[jkdas]

Originally Posted by s.prashanth

any idea on the BALENO, it meets all your requirements, is really fast, maintainence is next to nothing, it is adrivers car, comes with all round independent suspension more bhp than honda city, more or less 11 km/lt in city conditions with a/c, looks better than honda, parts are really cheap

i think thats a wrong info.

[sumitkalindi]

Can I suggest a Spacio??? Just kidding.

Looks like the Honda CVT the best bet.

[esteem_lover]

If you are going to keep it for 5 years @900km a month, you would have driven 54000 kms by then, the Honda City looks the best car for all your requirements except for the size. but for ease of driving in a city, it has to be a hatch, then you have 2 choices, the Hyundai Getz or the Maruti Swift. Ford Fusion is also a good choice as suggested earlier in this thread. i suggest you test drive all of these cars & then decide for yourself.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by sumitkalindi

Can I suggest a Spacio??? Just kidding.

Yeah why not, you want him to be relaxed at the wheel or shooting fellow commuters off for driving such a piece of crap

[.anshuman]

hmmm i would suggest ford fiesta 1.4 or 1.6 depending on your personal preference,the only drawback is the expensive spares and the ford service otherwise the car suits your requirements well.

[msdivy]

Thanks for the recommendations. NHC GXI looks ideal. I have couple of questions:
1) Car Insurance (http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/25car.htm): Might be lower from January 2007. On GXI model, insurance is almost 85K in Bangalore. Any clues on how much it might reduce?

2) Hyundai Verna (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/.../1429830.cms): This might be launched in Oct 2006 to take on NHC. Will this have any impact on NHC's price?

Thanks.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Thanks for the recommendations. NHC GXI looks ideal. I have couple of questions:
1) Car Insurance ( http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/25car.htm ): Might be lower from January 2007. On GXI model, insurance is almost 85K in Bangalore. Any clues on how much it might reduce?

2) Hyundai Verna ( http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1429830.cms ):This might be launched in Oct 2006 to take on NHC. Will this have any impact on NHC's price?

Thanks.

Correcting the links...

[Jomz]

Dear MS divy... Keep In mind That the jam packed stretch to E City which you drive everydat will become a highway in maybe 2 years.. after the Elevated highway... So Better get a sedan.. You'd need a car for highway with stability.. Don' you??

[ravibhat]

Go with NHC or Verna test drive and both and compare them and decide

Ravi.

[ownerofazkaban]

I have been keeping an eye on threads here for my next car. My requirements are also the same, but I do some pretty long drives twice every quarter (say 600 kms one-way & not all highway). Does NHC fit in well for long drives ? My city commute is worse 45 mins for 8 kms!!! Untill now am betting on Maruti Swift, would upgrade in mid 2007.
[Boot is not an issue] I would be upgrading from 5 speed 800, and just can't imagine how I 'll bring myself to sell it.

[ravibhat]

Hi Ownerofzkaban,

You wait for new baleno its cool carI feel, you may consider veran also, however if you arefine with swift's inside space go with swift petrol or diesel, test drive and see which suits you, choose between maruti/hyundai/honda since in bangalore these service stations give decent service.

Ravi.

[sreenivass]

If you have not made the purchase already I'd suggest considering Fiat Palio or Petra.

The only issue may be with Fuel Efficiency in city and find out about your local dealer. The service intervals are spaced at 6 months. Before buying I got prices of parts from Fiat, infact they gave a comparison against a couple of other cars. You couls make an email request to fiat-india, address can be ontained from web site.

[msdivy]

Thanks for all your inputs. My 2 year search ended with NHC ZX GXi (Galaxy Grey)

Here is the picture of me driving out of the showroom:


My search:

1) Swift ZXi: a very fine performer, but didn't like the interiors and the rear seat. Anyway, we were looking for a sedan.

2) Fiesta TDCi: my 2nd choice. Not so appealing interiors, but I was more concerned about Ford dealer in Bangalore. I had visted Metro Ford in Bangalore, there was no vehicle for test drive. Infact no one there seemed to be interested in my queries.

3) Chevy SRV: dealer was more than willing - even offered a 25K discount (on a car launched just 3 months before!). But I was concerned about the unproven vehicle, that too from GM.

4) Verna CRDi: Only positive factor in this vehicle is engine. No offers from dealer. I felt Verna is good for highways and not so good for city driving.

5) Elantra: Multiple price cuts had this car under my budget. This model could be replaced by a new Elantra. Anyway, I was concerned about the maintenace cost.

7) Safari, Scorpio, Innova: Only base models under my budget and so very very limited in features (base Innova doesn't come with power-steering).

NHC is not the greatest of cars, but its good enough for city driving and decent enough for highways (can easily to do 120-130Kph). Its NVH is good and has very comfortable rear seats. GXi is fully loaded (with music system, beige interiors,etc). Dealer offered sunfilms, seat covers. All the formalities were completed in 3 days and I had the car on the 5th day.

PS: I had taken the new car on the highway. For 85% highway & 15% city driving, the mileage was 17Km/l (full tank to full tank from same petrol pump). On 100% city driving, I guess its giving 11Km/l (based on fuel guage and odometer). On the highway, I was careful not to exceed 3000rpm and at this rpm, on 5th gear, the top speed I could hit was 110Km/hr.

[rahul_intlad]

Congragulations,Excellant choice.

Kindly go through this thread,if you have not gone through it already,
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/team-b...r-new-car.html

[goldie_malhotra]

congrats msdivy, that is one the hottest colours on the NHC today.