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Firstly Mods, i'm creating a post here because i don't have access to create a new post in the "What Car" thread...

Well, I'm still having to live with the "irritating" waiting period for my Swift VXi i booked on 8th June. Delivery has been promised on 2nd week of November with my sales guy assuring me that he will try and manage to get me some alternative color before november [i booked an Azure Grey]

I'm kinda looking for alternatives and the exercise of short-listing and second short-listing is leaving me crazy and dry... So, I've decided I need help and where else can I go??? ;)

I would really appreciate if someone could help list the positives and negatives of the below mentioned cars [though i know some/most already, but its a different story to know about 'real life experiences' from owners]. Mileage is a deciding factor [though not the most important, say, would come in second] and I want a sturdy and safe car for 5 adults.

The choices are:

1. Fiat Palio ELX / Sport
2. Tata Indica Petrol V2
3. Tata Indica Diesel V2
4. Maruti Swift [I don't really want to wait till November for it]
5. Maruti Wagon R [seating 5 is a disaster]
6. Fiat Palio Diesel [Used, new car rates aren't within the budget]


I'm sorry it thats too long a list to choose from, but I'm also confused as to decide if I should go in for a Petrol or a Diesel, considering the rising fuel costs...

Budget is under 4.75 - 5 Lakhs. I know some of the Fiat won't come under that price band, but I'm hoping I would get amazing discounts for their cars Hardly sell now....

If some of the owners of any one of these cars could list the ups and downs of owning the car, including city mileage figures, I'd really be glad cause that would help me pick-up the right car and btw, the car would be for keeps, not a "keep-for-3-years' and then sell types.

Thanks much! Hoping to hear some good news from you people. Also, if anyone knows about any new B segment launch to happen within a month or so, let me know if its worth so I can considering waiting, else I'd prefer to pick the car up by the end of this month.

Thanks all...

Mods: Kindly let this message be or transfer it to an appropriate section, please don't delete it. Appreciate your help

Note from the Admin : Post Edited. Do read the board rules section before posting any further. Excessive usage of smilies is STRICTLY prohibited on this board

K_ajay, what are you looking for in your car? All we know so far is your budget (and mileage factor, but then you are buying swift). What are your selection criteria? List them down first, only then the forum can help you. Otherwise, you will end up getting all contradictory and confusing replies. Do you need power? What is your daily/monthly travel? What is minimum for mileage? etc etc.

Ok RX135..Thanks for your immediate reply.... I'm sorry to have left those details out.

I would be using the car for around 20 kms a day + dropping my dad in the office early morning, so for a week I'd be doing 210 - 240 kms + general outing or something, you know..... I'm mostly looking for:

1. Good/Decent FE [11 or 11+]
2. Good Ride and Handling
3. A good and responsive PS
4. Decent luggage Space and comfortable seating for 5 [sadly the criteria where Wagon R loses :mad:]
5. Good Power and pickup..[for the weekend trips and drives]

I'm hoping this info would do. Please let me know if I should put more things down.. Thanks :)

Ajay Karthick

Fiat Palio Petrol or the Tata Indica Diesel. The Fiat is much better in the build department. The Tata is more fuel effecient. I would have recommended the Palio D, but I am not too happy about buying second hands.

And you are not considering Hyundai? It seems the Santro can seat 5. (No pun intended :) )

If its going to be self-driven, go for Petrol car. If you going to use atleast 50 kms per day and allmost everyday go for Diesel car.

Petrol:
Swift:
Pros:
1. A new car with radical design.
2. A proven engine.
3. Only top end model has wider tyres.
4. Milege don't expect more than 12 in City.
5. Better pick-up than Palio NV.
6. Currently a head turner.
7. Excellent service network.
Cons:
1. Rear seat space is not ample.
2. Not as sturdy as Palio.


Palio:
1. Cost less after the price reduction.
2. A sturdy car which weighs 1015 kg.
3. Still a head turner.
4. A reliable car/engine which doesn't require wide service network.
5. Truly sound proof cabin like Optra (I am not comparing with Optra. Just setting Optra as reference point).
6.Excellent performance post 80 km/h
7. Ample rear space.
8. City Mileage 11 km/h and in highway around 15.
....In one word its an awesome car.
Cons:
Poor resale value.
Poor pick-up in 1st and 2nd gear in Palio NV.
============================

Please don't compare Wagon-R and Santro with Palio. Palio is class apart from Wagan-Rand Santro.

Lets see about Diesel car:

Indica DLS vs Palio D (Indica belongs to B-segment and Palio-D belongs to B+ segment. Actually we should not compare it. We can compare with Getz Diesel but it is yet to be launched in India). Still I try to compare it
Pros:
1. Indica will fit into your budget.
2. There won't be big maintenance issues (apart from regular) till 40,000 kms.
3. Rear is comfortable than Zen or Swift.
Cons:
1. Make lots of noise after15,000 kms.
2. Lots of Indica cabs are in road, so your car will not be a head turner.

Palio D:
1. I don't wish to eloborate the pros of Palio-D.
In one word its a awesome car.
2. Enough room for 3 ppl at rear.
3.A proven engine world wide.
4. As such Palio is best selling car in South Africa, Brazil and few more countries.
5. The sturdy car available in B+ segment (it weighs more than 1050 kg).
Cons:
1. Spare parts cost is 10-20% costlier than Indica.
2. Currently poor resale value.

Considering your Stress on Safety and FE, the Tata Indica D might be a good buy - It seats 5 adults fairly well.
Also, with a budget of 4.75 to 5, you may consider the Ford Ikon Flair. It manages 11+ of FE.

Cheers

Yes, plus the base model of Getz. The Indica is also a good option.
A second-hand Palio D (with driver-side airbag) is actually a good option provided you can find a decent (and known-to-you) example.

Ignore all other products from Fiat. Let us see what they are going to do with their problem-file-rack...

But I think you should STAY in the queue for the Swift. The car is going to enjoy great resale value for the coming years - something that niether Tata nor Fiat can command.

[CODE]
Car Price FE Ride Hndl. PS Space Power
1. Fiat Palio ELX / Sport 4.5-5 11-13 Best Good Good Best Avg.
2. Fiat Palio 1.6 ~5.25 9-12 Good Best Good Best Best
2. Tata Indica Petrol V2 ~4.2 11-13 Good avg.+ - Best Avg.
3. Tata Indica Diesel V2 ~4.5 14+ Good avg.+ - Best Poor.
4. Maruti Swift 4.5-5 11-14 Good Good - Avg. Good.
5. Maruti Wagon R ~4.5 14+ Avg Avg+ Best Avg. Avg.+
6. Fiat Palio Diesel ~5 13+ Good Good - Best Poor.+
[/CODE]
This is a crude analysis of your requirements. It is upto you choose now. People on this forum will have different ratings for different cars, but this what I feel. You have not listed brand image/resale/fit-n-finish etc as your criteria, but for some, they will come into picture as well.

Edit Note: The table which I painfully formatted, looks yuck after posting. Is there any way I can add a HTML table?

Indica or base Getz if you cant wait for your swift. Indica D with the Euro III engine is also more powerful than its NA cousin, while the Indica Petrol isnt as bad as people make it out to be - it has more than adequate power, though FE would be a problem.

If you're considering 2nd hand, I guess Ikon 1.8D may also fit into your budget - check it out.

The Indica P has more than enough power for the city as well as highway runs. FE depends entirely on you - drive it hard and fast and FE will drop. Take it a little easy and FE is quite acceptable for its weight.

Which reminds me - I should put up my long term review of the Indica LSi

by the way... would the mods like to count the number of emoticons???

Autocar india says Tata indica petrol better than Fiat Palio petrol(June 2002). In diesel all you have is the Tata indica V2. Take your pic.

I was checking the user manual could not find it anywhere. Are you sure its not 14990kms or 15100kms. If we get the ECU software changed can we fix the "lot of noise" setting to occur after 50K kms?

Oh well. Wow. You guys are truly amazing at the no. of options and suggestions you come up with. Thanks all.... Great!!

Looking at what you have recommended, i've eliminated
1. Palio Diesel [Out of budget]
2. Wagon R [comfortable 4 seater ONLY]
3. Maruti Swift [endless waiting time]

I'm still having a wavering mind about:

1. Palio 1.2 Elx/Sport [fiat issues, not able to decide. Also need a good discount and the likes to fit into budget] or
2. Tata Indica Petrol [no one enthusiastically claims that its FE is good to talk about] or
3. Tata Indica Petrol [underpowered, would get noisy and sluggish and it crunches more miles].....

Damn, now what? I really need to get an attractive price to buy the Palio, but the company's state seems to make me worry. I've visited Sundaram Auto [here in chennai] twice, and there are hardly any people there and their workshop looked empty when i took a look, all this makes me feel bad about putting 4+ lakhs in their hands, though the car is a 5 star one....

And I'm unable to decide between the Petrol and Diesel Indica... Seeesh!! Anymore who'd be able to vouch in favour of the Petrol Indica?? I truly love the vehicle for its space and everything, but FE worries me.... :confused:

The Diesel Indica.. Absolutely economic and does not cost a great deal than what the Petrol costs, but is grossly under powered [54 something bhp] and people have reported it to be too sluggish and slow for a city car....

Now, I'm gonna do the yell again.... HELP!!!!!!!

Mods: I'm sorry about the excessive use of smileys and I was aware of the restrictions...[had read that on someother post], but I guess I totally lost its count on the pretext of typing my mind out.... Thanks for being kind.... :)

AK

Tata indica petrol will give as good if not better mileage than Palio petrol