[an_and]

Hi Phamilyman!, why dont you look at the used car market and buy a hardly used innova. From my experience I can tell you that the service experience of the toyota is pure bliss, and the innova is built to last. I bought mine with 30K on the ODO and today if I were to sell it, with 80K on the ODO, i will get atleast 50K more than what I paid for it two years ago.

Secondly, the car has acres of space for your little one to roam around and the spares are not hugely expensive.

If you do not like the used car market, Still go in for any toyota. The innova specially will give you a fab resale value when you think of selling it seven/eight years down the line, and in my opinion is the only vehicle there which I can think of actually lasting that long without the owner facing major challenges.

Another conclusion that I have reached after owning the Innova is that it is not the service center but the vehicle that determines your service satisfaction levels. The innova is a vehicle that is built to last, and hardly has any major part failures, what ever fails, eg. clutch, shockabsorbers, etc.. is easily replaceable and does not cost the heaven and earth and that makes you walk out of the service center with a huge smile, because the service center guys did not have to sweat to find out your issue and could easily rectify the same.

I am sure if the same guys were to service a fiat, they would go mad and so will you be after getting the service. Or even if the innova develops a slightly cumbersome issue the experience will be the same. I had an experience where there was a problem with the alternator and the same had to be replaced under warranty, I had to literally fight with the guys for them to acknowledge and then identify and finally solve the issue. That is when I realized the service experience that I enjoy at the Toyota ASC is because the vehicle is so well built and not because the ASC guys have such a nice attitude.

There was a recent article discussed in TBHP that Ford is also going down this way by targetting to build vehicles with parts that can last over 10 years. This tells me that Ford has learnt or atleast has acknowledged the secret to success, and if they are sucessful in implementing the same, my next vehicle could very well be a ford... in another four - five years time - when i get bored with the toyota.

[COUGAR]

For the regular kind of touring, you DONT need 4WD: its a nice to have but not enough to rule out another better alternative. in all the years I have had a 4WD, i have only absolutely needed it ONCE or mebbe twice, and I seriously doubt you are going to be taking this vehicle in that sort of place or at that time (heavy monsoon in a rainforest?). So lack of 4WD should not be a reason to rule out any model. What you do need however is good ground clearance: which will help you tackle most forested trails etc.

I would venture to suggest a more conservative option like a Scorpio which I think has evolved into a stable platform now. I just drove a Scorpio AT last weekend and was struck with the refinement (well i drive a Gypsy, so refinement is relative), and the AT was amazing to use: i believe this one was 6 speed!

lots of space to carry knick-nacks for your trip as well, and not too far from your budget. So overall one of the Scorpio Diesel models with/without AT might work best.

And yeah stay away from Tata man!

[blackfire_9]

@phamilyman: Any updates in your search story for that family tourer? Did you get a chance to compare the maintenance/spare part costs of different entry level sedans e.g. Verito, DZire, Manza etc?

[blackfire_9]

Hey buddy, which car did you finally choose? Or have you decided to wait a while longer & possibly wait for new entrants like the EcoSport & Amaze?

Originally Posted by phamilyman

damn damn. Fiat, I WANT this

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/...da-4x4-twinair

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

Hey buddy, which car did you finally choose? Or have you decided to wait a while longer & possibly wait for new entrants like the EcoSport & Amaze?

Hey man,

The swift is doing well for now, and I decided to pay down my home loan instead I will be looking for a new car in late 2013 or early 2014 most likely. Won't be the ecosport unless its launched in diesel and 4x4!

@Roy - I hear you. Completely agree. But the fear is that in our himalayan journeys we may occasionally come across such places that may need 4x4 to tackle painlessly. Though I agree that simple trucks do all the terrain we love to hype on the internet using plain common sense - so a scorpio may be a good option as well. Let's see what the future has in store!

@Anand / ARoy: Agree on the innova's reliability. Won't buy used - the new one falls too far outside my value - money expectations.

@MC: No carbon bike for me, steel roadie is enough.
@iceman7: You're right. If I was in the market now, I would have bought the Sail if it was priced a bit better. The car is such a joy to drive and is quite awesome on most parameters except looks. But then i'm not a looker either
Thanks everyone for their time, again!

[Surprise]

Currently I have a Fiesta Tdci SXI. Iam looking to get a vehicle with good ground clearance...so thought the only option was to go for a SUV/MUV

My requirements (not in order):

1. Vehicle with a good ground clearance & able to negotiate bad roads better - Not that I always drive in such conditions, but atleast once in a month, have to drive to farm where the last 10 kms were bad (for a sedan)

2. Ability to maintain reasonable speeds with ease for continuous highway drives. Would be an added advantage, if it could quickly get to higher speeds on empty long stretches.

3. Read in a different forum, good handling vehicles make the average driver look good & might come handy in tricky situations. So would prefer to have a vehicle with good handling capabilities comparatively

4. 90% the occupancy would not be more than 3. But once in a year, might go for a long drive with family, where maximum number of seats are preferred (say 7 seater). 4 adults, 2 kids + luggage for 2-4 days. I prefer to drive my own vehicle than hiring locally for this occasional highway trip with family.

5. Though modern vehicles are reliable, I want to make this point here. 70% of my odometer coverage would be on highways...so it is important to have a reliable vehicle ( I don't want to get stranded with a broken vehicle on a highway) (including the once in a year trip with family)

6. Since most of the clocking are on highways, safety is of high priority. More the features better

7. I would like to travel to places like Arunachal/Leh/Ladakh (A dream till I pack the things )....So not sure it makes sense to have a AWD instead of FWD to be on a safer side

a. In vehicles like XUV, heard that AWD will be automatically engaged when the front wheel looses traction. Is that right?
b. In that case, most of the time the vehicle will be on a FWD. Assuming I don't engage AWD manually, will there be mileage difference between a FWD & AWD? If yes, why?
c. It was written in many places, AWD vehicles are costlier to maintain. True?

8. Budget- 13 Lakhs

9. Iam open for 1-2 yrs old used vehicles.

[ashis89]

If you are looking at covering bad roads, then you don't need a 4WD/AWD unless it is serious off-roading stuff. In such a case, you can look at the Duster/XUV500 FWD/Storme. All these vehicles can cover 90% of the country, for the rest 10% you would need a 4WD.

Also if you are considering serious off-road, then AWD might not be sufficient, you will need a proper 4WD(with low and high range). In such case Storme/Scorpio 4WD make much more sense though you might not be happy with the Scorpio's handling initially.


Talking about used vehicles, if you agree to overlook your req.2, then Pajero SFX meets all your criterias and it will be one of the best go-anywhere-comfortably vehicle sans fancy electronics. And if you can extend your budget by another 5 lakhs or so, you can get yourself an used Fortuner.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Surprise

8. Budget- 13 Lakhs
9. Iam open for 1-2 yrs old used vehicles.

If you're okay with a Scorpio, then this looks like a good deal to me [and it's in Chennai too]: http://classifieds.team-bhp.com/buy-.../Scorpio.html/

Cheers,
Vikram

[keshiba]

Hello everyone,

I needed advice on which car to buy. I currently own a Maruti Alto 800 that I purchased in Dec 2012, which I shall keep for my wife even after a new one comes in.

Before I share the purchase parameters, I would like to talk about WHY I need a second car. Starting this year onwards we have decided to take an annual family road trip for 10 days. We will choose only one destination (say Goa or Ooty) and drive down there for a week. The remaining days will be required for reaching there and coming back home. Since we NEVER EVER drive on the highways after sunset, I am sure our trips will always require one or maybe two night halts in cities/big towns along the way. Since I live in the exact centre of India (Nagpur) every destination to me is equivalent, and I am looking at a 1,200 KM drive one way to whichever I choose to go. We are a family of three (wife & young daughter complete the picture) and won't be taking anybody else along.

SUV may not be required as my wife is totally against any adventerous trips, so off-roading is ruled out. I am still hoping that the Ford EcoSport can fit my budget, but I don't want to buy it unless it does a year in the market.

I am looking to buy the vehicle by Diwali this year.

So here is the first set of my search parameters on which I will not compromise:
(i) auto transmission ONLY (very important for wife)
(ii) new vehicle
(iii) budget of Rs 8-10Lakh OTR (anywhere in Maharashtra)
(iv) Minimum 1200cc engine
(v) petrol (unless that perfect vehicles comes only in diesel).
(vi) need power at the cost of fuel efficiency (very important for me)
(v) ABS and power steering.
(vi) high OR adjustable driver seat
(vii) comfort
(viii) boot space at least 350 liters



Second set of my search parameters on which I am flexible
(i) type of car (hatch /sedan / CUV, MUV)
(ii) rear AC / rear blower
(iii) airbags
(iv) 60:40 seat split

I request you all to please provide inputs to me so that I can further narrow down my search and do more research before booking my next vehicle. My heart was set on Honday City AT (V) because of paddle shifts but it is beyond my budget. Regarding the (S) variant, I am concerned about its ground clearance and that it just crosses over my budget. Regardless the (S) is still a contender.

Thanks again !!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by keshiba

So here is the first set of my search parameters on which I will not compromise:
(i) auto transmission ONLY (very important for wife)
(ii) new vehicle
(iii) budget of Rs 8-10Lakh OTR (anywhere in Maharashtra)
(iv) Minimum 1200cc engine
(v) petrol (unless that perfect vehicles comes only in diesel).
(vi) need power at the cost of fuel efficiency (very important for me)
(v) ABS and power steering.
(vi) high OR adjustable driver seat
(vii) comfort
(viii) boot space at least 350 liters

- AT Petrol options are galore. But they get trimmed by the 350L boot option.
- Hatches : Brio is off because boot is small. You can look at i20 AT. Its a 1.4L. You also have Ritz and i10.
- Sedan : Quite many choices now City AT is still the pick for me!
- FE of 1.2L engines are that great. You get numbers in range of 8-11.
- CVT versions claim higher FE (Sunny/Scala)

Not offerring any suggestions here, but pointers that may lead you to your answer.

[keshiba]

Originally Posted by ampere

- AT Petrol options are galore. But they get trimmed by the 350L boot option.
- Hatches : Brio is off because boot is small. You can look at i20 AT. Its a 1.4L. You also have Ritz and i10.
- Sedan : Quite many choices now City AT is still the pick for me!
- FE of 1.2L engines are that great. You get numbers in range of 8-11.
- CVT versions claim higher FE (Sunny/Scala)

Not offerring any suggestions here, but pointers that may lead you to your answer.

Thanks ampere.

City AT is still where my heart lies and now I have feeling that I just trying to search for reasons why I should not buy it, rather than why I should. My only concern is the ground clearance since I might just get a bad patch of road. FE is really not playing on my mind now (earlier it was a big factor) because I am not going to be using this car on a daily basis. I will check on i20 online first to see if its boot is big enough. I am not in favour of folding the seats down as I want my daughter to have a her own space back there as she grows up. Ritz I struck out from the list only because of its rear shape.

But thanks again for your inputs, they are reinforcing my feelings for the City AT.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by keshiba

Thanks ampere.

City AT is still where my heart lies and now I have feeling that I just trying to search for reasons why I should not buy it, rather than why I should. My only concern is the ground clearance since I might just get a bad patch of road. FE is really not playing on my mind now (earlier it was a big factor) because I am not going to be using this car on a daily basis. I will check on i20 online first to see if its boot is big enough. I am not in favour of folding the seats down as I want my daughter to have a her own space back there as she grows up. Ritz I struck out from the list only because of its rear shape.

But thanks again for your inputs, they are reinforcing my feelings for the City AT.

Hold on a week for the car that fits your requirements the most:

The Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSi DSG

It has 280L boot space, if you can make do with folding the seats (60:40) it would be a great car.

Another car you can look at is the Honda Amaze(it may seem a bit low on power)

[ampere]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

The Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSi DSG

I expect along with the release, VW should give out a statement as to what they have done with the gear box to reduce its failure rate. This question is bound to come up during the release press conference.

Let's weigh the authenticity of that statements if and when it comes!

[manolin]

*Power at the cost of fuel efficiency.*

and yet,

*flexible on airbags*

Sir, don't compromise on this. It will cost you only a bit more.

[keshiba]

Originally Posted by manolin

*Power at the cost of fuel efficiency.*

and yet,

*flexible on airbags*

Sir, don't compromise on this. It will cost you only a bit more.

Thanks, point taken. But my worries regarding it cropped up because of a car mechanic who told me that even if a minor dash occured the air bags would pop out. He added that it would cost me Rs1 lakh to repair it since the entire dashboard has to be replaced.

Now I have not verified his claims about cost or the 'minor dash' thing, and was hoping to do it at a later stage when I at least make up my mind about which car to buy.