[Mr.mitsuvolk]

IMO XUV 500 is the only car that will take care of all your requirement and falls in your budget as well.

A major plus point is that driving the XUV will be comparatively easy for your wife since it is very car-like to drive.

After sales of Mahindra is not great in General but you must talk to other Mahindra owners of your city so that you can get a realistic picture of what to expect.

[condor]

For your budget, number of seats, AWD, AT --- only the XUV. Or if the BR-V meets all those criteria

[Skyline_GT]

While considering your needs for a 7 seater automatic the XUV seems like the best bet you could get. However you should do check out TATA Safari Storme. Other than the Automatic gearbox requirement the Safari almost ticks all your requirements. Its a plush comfortable 7 seater. Is available in 4x4 and the higher GC that can easily handle bad patches of roads or rough terrains if you plan to go off roading. Not to forget it's a tried and tested product. Albeit TATA ASC is a bit of a gamble but again it's a proven reliable workhorse and one that's easy to maintain and repair.
Regarding the Automatic requirement your wife can easily accustom to driving a manual as long as one gets used to the sheer size of the Safari.

P.S- No cop is going to lean inside your car to check if it's manual or automatic as long as the driver you/wife has a driving license.

[landcruiser123]

I think all these travel destination are managed with a 2WD with high GC for most part. Off the beaten path, you'll find the AWD useful.

Originally Posted by SteeringStar

Basic Needs
1. 7 seater - To accommodate parents on those occasional once/twice a month drive. Also, during long drives, i think kids can comfortably sleep in 2 rows each.

The XUV AT is the only 7 seater with AWD and AT which might fit in your budget.

Kids lying down and sleeping on the back seat is extremely dangerous. What if you brake suddenly?

6. Safety and reliability - This is very important especially all my trips would include my wife and kids. Absolutely don't want to get stranded in a remote place during our long trips.

Mahindra XUV customers have been a happy lot. Their car is wonderful that it makes them forget all the niggles. The car is fairly reliable also.

2. XUV500 AWD AT (22L on-road)

The best choice without a doubt.

3. Duster AWD (15L on-road)

Ever considered hiring a 7 seater for those city trips and using your Duster AWD for long highway runs?

The Duster may not be too comfortable if the occupants are tall.

4. Innova crysta AT

Crysta maybe wonderful, but I'm thinking that the Ford Endeavour 2.2 might be more VFM.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Remove this from "basic needs" list.

If you want to explore Kashmir, fly to Delhi and hire a Zoomcar 4x4 from there. If you want to explore Sikkim, fly to Kolkata and again, hire a Zoomcar.

Does ZoomCar provide AWD vehicles for hire?

Note that some people are reporting bad experiences with ZoomCar in recent times.

Also, Ladakh taxi mafia opposed self-drive cars. Don't know the current situation on the matter.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Does ZoomCar provide AWD vehicles for hire?

Zoomcar has Fortuner 4x4 and Myles has Duster 4x4.

Anyway, when one is travelling with wife/kids, its best to stop/turn back when you see taxis stuck on the road side because of bad road conditions.

Sure, with a 4x4, you can go further than 2WD cars. But no 4x4 is unstoppable. What if one gets stuck in the middle of nowhere? If a road is passable for 2WD vehicles, atleast you will get help when you get stuck.

[Rajeevraj]

The XUV500 W10 AT meets all your requirements. I don't think you really need to worry about reliability with the XUV now. I believe most niggles would have been ironed out.

It meets your budget, is fully loaded with features-especially safety features, has an extremely competent AT box-I was quite surprised at how well it behaved when I did a long TD for my friend.

If you remove the AWD requirement, and assuming the 7 seater requirement is a non negotiable one, the Innova Crysta comes into the picture, but from the info so far, definitely looks to be more expensive and above your budget. The other option which will slot in below the XUV is the BR V-but is a Petrol AT.

Pricing info for both the Crysta and BRV will be out next week. So you can wait to see how these 2 stack up before taking a call. In addition do a TD of all these 3 before taking a call.

[biggrin]

Steering Star

At this budget, Toyota cars should be on top in terms of reliability and abuse-friendliness. The second obvious choice should be a Mahindra. The Rexton and Storme 400 are also good cars if you are looking for some exclusivity on roads. The only reason why I would avoid XUV is the sheer number of electronics (for a Mahindra) which may go wrong. A plain-jane Duster would be a better bet since you won't be needing 7 seats all the time. As someone said, kids sleeping (lying) in the back rows is not a good idea. No car will meet all your requirements. Skip on 4x4 or AT or 7 seater requirement and then evaluate the options. Life is all about priorities and compromises.

Do consider used cars also. A well-maintained used Fortuner or Innova (provided that you skip some of your basic requirements) will be a perfect choice over the long term. You will get a car which you are satisfied with without worrying about the budget. You can set aside a good 3-4 lacs for future maintenance and upkeep from your current budget. Toyota cars age really well and last long. A Toyota with 50k kms on the odo is considered virgin.

[IshaanIan]

Like others have mentioned, the XUV500 is the obvious choice. The car did come with tons of niggles in its initial batches but most issues have been ironed out as Mahindra has been very proactive with their pride and joy in their current line-up. As of today, the XUV500 is fairly reliable.

If you are willing to stretch your budget, the Ssangyong Rexton provides incredible value for money with a smooth mercedes sourced drivetrain and fairly plush seating

Considering this is going to be a big spend, why not wait a bit and check out the Tata Hexa or see if Isuzu decides to launch the MU-X considering they have begun local production of their current products. The MU-X would be ideal since it comes with rock solid reliability, acres of space even in the third row and a commanding stance. Truly a car that's meant to handle anything and can be passed down generations of the family

Used cars could be looked into as well. Something like the Ford Endeavor can be had for dirt cheap and be used as a second car for when the going gets tough. With your primary car being something more civilized and easy to run like an S-Cross for example. Do give it a thought.

[CliffHanger]

If I were in your shoes and understanding that I'm putting my hard earned money for the comfort, safety and happiness of my family, this is what I would have done -

Would have shortlisted -

- Toyota Innova Crysta
- Mahindra XUV5oo

Would have probably considered -

BRV - But over the recent years, Honda seems to have lost it in quality which will eventually reflect in reliability. Also Honda service doesn't seem to be decent either and neither cheap, and along with BRV being a new product for Honda in MUV space, I wouldn't consider it for purchase.

Would have downright rejected -

Tata Safari Storme - I have a bit of Tata experience in the recent past and wouldn't go anywhere near a Tata product in the near future. Just stay away from Tata till they pull up their socks to operate at least at the basic levels of industry standards.

Renault Duster - Felt like sitting in a hatchback in a car that is priced more than a million. Not worth the price IMO.

Now back to the contenders - Crysta and XUV.

Between these two, though I really like the XUV, I would choose the Crysta for the following reasons

- Toyota's reliability especially on their MUVs, and the associated peace of mind.
- The car seems to offer excellent comfort, and convenience features. Surprisingly, interior looks great too!
- The car is quite powerful and should be able to traverse most of the motorable terrains in India
- Being a new launch, it will be priced lower than what it will be after a few years
- Will have a tremendous resale value most probably. Any life surprises and you want to sell your car, this will come as a huge blessing.
- Toyota service is good and cheap

I think these are enough reasons to choose the Crysta top-end AT over XUV with other cars being not even worth a consideration. A test drive will avert any surprises!

I wish you and your family a happy new car purchase and plenty of enjoyable and fun filled holiday journeys!

[a4anurag]

Looking at your needs Basic Needs:

1. 7 seater

2. 4x4.

3. Automatic

4. Good looking design

5. Budget of 20 lakhs.

6. Safety and reliability

All of the above ones are the ones you'll find in an XUV 5OO AWD AT. The best car that ticks all the boxes.

It maybe having niggling issues but mechanically the car is absolutely robust and abuse-friendly. Also the other thing to note is Mahindra is good in terms of customer response and satisfaction. They respond well and solve issues reported by customers without much of hassles. So reliability too can be taken care off in your case.

[drmohitg]

If you are serious about the your travel plans and see yourself putting in a lot of kms on the car in the nexst decade, then I would suggest go for the Innova. The only thing that matters really on those long trips or even otherwise is the car's reliability and comfort and no one can beat it at those two points. the new one also is supposed to be fairly well kitted. I think you would be easily be able to manage 99% of your travel destinations without a 4wd. So for me, its more of a psychological thing rather than beinf actually useful, unless ofcourse you want to off off-roading.

[ecenandu]

Ah, its always bit confusing, isn't it.

The question every one need to answer first is: do we really need to purchase a new car?
For me, it was bit hard to answer. Our current drive, 2008 City is doing his job perfectly even after clocking 1.2 lakh kilometers and still on the stock clutch.
The only thing we hated was the low ground clearance. The ride and interior space is very good. Its only when we, as a family go for outing miss a bigger car.

We had a budget of 15 lakhs ex-showroom. Which we further increased up to 18 lakhs. This price bracket is interesting, we can buy a lot of cars from different segments.

We didn't want to go for another sedan from the same class as we are spending almost double the amount we spend last time for City in 2008.
So the top variants of following cars weren't considered.

Honda City diesel. - Already in the family.
Volkswagen Vento. - Cramped rear seats.
Hyundai Verna. - Already in the family.
Maruti Ciaz. - Its a good car, spacious interiors. Comparable to the current City. If we were in the market for a sedan, we would have bought this.

Then we looked in to cars form a segment above.

Toyota Corolla.
Skoda Octavia.
Volkswagen Jetta.

Of the three, I have a soft corner for Jetta. I could have forced my dad to buy it, but the service backup near my place is not that great. The resale value is also quite bad.

That is the time when Hyundai Creta got launched, I have gone through the official bhp reviews and initial ownership reviews plenty of times. I was convinced that this car is a good replacement for our need. Its got good GC, the only doubt I had was whether it is spacious enough. Dad and mom went to check the car in person and found the space not good enough.

My dad has to keep his wheel chair in the car, as he is handicapped, in Creta, we could keep it but it consumes almost all the available boot space. So this car didn't meet our expectations.

Mahindra, Tata was never considered because of their bad reputation in our friends circle. One with XUV 5OO and another one with Tata Safari 3.0, although I am a great fan of XUV 5OO, the experience my friend had with it made me not to buy them.

Nissan, Renault were also not considered because we had a terrible experience with Opel and for some odd reason we get the same vibe as Opel with these brands. More over the authorised service center is almost 100 kms from my home town. My cousin sister who owns a Nissan Micra said the service experience is below par.

During this time the news of new Innova was floating over the internet and I was all over it. I am a big fan of Innova's ride quality and for almost all our outstation trips we used to book Innova. We have also tried Scorpio but found the ride to be too bumpy, not the latest iteration, mind you.

Thats when we thought why not go for the Innova and the resale value of the car is also pretty good. We took a big hit in terms of resale value when we sold the 2002 Opel Astra in 2008, so my dad was keen to buy a car which holds its value decently. I was keenly following the rumours about the pricing and got scared when people started posting that they will buy them even if Toyota put an ex-showroom price of 25 lakhs.

I was keen on the VX variant, the mid level and the international spec looked promising. The older Innova was retailing for 16.4 lakhs and if Toyota price them below 18 lakhs, we will definitely go for it.

Today, when I checked online for the pricing in my city, it is exactly 18.02 lakhs . Since my dad is handicapped, the road tax is exempted. And we will be transferring the NCB from the City, so I believe total amount will be 18.30 - 18.50 lakhs. I will update on the exact amount in the coming days.

Its always good to buy a vehicle that is newly launched, I mean, the new generation. As it will age graciously over the years with you. You run the risk of tethering issues though, but we have belief in Toyota that they won't screw it up, hope I am a right.

So these are the main reason why we chose Innova from the 20 lakh soup.

1. All new vehicle, so no major changes expected in 5 to 7 years.
2. Toyota reliability and resale value.
3. Good service centre near our home town.
4. Proper upgrade in terms of space from City, won't feel cramped for space during the family (4/5(rarely) adults + 2 kids aged 12 and 5 + Driver) fun trips almost every month.

[VIPER_SRT]

Hello All,
10 yrs back I got a Swift for my parents after input from BHPian's. I'm planning to replace that swift with a Compact/Mid Size 5 seater Automatic SUV and I need your help again. I haven't seen any of the recent SUV's in person so I'm not sure of their road presence, prefer good looking SUV.

Few things to consider:
--City drive, 2-3 out of town trips/Year
--Not a daily driver, Retired; 3000-5000 Km/year
--SUV bcos parents can't sit low (Knee issues)
--Automatic bcos dad drives himself.
--5 seater, just my parents. I rent a 7 seater for once a year trip to HYD.

Petrol Vs Diesel???
My parents visit US almost every year, car sits for 6 months, is that good for diesel? For the Km driven, is it worth getting a diesel?

Reliability, maintenance, resale are something that we all wish for but again we got to compromise somewhere, so I dont expect to have all the boxes checked but Automatic and SUV is the top criteria. My budget is around 15L ex showroom but I'm flexible.

As always, Thanks for your time and valuable inputs

[Chetan_Rao]

A petrol Creta A/T would suit your requirements to the T, and you could possibly get one OTR within your ex-showroom budget. Resale shouldn't be too bad either considering the urban small/mid-size car market is already showing a gradual inclination towards petrol motors.

[VIPER_SRT]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

A petrol Creta A/T would suit your requirements to the T, and you could possibly get one OTR within your ex-showroom budget. Resale shouldn't be too bad either considering the urban small/mid-size car market is already showing a gradual inclination towards petrol motors.

How's the rear seat comfort in Creta? Most of my family members are 6+ ft. I found Honda City rear seats quite spacious in my last trip.