[battada]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

have you considered the Tata Manza?
It really is a very good car given the stuff it comes loaded with.
And it is extremely spacious and comfortable indeed.

Thanks for your reply.Shankar.balan. I agree, it is a fantastic package. But it scores very low in the looks department (parents don't like it that much), same on dzire too.

[shankar.balan]

ha ha! yes I do agree it has a large-ish posterior which may detract from the overall visual appeal. And yes! same in the case of the Dzire. But both these cars are superbly comfy at the rear seat.

what about the VW Vento?

Originally Posted by battada

Thanks for your reply.Shankar.balan. I agree, it is a fantastic package. But it scores very low in the looks department (parents don't like it that much), same on dzire too.

[AirWind]

DZire and rear seat comfort - very far from it... in comparison the rear seat of the Manza is a comfy sofa. The Dzire looks awkward, but even if the Manza looks bulky, its well proportioned and appealing. If I was riding (back seater) and not driving, the Manza would be my pick.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

ha ha! yes I do agree it has a large-ish posterior which may detract from the overall visual appeal. And yes! same in the case of the Dzire. But both these cars are superbly comfy at the rear seat.

what about the VW Vento?

[shankar.balan]

my experience of comfort on the Swift Dzire rear seat has been excellent. I am 6 ft 2 inches tall and found it sufficient in terms of leg room, back support, under thigh support, air con cooling, head rest etc etc. The ride comfort was also excellent. I hardly felt the bumps on the road when going over tram lines and such like. Absolutely no issues from my side. This was on a trip to Kolkata last year when I rented a Hertz car and driver for my visit.
Of course it may have helped that the car was a brand new Dzire VDi with hardly 2000kms on the clock.

I do agree that the Manza is even more spacious and the quality of the Manza interiors, fixtures and fittings is also superior to the Dzire.

Originally Posted by AirWind

DZire and rear seat comfort - very far from it... in comparison the rear seat of the Manza is a comfy sofa. The Dzire looks awkward, but even if the Manza looks bulky, its well proportioned and appealing. If I was riding (back seater) and not driving, the Manza would be my pick.

[battada]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

what about the VW Vento?

yes, that would have been a good choice, but OTR is around 8.6 L (I thought it would work out to be 8) and not a penny of discount on it. Over all this there is a good 3 month waiting period i guess

[shankar.balan]

worth stretching and being patient in my opinion, to get a better product. hang in there 3 months, push yourself to pay that 60 grand extra and buy it. I think you will not regret having followed this course of action.

plus VW being VW, it is bound to hold its residual value much much better than Fiat Linea can ever hope to. While this may not seem fair, it is still a fact.

Originally Posted by battada

yes, that would have been a good choice, but OTR is around 8.6 L (I thought it would work out to be 8) and not a penny of discount on it. Over all this there is a good 3 month waiting period i guess

[battada]

Guys,
if you were to choose between the Ford Fiesta and the Linea today, which one would you pick in the given budget 7.5 lacs and why? pl. let me know.

[vishnurp99]

Go for fiesta if 60% of your time is going to be in the city. It's a very practical easy to drive car. Petrol if you want power but diesel would also be a good option if you are concerned about effeciency. Linea if you plan to use it on the highways. It feels more bulky to drive and would be tougher in bumper to bumper traffic. Read through the forum reviews though. Lots of linea costumers have complained about issues in quality/rusting etc but if you can live with that linea is a much better option for the higways

[chevelle]

Since we both are in same boat, I thought of giving my two cents. Initially we were deciding on same segment as your are looking at, but after a lot of consideration we have decided to go for vento/city. We gonna take a call by Diwali and buy it in dec. The main reason being comfort, long term ownership and hassle free ownership. So we are saving up to upgrade to this segment. Since you are considering fiesta/linea I would suggest you look around ownership review to see how after sales service is in your area. Dynamically both are very good but I feel linea will be more comfortable for your parents. This is what my parents felt after sitting in both cars back to back. Fiesta feels cramped. So if comfort is top priority, linea is better.

[Samridh]

Ford Fiesta SXI is my answer to your simple question. The suspension on this car is uber soft. Its a lovely car to be driven in (though a tad old). Btw the suspension on the 1.6S will be much harder and the ride quality much bumpy (due to its sporting pedigree). So test drive this one (ZXi/SXi) and see if it hits bingo!

[niranjanrvce]

Originally Posted by vishnurp99

Go for fiesta if 60% of your time is going to be in the city. It's a very practical easy to drive car. ... linea is a much better option for the higways

The Fiesta's equally stable on highways and the petrol version, especially, is a complete hoot to drive: it's nimble and chuckable in the city and packs more than enough punch to overtake comfortably on the highways without requiring a downshift.
Go for the Fiesta if your primary love is driving; the linea though is ahead in terms on interiors, HUD options (blue and me) and perhaps has the better rear seat.

[battada]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Since we both are in same boat, I thought of giving my two cents. Initially we were deciding on same segment as your are looking at, but after a lot of consideration we have decided to go for vento/city. We gonna take a call by Diwali and buy it in dec. The main reason being comfort, long term ownership and hassle free ownership. So we are saving up to upgrade to this segment. Since you are considering fiesta/linea I would suggest you look around ownership review to see how after sales service is in your area. Dynamically both are very good but I feel linea will be more comfortable for your parents. This is what my parents felt after sitting in both cars back to back. Fiesta feels cramped. So if comfort is top priority, linea is better.

I can't tell you how much I wish kicking this dillema out and going for the Vento/City, but here is the game if I have to do it-

Vento OTR in AP: Trendline: 8.6 (no power windows at the back, no frils whatsoever). I will end up spending another 40-50k, on aftermarket stuff. So in any case I would end up with good 9L+ (1.5L above my initial consideration).

ANHC: OTR: 9.5-9.8 (City E) and will end up spending close to 10 on aftermarket.

In anycase what do you think about "Living with a Fiat" vs. Living with a Ford? It is that conviction that is missing. If you had a Fiat in your evaluation list, you know what I mean

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

The Fiesta's equally stable on highways and the petrol version, especially, is a complete hoot to drive: it's nimble and chuckable in the city and packs more than enough punch to overtake comfortably on the highways without requiring a downshift.
Go for the Fiesta if your primary love is driving; the linea though is ahead in terms on interiors, HUD options (blue and me) and perhaps has the better rear seat.

Thanks niranjanrvce. I may not have the luxury of all the equipment as the best I can probably go for is the Dynamic version. In any case among these two cars can you rate them on the following?

• Reliability/Hastle free experience in a span of 7+ years
• Maintenance Costs/Service/Spares
• Fuel consumption (if there is significant difference)
• Overall ownership experience
• Depreciation (although i guess it doesnt make a huge difference over 10 years, we need to consider the fact that the current Fiesta may be replaced with a new one, soon)

Thanks a ton for your help guys.

[dhrishikesh]

For the parents, for their convenient use; my choice of car will be Hyundai i20 AT, a very neat & steady ride with automatic transmission & also a comfortable car & most important ABS & airbags included & also a good fuel economy.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by battada

I can't tell you how much I wish kicking this dillema out and going for the Vento/City, but here is the game if I have to do it-

Vento OTR in AP: Trendline: 8.6 (no power windows at the back, no frils whatsoever). I will end up spending another 40-50k, on aftermarket stuff. So in any case I would end up with good 9L+ (1.5L above my initial consideration).

ANHC: OTR: 9.5-9.8 (City E) and will end up spending close to 10 on aftermarket.

In anycase what do you think about "Living with a Fiat" vs. Living with a Ford? It is that conviction that is missing. If you had a Fiat in your evaluation list, you know what I mean

Thanks niranjanrvce. I may not have the luxury of all the equipment as the best I can probably go for is the Dynamic version. In any case among these two cars can you rate them on the following?

• Reliability/Hastle free experience in a span of 7+ years
• Maintenance Costs/Service/Spares
• Fuel consumption (if there is significant difference)
• Overall ownership experience
• Depreciation (although i guess it doesnt make a huge difference over 10 years, we need to consider the fact that the current Fiesta may be replaced with a new one, soon)

Thanks a ton for your help guys.

Yes, vento and city are quite expensive, that's why we postponed our purchase a good 7-8 months more. That would be sufficient to have an increment of a lakh or two over our budget we had initially.

Regarding 'living with fiat/ford' issue, it is/was our primary concern and that's why fiat was dropped from our list. In April/May, there was no dealer selling/servicing linea & punto in Baroda, so a service or a minor issue would have meant a 200 km trip. Rubbing salt on the wound was very bad test drive experience. My parents want hassle free ownership. But, recently a new dealership has opened in Baroda and they gonna sell/service both these cars , so i have dropped in a statement saying, before we buy vento/city, we gonna test drive a Linea 1.4 TJet and i am hoping it tilts the decision in Linea's favor. But still its like a hanging axe on 1.4 TJet. A small, wrong step by Fiat while test drive and i am sure it will go out of window in a blink.

For Fiesta, some reasons: its an outdated model which is still being flogged, its cramped at back for my parents (well built body), interior doesn't feel like a 8 lakh car, ford service - an issue in baroda as per many friends of mine who owns fiesta/endeavor, an expected replacement next year will lower the value.

While, you have directed a set of question for Niranjan, let me give my 2 cents on those questions in BOLD

[list]
[*]Reliability/Hastle free experience in a span of 7+ years - Fiesta
[*]Maintenance Costs/Service/Spares - Both - give or take
[*]Fuel consumption (if there is significant difference) - Linea, I doubt you will able to control fiesta for what its worth
[*]Overall ownership experience - Both are at par, fiesta a wee bit better.
[*]Depreciation - Fiesta, considering Fiat's current status, who knows whats in store after 7-10 yrs


I have opined keeping in mind Fiesta 1.6 Zxi and Linea 1.4 Petrol. Bring in 1.4 TJet and the situation changes a bit.

Good luck

[niranjanrvce]

My comments in bold:

Originally Posted by battada

Thanks niranjanrvce. I may not have the luxury of all the equipment as the best I can probably go for is the Dynamic version. In any case among these two cars can you rate them on the following?

• Reliability/Hastle free experience in a span of 7+ years - Unfair to compare on this yet as Linea is yet to establish a long term reputation, whether good or bad. Fiesta has proved to be a pretty reliable vehicle in the time it has been in our market.

• Maintenance Costs/Service/Spares - Again, I haven't seen a Linea that has run 60k kms to get an idea on this. Ford has cut down the Fiesta spare costs in the last few years and though not yet as easy as a Maruti, it's reasonably priced. Both Fiat and Ford have had service issues in the past, please check out the dealerships of these Auto houses in your town and get feedback on them: here the dealership will make a huge difference.

• Fuel consumption (if there is significant difference) - Should not be much of a difference if sedately driven. But it's easy to get carried away in a Fiesta and drive hard/fast. If that happens once too often, the mileage will suffer
  

• Overall ownership experience - Can comment on the Linea only based on what I have heard - there seem to quite a few small niggles but in my book they don't count for much. Fiesta 1.6- I own one and can't be happier!

• Depreciation (although i guess it doesnt make a huge difference over 10 years, we need to consider the fact that the current Fiesta may be replaced with a new one, soon) - The new Fiesta model might badly hit the depreciation value of the current model. In my opinion, the Linea might be better off here.

As I said before, consider the Fiesta if you want a completely driver oriented car: there is nothing like it this side of 10 lakhs. But the rear seat is slightly cramped and if that is a high priority to you then the Linea will serve you better.
Thanks a ton for your help guys.

EDIT: Kindly look at models (whether Linea/Fiesta or something else) with ABS and Airbags: even for extensive city use - safety should be very high on your list especially since your parents will be using it primarily.