[rash28]

Dear BHPians,

I have sold my 2004 Palio 1.9 D ( for a change ) and want to get some thing refreshing.

I need to travel around 70 odd Kms round trip a day to office.( Mumbai suburbs to thane ). And need space as I am quite heavy

Budget is around 2-3 lakhs. And I would prefer a car from 2005 model onwards

I plan to get a Petrol car and get it insatalled with CNG .

Also I need to spruce it up with a new Pioneer 2 DIN 3100 DVD and a 15" SUB box which will take some boot space.

I have shortlisted
Accent ( Seems about average in all depts but cant put 2 DIN?)
Optra 1.6 ( luxorius but a bit costly)
Fusion ( Tall and space and performance)

I am also considering Indigo due to the low cost in Used car market and lots of cabin and boot space I am getting and plus I know it works best with CNG ( meru and mega )

I need to cabin to be quiet and car to be comfy.

Please advice.

[Guna]

Fusion has bit of stiff ride, seating a little upright, cabin a bit noisy. Otherwise it is a fantastic car.

[rash28]

Do you think Fusion can be fitted with CNG and that wil space for my 15" Sub as well ?

[karanraheja]

Looks like you aint interested in a diesel. Why not look at second hand Baleno too- its got brilliant rear bench ( if thats the place where you would be most of the time) , it would keep you happy in the drivers seat too!!

I would give Accent and Fusion a skip. Go for Baleno or Optra ( if you can live with the A.S.S of GM)

[newcoolgadgets]

It seems from your situation that you want to upgrade to a Sedan after selling your Palio. And I believe you are looking for power, as you have indicated you are looking for a petrol sedan, but are planning to fit a CNG to keep running costs low. Given your daily drive, I suggest you would go in for a powerful diesel sedan, instead of the CNG option. I would suggest the following 2nd hand sedans in order of preference:

1. Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCi - An excellent car with solid build quality and great handling. The Fiesta has a quiet cabin, comfortable seating, excellent fuel economy, good AC and a good boot. The power is a bit low at 68 BHP, but the Fiesta diesel is very frugal when sipping fuel. Being in Mumbai, you will not have any problems with spares and service. A 3 year old with 40,000 kms on the odo can be found for around 4 lakhs.

2. Hyundai Accent (CRDI) - One of the best diesel sedans available in the used market. Very quiet inside and very comfortable seats, and out and out a driver's car. The turbocharged CRDI delivers 82 BHP power and 187Nm of torque, and can pull you ahead in any situation. This is the most fun to drive sedan in your budget. Spares and service are cheap. It is economical to run too, and a fully loaded 3 year old with low mileage can be found for about 3.5 lakhs.

3. Tata Indigo TDI - A tried and tested diesel sedan. The cheapest option available for you. A little down-market sedan, and a little noisy too, but again, the TDI engine is built to last and is very cheap to maintain and Tata service centers are everywhere. Good boot, good AC, enough power for the city and cheap to run. A well maintained 3 year old with anout 45,000 on the odo can be found for about 2.45 lakhs.

All 3 options will give you years of trouble-free ownership pleasure, without ever making a big dent in your pocket.

-NCG

[rash28]

Thanks@new
Is the Indigo Marina TDI same as well.
I did consider it at first but later I was a bit reluctant considering the driving pleasure / rattling noise it might have bieng a Tata.

I have driven my cousin's old Indica v2 and am not impressed at all.

Accent CRDI I think would be the most appropriate. Will look out for that as well.

Why dont you think a CNG converted petrol would be better than a diesel ?

[newcoolgadgets]

1. CNG converted petrol engines wear out more quickly.
2. CNG converted petrol engines suffer from lack of power.
3. CNG kits require constant maintainence (leakage, tuning etc)
4. CNG kits eat up your boot space, so even if you buy a Sedan, it is as good as a hatch utility wise.
5. CNG is not available all over the country and on highways.

I think you should look at CNG only if cheap running cost is your No. 1 criteria for a car.

Well maintained Indigo Marinas will be difficult to find as the choice is very limited. As the engine is the same the noise/rattle will be there. That said, the TDI is Tata's best sedan engine, better than both the non-turbos and the DICOR.

[aaggoswami]

Go for CNG petrol or diesel. Baleno and Optra are cars that are good for you as you need space too. Accent is not the best buy as you have already mentioned. Fusion is spacious, but still I would say try to find a Baleno or Optra.

Originally Posted by newcoolgadgets

1. CNG converted petrol engines wear out more quickly.
2. CNG converted petrol engines suffer from lack of power.
3. CNG kits require constant maintainence (leakage, tuning etc)

1) Is this true for MPFi engines too ? I think with the newer generation cars with better ECU, this is not an issue.
2) Again not true. We have done conversion in our Maruti 800 and the car is running with CNG now for around 40K kms. The car has done more than one lakh kms overall and is from 1992 model.
The only problem is that once the pressure drops in CNG tank as the fuel gets used up, the throttle response suffers a bit. If the car is Carb, a lot of tuning has to be done, but that is not true for Baleno. One of our family friends converted his 2005 Baleno into CNG and there is very small difference. Lack of power is something that is not felt. He has done around 10K kms.
3) Again leakage is something that has to be checked, correct. But for tuning, generally if no body messes up, no issues are found.

[greenhorn]

the TDI sounds similar to the Regular diesel indica, but its faster and more powerful, especially on the highways.

Would recommend the TDI over a CNG indigo CS, unless you got hold of a second hand indigo CS Petrol dirt cheap

[Bapu]

Originally Posted by newcoolgadgets

1. CNG converted petrol engines wear out more quickly.
2. CNG converted petrol engines suffer from lack of power.
3. CNG kits require constant maintainence (leakage, tuning etc)
4. CNG kits eat up your boot space, so even if you buy a Sedan, it is as good as a hatch utility wise.
5. CNG is not available all over the country and on highways.

I think you should look at CNG only if cheap running cost is your No. 1 criteria for a car.

I'd disagree on the above 4 points.

1. Have used CNG kits on Alto and Esteem and cumulatively both the cars have done more than a LAC kms on CNG!! (that too in just 2.5 years). No damage till now. Regular servicing and maintenance. That's all.
2. For lack of power, there's something called TAP which reduces the power loss from around 20% to 5-8%.
3. Havent had ANY leakage problems yet. Tuning depends on your service centre. However, as a practice, i used to visit my CNG fitter to get the setting done (5 mins job) after each service. This was just in case any of the A.S.S mechs had messed up the settings.
4. The OP has mentioned that his daily commute is around 70kms in Mumbai itself. So CNG might work out to be a cheaper alternative.
5. The CNG availability in Gujarat is GREAT. Now almost all the major towns AND highways have CNG pumps. Drive in and Drive out does not take more than 15 mins. ( i think it's good enough in Mumbai also. Also there's a seperate queue for pvt vehicles and cabs, so dont be dissuaded after looking at the Q's)

Having said that, my personal opinion would also recommend that if you are planning to install CNG and within your budget of 2-3L, pls try and up the budget and get a new Hatchback.
A - You never know how the previous owner has driven it. Even if it looks great on the outside.
B - I'd still say get a new hatchback. Not exactly the right framing of thoughts. But getting a aftermarket fitment on a used car, i wouldnt do it. That's MY personal opinion.

All the best..!!

[MalluDude]

I would be extra careful before buying a used Accent CRDI. I have seen plenty of them of (75-90 K mileage) brought in for expensive fuel systems repairs due to bad quality diesel used. The engine as such is reliable though. If you get a good one from a known source then jump at it.

If you got in for a used petrol model, then no such issues.

[jkdas]

newcoolgadgets isnt in sync with newcartechnology

Who said TDCi? His budget is 2-3 lac!

Baleno; a good buy and a CNG kitted one should be peppy enough for long city drives.
Esteem; old work horse, easy to maintain.
Accent Petrol; still sold, so easier to maintain. Newer than Esteem.
Ford Fiesta 1.6 can be bought for 4lac or so, ie, if you can stretch your budget.
Fusion; diesel can be costlier to buy, have heard 1.6 going for very cheap. Still sold and hence parts easy to buy.
Ford Ikon Flair; good highway car, still sold.

Indica Xeta CNG brand new ?

And Palio 1.6

[rash28]

Thanks all you guys ,
I am getting a 2005 indigo glx petrol for 1.7
I am very tempted.

Having said that just wanted to remind that I want to install 2 din pioneer 3100 DVD which I think isnot possible in indigo and accent ad they hva single dinslots.

I sat In achevy optra 1.6 yest and found ittobe class apart in terms of luxury and ride .

[GTO]

I'd highly recommend a used Baleno (followed by the Optra) to you. Either of these sedans are superb all-rounders, from a segment above, and will serve you well for a long time to come. The Baleno, especially, will be relatively quick even witha accurately tuned CNG kit.

[newcoolgadgets]

Originally Posted by jkdas

newcoolgadgets isnt in sync with newcartechnology

Who said TDCi? His budget is 2-3 lac!

jkdas, That was so funny, I forgot to laugh. I suggested TDCi because he was also looking at the Optra 1.6, which was also out of his budget of 2-3 lakhs. He still likes the Optra as is evident from his post. Besides, it does not matter now that he is getting the Indigo GLX Petrol.

Chill!