[quicksilvr]

Hey guys. The time has finally come for me to move on and look for my next daily driver. I'm gonna miss the Baleno, but it's been a couple of years, and the drive has kinda lost it's excitement over the months.
I don't have anything in mind, and I'm open to trying out Diesels, even SUVs.
But there are a couple of ground rules -

1. Pre-owned (Weird as it may sound, I've never bought one new).
2. Not too big on FE, but would be nice if it was good as I do around 1500kms in a month (This is why I don't mind a diesel)
3. A$$ should be decent.
4. Budget of around 5-6L (Another reason that I'm inclined towards used cars)
5. Should put a smile on my face every time I get in the driver's seat!!!

After looking far and wide, one car which comes closest to filling the requirements is the 03/04 Corolla H2.
Looking for pros & cons and other alternatives.

Thanks for your help!

[AirWind]

A '06 make Cedia or Elantra would fit your needs to a T.

[manikjeet]

try to get hold of a Optra magnum

great pick up and its a diesel

[vkochar]

Get any of the following. In my order of preference -

NHC - 2008 Model - Around 5.5 - 6 Lacs

Cedia - Getting one in Chennai for around 6 Lacs. I doubt so. Some of them are driven for over 50K kms and priced like new !!! If you still find one for about 5 - 6 lacs, low driven - grab it.

Corolla - Now we are in a completely different segment ( except the Cedia ) This is one good car. Getting a 2006 / 2007 model for 6 lacs should not be a problem. In fact if you are lucky enough you might find the top end model with Leather in that price.

Since you do not have high mileage I am not mentioning these 2 cars which also would fall in your budget - Skoda Octavia & Verna Diesel.

[suman]

Hmmm, a smile on your face every time you get into the driver's seat? The Fiesta 1.6 perhaps?

[shuvc]

I'll be following this thread closely !

Originally Posted by quicksilvr

Should put a smile on my face every time I get in the driver's seat!!!

I've asked myself this upgrade question many many times. To me it's not only about outright power, but that x factor of a nice to drive car. The closest I've come to an answer is the Cedia/Civic/Octy Tpi.

[Car&me]

Cedia will top in fulfilling your needs, but as someone pointed out getting one is a tough thing in Chennai.
Corolla will be the next in line for you. There are good ones available in the market as well. Lanson Toyota on ECR will have some good ones.

[joshguy]

1. Fiesta
2. NHC 2006-2008
3. Corolla

My firend is selling his Honda city 2006 ,29000km run,Very very good car (definitely not marketing it) .I also posted a ad for it in classifieds,Check out !

Team-BHP Classifieds - HONDA CITY ZX 2006 - 29350 Kms - Powered by PhotoPost Classifieds

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by qukslvr

# Should put a smile on my face every time I get in the driver's seat!!!

The Corolla and the NHC won't do this.
Moreover the NHC being a honda depreciates too slow and isn't fun.

[Car&me]

Originally Posted by nitrous

The Corolla and the NHC won't do this.
Moreover the NHC being a honda depreciates too slow and isn't fun.

Good way to look at fun factor.

[imp!]

A single owner corolla, in good condition is a fantastic buy IMO ! My grandfather has the previous generation Corolla and it still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, and this, after it was submerged in the Bombay deluge!!! I must admit though, it has an appetite for Petrol (maybe because of the Deluge? although I couldn't be sure)

[.anshuman]

Skoda RS is a awesome car and it comes in your budget but the ownership may prove expensive.

Cedia is another fun to drive car but performance is good but not even close to the RS.

Elantra CRDi has very good performance and handling too keep you happy, running costs and fuel costs are very low plus the after sales support is very good.

Optra Magnum TCDi has a very powerful engine if you find it in this budget, with the added bonus of all the torque available at lower revs and very reasonable fuel cost as it is a diesel.

[quicksilvr]

Thanks for your inputs guys.

Cedias and Optra Magnums are really hard to come by.
I'm not really a fan of the NHC which is why I didn't mention it in my first post. I don't exactly like the way it handles, which also reminds me of reading a comment by a tbhp-ian earlier - that he'd rather drive a washing machine on wheels than the NHC. No offence.
I TDed a Fiesta and had this strange issue - Every time I put my foot down on the clutch all the way to the floor, the steering columns hits my foot if I'm turning the wheel. Anyone else had this problem? And I do love the way the Octavia drives, the build quality, the diesel 'factor' etc. I would get it in a heartbeat, if hadn't read all the threads on Tbhp about Skoda's pathetic A$$.
After all weighing out all options I've narrowed it down to the Corolla or the Verna CRDi. I know these aren't to be compared, but apart from being different classes and one being petrol, everything else fits my criteria. Just waiting to TD the verna.
Any head-to-head comparison between these two??

[akas_chauhan]

I think you can think more about Toyota Corolla or Cedia.

[KESriram]

+1 to .anshuman on Elantra CRDi. I was in a similar upgrade dilemma couple of months back and found out about Elantra on t-bhp. Got a good deal on a 2005 CRDi and have been driving it for the past 2 months - its been an absolutely amazing experience (I upgraded from Alto so my delta in driving experience would certainly be much greater than yours).

You get this car cheap (2005 with <50k mileage should be around 4.5L in Chennai, even the 2006/07 ones come for < 6L), it runs cheap (am getting 13.7kmpl FE with A/C mostly off and suburb roads) and I believe the regular spares and service is cheap too.

This would satisfy all your buying points, esp the 5th one. Better, read tadukuttan's long term ownership on this car - I made my decision just by reading that review!!