[imp!]

Of these, my pick would be a Dzire, but between these and a hatch, I'd pick the hatch.

An Uncle recently cross shopped between the Swift, New Dzire and the Baleno. He eventually picked the Baleno which is what I would suggest most people do. The car feels more premium and better built, has more space and the boot is large enough for trips as well.

[subhro1988]

I am in the market currently for a diesel compact sedan owing to my daily drive of ~70Kms. Did not consider the Amaze and Xcent. I have taken a test drive of the Aspire and really liked the 1.5 engine. But personally I felt that the foot area is cramped and the clutch travel is long. Test drove the Ameo and liked the engine. I like the timeless design of the first 3/4 part of the car (the rear looks weird). I am yet to test drive the Dzire but I have driven the old diesel Dzire. The new Dzire looks good except for the chrome outside and the wood inserts inside. Currently I am extremely confused between Ameo and Dzire.

[kpower11]

Voted for the Hyundai Xcent, keeping petrol in in mind. Yes, the new Dzire is massively improved, and offers slightly better performance, but the Xcent's performance is adequate and it betters the Dzire in areas more important for any sedan, such as refinement, quality and overall finesse. Even equipment levels are very much at par with the Dzire (give or take one or two features). Amaze just looks and feels bog-standard, while the Ameo, Tigor and Aspire's petrols are no good anyway.

If it were a diesel, Ameo is definitely the king. It might seem like a close call between the Ameo and the Aspire here, until one looks at the differences in build quality, equipment, and overall finesse. The Ameo is good enough overall to ignore the weird rear.

Having said all that, none of these sedans have any significant advantage over hatchbacks in the same price range, except for a boot. I would any day prefer a smart looking hatchback over a derived sedan.

[sandeepmohan]

Can I take back my vote? I meant to hit the Ford but ended up choosing Honda.

I have a soft spot for the Honda. It is also the only car in this group I have driven a fair bit. In terms of packaging, I doubt if anyone can beat the Amaze. The only area where I think it falls short are the toys off course and that annoyingly loud diesel. The petrol gets the job done better than most in this group and you get a nice petrol AT variant. There is no question about reliability for the Honda. After sales support is excellent too.

My vote goes to the Ford. I doubt if any car in this club represents so much value for money. Safety is indeed a big question mark. I am not a fan of ultra light cars either. I doubt if this car will ever have that Ford feeling of security and stability (even in Sport guise). What does impress are the numbers. 100 horses combined with over 200nm of torque, on a car that weighs a shade over 900 kilos can only mean a silly grin when you step on it. This pretty much sums up my vote for this car.

[5kmiles]

Originally Posted by Self Driven

I agree when a person chooses a car for looks, equipment list, comfort, engine etc..but the cost of ownership is not a perception. and still thinking Maruti gives less cost of ownership is not valid as on date

I have owned Maruti, Hyundai and Ford. So i think i have experienced it to comment.

100% agree. Maruti is more expensive to maintain than Fords & Toyotas of similar class. Of course, more expensive than Tata as well. However, there is this thing of niggles with Tata and Mahindra that more frequent trips to service centres offset the lower cost of getting the job done. With Maruti, job gets done in one shot - almost every single time. And wide service network is very very reliable - you can approach any service centre with 'near' full confidence. This is something I value a lot in my experience.

I am not sure of whether Marutis are free of niggles any more - steering rack issue, coolant system issue in my s-cross that left me stranded, couple of small things with WagonR I had for 65K kms. And yes, WagonR service was expensive for car of that class.

From this list, I vote for Tigor for:
1. Incredible value for money
2. Great interior and exterior styling
3. Excellent materials and finish
4. Solid build
5. Spacious and nicely sculpted seats, large boot.
6. Performance is not bad and I can live with the noise as my current rides are diesel
7. Very good ride, for the segment
8. Respect more thought through product. Dzire is close second

Ford's S trims are great. But car is way too boring inside and lost too much on build. If it had previous Figo's or EcoSport's feel in build, then it could be closer contest.

For my next ride, I am looking for pre-worshipped D-segment ones in Dzire ZXi+ budget range. That seems more sensible choice for reasons well elaborated by GTO and others on the forum.

[autorahul]

The title says it all in my opinion. Its one goliath, against many davids. Though, David defeats the Goliath, I doubt there will be biblical justice here.

There cars who are better(slightly) at VFM aspect, Ford Aspire for eg, or are better to drive, again Ford Aspire diesel and VW Ameo diesel, but none quite match the overall value that Dzire brings.

• Largely untarnished brand image, both Maruti and Dzire
• Well priced variants
• Consistency in after sales service
• Resale value
• Now to add to this, its also amongst the best looking compact sedans

Though, I have voted for Dzire, if I were to chose from this price segment, I would choose Baleno or i20(top variant only) hands down.

[Yasasri]

I voted for the Aspire (TDCi) for the following reasons:
1. Value For Money good overall package
2. Excellent Diesel Engine (No turbo lag)
3. Better build quality compared to Marutis though nowhere near 1st. gen. Figos
4. Exclusivity
5. Ownership reports of T-Bhpians which prompted me to buy the Aspire TDCi Titanium trim
6. Maruti service is not cheap(especially for Diesels) as commonly believed
7. I had a Dzire VDI which I drove for over 70k in my 5 years of ownership and hence I feel confident to make the statement as per Point 6 above.

P.S. This is my first post on T-BHP and hence request mods to make suitable corrections as and where required.

[romyeo4u]

Ford aspire, if only people come out of the myth that mass has the lowest service maintenance cost and Ford should get a better marketing agency.

[RM Motorsports]

Maruti Suzuki Dzire vs Tata Tigor Comparison Review - Autoportal

Both cars have diesel motors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGOmuwPjWZ4

[sharktale]

Posting on behalf of a friend.

He's wanting to change his 2004 Hyundai Santro Xing, which has covered approx. 50K Kms during the years.

The usage is minimal and city-bound only and is looking for a Compact Sedan /Hatchback in the range INR 6-8 Lakhs.

He has shortlisted the following :

Dzire :

Being a Maruti, it'll be much easier to maintain over the period of years and is easier to use.
The Con is that, it's a Maruti and is present everywhere! Plus, it has very high chances of becoming a cab in the near future. Also, he feels the features of the ZXI are acceptable only, which cross his budget. The VXI and ZXI have huge price difference for minimal changes.

Aspire :

The car looks good on paper, but his joint-family members have had really bad experiences regarding the Ford maintenance, and have stated the car requires too much maintenance as something fails or the other.

What will you guys recommend? How has the experience for Ford Aspire been for the owners here?


Additionally, he's also considering the Maruti Baleno facelift, if that comes under his expectation. Worth waiting for it or should he try and scoop a discount on the existing model?

[snaseer]

Please ask him to check out Freestyle which in my opinion is a better option than Aspire.

[sharktale]

Originally Posted by snaseer

Please ask him to check out Freestyle which in my opinion is a better option than Aspire.

He wants a bigger boot for sure. That's why the FreeStyle was ruled out. Plus, he's very very concerned about the reliability ascept on the Ford.

[A M]

My Aspire (diesel) has been very reliable but its only been 6 months and ~5500 Km since I've had it. The only issue has been occasional fogging of headlamps during rains. Other than that, the car has not had any issues. Another important point to keep in mind is the safety package on offer and much better build quality than the flimsy Marutis.

However, if settling for the Baleno (lower variants), I guess he should take the current model only since a lot of features are getting deleted from these variants. The only USP the Baleno has, in my opinion, is the UV-cut glass in the most VFM Zeta variant. Post-facelift, it will be available only on the Alpha variant.

[DCEite]

Voted others.

How about the JTP Tigor ?

You get practicality of a big boot (419 ltrs) + fun to drive factor in a single package.

[DPetrolHead]

Originally Posted by sharktale

He's wanting to change his 2004 Hyundai Santro Xing, which has covered approx. 50K Kms during the years.

The usage is minimal and city-bound only and is looking for a Compact Sedan /Hatchback in the range INR 6-8 Lakhs.

According to the requirements, the Swift Dzire ZXI is an apt choice. The features in Z variant over V are justified enough for the money, it may not look a necessity right now, but it will in the future and since the guy looks like doesn't buying cars in a short span of time, it wil be worth the money.

Other than that, why not check the Amaze V petrol? The engine may not be as good as the Dzire's but overall the car is really good and should be the second car on the list.

If you are willing for the Baleno, go with the pre-facelift Zeta/Alpha variants. Even though some features like projector headlamps which are expected in the lower variants of face lift will be missed but more important features like uv cut glass will also be lost, that too on a higher price than the current car.

Cheers!