[Flyer]

If your objective is to own a fun to drive sedan, why not look for a well maintained Octavia TSI or even Diesel? I think that will be a much better option than Altis.
An Octavia will meet all the criteria you mentioned in your opening post and it will lot more fun to drive than an Altis. Any money you save can be invested for future maintenance expenses.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by AJ56

Will have to disagree. .

Off Topic:
Different strokes for different folks (or markets as in this case). We just need to look around us and see the reality around us in the Indian market, both in terms of pricing as well as consumer perceived brand value. Fortuner. Skoda Octavia. Toyota Corolla Altis. Toyota Camry. Why, some may even consider Kia as a premium brand.
You and your reference set of people in particular may belong to a class whose brand perceptions are different but, considering the reality around us, the larger majority of others in India clearly have different perceptions. It might even be worrh a general random poll to get some numbers in.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Buy Corolla, request your friend that you will transfer ownership after two months in your or someone else's name.

Park Sonet for two months. After 2 months, decide what to sell.

You are looking at a maximum of 30 to 50k loss with this strategy, but then you are enjoying the Corolla and making a better informed decision, which is not just from the heart but heart+mind+whole family's experience.

I cannot answer the poll, as my strategy is not listed

[Gautham_v6]

Maybe if this suggestion helps, if you have a parking space that is good enough to accomodate a second car, then the Altis can be considered and you can have a fully satisfied ownership of both cars. Having said by many other members, Sonet is a very sorted car and selling a 2 year old car which is running with no issues is not a good idea.

[Rajeevraj]

The cons you mentioned are not big ones. You can retrofit a new HU, blinds. Being a Toyota, it will last long and although maintenance will be in line with a D Segment car, it will not be too bad.

Having said that. Does not make sense in my view to buy an 8 year old car by selling a new one. Also, the Corolla is not really a aspirational sedan that will turn heads( just my personal opinion) and is not a FTD car. So I fear you will get disappointed after the initial thrill has worn off.

[AKSarkar1]

Voted Yes!

The Sonet will eventually depreciate and it would be almost impossible to get a positive cashflow out of the car should you exchange it with some other car, if you are getting 3.5L that would be a good offer IMHO and you can use it for something more financially prudent.

I don't know if it is just me but the new car market these days just doesn't equal to value in my dictionary, if I were to replace my 2015 Vento with the new Virtus, I would end up paying close to 21L minimum on road. Hence, I have started looking at the pre-owned market and a Corolla has been on my list too, if you have found a good one it makes sense to take the plunge! The car is will last you for the years to come and has many many classy features that the tech savvy Kia won't (vice-versa is also valid of course). My friend still daily drives his 2009 Altis and says that there is no proper upgrade from the car without spending the big bucks and that in itself is probably the biggest testimony to old Corollas.

All the best!

[AKSarkar1]

Voted Yes!

The Sonet will eventually depreciate and it would be almost impossible to get a positive cashflow out of the car should you exchange it with some other car, if you are getting 3.5L that would be a good offer IMHO and you can use it for something more financially prudent.

I don't know if it is just me but the new car market these days just doesn't equal to value in my dictionary, if I were to replace my 2015 Vento with the new Virtus, I would end up paying close to 21L minimum on road. Hence, I have started looking at the pre-owned market and a Corolla has been on my list too, if you have found a good one it makes sense to take the plunge! The car is will last you for the years to come and has many many classy features that the tech savvy Kia won't (vice-versa is also valid of course). My friend still daily drives his 2009 Altis and says that there is no proper upgrade from the car without spending the big bucks and that in itself is probably the biggest testimony to old Corollas.

All the best!

[parthpandeyy]

Originally Posted by 07CR

Current Rides-I had purchased a Pre Owned Sonet HTX iMT Turbo in Feb 2022. ODO on the Sonet stands at 11.5K. I am extremely happy with the car. I also have 2018 Ecosport S TDCI at home which is chugging along happily at 33K Kms at the moment. Our yearly usage is around 15K kms, combined for both cars. Ecosport usually does 9K kms, while the rest is done by Sonet.

Why New Car- To be honest, simply because YOLO! I have come across a pristine 2015 Corolla Altis VL AT and I know the seller personally. It has done little over 60K kms, and is first owner.

If I purchased Altis-

• Always Dreamed of getting a D segment Sedan. Dream accomplished.
• Superb legroom and interior space.
• Snob value of D segment sedan.
• Excellent backseat comfort. Very important for parents.
• If I purchase this, and sell the Sonet, I am looking at around 3.5L worth of saving (Purchase price of Sonet + Purchase Price of Corolla - Selling price of Sonet= 3.5L). Might as well invest it.
• I get a Diverse garage, a sporty black Ecosport S TDCI (Manual Diesel) for fun and a reliable and super comfortable white Corolla Altis (petrol, CVT)for those comfortable journeys.

What I fear about-

• Miss out on modern necessities like Rear Aircon vent, Wireless Android Auto, rear sunblinds.
• Total age of sonet is just little over 1.5 years. I can safely assume that this car will serve me another 8.5 years easily. Can I rely the same on Altis (given my relatively low yearly running).
• The maintenance of an 8 year old Altis. Currently average annual maintenance cost of Sonet is 5-6K. What costs am I looking at for the Altis?
• While I am not too fussy about the FE, I get 10-13 in Pune traffic conditions from Sonet. How much more lower can the CVT Altis give me?

Would love your valuable opinions!

I can totally understand your situation. I'm have a 2013 Petrol Altis too. I have driven compact SUV's of today and can safely say that the engines, driving dynamics, interior quality, build quality and the engineering that goes in is miles apart for both the cars. I'd like to correct you, your sonet will probably not last for the next 8.5 years, but even a 2015 altis would. That's the way these cars are built.
About fuel efficiency, my manual gives around 10-12 in the city and goes upto 14/14.5 on highways. Expect the CVT to given 1/1.5 kmpl lesser in the city and upto 15 on highways. My car has run <55k kms till date because the running in my case to is pretty low and its just like warming up the car. Every time someone sits in it, the car feels all new and out of the showroom, like all of this was just a warm up!
By going for the Altis, you're not going to miss out on anything at all. It has all that the Sonet has + a lot more. A simple HU upgrade will get you Carplay and Android Auto. Things like Sunshades and rear AC vents do not matter when you have an AC that chills in a minute. The service costs too are always less than 10k for me, assuming no major part changes.

Take my word, go for it and you won't regret it.

[Asish_VK]

Originally Posted by 07CR

Current Rides-I
[*]Always Dreamed of getting a D segment Sedan. Dream accomplished.[*]Superb legroom and interior space.[*]Snob value of D segment sedan.[*]Excellent backseat comfort. Very important for parents.

Agree to all except point 3. There is no snob value for a D segment sedan anymore, heck! even luxury sedans lost the snob value battle with SUV's.
Your Sonet will have more snob value than Corolla for a common man (not considering enthusiasts like us here )

[the.dogfather]

I own a 2015 Corolla VX AT, which I bought used in 2020. Have used it for 40,000 kms after that and have taken it all around the country without any issues.

Can help you with a few pointers:
1. Rear AC Vent : The AC is quite powerful and have never had rear seat passengers complaint about the AC.
2. Android auto: The stock ICE is not that great and Toyota maps is not very useful either. I upgraded the ICE with a 10 inch one with Android auto.
3. Maintenance costs: The consumables are quite cheap. My regular service comes under INR 6000, however some parts are expensive. Brake pad change comes to 8,000 and it's all disc brakes. So that can escalate the costs.
4. Someone had mentioned about the transmission oil change. The Corolla CVT comes with lifetime oil and transmission oil change is not recommend. However after reading the thread about transmission oil change, I changed the same in my car. 4L CVT oil change (3.2 is the capacity but it comes in 4l cans) came for 4300 and was less than 5000 inclusive of labour. The CVT oil was not readily available and had to be ordered
5. Many parts are not readily available, which includes most body panels, bumpers and parts unique to Corolla. You might need to order and wait. These parts are directly imported and so are quite expensive too. The dome light (map light) panel for example costs 12000. Each reverse parking sensor costs around 10000.
6. While the rear seats are comfortable, older people would find getting out of the car difficult due to lower height of the car.
7. Ground clearance: Even though there is good ground clearance on the car, it also has a very long wheelbase. Due to this, I have sometimes had it hit speed breakers on full load (4 pax + full luggage). With two people it has not been much of an issue. The front overhang is quite long so the bumper does hit when climbing steep ramps. I have faced the ground clearance issues more inside Bangalore City than any rural areas where I have driven.
8. Tyre price: 4 tyres were changed a few months back totalling to around 33000 including fitting , balancing and alignment for Yoko Blueearth AE52.
9. Fuel efficiency: My average fuel efficiency shown on the instrument panel is 11.3-11.5, and this is 80/20 highway vs City driving. On highways I get around 12-13kmpl and in city it falls to 9-10kmpl.
10. Toyota service for me was a hit or miss. The service centre in Bangalore, Nandi Toyota, was quite bad with a lot of unnecessary additions made by the SA and with respect to quality of work which I had mentioned about in a thread about Nandi Toyota. However the experience with other Toyota service centers has been exceptionally good.

It's a nice car and a very well tuned CVT. It is nice to drive on the highway and not too difficult to maneuver in the city ( though I rarely use it much inside the city). The width may take sometime to get used to and I don't think maintenance would be any issue for next many years. That said, if your usage is more in the city, the Sonet might be better option. Parking is a problem with the Corolla and I take it only when I have assured parking at the destination, like offices or malls etc. It is a long car and wide car and the size does pay foul while parking. Unless you have highway usage, would recommend you to stick with the Sonet.

[1:1]

Voted to keep the Sonnet.

Reasons to Not consider- Corolla
1. Both EcoSport and Sonnet have a higher seating position. If your parents are aged they would thank you for having a higher seating car vs a low seating one. My mom thanked me when i sold off my city for Seltos. Its something which may not be missed unless it is not there.

2. I guess you have cooled seats which you wont get in Altis.

3. Altis in my driving experience wont give you exciting driving experience which you would get with the peppy engines on Sonnet /EcoSport.

Reasons to Consider Corolla

1. It will out live both Sonnet and Ecosport for sure.

[samitjain]

Altis has poor/cheap build and rattles to glory. Honda city is better (other than big car image)[/quote]

Completely disagree, own both Honda City and Altis GL automatic.
Altis is way ahead in terms of quality/reliability as well as driving pleasure.

No rattling whatsoever and build quality far better than Honda.

Rear Ac vents not required as Altis ac is a chiller.

Honda City ac is poor. Rear Ac vents in Honda City are useless.

[CArspeed]

I drive an Altis CVT which is in her 12th year and clocked 1.5 lakhs Kilometres. Except for some strange behaviour as the engine knocks when driven in the humid daytime during hot summers she has always been supremely comfortable. I am an enthusiastic driver and she really copes up well to my expectations particularly on the highways which is where I take her 90% of the occasions. I have kept pace with a BMW 5 series from Chennai to Mangalore whenever I travel with my cousin. I don’t subscribe to some people who claim that she is not a good handler. It’s got the best ride quality as well. I have upgraded the suspension, engine bed amongst others and the tyre profile as well. It’s all OEM stuffs purchased outside of the service centre.
My family doesn’t want to leave her as she always keeps them in comfort and many a times I travel about 12-14 hours a day with them. The AC is a chiller even in hot summer and you won’t miss the rear vents at all.
If you can find a good mechanic please go ahead with this car. The difference is day and night between Altis and Sonet on all critical parameters.

[TurboLag200]

A camry would make more sense.

[bravo82in]

Your heart is already sold for Corolla. Go for it, taking advice here will only confuse you. For one time in life let your heart rule your mind. Believe me nobody regrets owning a Toyota. With the changing car scenario ( SUV, EV, Hybrid Hydrogen) this may be your Last chance to own a D segment sedan. You will be owning a safer car too.