[Diesel9999]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

Since you considered Civic, Did you also look at Cruze? Why is Cedia thrown out of your list? Both are fun to drive and both have a good boot. Even Toyota Corolla with right set of tyres will make a nice performance car and looks decent in black.

Between a T-jet and ANHC, Please do check that Honda cars are High-revving Vtec gems but lack low-end torque usually needed in city driving. I own a Jazz and have to upshift frequently. Fiat on the other end is a half baked job. Between the two I will still vote for T-jet first.

The lack of low end torque is especially acute in the Jazz and its not that bad in the ANHC. I wonder why Honda is fouling up its game with the Jazz. A peppier engine and a more competitive price will really elevate the brilliant Jazz to new levels in the Indian marketplace.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Diesel9999

The lack of low end torque is especially acute in the Jazz and its not that bad in the ANHC. I wonder why Honda is fouling up its game with the Jazz. A peppier engine and a more competitive price will really elevate the brilliant Jazz to new levels in the Indian marketplace.

We own a Jazz, and I know exactly what you're talking about. In first gear, even if you floor the pedal, it takes some time to get going. But once it gets going, it absolutely flies. You really need to rev the 1.2, 4-potter that powers the Jazz to get it to perform. The power is spread evenly over the rev-band and it gets more grunty as the rev-counter needle climbs higher.

Honda has deliberately done this of course. Their idea is to make the Jazz as fuel efficient as possible. And they've achieved that quite well. During one of our B'lore-Mysore drives, we recorded a phenomenal 19.5 km to the litre!

[Diesel9999]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

We own a Jazz, and I know exactly what you're talking about. In first gear, even if you floor the pedal, it takes some time to get going. But once it gets going, it absolutely flies. You really need to rev the 1.2, 4-potter that powers the Jazz to get it to perform. The power is spread evenly over the rev-band and it gets more grunty as the rev-counter needle climbs higher.

Honda has deliberately done this of course. Their idea is to make the Jazz as fuel efficient as possible. And they've achieved that quite well. During one of our B'lore-Mysore drives, we recorded a phenomenal 19.5 km to the litre!

Wow! That FE is an eye opener. Its staggering actually. 19.5kmpl with that kind of top end performance? Well I guess we can live with the low end grunt then

[devarshi84]

I've recorded 24kmpl on Abad-Baroda expressway with my Jazz. But the member here wants to buy a driver's car.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

Update:


@fiat_tarun: As I mentioned earlier in my post, T-Jet is a great car but dealer in Pune is not up to the mark. So I will most probably not buy T-Jet.

I can imagine what your showroom experience was like. Pandit are pathetic to say the least. But if the only reason is the dealership and you are otherwise happy with the car, i suggest you still think about it, as two more Tata Fiat dealerships are opening up in Pune shortly, of which one is Millenium Motors (Ex Maruti dealers - Not sure when exactly though).

BUT... If you enjoyed driving the City and rear seat comfort is high on your priority list you cannot go wrong with the ANHC. As a driver's car i'd still go with the T-Jet !

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Diesel9999

Wow! That FE is an eye opener. Its staggering actually. 19.5kmpl with that kind of top end performance? Well I guess we can live with the low end grunt then

Yup! It is fabulous! Plus, you do get a good shove when you build up the revs so it isn't exactly a slouch!

Originally Posted by devarshi84

I've recorded 24kmpl on Abad-Baroda expressway with my Jazz. But the member here wants to buy a driver's car.

Oops! We're going terribly off-topic! Sorry for that. By the way, that's a phenomenal figure, 24 km/l! We don't use our Jazz as much as the other two cars we have! Now let's get back to the topic..

So I suppose the Linea T-Jet is out of the equation because of the shoddy dealership. Pity, since it fits your requirements pretty well.

If driving pleasure is your priority, the Fiesta, today, is miles ahead of anything under the 15 lakh price tag, sans the vRS of course. You must consider the 1.6S, it's a stonker! That is, if you do not have an issue with it's slightly dated looks, and the fact that it is dated anyway.

But the Fiesta doesn't feel premium enough, IMO. Especially when you've shortlisted the Civic, which feels quite premium when compared to the rest of the cars in the list.

[devarshi84]

Like I said before, he should give Corolla, Cruze and Cedia a try.

[sidindica]

Wait for the new Verna 1.6 CRDi coming may week 1. I am still skeptical of "driving pleasure" in a "Hyundai" though. Or the new Fiesta will be worth the wait.

[oxyzen]

It is either T-Jet or Civic. City is no contender here.
IMHO civic is not worth 50% extra bucks over T-Jet if space and status isnt important. A pre worshipped Civic makes sense. But it cant match the meaty torque of linea in lower RPMs.

[Sn1p3r]

Excuse me for the rant that follows.
I do not understand why some members are critical of City. I am a spirited driver and I am thrilled with the car's performance in day to day usage. Never did I feel the lack of power as compared to Civic (We had both as I mentioned we replaced the Civic with Superb). It is just that now I use more engine (say 60% of 1.5L compared to 50% of 1.8L). It takes the corners quite well, if need be. With family on board, it handles well, I get slight rebuke if I activate vtec thus doing 120 without activating vtec is doable and 120 is on highway I never think it is required in city conditions.

The only gripe I have is the fan sound in hot summers and the now and then scrapping on the vehicle breakers in NCR.

I would really want the owners of the mentioned cars to come up with specific facts else we end up deviating from the query also speculation on what is best; IMHO that can only be put to rest by the person buying the car as I can not feel the car for him and test for him according to his personal requirements.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

Excuse me for the rant that follows.
I do not understand why some members are critical of City. I am a spirited driver and I am thrilled with the car's performance in day to day usage. Never did I feel the lack of power as compared to Civic (We had both as I mentioned we replaced the Civic with Superb). It is just that now I use more engine (say 60% of 1.5L compared to 50% of 1.8L). It takes the corners quite well, if need be. With family on board, it handles well

Well first of all as far as the handling is concerned, you just need to test drive city and linea back to back. No competition. Handling of Honda is safe in a straight line but sudden lane changes at high speed will introduce quite a bit of body roll. Grip levels arnt that great either but a tyre upgrade will probably solve the issue. Ride has nothing to write home about. It isnt at all plush, not even pliant. It is bouncy and all the road undulations are passed in unfiltered.

The next issue is quality of plastics. Not that big an issue with me but not upto the standars of a 10L car.

Other than this 2 points CITY is one of the best sedans India had so far. The Engine is a gem. (though I like the T-Jet better), It has ample of space, Great road presence, good fuel efficiency, striking design, best in class reliability and the Honda badge. It is a good allrounder. But when it comes to Fun to drive it will definitely be Tjet/FiestaS/VentoD.

Considering the requirements of the customer, T-jet is the most precise.
No offense HONDA.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

1. Performance - T-Jet, ANHC
2. Ride and Handling, T-Jet, ANHC
3. ABS and airbags All
4. Rear bench comfort - All Average
5. Large boot - All Average
6. Eletronics (good ICE, ACC, et al) - ANHC
7. Don't care mileage - All
8. 10L budget - No to ANHC

Autofan

I feel the Civic is too high priced compared to the other two out here and will leave it out of the equation. There are other better options in that segment. If you do want the current Civic then get it preowned for about 8-9L. (loan rates will be an issue)

I would recommend a T-Jet if you will use it for 5 year and an ANHC if you will use it for 3 years. The ANHC will retain value significantly better than the T-Jet and that itself is worth possibly 2.5L post 3 years, but the difference after 5 years will not be that significant, and if you are planning for 7 years than the difference will be negligible.

T-Jet will be the most fun to drive in both the cornering and ride aspects. As far as the Engine is concerned the ANHC and the T-Jet are reasonably matched. T-Jet featured better revised interior plastic quality.

So would suggest you select based on the time frame that you wish to retain the car as resale value is a big differentiator between your top two options.

Alternatively wait for the new Verna (though I dont have much hopes of it in the handling dept.) and ideally if you can wait for the new fiesta it should be a dream machine and the best of all worlds.

[Auto_Fan]

Update:
I did test drives of both ANHC and T-Jet one more time and negotiated the price with both the dealers.
From the second test drive, one thing was clear - Whatever I was looking for as a "fun to drive car" is present in both T-Jet and ANHC. I hear those who are saying T-Jet is the best option, however my experience (and maybe expectations) with both ANHC and T-Jet tells me that either one car will do.
There is only one factor - Ride. This is where I felt that T-Jet scores way over ANHC.

From the negotiations point of view - Pandit auto is not interested in giving any discounts except free extended warranty (worth 5K+). I never got any call from Pandit for any follow-ups since the first test drive. So, the attitude from them is now pretty clear - they are in no mood to sell the car.
Crystal Honda is giving free insurance (32K for zero dep - yeah I negotiated), Leather seat covers, Sun Film, cash discount (PM me for details), and a huge (at least seems to me) premium to my old car exchange (again, PM for details). The dealer has a fantastic attitude and ready to come to my home several times to pick up the documents, and what not.

So, all in all, as a package, I have decided that I will go for ANHC

Selected the newly introduced color - Urban Titannium (hope I spelled it right). I will be paying booking amount today and will take delivery on 4th Apr (Gudhi Padwa)

I would like to thank everyone who responded to this thread. It was a great help! While all 3 cars are really great, I had to make one choice. I couldn't have done it confidently without inputs from everyone.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

I have decided that I will go for ANHC

Congrats for getting ANHC. As a Honda owner, I can assure you about its bullet proof reliability and top notch performance. FE is appreciable too. Enjoy your new car and start a ownership review as soon as you get more familiar with your City!

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Congrats for getting ANHC. As a Honda owner, I can assure you about its bullet proof reliability and top notch performance. FE is appreciable too. Enjoy your new car and start a ownership review as soon as you get more familiar with your City!

Seconded.

The Linea is a great car. It's got the performance, the ride, the handling, etc. But when it comes down to getting your car serviced, you'd rather have peace of mind, and that's what the City gives you. Any Honda would, especially over a Fiat. Yes, the City has a few niggles like shoddy plastic bits and inadequate rubber, but it stands out every where else.

Congratulations on your new Honda. It's a gem.