[VSD]

Go for the 2012 year stock of the Mini Countyman S, proper 184bhp engine.

Has all the goodies you could want in a luxury vehicle, pano roof, harmon kardon, full leather lounge seats et all
I think the price is 37ex-showroom delhi, but i was offered 4 lacs off and complimentary 3 year 60,000km service package too.
These are one of the CBU ones which come fully loaded, now they have cut down on alot of options.

You could just give it a try once, you just might like it.

[s.prashanth]

I was in the same dilema after selling my civic. I zeroed in on the A Class and made the booking. After a few days and talk on the forum made me realize that it was only a style statement and practicality was zero. Then my hunt started for a diesel automatic.
Had 4 choices in this oreder
1 Jetta
2 laura elegance
3 cruze
4 elantra

Jetta was around 24l in Bangalore, drove nice felt solid but found it to have a very buzzy engine and of course absolutely no features

Laura more or less as the jetta except a bit more features but dealers here have a do not care attitude.

Cruze absolute delight but build and interior space compromised. Engine very buzzy at idle.

Elantra, I had least intrest as it was korean. But loaded to the gills and value for money.

After test driving the above cars for nearly 40kms each in city and highway , I was in the conclusion the elantra was very quiet compared to the other three. Was very luxurious. Easy to drive in city. Had enough power on the highway runs to cruze at around 120 and most important the suspension setup was not soft as verna. It is comparable to the civic.

I am now a owner of a twilight blue elantra taken delivery on 5 june 2013. My first refill gave a FE of 12 driving in bangalore city traffic with ac 100%.

I would suggest the Elantra.

[wanderer007]

Hello everybody. Firstly let me start off my introducing myself. I have been on this forum for a few years now, always just reading stuff and researching whenever I needed information. Finally late last year I registered on the forum and this is my first ever thread. And I am reaching out to you guys for some help as I have a dilemma.

Some background on me.. I have a Honda Civic 1.8V AT, or should I say had, as I had a really bad accident last week and the car is totaled. More on that in another thread. But now I am on the lookout for a new sedan. I would like to upgrade or stay in the same class and would prefer a Petrol vehicle. Because of cost constraints I am going the pre-owned route and would prefer an automatic but a manual will do as well. Also I plan to convert the car to CNG and that is an important factor too. If the car cannot be converted to CNG then it is not an option.

I have shortlisted, in order of preference, the Toyota Camry (2006-2011 model), the Toyota Corolla Altis (2008-2012 model) and the Honda Accord 2.4 (2004-2008 model) as my choices. First question would be if there should be anything else I should be considering. Secondly I know that people here are big Honda Accord fans so would like to put it out there that its my third preference because I have used a Honda Civic and driven my friend's Accord a fair bit and frankly speaking other than the engine and the handling most Honda products have nothing going for them. No offense meant to any Honda owners out there. I am a Honda owner too and no doubt most Honda cars (at least the Civic and the Accord) are fun to drive but that is where it ends. I am a driving enthusiast and my pass time is to see how fast I can make cars go (not bragging but I have taken cars to their electronically controlled top speed limits, while driving in India). I know that the Camry has had its handling compared to that of a boat, but maybe that is just the antidote to calm me down after the horrific accident I just had

I have gone out and test driven a few Honda Accords but all the ones that fit in my budget were not well maintained. I saw a very well maintained Accord Inspire (2009) for 8.55L (asking, negotiable) with 38K on the odo but that is way out of my budget of around 6L (stretchable by a bit).

I drove a few Camrys and I liked a manual one for 6.5L (2006, 54K, corporate, only one scratch on the body) and an automatic one for 7.4L (2007, 47K, individual, spotless car, showroom like condition)

I haven't yet gone and seen any Altis cars yet but can anyone tell me why they are so expensive in the second hand car market? There is very little to choose between the Altis and Camry in terms of price. Moving from a Civic to an Altis, would I feel that I am downgrading?

FE would be a priority as would be running and maintenance costs. I am aware that the Camry parts are expensive because they are imported but its a Toyota. Don't know the last time someone in a Toyota had to have a part changed Jokes apart, I am aware that cars in this category are not really known for their fuel efficiency but I am OK with a 5-6 kmpl on petrol which will translate into a 10 km/kg of CNG.

Looking to you guys to help me out here like you have helped thousands of boarders in the past..

Thanks in advance

[IshaanIan]

Considering fuel efficiency and budget restraints, I would recommend staying away from the Camcords; since parts and other running costs will be much higher. Either way both of them suck at handling :P

I would recommend the Corolla. Why? Reliable, reliable, reliable, safe, powerful petrol. The only worry I have in recommending the car is that it won't be as fun to drive as your Civic was, and while you might want to take things slow for now, do you really see yourself straying away from thrills in the future?

Get yourself another used Civic. With your budget and the fact that the car is discontinued, it should be easy to find one in brilliant condition. Since it is the same car, it should never disappoint you either

(the car I usually recommend is the Cedia which will be much better to drive, has more space, better ground clearance and can be kitted with CNG but then you also pointed out that you would prefer an automatic and I can respect that)

[wanderer007]

Thanks Ishaan.. The Civic was a nice car to drive. The only reason that I am not considering it is because I am looking at this as an opportunity to drive another car. I never had a complaint with the Civic other than the ground clearance. But you make a good point about the familiarity with it helping and that it will not disappoint.

[Honda Monk]

Eyes closed go for a clean corolla altis. In no way its downgrading from civic.
It has class own its own a sedate plush drive to have though its not that spirited in driving as civic but no less in other areas. Even I am looking for one in delhi in the same price bracket.

[Simple_car]

Hi wanderer007,

I recommend you take a test drive of the altis before going for it. They are on the expensive side in the used car market because they are more younger than camry's, more in demand (comparatively), and the toyota badge.

Anyways, the altis petrol is known for its very good low end torque making it very easy to drive in the city (Please note that I have driven the earlier gen corolla, not the altis, so I may not be the best judge. But in general, toyota makes its petrol engines for driveability). It has a decently powerful engine. But, otherwise, to me its a very boring car. Too bland for my tastes.
If you are checking out the A/T versions, I would request you to just check whether the box is the 4 speed (with overdrive) or the latest 7 speed one. That said, I always believe in going ahead with what I like.

Take a test drive and choose whichever car you are happy with.

Thanks,
Simple_car

P.S. Stay away from the camry's and accords unless you have a good budget for post purchase part replacements.

[wanderer007]

Thanks Honda Monk and Simple_Car.

Can anyone currently owning an Accord or a Camry that is 5 years old share their experiences with respect to maintenance costs and the need to replace parts.

Similarly would like to know the costs related to the Corolla Altis.

Once again thanks in advance..

[EagleEye]

Why don't you consider the European options in your desired segment - Laura/Jetta?
These are good, luxurious, powerful cars that won't disappoint in the handling department either.
For your budget you can find a decent one in Mumbai.

[SmartCat]

I hope there is no link or connection between this -

I am a driving enthusiast and my pass time is to see how fast I can make cars go (not bragging but I have taken cars to their electronically controlled top speed limits, while driving in India).

and this -

Originally Posted by wanderer007

I have a Honda Civic 1.8V AT, or should I say had, as I had a really bad accident last week and the car is totaled.

Anyway, your shortlist of cars is very small and the obvious choice seems to be Altis CNG. If you feel adventurous, you could go for a Cedia and slowly add performance mods to it.

[wanderer007]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

Why don't you consider the European options in your desired segment - Laura/Jetta?

The high cost of maintenance and having to replace parts of the European cars after 50,000+ KMs is keeping me away from choosing them. If I go the pre-owned route, in my budget I will get cars that are either close to or above the 50,000 KM mark. I might be extremely lucky to find a 20-30K car in that budget.

Originally Posted by smartcat

I hope there is no link or connection between this -



and this -
.

Not really.. Was just driving on the Mumbai-Pune expressway (not really redlining or anywhere close to the 2007 Civic's top speed in stock condition) in a straight line when the driver side rear tire gave way.. Did not burst, just one whole layer of 1/4 inches of tread came off the entire tire and the car spun around twice and then flipped over twice and came to rest in the middle of the divider. What was even worse was the tire was pretty new, about 8-9 months old and had done about 15,000 KMs only

[Aroy]

Accord and Camry are CBU and their maintenance costs are quite high. If you are going the pre-owned route, be prepared for quite a hefty bill for replacement parts between 50-70k.

CNG does not make much sense as an after market fitment, especially in larger cars. The performance sucks. Either get a car which comes factory fitted with CNG or get a diesel car.

[imp!]

Originally Posted by 9thsphinx

Thanks for those links. They clear out many of my doubts. From the looks of it, the C gets tossed out of the equation due to it's cramped seats and price. What remains to be seen is how appealing the test drives are on the 3 and the A4. The A4 looks like a good value-proposition from the price point and comfort levels. The article does mention the A4's relaxed driving nature over the BMW and I am assuming that will be a good selling point for our requirements.

Yes, the A4 2.0 comes with a Multitronic CVT and it's apparently an enthusiast's nightmare, but it wouldn't matter much to us since the car will mostly be driven by the driver and 90% in the city. My driver is no enthusiast and prefers driving the Jazz over the Civic!

Yes, the A4 seems to the best bet. We will be TD'ing all the cars just to have an idea of what works out to the best. The Civic's backseat comfort and driving characteristics will be used as a benchmark.

Mate, for the chauffeur driven non enthusiast crowd, why not consider the Superb Diesel ? May not have the brand value but is infinitely more comfortable than the A4/3 series. Look at it as a better value A6 if you wish but if I was being driven around in a sedan, that would be my pick. Actually I'd pick the MT 1.8 TSI since its a hell of a lot cheaper, specd just as well and I can have fun with it when I do drive.

If I were driving myself and wanted an automatic sedan for 30L, I'd buy the 320D.

[fuelinmyveins]

Greetings fellow BHPians

My family will be shifting to Pune by April of this year.
I need your advice on which car to buy based on my budget and requirements.

Budget:-
20-30 Lacs

Requirements:-
1. Good performance.
2. Safety(preferably European for that matter) as the car will be driven quite a lot on Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.
3. Ride quality.
4. Good ground clearance to tackle monsoon battered roads( no experiences in this regard as it rains very less in Delhi and roads are mostly good)
5. has to be an automatic.
6. Good warranty package ( at least extended warranty is a must ).

Really looking forward to your advice as I'm very confused and the worst thing is that whenever I seem to make up my mind on a car a face lift of that car or a better variant is around in some trivial, neither very far nor very near future( like " the end of this year" or "middle of next year" )

Thanks a lot in advance

Regards

[Motoringlover]

Originally Posted by fuelinmyveins

Greetings fellow BHPians

My family will be shifting to Pune by April of this year.
I need your advice on which car to buy based on my budget and requirements.

Budget:-
20-30 Lacs

Requirements:-
1. Good performance.
2. Safety(preferably European for that matter) as the car will be driven quite a lot on Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.
3. Ride quality.
4. Good ground clearance to tackle monsoon battered roads( no experiences in this regard as it rains very less in Delhi and roads are mostly good)
5. has to be an automatic.
6. Good warranty package ( at least extended warranty is a must ).

Really looking forward to your advice as I'm very confused and the worst thing is that whenever I seem to make up my mind on a car a face lift of that car or a better variant is around in some trivial, neither very far nor very near future( like " the end of this year" or "middle of next year" )

Thanks a lot in advance

Regards

Welcome to the conundrum, i can relate with the challenge, sort of in a similar challenge, here goes my two cents.

Given that you have a family moving to Pune, my advice is to have a look at the Jetta/ new Octavia (You could chose between the petrol and diesel siblings depending on usage pattern) - underlying assumption you are going to be driving yourself.

If the intent is going to be driven around, i would recommend you have a look at the new superb.

All of the 3 of them are relatively new (may be not the jetta - but not that old)

Good luck with your hunt.

Best -