After spending a considerable time researching the subject, I finally decided to make a thread about it. The question or search if you will, can be two fold -
- Which is the best SUV below 15 Lacs for me?
- Which is the best vehicle below 15 Lacs for me?
The 'for me' bit is what I need help with obviously, because after hours and hours of research and analysis both on T-BHP and the interwebs, I'm still at a loss, because people's opinions differ. Let me try approaching the conventional questions first -
What are you going to use the car for?
Ans - The sticker on my present car(s) says it all. "Live to drive". I just want the pleasure of driving. Other than that, office, time out with friends, quick jaunts to neighboring hill stations etc. This question is misleading for me, because I have no particular requirement for a particular vehicle.
The budget question has already been answered. I don't mind getting a nice fun sedan below 15 Lacs either. That's just the way it is right now.
I visited Ford yesterday and test drove the EcoSport. Overall, it's a nice little refined car. Note I said little? While my mind was pegged down on an SUV, the EcoSport was hardly there. It seemed like a hatch from the outside (on stilts mind you), and drove like a sedan with a bit of a bump. Loved the AC to bits though, and the sound quality inside was average.
The SUV desire is because we already have two hatches and a sedan (an i10 1.2, a palio stile 1.3, and an optra magnum 2.0). The way each of these drives is entirely different. The optra is super refined in every way, the i10 is extremely light to drive and handles like an auto, and my beloved Fiat is a beast, raw and unbridled. I'm yet to come across a car that surges forward like my stile 1.3. That engine is lethal. Even my Optra doesn't have such raw acceleration.
This is why I want to experience an SUV! I want to see the world from above! I went to Mahindra after the EcoSport experience, and checked out the Scorpio and the XUV 500. The Scorpio is super dated, and feels like a rugged jeep. For 10 Lacs? I'm not interested. The XUV 500 has so many tacky bits about it and 16 Lacs on road killed it for me. In fact I might think of requested for a Thar and new Bolero test drive (worried about the Bolero from the same POV of the Scorpio).
I will be test driving the new Safari Storme and Aria today. I'm a big fan of the new Safari, especially from the T-BHP review. I don't mind the panel gaps and bland dash, it's more the seating position and sheer size of that leviathan that I'm after. I hope you guys have understood what I'm after. Is there some particular about Tata that I should be wary about? The less than satisfactory salesman at Synergy Mahindra didn't even have a spare parts list of the cars he was trying to sell, and assured me that the Safari storme is nothing but a headache and constant repair and waiting for parts. He also tried convincing me that Scorpio's are serviced in about Rs. 3,500 per service. What utter rubbish. What engine oil do they use, Amul butter?
Anyway, if anyone has any inputs, particularly about the SUV's under 15L (hopefully considerably under), I would be grateful. As you see, even the Aria seems plausible. The important things are quality and reliability, with road dominance, like the Safari's height and bulk. The scorpio's aged, the EcoSport is small and refined, the XUV is overpriced and cheap feeling. Aria, Duster, and Storme are on the to-do list for now. I'm worried the Duster will be the same as the EcoSport in terms of ride height and drive feel.
Thanks in advance.