Need to replace a Honda City

imp! · 30th November 2009, 12:19

Hey All,

Here is the lowdown. We have a 2003/2004 Honda City that needs replacing. We have somewhat narrowed it down to:

1) Laura Petrol

I definitely perceive this car as value for money. Most of the issues I have seen with Skoda cars have to do with DSG issues and Turbo blow outs in their Diesel cars. This car just feels so well put together, drives phenomenally well that I have to consider it.

2) ANHC:

It is an excellent car, I drove it a few days back and frankly, the engine tuning leaves a little to be desired. The interiors are also not as plush as my current City, however there seems to be a trend to go with brushed aluminium these days, so that I don't mind so much. The plastics seems a little below par for the premium this car is charging.

Pricing:

At 15.7 lacs on road in Bangalore, the Laura is expensive but for what it is, is excellent value for money.

The City is 10.7 odd on road in Bangalore and this is irking me. The car certainly seems over priced but within its segment is considered value for money.

Whilst we can afford the Laura, Dad wants to replace the city with another smallish car and replace our Innova with a Laura or something else similar in 18-24 months, he feels that this will allow him more leeway especially because he can consider a Diesel to replace the Innova. Whatever we buy now, has to be petrol.

I feel the city is extremely over priced in Bangalore, but maybe that is just me. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Cheers!

imp

vkochar · 30th November 2009, 14:36

That's a huge difference between the ANHC & Laura !

Since you have such a wide budget of lets say 10 - 15 lacs - you have options aplenty.

The Laura's only drawback is the Skoda service problem and after sales support which is Terrible. I would not plonk my 1.5 million rupees on a car which might give me problems later on.

My vote would definetely go for the Corolla Altis which is a very good smart car with loads of space, comfort, interiors and excellent to drive.

The City too is good BUT since you have a higher budget the Corolla Altis would be my choice.

imp! · 30th November 2009, 14:57

We briefly considered the Corolla, but it is rather boring to drive. If we get the City, chances are it will be me driving it most of the time. If we get the Laura, it'll be my Dad. We are both car nuts, and since he has driven a Qualis and then an Innova, he is keen on getting some thing that fast and whippy.
Yeah it is a really wide budget but here is the deal, sometime in the next 24 months we will replace two cars, one will be in the upper B segment range (ANHC/SX4/Verna) the other will be in a C range (Civic/Laura etc); the question is do we replace our current city with a more expensive car and then replace the Innova with a car that costs lesser? or just replace within the segment?

P.S. I may have gotten my segments mixed up...if so I apologize in advance.

Ramsagar · 30th November 2009, 15:00

Civic or Corolla will be the best replacement. And also fall in the price range.

Jetta also cannot be ruled out but not the petrol variant. Try the diesel.

imp! · 30th November 2009, 15:12

Yeah I checked out the Jetta, the build quality is excellent but the base version looks very dull from the inside. We would like something with decent looking interiors. Obviously they don't need to be Leather. We are test driving the civic sometime this week, but unless the new suspension is excellent, the ground clearance will be an issue. We typically drive around 40 kms a day, 20 of which may as well be off road!

mrwalker · 30th November 2009, 15:24

[quote=vkochar;1607939]
My vote would definetely go for the Corolla Altis which is a very good smart car with loads of space, comfort, interiors and excellent to drive. [quote]

+1, Corolla Altis is a better drive than the old Corolla so you may wish to take a test drive. Sigh! If only I had that kind of cash I would be looking at this one for sure for my upgrade...

imp! · 30th November 2009, 15:34

[quote=mrwalker;1608060][quote=vkochar;1607939]
My vote would definetely go for the Corolla Altis which is a very good smart car with loads of space, comfort, interiors and excellent to drive.

Quote:

+1, Corolla Altis is a better drive than the old Corolla so you may wish to take a test drive. Sigh! If only I had that kind of cash I would be looking at this one for sure for my upgrade...

MrWalker, man yeah the Corolla Altis is a very very nice car but there are two (major) Problems for our requirements:

1) With either my Dad or me driving, the car becomes a 3 seater, we have to drive with the seat all the way back, I spent 30 minutes trying to find a position where some one else could be comfortable behind me, no dice.

2) Compared to the Laura, its just plain and Banal. Yes it is very reasonable to own and maintain, there are no issues with the car, but I'd rather get a used Corolla than a new Altis, something about the interiors and gear ratios made them much more fun to drive !

imp

imp! · 1st December 2009, 14:41

So a few new developments,

I don't like the Corolla, Dad doesn't like the Civic, Skoda *** is scaring the pair of us, so it increasingly feels like a new City is looming ahead in our not so distant future.... any suggestions would be welcome !

imp

kartho · 1st December 2009, 16:32

@IMP

I was in a similar situation like you a couple of months back and was considering various cars/segments... finally landed with a Cedia Spirit and just love the car, its a 2.0L engine - its got sufficient power to blow you away - a really fun to drive car + its got a touch screen media center which can play almost anything and has Blue tooth capabilities too.. If you consider the sports variant its got a sporty wheel, OZ alloy wheels, spoilers and GPS integrated in the media center too ! None of these features are available in the ANHC and the interior looks kind of cheap as I had the OHC too ! From a drive quality perspective - Cedia has independent suspension & Disc breaks for all 4 wheels ! Give it a try and you will fall in love with it... BLR traffic can become your favourite play ground !

Laura - A.S.S not dependable and would rather consider a Jetta top end diesel. Also, check out the maintenance cost and Fuel efficiency of the Laura - you would never consider it again

(unless you are too loaded to worry about $$$

ANHC - Like i mentioned in comparison to Cedia, 10.7 lakhs can buy a lot better car than what Honda thinks we deserve... just did not like the quality of interiors and no CD player too... just a USB interface and did not find the alloy wheels impressive too... more than anything, the cost of maintaining a HONDA and the VFM quotient, totally threw it out of the equation for me. Finally, if you are still interested in the ANHC, take a TD on the highway, push it beyond 100 and let me know how safe you & your passengers felt sitting inside and compare the same with Cedia. Also forgot to mention that if GC of civic is a problem, ANHC is only worser in this department.

This is totally my opinion on these cars based on my findings and experience during my recent purchase, apologies to friends who might have found it blunt.

Thanks

RajaTaurus · 1st December 2009, 17:55

If you have two car nuts at home, dont think twice. Its gotta be Cedia Sports. TD it and you will look no further. Best VFM for Car-nuts. (And tell me if you found any down-side in this machine, except resale value...) ANd with its DVD and SAT-NAV system, its the best bet for around 10 lac in kitty.

imp! · 3rd December 2009, 11:26

@ RajaTaurus & Kartho,

Many thanks for your sugggestion. Truth be told, we hadn't considered the cedia. For one it was just never in the picture. Based on your reccomendation, I checked out the car on Auto Car, I may consider it but need to work out a couple of things, the suspension seems to be just short of supporting the kind of engine the car has, but more importantly, the car needs to be stable on highways and be able to fit 5 people in it comfortably for around the city jaunts. Now since we do have an Innova which we have used to drive around the city, one could argue that the car doesn't really really need to be spacious enough for 5 adults commuting in weekend traffic in Bangalore, but, our Innova just completed 80,000 kilometers in 3 years, and will be at a lakh within the next 6 months. We want to keep it in the garage as much as possible so we extend its highway worthiness for atleast two more years.

So my question to you guys is, will the Cedia fit the ticket? the three males in the family are all 5' 10" -6' 1"; and all of us may as well be 6" when the driver seat position is adjusted. Obviously if the fairer sex drive then its a different story, but they since they don't have issues with a friends i10's legroom, i doubt anything in this segment will be a worry for them !

kartho · 3rd December 2009, 12:02

Hey imp

Legroom: You cannot find better legroom than this in comparable cars... I am a 6 footer and was very concerned about legroom as well as the seating position as my OHC was not very good in this area. Check the car out and you will be in for a suprise when you see the legroom.. the rear leg room is atleast 6 - 8 inches more than what an Optra or ANHC offers... no matter how hard i try, i cannot cramp my rear seats... Some people do have a complaint on the seat length (thigh support) in the sports variant... I do not disagree with this... I donno the reason but Mitsu claims that only the leather is different but everything else is the same. Its possible that the curves given in the seats are causing this impression... I have the Spirit and let me assure you, its really spacious in the back, last night we had 3 adults and a child sit comfortably on the seats.. and absolutely no complaints of thigh support in my car. Since you may not get to see a test car of the Spirit, you can see the pics that i posted on this link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...al-report.html

Once you sit in the car, you will agree it definitely gives you a feeling of sitting in a car that is one segment higher than ANHC. The seating position is an absolute treat to drive this beast... I do not agree about the suspension as this is a rally class car and I rarely have to even notice the speed breakers or pot holes these days... the car just cruises... the GC & the suspension - both are amazing.

Regarding highway stability - I can go on and on and on... but would prefer if you read it for yourself from more experienced Cedia owners, check this link, people have achieved the double ton feat

One thing for sure, you will find the car planted rock solid no matter what speed you are driving... http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-report-6.html

iTNerd · 3rd December 2009, 12:12

ANHC if you want hassle free, peace of mind ownership, low cost of maintenance and resale

Cedia if you want a more involving driving experience, more features and care less on the resale..

Point to note is that Cedia had been here for quite some time, and with HM being very lazy to get their act together, I will be very worried about A.S.S, if you are to keep the car for 4-5 years..And if you don't keep that long, resale will be terrible.. So do consider the other non-car aspects as well..

RajaTaurus · 3rd December 2009, 12:17

That comment about suspension has stunned me! This is the only car in its category with all 4 wheel independent multi-link suspension, which is straight from the Rallybed. With its all 4 wheel disc brakes, when I brake, the car dosen't even pitch a bit,while other cars go nosediving before steadying.
Fitting size? There is no better way than check yourself.
Driveability inside city? with its 4.9 M Turning radius, I make even santros and I10s gasp at U turns...

I think you would never consider a Cedia by people trying to convince in words. The best and only way is for you to test it yourself and Cedia will answer your every query loud and clear.

RajaTaurus · 3rd December 2009, 12:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by iTNerd

ANHC if you want hassle free, peace of mind ownership, low cost of maintenance and resale

Cedia if you want a more involving driving experience, more features and care less on the resale..

Point to note is that Cedia had been here for quite some time, and with HM being very lazy to get their act together, I will be very worried about A.S.S, if you are to keep the car for 4-5 years..And if you don't keep that long, resale will be terrible.. So do consider the other non-car aspects as well..

About After Sale Service, it has been only good-to-very good comments so far from T-Bhpians who own Cedias. Of course, HM/Mitsu don't have vast 'network' around the country if thats what you are looking for. Yes, Spares take a few weeks to arrive. But you seldom need spares in 5 year time.
Yes. 'Resale'. That's the only thing Cedia scores a blank. But then, why would you look at a Sports car, if you want to sell it off in 3 years anyway? Mine is 2 years and 13+K kms old and still just looks and drives as brand new. I would never think of selling it of at least next 3-4 years. Durability is written hard as rock on this car. Resaleability is non-existant thing.

30th November 2009, 12:19	#1
imp! BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 776 Thanked: 468 Times	Need to replace a Honda City Hey All, Here is the lowdown. We have a 2003/2004 Honda City that needs replacing. We have somewhat narrowed it down to: 1) Laura Petrol I definitely perceive this car as value for money. Most of the issues I have seen with Skoda cars have to do with DSG issues and Turbo blow outs in their Diesel cars. This car just feels so well put together, drives phenomenally well that I have to consider it. 2) ANHC: It is an excellent car, I drove it a few days back and frankly, the engine tuning leaves a little to be desired. The interiors are also not as plush as my current City, however there seems to be a trend to go with brushed aluminium these days, so that I don't mind so much. The plastics seems a little below par for the premium this car is charging. Pricing: At 15.7 lacs on road in Bangalore, the Laura is expensive but for what it is, is excellent value for money. The City is 10.7 odd on road in Bangalore and this is irking me. The car certainly seems over priced but within its segment is considered value for money. Whilst we can afford the Laura, Dad wants to replace the city with another smallish car and replace our Innova with a Laura or something else similar in 18-24 months, he feels that this will allow him more leeway especially because he can consider a Diesel to replace the Innova. Whatever we buy now, has to be petrol. I feel the city is extremely over priced in Bangalore, but maybe that is just me. I would appreciate any suggestions. Cheers! imp
	() Thanks

30th November 2009, 14:36	#2
vkochar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Delhi / Agra / London Posts: 2,146 Thanked: 819 Times View My Garage	That's a huge difference between the ANHC & Laura ! Since you have such a wide budget of lets say 10 - 15 lacs - you have options aplenty. The Laura's only drawback is the Skoda service problem and after sales support which is Terrible. I would not plonk my 1.5 million rupees on a car which might give me problems later on. My vote would definetely go for the Corolla Altis which is a very good smart car with loads of space, comfort, interiors and excellent to drive. The City too is good BUT since you have a higher budget the Corolla Altis would be my choice.
	() Thanks

30th November 2009, 14:57	#3
imp! BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 776 Thanked: 468 Times	We briefly considered the Corolla, but it is rather boring to drive. If we get the City, chances are it will be me driving it most of the time. If we get the Laura, it'll be my Dad. We are both car nuts, and since he has driven a Qualis and then an Innova, he is keen on getting some thing that fast and whippy. Yeah it is a really wide budget but here is the deal, sometime in the next 24 months we will replace two cars, one will be in the upper B segment range (ANHC/SX4/Verna) the other will be in a C range (Civic/Laura etc); the question is do we replace our current city with a more expensive car and then replace the Innova with a car that costs lesser? or just replace within the segment? P.S. I may have gotten my segments mixed up...if so I apologize in advance.
	() Thanks

30th November 2009, 15:00	#4
Ramsagar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: BLR_Nellore(AP) Posts: 1,396 Thanked: 252 Times View My Garage	Civic or Corolla will be the best replacement. And also fall in the price range. Jetta also cannot be ruled out but not the petrol variant. Try the diesel.
	() Thanks

30th November 2009, 15:12	#5
imp! BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 776 Thanked: 468 Times	Yeah I checked out the Jetta, the build quality is excellent but the base version looks very dull from the inside. We would like something with decent looking interiors. Obviously they don't need to be Leather. We are test driving the civic sometime this week, but unless the new suspension is excellent, the ground clearance will be an issue. We typically drive around 40 kms a day, 20 of which may as well be off road!
	() Thanks

30th November 2009, 15:24	#6
mrwalker BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 184 Thanked: 12 Times	[quote=vkochar;1607939] My vote would definetely go for the Corolla Altis which is a very good smart car with loads of space, comfort, interiors and excellent to drive. [quote] +1, Corolla Altis is a better drive than the old Corolla so you may wish to take a test drive. Sigh! If only I had that kind of cash I would be looking at this one for sure for my upgrade...
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 14:41	#8
imp! BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 776 Thanked: 468 Times	So a few new developments, I don't like the Corolla, Dad doesn't like the Civic, Skoda *** is scaring the pair of us, so it increasingly feels like a new City is looming ahead in our not so distant future.... any suggestions would be welcome ! imp
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 16:32	#9
kartho BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 132 Thanked: 2 Times	@IMP I was in a similar situation like you a couple of months back and was considering various cars/segments... finally landed with a Cedia Spirit and just love the car, its a 2.0L engine - its got sufficient power to blow you away - a really fun to drive car + its got a touch screen media center which can play almost anything and has Blue tooth capabilities too.. If you consider the sports variant its got a sporty wheel, OZ alloy wheels, spoilers and GPS integrated in the media center too ! None of these features are available in the ANHC and the interior looks kind of cheap as I had the OHC too ! From a drive quality perspective - Cedia has independent suspension & Disc breaks for all 4 wheels ! Give it a try and you will fall in love with it... BLR traffic can become your favourite play ground ! Laura - A.S.S not dependable and would rather consider a Jetta top end diesel. Also, check out the maintenance cost and Fuel efficiency of the Laura - you would never consider it again (unless you are too loaded to worry about $$$ ANHC - Like i mentioned in comparison to Cedia, 10.7 lakhs can buy a lot better car than what Honda thinks we deserve... just did not like the quality of interiors and no CD player too... just a USB interface and did not find the alloy wheels impressive too... more than anything, the cost of maintaining a HONDA and the VFM quotient, totally threw it out of the equation for me. Finally, if you are still interested in the ANHC, take a TD on the highway, push it beyond 100 and let me know how safe you & your passengers felt sitting inside and compare the same with Cedia. Also forgot to mention that if GC of civic is a problem, ANHC is only worser in this department. This is totally my opinion on these cars based on my findings and experience during my recent purchase, apologies to friends who might have found it blunt. Thanks
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 17:55	#10
RajaTaurus Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Tenkasi, TN Posts: 1,119 Thanked: 473 Times View My Garage	If you have two car nuts at home, dont think twice. Its gotta be Cedia Sports. TD it and you will look no further. Best VFM for Car-nuts. (And tell me if you found any down-side in this machine, except resale value...) ANd with its DVD and SAT-NAV system, its the best bet for around 10 lac in kitty. Last edited by RajaTaurus : 1st December 2009 at 17:57. Reason: more info
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 11:26	#11
imp! BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 776 Thanked: 468 Times	@ RajaTaurus & Kartho, Many thanks for your sugggestion. Truth be told, we hadn't considered the cedia. For one it was just never in the picture. Based on your reccomendation, I checked out the car on Auto Car, I may consider it but need to work out a couple of things, the suspension seems to be just short of supporting the kind of engine the car has, but more importantly, the car needs to be stable on highways and be able to fit 5 people in it comfortably for around the city jaunts. Now since we do have an Innova which we have used to drive around the city, one could argue that the car doesn't really really need to be spacious enough for 5 adults commuting in weekend traffic in Bangalore, but, our Innova just completed 80,000 kilometers in 3 years, and will be at a lakh within the next 6 months. We want to keep it in the garage as much as possible so we extend its highway worthiness for atleast two more years. So my question to you guys is, will the Cedia fit the ticket? the three males in the family are all 5' 10" -6' 1"; and all of us may as well be 6" when the driver seat position is adjusted. Obviously if the fairer sex drive then its a different story, but they since they don't have issues with a friends i10's legroom, i doubt anything in this segment will be a worry for them !
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 12:02	#12
kartho BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 132 Thanked: 2 Times	Hey imp Legroom: You cannot find better legroom than this in comparable cars... I am a 6 footer and was very concerned about legroom as well as the seating position as my OHC was not very good in this area. Check the car out and you will be in for a suprise when you see the legroom.. the rear leg room is atleast 6 - 8 inches more than what an Optra or ANHC offers... no matter how hard i try, i cannot cramp my rear seats... Some people do have a complaint on the seat length (thigh support) in the sports variant... I do not disagree with this... I donno the reason but Mitsu claims that only the leather is different but everything else is the same. Its possible that the curves given in the seats are causing this impression... I have the Spirit and let me assure you, its really spacious in the back, last night we had 3 adults and a child sit comfortably on the seats.. and absolutely no complaints of thigh support in my car. Since you may not get to see a test car of the Spirit, you can see the pics that i posted on this link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...al-report.html Once you sit in the car, you will agree it definitely gives you a feeling of sitting in a car that is one segment higher than ANHC. The seating position is an absolute treat to drive this beast... I do not agree about the suspension as this is a rally class car and I rarely have to even notice the speed breakers or pot holes these days... the car just cruises... the GC & the suspension - both are amazing. Regarding highway stability - I can go on and on and on... but would prefer if you read it for yourself from more experienced Cedia owners, check this link, people have achieved the double ton feat One thing for sure, you will find the car planted rock solid no matter what speed you are driving... http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-report-6.html
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 12:12	#13
iTNerd Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Imphal/Noida Posts: 1,241 Thanked: 1,214 Times View My Garage	ANHC if you want hassle free, peace of mind ownership, low cost of maintenance and resale Cedia if you want a more involving driving experience, more features and care less on the resale.. Point to note is that Cedia had been here for quite some time, and with HM being very lazy to get their act together, I will be very worried about A.S.S, if you are to keep the car for 4-5 years..And if you don't keep that long, resale will be terrible.. So do consider the other non-car aspects as well..
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 12:17	#14
RajaTaurus Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Tenkasi, TN Posts: 1,119 Thanked: 473 Times View My Garage	That comment about suspension has stunned me! This is the only car in its category with all 4 wheel independent multi-link suspension, which is straight from the Rallybed. With its all 4 wheel disc brakes, when I brake, the car dosen't even pitch a bit,while other cars go nosediving before steadying. Fitting size? There is no better way than check yourself. Driveability inside city? with its 4.9 M Turning radius, I make even santros and I10s gasp at U turns... I think you would never consider a Cedia by people trying to convince in words. The best and only way is for you to test it yourself and Cedia will answer your every query loud and clear.
	() Thanks