[Minardi]

2 lac kms? Wow!

BTW, Was it in US or India?

M

[Catamaran]

In such a hot discussions where both parties are correct to a certain extend its always good to take a third party openion...

Herein i try to give marks for the various aspects of Lancer and baleno. The maximum mark is given based on the importance of each aspect but, it's all "ACCORDING TO ME". This can be wrong or utter bull****, but that's my openion...and can vary from person to person.

has driven a Lancer quite a few times (my Uncle owns one) and presently owns a baleno LXI

Stock LANCER LX Stock BALENOLXI Maximum Mark
Initial cost + VFM 2 5 5
Maintenance / spares cost 2 5 5
Fuel Efficiency 4 5 5
Looks 5 2 5
Ride comfort 3 4 4
Performance 3 4 4
Reliability 4 4 4
Snob value 4 2 4
Resale value 4 3 4
After sales service 2 3 3
Steering 3 3 4
Gear shift 3 2 3
Air con 2 3 3
Cabin sound (Eng noise) 3 2 3
Cabin space 4 4 4
Handling 4 2 4
Breaking 4 3 4
Total 56 56 68

PS. I didnt intend to make the marks equal, but it came out to be same when i added up, believe me....
CAT

[msprabhakar]

Originally Posted by Catamaran

Stock LANCER LX Stock BALENOLXI Maximum Mark
Initial cost + VFM 2 5 5
Maintenance / spares cost 2 5 5
Fuel Efficiency 4 5 5
Looks 5 2 5
Ride comfort 3 4 4
Performance 3 4 4
Reliability 4 4 4
Snob value 4 2 4
Resale value 4 3 4
After sales service 2 3 3
Steering 3 3 4
Gear shift 3 2 3
Air con 2 3 3
Cabin sound (Eng noise) 3 2 3
Cabin space 4 4 4
Handling 4 2 4
Breaking 4 3 4
Total 56 56 68

PS. I didnt intend to make the marks equal, but it came out to be same when i added up, believe me....
CAT

Hey Cat, Big flaw in your conclusion, dear...! You are giving numerical values to attribute values to arrive at a conclusion. Then you have to divide the sum of numerical values by respective car costs to conclude on VFM. So, how can you start with a subjective VFM of 2 5 5 (L B Total) and also add to total value?!

Hence, by your own rating, the correct values should be:
L=56-2=54
B=56-5=51

I'm not amused since I'm a B-fan, but as you said, it's your opinion and every Bharatian has a democratic right to err!

[lamborghini]

Hey buffetfan,
i am going according to Top Gear and ACI.
And i have sat in 1L + driven lancers too. From banglore to Coorg n a tourist petrol lancer. There were 3 lancers ranging from 90Kkm to 1L+ km.
ANd like i said,
it all depends on a person's priorities while buying a new car.

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

good discussion on I am enjoying it...

Lamborghini...what makes you say (apart from a 6.5 cm difference in length...really negligible) that a Baleno is a segment lower than lancer...is it because it is priced right and is not a rip off??

who said lancer is a rip-off?? Maruti is the only brand that can price the vahicles so low no other manufacturer can dare to.

but with the new price and equal features matching balenos price(a bit off by 20k with extra accessories icluded) is a real good job done by HM.

Samurai good humour but until I know there has never been a car which can be driven from the rear seat

ok there must be some baleno taxi around but the point to be proven here was the image that the car has. Lancer is considered more upmarket.

IMJIMMY asking a lancer owner about reliability over baleno here is mentioned to the post above where some1 brought up the issue of lancers reliability. SO what this state means is that a lancer owner is happy to choose lancer when it comes to reliability.

And yes baleno is the most delicate car in the segment. All maruti cars are fragile. The sheet metal used for manufacturing the body is the thinnest.

The suspension and chassis issue on baleno is not mentioned by any user but extracted from an article taken from AUtocar where MRF dropped maruti as the rally cars due to their unreliability.


This doubles tennis match is gonna end in draw as there are always going to be buyers buying a lancer or a baleno or a NHC(where is the NHC team must be waiting for their turn )

Mod Note: Devarshi, please tone down your use of smileys.

[Catamaran]

Originally Posted by msprabhakar

Hey Cat, Big flaw in your conclusion, dear...! You are giving numerical values to attribute values to arrive at a conclusion. Then you have to divide the sum of numerical values by respective car costs to conclude on VFM. So, how can you start with a subjective VFM of 2 5 5 (L B Total) and also add to total value?!

Agree to you MSP, but only to a certain extend, cos by VFM what i actually meant was the initial cost of the car Vs its spec or the goodies you get with it. and that way baleno is much better i feel as the Baleno LXI cost is much less and has almost all the features like P/S (adjustable), P/W, P/M, C/L etc which lancer lx has got.....

CAT

[observer]

A hypothesis, if the NHC i-DSI base model is competitively priced against Baleno/Lancer, those of you having Baleno / Lancer, would you buy the NHC?

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by observer

A hypothesis, if the NHC i-DSI base model is competitively priced against Baleno/Lancer, those of you having Baleno / Lancer, would you buy the NHC?

Although I don't any of the three ..
I think the answer to your Q would be 'no'.

BUT, even though the NHC OTR is more than these 2 cars, it still sells more .. so there ...

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by observer

A hypothesis, if the NHC i-DSI base model is competitively priced against Baleno/Lancer, those of you having Baleno / Lancer, would you buy the NHC?

In fact I considered purchasing a NHC and test drove it four times with my family in tow...everny one liked the Gxi interiors but no one liked the Power and my father and wife were of the opinion that 3 abreast was easier in Baleno then the NHC (despite NHC having more leg space..
Loved the Baleno power delivery the moment I drove it and hence I purchased it...so while it was cheaper on the wallet...the price was not the main criteria for me

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

In fact I considered purchasing a NHC and test drove it four times with my family in tow...everny one liked the Gxi interiors but no one liked the Power and my father and wife were of the opinion that 3 abreast was easier in Baleno then the NHC (despite NHC having more leg space..
Loved the Baleno power delivery the moment I drove it and hence I purchased it...so while it was cheaper on the wallet...the price was not the main criteria for me

And lemme guess.

You wouldnt even hace considered a lancer in your list.

this is what people call underrating a car.

[msprabhakar]

Originally Posted by observer

A hypothesis, if the NHC i-DSI base model is competitively priced against Baleno/Lancer, those of you having Baleno / Lancer, would you buy the NHC?

Tough Q, Ob! Let's see...

My first love was NHC GXi (hooked by looks!-- 440V), my wife liked the interiors, rear leg space and leg rest (the much-hyped 'central fuel tank' concept), my daughter liked the looks, but (sigh) I disliked its agony on the road (110V) as well as the fact that I'd have to spend additional for alloys...

Optra 1.6 Base model: Fine...(220V)

Baleno VXi: I was stumped with its performance (11,000V), my daughter loved its sideways look, my wife found the rear seat comfy as heaven... Decision sealed!

(Sorry Dev, I never considered Lancer since its grill reminded me of 'Big Grin' smiley!)

Now back to your original hypo Q...
→Maybe yes (men, however old, do fall for looks, don't they?) (sigh)...
←No, no, I'm rational I only like performance, who cares for looks?...
→I think NHC wouldn't have been a bad choice, after all it's Honda and most of the time I drive in the city. Speed anyway kills and maybe NHC would've taught me more responsible driving...
←No way! Baleno suits my personality, it's time tested, coming from a reputed khandaan, its power and dignified grace reminds me of Amitabh Bachchan...
→
←
→
←
(Wait a second, I've to catch up with other work... I'll be back and give you my final verdict 'soon'!!!!)

[imjimmy]

A hypothesis, if the NHC i-DSI base model is competitively priced against Baleno/Lancer, those of you having Baleno / Lancer, would you buy the NHC?

I think most of the people who opted for Baleno over the NHC did not do so because of price reasons. The fact that the Baleno is more than a Lakh cheaper is just a bonus.

Coming to the hypothetical situation of the same price:

I guess i would have still chosen the Baleno over the NHC bcoz of the following things in the NHC that i did not like-

1)It's performance - (the most obvious shortcoming. And the most important criteria for me)

2)It's looks - ( i did not like it especially the short front bonnet. My dad though liked the design.)

3)Smaller Fuel Tank- 41(or 43?) Litres viz a viz the 51 of the Baleno. [ I hate refilling on the highway!]

4)The back seat ride comfort. I was not very happy with the ride at the back - not as good as the Optra or the Baleno.

5)THe fact that Honda is charging a premium of 50K-1L bcoz of the brandname.( The Vtec NHC should retail at 7Lakh exshowroom)

In hindsight if i would have wanted to stretch my budget,i would have gone for the Optra which is more classy,powerful and upmarket and much more VFM than the NHC for the price it sells at.

Fiat Petra is a very capable car(possibly the most VFM) but was not chosen bcoz of the Fiat conundrum in India.

You wouldnt even hace considered a lancer in your list.

this is what people call underrating a car.

Devarshi,

I agree here but at that time(in July) the Lancer had not undergone the price reduction.

Lastly as many of the other people on the forum i am susceptible too, I was immediately seduced by the smooth,high performance, rev happy engine of the Baleno and also the amazing AC.

And i knew 2 people very closely with 2001 and 2003 model of the Baleno. SO i had an ample opportunity to get feedback on the car: it's maintenance(which is amazingly cheap) , long term build quality,reliability etc etc as well as to go for numerous drives

[devarshi84]

To MSprabhakar: Lancer has this centrally mounted fuel tank(hyped on the NHC) since ages. Secondly Hm-mitsubishi has always given what the customers wanted in a car. I.e. car made according to the customer. WHile I personally liked the 2003 grille,mitsubishi has an option if you want to choose a different grille like the normal old grille.

IMJIMMY:- Yes true the price revision was not there in time. But then if the price revision would have taken place before, would you have considered a lancer? Lancer's engine as many few non-owners know and all the owners know is the most refined of the lot and is rev-happy too. Just so you can have that excitement, ask your local mitsubishi dealer for a test drive and take it on the highway for a 20km run. you will know what I mean.


why it is underrated

1. It also has a centrally mounted fuel tank. Many few know.

2. It has rear a/c vents for cooling which leads to equal cooling. Many few know.

3. there is a myth doing rounds that maintaining a lancer is expensive and spares are expensive too. Well lancer is actually a very low maintainence vehicle. Spares are just a bit high on prices but last much longer than the spares on the competing car.

4. People usually go on the paper specifications. 87bhp doesnt sound much against the 94bhp. Lancer on the road is in reality much more faster.


Baleno's advantages are that its well priced and its a maruti. On top of that the performance is the best in the segment and people just take to it that a maruti car is the most FE car which is half truth because both NHC and lancer give equally good FE. Hence baleno makes a good buy.

NHC I Dont find any reasons to buy except that its a newer car than the other two.

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

And lemme guess.

You wouldnt even hace considered a lancer in your list.

this is what people call underrating a car.

you are correct :(...I considered only NHC, Optra and Baleno...Liked Optra the most (though Baleno was quicker) but there were some electrical problems in the test car I drove (only 1500 km old) and so got afraid of the quality and the legendary GM depreciation levels...given that Optras with my friends were reporting single digit mileage figures...
I would take time to decide if Lancer and Baleno Lxi were priced similar and had similar ASS.... Currently the Lancer Dealer in Hyd is very bad...I bought my Uno from him and will never purchase another car from him!!!

[devarshi84]

There are some bad dealers who spoil the company's reputation.

For eg there are more bad dealers in Fiats case

that doesnt make lancer inferior to the competition, doesit?