[autoenthusiast]

SupremeBaleno: Given the kms you do and given the fact that petrol prices are only going to go northwards plus the fact that litre-to-litre, a diesel car would give more FE than a petrol one, it would be best if you just brush away all the petrol cars from your wishlist and think of a good diesel that meets your needs.

Thanks SupremeBaleno, actually I just moved to a workfromhome work scheme and my monthly mileage would reduce by more than half. Didn't think of that before.

What should be the normal monthly mileage to make a diesel worthwhile considering it's extra cost ?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by autoenthusiast

I just moved to a workfromhome work scheme and my monthly mileage would reduce by more than half. Didn't think of that before.

Now that changes things a lot. From the initally mentioned 20-24K kms per year, it now becomes 10-12K kms per year or even lesser.

Hmm. Now, that is petrol territory. In that case, both the SX4-P and NHC are good options. FE-wise, the NHC is a better bet than the SX4, but for an overall package (safety + other features), SX4 is better. Testdrive both and decide which fits your need. The Vtec would cover the safety part also and also have FE, but it is priced much higher than an SX4.

The NNHC is still not here, so not bringing it into the picture. If you can wait for it, better to check it out also and take a decision.

Originally Posted by autoenthusiast

What should be the normal monthly mileage to make a diesel worthwhile considering it's extra cost ?

The ballpark figure for going in for a diesel is minimum 1500kms per month.

[autoenthusiast]

Thanks SupremeBaleno,

BHPian's also one more thing... which vehicle do you feel is safer in a frontal crash ? The higher profile ZX4 or the low profile NHC ? Well it all depends on what you crash into :-) the back of a truck or a collision into another car. But just by taking over averages...

[supremeBaleno]

Nice question.

But unfortunately no correct answer for that. Some would say sheet thickness is the key and so go for European cars and stay away from Jap cars. But in the end, sheet thickness or weight of car or tank-like-build (whatever one calls it) is just one of the many factors that play a role in a crash. Lot depends on the speed of the vehicles, what you are crashing into, the angle of crash, whether you had your seatbelts on, did your car have Airbags, etc etc.

Instead of researching which car is the best to crash in, I would suggest you buy the safest car (as in safety features available) in your budget, drive safely and leave the rest to the Almighty and you should be OK.

[autoenthusiast]

Thank you SupremeBaleno, that is the best answer I could have got

[autoenthusiast]

I seem to have finalised on the SX4 ZXI, but the NNHC launch during Diwali is just putting my purchase on hold. Guess I may wait for a month or two and see if some news comes up, otherwise I just might go and pick up the SX4 now.

[aaggoswami]

Running 24K an year and suddenly diesel makes more sense. Verna diesel is a good option.


EDIT: Nothing particularly wrong with SX4, and the N2HC ( NNHC ) is expected to cost more than present NHC.

[gopinathann]

Getting SX4 or NNHC is your choice, but try getting the car with safety features, that's more important.

[autoenthusiast]

Thanks Aaggoswami
Guess you missed my post above, I didn't realise but I just took up a "workfromhome" option at work. Monthly mileage will really come down with that.

actually I just moved to a workfromhome work scheme and my monthly mileage would reduce by more than half. Didn't think of that before.

[autoenthusiast]

Folks I was just thinking, considering the hot summers does it make sense to go in for leather seats or regular fabric seats ? For those with leather seats, what is your experience with those during summer and if the cars been parked out in the sun ?