city roads

Cons:
1. Niggles for a 35 l car
2. No AT 2WD but then who wants it


Honda City HEV
Why: Tech- Hybrids are what GT TSI was in 2013
Where: Aarya Honda Prabhadevi
Price: ~22l

Pros:
1. Takes out the lag of the CVT
2. Back seat put a smile on Dad's face- Almost as if the decision was done
3. Silence in the city alone with Fuel efficiency
4. ADAS etc above the ZX

Cons:
1. Dealbreaker Boot space. Would be ok as a second car, but not as a primary car. I was not going to replace Polo
2. Long-term tech risks & resale
3. Breakeven of ~2 l km made no sense at all. I am willing to pay up to ~1l km but this difference was just too high. No subsidies/incentives from Government

Citroen C5

Why: If Jeep Compass Why not this
Where: Citroen Andheri
Price: ~42 l

Pros:
1. Best ride at the price point
2. Diesel
3. As exclusive as a Ferrari
4. Best TD experience
5. No oversmart gizmos- Built to drive

Cons:
1. Rear Seat Buckets; No handrest possible
2. Sparse Network
3. Long-term viability

Mahindra Scorpio P MT/Mahindra Scorpio D AT
Why: Loved the looks, Emotional Connect
Where: VVS Hyderbad for PMT, NBS Andheri for DAT
Price: ~25 L

Pros:
1. Presence, Looks
2. 4 WD with a BOC
3. Engine configurations
4. Seats & ride
5. King of the road feel-Wife said can see the sunroof of the City from here.

Cons:
1. While ingress was ok, egress for mom was a dealbreaker. She simply was not comfortable getting out of the car.
2. New car niggles
3. Trims, especially driver side
4. Sasta Alturas feels
5. Size for city usage
6. XUV features that would make a Z10 variant

VW Tiguan
Why: 2.0 TSi
Where: VW DownTown Mumbai
Price: ~37 L

Pros:
1. Like the Octavia, the only car that felt like a powertrain upgrade
2. Excellent ergonomics
3. Sexy handling, mature ride, though a notch stiff for dad

Cons:
1. Bland interiors; I am not a fan of the all-black stuff; add to that hard plastics.
2. DSG again?
3. Maintenance costs
4. VW's declining quality standards and its longevity considering the tie-up with M&M

VW Virtus (again)
Why: To ensure dad & mom like the City even more
Where: VW Downtown Mumbai

Honda City PAT (again)

Where: Aarya Honda Mumbai
Why: To confirm before booking

Pros:
1. Looked very VFM in front of all the cars we had driven
2. Shifted gears on a display vehicle.
3. Took a long hard look at eHEV before booking the Manual

Cons:
1. Was taking a leap of faith by buying a manual without a test drive.(risk turned out to be perfect!!)

There you go. This thread pushed me to finish my unfinished post on the ownership review.

[car-o-holic]

Our car buying was probably most chaotic and all over the place, from VW Taigun till Audi A4 & BMW X1 (20 lakhs to 60 lakhs on-road!)!

We finally bought the Jeep Meridian 4 X 4 in Jan this year.

We started researching and test driving cars since Late 2021 and our requirements were as follows:

- Petrol SUV preferred
- Under 50 lakhs on road in Bengaluru (with extended warranty included)
- We love tech! So needed it to be feature rich with feel-good interiors and all bells & whistles
- Easy to maintain and a good dealer network in Bengaluru
- Plush ride
- Safe car
- Preferably a 7-seater (or comfortable 5 seater with roomy luggage space)


Our journey/ saga from 2021 to 2023 went as follows:

1. Skoda Kodiaq L&K - Booked & our initial choice, but did not buy eventually since we did not get this allotted even after a looooong wait, and the price kept on going up!

2. Volvo XC 40 - Although we liked the vehicle, size was similar to our Seltos & somehow could not connect to the car.

3. Tata Nexon EV - Loved it but we were in two minds about whether our next car should be an EV when we test drove this.

4. Volkswagen Taigun - Did not like the interiors much and ruled this out.
(Volkswagen Tiguan was not available for even a test drive and hence not considered)

5. Audi A4 - Loved it! If Technology was offered at the price of the lower variant, we may have stretched our budget (!) but decided now was not the time for it - maybe our next upgrade because the heart still wants a SUV!

6. Toyota Fortuner - Not impressed by the interiors and bumpy ride!

7. Jeep Compass - Loved the interiors but the petrol AT drive did not feel any better than the Seltos DCT; also we heard about the Jeep Meridian and hence kept this on hold.

8. Citroen C5 Aircross - Loved the drive but were unsure at that point about going for a Diesel vehicle; also the backseat and lack of features including a poor music experience were downers and hence decided against it.

9. MG ZS EV - Loved it, booked it!

We booked Skoda Kodiaq L&K beginning of 2022 but lack of information for 6+ months and no guarantee of delivery in 2022 made us cancel our booking.

We then recalibrated our expectations and priorities and booked the MG ZS EV but again it was getting delayed without a promise of delivery!

More test drives:

10. BMW X1 - Aspirational but somehow we did not connect with the car, hence did not pursue this further.

11. Skoda Superb - Liked it but somehow have always preferred a SUV - not a Sedan person and that is the only reason we did not go for this!

12. Skoda Slavia - Nice car but not feature rich the way we wanted it, did not feel like an upgrade from Seltos.

13. Tata Safari - Maybe it was the test vehicle but the car did not feel comfortable. Right from finding a good seat position (I am 6 ft. 3) to steering feeling was just not right! So we dropped this from our list.

14. XUV 700 - Loved the car but the crazy wait times moved it away from our list! I still believe this is the most VFM vehicle and would have gone for this if only the waiting period was lesser.

15. Kia Carens - Love the way Kia packages all features and engines that are such fun to drive! Unfortunately this is a case of once bitten twice shy regarding the safety rating (Although we love our Seltos, we bought it before the safety rating was out - not sure if we would have gone ahead with our purchase knowing about it!)

16. MG Hector / Hector Plus - What a beautiful, plush feel and an awesome music experience! However, we did not enjoy the CVT and somehow did not feel comfortable going ahead with the car.

We started to see other cars once again and by this time the Meridian was also on the horizon and the discounts were very tempting!

17. Jeep Meridian - Loved the interiors, music system, drivability, features, looks, comfort & overall feel! This seemed to tick most of the requirements we started off with (except for the fuel type which we have reconciled with hoping that norms in Bengaluru won't change in the next 10 years!)
Even though there were some reservations about the diesel engine & gear box tuning (seemed ok for our use & driving style), these did not turn our to be deal breakers considering the fat discount we were offered!

Vehicle finally purchased in Jan 2023: Jeep Meridian Limited (O) 4 X 4.
So eventually, we ended up with a car which was nowhere in our list when we started this journey in late 2021!

Other cars we considered but did not do an elaborate test drive were:
- Kia Carnival (Upgrade round the corner)
- Skoda Octavia (Discontinued from Skoda lineup for India now plus sedan was not our primary choice)
- Skoda Kushaq (Can't remember the reason we didn't take a test drive, probably due to the fuel pump issues highlighted here! Also we had by then decided to go one segment above.)
- Toyota Hycross - Lack of 6 airbags in VX and lack of bench seat in ZX.
- Audi Q3 (Beyond our budget + lack of features)
- MG Gloster (Reviews weren't encouraging for city drives and hence did not proceed with this)
- Toyota Camry (Sedan not our primary choice + car seemed more suitable as a chauffeur-driven vehicle and did not suit our requirements)

If you have read through our maddening journey, thank you for your patience!

We seem to be in love with our Meridian and hoping the journey continues happily!

[BleueNinja]

Volkswagen Polo TSI AT : cars test driven : 0

I knew I always wanted one. It had to be Polo and nothing else. Hence, went straight for Polo.

Honda City 5th gen V MT : cars test driven : 3

I took test drive of Rapid, City and Verna. I went for City because of spacious cabin and Japanese reliability.

I didn’t go for Verna because I didn’t like it’s on road mannerisms.

Rapid was tugging at all my heart’s strings but my family rightly pointed out that rapid wasn’t any different from my Polo hence had to drop rapid.

Due to various circumstances, I unfortunately had to sell my 1 year old city.

TATA Harrier XZA : cars test driven : 10

I went with the car in this scenario for which both my mind and heart agreed upon.

I took a test drive of 10 cars out of which final contenders were XUV700, ScorpioN, Compass and Harrier.

Seltos was rejected due to its unimpressive ride quality and questionable build quality.

Creta was rejected due to its build quality. I did love the ride quality and CRDI engine on offer but considering that I would be driving on highways a lot I rejected it.

Taigun & Kushaq were rejected because family didn’t find it spacious enough and I didn’t trust DSG DQ200 gearbox enough to plonk a huge chunk of money in the vehicle and then have some for a “just in case” scenario.

Thar : The one that got away and for which my heart still aches.
I had to reject this because of Thar not being practical for my use case. I still remember being all dull and gloomy for 2-3 days thinking that maybe my spouse and fate will have pity on me and maybe I will be able to bring her home but sense prevailed and I put dream of owning a Thar to rest, for the time being.

Scorpio-N : Disappointed. Sums up the experience for me. Biggest disconnect for me was the steering wheel. We have a Scorpio which we have had since 2012. The N simply didn’t appeal to me like our old Scorpio does.


Now the final 3:

Compass : The Best of the lot. I had most fun test driving this one but, Compass Automatic with all features that I wanted was way over my budget and I didn’t want to stretch more than I already had. I can confidently say that at one point I was certain I would be buying either Compass or XUV 700.

XUV 700 : I loved the explosive power and good ride quality but variant wise distribution was something that turned me sour. I am 6’1 and ingress / egress wasn’t great enough for me, plus my head was very close to the roof. On taking a long Test Drive I figured that I was feeling a bit nauseous which was a surprise considering how I don’t feel the same in my BOF Scorpio. I also didn’t need a 7 seater and didn’t want to extend my budget till AX7L therefore AX5 was the one suiting me. Hence, rejected it at the end.


Harrier : Enter the wildcard

While the internet had me convinced that I shouldn’t be touching Harrier with a barge pole fate had different plans for me. I took multiple test drives across various scenarios and I was convinced that this is the car for me. In my other replies I have described in detail what worked for me so won’t be repeating it here. By the way Harrier was the second best test drive I had, it is spacious , fun to drive, sturdy and feature rich. This car really really surprised me.

I just hope Tata service centres don’t surprise me with the same intensity.

Also, I wanted to be very certain and sure that I had tested all possible options in market before buying the vehicle. Harrier checked all the boxes.

[vredesbyrd]

Voted 5 accidentally but actually 6:

A) 2010 Superb 2.0 TDI DSG in 2018
Alternates considered:
1) 2009 Accord 2.4/3.6 AT - Just didn't strike the right deal. Handling was nowhere near that of the Superb
2) New 2018 Polo GT TSI - Superb had everything more at a lower price
3) 2015 XUV500 AT - Mid variant was poorly equipped, W10 was out of reach at 3 years old
4) 2010 Fortuner 4x4 - Really liked it but wasn't very keen on a manual. Also, my love for SUVs was at a nascent stage back in 2018
5) 2009 Civic V AT - Just didn't work out for some reason or the other
6) Wildcard Entry - 2010 E90 320d - Loved it but absolutely unknown territory and it was the corporate edition, so would barely get a steering wheel and headlights attached to four wheels. Also, possible spinal injury because Karnataka roads are butter smooth

B) 2018 Vento 1.5 TDI DSG in 2021
Alternates considered:
1) 2014 Endeavour 3.0 4x4 AT - Proper old school but very few faulty ones in budget and that too, none AT (thanks UP)
2) 2015 XUV500 AT - Again, nothing really happened and was rejected
3) 2013 E84 LCI X1 - Instantly shot down by parents (because of the Superb)
4) 2017 Nexon XZA - Someone else booked it before me and hearing about the AMT, glad I didn't
5) 2014/15 Safari Storme/Varicor 400 4x4 - Nearly within budget and nice overall but had to let go because of MT. This one would have made the cut (thanks Tata for your hate towards AT and 4x4)
6) 2013 Passat Highline 2.0 TDI DSG - "Another Superb?!" Parents scoffed


Let's see what's in store for 2023/24 (really need that body-on-frame life)

[nathanjdias]

Before narrowing down on the Tata Hexa XT 4x4, I had 3 other cars in mind.


My Tata Hexa

Mahindra XUV5OO 2016
I absolutely loved the Butch looks of the Mahindra XUV5OO. It was packed with features which I was left wanting after the bare bones feature list of the Nissan Terrano. I had my eye on the W10 AT AWD option but long story short, after looking at the car in person I just couldn't fathom paying upwards of ₹20L for that shoddy and cheap looking interior.

Toyota Innova Crysta 1st Gen
Now after the disappointment of the XUV5OO, I decided to give the Innova Crysta a try. Having a beater Etios in the family which had done over 2L km back then, the reliability of Toyotas was well known to us. But alas the Price Premium and bare bone interiors left me unconvinced about the Innova.

Jeep Compass
Although I wanted a 7-seater, I decided to give the Jeep a look because of the legendary heritage and the looks. The Price Premium again dissuaded me from even going for a test drive and the vehicle was off the list as quickly as it had arrived.

All in all the Tata Hexa seemed like the perfect package for me although I was hard pressed to decide between the AWD system and the AT Gearbox since Tata didn't offer both together. In the end it was capability over convince for me.

[klassics45]

It's so disheartening to read this. Many here say they are an enthusiast and then reject the cars which are meant for enthusiasts citing reliability.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Fiat Linea 1.4 T-Jet:

This was my first choice. I loved this car for its looks and road manners. In the past, I had driven this thing hard in pouring rain and it cornered like it was on rails. The turbo-petrol used to go like stink too. But, the T-Jet was difficult to come by in the used car market, the NA petrol was not really exciting and the interiors were not as spacious as the size of the car would suggest. Then I was worried about Fiat's reliability and the company's long-term plans. After a long search, I found one and test drove it. It wasn't in great condition. So, I dropped the idea of getting a Linea.

Ford Fiesta 1.6 (6th-gen):

I believe that Along with Fiat and Mitsubishi, Ford made the best driving cars in the sub-BMW / Jaguar category and that made the Fiesta a hot favourite of mine. I had driven the 6th-gen Fiesta and loved its driving dynamics. Unlike most people, I loved the Fiesta's looks too. However, this was not a very successful car in India, so good examples were hard to come by in the used car market. There were a couple of nice examples available, but they were out of my budget. Again, like the Linea, I was worried not sure about this car's long-term reliability. I test drove two cars - a petrol and a diesel, but the petrol was run a little too much for my liking and I didn't want a diesel. So the Fiesta had to go off my list.