[CArspeed]

Originally Posted by tsi_niks1989

Voted for Virtus, having driven both Kushaq and Virtus GT now for more than 6 months

Between the Virtus and Kushaq which according to you is better in the following areas:
1. Handling in highway cornering
2. Ride quality in Highway speeds(rear seats)
3. Ride quality in city speeds
4. Drivers seating comfort for long drives

[NT56]

My vote goes to the Virtus 1.5TSI for it's engine, handling and safety.

However it's not a slam dunk. If i had to pick a sedan for predominantly city use I would pick the Verna 1.5NA for it's better cabin and softer ride.

[fhdowntheline]

I recently drove the Slavia 1.5 DSG. Now, after using a Creta, the first thing that I was struck with is the difficulty in ingress- egress. Mind you, I do have a Tiago as well but it is far more comfortable in that situation. I dont know what was the problem frankly. I have owned low slung sedans like the Linea, City, but something was a bit odd about ingress- egress. That apart, the engine/ transmission was like ghee running over a warm roti. Looks like they have improved the DQ200 a bit and it did not exhibit that slight notchiness between D2-D3. And on flooring the pedal, well, you find that you run out of a good empty road faster than you run out of adjectives to describe the performance. The 1.5 crdi in my Creta is creamy smooth in its own right, but not quite the same. And there is no comparison with the City frankly. The car also felt quite solidly built in terms of touch- feel, which isnt a surprise.

[shibulijack]

I'm surprised that Honda City still tops the list even in the enthusiasts' forum. Personally, I'd still choose the City for the peace of mind. True to its name, the City is butter smooth to drive in a city, and with upgraded tires, it is a competent highway cruiser (assuming you're doing legal speeds).

[GoBabyGo]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Just go through the City niggles thread and see if the quality reputation holds. Look at the sheer amount of rusting and water leakage issues. My own car has huge problems with both. So much for quality.

Honda City is mechanically reliable. But it’s not as if it has a monopoly on reliability. The reputation for quality and reliability was built by the Gen2 and Gen3 model Citys, and that was against the kind of cars we had back then. Esteem, Accent, Aveo, original Verna, Fiesta, Sail, SX4. The competition has improved by leaps and bounds, while the City has pretty much stayed the same or even regressed in a few areas.

Hi Shreyans - I totally agree with you. I drive 2018 VMT iVtech and have completed 60k kms. I feel disappointed with niggles in my City, specially dashboard & A pillar (passenger side). I do have experience of owning Hyundai (Santro & Xcent) but don't have any experience of owning European budget cars (other than big 3).

I feel since last 3 years Hyundai (& Kia) are making better put together cars compared to Japanese, Americans & Europeans. Except questionable safety ratings Koreans offer better overall package.

City has very high aspirational value amongst Indian. 5th Generation City is much better product (compared to 4th generation), however, it is still a light car and give feel of low grade sheet metal, glass & interior material (& paint quality) for the price it is selling.

Skoda / VW are suffering from their past. They should learn from Tata how to bounce back from poor past. I have heard from some of my colleagues who own Skoda or VW new generation vehicles that atleast in bigger cities, dealer attitude of Skoda / VW is much better. I am hoping that Skoda will be able to revive Slavia but I have doubt on Virtus. Both Slavia & Virtus look much more premium than City & Verna.

[tsi_niks1989]

Originally Posted by CArspeed

Between the Virtus and Kushaq which according to you is better in the following areas:

1. Handling in highway cornering(Virtus)
2. Ride quality in Highway speeds(rear seats)(Virtus marginally better)
3. Ride quality in city speeds (Kushaq)
4. Drivers seating comfort for long drives(Virtus)

Just to confirm, I have 1.5 for the Virtus so it just feels much better to drive overall plus VW interior fit and finish feels better than Skoda. The plastics in Kushaq creaks and doors also rattle sometimes but VW has been very good-no rattles whatsoever plus that embedded infotainment instead of a pop-up one surely looks very pleasing to the eyes.

[mpthy]

Disclaimer: I haven't test driven the latest iteration of any of these cars, barring the Ciaz. Most of my points are thus based on what i've read here.

All the cars are very compelling packages and I'd select them ahead of their equivalent CSUVs. The limited list of pros and cons that would help me decide are:

City

Pros:
1. Reliable
2. Hybrid Powertrain

Cons:
1. We've only owned and driven Japanese cars (including 2 Hondas), with the Manza and Sumo as the two exceptions. A certain level of fatigue is settling in. My next car is very similar (Hycross), while the other cars in the garage are CR-V and Dzire.

Slavia/Virtus

Pros:
1. Driving pleasure
2. Looks (Virtus ranking higher than the Slavia)
3. Novelty of owning my first German car

Cons:
1. DSG Reliability
2. Poor AC

Verna

Pros:
1. Loaded with features
2. Driving pleasure: seems to be a notch above the City and a notch below the Germans.
3. Space: It's a pro because this was the single biggest con of the last Verna, and it has now been fixed.
4. Reliability: seems to be a notch below the City and a notch above the Germans.

Cons:
1. Looks
2. Questionable Safety (Current car has not been tested)

Ciaz

Pros:
1. VFM
2. Reliable

Cons:
1. Outdated
2. Same as the point mentioned for the City.

I would love to own the Virtus, but a poor AC is a dealbreaker in Mumbai. Thus if I had to buy one of these cars today, then the Verna would very closely edge out the hybrid City.

[sunilrs]

While my heart wants to vote for the Virtus/Slavia, I am still scarred by the horrific service experience when I owned a Polo (though I loved the driving experience). I hate the new design language of Hyundai (I know that is subjective) and I remain sceptical of the safety aspect with Hyundai cars. Ciaz is too long in the tooth. So it boils down to the City, yes it is not exciting but it gets the job done without fuss and the service experience is acceptable so far and over 20 years of City ownership (12 years 2nd gen and 8 years 4th gen) have had barely 1 week of trouble total across both cars.

If Kia launches a sedan with its design language and gets a good safety score or I get over the old mental trauma of VW service experience, I might change my vote but I am not there yet.

[UD17]

Voted city: for already listed reasons and my overall 15+ experience with Honda Brand.

Eliminated:

-VW/Skoda: Due to aftersales issues, Service center availability, reliability
-Ciaz: nothing bling about Ciaz, its too old and unappealing
-Verna: Its too polarizing. I feel the excitement of bling features/design is short-lived. Other car designs are timeless.

[BrakeDancer]

It has to be the City. I think irrespective of the incremental increase in the power figures for the German twins, City continues to have a thoroughly enjoyable engine that can adapt to the slow moving city traffic and highway cruising with consummate ease. It's suspension set up is on the softer side, so it tends to float a little bit, as a result the high speed manners (anything above 140) don't inspire a lot of confidence, yes. But then we really don't have the roads to hit anything above 120, so this isn't and hasn't really been much of a concern for me. The finesse and fit of the interiors also are simple and top notch. None of that shoddy stuff that the German twins have given us in the 2.0 avatar.

What really makes it race ahead of the pack, for me, is the absolute fuss free ownership it entails. That's something no other sedan in its class can offer you. What's the point of having just a 'fun to drive' car if half my time is spent in the service centre sorting out one niggle or the other? As a professional who just doesn't have the time to keep doing that back and forth, something like the City offers the most peace of mind for me while not compromising on the fun to drive aspect. Because yes, it has to be fun to drive as well, and it is. Slot it into S and see the engine come to life and kick you back in your seats.

I don't believe it should be a trade off between having fun and having a reliable vehicle, and the success of City is because it has hit that sweet spot and continues to hit that sweet spot. 1.5 yrs with my 5th Gen City (ZX, automatic) and I've never ever had to sort even one niggle. It's a hell of a statistic. No AC issues, no creaking noises, no mechanical failures, no evidence of shoddy fit or finish anywhere. The only thing I changed from the stock car was the tyres on the day of my delivery.

[anshu1101]

My pick would be the Skoda Slavia 1.5 MT, for that superb engine (an MT because I'd stay away from the DSG) and 5-star safety rating. The Virtus offers the same package, but I'm inclined towards the Slavia just for its looks (personal preference).

The Ciaz is just too dated and out of contention.

On the new Hyundai Verna, although it has a very competent engine, I just can't digest the front and rear looks of the car. And safety is unknown.

The Honda City is a very competent cruiser with that butter smooth engine, but lacks the enthusiast quotient.

[cl500 di]

Though I own a nexa blue, petrol ciaz (pre-facelift)for almost 6 years and 80k on the odo. My vote goes to the honda city for it's VFM factor. But, My vote would have gone to ciaz 6 years ago, but at present MS has not even made the slightest effort to improve the car to keep up with its competitors, they know that people will run back for it's FE and quality of service(the main reason I bought this car over its competitors ��). But now, people look at other factors which MS does not offer and does not seem to provide in future for its sedans.

[car_guy1998]

Was confused whether I should vote for Verna or Virtus, but, eventually, I ended up voting for Virtus despite owning a 4th gen City Diesel for its exterior looks and driving pleasure the Virtus offers though I liked the Verna 1.5 Turbo (drove MT as DCT wasn't available for TD). Having driven the Virtus in 1.5 TSI DSG guise as well as in 1L TSI AT guise, the 1.5 DSG felt explosive though 1L TSI AT isn't a slouch and 1L TSI AT masks the initial lag present in 1L TSI MT variant (had Taigun in 1L TSI MT guise for a brief period so I can relate with that).

I'd pick Verna if service network is important for me and the variant I'd pick is 1.5 Turbo DCT.

City is for the people, who love being chauffeured and want a fuss-free experience along with reliable powertrain. Though City offers fuss-free experience and being a tried and tested product, I'm bit skeptical about Honda's future in India as they are left with only two cars at present and don't know what's gonna happen with Honda in near future though I have decent experiences with my Honda ASC. I even had a thought to get another City but in CVT guise since it'll be driven in city limits most of the time but my folks weren't keen on getting another one despite loving its rear seat space and comfort.

[gururajrv]

City is too old to even consider no matter how much they upgrade.

Time to taste new breeds out there in the block - my pick Virtus! It's got crazy eye-smacking looks which will persuade me to have more than 2 or 3 glances even after parking it. White shade screams class, sporty etc all at the same time. Reminds me of the Jetta!

Votes also say City is just one vote of Virtus!

[fhdowntheline]

Honda City, true to its name , is by no means a great highway car.It is deceptively fast, extremely agile but it feels like a ballerina running at high speed on stilletos, rather than a hunkered down pro athelete. South of 15-20 lac , I still havent found as dynamically well poised a sedan as the Fiat Linea,in the recent years.