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Paddle shifts are available in hondacity

Test drove Skoda Petrol Automatic Elegance. Seems to be so sedate to drive. Not even close to peppy verna. And the rear leg room is aweful.

VW first should think of making a TSI vento TD vehicle available at all dealers or atleast one vehicle in a meteopolitan city rather than launching all these facelift. What is the use of launching all these facelifts when dealer cannot even arrange a TD vehicle .

I went through the same ordeal as you and finally bought a Ciaz VXI+AT.
If you have not finalized your choice, then you should definitely check out Ciaz AT. Even if you have to go out of city or something to test drive it. It is an excellent car and very practical. High speed driving is quite comfortable. It has a very quiet cabin and has amazing amount of space. Interiors have classy and sober look, hinting at European build. It is wider and has longest wheelbase, so its quice comfortable for well built people also. Mileage is 10-12 in city and 14-15 on highway with AC on.

The closest other choice would be Honda city, which is about 1 lakh more expensive, but comes with cruise control. Also its interiors are inclined towards sporty look (blue+black dial, etc).
For overtaking other vehicles/trucks on highway, both do the job well. Floor the accelerator and they will drop 2 gears to give you the push.

Overall both the cars are brilliant and generally have waiting periods. Sellers are having tough time coping with the demand. Both have unmatched reliability, after sales and resale value. For a general buyer, these 2 are perfect and there is absolutely no need to look for something else in C segment. They give you the maximum car for your rupees spent. Both are considered premuim cars and uplift your social status.

Coming to other cars, everyone else is pretty much a run-along. Their social status inferior and that of cheap alternatives, even if they are not cheaper in reality. Verna is quite good overall, but it is expected to be phased out soon. Its sales are slower too. But Japanese brands are more reliable than Korean ones any day. Rapid/Vento have only advantage of DSG. Sunny has space but not as much as Ciaz, though the acceleration is painfully slow. But generally these cars' after sales is poor and if there is a problem, one has to often wait for a month. Overall, these are suitable for people who want something different from Maruti/Honda, just for the heck of it.

Overall I would say, and you will agree, that test drive by yourself will give you the best judgement. I bought Ciaz after trying many other cars and I am fully satisfied today.

I am also in the same dilemma. One question for you is Are you not feeling underpowered while driving on highways or when you need the surge in the traffic ? Also please share the mileage details.

I have now driven Ciaz for almost 6000+ KMs including a return trip to Bhopal, which is about 800 KMS one way from Delhi. I never felt anything like an under powered drive. I must have overtaken hundreds of vehicles on that trip itself and Ciaz never disappointed me. The only thing is that when the accelerator is pushed to the floor, its exhaust notes sound like a Ferrari or something, but the actual acceleration is not that of a Ferrari ;).

Overall, my conclusion, considering only driving experience was that as long as you are at speeds of upto 150KMPH, Ciaz is better than almost any other car in the segment. It definitely gives you maximum car for your rupee, in this segment. Also if you want to race a lot, then automatic should not be your choice anyway.

Overall mileage was about 15 on the Bhopal trip. Its generally between 11-14 in city drive in Delhi. With AC always on.

Some cars boast of 120+ BHP, but they don't tell you that this bhp is available only at 6000 rpm+. Also they don't tell you how poor the drive quality is at lower RPMs.

With so many new impending launches the options in AT has not grown much?. I wish there are still more cars and real top end variant in automatic to choose from apart from City ( even in city the optional variant with AVN is not available in AT). So I have postponed my car buying until I find a good enough option.

How about toyota corolla ? I know it costs more than the city , but does it go beyond your budget ?What cars have your considered?

Hi,

Having just sold my Ford Ecosport last week to get an Automatic, I am going through the same challenge as you. However this time I am very sure of what I want and willing to wait it out. I am willing to stretch a little over 15 lakhs too since I plan to keep this for a longer time.

Must Have's
- Automatic
- Airbags
- ABS
- Auto folding side mirrors
- Spacious read seat (we are a tall family)
- Steering mounted controls

Preferred
- Smart Keyless + start button
- Cruise control

So at the moment my choices
- CRETA but after ecosport dont feel like it is an upgrade, waiting to see it in person
- XUV Automatic, keeping my fingers crossed that it launches soon
- Storme, not top of my list but nonetheless waiting to see if its interesting

While SUV are my preference due to high seating, I am listing the choices below incase I dont like anything in next 3 to 6 months as my second choice.
- Elantra, looks good, fully loaded yet feels cramped and like sitting down on the road. very gimmicky
- Altis - somehow felt interiors are dated and AT box very old school like. Nice to drive
- Ciaz - personally feel like its boring and mundane (no offence to owners) but agree its tremendous value for money. keeping it as option since its decent to drive

Guessing from available info on the Creta thread, it will be an upgrade from the Ecosport in terms of several parameters such as interior quality,space,features plus a wider dealer distribution through out the country.

The w10 XUV itself surpasses your budget slightly. The auto will be even more.

If you will, test drive the City VX CVT. The backseat space blew me away, though the headroom was tight. This is likely to fit all your criteria. Its the one I'd recommend.
Happy shopping!

Hello
Just wanted to get some opinion for the quandary that I am in right now .
I currently own a vento Tsi and it has been a pretty pleasant experience so far considering the fact that most of the driving was on decent flat stretches of roads .
We recently moved to a new place and now the daily commute involves some pathetic roads( if they can be called that) and the missus is not very happy driving the car .
So we have started having thoughts about buying a Ford Ecosport with the 1.5petrol engine and DCT gearbox ! Now the choice is based upon the assumption that it will be able to handle the bad roads much better or little better.
Would highly appreciate some opinions from people who have really driven both !
Thanks.
Note: I might not be able to reply to posts immediately since I have a poor internet connection where I am but rest assured will really be reading the opinions !

If you plan to change just for the bad road handling capability, I suggest you wait for the Duster AT. It has been spotted testing and should be coming pretty soon. Nothing handles bad roads like a duster.

On the downside none of the other AT's in this segment will give you the smoothness and performance that you have been experiencing in the Vento Tsi. Once you are used to it, will be difficult to switch.

You can ask your wife to TD the Ecosport AT for the drive experience to measure it against the Vento. Just to get a feel of the performance difference and acceptability.

I guess this is a very common situation that people find themselves in. I have not logged many kms in a Vento but I have driven several other VAG cars extensively including the Rapid and one thing I can say is that their suspension setup, taking mounting, joints and everything into consideration, can take quite a beating.

Do you or your wife face any difficulties with the ground clearance of the car? If not, your wife needs to be trained in the art of nursing a car over a bad road; tracking every undulation is the best way I can describe it :D otherwise it does not matter if you are in a C2 segment sedan or a pseudo SUV like the Ecosport because in both cases the car and its suspension components will incur the same levels of stress (ergo similar part replacement bills in the long run) thus I'd suggest looking at the ecosport only if you need the extra ground clearance BUT do not mistake it for a tougher car.

If your wife finds it difficult to hone her skills to that level or you find it difficult to show her how, then only a proper ladder on frame chassis SUV or a fusion of ladder on frame and monocoque type car will help in this regard (with the exception of a few cars like the Renault Duster). Something like a Safari, Innova, Pajero and if you want it to be a little more civilized, the tough as nails Grand Vitara, is a solid bet as a used car ;)

Hi Rajeev
Thanks for the reply ! Yes that's exactly what I've asked her to do .
Of course we are not in a hurry as such and like you rightly said it is going to be difficult to replicate the driving experience of the Vento Tsi ; but considering the fact that both are dual clutch transmission ; is the ecosport that very different ?
Of course the engines too have the difference of one being turbocharged while the other being NA .
Yes will see after the Test drive !
Thanks again !

Hi ishaanian
Thanks for your reply !
Yes sir it's the ground clearance which is the issue we are facing because this particular road leads to my son's school and we hardly exceed 20kmph on it .
Now the main issue is IF the car takes a hit in the underbody !
I really don't want such a situation to crop up especially when I am not in town which I am not for at least 1/2 the year.
Ofcourse I've also started looking at that rough road package cover which many others have put up in their VAG cars .
Will this be good enough or will the extra clearance of the ecosport be really needed is what I am pondering about !
Of course I do understand the limitations of the ecosport ; but it's the only decent option I can think of in this budget.
Thanks again !
Moderator note: sorry if this reply is coming on the back of another one I've just made . My internet connection is not very responsive 😐

The problem with Ecosport is its not so comfy ride - especially on bad roads and slow speeds. Infact my Linea is able to handle bad/no roads much better than the Ecosport I had.