[Anki_252hp]

Hello Everyone,

I’m in a unique situation where I ended up purchasing two cars instead of one, and now I have to keep one and let the other go. This is going to be a long post, so please bear with me.


Background - I was looking to replace my beloved Hyundai Verna Fluidic 2011, which is now 13 years old. Due to the NGT rule, I have to let go of this beautiful car. This will be my secondary car, mainly used by my wife to pick up/drop off our son from school, for me to take my dogs to the vet, and for trips to crowded markets or my badminton complex—places where roads are tight, and parking is difficult. I don’t want to take my 330Li there.

Initially, I was looking for a pre-owned automatic car like the i20, Baleno, or any other small car within a budget of ₹6-8L. However, none of them satisfied me. I didn’t like the interiors or the drive (partly my fault, as I was comparing them to my BMW and my current Verna).

Like any car enthusiast, I kept increasing my budget—from ₹6L to ₹8L and then to ₹10L—until I finally booked a Skoda Kushaq Signature MT on January 26th.

When I test-drove it, the Signature variant looked great from the outside but felt cheap inside with its manual AC and basic 7" head unit. I also didn’t enjoy driving the manual, but I loved the automatic.

Around the same time, a friend recommended a 1.5-year-old Skoda Slavia 1.0 Style AT (White), which I had initially ignored. However, when I realized it was the top model at a good price, I went to check it out. It was in excellent condition—almost brand new (even the plastic film on the instrument cluster was still intact). The car was under warranty with just 20K km on the odometer. I decided to buy it and confirmed my purchase. However, I had to wait a few days for delivery due to some paperwork related to the loan closure.


Then, two days before the delivery, a relative told me he wanted to sell his car—a Hyundai Verna SX (O) 1.5 Petrol IVT, which was just 1 year and 10 months old with only 17K km on the odometer, still under warranty. Most importantly, it was black—a color I had always wanted but never owned.

I checked the car, and it was in near-new condition. It cost slightly more than the Slavia but came with many extra features (some of which I may not use, but they’re nice to have).

My wife approved both cars, and I ended up purchasing the Verna, which I will take delivery of tomorrow.

However, since I had already booked the Slavia, I had to purchase that too.

By the end of this week, I will have two new cars along with two old ones.

Main Confusion - I need to keep one and sell one, but I’m torn. Even though the Verna feels more premium, I enjoyed driving the Slavia more. I’d love to hear your suggestions on which one to keep based on my needs.
Skoda Slavia 1.0 Style AT
Pros

• Higher Ground Clearance
• Better Drive Quality ( I have to drive them back to back to conclude this )
• German Build Quality
• Beautify Looks

Cons

• Not as premium interior as verna
• Manual Seats ( I wanted electric seats )
• 1L engine is sometimes noisy when you pushed hard.
• White Color ( Its a con for me but color choice is always subjective )

Hyundai Verna SX (O) 1.5 Petrol IVT
Pros

1. Better Interiors ( I would say class apart )
2. Premium Music System ( Bose )
3. Level-2 ADAS ( I am not sure if I will actually like that at the end as car is mainly for city drive.
4. Black Color ( This is 1 of the biggest deciding factor for me )

Cons

• Car was bit slow but did the job ok in my short 7-8 KM drive
• Ground clearance is bit lower than Slavia

Let me know which one should I pick based on my basic requirements. Also if you are owner of any of these 2 cars, I would appreciate your feedback on things which I may have missed in my short drives of these 2 cars. I have not used back seats of any of these 2.

[mgastor2022grey]

I'd suggest keep the Slavia and sell of the Verna. Both the cars are great TBH, but Hyundai's IVTs are not very fun to drive, trust me. I have driven both the City and Verna CVTs and I found the City to be way more peppier. I also own an Astor CVT, and my car felt more engaging to drive (comparatively).

The Slavia AT however is more exciting and the turbo-petrol is a joy to drive. Since you already own a 330Li, I assume FE isn't much of a concern to you.

P.S. Share a pic of your garage with the 4 cars! I'd love to see an all-sedan temporary garage.

[bijims]

For an enthusiast, the answer is simple, keep the Slavia, and let go of the Verna, but from every other standpoint, including resale, features, service, maintenance and the like, the Verna makes more sense. It may not be fun to drive, but it is a reliable Naturally aspirated 4-cylinder with an IVT, The same version is sold abroad as well and should be a more practical option.

The Slavia is based on the heavily Indianised MQB AO-IN platform with loads of cost-cutting for the Indian market, it may be fun to drive, but everything else just doesn't make sense, moreover, Skoda isn't in a great position in the market too, so considering the future as well, the Verna is the better choice.

[Anki_252hp]

Originally Posted by mgastor2022grey

I'd suggest keep the Slavia and sell of the Verna. Both the cars are great TBH, but Hyundai's IVTs are not very fun to drive, trust me. I have driven both the City and Verna CVTs and I found the City to be way more peppier. I also own an Astor CVT, and my car felt more engaging to drive (comparatively).

The Slavia AT however is more exciting and the turbo-petrol is a joy to drive. Since you already own a 330Li, I assume FE isn't much of a concern to you.

P.S. Share a pic of your garage with the 4 cars! I'd love to see an all-sedan temporary garage.

I will be hardly driving it, may be just 150-200Km / Month for my badminton trip, I love the black color ( biggest reason why I want to keep verna )
However I will drive both cars for at least a week before I make a final decision.
I will surely post my temporary all 4 Sedans Garage for sure, I already though about doing so.


@bijims, Thanks for the feedback, you absolutely pointed out everything properly, However, I have to check how boring ( less exciting ) verna is. If it will be too boring, I will keep the Slavia.

PS - I still don't get how to multi-quote or partially quote any message to reply on same, can someone help me with that.

[ike]

The 2011 Verna is now sold isn't it? As replacement you got a Slavia as well as a Verna IVT. If it were up to me I'd retain the Slavia because that is a proper AT and will be a good city run about. I have never driven an Ivt so not sure how drivable it is but the 1.0 with a TC is what I'd prefer.

[Anki_252hp]

Originally Posted by ike

The 2011 Verna is now sold isn't it? As replacement you got a Slavia as well as a Verna IVT. If it were up to me I'd retain the Slavia because that is a proper AT and will be a good city run about. I have never driven an Ivt so not sure how drivable it is but the 1.0 with a TC is what I'd prefer.

Verna 2011 is still with me, will sell it after I get the replacement. I will surely like to click my temporary 4 cars garage pic. Verna 2011 is my most loved car, I still love her more than my BMW so it will be an emotional moment when I handover that car.

[nova.19_exe]

I'm gonna speaking entirely from the driving perspective. The IVT, though it's a manual (partly), isn't as engaging as the actual MTs.

The Slavia, having experienced it firsthand, I'd say is the superior pick! The Aisin TC gearbox is buttery smooth! Power delivery is amazing! The AT gives you the effortless city driving experience! and, you also don't have to worry about DSG failures!

Keep the Slavia and ditch the Verna.

ps - garage pic pls

[sharmanova]

My recommendation:

Keep the Verna iVT and sell off the Slavia.

Since you have a BMW 330Li at home which itself is fun to drive and serves as your daily driver, and the secondary car will be used by your wife, I would suggest you to get a reliable car.

In this case, Verna would likely be more reliable, reason being its a Hyundai and the iVT Transmission will be more fuel efficient than VWs AT. Also, the Verna is black in color, which is your favorite so please go ahead with the Verna!

[nova.19_exe]

Originally Posted by nova.19_exe

I'm gonna speaking entirely from the driving perspective. The IVT, though it's a manual (partly), isn't as engaging as the actual MTs.

Right, an error on my end, the IVT is Hyundai's CVT gearbox. not the clutchless manual as I thought.

But my opinion stays the same. Slavia over the Verna

[car_guy1998]

I'm going against the tide! I'd suggest keep the both and use the Slavia for yourself as daily driver since you loved it while your wife will use the Verna for ferrying your kids since both the cars are new and I don't want you to lose much resale on nearly new cars, which will be a hassle in selling it off at a later date.

If you are using BMW as your daily driver, then retain it as a garage queen as you know that it'll be a hassle to drive on NCR roads.

If I were you, I'd just keep them both as I love sedans any day over the so called fake SUVs.

Hence, my suggestion is, retain both the cars and make BMW the garage queen.

Also, my friend owns Verna SX IVT since Aug 2023 and apart from the FE part, to which he gets around 12 Kmpl, he is happy with it. To reduce the fuel expenses on Verna, he bought a brand new Kona few months after the purchase of Verna. He was planning to sell the Verna as keeping 3 cars will be a hassle (he also owns a 2017 Fortuner, which he loves to the core even today).

[Anki_252hp]

@car_guy1998, bro, even though I love to keep both, I can't keep 3 cars as I have parking for 2 cars only, also it would be really stupid of me to keep 3 cars for 2 people, specially when running of 2nd car is just 300-500KM a month.

[heydj]

Verna gets my vote as I just can't imagine getting a 1.0 engine vs 1.5. It boggles my mind how people get swayed by power figures without taking into consideration rpm required for same. Hence bigger engine gets my vote as even on lower rpm it works and powers ac beautifully.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Anki_252hp

I will be hardly driving it, may be just 150-200Km / Month for my badminton trip...

...However, I have to check how boring ( less exciting ) verna is. If it will be too boring, I will keep the Slavia...

You self-admittedly won't be the primary user of whichever one of the two you keep. Maybe ask the primary user which one they'd prefer?

For a primarily urban use case, a better cabin and creature comforts may be preferable over powertrain performance? Given Skoda's known struggles with AC performance on their MQB-A0-IN cars, esp. the 1.0 TSi variants, you might be well-advised to prioritise AC performance for NCR urban usage.

Given the car will spend the vast majority of its life either parked or standing still/crawling in traffic, does the powertrain really matter? You already have a BMW for the kicks, and neither of the two other cars in question will ever be comparable.

[IshaanIan]

Since you own a 330i, I won’t talk about how much better the Slavia is to drive over the Verna. Instead I will say it like this:

Keep the Slavia and Ditch the Verna If you want a more reliable car. Škoda/VWs 2.0 cars in India may make several compromises but atleast from a drivetrain standpoint the Torque Converter is more dependable than a CVT also VAG group knows how to make a better petrol motor than Hyundai any day.

Keep the Verna and Ditch the Slavia If you find it hard to ignore the interior and its toys and creature comforts. At the end of the day even if you start facing issues with the Verna, since its resale is better, you’d atleast get the same for it.

Keep them both for a week and judge for yourself which appeals more to you; better interior or dependability.

Originally Posted by heydj

Verna gets my vote as I just can't imagine getting a 1.0 engine vs 1.5. It boggles my mind how people get swayed by power figures without taking into consideration rpm required for same. Hence bigger engine gets my vote as even on lower rpm it works and powers ac beautifully.

Have you driven both examples? I am always preaching bigger normally aspirated engines over smaller turbocharged ones but Hyundai’s NA petrol motors simply don’t compare favourably against the 1.0 tsi. They feel lethargic at low rpms and anaemic at high rpms.

[wheelspinner]

I would back out of the Slavia deal and just make peace with whatever I lose out of it. You can surely cancel the booking, can't you? At most, you lose a part of the booking amount.

Main reason is that the reliability of German automatic gearbox is not the best. However, even Hyundai cars give frequent expensive troubles past the 1,0,0,000 Km mark.