[RX135]

I'll go with Altis for several reasons:

1) Better backseat ride.
2) Better refinement (it's petrol).
3) Better acceleration/handling.

I do not know if Verna AT has different (read stiffer) setup than MT. Verna MT is soft sprung and keeps bobbing up its rear. Rear seat wouldn't be the best place to be in.

AT is good in cities, but if your chauffeur does most of the city driving, other than smoother gear shift, it doesn't add whole lot of value. On highways, you don't need to change gears too often, so it's fine.

[~~h]

I budget permits, go for the Altis, I see jerks as your only concern and as vasoo rightly said it's totally driver dependent..
To add,the basic shape of Altis is not gonna be changed for another 3-4 years, but same may not hold true for Verna.

[arjunrudra]

They are definitely from 2 diffrent classes . The altis is the one to go if your budget allows you to.

[Murugan]

Thanks for all the advice.

Did not look at cars from some of the other companies because of my personal, probably wrong, perceptions about reliability of after sales service, shut down of operations in some countries etc. This is a purely personal perception (call it preference or even phobia) and does not imply anything else; after all, thousands of owners of cars from those companies cannot be all wrong.

Took another test drive of the Hyundai Verna AT, this time with the family, and everybody was impressed with the silky smooth gear changes of the automatic transmission. Did bad roads - the suspension, on the TD car with 1600+ kms on the odo, was unintrusive; good low speed ride quality. Went up and down 2 bridges - effortless; not too sure about the engine braking part downhill. Did a sharp 'U' turn comfortably. Managed to hustle it up to 80+ Kms/hr on a short stretch with a good left banked turn - no roar from the engine or inconvenience of rapid (manual) gear shifts. Braking from 80+ was sharp and impressive.

The distance to empty meter seems a useful gadget/ toy. The driver's seat (left side) arm rest may be useful since there will be lesser need to play with the gear handle. There is a rear defogger. The driver seat has double (front half and rear half) seat height adjust mechanism.

The fully automatic temperature control system does not adjust the fan/ blower speed automatically. The air intake control does not automatically select between fresh air and re-circulate mode. Disc brakes on the front wheels only. The digital clock can be viewed only by the driver and not the passengers.

Went through the opinions and feed back on several team-bhp and other forums/ websites. Also read the expert reviews and test drive reports done by Indian car magazines (in pdf format) presented conveniently on the Hyundai India website. Have done the same for the Corolla Altis too.

I seem to be tilting toward the Automatic transmission Hyundai Verna AT diesel top end version (vis a vis the Toyota Corolla Altis MT). Color - had a look at all the colors on the Verna, some at the showroom and others at the near by yard, in good daylight. Son preferred the Champagne Gold; all of us found the color good too. May decide today/ by monday.

Not sure if I am going to trade in my 31,000+ kms, April 2008, silky silver, Maruti Dzire Vxi petrol, the price for which has been upped to Rs 4,20,000.

[mrkanitkar]

Originally Posted by Murugan

The fully automatic temperature control system does not adjust the fan/ blower speed automatically. The air intake control does not automatically select between fresh air and re-circulate mode. Disc brakes on the front wheels only. The digital clock can be viewed only by the driver and not the passengers.

This automatically happens in Corolla for sure. It changes blower speed and even intake of fresh air automatically.

[Murugan]

The color and model of Verna AT was frozen on Saturday for delivery by Wednesday/ Thursday. However on Monday morning I got a call from HMPL saying that any of three other colors can be delivered on Thursday and the Champagne gold is going to take 2 – 3 weeks. Son is not happy with the available color options and we are not sure if we want to wait that long.

Drove around and was driven around on some bad stretches of Chennai roads in a 3+ years, 40,000+ kms Verna manual transmission which belongs to my cousin. While the suspension was better than on my less older Dzire, the rear tended to bob around as if it had a mind of its own; very unsettled ride when at the back; not all that noticeable when driving – speeds of 30 – 40 kms/hr on undulating road surface with patch works and ruts.

Friend with an Innova suggested an Innova/ Altis. He arranged for another test drive of the Altis (25,000+ kms) and an Innova (10,000+kms). The Altis had a better suspension (though nowhere as good as on a new car) than all the other cars although it did have its share of minor squeaks.

Was offered 4L by Lanson for my Dzire. They have 2 late 2009 manufactured Altis J models on which they are offering Rs 50,000 off. No climate control (will sorely miss it I think), music system (only 4 speakers) or steering mounted controls (I do not listen to music from the car when driven – 6 days a week), airbags (I don’t want airbags as my younger son, as mentioned earlier, will create a ruckus if I don’t let him sit at the front on sundays and on long drives outside the city), leather seats (never used them in view of the hot weather in Chennai), electrically adjustable drivers seat (will not miss it), alloys, retractable outside rear view mirrors, front reading lamps etc

Some new concerns expressed by my friends: 1. My son might knock the AT gear shift from N to D or the other way accidentally and either could end up in an accident. 2. A friend with Civic AT says he feels sleepy while driving on highways because of the lack of manual transmission and says he will never buy an AT if the car will do long highway runs – not sure if other AT users feel this way. 3. The drivers at places offering valet parking may not be too familiar with proper AT usage and could end up damaging it - not too sure as in most places that I checked the drivers said they are familiar with AT.

All my friends are suggesting an Altis; surprised that not even one is recommending the Verna AT. Reasons given: bigger, better, higher segment, less noisy engine, reliable, trouble free, low maintenance, better resale etc. The pendulum seems to be swinging over to the opposite side now.

[jigbarai]

Sell your Dzire in the outside market (instead of company/dealer). You'll get around 50k more than what the dealer would offer.

Add that to your budget for Altis MT and stretch a bit and get the Altis AT.
It would solve your dilema and would be money well spent (looking at the longer term). And no, nowadays resale of AT is as good as MT (if not better in certain models). That was an old perception.

All your concerns written above for the AT are not really reasons to worry about.
1) you cant move the AT gear shift without pressing a button. and the same risk of knocking lies with the manual gear box too!
2) Good ICE can take care of it. And on the highway theres not much diff between AT and MT, where you are not really using the clutch/stick that much.
3) AT is far too common right now for places with decent valet parking options to not know of them. What with the DSG boxes and all around these days.

It is a super reliable machine. I believe the Corolla AT was the highest selling car in the recent times, globally.

[deepakchiniwal]

Have you tried the Chevy Cruze? Why not give it a try.

[CoolFire]

Originally Posted by Murugan

Thanks for all the advice.

Did not look at cars from some of the other companies because of my personal, probably wrong, perceptions about reliability of after sales service, shut down of operations in some countries etc. This is a purely personal perception (call it preference or even phobia) and does not imply anything else; after all, thousands of owners of cars from those companies cannot be all wrong.

Try to overcome that and you has a good alternative in Cruze. GM is now in much better shape and their Indian operations are quite robust. Won't go the Daewoo way by any means.

[deepakchiniwal]

Originally Posted by deepakchiniwal

Have you tried the Chevy Cruze? Why not give it a try.

Compare Chevrolet Cruze|Chevrolet Cruze Comparison|Chevrolet Cruze Compare

I still want to believe Cruze is a good buy. Toyota is in a different league all together, however you get all the features barring a few minor ones in Cruze with atleast a lakh cheaper. There are also talks of Cruze AT being launched sooner. Plus you get fresh looks in the market. The goody features are too many to be ignored.

If I am right, Chevy has one of the best build quality.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Murugan

Some new concerns expressed by my friends: 1. My son might knock the AT gear shift from N to D or the other way accidentally and either could end up in an accident. 2. A friend with Civic AT says he feels sleepy while driving on highways because of the lack of manual transmission and says he will never buy an AT if the car will do long highway runs – not sure if other AT users feel this way. 3. The drivers at places offering valet parking may not be too familiar with proper AT usage and could end up damaging it - not too sure as in most places that I checked the drivers said they are familiar with AT.

Trust me, these concerns are either out of ignorance or prejudice.
1. First, your son should not be sitting on the front seat unless he is old enough. Second, gears do not shift so suddenly while driving, and even if they do (have not noticed it so far in close to 45K of driving), it is hardly a danger.
2. Sleep could be caused by other factors but rarely by an AT.
3. In 3 years, I have not experienced any difficulty on this account. First of all, almost all parking attendants and definitely hotel valets know how to handle ATs. Just see the number of cars they handle everyday. AT is not difficult to handle. Second, even in 1-2 instances where this was a problem, they let you park in a space where your car does not obstruct others/they do not need to take it out.

Bottomline: too much thinking and uncertainty is not warranted in switching to an AT. If you know driving, you will learn to drive AT in 1-2 km of driving.

[Murugan]

Booked 2009 Toyota Corolla Altis J in Champagne Mica Metallic color today. Lanson, Chennai has promised delivery tomorrow evening after registration and other formalities. Rs.50,000 off the on-road price; free reverse sensor costing approx Rs.5000. Traded in my Dzire for 4.02 Lakhs. They said NCB will be transferred once the Dzire is sold and money will be refunded at that point. Will hand over my car (documents already given) when the Altis is delivered. Will look at AT version, if the budget permits, next time. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. It was very helpful.

[deepakchiniwal]

Congratulations Doc!

[manim]

Originally Posted by Murugan

1. My son might knock the AT gear shift from N to D or the other way accidentally and either could end up in an accident.

2. A friend with Civic AT says he feels sleepy while driving on highways because of the lack of manual transmission and says he will never buy an AT if the car will do long highway runs – not sure if other AT users feel this way.

1) The driver should put the selector in 'P' when getting out of the car. Now it cannot be moved unless the brakes and the button are both pressed. (Putting it in 'N' is only in temporary-stoppage when the driver in in the car). Conclusion: The AT is safer than a MT.

2) Actually this is a Compliment! The AT is a boon on very long highway drives because it is stress-free. Anyway I have paddle-shifting in my Civic-AT if the mood strikes me!

[Anand123]

Congrats on your Altis! Is it a 2009 model car?