[Sandeep500]

Voted for Slavia. I liked it’s mature and classy styling. The interiors also look good and feel more premium than those in Virtus. The main thing which impressed me most was the look and feel of steering. This is the thing which you look at and feel the most while driving any vehicle. I drove new Hond City after I had driven Slavia on the same stretch of road back to back. The difference I felt was quite noticeable. So bought the Slavia.

[clevermax]

I'd close my eyes and pick the quickest car of the lot, the Verna.

The 'need for driving dynamics' is slightly overrated, IMO. Whatever one can do with the VAG twins on our roads can be done with a Verna too. Writing from experience.

[wheelnpaddock]

Originally Posted by clevermax

The 'need for driving dynamics' is slightly overrated, IMO. Whatever one can do with the VAG twins on our roads can be done with a Verna too. Writing from experience.

Spot on.

With VAG reducing emphasis on build quality and handling and Hyundai increasing theirs, the difference between the two is minimal if next to nothing.

The VW looks classier but the Hyundai is faster. The only downside to the new Verna is the slightly incongruous rear three quarter angle where the attempt at fastback styling doesn't quite make it. Apart from that the Verna equals the VW twins in every area and betters it on pace.

Handling, comfort, brakes, pace, reasonable VFM - Hyundai are getting their act together and the new Verna underlines that.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by ags82

I doubt rusting and leaking issues on current 5th gen?
I don't consider City as the epotime of quality and reliability. But as you said they are mechanically reliable. The reliability of that CVT is miles ahead compared to the DSG of a Vitrus or Slavia.

My car started to rust and leak after 5 years, so, you never know. Imagine what happens to crash safety when the car is rusting.

The CVT is less prone to breakdowns than DSG. Yes. But that holds only when the owner makes sure the CVT oil is changed on time. A miss or a delay, and the gearbox is screwed. And you can’t rely on the service advisor for this, this is not a regular procedure. This applies to the iVT of the Verna as well. In that sense, the torque converter on the 1.0 TSi Virtus and Slavia is the most robust, reliable and long lasting transmission option here. Doesn’t suffer from the CVT lag either.

[Ashishkel]

I was not allowed to vote, but given a chance, I will choose City eyes closed. If City were not available, then it would have been a Verna.
I really like the VWs and Skodas for their ruggedness, and the power. But dreaded by the DSG stories I have read here in this forum itself. Made me choose a City when I had to buy a car. But I really loved the VW experience when i test drove them.

[Champion]

Disclaimer: I was shopping for these cars and finally bought one that ticked my heart than mind/brain.

The Virtus GT had a strong case for itself and as a product is wonderfully finished. However down south (read Thanjavur, TN), the showroom was a big turn off and the service questionable. I have been told that there is just one dealer for Tamilnadu spread across various cities. And the second concern was the availability of colors. The Bronze is such a wow color, the blue too but none of that was in stock and they had just Grey, White and Silver (No offence to people who have these).

But the difference was obvious when I test drove the Verna 1.5 Turbo MT right after I did the Virtus GT and for some reason I felt the Hyundai took off better than any I had driven thus far. The facia was not as pleasing but the rear three quarters and the interiors were love at first sight. Reminds me so much of my Dodge Charger R/T. Coupled with the engine which was revving to go, I was floored. The response from the dealer and my SA was fantastic and for the first time I was promised and delivered on time (including the dealer going out of the way to deliver the car before the official launch at the showroom). Hyundai has got a wide network of showrooms/dealerships but that wasn't the talking point. It is a competent product backed by a dealership that knows how to take care of it's customers/potentials. Kudos to VETRI Hyundai - Thanjavur and my SA Ajeeth.

My new ride now is the Verna 1.5 Turbo Petrol MT in Starry Night (Darkish Blue) and it's amazing. I would rate the Virtus GT a better car and with the NCAP ratings out, the safer (that's until the Verna's comes out). But I would still buy the Verna over the Virtus for the value and product it is. Cheers!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by wheelnpaddock

The VW looks classier but the Hyundai is faster. that.

I would not go by the on-paper figures for 0-100 time published by the manufacturer. We all know German car makers tend to be more conservative about published figures on acceleration, HP etc. The majority of the drag races posted so far on YouTube (although they are not very scientific) seem to point to the Virtus being faster at least till about 120 kph.

[Arvindyoga]

Originally Posted by ags82

I doubt rusting and leaking issues on current 5th gen?
I don't consider City as the epotime of quality and reliability. But as you said they are mechanically reliable. The reliability of that CVT is miles ahead compared to the DSG of a Vitrus or Slavia.

I own the current gen City and it's probably the worst purchase I have ever made. I had the old 4th gen city (from 2008) and it was an absolute dream to drive. Even after a decade of use, it looked and performed exactly the same as when I had initially purchased it.
Blinded by this, I purchased the current generation City without a test drive or comparison with any other cars -
1) Body feels like it's made out of stretched out aluminum cans - the right quarterpanel was slightly out of alignment and bent inwards when I opened the door. The whole car feels very flimsy and rust-prone
2) engine sounds worse than an autorickshaw. There's a very distinct rattle at idle which is uncannily similar to the two stroke engine of the petrol Bajaj RE.

There are many more issues with this vehicle, but it's not the purpose of this thread.

voted for the new Verna, it's like when iPhone initially came out - I truly believe the new Verna gave us a glimpse into the future of the automobile industry.

[CarWorld]

Voted for City. It's a complete, reliable product and is well known across India and commands respect too especially in rural India. Has good fuel efficiency and resale value too. Let's wait for initial hype to settle down and City will make a comeback again in sales charts.

[RaiAnish]

Virtus. Clear choice for me.

Slavia almost at the same level if only it came with a 10inch screen and less creaking interior panels(?)

Would rate the Verna closest due to better interior quality but wouldn't fall in my consideration set because of two major dealbreakers. The instrument cluster which is bike level displaying just digital numbers. Need to look at that whole time. The other deal breaker is the way it looks. Not my preference. And very very ordinary as compared to other timeless beauties in the segment.

Surprised to see City leading here. Is a better 'perceived' reliability that important? (Most VAG cars won't be breaking down) On top of that, the Interior looks are outdated with that infotainment and boring large AC vents with a chunky steering wheel. No offence to owners but I think it's fit probably only for 45+ year olds.
I think in general, we're just very risk averse especially as the buyers age increases with family responsibilities etc.

Service costs have definitely come down with VAG 2.0 products and service packages offered. We do pay with slightly lesser build quality but that's the norm. We are getting cheaper spares now. I don't know if that's called out much here. A friend of mine was talking about the price of the Taigun bumper being closer to Maruti Baleno's. I can't confirm that though.

Yes I'll settle for some creaks(that comes with age but hopefully can be solved or looked after) but has a better looking interior with seamlessly integrated large touch screen (no bezel effects), lovely piano black dash (protected with ceramic/PPF) and beautiful 8 inch digital cockpit driver's display. Can't forget to mention the way it looks. Amazing. Those blacked out taillights and overall proportions. Verna in comparison is a shocker.

Add to that, 5 Star safety, one of the safest on Indian roads, high speed stability, driving dynamics and the usual German stuff.

[drive2eternity]

Voted for the Verna. It is the most complete package. Esp when buying the car for not just myself but also family needs.
I do feel this poll will reflect the opposite of ground realities when it comes to sales numbers.

[kpkeerthi]

Voted Verna for the smashing looks, service network & quality and ride & handling.

[apramey]

I have driven all of them, i ended up purchasing virtus GT. I was in sedan market coming from a Baleno RS. What i was looking for, in a new car, was a clear upgrade in terms of the driving experience (coming from Baleno RS) as my first priority, okayish to decent mileage(anything that's not dismally low), safe and doesn't scream the qualities- cheapness or cost cutting.

Honda City
City is a really good car. If you want to buy a sedan and forget about maintaining it, just go for city. Now that they have introduced ADAS features, it is even better than previous year model.

Right off the bat, what i liked about the Honda City in the couple of test drives i took was, the genuine leather seats and the associated comfort. The interiors were okayish, nothing too spectacular. I was not very much impressed by the infotainment screen. The drive quality was decent for a very abused, test drive vehicle which had done 35000+km in like 1 year. It felt like a very mature vtec engine(because it's i-vtec and not vtec). I have to tell this, the throttle response was phenomenal. The power delivery was very linear and although I did not feel the pull. The pull, though, is definitely there. You just have to be courageous enough to floor it till it reaches 4500rpm and then the torque comes in. It was putting a smile on my face everytime I go beyond 4000rpm. The pull was nowhere close to what you would get in a turbo petrol engine.

What i didn't like about the Honda City was, narrow section tyres that make it look cheap. The tyres looked like they were incapable of doing justice to such a good machine. The diamond cut rims were also average.

Unless an auto transmission is absolutely necessary, don't buy CVT. It feels very much disconnected, and not at all fun to drive.

Virtus 1.0 AT

This was a really really good experience. When i sat in the driver's seat, i felt like i was the master here, and I'm not just using some car to get from place A to place B. It actually felt like a driver's car. The turbo made the drive even more fun. It was a little bit difficult adjusting to the German car's different controls- Headlight and indicator controls on the left of steering wheel and wiper controls on right side, the drive itself was very good.

Virtus 1.5 GT DSG

The drive quality was exactly the same as the 1.0AT because I drove it within city limits. But what I realised was that the 1.5 GT had slightly smoother engine note and slightly better engine refinement.

Coming from a Baleno RS 1.0 manual which i enjoyed driving very much, the biggest epiphany i had when driving the virtus 1.0 AT and 1.5 GT DSG was that, because there is an auto transmission, the turbo lag is entirely eliminated. My Baleno was a car where the revs didn't climb fast OR DROP FAST. The throttle response wasn't very optimal. In such a machine, the fact that you have to go through turbo lag every time you upshift, was kind of a downside. This whole thing got bypassed just because the engines were mated with auto boxes.

So, the driving dynamics, interiors, exteriors build quality, safety virtus was checking all the boxes.

Slavia 1.5 DSG

The drive was identical to virtus GT, but the limited service center options made me ditch the skoda route.

The new verna 1.5 turbo dct

It looked awful in pictures. Finally went to the showroom when the dealership called me and told me they have recieved a vehicle. To be honest, the car looked very good from outside. The seats were very comfy. However there were some dealbreakers.

The very plasticky ugly looking steering wheel and the dual screen panoramic displays with hideous looking instrument clusters were absolutely not okay for me to have considering it was costing 22lakhs on road at Mysore. The drive was okay, nothing very spectacular. Yes the power was there, but since I didn't really get anybig straight road to use all that power, i had stuck to assessing the suspension tuning by going over all the types of potholes and road humps. Although the body roll was not too much, the suspension did feel softer than virtus.

So after careful consideration of all things I decided to go with virtus GT. I'm quite happy with my purchase.

[Arun_S]

Owning the current generation of Honda City.

I would like to comment having recently completed a long trip in some of the best roads available in TN.

High Speed Manners more than 110 is questionable in City, inspite of having upgraded tires.

Braking is little jittery you don't find them confidence inspiring at high speeds.

The CVT in hills you feel the problems.

But I still voted for City, not because i own it, 1.5 NA Engine still does job, it been running for long time less issues, decent feature list at a affordable price.

Plus expecting no surprise from GNCAP Tests, which Verna might cause.

[ashish_sax]

Voted for the City,

I bought mine about 8 months ago and had test driven all of the cars in the list except new Verna.

In my opinion, Car for us is still an aspirational product and with each iteration we want to buy a segment above from the last purchase.

Our last purchase was a sub-compact sedan (<4m) and was looking for Mid-Size Sedans or CrossOvers.

- City's cabin is still the best out there with amazing sofa-seats and an AC that chills you to the bone.

- Another advantage to the city is it's amazing 1.5L NA engine, I found NAs to be much compliant in city traffic compared to turbos and also NA can return double digit fuel economy when driven hard compared to the single digit for the turbos.

- Digital cluster, This would be my personal opinion but I love the simple analog - digital combo the city has. I've always loved dual dials and these new digital designs don't have the same feel. Same goes for the physical AC Controls. I love what Hyundai has done with Verna as City doesn't have rotary control for Infotainment which I absolutely miss.

- Ease of Mind, We use all the cars in our garage ie., all of our cars are driven daily by someone in the family and with Koreans and Japs in the stable we've grown accustomed to parting with them only on the weekends for an annual maintenance cycle and it's back to duty from Monday and would like to keep it this way for the foreseeable future or till we get an M340i