[nehamit]

Originally Posted by Prash

Believe me Fiat has become very aggressive and this time its not leaving any stone unturned to make Fiat users happy. In one of the blogs by some Linea user in some other city he had mentioned that the for the problem with the Blue and Me the dealer had sent his technician to the office of the owner to solve the problem as the service center was far away from the customer.

I fully agree with Prash here. I have also got E+ MJD on 21st February 2009 and its just amazing. Fiat-Tata JV is aggressive for A.S.S. and leaves no room for any complaint on that part. I had difficulty in setting up Blue&Me and Blaupunkt ICE system. Once I called the dealer, the very next day a Blaupunkt official visited my place with prior appointment and demonstrated everything about ICE system. As Blue&Me is a Fiat-Microsoft product, he had no idea about it, but he informed the Fiat-Tata people and to my great surprise, an official from Fiat visited my place to demonstrate Blue&Me, and my problem was solved. I had the Marutis in past and never got such prompt and good service and that to at my place at my time.
I can not comment on other part of the story of Linea P versus SX4, but I am sure about the A.S.S. from Fiat is going to be the best.

[spetnaz]

Originally Posted by amit

Keeping aside the features (Linea scores slightly over here too due to Blue&Me) and A.S.S. how do you like your car? What about driveablity, suspension, feel etc.

The SX4 is dead upto 2500rpm. You can flog it as much as you want but it will move at it's own pace. Below 2.5K rpm it feels like a python thats just had it's lunch and trust me it can get VERY frustrating. I don't know about the Linea since I haven't driven the petrol.

The ride quality is really bad. The set up is very hard and at low speeds on bad roads you will get thrown all over the seats and the car will thud , crash and thrash over rough patches. On certain bad roads you will hear a big THUK sound from the suspension and you will keep wondering if something has fallen off or broken off.

NVH is ZERO. On concrete roads at speeds of 90kmph and over road, wind and tyre noise is so loud that you literally have to raise your voice to talk to your passengers or you will have to crank up the stereo volume to listen to music.

I can't comment on the Linea but I have it's cousin - the Palio thats almost touching 70K now and it feels better to drive, ride and be in then the 28K SX4.

If I had a chance to (re)buy a C segment car today, I'd pick the Honda City.

Jeez. That's the worst thing I've read about an SX4. One can probably take that as the worst side view.

My experience: The car does stall a bit in the first/second gears - but that's until 1-1.5K rpm. I feel very comfortable beyond 1000 rpm in all the gears. SX4 is great on open roads, and is amazing if you want a cruise speed on the whereabouts of 100 and in third gear and beyond. You get the idea! It's definitely not as great as say a Swift Diesel in the city.

I haven't had any problems (20K on the odo) except for a AC gas leak issue that got fixed for Rs. 500. The way it sounds, I sure as hell don't expect any hassles for a long time. Overall, a peaceful car to have and maintain - with a great A.S.S. and a rest-assured cheap service. 10 years from now, you could still surely get the car serviced with peace.

On the negative, you don't get the respect/brand recall of a City (more so on this forum, trust me). The A-pillar is irritating, and it is big (on the bulkier side with visibility issues which poses problems on smaller lanes).

Have nothing to say on Linea since I haven't TDed one, but it does look very very cute. All the best! I'm sure you wouldn't regret either of these cars.

[rkbharat]

That is an irritating problem while driving on hills. You will have neck pain if driving continuously for more than 3-4 hours on hills.

BTW SX4 might not get brand respect like City, but it surely gets lots of road respect from other cars on roads. Size does matter you know

Originally Posted by spetnaz

The A-pillar is irritating, and it is big (on the bulkier side with visibility issues which poses problems on smaller lanes).

[dskumar]

Originally Posted by amit

The SX4 is dead upto 2500rpm. You can flog it as much as you want but it will move at it's own pace. Below 2.5K rpm it feels like a python thats just had it's lunch and trust me it can get VERY frustrating.

Nicely Said Amit..

[dskumar]

Originally Posted by drashkum

hi all. i planned to buy sx4 zxi until i test drove linea petrol emotion pack for second time yesterday now it has got me all under confusion. both are competitively priced ( linea 7.88 on road / sx4 7.90 on road ( 8.22 minus 25000 discount). both are loaded with features. i believe maruti scores over in A.S.S but recent TATA FIAT A.S.S is tipped to be the next best thing! .can linea owners throw more light on FE of the vehicle. i wonder which is VFM? and which one to buy. help me to choose.

Have you Test Driven a Fiesta ? Would suggest to do a TD and decide.
I have never driven such a Rev Happy Engine so far and It is very addictive some times.

I think Amit must have had Fiesta in mind when giving comments about SX4 being dead till 2500rpm. You cannot keep driving more than 2.5K rpm always, for city traffic.

[drashkum]

oops!! sorry moderators may be i used a couple of sms lingo in my previous post . will make sure i will not repeat it.


now that was great insight about the two cars.
neo traveller : you are right. when i forst told my dad that i am going to test drive linea he gave me a sarcastic look ( he had booked a fiat uno long back and cancelled due to spare parts problem). may be i have to enquire to the dealer about the present situation and assess the A.S.S . as far as MULis concerned i was told that the spares would be cheap.
Also March issue of "what car" magazine has posted a comparison between Linea vs City vs SX4 itseems.

will look into it

The SX4 is dead upto 2500rpm. You can flog it as much as you want but it will move at it's own pace. Below 2.5K rpm it feels like a python thats just had it's lunch and trust me it can get VERY frustrating

i agree that this becomes frustrating while travelling bumper to bumper in city traffic some times.

The ride quality is really bad. The set up is very hard and at low speeds on bad roads you will get thrown all over the seats and the car will thud , crash and thrash over rough patches. On certain bad roads you will hear a big THUK sound from the suspension and you will keep wondering if something has fallen off or broken off

i dont agree with this as when i test drove i was a lot comfortable in a position to drive . i looked as if i am driving a suv with lots of visibility.than linea. and suspension is not that bad i thing. many people recomend the car for indian roads. come on maruti knows indian roads better than a italian company. as far as the FEis concerned i see a general opinion in team-bhp that sx4 is bad in FE.But what i infer from the sx4 running ownership thread that most owners do get 11-12 kmpl inside city with a/c on which is not bad. can more sx4 owners confirm? is this a bad rumor that the rival companies have set up?

but Linea will easily trump SX4 in quality,features,interiors and looks

i do agree the look is fantastic.features are great ( lots of bells and whistles added for vfm). few drawbacks were non backlit window switches and audio control switches which even my santro had, no usb rear seat bump. but when i td linea and sx4 i found out that there was a lot more leg room and head room in sx4 than linea. sx4 was more roomy than linea which looked a little cramped in interior thought interiors were plushy and it even had a a/c vent for rear passengers. how is the legroom for rear seat in linea? can linea owners confirm wherther its crampy if u pull up the driver seat back?

Linea will easily trump SX4

in features but not in pulling on highway or in engine power 1.4 l is grossly down when compared to 1.6l

prash: that was a great insight. u have a diesel is it ? how much do u get ( fe) inside city ? how much the petrol version is giving do u know?.how is the left side clearence and rear visibility?
i find my dads verna too tough to drive as i am not able to spot the left end of the car
nehamit: was worried about the blue and me problem seems to be working ok now. is it happening in all lineas?
spetnaz:

The A-pillar is irritating, and it is big (on the bulkier side with visibility issues which poses problems on smaller lanes).

i knew someone would come up with this.is it very irritating? is it something one cant get used to?
rkbharat :

You will have neck pain if driving continuously for more than 3-4 hours on hills

oops u spilled the beans . i am already having neck problem that why i wanted a car with good clearence so that i dont strain my neck ? will sx4 give me more agravation? do u know some one who has had neck problems driving sx4???
dskumar

Have you Test Driven a Fiesta ? Would suggest to do a TD and decide

yes i have . but not in fvour of it as i see the resale for it is too low and seems the cost of maintanence and spares are too high

[Prash]

prash: that was a great insight. u have a diesel is it ? how much do u get ( fe) inside city ? how much the petrol version is giving do u know?.how is the left side clearence and rear visibility?
i find my dads verna too tough to drive as i am not able to spot the left end of the car



I have not tested the petrol version of Linea. So have no idea about the FE of petrol. But there are people on this site stating some 11 FE or maybe more than that. Find for and you will get to know. I get aprox 14 in city. I have stated aprox because i have not driven totally in the city (from full tank to full tank) till now. All my journeys have been city + highway or just highways.

I am very comfortable driving the Linea. No issues with the visibility.

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by drashkum

oops u spilled the beans . i am already having neck problem that why i wanted a car with good clearence so that i dont strain my neck ? will sx4 give me more agravation? do u know some one who has had neck problems driving sx4???

buddy, I clearly wrote, its only Long hill drive that might give you problem, specially if you do not drive much on hills.

Otherwise no problems at all in city drive

[loving_alaap]

Well, I'll go for Linea.

Though I loved SX4 initially & almost decided for it. I think i made a wisw decision not to go for it.

Poor refinement, Low FE, Extremely noisy (diesel like) engine & stiff suspension made the SX4 typical maruti car in India. Its a poor man's sedan who can barely afford Accent / Dzire / Ikon and can stretch a bit.

Go for Linea, its a true luxury car in the segment, and initial reviews are extremely good.

About the ***, Probably linea is so solidly built (as its a an international car) it will not need the mechanics often, just like all marutis.

Its wider, more refined, more luxurious, more Sexy VFM car.

[joy_swift]

Originally Posted by loving_alaap

Well, I'll go for Linea.

Though I loved SX4 initially & almost decided for it. I think i made a wisw decision not to go for it.

Poor refinement, Low FE, Extremely noisy (diesel like) engine & stiff suspension made the SX4 typical maruti car in India. Its a poor man's sedan who can barely afford Accent / Dzire / Ikon and can stretch a bit.

Well I think SX4 looks more SUV like with the huge alloys and the Linea is more of a sedate design. Linea has flowing lines but not enough ooomph like the SX4.

About poor refinement and noisy engine,I dont agree...

Also,a poor man's sedan at 8.18L...Only ANHC costs more than SX4,that tooo coz its now in a diff segment(bigger engine)...If you wanna stretch a bit from Accent/Dzire/Ikon(all in 5.5L),you get Aveo/Verna/Fiesta(all in 7.0-7.5L)...You then need to stretch a bit more(app 50K - 1L) to get the SX4..

I would suggest you go for the SX4 since its better looking(depends),has a much bigger engine(much faster) and bigger alloys(handling much better)...94bhp on a Linea is so so so underpowered...I took a TD and was appalled as the pick up was barely faster than an Indica 55bhp diesel

[neotraveller]

drash,

Since you test drove both 2 times, can you post a point-by-point comparison of both the cars with +ves and -ves ? (interior/exterior/power/handling/engine refinement)

I guess it will be useful for other people too. I foresee many people will have these same questions as both the cars are VFM and in same price bracket.

[ajitsank]

My 2 Cents:

I had the same difficulty in making the decision and then after a back to back TD with SX4 and Linea many times, I decided SX4 was way to go for me. You could read my comments on SX4 and Linea in the Linea TD thread.

It is all upto you. You could hear a lot of people talk about Linea being good and SX4 being good for some. You will hear a lot loud voices about Linea these days, why because it is new kid in town and refreshingly new looks. I love it too, no second thought about that. The key is in finding in both car the best fit car for you, these are not something you change everyday morning. You pay for something that you are going to own for 4 to 5 years or so I might say. So help yourselft with extensive TD and then take a sheet of white paper and write what you like and dislike in each car and then you will know which car is that you LOVE...YA I MEAN LOVE. Don't go for a car becasue everybody is pouring honey over it.

There are few people like Amit who happend to own an SX4 LEMON! who will spew venom on SX4 for the rest of their life, I would do the same if I where to be Amit.

SX4 FE isn't bad, remember you are driving a 1.6 litre engine and don't expect a 1.6 to give you a mileage of SWIFT diesel. Please read the SX4 longtime ownership thread and you will get the information what you are looking for. You could also PM members like rk, meer etc for a personal touch on SX4.

I might not be the right person for a feedback on SX4 since I have just taken delivery. I might have loved Linea for all the additional bells and whistle that comes along with it, but disliked for various reasons. You could also read tons of reviews on Linea Petrol in overdrive magazine, Autocarindia latest edition, all gives a great insight into the car and then as I told earlier do a back to back TD and make your decision.

MAN FOR GODS SAKE, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY MONEY FOR DOING A TD, Do TD till you drop DEAD.

[amit]

Originally Posted by amit

If I had a chance to (re)buy a C segment car today, I'd pick the Honda City.

I'd like to change that. It would be the Fiesta S. I forgot that the Fiesta now also comes with ABS and Airbags.

[anantnehru]

Originally Posted by ajitsank

My 2 Cents:

I had the same difficulty in making the decision and then after a back to back TD with SX4 and Linea many times, I decided SX4 was way to go for me. You could read my comments on SX4 and Linea in the Linea TD thread.

It is all upto you. You could hear a lot of people talk about Linea being good and SX4 being good for some. You will hear a lot loud voices about Linea these days, why because it is new kid in town and refreshingly new looks. I love it too, no second thought about that. The key is in finding in both car the best fit car for you, these are not something you change everyday morning. You pay for something that you are going to own for 4 to 5 years or so I might say. So help yourselft with extensive TD and then take a sheet of white paper and write what you like and dislike in each car and then you will know which car is that you LOVE...YA I MEAN LOVE. Don't go for a car becasue everybody is pouring honey over it.

There are few people like Amit who happend to own an SX4 LEMON! who will spew venom on SX4 for the rest of their life, I would do the same if I where to be Amit.

SX4 FE isn't bad, remember you are driving a 1.6 litre engine and don't expect a 1.6 to give you a mileage of SWIFT diesel. Please read the SX4 longtime ownership thread and you will get the information what you are looking for. You could also PM members like rk, meer etc for a personal touch on SX4.

I might not be the right person for a feedback on SX4 since I have just taken delivery. I might have loved Linea for all the additional bells and whistle that comes along with it, but disliked for various reasons. You could also read tons of reviews on Linea Petrol in overdrive magazine, Autocarindia latest edition, all gives a great insight into the car and then as I told earlier do a back to back TD and make your decision.

MAN FOR GODS SAKE, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY MONEY FOR DOING A TD, Do TD till you drop DEAD.

Well said well said! The SX4 is not such a bad car. Havent heard of any of the problems people are discussing here. The rear left something would rattle when I would go over a bump but that was replaced for free.
I rev the engine extensively while driving and I still get about 10kmpl. The only rattling noise I get is from the rear parcel tray. That too is because of me cutting the shelf tray and the metal sheet underneath to fit my speakers. I changed my tyres as I got the car from the showroom, so maybe the noise is alot more on stock tyres. I've driven at about 120-130 on roads where even I was surprised I didnt hear a thing.
As for the looks, I love the car. Linea is yea a nice looking car, but the dimensions of the SX4 are just brilliant.
Its a high car, and its a large-ish car. And as it was said earlier on this thread, you get more respect on the road for it.
Best of luck deciding though, looks like its going to be a tough choice.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by drashkum

yes i have . but not in fvour of it as i see the resale for it is too low and seems the cost of maintanence and spares are too high

Dude, what makes you think the resale for an SX4 or a Linea will be more? Generally all petrol cars have a poor resale value. That said, only Hondas fetch better resale value.
As regards cost of maintenance, please read ownership reviews of petrol Fiestas, not diesel ones. I don't find cost of spares of the Fiesta to be much higher than the others in the segment.
And if you thought Maruti spares were cheaper, are you aware that a set of rear lights for a Baleno cost 20k? Dig into this forum and you will get more info.