[carwatcher]

I must say Linea it is!!!
With looks to die for, feature rich and Gem of an engine, it has to be Linea.
One thing to note, in Diesel almost all cars are very good and difficult to choose one over other while in Petrol the one and only Honda city stands tall and that too by a distance amongst all the cars currently available.
PS: Any reason for not considering Chevy Optra, its very spacious and having Torque >300. It surely ticks all the boxes.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Answering these questions:
I have already sold my car. So I can wait for 1 month but not really long. Highway handling is preferable but not very important because I never go beyond 110 kmph. GC preferably 168/170, but I can live with 165 as well. A.S.S not so crticially important because it will be company lease car and service costs spare costs handled by leasing company for 4 yrs.

Thanks for yóur suggestions.

I am aware of Karlsson but I don't want genuine or art leather. Do they do fabric beige, say a soft fabric?

AFAIK Karlsson are like Stanley and work with leather. Just call them and ask if they do work with fabric. A bit debatable though.

Since you have already sold your car, I guess the 4 month waiting period for the Sunny is an issue. If that can be dealt with, then the Sunny is the car for you. The Linea would have to be a second choice because as much as you are not concerned about A.S.S, it still matters. Tata/Fiat will take a few days to get spares and a few days to resolve a problem, which means living with issues or having the car off the road for a while.

[GenuineOptimist]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

PS: Any reason for not considering Chevy Optra, its very spacious and having Torque >300. It surely ticks all the boxes.

Hi - thanks for the info. Optra magnum 2 TCDi also seems to satisfy my reqts. Is it a good decision to buy Optra magnum now?

[drvhplyevraftr]

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Is it a good decision to buy Optra magnum now?

I am too in the same dilemma. Having TD-ed the Sunny, Linea, Verito,
Optra. Heart is not ready to give up on Optra. What a car. Here is what I
found during my TD.

Sunny - Good family car. Best chauffeur driven. Acres of space. Somehow
felt disconnected during the TD. Dont think I will have fun driving it.

Linea - Lots of gizmos. The new 16 inch wheels are to die for. Vehicle felt
very sluggish. They had to place the rain/auto headlamp sensor above the
rear view mirror and hence the RVM seems to be positioned below
obstructing the view. Long clutch. messed up ergonomics (driving position
etc). No fun to drive. Solid car otherwise. May be good for highway driving
but not so much fun for city.

Verito - Everything built for a price but solid and one can forget all
complaints due to the price factor. Actually liked the TD.

Optra - Made the mistake of reading up about optra here on t-bhp and
taking a TD. Second mistake was to take the optra TD on the exact route
in which linea was taken. Loads of power and felt very special during the
drive. Had a big smile coming out of the TD. My son and wife were very
impressed and want me to go for the optra.

Optra now has 3 years warranty and one can take additional 2 years for
about 18000. I dont care too much about re-sale. Mileage is less within city
from what I have heard but being a diesel should not be a problem. Only
question that I have that nobody can answer is "how long will it continue to
be on sale" and "will it be difficult to source spares for the next 5 years". I
might sell it off after 5 years. For now, everything is going in favor of optra.

Do let me know about the discounts on offer for the optra (if you happen to
know).

Thank you.

[GenuineOptimist]

Originally Posted by drvhplyevraftr

Optra -. Only
question that I have that nobody can answer is "how long will it continue to
be on sale" and "will it be difficult to source spares for the next 5 years".

I can now answer this question because I got information from a manager who works in GM India. Optra production line has been stopped by 2011. Now it will be produced "on demand" basis if there is a spurt in bookings. So I guess the start of the end of Optra magnum lifecycle has begun.

[lloydofcochin]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

I must say Linea it is!!!
With looks to die for, feature rich and Gem of an engine, it has to be Linea.
One thing to note, in Diesel almost all cars are very good and difficult to choose one over other while in Petrol the one and only Honda city stands tall and that too by a distance amongst all the cars currently available.
PS: Any reason for not considering Chevy Optra, its very spacious and having Torque >300. It surely ticks all the boxes.

+ 1. I would also suggest a Linea. It is a looker, Built like a Tank, Good FE, Acceptable A.S.S, Superb handling, Excellent stability at high speeds, Magic Carpet ride & loaded with features. The engine could have been more powerful but it does it's job pretty well. Maybe if you need more power you can strap on a Race Chip Tuning Box.

Manza too would be a good option. Loads of space and acceptable handling. The FIAT engine is reliable and the FE too is pretty good.

A friend of mine has a Manza which is nearing 50K kms and he is extremely happy with it.

[carwatcher]

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

I can now answer this question because I got information from a manager who works in GM India. Optra production line has been stopped by 2011. Now it will be produced "on demand" basis if there is a spurt in bookings. So I guess the start of the end of Optra magnum lifecycle has begun.

Thanks for invaluable info.
On-demand production means No discounts IMO.

[drvhplyevraftr]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

Thanks for invaluable info.
On-demand production means No discounts IMO.

I am given a 60k discount on the ex-showroom price if I place the order for the car. The showroom does not have the color (SandDrift Grey) that I want and said that they will place the order once I place the booking amount.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Budget: ex-showroom of 7-9 lakhs.

My two cents; actually it is a little more than that. My pick in that list and I believe these diesel cars will meet all your requirements. I have added the Suzuki as I feel it is a value for money car.

1. Nissan Sunny

2. Suzuki SX4

3. Skoda Rapid

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Only diesel

The 3 cars I have listed have diesel power plants.

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Nearly 100% driven by me, 75% city 25% highway

All the 3 work will work well for your usage. The most satisfying drive will be the Skoda. For a good mix and match, I'd pick the Suzuki.

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Will keep the car for 4-5 years

Should be no problem with the cars I have listed.

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

ABS and dual airbags are a must

Available in the Nissan and Suzuki and should be within your budget.

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Nice (fabric beige) and spacious interiors are a must.

The Nissan is king in this department followed by the Skoda and Suzuki.

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Spacious boot, good rear leg room is a must.

Suzuki wins this. The Suzuki does not have the best legroom but the seating is excellent that you may not really miss the acres of space the Nissan offers.

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Creature comforts such as rear arm-rests, cubby holes, storage is a plus

All three cars fare well.

[sandeepmohan]

The cars that I don't really care about and why they may not work well for you.

Ford Fiesta Classic Diesel - too old and the asking price for this car is way too high. The only thing going for this car is the driving dynamics. The better value for money is the petrol but then, you don't want one.

Tata Manza - The only thing going for this car is the comfortable seating and that brilliant Fiat engine. Everything else, as with any TATA is a hit or miss.

Toyota Etios - This is one Toyota I will skip. Sure; it has a reliable motor, is roomy and is a decent drive. It just screams cheap though. You can do a lot better in terms of interior appointments for the same money.

Fiat Linea - I have one and it is just brilliant. It just won't work for you. The only thing going for it is the big boot, the kit and ride quality. The interiors are low on space, quality is terrible in some places and the turning radius is a problem. I got used to it. You may not. The diesel engine, though brilliant, is just not powerful enough to move this heavy car. It is very expensive too.

Ford Fiesta - The most expensive, cheap interior appointments and very low on space. The only thing going for it is the handling.

Hyundai Verna - Expensive and low on space. If the Skoda, Nissan and Suzuki don't work for you, this comes next.

[GenuineOptimist]

ABS and dual airbags are a must

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Available in the Nissan and Suzuki and should be within your budget.

SXI ZDI is out of my budget. Nissan is within my budget, but unfortunately situations don't permit me to wait for 4 months to buy a car.

[GenuineOptimist]

Note to Mods: Is it possible to please merge the two postings, the system doesnt let me Edit the below post because it is 30 mins late.

Thanks to DCEite, pganapathy, carwatcher, drvhplyevraftr, lloydofcochin and sandeepmohan for the information and help.
Thanks to arvind.anand, vnabi, swiftnfurious, niranjanrvce, drmohitg, RavenAvi and kirantp for your information in another thread on "honda city versus ford fiesta".
Thanks to amalji and powertrain for answering my questions on Etios.
Thanks to drvhplyevraftr for the discussion on Optra.

I've finally chosen Toyota Etios VD.

The reasoning is as follows:

1. The variants that had abs, dual airbags of Suzuki SX4 ZDI, Fiat Linea Dynamic, Skoda Rapid Elegance, New Verna and New Fiesta were all beyond my upper limit of 9 lakhs ex-showroom. Optra Magnum was a surprise last minute contender that came within budget because of hefty discounts. Swift Dzire, Mahindra Verito were never in consideration because of looks (dzire, verito), small boot (dzire) and no passenger airbag (verito).

2. Nissan Sunny ticked all boxes and came in my budget, but I can't wait for 4 months since I've already sold my earlier car. Sad situation, my mistake. Optra Magnum is a stunner in the interiors. However we didn't need a 2 litre powerhorse for our sedate city driving and moreover I heard Optra is nearly out of production.

3. Final shortlist was Fiesta classic SXi, Etios VD and Tata Manza. Tata was striken off because my earlier car was Tata Indica DLX w/ abs airbags and family didnt want another Tata. Plus I didnt like the burgundy and beige dashboard. Fiesta classic had poor legroom and smaller boot. Etios had the worst interior plastics, seat colors and terribly lesser features.

4. The last push to a decision was, as always the price! Etios VD was priced a clean 1 lakh less than our closest alternative - the Fiesta classic. I just imagined whatever I can do with this 1 lakh to improve the interiors and add more features in Etios (such as rear cabin light, leather seats, cushions for arm rests) and then there was no turning back.

My booking information is at this thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...ml#post2728867

From the luxurious interiors of Optra, the refinement of Honda City to the driving pleasure of Fiesta, Skoda and finally to shortlist and sign up for Etios, was a quite a journey indeed.

My learning in this whole exercise is that the 'entry level diesel sedan' options are a little confusing because there is no clear line between C1 and C2 segments and it overlaps on price/features. The governments categorization based on car lengths <4.5m and engine displacement of <1.5L doesn't actually translate clearly into corresponding price differentials.

Based on ex-showroom price of the high end variant, are these the segments then?
C1 segment (< 8 lakhs): Swift Dzire, Mahindra Verito, Toyota Etios, Tata Manza
C1.5 segment (b/w 8 -9 lakhs): Fiesta Classic, Nissan Sunny, Optra Magnum(?) and Skoda Rapid(?)
C2 segment (> 9 lakhs): SX4)(?), Fiat Linea, New Fiesta, Fluidic Verna, Volkswagen Vento

[vasanthn21]

So, if you could wait for 4 months, would you go for Sunny? If so, which model?

[sups]

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

I've finally chosen Toyota Etios VD.

Congratulations on your etios. As a package, etios is not an automatic choice, but nobody can ignore it either for its mileage, boot space, zero-turbo lag engine, nice steering, loads of space, excellent brakes and availability of ABS+Airbag at all levels. Please point me the link for your test drive experience. I might go for a GD+SP after a few months. Let the owner ship review follow.

By the way, what was the price you for Optra?

[GenuineOptimist]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

So, if you could wait for 4 months, would you go for Sunny? If so, which model?

If I could have waited, then I might have taken Sunny XL diesel. The poor dealer network, service network and relatively less Indianization of production are some points we have to think about. If a big city like Bangalore has only one Nissan dealer for sales and service, then their first priority has to be expand aggressively. I did see advt offering dealer franchise for anyone interested