[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I am waking this thread up because I am contemplating a car for my parents as well...... Does the camry offer superlative advantages over the corolla?

Definitely. Corolla simply does not feel as special or as comfortable in comparison. I always found the Corolla to be strictly average. I would suggest the Camry and as drmohitg suggested, ask them to check out an Innova with captain seats as well. Older folk tend to prefer walking into and out of cars rather than bending too much. The Innova certainly isn't as comfortable or as good on the material quality front, but it is far more practical, will handle a wider range of road conditions, and is more robust.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Do take a good look at the car. I would not even trust Toyota used car department blindly in India. The dealers are always out there to make an extra buck and what appears to be all gleaming from outside might turn out to be not so good in the real world. People have had bad experiences with official used car dealers too like Mahindra first choice etc.

+1 to that never trust dealers whether it is with new cars, used cars, with warranty, without warranty whatever it is. Our country has poor laws when it comes to protecting consumers and I know it is not good to say it, but every other fellow out there is a cheat. Give yourself ample time when selecting a used car and never rush into it. Have them all checked out thoroughly before finalising.

[Nimz]

My turn to wake up this thread.

Am looking for a utilitarian sedan (or hatchback if it can seat 5) within 10 Lakhs OTR in Chennai for my sister's family. They already have a hatchback for that quick grocery run.

This will be chauffeur driven for the most part and will be the work horse - ferry folks to and from work + kids to school + airport / station pick up & drops + occasional long family trips.

Fuel: Diesel / Manual

Seating: 5 (comfortable back seats are important and will also have aged folks travelling so ingress / egress needs to be good).

Running costs - Low (low maintenance costs + low fuel costs)

Reliability - High (hence looking at a new car).

Fun To Drive (FTD) - Not so much. Purely utilitarian. Should keep running.

Price - Lower the better. 10 lakhs is the absolute upper limit.

Safety - Absolute must. Air bags / ABS and the works.

They will keep the car for at least 5 years or more and are not too worried about resale value.

I have shortlisted in order of my preference:

Toyota Etios (Platinum): Proven work horse going by the cabs on duty. Toyota reliability and low running costs. Top contender.

Tata Zest: Seems good. But our family had a Tata earlier and we did not have a great experience, so there could be some resistance with internal stakeholders.

Ford Figo Aspire: Seems to tick all the boxes but not sure on reliability when it comes to being chauffeur driven. (I drive a Ford Fiesta and love my car to bits but mine is strictly driven by me - one can't let another touch their love right!).

Maruti Swift DZire: Reliable going by the cabs. But somehow I don't like the shape. Never have, but other stakeholders may. There is also a strong brand pull towards Maruti unlike Tata.

Nissan Sunny: Priced less than 8L ex showroom for the basic diesel variant. Looks interesting. But doubtful service support and not sure about real world fuel efficiency, maintenance costs and reliability. Will defer to experienced members on whether this should be in the shortlist.

Verito Vibe: Again, I have seen many taxis. Not sure on reliability and running costs.

Hyundai Xcent: Not a big fan of Hyundai as I never liked the way they handled. Not sure about their reliability, fuel efficiency and maintenance costs. Also not sure if it would seat five comfortably. Would defer to the more experienced members views on the Xcent's suitability for a work horse.

Thanks in advance.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by Nimz

My turn to wake up this thread.

Am looking for a utilitarian sedan (or hatchback if it can seat 5) within 10 Lakhs OTR in Chennai for my sister's family. They already have a hatchback for that quick grocery run.
.....
Thanks in advance.

Friend, your first choice - Toyota Etios Platinum (VD or VXD variant) suits your requirements perfectly, including your budget. I see no reason to look beyond it!?

[landcruiser123]

The Toyota Etios it should be. A well engineered practical car which should suit all your requirements.

If you don't want the Etios for it's 'Taxi Image' (purely a perspective), look towards the Honda Jazz- the top variants with the magic seats will be extremely comfortable but may cost more the INR 10L. Other variants are pretty good too.

[JediKnight]

What about Mahindra Verito.

+ves.

1. Superb ride quality.
2. Very fuel efficent.
3. Very reliable.
4. Widest rear seat. Better 5 seater than etios.
5. Big boot

-ves

1. Taxi image. Shared with Etios.
2. Poor resale and possibility of Mahindra stopping the model in future
due to poor sales.
3. Mahindra service not a match to Toyota.

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

What about Mahindra Verito.

I had considered the Verito, the Vibe being the compact sedan version. But the Verito comes only with driver airbags so not sure how safe. And also as mentioned, not sure when Mahindra will pull the plug on this one.

Thanks for the posts on the Etios Platinum. The Figo Aspire Diesel (1.5D Trend MT) is also very attractively priced with good mileage figures (ARAI certified at least). Guess it boils down to these two.

[lamborghini]

With the GST kicking in, how about the Maruti S Cross as an alternative to the Etios?

As an owner of both, with a similar requirement when we bought them, I would hands down pick the S-Cross 1.3 (we have the 1.6) over the Etios due to better performance, better ride/handling balance, better interiors.

The best bit is the good GC + ease of ingress/egress as compared to other crossovers.

Yes - you would lose out on the boot space and would have to deal with more rattles, but it is still a better all rounder IMO.

If not - the Etios is a lot more practical for the needs you've mentioned as compared to some of the other options on the list.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

With the GST kicking in, how about the Maruti S Cross as an alternative to the Etios?

As an owner of both, with a similar requirement when we bought them, I would hands down pick the S-Cross 1.3 (we have the 1.6) over the Etios due to better performance, better ride/handling balance, better interiors.
......
......

S-cross, is no doubt a good option. But with his 10L budget, I'm afraid he can only afford the 1.3 Sigma variant which is barebones in features.
I expect the 1.3 Delta which is little better equipped to cost around 10.3Lakhs OTR in Chennai even after GST.
Given this, the Etios VD or VXD seems a better choice.

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

With the GST kicking in, how about the Maruti S Cross as an alternative to the Etios?

As an owner of both, with a similar requirement when we bought them, I would hands down pick the S-Cross 1.3 (we have the 1.6) over the Etios due to better performance, better ride/handling balance, better interiors.

The best bit is the good GC + ease of ingress/egress as compared to other crossovers.

Yes - you would lose out on the boot space and would have to deal with more rattles, but it is still a better all rounder IMO.

If not - the Etios is a lot more practical for the needs you've mentioned as compared to some of the other options on the list.

Thanks.. I am looking it up. Does it seat 5 adult passengers comfortably? And am guessing it is reliable (no niggles or giggles) with low maintenance costs? It does have 5 star NCAP ratings and the Sigma variant seems to have all required features.

[narayans80]

S-Cross would be slightly better in terms of ingress and egress compared to the Etios. Maintenance costs of the 1.3L should be decent, may not be as low as Toyota but nothing worrying.

Etios has all 3-point seat belts at the rear, that none of the cars in the price bracket offer. Otherwise safety equipment is comparable, dual airbags, ABS, 2 ISOFIX points are standard in S-Cross and Etios.

So if the elders at home are OK with the ingress-egress, Etios is a no brainer here. You can explore the V version, the OTR of the petrol and diesel of this trim will be under 10L. Last time I enquired VXD was approximately 10.5L and VX(P) was 9.36L OTR Madras. This was in August 2016.

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by narayans80

S-Cross would be slightly better in terms of ingress and egress compared to the Etios. Maintenance costs of the 1.3L should be decent, may not be as low as Toyota but nothing worrying.

Etios has all 3-point seat belts at the rear, that none of the cars in the price bracket offer. Otherwise safety equipment is comparable, dual airbags, ABS, 2 ISOFIX points are standard in S-Cross and Etios.

So if the elders at home are OK with the ingress-egress, Etios is a no brainer here. You can explore the V version, the OTR of the petrol and diesel of this trim will be under 10L. Last time I enquired VXD was approximately 10.5L and VX(P) was 9.36L OTR Madras. This was in August 2016.

Thanks. I am suggesting the following to my sister / BIL to TD:
1. Etios Platinum GXD (has basic features and the airbags etc.)
2. Swift Dzire 2017 VDI (Within budget but is a 4 seater... so they may pass on this one but worth a TD).
3. Ford Aspire 1.5D Trend MT (Ticks all boxes but reliability is an unknown and does not have a taxi image. Also I have to have a Ford in the list )
4. Swift S-Cross (based on recent mentions... am doubtful they will consider it as they want a sedate, non-attention grabbing vehicle but who knows!).

If they don't like any of these, have suggested the Zest.

Thanks much for helping with this list. (attaching a basic Excel that I used in case anyone else finds it useful / points out any error etc.)

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Nimz

1. Etios Platinum GXD (has basic features and the airbags etc.)
2. Swift Dzire 2017 VDI (Within budget but is a 4 seater... so they may pass on this one but worth a TD).
4. Swift S-Cross (based on recent mentions... am doubtful they will consider it as they want a sedate, non-attention grabbing vehicle but who knows!).

I remember Etios V variant came with slightly bigger sized tyres than the GX variant

I've been following 2017 Dzire, it would have wait times associated to the tune of 3-4 months now. So it might not have immediate deliveries for the moment.

S-Cross 1.3 is pretty sedate vehicle and not attention grabbing at all. It was the reason we considered it for our prospective purchase Among the choices it is the one with the better build.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by Nimz

Thanks. I am suggesting the following to my sister / BIL to TD:
1. Etios Platinum GXD (has basic features and the airbags etc.)

The best choice if it's meant to be people mover which will be driven primarily by a chauffeur.

2. Swift Dzire 2017 VDI (Within budget but is a 4 seater... so they may pass on this one but worth a TD)

I think the Swift Dzire will be worth looking at only if it's the AMT you want. If not, why wait for a long time for the car?

Also, initial customers of new launches are part of the R&D club to varying extent. Even the Innova Crysta and Honda City which are the epitome of reliability have had some niggles in the first few batches. The Baleno, TUV 300 are a few cars which have faced some problems (minor or major depending on the brand) in the initial batches.

This statement is purely from the reading in the forum and some experiences from friends. I'm just warning you about potential pitfalls, not everyone experiences these niggles. Let's not debate about it, but I had to mention it as I think you want a fill it, forget it type of car

3. Ford Aspire 1.5D Trend MT (Ticks all boxes but reliability is an unknown and does not have a taxi image. Also I have to have a Ford in the list )

The Aspire has got quite a fan following in the Taxi market.
I don't see why reliability and ASS should be a problem, but it'll not be as painless as a Toyota.

4. Swift S-Cross (based on recent mentions... am doubtful they will consider it as they want a sedate, non-attention grabbing vehicle but who knows!).

Actually an interesting choice- would be no. 2. It's supremely comfortable and a solidly engineered product. As someone mentioned above, the boot space is slightly less, but I don't think there is any real flaw with the car.

[autorahul]

I would go with S-Cross just because it would be good for all kinds of roads. Just add a basic bluetooth ICE with remote to control from the back seat.

Next option would be TUV300. There are some good offers and you could get a pretty great price. The rear seat comfort has been appreciated in every review. Quality wise S-Cross would be significantly superior, though you can get T4+ variant for significantly less price.

Final option would be Etios. The only issue is while it nails the utilitarian part there is no luxury feel which the other 2 give.

I would also give outside look at Baleno Sigma. It has similar space as Dzire, but for a lesser price. Waiting period is coming down every week too.

PS: Wish you had checked up a week back. Ertiga would have been the perfect option before GST increase on the hybrids.

[Nimz]

Thanks Autorahul.

The reason I did not consider the TUV300 was the ingress/ egress (one has to "climb in" which will not work for the slightly older folk using the vehicle) apart from the "tank" look which will not go down well with the intended buyers.

Otherwise I agree, the TUV300 is a fine vehicle for its price point.