[Rossiter]

Update: Tried the Jetta, and the Altis.

Altis: Unbelievably smooth to drive even when pushed. But it's not exactly my kind of a car.

Jetta: Lovely car in all respects, but the stiffer price tag puts it out of contention.

We've more or less decided on the Cruze LTZ and will be going down to the showroom tomorrow to finalise things. I just had one doubt though: Since this is a recently launched car, how flexible will the sales guys be with discounts, now that it's the year end? I was thinking of pushing for at least free insurance.

[kartho]

Did you give Cedia Spirit or the Sports a try ? Just today i took delivery of my Cedia Spirit and I just love the car... many BHPians would vouch for the ride quality... since anyways you have now made up your mind on the Cruze, it might be helpful for you to easily compare. Its a powerful 2 Litre petrol car plus you can get it for a great price.

[GTO]

Congrats on the Cruze! It is an absolute stonker, performance equivalent to diesels far more expensive.

Originally Posted by Rossiter

Since this is a recently launched car, how flexible will the sales guys be with discounts

The Cruze is a new launch so don't count on discounts. Yet, no harm in cross-shopping with another dealer and pitting them against one another.

[car-go]

Great choice Rossiter, on the Cruze - saw one on the road, and seemed impressive. What color are you going for?

One more question (pardon my ignorance) - does it come with any touchscreen navigation, xenons and/or parking/rain sensors?

[jocreative]

I found Cruze to be heavily dependant on the clutch in City drives... the executive said that its because probably I havent driven a deisal car before and you cannot expect it to be as smooth as a petrol car. Holding the clutch down for a smooth city ride gave my calves a 10 min work out!
I also found cruze to be bombarded with a lot of features...and the front dash is burdened with a lot of buttons! Someone really went crazy on this one! The manual pumping seat adjusters was also a turn off for me.
When all is said and done, if you are looking for a car with good manly looks... cruze is definitly the buy for you.

If you are looking for a grown up drive with classy colors, Altis is the car for you. And considering they kept their last designed model for so many years... this model is definitly gonna stay a long long time too. They definitly cannot go wrong and looks like they have done a very good job.

My heart still belongs to the sporty Civic though. The front dash designs, digital odometers, and paddle gears are something to die for. Even though the model is overly priced and totally down on features, the incredibly good cabin space and driver view is definitly probably why this car sells alot.

[BAKIYA_2K12]

Nice choise Rossiter,Td cruze yesterday

Brilliant Performance, excellent handling, good suspension but in LT version they left quiet lot features.

[absynthguzzler]

Well here's hoping that the Cruze is capable of lasting 8-10 years . Good Luck on your selection.

I thought the Altis ( and Jetta if budget was stretched ) would have made for a more convincing long term experience.

[rhandle]

Cruze - good buy I guess.

[VEA]

i'm in the same boat as you. i was considering all these cars for my december buy and decided on the Altis as it suits my purpose and budget. i know you are more or less fixed on the cruze, but if your budget permits buy the jetta comfortline 1.9. You wont regret it, and please dont buy the trendline. the cruze makes better sense than the trendline.

[raul]

I test drove the Cruze recently and loved the engine. I also looked very closely at the rear seat and seriously while its not as good as civic I didn't find it cramped it any way. Its quite roomy but Civic is roomier. However since I am one of those who likes the Civic at that price range I would opt for the Civic though its overpriced like all Honda cars by about a lakh.

Given your requirements and especially that you want to keep the car for 10 years I would recommend the Civic, it will last well that long and the maintenance will not be too heavy on the pockets. A diesel engine for 10 years will require some care, perhaps the diesel heads here can weigh in here.

[incinerator]

Ok guys, been reading your forum for many days now (have been bursting to post for 7 days and finally can today). Glad to see your clear views on a lot of issues. From what I've seen here, it does seem like the Jetta is the best buy, but I would still like to think aloud.

'What Car' is a subject that's been on my mind for the last 2 months and I've now been thinking of changing my 2002 Hyundai Accent Viva (blood red) and find I have the following options considering my budget:

1. Volkswagen Jetta 1.9 Comfortline (AT).
2. Skoda Laura L&K 2.0 (AT).
3. Chevy Cruze LTZ AT.

The Jetta has great interiors, good pick up, paddle shift on the steering, decent rear legroom and generally a good finish with the attention to some detail showing. Nice digital display and touch screen panel.

On the downside, it has a very poor ground clearance (152 mm), doesn't look that sporty on the outside, colours are okay. It’s also not exactly the best from Volkswagen at their lowest price.

The Skoda Laura has the Passat engine (though the older one, not CRDI), has a great take off, gives around the same mileage as the Jetta, very nice looking interiors and seems a better buy with a more powerful engine at nearly the same price as the Jetta.

On the downside, the horror stories about their after-sales service have scared the daylights outta me. If JD Power ranks them number one with respect to customer satisfaction for sales support, they also rank them last for after-sales service. This seems to imply that the super demo given by the car salesman is like the demo for Windows Vista and you know the real issues only after you start using it (I'm still struggling every day on Vista by the way). Some guys who have bought 4-5 Skodas say they have no problems. Average rear legroom (I do have someone drive for me, so rear legroom is important.), pretty ordinary outer looks, no paddle shift on the steering.

The Chevy Cruze set my heart fluttering with her curves and purred in response to my touch on the start button. Her sun roof slid open to reveal a sky as blue as her colour. She went over potholes and came out unscathed, the drive was as comfortable, if not better than the other two. As I held her, she seemed to promise to be with me on every journey we took together. Her CRDI engine scores over the other two TDIs. She's the only one who made me go 'Wow' at her looks.

I feel like painting flames on her blue sides to express my burning desire (note my handle too - its ‘incinerator’), but like a bride after she changes her bridal wear and removes her make-up, once you get over the exterior sparkle, the Chevy's interiors are lacklustre. Cheap plastic parts which are not even half as good as the Accents' (the front grill is plastic, the glove compartment sides are thin plastic), poor quality rubber seals, no real attention given to finish inside. For 16+ lakhs, I would expect a lot better (look at the much lesser priced Corollas). Rear legroom is okay if the driver is not very tall, no rear AC vents. Her dark seat colours also seemed just that - dark. Ground clearance is supposedly 165, didn't look more than 155 to me. The turbo lag did seem to be a bit of a problem, but bring her down a notch or two and she purrs back in pleasure and responds immediately. She is one sizzling seductress who takes your attention away from the bags under her eyes (as in poor quality) by flashing those blue hooters (as in display meters) from behind the wheel.

No steering paddle shift here either.

What was most disappointing in all 3 is that they don't play DVD's, have a very average sound system compared to my Accent's souped up Pioneer/Blaupunkt combo. A CD only player seems ancient now. I think the Cedia has a DVD (audio/video) player with Bluetooth connectivity. None have a rear screen wiper (the Accent does).

Ok, so my questions are:

1. Can these cars be modified to add a roof mounted DVD player, sub woofer, amp and hooked to the current speakers without too much hassle or possible damage to the existing wiring? Does Jetta have a bluetooth kit that can be added?
2. Can the Chevy's seat colour be changed with some beige Stanleys?
3. Will the Jetta's ground clearance make it hit the bottom frequently (my work place is on the outskirts and the roads are something even a tractor has to be careful on at times, though all 3 cars did reasonably well on the TD on the same road)?
4. Will Skoda's service improve or can I expect that my car parts may get changed?
5. We have no idea about Jetta's after-sales, will it be similar to Skoda? Going from some of the responses here, it seems to be good.
6. Will the Chevy's insides fall apart after some time due to some of its cheap materials?
7. Are car prices going to go up from Apr 2010 or from Feb end itself once the budget is announced?

Let me tell you a little about my Accent Viva. She's nearly 8 years old, but looks no more than 1. I spent an average of Rs. 5,000 every 6 months (that's around Rs. 70,000 to date), changed stuff when the service centre recommended it and I think that's the reason she looks the way she does. Trident Hyundai gave me great service and in 8 years I probably can remember only one occasion when they didn't wax the car. I was quite surprised to see them ranked 8 by JD Power.

I have Pioneer speakers and player with a Blaupunkt amp and sub (my dad thought I was crazy when I got them installed and couldn't understand why I would want the sound louder, lol!). I spend around 2 hrs a day in the car and the music pumped out (and the occasional movie) is a sort of lifeline in the chaotic traffic.

It gives me an average of 10 km (petrol) in city conditions with the AC on 99.99% of the time and I have no major complaints. Now, though, the brakes don't seem as good, its 105 ps don't seem as powerful as before and the paint in some very small areas is beginning to blister.

In case my Accent feels I'm two timing, does anyone know if she can be converted to an automatic transmission? She still looks as appealing as she did the first day when we exchanged vows and with some beige leather seats and her blood red, can almost give you the Ferrari red and beige leather combo feel. I wouldn't mind spending a bit on her rather than buying a new car that doesn't even give me the sound output I want.

Which car is your pick? My heart says the Chevy, but it’s difficult to say if its infatuation or true love. The head says Jetta, worth the extra 4 lakhs.

Hooray for the new elevated road, 10 km in 6 min driving under 80, can't wait to unleash one of these beasts on it.

Or should I ditch all and wait for the Honda Accord Diesel (is there one coming?) or the Sonata Transform 2011 (look up www.hyundaisonata.com, but will this version come to India)?

Everything about what's been discussed here and the comparison I made (see attached word file) seem to point to the Jetta, but I'd still like to hear what you guys have to say.

So, ‘What Car’?

[Jeep]

Cannot comment on any of these cars. Curious - are you the one with the words 'Incineration Rules' on the car (also the flames)? I think I have seen you many times then on Hosur road

[ph03n!x]

Accent CRDi's are known to be prone to probs that can burn holes in the wallent around 80k on the clock - I have not owned one, but the forum has a few. Ofcourse some have had it longer and it has proven itself...

I am not a fan of the VW, or the Skoda sibling. So my focus is only on 2011 Sonata vs Accord vs Cruze. Am not sure how much of a pricing point with the Accord Diesel come at (over the petrol sibling) and how big a difference will that be over the Chevy and the Hyundai. Maybe it will be an easier decision for you when you see & feel all three on road...!

[aparth]

@ incinerator - I think you should go in for the Jetta 1.9 Comfortline. I have driven it lots of times, the ground clearance is a bit low but didn't find it to be too much of a problem as the suspension is on the stiffer side.

The quality of the interiors and exteriors is top notch ( even a notch above Skoda Laura IMO ).

The car seems well planted on the road even at 160km/h, the paddle shifters are fun to use and it's a rage to drive in Sports mode. The chassis feels that it is capable of much more power than the standard 105bhp.

The engine is a bit on the noisier side and some diesel clatter does come inside the cabin at times, but it isn't too much of a big deal.

[incinerator]

Jeep, yup, that is my car.

Phoenix, my Accent isn't a CRDI, the previous version. So do you sugget I wait for the 2011 Sonata?

Aparth, I'm leaning towards the Jetta, will probably do a longer test drive with it.

Any views on how to upgrade the music system?