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-   -   Corolla or Optra 1.6 (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/5153-corolla-optra-1-6-a.html)

My friend has to finalize between Corolla and Optra 1.6 with Alloy wheels & ABS(if available). He knows the price difference is about 3 Lacs and also both are in different segment. He drives about 10k – 12k per annum & about 100-120 KM in the highways and wants to keep it for about 8 years. If everything is equal to Corolla and the maintenance cost is low or equal then he will prefer to go for Optra. Need your views on the following which one is better.

- Maintenance cost
- Ride quality
- Handling
- FE
- Interior
- Space

personally i have always loved the corolla much better than the optra. there is a big diffrence in price though its justified. the refinement of toyota in unmatchted by the optra. maintainence wise corolla should be cheaper while optra is a chevy so in the long run u have to run into issues for sure. ride wise corolla again since when i drove the optra 1.6 it was being delivered at 60kmph some noise started from the rear. i had issues getting used to the shift as well. interiors i have heard optra gives beige option and in base corolla beautiful beige interiors are provided standard. overall corolla wins by a very small margin.

The Optra beats the Corolla dry when it comes to ride quality. At any speed, there is just no competition. In addition, you save 3 lacs with the Optra and get a car that has equal snob value. The Optra also has more comfortable interiors.

The one advantage which the Corolla has is in the engine - Power, Acceleration and refinement. If your friend is not a true engine enthusiast, he will be much happier with the Optra.

- Maintenance cost : Corolla (presumably)
- Ride quality - Optra
- Handling - : None. Corolla is not that driver oriented. Optra is vague.
- FE - Corolla
- Interior - Optra
- Space - Optra

GTO

Saving of 3Lakhs is a lot in the first place. I agree..ride quality is much better in the Optra than the Corolla. I found the rear seat of corolla more comfy than the Optra. Since you friend didn't mind going for the optra, tell him to stick with it.

Optra for ride...but corrolla for straight line speed and that is it. everything else the optra is the one. An optra 1.8 would have been even better. By the way shouldnt this thread be in the 'What Car' section?

Drifter

Newbies cannot start a thread in 'What car'..

Optra - for people looking at value for money, comfort, snob value and do not mind getting a Korean car (Daewoo Nubira) with an American badge

Corolla - for people looking at performance, handling (whatever its worth), Japanese brand, do not mind spending significantly for quality

What exactly do we mean by quality here? Is this the engine or the total offer put together?

I think both cras are wastes.
A dated Corolla versus Korean Optra.
Wish we all had better Options.

But we do - the OCTAVIA! :p

Maintenance cost --Optra slightly on the higher side
Ride quality --Optra is better than the corolla especially the rear seat
Handling --Corolla is better than the optra
FE --Corolla with the 1.8 still has an edge over the 1.6 Optra
Interior -- Optra is better finished and quality feels better here
Space -- Optra has it better than the corolla

Fit & finish, engineering inputs, feel of the engine, durability, etc.. and also the overall perception of Japanese quality being higher than Korean (have experienced it first-hand).

Going by all your points, must say Optra fits the bill in most of the areas. A first hand experience in this case also.

If you go for the optra 1.6 you'll save roughly about 6-7k on EMI alone assuming you go for a 5 year tenure for the loan. Go ahead buy the optra 1.6 with the 6k you save yuo can use 3k more for fuel and with the rest pay for the slightly higher maintenance cost.

We got a 1.8 optra some time back in september. To date no problems. service is good and fuel efficiency is consistently in the 12-13 kmph mark. I like the back seat of the optra very very much. its like sitting in a leather sofa. have no experience with the corolla though. not even driven it.

maybe I am just biased against Korean cars and GM-India as well :)

my first hand experience with Koreans was in my job where crores worth of high quality alloy steel boiler plate turned out to be scrap metal from broken up ships.. have never trusted Korean goods since then.. Even the shelves on my Samsung fridge broke into 2 pieces within 3 years.. :mad:

No comments on that. I have nothing against Korean cars or Japanese cars.
I see what I'm getting for my money and must say I'm extremely happy with Optra's delivery.