[lina]

Honda CIty 4th Gen all the way. It is THE most VFM car you can buy in India today. Infact it is probably the only ICE car ill consider <20L. Everything else is over-priced, bloated and unrefined.

[Abhisheknott]

Avoid the Bolero Neo at all costs. The Amaze is a decent city vehicle but Honda has skimped on quality.
If automatic is a must have do check out the Nexon petrol. You might have to stretch the budget a bit but will be a good choice. The Brezza AMT is overpriced IMO.

[bansal.sushant]

Why are you not considering Kia Sonet or Hyundai i20? I would have considered these as my top 2.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by sinhead

Please help me decide a new car.

Cars I’m considering – Ignis amt, Amaze cvt, Brezza lxi (manual), Bolero neo.

Budget – 10L .

My usage -
• 50% city, 50% highway.
• No commuting in rush hour.
• The car will be used once a week, sometimes once a month.
• Yearly running 5000kms.

Do you want to go for a new car at such low running? I would suggest getting a pre owned one, and use it till it lasts.

Used Amaze CVT seems the best bet IMO. I had used a 2013 Amaze for nearly 7 years and 1L + kms running. Absolutely 0 niggles on the engine, Gearbox, mechanincal fronts. Even on it's last day the engine delivered 26 kmpl!

I even had completed multiple 700+ kms rides in it (Pune-Bangalore, Pune-Indore) and had absolutely no fatigue. Get this in a used Avatar, at around 6-7 L and you are set for atleast 10 years.

[84.monsoon]

I would recommend the Honda City 4th gen or the 5th gen, the latter if you can afford it. Yes, it is a couple of lakhs more than your budget, but will give you a lot of the "feel good factor" and pride of ownership. It has a light clutch and a sweet gearbox and with your limited usage, the premium for an auto box is not worth it. A fun and frugal engine, with enough and more power for those highway runs. Plus resale will be quite good if you get the 5th generation one.

The Amaze is a class below but feels like 2 classes below. The interior fit and finish is very crude and it has started to age significantly.

The only Amaze I would buy would be the Diesel CVT - now that was one fun car!! But now Honda has overpriced it atrociulously and reserved it for the very top end and it is no longer worth it. If you can find a lightly used one in the used car market, that car will bring some fun element to your drive and still be very frugal.

[amiya.c]

As per your requirements please try Honda Jazz CVT once. It has three variants in CVT avataar and ranges from 9.5 to 12 lakhs. It is nicely quipped with most of the gizmos and is practical too with huge cabin and boot space.

[Na_sh]

As most of the members rightfully suggested, City 4th gen V variant makes an amazing value purchase. You get a huge boot, creamy 1.5L NA engine, supremely spacious interior, decent safety and reliability. It's a full blown sedan for hatchback money. Heard they might pull the plug on it soon.

[Aradhya30]

consider Honda Jazz CVT, gem of a car for city & reliable CVT engine.. plenty of leg room and boot space,. Only short fall is initial pick up and undersized tyres, maybe you can upgrade tyres from 175 to 185 or 195.

[VikramCS]

Hello,

From the stated requirements and driving style, it's an easy choice: Amaze CVT.
Not to confuse you, take a test drive of Jazz CVT and i'm sure you'll like it since it matches most of your requirements.

Ignis is a good city car, but, not suggesting it for two reasons:
- spending long hours on highways will make you feel claustrophobic
- AMT gearbox

Brezza can tick all the boxes, but - Automatic variant falls beyond your stated budget.
{if you can stretch, go for it. New Brezza comes with 6-speed TC unit + paddle shifters}

If you are open to pre-owned cars, i suggest you check-out Honda City V CVT - you may be able to get a good example in about 11L. I also suggest to check-out Jazz CVT and Amaze CVT used cars. Hondas are generally reliable, so one less worry..!

Good luck with your hunt!

Regards,
Vikram

[VikramCS]

Originally Posted by adits

Primary considerations -

• Transmission - Automatic (for the reasons above)
• Fuel - Petrol or Diesel (Given my running, diesel may make more sense but prefer a petrol since I am replacing a petrol vehicle)
• Budget - 10L OTR (Courtesy the wife who is a typical bean counter)
• Has to be new (so no pre-loved) again on wife's orders
• Interior Space - All of us are tall and hence leg and head room (Actually dad tends to stretch his legs and couple of times bumped his knee into my back when seated behind me in the Manza. My own driving position has the seat fully pushed back and backrest leaning a bit back)
• Height - Given the cars I have had so far, no one like to bend to get into the car (Actually, the Figo got rejected when I was in the market for the a hatch in 2013 since the wife banged her head when getting in and out of the showroom car). Further, dad finds the City too low as well.
• Shape - Sedan preferred since this car will be replacing a sedan. SUVs are out since they are viewed as too big.

Cars considered -[list=1][*]Hyundai Verna - Sat in the car and was rejected due to lack of space in the rear and price.[*]Hyundai Xcent - ok on space but the TD vehicle was not available. Will schedule it in a couple of weeks when i have a little time. However, the fact that it is widely used by Ola and Uber is a drawback but can live with it.[*]Honda Amaze - TD the V CVT Diesel and is currently in contention but may opt for the V CVT Petrol since I like the paddles. The petrol was not available for TD and will be done later. Wife has been pushing for the S variant since the V variant does not add anything to safety and hence not worth the extra money ( with an accountant) Will fight that battle later but any pointers will help.
A few questions as well -

What is the recommendation from everyone here?

Sir, among the two mentioned, pick the Diesel Amaze CVT (if you can convince the Home minister to stretch the budget). If budget can't be stretched, Amaze V CVT should be the right choice.

[UD17]

From the listed contenders, my vote is tilting towards Honda Amaze CVT:

- Low service cost, high reliability
- Its a CVT, an added peace of mind
- Reasonable space management and high practicality with boot space
- Brand image, if it matters to you

If you can stretch the budget and OK with manual, then you can give it a try to Honda City.

All the best.

[FrAgile]

Originally Posted by sinhead

Please help me decide a new car.

According to the requirements listed, and on the assumption of you being the primary driver, I would recommend you buy a safe car powered by a turbo-petrol engine for decent city mileage along with good safety. The following would be my recommendations :

1. Citroen C3: If on a strict budget and want a fun to drive turbo petrol car with compromise on sophistication or premium build.
2. Tata Punch: This is the complete opposite of C3. It has a sense of premiumness and sophistication with a solid build quality and the higher variants are feature loaded. But don't expect any sort of driving fun.
3. Honda City 4th gen: This is the best overall car meeting every requirement and I cannot think of a valid reason to not consider this. It's a bit over the budget though and if that extra money can be spent on a better product, I would suggest you take this car for a short spin.
4. Tata Altroz: This car is very premium both in and out. Solid build. Feature loaded. But lacks driving fun again. If driving is a priority, this might not interest you.
5. Brezza: This is sort of a mixed bag. The engine is refined and tuned towards mileage. The base model isn't feature loaded. You will have to mod it and get aftermarket accessories on this car to make it a better product.

That said, all the cars listed above cater to different needs and all these are very good products for urban use. I would suggest you pick according to what suits your needs.
Some things I would suggest you are

• Avoid aftermarket mods till the extent possible if using the car for long.
• If the car is to be kept for 8+ years, I would recommend you buy a top model of a car of a lower segment that's feature loaded from factory itself and good driving dynamics rather than spending on a base model of a car of higher segment.
• Take extensive Test Drives of shortlisted cars and see what suits your needs.

[MotoDrive]

Originally Posted by sinhead

Please help me decide a new car.

Cars I’m considering – Ignis amt, Amaze cvt, Brezza lxi (manual), Bolero neo.

Budget – 10L .

My usage -
• 50% city, 50% highway.
• No commuting in rush hour.
• The car will be used once a week, sometimes once a month.
• Yearly running 5000kms.


* I understand, in my budget I will have to compromise on something or the other.

Expectations: This will be the only car in the house.

1. Reliable. Trustworthy.
Confidence, to just take the car to a sudden/unplanned highway trip. (reference - many videos of brand new tata tigor, nexon not starting).

2. Comfortable front seats. 5 hr highway drive should not be tiring. I think upright seating might be better.
Reasonable thigh support on front seats, Pedal height – I do pay attention to it.

3. Planted feel at 90kmph.

4. I will prefer an Automatic.
or manual - if the clutch is light and/ or the clutch travel is short.

5. Cabin insulation from traffic noise.



My driving style -
• Normal. neither fuel economy oriented, nor revving high all the time.
• Highway cruising at 90kmph.
• 0 to 100 not important, but a good 20 to 60, 50 to 90 kmph is enjoyable once in a while. But again I will compromise on this aspect if needed.
• I don't want too many gizmos or features. I prefer base or one above base variants.
But since automatics are not available in base variants of these cars, I am forced to increase my budget, and thus confusion arises to get a better car with manual transmission -> eg Amaze automatic vs Brezza lxi manual.


Cars I like -
• Toyota Etios - I wouldn’t even start this thread if it was available.
• S cross is gone.
• Citroen c 3, the dealer is 30km away. Plus no automatic.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

* I took a short test drive of the Amaze cvt and Ignis manual only.

Ignis –
• I like it.
• Parents not very keen on this.
• Might be discontinued soon.

Amaze cvt. - Ok overall. Appears to be a safe choice.
• In a short test drive, slow speeds. It seemed good. But I can feel that a sudden demand of acceleration will be lethargic. Fuel economy in city wont be more than 11/12.
• Rear seat comfort - very good.
• Front seats comfort - somthing is not right. I am concerned wrt long drives. (Aura’s front seats felt better)
• I don't feel good spending 9.5L / 10.5L on this.
• I can hope it grows on me and I adjust to it.

Brezza lxi (manual).
• Safe choice. not much worry till 15 yrs. Seems ready for BS6.2, E20 etc.
• Cons - waiting period - 6 months. even then the car alloted to me might be sold to someone else who pays more.
• Automatic is very expensive. Almost 13Lakhs for vxi.
• No test drive yet. Car wasn't available.

Bolero Neo -
• Will be a nice change because I have owned a hatchback and a sedan.
• Should be easy to drive in normal city traffic- as per my experience driving a safari once - Autos, rickshaws, bikers kept a distance.
Cons - not sure if this engine is BS6.2 / RDE compliant.
Resale in 9th year (50K driven) ?

Test drive is due this week.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think with in your budget Ignis AMT zeta fits well for a family of 4 adults and 1 Kid. You will save around 2 lakhs on your budget of 10 Lakhs which will happily feed the Fuel for almost 1.5 Years if you drive decent kms in a month. We are a family of 3 we enjoyed the Ignis AMT. I primarily used in City and long trips with the family. I think Ignis is bang for your buck! Its good for 80-100kms/hr cruising on highway. But city mileage might be a concern as I used to get 12kmpl, on highway I used to get around 18-20 kmpl, again it depends on individual driving habit. Unfortunately I sold it on Spinny after owning it for less than a year to upgrade for Toyota Urban Cruiser High Automatic. It was a impulse decision to buy the Urban Cruiser as the old school look grew on me and due to the fear of Production being stopped. Bought it on Aug 22. Still my daughter’s favourite is Ignis. We had a trip of 1 week on it of around 1300kms on highway, western ghats and rural road, didn't had any issues or what so ever. I would suggest you Ignis.
Sharing some pics of Ignis and Urban Cruiser which I owned.

[furyrider]

Originally Posted by sinhead

Please help me decide a new car.

Cars I’m considering – Ignis amt, Amaze cvt, Brezza lxi (manual), Bolero neo.

Budget – 10L .

Any reason why Baleno/Glanza is not shortlisted? I am asking this since you have shortlisted the Ignis. Since your usage is low, Baleno (spacious when compared to Ignis)/Brezza (good ground clearance, 4-star rated) would be a good bet for you.

[sinhead]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. I really appreciate your suggestions. Thanks once again!

Honda city 4th gen

• Going out of production in December.
• One dealership - says he can take a booking, but there is no guarantee that I will get the car. Honda does not produce cars in December. That adds to the problem.
• Another dealer - wasn't keen too. (But I can talk to more dealers)
• My concern is, parts availability and especially "waiting" for parts, 8th/9th year onwards. If something goes wrong with a non-fast moving part.

Honda Jazz - I would have preferred it over the Amaze. But will be out of production.


If I increase my Budget:-

Honda city 5th gen - (very compelling option). But i am not considering it.

• Concerns - Its tooo long. With my current car Accent, many times it becomes difficult to find parking space.
• Will be expensive to maintain.

Ciaz automatic - (avoidable).

• Concern - same - too long.
• Low sales means it will be out of production soon.
• But it being a maruti, spare parts will be available in open market too.

Used car - used car prices seem high these days. If some problems come up, then there will be too much running around to get them fixed.
But still I will take a look at a used Scross and a Toyota UC (from Toyota U trust).
And as suggested, used Honda city too.


*This week, I will take a longer TD of Amaze. And of other cars too.

One last suggestion needed - Will it be wise to wait for 3/4 months?
- Brezza fever might cool down, Citroen automatic might come, There will be more clarity on BS 6.2/ RDE/ E20.
(If suggested i can delay the purchase. This seems to be a confusing time to buy a car in a limited budget).

Thanks!