[shankaranand]

Originally Posted by GTO

In terms of sheer quality & equipment, the Manza cannot touch the i20. On the other hand, when it comes to comfort (space, seats, ride quality), the Manza is Emperor. Forget the i20, not even the Altis, Civic or Laura come close to the Manza. The only comparable Hyundai I can think of is the Hyundai Sonata...but then, it costs 15 lakhs!

+1 to that.

I test drove both. I can vouch for Manza's comfort. I drove for a fair amount of distance. While returning, I asked the showroom person to drive and sat in the back. I switched off the radio and just tried to concentrate on Noise, comfort, and the overall feel.

The sound proofing they have done is superb.. I heard distinct tyre noise intruding in Skoda Laura. But not in Manza. (Surprise, I am comparing Diesel car with a 1.8LTSI Petrol car here).

The ride was bumpy in Laura. Very comfortable in Manza. (Notice I am comparing Manza with Laura, not i20).

I have nothing against Hyundais. i20 looks great. The quality of materials inside feels good. But a VFM product, it is not.

Everyone talks about 6 airbags. While I agree that is a fantastic safety offer and more cars should offer that, I am not sure how many 6 airbags version, hyundai is selling. If that is a prime importance to someone, I have no arguments against that.

i20 Asta with 2 airbags + ABS comes with ex-showroom price of 578000/-.

At around 6 Lakhs/- ex-showroom price, you can buy a Petrol Manza with Driver and Passenger airbags ABS, blue tooth enabled music system etc.

i20 surprisingly felt it lacked power for its 85BHP engine, the AC was distinctly ineffective (You can read other people's comments in the forum on the same), and I have penned my TD impressions somewhere else in the forum. I had also problem with the long play of the clutch and gearshifts.

I am not going by past reputations of companies here. I understand Hyundai makes fantastic cars, while looking for a small car, I was very impressed with i10. Fantastic to drive, quite and decently kitted.

But car to car comparison, I still dont see why I should settle for less when I am paying big bucks. If there is a VFM versus perceptively better car, I will probably go for VFM.

[mkh]

I am seriously considering a shift to a hatch, giving off my verna( not because am not happy- other reasons) and looking for an alternate
Need something that is easy to drive in city, but has power enough to pull when 4 are seated for the occasional long drive also.
Need a premium feel, good service and support and decent resale.
Now i see that NONE fits all these rquirements, some or the other drawbacks exist in all cars now:( As for sedans- the ANHC only fits all these, but a little too much to pay for all these and within city, a sedan cant match the convenience of a hatch. If only the punto did not have that sword hanging over the head with its niggles and issues, or the i20 had a 1.3/1.4 engine, or the polo had a bigger engine and no waiting period, or the Figo had more features and premium touch!!!
Any suggestions for the best fit??

[SmartCat]

The best fit for you seems to be the Honda Fit (called Jazz in the Indian market) - it fits your requirements like a glove.

[joybhowmik]

The only problem with downshifting from a big car to a smaller one is the family's perceptions and expectations. Managing that is going to be a big problem. For e.g. now the family have forgotten how to pack light!
Therefore, while they have no issues with getting a small car for the household- they don't want to part with the big one.
And therefore - the debate at least for me -starts at home!!!

[kristalsoldier]

This is a very interesting thread and something that I find very topical.

Background:

I have a Hyundai Accent (2003) GLS with ABS and it has about 34K miles on it. I have had it for 3 years now and have added only 4000 miles on it since I bought it. It is pristine! Though, I should mention that I bought it second-hand.

Now, I have moved to Bangalore and seeing traffic conditons here I have hesitated to bring the car down + the costs of changing the registration have also proved to be a deterrent.

Current Situation:

Now, I am planning to move our residence to a place near Ooty. So, my question is should I sell the Accent and pick up a smaller car - say a Santro? I saw the Punto on some used car sites and it looked good. My dad wants me to "sell" the Accent to him and asked me what price I wanted for it. From what I gather, the Accent will sell for somewhere around 2.5 lacs or so. My budget for a smaller car will therefore be a max of 2.2 lacs maximum. Since the place where I am planning to move has hilly roads (ghat sections) and I will be driving (will have to have a driver for various reasons) down to Bangalore every month at least twice, would the smaller car make sense?

This is a case for downgrading, but my reasons for even thinking about this are:

(1) The FE of the Accent (with and without AC) would be quite low. Or, so I think. A smaller car would be more efficient. Maybe?

(2) My family is limited to my wife and me.

(3) Maybe a smaller car is a better option on hilly roads?

What do you more experienced folks think? Should I opt for the downgrade (if you can call it that) or should I just take the Accent (remember that "selling" my car to my Dad is a bit embarassing in the first place, but I am not very cash rich at the moment).

Thanks

[ampere]

That is a very valid point. When one is pampered with a huge boot space, he/she never cares about packing light. Time and again people need to be reminded that they are not shifting homes, but going on a vacation!

Having said that the current day super-hatches still have huge boot (though not as big as Sedans), which can carry decent sized luggage.

[tacho]

I downshifted from a 4 seater to a 2 seater, a relatively more significant downshift than just moving from a sedan to hatch (I guess a good analogy would be shifting from 5th gear to first gear instead of 5th to 4th). But this was in the US, so it may not count.

[mooza]

When I bought my Scorpio, carrying 7 passengers in comfort was one of my objectives.
If the Tata Venture turns out to be good, I might do a switchover, especially since it is a bit wider than the Eeco. Hoping Tata delivers a good product !

[Samurai]

This happened couple years back in Mainpal. Let's call him a casual acquaintance, we normally run into each other at social gatherings and sometimes at petrol bunk. He often used to see me with the Grand Vitara and used to talk to me very cheerfully.

One day I meet him at the petrol bunk in my old Santro, this was when recession was getting bad and he knew I was in IT. He looked dismayed seeing me in a Santro, and talked to me seriously about recession, but avoided any direct questions. I was quite amused.

A month later I run into him again, intentionally, in my Jeep to see his reaction. He looked stunned, said nothing, and averted his eyes. I talked to him myself, but he just mumbled something in a sad voice.

Next time I had to meet, I took the GV, just to complete my social experiment. His face was a mixture of confusion and happiness. He found his cheerful voice back.

Basically it proved what my father-in-law used to tell me about car purchases. I believe in buying what suits me and not care about what people think. However, most people measure your prosperity based on the car you drive. Therefore he can't downgrade his car to a hatch even though he finds it difficult to drive around in a sedan in narrow village roads. So he can only consider a hatch as a second car, but not as his only car.

[ritayan]

I have recently shifted from a Indigo Marina to a Wagon R. My whole office is like dude you have lost it...

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

The only problem with downshifting from a big car to a smaller one is the family's perceptions and expectations. Managing that is going to be a big problem. For e.g. now the family have forgotten how to pack light!
Therefore, while they have no issues with getting a small car for the household- they don't want to part with the big one.
And therefore - the debate at least for me -starts at home!!!

I second that @joybhowmik. Its not only the perceptions of our family, but the friends and neighbors as well. People do have a mindset that you are doing well if you have a big car parked outside your home and when you downshift, there comes questions and concerns which at times are really very difficult to answer

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by ritayan

I have recently shifted from a Indigo Marina to a Wagon R. My whole office is like dude you have lost it...

Originally Posted by Samurai

Basically it proved what my father-in-law used to tell me about car purchases. I believe in buying what suits me and not care about what people think. However, most people measure your prosperity based on the car you drive. Therefore he can't downgrade his car to a hatch even though he finds it difficult to drive around in a sedan in narrow village roads. So he can only consider a hatch as a second car, but not as his only car.

@Ritayan, @Samurai
Very true. People who make callous judgements on other people's car purchase decisions all the time. These people don't understand the thought process that goes into selection of a car by a car-lover.

Another instance though a bit sidetracked from the main theme of this thread- when I disposed my fiat-palio (mostly because of T.A.S.S.) and bought Innova - some family friends remarked - why am I buying a taxi? I stopped explaining decisions at that point.
I recall in 2003 when i bought the automatic santro - people just could not digest the fact that there can be a car without gears. They said no good will come of it. I still have the car - and no intention to sell it.

I too have given up on what people think.

[mooza]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

When I disposed my fiat-palio (mostly because of T.A.S.S.) and bought Innova - some family friends remarked - why am I buying a taxi?

LOL, many times when I drive back home at night from my club in my Scorpio, based on the size and blinded by its lights, there is a bunch of call centre girls who vigourously flag me down, mistaking it to be a call centre taxi . They break out into giggles when they realise their mistake after I turn into my driveway, which is just a couple of houses away from this call centre pick up point !

[diwakarmuthu]

One reason why you should look at shifting is the features and nothing else.

If you have personally driven a big car (say Sedan), the chances are more that you may not enjoy driving a small car. The space just doesn't convince you to drive a small one.

Obviously its all in the mind, but it will the hear that will decide

I guess I should show this topic to my wifey

[manishkapadia]

I used to drive an accent before . Though have the ANHC now , i drive the i10 Auto more often. Neither do i mind being seen driving an i10 . A small car is much much more convenient to take in cramped places and the auto trans is a boon . Each time i am stuck in traffic at Andheri east going from highway to SV road i thank myself for having the smaller i10 auto rather than the big fat city.

Its also easier to park the car in cramped places. Whenever visiting friends or relatives where parking is not available on road the society watchmen are more likely to accomodate smaller cars in their compound then larger ones.

So its all a matter of convenience .