[navin]

Women in my family (read as mom and wife) seem to have heavy right feet.

Some months back I had seen my mom driving her Matiz at 80kmph. Some negotiations and tribulations along with a new Honda CVT seemms to have controlled that (The CVTs transmission and underpowered engine control her accleration). Our Sys Admin (GTO) will make funny jokes if I elaborate.

Now my wife needs a new car.
a) She is happy with her existing Sail 1.6 but would it tobe a bit more peppy. After some thoughts about free flow (I did not do it partly out of fear of contributing even more to the green house effect) etc.. I am thinking of getting her a new car.

b) She wants somethng small that she can park in Mumbai. She was thinking Swift (her father drives one) I am thinking of sligtly bigger options (than the Getz or Swift) becuase of safety and acoustics (yes accoustics - check out the ICE forum and you'll see where I come from). The Optra, Civic, Corolla are too big for her. So the car should ideally be bigger than a Getz/Swift but smaller than the Optra.

c) I am also thinking automatic so that in traffic one has one less thing to worry about, besides my RS is always there if either my mom or wife wants to go for a real drive.

d) My wife is a good driver. I trust her with any car - auto or manual. It is only that accidetns happen and I would like her (and my son who is almost always with her) to have some protection. The Sail was tough as nails.

Options:
Honda CVT (my choice, esp since we have 8 of them amongst my mom, brothers, nephews, nieces, and sister)
Fiesta (It is not auto and A.S.S is suspect)
Fusion (same as Fiesta but smaller and hence more acceptable)
Aveo (same as Fieta - no Auto and suspect A.S.S)
Verna (might be a bit too big and still no auto box)
Swift (her choice becuase she thinks it looks cool, besides my wife is still daddy's girl)
Indigo/Indica (very poor fit and finish)
Palio (poor A.S.S same issues as we have with the Sail)
Baleno (way too big and dated)

Any other ideas. Please do not suggest stuff like the Audi A3 ot Daimler A class. We are not that rich! ;-)

Her present car is about 3.8m in length. The Honda City is 4.3m in length. The only car I know ofthat fall in between these 2 is the Fusion which is about 4m in length.

[hydrashok]

For ICEing I'd take the petrol Verna. IMHO everything else can got to h3ll. Great body panels and plastics. Every Verna I've heard (now 4 of them) sound great -- Even with not so premium equipment. The diesel Verna will be a dangerous weapon in the hands of a spirited driver, though.

The NHC would be a very good fit for your purposes except that it will need a bit of damping (thin body panels). It has a massive boot, so not much loss of space for equipment.

A close friend of mine drives a Fusion. It is a really nice car. But not so good for ICEing. (Bad stock locations/sizes -- 5x7s, and not so great plastics). He's been driving it for 4 months now and he really likes it. 1st service over with no issues (or expenses). Not so peppy, but good enough for the city.

[Rtech]

Have you thought of the Chevy SRV? Not peppy (but then you have the RS), smaller than an Optra (on the outside), roomy on the inside. Though it is a bit on the expensive side. However, the 3 year all inclusive warranty would be nice as well. Plus, it is a solid car.

[Sam Kapasi]

I'd have to second Hydra. The Verna's built like a tank, in comparison to the Honda City. What is a CVT? The Verna comes with 6" in the front and 6X9 as standard factory slots, acoustically lovely and the panel;s are strong, so reverberation can be minimized with a little damping.

The Petrol or diesel have everything you need except the AT. Hyundai A.S is exemplary too. The onlt drawback is the soft suspension. It's like a boat sometimes.

I would not buy a lead footed wife the diesel verna, simply because she might whoop you in the RS, if she's a good driver and kill a pedestrian or 2 if she's occasionally distracted.

[tsk1979]

If Auto is not a necessity, Verna is a good buy. If you wife has a lead foot, the diesel will be a hoot to drive. Take her for a test drive, in the end she will buy what she finds the most comfortable to drive. From what I have seen most women(my wife included) find most hyundai's except the accent extremely comfortable and stress free to drive.

About Auto box, who wants auto box, you or her? If its you, and you want to buy for your wife who does not want/need auto, I suggest you take it out of equation.

[Vid6639]

Actually Rtech's idea of the SRV is good. Also Verna has a little bit of an oddball shape and the petrol engine doesn't have that good a performance that you are looking for over the Sail 1.6.

If your not in a hurry you could wait for the new Baleno.

Also there's one more car worth considering. The Lancer Cedia. The build quality is very good for ICE. the panels are solidly built and doesnt feel like a japanese car. I'll be posting pics in another thread of my managers Cedia.

It's powerful, not very big, decent mileage. the cons are no auto box, low resale value.

[tsk1979]

About the Lancer Cedia, I once saw one in black. At that moment I decided what was the most goodlooking car below 10L in India. If you see one in black, you want one.

[zakaaaaasss]

sir, how about an Esteem AX .....not sure whether this is availble off-the-shelves....
advantages:
1) auto tranny (fairly good)
2) 3-box car (safety wise)
3) excellent box for your 'ICE' DIY
4) service & maintenance.....u know it its Maruti
5) shall fit ur criterion of size ( > sail but < NHC)
6)parkable in Mumbai

cons:
1) ooh its just another esteem on the road
2) Maruti people servicing Auto tranny

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by navin

She wants somethng small that she can park in Mumbai. .................... So the car should ideally be bigger than a Getz/Swift but smaller than the Optra.

aren't these 2 statements contradicting each other ?

c) I am also thinking automatic so that in traffic one has one less thing to worry about

In the segment you looking at not many A/T are available.

Options:
Honda CVT (my choice, esp since we have 8 of them amongst my mom, brothers, nephews, nieces, and sister)
Fiesta (It is not auto and A.S.S is suspect)
Fusion (same as Fiesta but smaller and hence more acceptable)
Aveo (same as Fieta - no Auto and suspect A.S.S)
Verna (might be a bit too big and still no auto box)
Swift (her choice becuase she thinks it looks cool, besides my wife is still daddy's girl)
Indigo/Indica (very poor fit and finish)
Palio (poor A.S.S same issues as we have with the Sail)
Baleno (way too big and dated)

of these options - I would decide between the Fusion and the Swift but again no auto on both.

Her present car is about 3.8m in length. The Honda City is 4.3m in length. The only car I know ofthat fall in between these 2 is the Fusion which is about 4m in length.

Well - choose between the Fusion , the SRV and the Swift. The SRV is the best looker while the Swift supposedly has the best A.S.S whike the Fusion falls inbetween. So I would take the Fusion.

Happy Hunting.

[tsk1979]

From a safety point of view a modern hatch like Swift/Getz would be safer than an esteem due to crumple zones. European safety standards etc.,
Ruling out a hatch thinking its unsafe is not wise.
A older Suv Build like a tank may be more unsafe than a modern small car.

[nik1982]

My girlfriend bougth the SRV 6 months ago and absolutely loves it (she used to own a palio1.6 before this). Have driven the car a couple of times and to be quite honest am seriously thinking of selling my moms getz and getting her the SRV. The first service is done and the dealer was really good.

P.S the length is 4.2m

[kvish]

The new Honda city is very much unlike the older one. I know of friends who are really disappointed with the quality of exterior. Just a touch from a bike and there is a dent. I wouldnt choose this particularly for someone who has driven a sail 1.6

I think Aveo 1.4 may be good option since it is less powerful than the 1.6 which inturn means less power than fiesta or verna.

[navin]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I will ask her to test the VernaPertol. She does not like oil burners beucase she (like me hates vibrations - Sam get your mind out of the gutter) and noise (too many years with me hav turned her into a music lover too).

SRV. Driven and rejected for it's all show and no go nature. Besides GM's (read as National Garage) A.S.S is ugh! If I get her another GM car she might shove her lead foot up my "back side". The SRV needed to be revved hard (above 2500rpm) to go and byt htat time it was too noisy.

Lancer Cedia too has a A.S.S problem. Besides she saw it and said it is too big. Actually she said the City was too big too but I love the CVT transmission a lot. Now that they have reduced the rubber band effect. Many moons ago (1982-3 thereabouts) we (in college) built an amphibious vehicle with a CVT so I have a soft spot for that technology.

The difference between my mom's lead foot and wife's is that my wife has better reaction. She is after all 30 years younger and honed her skills driving an Audi 80 (yes the same one GTO) through mumbai's suburban traffic (read as rickshaws). My mom on the other hand learnt on a Morris Minor on Marine drive in an era when Nariman Point did not exist.

Sam, I think you forget (a) I dont drive my RS, I am chauffered in it and (b) I know wheelspin, fishtailing, and all that mumbo jumbo, I just refuse to practice those techniques on Miumbai's roads (neither will my wife) and a CVT is a Constantly Variable Tranmission - bascially instead of a traditional tranny (not that tranny joke again) it has a cone at one end and a belt (think turntable) slides up and down that cone giving an infinite number of gear ratios (see I told you I know my cars, it's just that ICE was an orphan).

A freind of mine (member on this forum) also has a Fusion (oil burner) and the 5x7 slots dont worry me I am sure i can tuck a 5" component into it (on a custom plate).

So the short list (untill somone has a better idea)
Verna - great A.S.S, great panels, No Auto
City CVT - becuase it is Auto, a bit of extra damping will cover the ICE.
Swift - becuase it is small and my wife like it's looks
Fusion - becasue it is small (compared to the Verana nd City) yet bigger than the Swift/Getz/SRV/Sail/Palio/ etc.

What I am really looking for is a car that is 4150mm long, that has 14-15" rubber, has about 100bhp per ton (1000kg), and has an sweet auto box. I would DIY a car but I think my wife need her car in this century. :-)

[tsk1979]

Do you want the car right now?
Or you can wait a month?
Teaser ads have started coming for the New Maruti Baleno, and its around the corner. A month max before launch.
That will give you one more option.

As for Fusion, If you don't want GM due to A.S.S. is Ford A.S.S. better than GM A.S.S
If A.S.S is your concern your only options are Hyundai/Maruti and to some extent Honda. Nobody (Tata/Mahindra/Ford/GM....) provides the same level of service.

Also from your latest post, your wife does not need/want an AUTO. The car is for her, but you want an Auto. So get Auto out of your head. Is she on TBHP? If she finds out you are satisfying your fantasy via her purchase, you may get the lead foot anyways

[iraghava]

I would also pipe in for the Verna. You could buy her the top-end petrol model which comes with ABS as standard. Don't buy her the diesel because it is too quick & slightly irritating to drive in the city (My experience), the car seems to just want to accelarate all the time, even from tickover & you have to control it by depressing the clutch which for someone like me used to driving high-revving petrol engine was a pain! Plus the A.S.S. is first-rate.