[CR07]

Undoubtedly the City CVT ZX for me. Spacious and comfortable, competent petrol motor, fuss free ownership, a great steering and loaded with a host of goodies, the interior too feels the most premium in the segment, and an AC that actually works!

Though the VW twins have the stronger engine there's too many compromises to be made for me. DSG is a strict no (I don't subscribe to the 360 days of fun and 5 days of pain), for my damn luck, I am sure those 5 days would be the difference makers in my life!

[kadanaJ]

Head says Honda City. Heart says VW Virtus.

Ultimately, the amount of horror stories of VAG unreliability has dissuaded me from the brand, no matter how good their cars are.

I would choose to buy the Honda City.

[ajayc123]

Chosen other.

All these are somewhat old school for me.

It’s time to jump ship to newer stuff.

Strong Hybrid, would be my near term preference, as infrastructure is insufficient for a pure EV. My priorities are: safety, reliability, total cost of ownership, driving pleasure in that order.

I am going to wait for one or two years for a few more options to be available in the market before biting the bullet.

[voldemort]

Voted Honda City, though Slavia MT is a close second.

Granted, the City is not as exciting as the Slavia and Virtus. But it's a no-nonsense car. And I'm very interested in the new hybrid powertrain.

Also, how come Virtus has more than double the votes of Slavia?! I expected them to be neck and neck.

[LEOMAN]

Voted for Hyundai Verna.It comes with a sorted toque convertor and a diesel heart with better torque.Resale would be better if diesel.Efficiency would be respectable in 2 digits.
Personally don't like the flimsy quality of Honda City.Stability at high speeds is concern. If I pick Skoda or VW will go with lesser powerful 1.0 TSI with torque convertor so peace of mind.

[oops]

I would wait for Next Gen Honda City. I am already driving Honda City i-dtec since 2014. It's the reliability that matters the most, it's Maximum in case of Honda cars with their anytime 10 year Extended Warranty. Problems are very rear in Honda City and maximum of them are covered under Extended Warranty

[Sprucegoose]

It would be the EHEV City for me, but and this is a big but, Honda for some reason don't allow you to charge the battery.

[raycers_honda]

Voted for Volkswagen Virtus. Here’s why, after 7 years of ownership with a type 2 Honda city and then following another 8 years with the 2011 ivtec Honda city, both turning into complete rust buckets. Although they had bullet proof engines and bullet proof reliability, the body parts ended up crumbling like a biscuit. I literally had water soaked into every single area on the floor board inside the car and in the boot every monsoon season. Yes, I do live in Mumbai and by the sea. Having said that, since 2012 we also have had the ownership of the Volkswagen Vento which had the same bullet proof reliability with the added benefit of literally Zero rusting, gave me the confidence to narrow down my purschase to the new Volkswagen Virtus for obvious reasons.

[redcruiser]

I have also voted for Virtus because that is what I have pre booked.
It was always a dream to drive a GT with that DSG

[bwajlearn]

Hello Folks,

I am in the market to buy a car to replace my Spark. I have narrowed it down to 2 cars, City and the Verna. I am looking forward to your suggestions.

Current Ride:
Spark LPG for 12 years with 55K on ODO. It had fuss-free ownership and was very reliable. I could very well continue to use this if not for lack of space and manual transmission. It has beige interiors and maybe due to this, it has a very airy feel inside. I specifically noticed this when checking new cars with black dash. Even Nexon felt a bit cramped than Spark (from driver seat) to me.

Usage:
1. Current usage is less with an average 200-300 KMS a month as both work and school can be covered by bike. However, my wife's job location has changed, and with hybrid working, usage is expected to be 1200-1500 KMS a month starting at the end of this year.
2. Wife will be the primary user of the new car. 2 Adults and 2 Kids.
3. Drive is expected to be 70% city.
5. We are both sedate drivers. Even on very open highways my comfortable speed is 80/90. 100 is kind of a mental barrier for me.
6. Plan to keep the car for an extended period of time. The Spark is 12 years old, so this will be the benchmark.
7. The budget is 15L. I can extend a bit as prices are crazy now.
8. I personally favor sedans in terms of segment.

Requirements:
1. Automatic.
2. Comfort oriented. Drives should not be tiring.
3. Reliable.
4. Relatively safer car.
5. NA engine preferred.

Showroom visits: Honda, Hyundai, MS Nexa, Tata, Volkswagen
Cars Seen: City, Verna, Creta, Ciaz, XL6, Nexon, Altroz, Virtus

Most of the cars in the above list were rejected straight away due to ergonomics, interior ambience and price. Only 3 made into final consideration/test drives.
Special mention to Virtus as we almost booked the car then and there just on the looks alone (Blue color) but on seeing Ambition variant interiors, had to step back a bit allowing Brain to catch up for all reasons of not going for Germans (for my requirements).

Test Drives Done: City, Nexon
Test Drives pending: Verna

Test Drive Assessment:
Both wife and myself were instantly at home with Honda City as if we have been driving the car for years. Very roomy and rear seating is very good. Drive was effortless and couldn't find any fault except price. The variant i am considering is VX CVT.

I can list all the reasons for rejecting other cars but primary reason is that my wife is sold on city.
We checked Verna last and wife is ok with interiors and driving position. So we decided to test drive Verna as well and have made an appointment for 30th.

Dilemma:
It started when i compared prices of City and Verna. I am not much of a petrol head to differentiate in terms of mechanical performance in a single drive. Would need forum's help for that. So my concerns below are mostly from economic perspective.

City VX CVT OTR - 17.5
Verna SX IVT Petrol - 15.1 - Has most of the features of city except some safety features such as ESP, Hill hold, Air bags. Comes within my actual budget. This is a compromise on safety a bit considering my usage will be mostly city.
Verna SX Diesel AT - 16.6 - Same feature as SX petrol with one advantage being better fuel efficiency and cheaper than City VX.
Verna SX(O) - 17.5 - Same as city VX variant in terms of features with additional ventilated seats for same price as City.

I am a bit confused now on choosing the best combination here. Basically does any of the points mentioned for Verna trumps it over city. I have been following Honda City thread for long but not much for Verna.

Questions:
1. What should I look for in Verna compared to city during test drive? Most of the reviews point towards back seat being small but i think i can compromise on that as kids are younger.
2. Though my usage may not warrant it, i am ok with buying diesel if it will give a better driving experience and fuel efficiency. As i intend to keep car for long, i think i can reach break even point before i move to next. What will be FE for Verna diesel AT? Any advantages of this car over City?
3. From maintenance/operating costs perspective, which car has the advantage?
4. From Comfort perspective, which car has the advantage?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[IshaanIan]

If you actually intend on keeping the car for a long time, the Japanese Honda City has got to be the obvious choice. The Verna is a great car especially the current generation as it rides impeccably for its class, and those ventilated seats have got to be the best feature one can get in India. That said, long term Hyundai ownership is a bit iffy and the petrol motor is nothing great at all. Go for the Honda City as I am confident that you will not find a better car in that segment to last you 10-15 years.

[ajayc123]

If you don't have a very strong case for bumper to bumper driving, then you could consider manual transmission, which could open the door for Honda City 4th gen as well, which is a very strong value proposition.

One on my relatives, who had a long ownership of the Verna had quite frequent maintenance issues leading to high expenses and downtime, especially after 5 years. I would suggest you to thoroughly review tbhp review threads, especially where the users discuss issues related to the cars. It would give a fair idea about potential issues.

With high usage at 1200-1500 km per month, it could make a good case for a strong hybrid for high city usage, so I would also suggest to keep an eye for Grand Vitara and Hyryder pricing expected soon.

[Latheesh]

I drove Chevy Spark for 10 years, was without car for ~2.5 years, and finally bought City (V MT) last year. Go ahead and get that VX CVT (ZX CVT if possible). Try to save some money by getting insurance from outside, no accessory from dealer, and bargain.

Test drive both the cars along with your wife and take the final decision.

Verna is a nice car but rear space and maintenance are major concerns.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by bwajlearn

Hello Folks,

I am in the market to buy a car to replace my Spark. I have narrowed it down to 2 cars, City and the Verna. I am looking forward to your suggestions.

[.

For a more spacious cabin it would be the Honda City and everything looks more premium on the inside - until you start the vehicle and start to drive it, it does not feel like a car worth its current asking price. The lower models with MT is worth the price.

Overall Verna is better than City, including daily running costs, on road performance, NVH, infotainment, Interior quality to name a few - you do feel like you got what you paid for. You will understand the difference if you drive it for a while and then switch to something else, there is a lot of attention to detail in terms of cabin refinement , driveability, ease of use etc.

I suggest back to back test drives , you may like City for things that you feel are important, all the best.

Edit : Add Ciaz / XL6 too to your shopping list, just try it once.

[bwajlearn]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

If you actually intend on keeping the car for a long time, the Japanese Honda City has got to be the obvious choice. The Verna is a great car especially..

Thanks for your quote. From petrol motor perspective, i got the impression from the forum that City is better. Any thoughts on the Verna diesel? Aren't Hyundai diesels one of the best around?

Originally Posted by ajayc123

If you don't have a very strong case for bumper to bumper driving, then you could consider manual transmission, which could open the door for Honda City 4th gen as well, which is a very strong value proposition.

One on my relatives, who had a long ownership of the Verna had quite frequent maintenance issues leading to high expenses and downtime, especially after 5 years.

Thanks for your reply. Yes i did consider it initially but vetoed by my wife. I don't want it to be a main reason for not taking car out for long office drives.

With high usage at 1200-1500 km per month, it could make a good case for a strong hybrid for high city usage, so I would also suggest to keep an eye for Grand Vitara and Hyryder pricing expected soon.

Thanks. Yes i do intend to wait for pricing of Hyryder but not confident if my budget will allow for the strong hybrid version.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

I drove Chevy Spark for 10 years, was without car for ~2.5 years, and finally bought City (V MT) last year. Go ahead and get that VX CVT (ZX CVT if possible). Try to save some money by getting insurance from outside, no accessory from dealer, and bargain.

Thanks ! Yes will compare the insurance prices. Their initial offer of discounts comes to about 20K - Exchange, OEM, July Offer etc.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

For a more spacious cabin it would be the Honda City and everything looks more premium on the inside - until you start the vehicle and start to drive it, it does not feel like a car worth its current asking price. The lower models with MT is worth the price.

Thanks. I did get the intention in the forum but sadly we are not able to differentiate as we are driving automatic for the first time and CVT felt very smooth. I will check this when i test drive Verna AT.
XL6 is too big for my wife to drive though personally i liked its value proposition. Ciaz for some reason didn't feel right on checking ergonomics. But i will try to get a test drive for this automatic as well.