[supremeBaleno]

Hmm. Last Friday this thread was like 2-3 pages and come Monday, its 9 pages long.

I voted for the Baleno. Pretty predictable, given that I own the car and love it.

Regarding the other cars :

Vtec - Nice car, and I love Honda, but not so much that I would pay a premium for their cars.

RS - Again the best of the 4 here, but never was interested in cars costing more than 7-8 lakhs. Would not buy and money is not an issue here. But the 5-6 kmpl FE would anyway be a major deterrent.

Palio - Nice looking car, but no Fiat fan. And given the cons that come with the package, I would just stay away.

Baleno prices have been mentioned as 10lakhs etc when it was launched. Nothing could be further from the truth. Suzuki would not price their cars above Honda, especially one which was no competition at all as far as looks go. I dont know OHC prices when launched, but I am sure they would have been more than the Baleno prices then.

The Baleno's city-wise on-road prices when it was launched are as below, just to clear any misconceptions.

Chennai : 806783
Calcutta : 791391
Delhi : 778597
H'bad : 877198
Mumbai : 903160

When they discontinued the Baleno, it was selling at 650000 on-road for the Vxi (comparable to the old Baleno) in Chennai. So the price reduction by MUL was only 1.5lakhs.

And not, like some said, a price reduction from 10lakhs to 5lakhs.

[amitoj]

Verry interesting thread.... mainly due to the posts. the topic has been done to death many times over though.

Although i have an OHC 1.5, if i were in the market today to buy a new car, i wont put my money on a honda or a suzi. And i just dont have the courage to buy a fiat either... sorry.

I'd very much like a Cedia, thank you, in black if you dont mind please.
And drive it stock till the warranty period gets over and i have saved enough cash. And then a heart transplant... muuaahahahahaaa....
But since its not on the list, i aint wasting my vote.

Oh btw, i havent driven a fiat, i havent driven a vtec and no i havent driven a baleno either. But that "small" fact aint gonna stop me from mouthing off my opinion

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Chennai : 806783
Calcutta : 791391
Delhi : 778597
H'bad : 877198
Mumbai : 903160

Good job SB. But 1 lakh plus difference between delhi & mumbai & even mumbai & chennai !!!

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

When they discontinued the Baleno, it was selling at 650000 on-road for the Vxi (comparable to the old Baleno) in Chennai. So the price reduction by MUL was only 1.5lakhs.

And not, like some said, a price reduction from 10lakhs to 5lakhs.

Hey, that is just to add to the flavour of this thread.

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I'd very much like a Cedia, thank you, in black if you dont mind please.
But since its not on the list, i aint wasting my vote.

@amitoj, you motivated me to voice my opinion too.

vRS- Don't have enough money, but can stretch and get one. Haven't driven this one (driven TDi though). Somehow I am not willing to shell out 15 lakh.

OHC VTEC- at 10 Lakh? Naeee. Second-hands going at 5 Lakhs? Naeee again. I am a "value for money" guy, and it doesn't offer that. What about an Esteem at half of that price? Oh ye

Palio 1.6- No hatchbacks , even if it is "built like a tank", "beast" blah blah

Baleno- Can live with it. Alas, used Baleno prices seems to have gone upwards in Bangalore. So, why buy one? Petra looks tempting now

So, which is my next? Cedia (like the car, but not convinced with service) or SX4 (Didn't fall in love, but can't go wrong)

[Jaggu]

Voted for RS and it won by a tiny bit margin over Baleno. RS since i like to speed on highways more than city. Baleno otherwise, cheap and darn good choice for mods.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

Baleno- Can live with it. Alas, used Baleno prices seems to have gone upwards in Bangalore. So, why buy one? Petra looks tempting now

Interestingly, Baleno resale (demand and price) seems to have picked up demand after being discontinued.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Hmm. Last Friday this thread was like 2-3 pages and come Monday, its 9 pages long.

I voted for the Baleno. Pretty predictable, given that I own the car and love it.

Regarding the other cars :

Vtec - Nice car, and I love Honda, but not so much that I would pay a premium for their cars.

RS - Again the best of the 4 here, but never was interested in cars costing more than 7-8 lakhs. Would not buy and money is not an issue here. But the 5-6 kmpl FE would anyway be a major deterrent.

Palio - Nice looking car, but no Fiat fan. And given the cons that come with the package, I would just stay away.

Baleno prices have been mentioned as 10lakhs etc when it was launched. Nothing could be further from the truth. Suzuki would not price their cars above Honda, especially one which was no competition at all as far as looks go. I dont know OHC prices when launched, but I am sure they would have been more than the Baleno prices then.

The Baleno's city-wise on-road prices when it was launched are as below, just to clear any misconceptions.

Chennai : 806783
Calcutta : 791391
Delhi : 778597
H'bad : 877198
Mumbai : 903160

When they discontinued the Baleno, it was selling at 650000 on-road for the Vxi (comparable to the old Baleno) in Chennai. So the price reduction by MUL was only 1.5lakhs.

And not, like some said, a price reduction from 10lakhs to 5lakhs.

thanks SB - was trying to get this data only - this price was very close to the 1.5EXI at that time...anyway like i mentioned in an earlier post - if only they had made some changes to the front and rear end and there would have been another proud baleno owner in this forum -( anyway i voted for the baleno )

[tadukuttan]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

For the record, we tested a 1.6 Stile against a 1.6 Sport and a 1.6 GTX and the Stile although driven by a rookie creamed the GTX and the Sport on the highway. We did this test on Saturday and were zapped.

Hmm, why did the Stile driven by a rookie "cream" the old 1.6 Sport AND the GTX?

How many kilometers have the GTX and the 1.6 done till now? Was wondering whether the 1.6 Sport and GTX lost a bit of the "edge" in their respective engines prematurely?

[madan80]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

It is indeed.

Also, one tiny question to the Fiat voters. How many of you have owned the 1.6? And those who have the 1.2L why didn't you buy the 1.6? And for how long have you had experience with driving a 1.6? This would go a long way in understanding the psyche behind such referrals.

i bought a 1.2 - simply because a 1.6 was not available at that point. I had my heart set on the GTx, but a mental block against the 1.6 sports (call it stupid, but hey, im putting in the money). Went in for the 1.2.

As to my vote - it goes to the vRS - its built in Turbo gives it the existing edge - and my obsession fro a TCd car. However, post market TCing might reduce the reliability (needs to be checkeD) - hence a stock TC is a good option.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by tadukuttan

Hmm, why did the Stile driven by a rookie "cream" the old 1.6 Sport AND the GTX?

Because it was faster. I don't know what your definition of "cream" is, but in this context I meant it accelerated faster and stayed ahead of the lot. This was done on a divided 4 lane highway opposite a service station.

How many kilometers have the GTX and the 1.6 done till now?

The GTX had done 35000 kms and the Sport is mine with 16400 kms. Both the cars were just out of a service and have synthetic oils in them.

Was wondering whether the 1.6 Sport and GTX lost a bit of the "edge" in their respective engines prematurely?

You mean initial acceleration? No, the Stile stayed ahead and it had just completed its running in.

EDIT: Rookie is someone driving the Palio for the first time in his life and has about 6 months of experience driving a Santro 1.1 also my cousin.

[n_aditya]

Tough choices to make. But I'd go for the RS anyday, reserving it only for pure adrenalin drives like track days.

The Baleno however would take my pic for a daily drive as well as a highway cruiser. OHC also is tempting but then i not gonna be greedy

[amit]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

I meant it accelerated faster and stayed ahead of the lot.

1.) Maybe the lower weight of the Stile had something to do with it? How much difference in weights is there between the Stile and GTX/Sport?

2.) Also, fuel quantity plays a role. Maybe the Stile was carrying lesser fuel then the GTX/Sport?

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by amit

1.) Maybe the lower weight of the Stile had something to do with it? How much difference in weights is there between the Stile and GTX/Sport?

It is 20kgs as stated in the brochures.

2.) Also, fuel quantity plays a role. Maybe the Stile was carrying lesser fuel then the GTX/Sport?

Yup that is possible because the Stile was carrying a quarter tank of fuel and the GTX and Sport were almost full with Fuel.

Great analysis there Amit. I didn't think of the fuel load.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

It is 20kgs as stated in the brochures.



Yup that is possible because the Stile was carrying a quarter tank of fuel and the GTX and Sport were almost full with Fuel.

Great analysis there Amit. I didn't think of the fuel load.

Taking in all the factors, is it safe to conclude that the stile and sports perform equally as well as the GTX... I think Yes.

[superavi]

Probably running the risk of going OT, but the Stile also wears Tubeless Good Year Rubber (I think Good Year is the brand). The other two probably wear inferior rubber? Moral I know your car has the Bridgestones, what about the other car?

Back to the topic - after all the votes and the discussions that have happened - I still havent seen the purpose/intent of the poll. I could have bet my hat that the RS would win the Poll because it IS the best car here.

Superavi