[advaitlele]

Thanks Rajeevraj.

As of now I would wait till official drive reports in team bhp and other sources are released for Maruti 's new transmission system. Hope they put that in Ertiga add well.

I am also not too keen on blind booking unless I have driven it myself. I as a buyer had done the rounds of TD when I spent 3.5L on Indica and when I am spending thrice as much doesn't make sense in blind booking.

[advaitlele]

Update on Ford siblings --

On Ecosport -- "We have stopped taking Ecosport bookings as the waiting list has grown too big" - that means Ecosport is ruled out for next two Qs.

On Fiesta -- "Revamped / new model is due in next 2-3 months and hence I would suggest you wait for that if you are not in a hurry." - Are they doing some facelift on the Fiesta or would it be a completely new model (which I don't think would be the case anyways). This came as a news / surprise to me.

So Ford is out of the list for me as of now.

Only thing to wait for is Maruti's AMT version and SX4 replacement as I heard that's also going to be launched this year.

[loving_alaap]

I am also in a market for a good AT and will mostly go with new city SV CVT.

I had considered Amaze AT as I am a firm believer of Honda technology (I have 1st gen Honda city AT which is still serving good without any niggles, though FE has dropped a bit).

Between Amaze and City, New City is definitly a better choice provided budget is not an issue.

I was keen to have Sunny/Scala as they are proper cars (unlike Amaze) and have CVT (may be better FE) suited for my sedate driving. Scala top end is much better as it has all the bells and whistles and one can get around 1 lac discount on 2013 models. 4 years warrently was also on offer. In such scenario Scala AT was a much better deal. You can get it <10lacs for top end CVT that has push button start and leather seats!!!

I just postponded due to new city. I am more keen for CVT as it gives better FE and suited for my sedate style of driving. The rubber band effect is supposed to be taken care by Honda with Paddle shifts. GTO has clearly stated in his review that City has much better CVT then Scala /Sunny. Consider CVT for better FE. Believe me, conventionall AT with lower FE will really pinch you over long term.

Best of luck.

In a summay,
1st option- New City AT: Best option if you can stretch the budget
2nd option- Scala AT: 2013 model with mouth watering discounts (opt for 4 year warrenty)
3rd option-Amaze AT: No one can beat Honda technology

[aseem]

Folks...
Its that time for me to take the plunge again. A little background about my past cars...

1. Swift (absolutely loved the handling on Potenza GIIIs)
2. Honda City AT (experience was average, it was not fun to drive)
3. All new Ford Fiesta Tdci (Absolutely hoots to drive)

Now I am shifting cities and planning to sell my Ford Fiesta. Given I am moving to a crowded city, I am relooking the automatic option. I have made a lot of losses on car over last few years. Given I sold my City to a friend I quite like how the car has gracefully aged. Having said that, the same can't be said about my Fiesta. Although it is still ooodles with a big O to drive. Having said that, given hat its not a commercial success, I am going to loose a lot of money to sell it. I am selling it so please don't advise to keep it.

So that brings us to my dilemma, should I go for Petrol or Diesel? I primarily went to Fiesta for diesel economy, but given that I would be driving around 1200 km a month so I can possibly think about petrol. Given how crowded the city is (unlike Gurgaon) I am guessing I will be well served with an automatic (though I am absolutely addicted to diesel torque).

So that begs the question, which car?

Ford Ecosport Petrol 1.5 Automatic Titanium: Would cost for me nearabouts 11 lakhs OTR. It has many of the driving characteristics that I love in my Fiesta. It also has many of the characteristics I hate (mainly interiors). I also feel that they have overpriced the car after repeated price increases. Having said that it is a Dual Clutch auto with absolutely no lag. I haven't driven it, so am skeptical about the low torque (I test drove the eco-boost and didn't like it). So would appreciate some inputs from fellow auto EcoSport owners. My parents love the looks of the car and are encouraging me to go for the same. It would cost the same as Honda City S AT.

Honda City AT: Its a CVT, it doesn't have the driving dynamics close to Fiesta or EcoSport although I haven't driven the new one. The old Honda City (2012 model) had a tendency to understeer and not grip with poor feedback from the steering. But the car looks from a segment above. The interiors and the feel good factor again of a segment above. Now I love a drivers car, but is it an ok compromise to go with this? I mean you come to Team BHP and people advise to buy Fiesta over Verna for driving dynamics, but you end up being few on the road with all Tom Dick and Harry driving Verna... Is City an ok compromise? Should I consider diesel or is it not worth? How is the resale of petrol cars in south (that too automatics) these days? I loved my old City just didn't like its driving dynamics, and I love the Fiesta, only when I drive it.

Vento DSG Petrol (is Diesel worth the wait?) My better half drives the Polo. Absolutely ridiculous how powerless the 3 pot diesel is. It has the feel good factor of the City to some extent, but I absolutely hate driving it. Would the petrol DSG bring a smile to my face? Is it worth it?


The final choice would be.... increase my budget by 4-5 lakhs (I can but don't want too) and look for a D segment. I just don't want too spend too much right now specially as I am changing cities. Please when making suggestions rate my priorities:

1. Driving dynamics
2. Resale value
3. Interiors (Feel good factor)/Snob value (for whatever its worth for a poor bloke like me)
4. Space

I have rated them based on what I feel are most important for me.

[D4D]

Originally Posted by aseem

Folks...
Its that time for me to take the plunge again. A little background about my past cars...


So that begs the question, which car?

Ford Ecosport Petrol 1.5 Automatic Titanium: Would cost for me nearabouts 11 lakhs OTR. It has many of the driving characteristics that I love in my Fiesta.
Honda City AT.........
Vento DSG Petrol (is Diesel worth the wait?)


1. Driving dynamics
2. Resale value
3. Interiors (Feel good factor)/Snob value (for whatever its worth for a poor bloke like me)
4. Space

I have rated them based on what I feel are most important for me.

• Driving dynamics: Vento>>Ecosport from my experience. Don't know about City
• Resale value: City will be the best. Japanese cars rule the used market because of their high reliability
• Interior: Quality wise: Vento; Design wise: City. Ecosport: Nowhere in comparison
• Space: City wins hands down. Vento>Ecosport
  Other points to be noted:
• The ecosport AT comes with the 1.4 l engine, not ecoboost. So test drive before you buy
• Check for an extended warranty on DSG. By no means it the Vento TSI a dull and boring machine to drive. Polo TSI is awesome and I expect Vento TSI to be really good
• CVTs aren't exactly fun to drive machines and will give you poor FE in city
• DCTs will give you comparable FE to manuals
• May be worth waiting for Vento diesel automatic
• Check the review on VW dealers in your area
• If backseat is very important, City must be your choice
• If it's your primary car and you intend to take it on the highway often, maybe a D-segment car is worth. Check the new Octavia and do a check on the skoda dealer. But I think the D-segment is fading as City, Verna are adding more feature
• Elantra diesel AT maybe also worth a look if you consider D-segment

[CreativeQ]

If you value build quality, rough road handling and power - the Vento DSG is the best pick of the lot. Although on resale, it will be somewhat poor. That said, it packs great torque in the lower revs, the gearbox is very, very quick to up shift (with only a slight hesitation on downshift). It provides the greatest freedom to drive how you want - you can work the engine in a "press on" kind of driving or drive sedately and extract a very reasonable mileage of 11 kmpl. Apart from this, the gearbox is very intuitive and adapts to your driving style. Refinement levels are great, the car is very silent, vibration free when driven normally and delivers a bit of growl when pushed hard (most people I know love the growl, few don't. I think it's great). You get hill hold and ESC as standard on the DSG. There were some concerns on the reliability of the gearbox but I believe that extended warranty for an additional 2 years is now readily available and this should put all fears to rest.

[GTO]

Aseem,

DSG & long-term reliability aside, the Vento DSG is far superior to the City CVT. The explosive performance, solid build & neutral road manners will win you over.

The Vento diesel DSG is coming up within 2 - 3 quarters for sure. If you are willing to wait, it might just be worth it.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by aseem

Folks...
Its that time for me to take the plunge again. A little background about my past cars...

Vento DSG Petrol (is Diesel worth the wait?) My better half drives the Polo. Absolutely ridiculous how powerless the 3 pot diesel is. It has the feel good factor of the City to some extent, but I absolutely hate driving it. Would the petrol DSG bring a smile to my face? Is it worth it?


The final choice would be.... increase my budget by 4-5 lakhs (I can but don't want too) and look for a D segment. I just don't want too spend too much right now specially as I am changing cities. Please when making suggestions rate my priorities:

1. Driving dynamics
2. Resale value
3. Interiors (Feel good factor)/Snob value (for whatever its worth for a poor bloke like me)
4. Space

I have rated them based on what I feel are most important for me.

Having owned the vento tsi dsg for the last 6 months,I can guarantee that it Will bring a big smile to your face and also keep it there permanently. . If drivability is your focus then the vento is the best choice. It feels at home pottering in the city as well on the open highway. I have described more of my thoughts in my ownership thread.

If you can afford to wait, it would be good to wait for the rumored facelift and also the rumored diesel dsg and then proceed.

[IshaanIan]

Hi Aseem

I find it funny that you bought a Honda City before and mentioned you were disappointed, so disappointed that you sold it and bought another C2 segment car just for the FTD factor, and now you are considering it again; even though you mentioned resale, I won't recommend the city given insights into you past ownership of the car

Go for the Vento tsi+dsg combo. It is absolutely lovely. Do note that Maruti plans on bringing the Suzuki Alivio/Ciaz, to India with an automatic, though it will only be an amt or cvt. So if you want an auto tranny but don't want to lose out on the fun, I'd say buy the Vento tsi straightaway

[aseem]

Thanks for the inputs guys. Just been back from an exhaustive test drive of Petrol City/Diesel City/Polo Tsi. Here are my observations:

Honda City:
For anyone considering Honda City, please go for the V model or VX. I saw the S/E models in the showroom, and they were appalling. The interiors/cost cutting were so drab, that it looks like a car from a lower segment. On the other hand the feel good factor of the V and VX model makes it a very good car to get into. The car looks/feels from a segment above (the V model). It is fully loaded, and the only thing missing is a cool glove box. On a closer inspection there are a few sore points, like an very low resolution cheap UI head unit sitting in front of a glossy console. The climate control is looking more expensive than the head unit that is not touch screen. But thats me being critical, on a casual look, whoever gets inside the car (the V or VX model) will have the feel good factor.

Now the fun part. I had gone there thinking I would buy a petrol as my driving would not be more than 1000 km in Bangi, but for the heck of it I test drove the diesel as well. I had heard a lot about engine being noisy. I wouldn't call it noisy, of course compared to my new Fiesta, it is noisy. But compared to my Polo Tdi, the engine is not extrusive at all. Under hard acceleration it is crude/unrefined/loud, but its all manageable. I loved the cruise control, boon on Gurgaon highway. The throttle response is linear, the turbo keeping you in business. I was not overwhelmed but not disappointed either. It makes a good case for itself. The steering though, left a lot to be desired with a light steering with little or no feedback.

With this I stepped inside the Petrol City. OMG what a difference does an engine make. I don't know who are the folks that swear by the VTEC, this engine, thanks to its low torque, turned out to be a DUD!!! Who in his right mind would be going and driving at 5k or higher RPM? Maybe I have forgotten how to drive petrols, but no matter how hard I pushed the car failed to delight me. Maybe I am used to torque lower down the rev range.

But one thing was pretty certain in my mind. If its got to be the City, then I will buy the DIESEL. But this car to me was "neighbours envy, owners fail to delight???". I mean to sum it up, neighbours will envy you, passengers would praise your car, but for the one who has the foot on the pedal there is not huge fun at store.

Next up I headed to VW showroom....

VW Polo TSI:
Having 1.2 Tdi Polo in the family I am quite aware of the interiors. But the car is a DUD, I mean literally. I guess apart from the feel good factor in its segment, it has nothing to offer. Since the Vento TSi TD vehicle was not available, the Polo Tsi 1.2 was on offer. I took the car on the highway on S mode.... and boy oh boy was I delighted!!!
The car was un-friggin-believable! I mean I had driven the 1.0 Eco Boost from Ford which has more horses on offer, but I was not delighted. But this machine from VW, this machine and gearbox combo brought a big smile on my face. It was almost like I had stepped into a pocket rocket. Smooth like a petrol, gearshifts so eager (click click click) and the car just pulls away. The 7 speed DSG is awesome. The mileage was showing 7.5 kmpl, but who gives a damn if a car drives like that. The City was blown to dust by the little beast. This is how a car should be. Its amazing how much an engine can change a car. I absolutely hate the Polo we have at home, but this one, this one just talks to you. I was SOLD!!! This car felt more eager than anything I had driven under 12 lakhs including Jetta diesel.

Only gripe, wish it had the cruise control offered on the City. I have a slight injury with my right knee (nothing serious) but this would have been so handy.

So now I have a few questions for Polo Tsi/Vento Tsi owners. What is the average mileage with a heavy foot?

Is the Vento TSI wee bit underpowered compared to Polo, or is it as fun to drive?

Is it worth waiting for Diesel DSG or should I just wait for upgraded Vento/Polo and go for the TSi.

Boy o boy its unbelievable how much fun one can have in a good car! I am willing to spare some money to replace the DSG if need be. But I want ONE (PERIOD!)

[Vid6639]

Hahaha. That was quite easy.

If you don't need the boot or the extra rear legroom go for the Polo TSi.

The Vento is a few kilos heavier and I remember it being slightly softly sprung vs the Polo. The extra wheelbase also means it slightly loses the edge in chuckability. It's still a brilliant car with same engine and gearbox but not as seat of the pants as the Polo.

[aseem]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Hahaha. That was quite easy.

If you don't need the boot or the extra rear legroom go for the Polo TSi.

The Vento is a few kilos heavier and I remember it being slightly softly sprung vs the Polo. The extra wheelbase also means it slightly loses the edge in chuckability. It's still a brilliant car with same engine and gearbox but not as seat of the pants as the Polo.

The issue is this, we need 2 cars. We have 1 year old Polo Tdi and 2 1/2 year old new Fiesta. Both diesels. I am planning to keep the Polo and dispose of the Fiesta as its older. However we do need 1 car with a boot in the family. So thats the main reason I prefer Vento. The other would be that we don't want to Polo's in the family. So I am ok with loosing something on driving dynamics as long as engine and gearbox delight.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by aseem

Thanks for the inputs guys. Just been back from an exhaustive test drive of Petrol City/Diesel City/Polo Tsi. Here are my observations:



Only gripe, wish it had the cruise control offered on the City. I have a slight injury with my right knee (nothing serious) but this would have been so handy.

So now I have a few questions for Polo Tsi/Vento Tsi owners. What is the average mileage with a heavy foot?

Is the Vento TSI wee bit underpowered compared to Polo, or is it as fun to drive?

Is it worth waiting for Diesel DSG or should I just wait for upgraded Vento/Polo and go for the TSi.

Boy o boy its unbelievable how much fun one can have in a good car! I am willing to spare some money to replace the DSG if need be. But I want ONE (PERIOD!)

I guess the smile has still not left your face .

On the mileage: With a heavy foot in S mode on the highway I have comfortably got in the 12-13kmpl range. Same route in mostly D has returned 14-15kmpl. In general I have noticed that S mode driving does not drop the mileage heavily. What drops it badly is the bumper to bumper heavy traffic. Still on an average it generally does not fall below 9 even in heavy traffic driving.

Polo vs vento: I have not felt the vento even a little less underpowered. From handling and chuckability the polo is better. But purely on performance I could not feel any difference.

Facelift: if feasible to wait it would be good to wait for the facelift. Hopefully they will include some more goodies like cruise control which as you mentioned is one thing i miss on this car.

Diesel dsg: if it launches along with the facelift them it would be easy to decide. One other option is to TD the jetta dsg and scale down the experience to the 1.6/1.5 expected with the vento. Can help get a feel of a diesel + dsg.

[aseem]

I am a little worried would VW bring the new engines with the facelift, that is detune the 1.2 TSi to 90 PS? Please GTO others, kindly confirm.

[aseem]

Also please confirm is 97 octane fuel a must? I don't want any extra cost for higher octane fuel. But reading ownership experience it looks like guys are going for higher octane fuel or the power/mileage taking a beating. This could be a deal breaker for me.