[RJK]

I'd pick Sonata........

[tsk1979]

Comfort comfort and comfort?
I have sat in a Sonata Embera, as well as an accord, and on the comfort front it definitely scores over the accord.
Otherwise the Honda has much better snob value, and is a more capable handler(stiffer suspension).
For the back seat guy, Sonata Embera VFM cannot be beaten by anything else. I doubt even the most vocal accord lovers will disagree on VFM part.

[reignofchaos]

Get the Embera CRDi with AT. In terms of back seat comfort its in the camry league... far better than accord.

[RacingForIndia]

Have you considered trying out the Nissian - Teana. Heard its a real good buy, and theres nothing on the Indian Roads which looks like it.

[Rishaj]

I Suggest you to go for Toyota Camry or Honda Accord or Nissan Teana.
But thease cars are prices more than double their value in India. In Doha The price for Glx AT Transmission is Qrs. 90,000 (Its almost Rs. 1080000), the top model of Accord is Around Qrs. 80,000 (Its. almost Rs. 960000). I think its simply a waste of money to buy thease midium sized luxury sedans in India. Why should you make the govt rich by paying tax(i.e. the actual value of the car)

[entropy]

Thanks guys for all your informative inputs and sorry for going into hiding ... . I did took some long back seat test drives on Sonata/Accord but Sonata interiors felt cheap compared to Accord. Comfort wise at least I didn't felt much difference. So Accord it is for now. The twist is that Honda dealer here told me that New Accord should be out by Dec this year so he advised me to wait for few more months. Anyway I'm in no hurry.

Will bump this thread as and when new Accord arrives :-) Thanks again.

[speedy]

i think you should go in for the sonata embera crdi or the nissan teana. both the cars are very good.

[thefreak]

My two pences.

Why not the Civic? The max legroom at the rear in the Civic is higher than the Accord (agreed that it is by one inch but it is more). It is comfortable. It is priced at 12L for the V (ex showroom).
Interiors are damn good. Quite a handler. Try it out.

[entropy]

Thanks thefreak. You were spot on. Finally when it came down to replace
my one year old City ZX CVT with something bigger, I have settled with
Civic. After I had posted this thread, I realized my parking space is limited
to 4.6m max in length. So bigger cars are ruled out until we move to a
bigger villa (another 3 years). So Civic it is for now. I had considered
following cars

1. Laura
- Totally put off by the pre-sales experience no matter how hard I tried to
convince myself otherwise.
- Rear leg room is quite tight

2. CRV
- CBU
- Honda salesperson was somehow not keen on selling
this citing very poor FE

3. Magnum
- No AT Option
- Old design. Could not excite the emotional part.
- Somehow didn't look like an upgrade from City IMHO.

4. Corolla
- New model expected soon
- Somehow didn't look like an upgrade from City IMHO.

So the choice was Civic by exclusion of others. About ground clearance, I
did some run with 5 people in the car, but it was Ok. One just has to be
careful over car-breakers same as while you're driving City. I have chosen
the red color as it seems to be different and not many red Civics can be
seen here (at least in Lucknow). Expect the car to be delivered by end of
this week.

Thanks all of you. team-bhp rocks !!

[entropy]

Wanted to bump up this thread for my next purchase.

It will be one year in Nov for the Civic I bought last year.
The new car itch has already started and this time the house has undergone
a rennovation that also increases the parking space to accomodate a
full size car upto 5m in length. House will be ready by Sep/08.

I'm in a dilemma what to buy within a budget of 50lakhs max. As I'm based
in Lukcnow, the service/support factor becomes important. Currently I have
a Innova and Civic V/AT. This time I'm looking for a European car that feels
solid and gives the premium feel. I have two options:

1. Replace Innova with a 7 seater MUV/SUV. (7 seats a MUST)
- Innova is already 1 years 3 months old.
2. Replace Civic with a car upto 5m in length.
- Will be one year in Nov 2008.

Eventhough the budget is upto 50 lakhs I would like to spend just as much
that fulfills my requirements and satisfies me emotionally.

DO NOT WANT
- Any GM Product
- Any Ford Product
- Please do not suggest CR-V (bored with Honda for now)
- Volvo (no service/support here and seems ordinary from what I have read)

Under Consideration
- Mercedes-Benz - E220 CDI/E280 CDI
- BMW - 520d until 530d. Would have loved X5 but outside my current budget.
- AUDI - Not too sure if I want ?
- VW - Passat
- Sokda - New superb looks good
- Montero - Don't know if this is a good 7 seater.

In above list, only Benz/Skoda has a service support here. However E as I
understand is going to be replaced soon. Also from several back-seat trips
I have taken in the hired E's it feels a bit cramped. Though they have a
service support in Lucknow, I doubt their capability as the owner also
runs a GM showroom and likely these are the same folks who'd service the car.
BMW/AUDI/VW etal don't have any presence in Lukcnow. So this would require a
trip to delhi (not very practical I think).

My requirements:
- MUST be diesel
- MUST be roomy enough for two 6 footer's (front/back)
- MUST have a comfy ride. Back seat comfort VERY important
- MUST satisy the emotional quotient (feel good factor) of owning a good
product. Quality of interiors is VERY important
- MUST be reasonably fuel efficient
- MUST be an A/T (want smooth jerk-free shifts)

Car will NOT be self driven 99% of the time.

I would need fellow t-bhpians advice to guide me through this confusion.
Good thing is wifey has approved the purchase after some futile resistance .

[karanraheja]

Entropy : For your Civic replacement the Audi A4 or the New Superb will be the best options. I think Superb will be more comfy & it looks better than its previous model.

[Akshay1234]

i dont think the q7 or the x5 would fit in your budget so my suggestion is to get a good sedan.

the e class looks dated when compared to its competition the audi a6 and the bmw 5 series.

i think you can look at the 530d, the a6 3.0tdi and the e280cdi.

between these the a6 is the best all rounder whilst the merc is more comfort oriented and the bmw is more driving oriented. the a6 would have enough of space for the 2 6 footers (am saying this out of experience). the 225bhp diesel is brilliant. the interiors are arguably the best of the lot and it has the 7 speed multitronic.

though the simple looks of the a6 can be a put off for some.

i think you need to see and test drive all 3 and then decide.

[entropy]

Thanks akshay1234. How would be the resale of a6 ? Also is it reliable enough to give trouble free service as I'd have to take it to Delhi for any issues.

[iraghava]

I would suggest you either wait for the new E or wait till more dealers open up in Lucknow. Buying a car whose dealer is 500kms away from you is not really good logic.

Or see once more if you like the E280.

And why not the Montero? It's within your budget, is a 7-seater & is diesel.

[shankar.balan]

Suggest the New Skoda Superb if your budget is around 20L
from all accounts and reports this car gives the Merc a serious run for its money.
cheers