Team-BHP - Nissan Sunny vs VW Vento TDI EDIT: Its a Sunny Diesel XLD

Hi,

We are looking forward to buy a new car and the after all the calculations the cars shortlisted finally are:

1. Nissan Sunny XLD
2. VW Vento TDI HL

A 3rd but very distant option is the Honda city Corp Edition or the E MT.

The car will be driven exclusively in the city with almost no highway runs. The priorities in order are:
1. Built and reliability. Car should not give me any reason to go to the service centre outside the normal schedules and also should stay rattle free for the next 5-7 years.
2. Safety features with atleast ABS and Airbags.
3. Good after sales.
4. Interior space specially the back seat.
5. Driveability is the last in the list. We are all relatively sedate drivers and don't find the need to zoom on the red lights. It should be a decent peppy car to drive but need not be a stonker.

The OTR prices I have got are:

Nissan Sunny: 9,08,831
VW Vento 2011 model after discounts: 10,40,000
Honda City: Corporate edition - 8,01,376
E MT- 8,79,698

The car will be driven for around 1000-1200 kms per month and hence I am not too keen on a Petrol car.

The main question I have is: Is it justifiable/VFM to spend 1.3L extra for the Vento over the Sunny? Feature wise both the cars are similar with the Sunny too having most of the features apart from the Alloy wheels.

Looking forward to some good advice on the above.

Quote:

Originally Posted by libranof1987 (Post 2651956)

Apart from A.S.S., any particular reason you aren't considering the Skoda Rapid?

Between Skoda and Rapid, Rapid is a better bet.

@libranof1987 - I think you meant 'between Vento and Rapid'...

@drmohitg - I would prefer the Sunny over the Vento for all the above mentioned reasons, other than the resale value. Indians love the VW badge for some strange reasons and you get to see so many of them on the roads while your's will probably be the first Sunny on the forum.

I personally love the VFM Sunny over anything for the kind of usage that you have.

Thanks a lot guys for the speedy responses since I have to close the deal within a day or two.

Quote:

Originally Posted by libranof1987 (Post 2651956)

Apart from A.S.S., any particular reason you aren't considering the Skoda Rapid?

Between Skoda and Rapid, Rapid is a better bet.

The After sales is BIG "?" for me as far as Skoda is concerned. Also I felt the spare part prices are obscenely priced. Somehow don't want to go for a Skoda. Checked out the rapid but it didn't click with us.

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeybee (Post 2651961)

How long do you plan to keep the car?

6-7 years at the minimum. May be a little more but I am guessing till then the market would have got a lot more excited to control the temptation to change the car.

Quote:

Also what are the prices of similar spec'ced petrol models of the same cars?

We are not looking at petrol cars. The car to be replaced in a 2005 Honda City. Honda cars are reliable like hell and overall fun to drive. That is the only reason why we are considering the Honda city. And that too only the Corporate Edition or the E MT. The price difference of close to 1.5L over the Vento will cover up the running cost differences for a good 3-4 years, So in the end it will even out. But feature wise the city will ofcourse lack behind since these are the base models.

No other Petrol car is under consideration. If it will be a Honda, it will purely be a decision from the Heart. My dad is a fan of there petrol engines although I am more keen on a diesel.

Quote:

Since you have included the City too, how does it score on the features vis a vis the other two cars?

The City corp and E MT lack most of the features like ACC, Fogs, Chrome at the right places, steering controls. We both loved the City V MT ( specially in this new brown shade that was on display) but then it doesn't make sense since we are looking to cut down on the running cost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarrySky (Post 2651967)

I think the Vento has an engine/handling advantage over the Sunny - which should not matter much since you are planning to use the car exclusively within the city and given that you are a sedate driver. Drivability-wise I guess both cars should be equal. I expect the CAAAAR will have better space at the rear. So, I don't really see why you should pay a 1.3L premium for the Vento.

Exactly my predicament. Only thing is that Nissan is still an unknown entity in India and I don't want to be a guinea pig for them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 2651993)

Exactly my predicament. Only thing is that Nissan is still an unknown entity in India and I don't want to be a guinea pig for them.

It's more the after sales service which is the unknown factor here. As a product I don't think there's much to worry.

You could check around for any Micra ownership reviews (even the Teanna if you can find owners) to know how the after sales service might be like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkaile (Post 2652002)

Just a thought - If you buy the Honda City CE, will you not end up saving money even in the long run? Will you be able to recover the 2.5 Lacs price difference (from say a diesel Vento) that you are ready to pay even in the 5-7 years of ownership?

He has already rated the City CE low on the feature list, so my guess is he will be tempted to buy the City only if there are horror stories about the Vento or the Sunny (which I doubt).

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 2651948)

Eventually, you re-enter the market:) Before I give give my suggestions, let me say that I had this intuition that you'd give the Jetta a pass when it come to the second car. After all, buying a car in the same segment as one you already have in garage, is an uncommon occurrence.

I'd say if the running is close to 1k you don't necessarily need a diesel car. In that case, ANHC CE make great sense. Having said that, these are only projections. If your running goes up by even a little bit, say 1400-1500 kms, petrol prices will start hurting big time. Also, one tends to drive according to what one is driving. With a diesel car, one tends to drive a little more. All in all, let's stick to diesels then.

If I were you, I'd like to complement my garage of a Jap with a Euro car. After all, the two car building philosophies are very different. So, I'd say stick to Vento TDI HL. It's one heck of car. With one car, you get Jap reliability (Altis), with other, you get Euro build and 'relative' fun to drive factor. Any reason why you don't want to consider Rapid? Same car as Vento as a cheaper price. A.S.S? Man, those are grossly exaggerated! Outside, tbhp, Skoda is a reputed brand. Especially in Dilli, where image is everything:D (cmg from a fellow Dilliwala).

<<The main question I have is: Is it justifiable/VFM to spend 1.3L extra for the Vento over the Sunny?>>

Absolutely, everything is not about VFM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkaile (Post 2652002)

Well thats exactly why I also went ahead and checked the Honda City Corp edition today and mentioned the same in the first post. The 2.5L difference upfront will easily cover up for any running cost difference even if Petrol touches 100 Rs / Litre in the near future. But the Corp edition did really look bare. I will surely need to spend 50k on in first for a good ICE, Speakers, Alloys and 5k to get body coloured door handles and ORVMs ( according to the dealer's price).
Somehow I didn't really like the all black interior and it looked a little cheap to me from some angles or it may be just the psychological bias since I was checking out a Base model.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile (Post 2652012)

Eventually, you re-enter the market:) Before I give give my suggestions, let me say that I had this intuition that you'd give the Jetta a pass when it come to the second car.

Well it was there on the cards :). And yes you got it right. I just felt that Jetta be given a pass ( atleast for now). Also we would be changing the Innova too in a year with a proper SUV. So I don't want to push my Dad too much afterall :D.

Quote:

Any reason why you don't want to consider Rapid? Same car as Vento as a cheaper price. A.S.S? Man, those are grossly exaggerated! Outside, tbhp, Skoda is a reputed brand. Especially in Dilli, where image is everything:D (cmg from a fellow Dilliwala).

No Skoda. A friends Laura is parked at the service centre for a month now for want of parts. The car met with an accident and the damage is close to 2.9L. The spares cost a bomb. So lets give Skoda a skip here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 2651948)

The car will be driven exclusively in the city with almost no highway runs.

No highway runs means you can count the Vento out, doc saab. Vento's strength is it's 250Nm torque which is best for highway runs. Plus it will save you a ton of money.

The priorities in order are:
1. Built and reliability. Car should not give me any reason to go to the service centre outside the normal schedules and also should stay rattle free for the next 5-7 years.

Honda and VW score high on this. Nissan cars are also built relatively sturdily. I have sat inside the Sunny and it felt pretty solid and spacious. The quality of materials used is also pretty much on par with the competition.

2. Safety features with atleast ABS and Airbags.

Honda provides all safety features even in it's base model. But for 1200 kms/month, the City might prove to be a bit more costly than the other two.

3. Good after sales.

Honda again. VW's after sales woes are well-known (though they have improved as per recent reports), and Nissan is still unknown territory.

4. Interior space specially the back seat.

The Sunny takes the cake here. The rear seat spacing is humongous. Second comes the City, and the Vento with it's centre hump is third. Of course, for 2 people in the rear, all 3 are spacious enough.

5. Driveability is the last in the list. We are all relatively sedate drivers and don't find the need to zoom on the red lights. It should be a decent peppy car to drive but need not be a stonker.

The Sunny handles quite well in city traffic. It's a nice car to potter around the city at cruising speeds and is a no-fuss car. The City is also as good, but yes it's a petrol.

The OTR prices I have got are:

Nissan Sunny: 9,08,831
VW Vento 2011 model after discounts: 10,40,000
Honda City: Corporate edition - 8,01,376
E MT- 8,79,698

The car will be driven for around 1000-1200 kms per month and hence I am not too keen on a Petrol car.

I say get the Sunny, if you are not too bothered by Nissan's relatively new entry into the Indian auto arena. Plus, you might get good early A.S.S. since they would like to improve on their reputations so that good word-by-mouth helps them to be in good stead.

The main question I have is: Is it justifiable/VFM to spend 1.3L extra for the Vento over the Sunny? Feature wise both the cars are similar with the Sunny too having most of the features apart from the Alloy wheels.

If the car won't do any highway runs, you can look past the Vento. The Sunny is a pretty solid option for in-city pottering, and won't cost a bomb either.

My replies in bold, doc saab.