[vasisht]

Appreciate help on selecting car in this segment....

I have a back problem due to surgery so need a car with high seat. Currently drive a Ford Fusion Petrol and love it with its SUV feel.
Looking for a car in the RS. 10 L bracket with high driver seat like Fusion.
Fusion with 1.6 ltr engine is powerful and gives me confidence and security on the road, so want something similiar or better now.
Want to switch to diesel and have a engine that is as powerful or better than the fusion.
Checked Renault Duster, Skoda Rapid, Ford Fiesta and Maruti SX4.
Liked Rapid but feedback on service bad.
Not too sure about duster and its future - performance, service, spares etc.
I travel so car tends to remain idle for days during that time - so will diesel develop problems ??? Worried about this.
Welcome suggestions and have I missed any other model ???

[gandalf]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

In this segment, you probably can't beat Fiat in handling. Neither the Vento, nor the Rapid, nor the Verna are drivers cars. The Verna specifically has a poor 'feel'. (This is my personal opinion only).
Since you have removed two of my favorite cars and the only two that check all other boxes from your consideration set, you'll have to sacrifice features+a.s.s or drivability.

I had a TD of both the City and the Linea MJD in Jan.

I felt Linea was a little sluggish to go from stationary to motion. But this was not the case with skoda. I don’t know what this is called but it put me off.

Honda City is my favorite car and I would have gone for it without a second thought. But since my first car is petrol and I want to keep it, we have to look at a diesel

P.S. I dont know about the A.S.S for Skoda or Vento But I feel it would be better than my Palio. The only time I needed a spare part it took them a month to source it for me . Vento and Rapid being fairly new Cars in India I expect them to run for atleast the next 5 years and hence spare parts wont be an issue. The other issue with A.S.S would be expertise... well that story I feel is the same for all car dealers except Maruti maybe

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Yes, the Optra is still very much around. Technically, the best choice in the ~10 lac range, but marred only by the dated looks(subjective) and doubtful future. Who else gives a car with 2.0 liter engine at 10 lacs on road?

Hey Ajay just called the Chey Dealer here in Bangalore. He tells me the Optra Diesel is discontinued. they only have a petrol varient :(

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by gandalf

Hey Ajay just called the Chey Dealer here in Bangalore. He tells me the Optra Diesel is discontinued. they only have a petrol varient :(

That's a breaking news, at least for me. Hope they have some plans of launching a refreshed model soon. It was one heck of a car. They should stop selling all those duds called Aveo, Aveo-UVA and relaunch a dashing new Optra.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by gandalf

Vento and Rapid being fairly new Cars in India I expect them to run for atleast the next 5 years and hence spare parts wont be an issue. The other issue with A.S.S would be expertise... well that story I feel is the same for all car dealers except Maruti maybe

I don't think you will need to worry much about AS&S and related issues for the Vento (or Rapid for that matter). In this forum itself there are quite a lot of satisfied Vento owners and every possible issues / solutions are being discussed around. Being the same car in different skin, expect the Rapid to behave the same (depending on the competency of your local dealer).

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

That's a breaking news, at least for me. Hope they have some plans of launching a refreshed model soon. It was one heck of a car. They should stop selling all those duds called Aveo, Aveo-UVA and relaunch a dashing new Optra.

Ajay, I remember reading about this a few weeks back in some other thread here. That's why posted the question earlier. Anyway I don't expect a refreshed Optra, as the replacement gen is already being sold in India (Cruze).

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by gandalf

Hi All
Just saw this thread yesterday and was thrilled about it. Well I too am in the market for a ~10 Lakh car.

Just curious, Why Nissan Sunny was not in consideration?

[gandalf]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Just curious, Why Nissan Sunny was not in consideration?

Actually I felt that it may not have the power I am expecting.
But after reading all the opinions of Nissan in this forum I called the local dealer yesterday to schedule a TD. When i called them and told them i wanted a TD the receptionist said they would get back to me with a date for the TD and disconnected the call. Now the attitude of the dealership is actually worrying me. If they take this attitude for sales what would their attitude be after I buy the Nissan? Anyways, I have decided to take the TD before I Finalize.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by gandalf

Actually I felt that it may not have the power I am expecting.
But after reading all the opinions of Nissan in this forum I called the local dealer yesterday to schedule a TD. When i called them and told them i wanted a TD the receptionist said they would get back to me with a date for the TD and disconnected the call. Now the attitude of the dealership is actually worrying me. If they take this attitude for sales what would their attitude be after I buy the Nissan? Anyways, I have decided to take the TD before I Finalize.

I would suggest you to go to the showroom directly and ask for a TD. Also, Nissan A.S.S. is pretty good so far, based on feedback from actual owners. All the best!

[_raVan_]

Originally Posted by vasisht

Checked Renault Duster, Skoda Rapid, Ford Fiesta and Maruti SX4.
I travel so car tends to remain idle for days during that time - so will diesel develop problems ??? Worried about this.
Welcome suggestions and have I missed any other model ???

Since you have checked Duster, Rapid, Fiesta and SX4, why dont you check out Verna, Scorpio and Vento?

You mentioned that the vehicle will be idle when you travel, so on an average how much kms do you clock in an year? If the monthly running is very low, stick to petrol.

I have left my car idle for more than 2 months once, and it didnt pose me a problem. Dont know about diesel engines though, but I dont think it should be problem other than the battery needing to be charged.

[spacescreamer]

I would request/suggest members to enlist the choices right at the start of the post.

Skimming the whole write up maynot be a viable option everytime, and mentioning the models according to decreasing order of pref gives a nice insight for things to come, which might help the person reading it to either skip or go ahead for a thorough read.

[Hayek]

May be slightly off-topic but thought this thread may be a good one to address my dilemma about a car to buy. We are looking at replacing our Getz, which is mainly used by my wife, and is chauffeur driven 75% of the time.

So far, we have test driven the Honda City V AT and the VW Vento Highline Diesel. My observations are as under:

1. Honda City - The car is reasonably powerful, and very easy to drive. Seating position is great, and there is enough leg room in the rear seat even in my driving position (almost all the way back). However, the engine is quite noisy and the AT is very sluggish (though I have been spoiled by the DSG on my Superb). The biggest downer is the interior quality, which is somewhat low rent and a big step down from the New Honda City Gxi which we owned for 6 years (and sold 2 years ago). Also we found the steering rather "loose" - and while it has been a long time since we drove my old NHC, we did think that the steering on that car was much sharper.

2. The Vento TDi Highline - As mentioned on the Vento review thread, we found the interiors amazing. Power in city traffic seemed limited (probably as we were shifting below 2000 rpm), but the likely deal breaker is how hard the clutch is. We can't afford a situation where my wife has to use this in evening peak hour traffic from BKC after a long day at work.

We are also going to try the City MT, the Vento Petrol AT / MT and the Jazz. However, our usage is about 11,000 km per annum, and at Rs. 75 per litre of petrol, and assuming a petrol AT gives us 8 km per litre in Bombay traffic (vs. 12 km / litre for a diesel), the annual operating cost differential is over Rs. 50,000 per annum.

Hence the post on this thread. How good is the Hyundai Verna 1.6 CRDi AT? Is it reasonably responsive, how has the maintenance experience been et al. Would greatly appreciate any feedback.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Hayek

We are looking at replacing our Getz, which is mainly used by my wife, and is chauffeur driven 75% of the time.
So far, we have test driven the Honda City V AT and the VW Vento Highline Diesel. My observations are as under:
1. Honda City
2. The Vento TDi Highline
We are also going to try the City MT, the Vento Petrol AT / MT and the Jazz. However, our usage is about 11,000 km per annum, and at Rs. 75 per litre of petrol, and assuming a petrol AT gives us 8 km per litre in Bombay traffic (vs. 12 km / litre for a diesel), the annual operating cost differential is over Rs. 50,000 per annum.

With the said usage, I would suggest to stick to a diesel. And for that the Vento/Rapid TDI sounds like the ideal option. Probably it’s better to ask your wife to check and see how comfortable she is with the clutch.

If leaning towards petrol, I would recommend to check the Jazz. For me, it is a much better city car than the City. And if you really want an AT, check out the Fiesta petrol DCT. That indeed is the most advanced AT we have in this segment, and very well loaded in all aspects.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by vb-san

With the said usage, I would suggest to stick to a diesel. And for that the Vento/Rapid TDI sounds like the ideal option. Probably it’s better to ask your wife to check and see how comfortable she is with the clutch

And if you really want an AT, check out the Fiesta petrol DCT. That indeed is the most advanced AT we have in this segment, and very well loaded in all aspects.

Thanks for the inputs. The deal breaker on the Vento clutch is after she checked it. On the petrol AT, I think its between the City and the Vento. Not even going to check the Ford, as I am very sceptical about the brand

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Thanks for the inputs. The deal breaker on the Vento clutch is after she checked it. On the petrol AT, I think its between the City and the Vento. Not even going to check the Ford, as I am very sceptical about the brand

Well yes, brand preference is really important. Suggested the Ford due to the modern transmission and safety features. Vento AT is fairly competent but I have a feeling that the 1.6 may go off in the near future, and get aligned to the global engine options like the 1.2/1.4 TSI (the latter have already made an appearance with the Jetta). Anyway, checkout the Jazz X and the lower price point may help to cover the added fuel cost.
Happy shopping

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by Hayek

The deal breaker on the Vento clutch is after she checked it.

If you drove a TD car from one dealer, it could be that car had an issue. As far as i know, VW replaced the clutch hose pipe on a few Vento's when the owners complained of hard clutch. A very high chance this TD car needs attention.

Vento suits your requirement perfectly, do TD again and see if you're happy with it

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

^ Let's not forget Classic now is positioned a segment below. Apart from being dated, the Classic is more cramped, less premium and weaker than cars being discussed in this thread.

How does Fiesta Classic TDCi perform in handling department in comparison to Vento/Rapid?