[Daewood]

When the old Zen was around we had a great 'driver's car'
at a price which many could afford.
With the demise of that car and the palio 1.6,
we are left with a new/better set of contendors for the title of
Best driver's car below 5 Lakhs.

Though the choices aren't many let's try and find out which
is the best within this limited range.
(possible nominess could be Swift-petrol & Diesel, Figo-petrol & diesel,
A-star, Punto Fire, VW Polo, Chevy Beat)
Guys plz post your nominees with atleast a couple of
lines of justification.

Conditions:
FE, ***, back seat comfort, AC cooling, engine noise/age,
fancy gadgets(PW,ACC),etc doesn't matter.

[atrisarkar]

As its a below 5 lac I don't see to many diesels coming into the picture.
I should put my money on Ritz petrol nevertheless mainly due to its powerful engine.
Figo would have been a contender if it was not for the ground clearance worries. One would definitely not be too happy to tackle those bumps slowly at an angle in a 'driver's car'.

[xingamazon]

First thing that comes to my mind. Given the preconditions that you have mentioned is:
A-Star.
I drove the car of my friend I really enjoyed the pep in it. I am not sure how many would agree with it.

[amitoj]

Go second hand and you get spoilt for choice.

[srinivasmhn]

xingamazon
A-Star - I agree with you, it is one of best driver's cars below 5 Lakhs. I
test drove it when my friend was looking for a new, fell in love with it.
If I would buy petrol this will in the top of the list.
Note: I travel daily more 80+ kms, no chances of owning it is remote

[prince_pervez]

If the Josh machine is available for 4.49 L then thats a drivers car. Throw in a ROCAM and you knock yourself out. But the 1.3 is not bad either.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Go second hand and you get spoilt for choice.

No second hands allowed in the competition,
for this title.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

First thing that comes to my mind. Given the preconditions that you have mentioned is:
A-Star.
I drove the car of my friend I really enjoyed the pep in it. I am not sure how many would agree with it.

I do not agree. It might be peppy but I don't think it has the other characteristics a driver's car must have.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Daewood

No second hands allowed in the competition,
for this title.

O ok. Then figo it is, purely based on its ability to mate with a fiesta engine heard that its going to be the new e zen!!

[speedsatya]

Punto diesel and Ritz petrol if you look at new cars.

Amongst used cars ,its the corolla under 6 L for me

[yogiii]

I think swift petrol with the k-series engine is a great driver's car the engine is very peppy indeed

[.anshuman]

Without a doubt, the Maruti Suzuki Swift Petrol is the best driver's car below 5 lac rupees. I guess Swift Lxi retails for less than 5 lac at most places in India.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Punto diesel and Ritz petrol if you look at new cars.
Amongst used cars ,its the corolla under 6 L for me

I don't think both are driver's cars. Punto with a more powerful engine can be one. Ritz - no, even with that 1.2 K-Series engine.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Without a doubt, the Maruti Suzuki Swift Petrol is the best driver's car below 5 lac rupees. I guess Swift Lxi retails for less than 5 lac at most places in India.

I agree!

RIP Palio 1.6 :(

[Grafin]

The Palio Stile 1.6.

Its still available at an Ex-showroom price of 4.55 lakhs.

[.anshuman]

@Clevermax: Figo has good dynamics but the performance offered does not make it as exciting to drive as the Swift, especially the Petrol version. The Swift has both entertaining agile handling and a peppy engine.