[Montoya]

As you all know that i am selling my NHC for a bigger car. Reason of selling the NHC being that i want to upgrade to a bigger car in the lower D segment. I love my NHC and its working perfectly without any problems.

Now the main things which i want in the car is:-

1) Safety (ABS is a must, Dual Airbags also, TCS is welcome(though can do without it as well, should be stable enough on high speeds)

2) Fuel Efficency around 10 will do. Anything more is welcome.

3) Should have ampleleg room at the back enough for three fat (not so fat but normal healthy sized people) people to sit in comfort.

4) Budget is - 11Lacs.



Test drove the Elantra petrol and diesel and have removed it from my consideration since its just doesnot feel 11 Lacs car. Poor rear.

Chevrolet Optra yet to test drive. Skoda RS test driven and fallen in love but again poor space at the rear and high price.

Skoda Octavia TDi is something i would love to buy but then its lacks ABS and the only version which has ABS is L n K which is way above my budget. What will be the FE of the TP??

Finally a car which i am more inclined to is the Toyota Corolla H2M - Its feels perfect for me. Has a GC of 185 as opposed to Skodas 134 and since Mumbai is full of mountain speed breakers i am considering it very important since the City sometimes touched with a GC of 160. Toyota service is excellent. Service promised in one hour(GOne in 60 seconds), Insurance superb with no requirement to pay the whole amount and later ask for claim and no paper work since toyota will do it themselves with the insurance company. Toyota is equipped with ABS, Dual Air bags and is quite comfy at the back. Thought the manual antenna is a stupid idea and the engine is superb VVTi.



What i want to know is if i go in for the corolla. Do i need to change tyres. Since its comming with 195/60/15. What would be the best upgrade be for them? What Fuel efficency will i be getting in City and highway(People who own corolla kindly tell me what figures you getting) Any problems with the car. Any other car worth considering. How much discount will i be getting. Dealer has told me Rs. 1Lac. One thing i liked about Toyota is that you sell your car and they give you Rs. 10000 for it. YOu dont have to sell it to them(loyalty bonus in case of Maruti) just to any one and get some form and they will give you that price for it. Overall i find toyota Corolla the best option. Service will cost Rs. 1200 the dealer told me. Any expensive spares of problem in the car please let me know. Is any other car worth except the Corolla

[Sahil]

I would say the Corolla is perfect for you too...You have mentioned all the reason for the same so I dont see what your confused about buddy.... If its reassurance that u need... u got it 100% from me... its a grrrr8 car , you wont regret it ...go ahead and book it ... I cant really answer ur querys abt the FE coz i dont own a corolla but a frnd of mine does and he gets 11 in the city and he really rips it. As for the tyres... they look and feel too small for that car... i would say upgrade to 205/55/15 tubeless.
I didnt quite understand why they would pay u for selling your car? Never heard of such a thing before.

[Abhay]

Its a Toyota..so its reliable and cheap enough to run.....
Since you already think its the best option ..go for it!
I liked the one I drove ....very nice on highways as well..Looks are not too fancy but good enough I think.

[Montoya]

Looks are deceptive for me. I want a car that looks ugly from the outside and superb from the inside. FE of 11 is very good after ripping. Since the dealer told me 10 will be the min you will get. honda dealers also say you should get around 14 with the cit but i get 11?? Anywayz thanks a lot for the reasurrance. Wating period of Corolla is a week. Should i consider the Innova as well??

Well they are giving you bonus for selling your car for buying a toyota. I guess in India toyota service is great since the best toyota in the world is DSK.

As far as the tyres go are there tubeless ones coming in the Toyota? I guess upgrading to 205s is a good option but should i consider 215s??

[Abhay]

Monty, I thought you wanted a CAR.....so why would you go for an Innova...
as good as it maybe...its a mini-van more or less ....Corolla isnt ugly ..and I like its looks somewhat but I have seen people (here too) who think its boring.

Dont go for tyres which are too wide, as it will reduce your economy (sicne you expect good FE)...205 should be good although I am no tyre expert.

The car is big enough but when driving it feels like a small car...which is actually a good thing as you are more in tune with it.

Generally I dont comment much on C/D segment cars since I have not driven/sat in most of those but I have driven a Corolla for about 1000kms in 2 days so I know what that car is about :-)

Didnt measure but it was ful economical for sure....was pretty quick on the road and handled well too...(easily did 150kph)

[GTO]

Montoya, I would highly recommend the Skoda 1.8 TPI - Power and build quality that fits in your budget. This turbo machine will be the best bet for an enthusiast with a budget of 11 lacs.

I couldnt care less about the Corolla - Its B-O-R-I-N-G be it on the handling or the looks front. Its got good straight line butttttttttttttttt the ride quality is absolutely pathetic. When driving one, you wont feel like its a million rupee car.

GTO

[Montoya]

Hey Abhay,

Just spoke to the tyrewalla, He told me that going for 205/55/15 will cause the GC to be reduced and hence the car will 100% touch speed breakers.

GTO, my heart is on the Skoda, but for a car of 11 lakhs i am not getting rear seat comfort, nor am i getting Alloys, no beige interiors and the advantages which toyotas are offering me. Plus the TP offeres less FE. I agree the toyota wont feel like a Skoda but the Package of toyota is make me wanting one..

By the way i didnot test drive the Corolla will be doing so in a day or two since test drive vehicle was no available and last time when i went to test drive the Innova he gave me a customer car and i ripped it badly and i told him actually this was a customer car so i didnot test it properly and his face said if that was the trailor what would be the real one with a face like

[lamborghini]

Buy the corolla.
It is bloody fast, has lots of space in the back, looks really sexy in the maroon shade/white colour, lot of equipment, gives a good average of 9 ish in city with air con, easy to drive and should be good to handle with bigger tyres.
Second up is the 1.9 TDi and then the 1.8 TPi but they loose out on space.
Even the optra is a good buy but then again power and FE and Space not as good as compared to corolla but far more comfortable.
I think you should upsize to 205/60R15 bridgestone Potenza GIIIs.

[aadix]

hi buddy
go in for a skoda diesel.
when me,my uncle and me could fit in the rear at ok comfort for 3 hrs, i guess u shouldnt have a prob.

plus are fuel economy,ride comfort over these indian roads and good resale.

[Montoya]

Hey Lambo( i was eagerly awaiting your response to this since you own one)
What tyres do you have in your car and does the car come with tubeless tyres what FE do you get overall in highway and City.

What bigger tyres do you recommend. Any major expense in serive or spares and so far what problems have you faced in it.

Cheers.

Aadix, fititing aint problem but since the leg room is short and not the seat lenght which is ok. I have already been spoilt by the NHCs rear so the Skoda looks damn cramped. I found corolla to be better then NHC in the rear.

[drifter]

I agree with gto, the ride is not good, the handling is jittery. and that raised height only spoils its dynamics further. The interiors however are very good and spacious too. It has a sweet engine as well...but as an overall package...it doesnt cut the cake.

The RS...nows theres a car for the enthusiast, sharp handling, amazing engine and has a good amount of features...and now in the RS guise looks stunning as well.
But yeah the old issues are still there, lack of rear leg room, the seats itself are comfortable but only if there was more legroom.

If comfort is your priority then the optra is really good, nice, spacious and comfortable interiors. The 1.8 LT has enough punch too. Looks pretty fresh as well.

For the enthusiast - Skoda Octavia RS.
A practical choice - Optra LT 1.8.

Hope this helps, test drive all the cars thoroughly back to back.

Drifter

[Montoya]

Hey drifter thanx a lot. Will test drive all of them. As far as RS is concerned only problem being its FE habits and poor rear room. As far as stability is concerned its top notch. I stood on the brakes at 160 and it didnot make any noise nor did it shake it just stopped without any locking. Thats jus simply superb. Optra i am not so convinced since i want a car which wont go wrong and the toyota feels so.

[Shan2nu]

Actually the Innova isn't a bad idea. It has more space, it's reliable, fuel efficient and powerful enuf.

I'd have picked the Innova but, from the list, it's the Skoda Tdi (i heard the new diesel is 110bhp).

The Corolla is like a bigger NHC. it's a good car but, nothing to talk about. Didn't like anything about it except the engine.

Shan2nu

[Montoya]

Hey Shan,

But innova can be problem in manovering as well as parking. Also i didnot like the diesel was tooooooo slow and the petrol is to thirsty.

Is it 110bhp cause i have heard its 90bhp and ACI says that the TDI rider has ABS.. does it??

Since i want an overall car an not particularly performance i am less inclined towards the TP!!!!!!

[drifter]

Hey montoya...read rudras review on his optra 1.8.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showth...t=optra+review

Drifter