[akshaymahajan]

then i would say you get the Altis. nice car, ample power and a toyota badge. And you save a couple of lakhs which you can spend on it for some performance mods, a nice ICE and alloys.

[propeller]

Before this weekend i'm getting a test drive of all Group 1 vehicles .

Starting 25th Nov 2009 - Altis , Jetta

26th Nov 2009 - CRUZE and CIVIC

Will post the pictures soon.

Somebody tell me about CAMRY I'm told the car is powerful.

[Ramsagar]

We were having the same trouble you had earlier and upgraded from Accent CRDi to VW Jetta. Its a perfect upgrade in terms of good road presence, space, handling & a perfect highway cruiser. Not to mention the VW brand value, a class above all.

The maintenance plans are attractive as well. 3y or 45K kms free service including consumables. Thats a great deal, we got free insurance discount of 50K.
VW is building its brand miles a head of Skoda.

The other choice is Cruz, a perfect highway car with all the bells & whistles.

[rpmx1000]

Here's lot of advice for you since you seem to be test-drive happy...
Go for the VW Jetta or Skoda Laura TSI/TDI.

You could also look at a base Superb.

GM has the Cruze.It is definitely worth an evaluation or a Test Drive and should be in your 'to-consider' list. Its power is definitely awesome and so looks to be the driving experience. The reviews are very good. GM's 3 year maintenance plan should help things.

Check out the Sonata Transform from Hyundai. I have driven this car (in 3.5L V6 guise) in the US and it is well worth a look. It has a 2.7 -L diesel engine which has excellent figures and may fall in your budget.

If you don't mind looking at SUV's , look at a Captiva or an Outlander. You can look at the 2 - litre CRV , the Toyota fortuner as well. I think they will meet your "top-speed" requirements besides giving you the additional "feeling" of owning a premium SUV. The Grand Vitara from MUL should fall in your sights too ,with the upgraded 2.4 litre engine.
I personally don't like the latest -gen CRV's looks though.

[speedy]

Originally Posted by propeller

Somebody tell me about CAMRY I'm told the car is powerful.

the Camry is not only powerful but comfortable as well. It has more room than the accord and much much more sturdy too. The auto box is also good. The accord is definately the faster of the two but the camry is not a slow coach by any means. Test drive the car and you shall get the feel of luxury far more than in the accord.

[.anshuman]

Why not the 160bhp Laura TSi?
Its the most exciting car to drive this side of 3 series, its got reasonable space at back. And it surely will get you a proper salute at the five star hotel.

Yes i know before everyone starts bashing Skoda aftersales support, there are a lot of satisfied skoda customers too who are busy admiring their cars rather googling and flooding every forum in the world with their pleasures.

[propeller]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Why not the 160bhp Laura TSi?
Its the most exciting car to drive this side of 3 series, its got reasonable space at back. And it surely will get you a proper salute at the five star hotel.

Yes i know before everyone starts bashing Skoda aftersales support, there are a lot of satisfied skoda customers too who are busy admiring their cars rather googling and flooding every forum in the world with their pleasures.

I love the SKODA - Laura and Superb . Infact that was to come home from my mother-in-law as marriage present, but my cousins said their service and the way they treat people are very bad.

Let me give the SUPERB and LAURA a shot once again .

27th Nov 2009 will do it.

[s3va]

killer looks - CIVIC

power - CRUZE

..Money left out of 18lacs, kickass ICE and mods

[patil]

hi,
I suggest you to go for Sonata Transform CRDI. Since you have been using a Hyundai product and probably you are satisfied with the Hyundai product and you seem to be Diesel head Sonata Transform is the best combination of comfort, power and safety. Equipment level is also quite decent and you have an option of an auto box also. The back seat comfort is quite good and your mom will like it. Thats my opinion but you take your own decision after test driving the cars in the range of your budget.

[CLS_55_AMG]

I would definitely recommend the Jetta.

Read my report : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...mfortline.html

[aparth]

I suggest you should check out the Skoda Laura L&K 2.0 TDI it comes with 140 bhp which should hopefully be enough to satisfy your power needs, but if you're worried about Skoda's A.S.S you could consider the Volkswagen Jetta 1.9 TDI DSG.

[aaggoswami]

1) Altis : This is one option that suits you well. It almost meets all your requirements well. Toyota A.S & S. is quite good and this is an added bonus.

2) Cruze : Go for this car is you need diesel. At the cost of being called paranoid, dont let your driver drive this car. This car has got turbolag, so your driver may end up slipping the clutch too much there by reducing the life of clutch.

3) If you are comfortable with SUV, then do consider GV. I think its available for Rs. 18 lakh and with 2.4 can do good speeds too.

4) Civic : This car is too low, so take your parents along and let have try getting in and out of the car.

5) Jetta : Cost of spares are on higher side as per Mar issue of ACI. But the car is quite good. Very good stability, and great quality. VW A.S & S. is rated good as compared to Skoda. I have observed that the dealers are VW Ahmedabad, VW Vadodara, etc., similar to Audi. They have learnt lesson from Skoda I think. Try this car too.

Some points :
a) Going beyond 120-130 on normal Indian highways is best avoided. Express highway is a different thing.
b) If the car is to be used as a chauffeur driven one, take your parents along for each and every car TD. Let them tell you if they are comfortable with rear seat comfort and how they find the ingress, etc.
Eg. My grandfather is not happy with our Baleno's low stance. Its not very easy for him to get in and out of the car.
c) If you are buying diesel and if Driver is going to drive the car, prefer VW Jetta as the rear seat has more headroom than Cruze and turbolag is not as pronounced as Cruze.

[Akadian]

My vote goes to the Chevy Cruz. It has a top speed of 200+ kmph according to the review done by our own fellow T-BHPian. You will have some money left out of your budget and could use that to make it acquire killer looks and ICE etc

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by propeller

I love the SKODA - Laura and Superb . Infact that was to come home from my mother-in-law as marriage present, but my cousins said their service and the way they treat people are very bad.

Let me give the SUPERB and LAURA a shot once again .

27th Nov 2009 will do it.

A Superb as a marriage present, you really have an awesome mother-in-law....shes has good taste too, a rare breed perhaps.

On a more serious note, get a Skoda..either a Laura 1.8 Tsi or if you can stretch your budget then the Superb 1.8. I know with all the concerns about after sales you'll have your doubts but look at the bright side, the car has a brilliant engine, handles well and is built like a tank. Cars which cost twice as much find it hard to keep up with a Laura Tsi.

Ideally you have to visit the dealership only once every year/15000 kms and you get 2yrs warranty on spares,accessories with unlimited mileage.

[prateekm]

Yes, you should try the Superb. I laugh when people say NO to Skoda and then say that you need to try VW. Come on, go check the topic of GTO!! Only 13% of Passat owners have said that they don't have any problems. That means 87% are having blown turbos, etc. So why recommend the VW too?