[su1978]

As someone suggested BR-V to you, i would also recommend the same. I myself drive a mobilio. 1500CC, 99 BHP, 22KMPL in diesel(yes, that is what i get on my daily drives), dual Air-conditioning. Don't miss out on bullet proof service & reliability of driving a Honda. Very reasonable service cost adds icing on the cake.

Trust me, i have driven it 1500 KMS in one single stretch with my full family load(Mom & dad aged 58 & 60 respectively, Me & wife, 2 young kids aged 3 yrs & 1.5 Yrs). I did not feel even a single itch in my back. In fact they complimented about the ease which they felt in the car. Almost equivalent to train. The vehicle is very car-like(read hatch-back) to drive. Sometimes you will even forget that you are driving such a long vehicle. Have seen it in reviews and have even experience the suspension and drive quality of the vehicle. Let me tell you that A/C is a chiller here. The A/C of Ertiga seemed very poor to me. Did a test drive of both the cars in June summer last year and i was sweating in Ertiga. On other hand, never felt the need of increasing the blower speed of Honda more than 2. Maruti have very weak air-conditioning in its cars and they refuse to improve it. Be it SHVS or any other technology but the basics have remained same. As on date i have done almost 20000 kilometres in less than a year and i and others on this forum can guarantee you that you can never go wrong with a Honda. Moreover, neither do you own a loyalty to Maruti nor does maruti pay any royalty fees to you.

Show BR-V to your wife I am sure, she would also like it. And you will be happy about her happiness.

[carrot_eater]

Originally Posted by Moun10

Additionally I would like to ask some Thar owners who use it as daily drive or go occasionally on long drives, how comfortable is it for driving long distances.

I have been using the Thar as a daily drive for 5 years and that has included multiple long drives Bangalore - Goa (twice), Bangalore - Thekkady, Bangalore-coorg ( several multiple times), Bangalore - Coimbatore (multiple times).

My jeep is stock - with only a music system added.

To me - two people in the jeep is as comfortable as any other vehicle; the jeep can go as fast as you would want - AC is fairly effective for the front seats and awesome view of the road. Its very stable at reasonable speeds (~100kmph). We owned a Scoprio as well, I perfer the Thar over the Scoprio. Had borrowed a Pajero sport (2WD - auto) from a friend for a Bangalore - Ooty trip, I would prefer the Thar over Pajero - Provided there are only 2 passengers in the Jeep.

If you have a third passenger then Definitely the third person will be very uncomfortable beyond 30 mins - I am assuming rear side bench seats. I cannot say about forward facing seats as I don't have them.

Also remember that Thar has No safety features what so ever, so this should be determining factor apart from how well it drives.

[shankar.balan]

Im re-posting this because there are so many Thar threads and I really want to share this feedback.

There are two Thar CRde's in HSR Layout for sale in the local dealer place.
One is a 2014 model for which the man wants 7.25 lacs and the other is a 2015 model for which he wants 8 lacs.

I sat about in both of them and twiddled them about a bit.
Im used to the old standard 2112 CC engined MM540 (1987 model) and 2594 cc engined MM550DP (1994, 1996,1999 Models).

When considering the situation from memory I remember the old 540 had a straight gear lever positioned similar to this Thar. But its 4WD lever with H and L etc was right next to it and could be seen quite easily whilst driving.

The 550DP's had a sort of slightly bent gear lever which actually was much much more ergonomic and comfortable while shifting gears at reasonable speeds in the hills, changing up or down was a breeze. Its 4WD lever also was very well placed and each slot was visible from the driving position.

This new Thar Crde on the other hand - the gear lever is ramrod straight - not as ergonomic as my old 550. Most certainly this is true.

Next, the blessed 4WD lever is to the right and slightly behind the gear lever which means the blighted thing is located kind of under the dashboard fascia which means that it is not immediately accessible and one has to kind of "peer" below and really squint to see what slot one wants to put it in, whether 4H or 2H or 4L or whatever. Extremely inconveniently placed.

The funny thing is that in the old MM's there was absolutely no "shift on the fly". One had to be at a standstill if one wanted to shift to 4WD.
These new vehicles say that they are "Borg Warner" manual shift on the fly type. But the positioning of the lever is such that one absolutely has to come to a standstill in order to locate the slot into which one wants to put the 4WD lever!

Very very poor design indeed in my opinion. Most inconvenient!
Of course, I am fully aware that as with all proper 4WD systems it is a good practice to come to a standstill, press the clutch fully, engage whichever slot required of the 4WD and then move ahead in low gear etc. But the positioning in the Thar basically makes it very inconvenient to "test" their "shift on the fly"...

And having not sat in a Thar since the day it was launched, I was most terribly shocked with the insides and the fit and finish and feel and so on.

The blighted machine feels EXACTLY like the 30 year old MM540 and 20 year old MM550's!!
Absolutely NO changes for the better in terms of quality, fit, finish, ergonomics, feel, etc!

And therefore, it leads me to ask, what the hell took these M&M boys so blightedly long to plonk the DI engine and/ or the Crde engine into this vehicle? It is a damnably crude piece of work as a vehicle and 30 years down the line the blighted machine costs 8-10 lacs for the hardtop! And it has absolutely NOTHING in it, in terms of safety kit! Not even ABS!! Bah!

Our 1987 MM cost Rs 1.1 lacs in the Nilgiris - On Road.
The 1996-1999 550 cost about 2.25 lacs in Coorg/ Chikmagalur - On Road.

I am completely stunned that essentially the same vehicle as what we had in the old days, now costs close to 8 times as much or 4 times as much!!

I think while the vehicle looks lovely and is quite torquey and functional and all that, these M&M boys really need to sit up and take notice of consumer feedback especially in terms of quality, fit, finish, finesse and feel and safety and so on etc!

Im truly disappointed that the Indian consumer is consistently being taken for a good long bumpy ride by the manufacturers, even those of such repute as M&M!!!

Really, I just can't get over this at all!

[condor]

OP has disappeared !!

Wonder what happened to his Duster TD. Or he could try the XUV too. SUV, 7 seats, lots of features. And soft ride.

[cpbopanna]

I suggest you go with an Ertiga Automatic.
The Thar is a lovely vehicle, but only as a second(ary) vehicle!

OT - the simplest solution is to satisfy all three (heart, mind and your better-half) (if you have the moolah)

[Ashley Nair]

Post deleted by the Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post messages that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the quality of this forum.

Please read our rules before proceeding any further. We request you to post ONLY when you have something substantial to add to a discussion.

[Moun10]

hey BHPians, sorry for the delay. A lot of things were going on over the last couple of months.
So let me get started to where I left.

Originally Posted by condor

OP has disappeared !!

Wonder what happened to his Duster TD. Or he could try the XUV too. SUV, 7 seats, lots of features. And soft ride.

Yes brother, Last couple of months have been test drive after test drive. Took test drive of new Duster couple of time, both AT and AWD, but the car did not justify the price tag. Also duster somehow felt a bit outdated even after the upgrade.

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

I suggest you go with an Ertiga Automatic.
The Thar is a lovely vehicle, but only as a second(ary) vehicle!

OT - the simplest solution is to satisfy all three (heart, mind and your better-half) (if you have the moolah)

The ertiga is out of question now. The car just does not give a positive feeling. I felt that I would just hate owning it after a couple of months. Also as the budget had increased a bit so the options also increased.

Originally Posted by Ashley Nair

You are JEEPER, at heart. SO, divorce your wife and buy THAR!

Cannot do that brother, the wife is more precious than fulfilling my dream of owning a thar.



Over the last couple of months, there was a lot of talk between the family regarding the next set of wheels and it was finalized that the budget would need to be increased. My brother who is out of country, decided to chip in so the budget for the next vehicle was increased by around 4-5 lakhs.
So now we were looking at something to the tune of 15-16L vehicle.
There were a lot of vehicles which could be looked at:
> Duster AWD
> Safari
> XUV 500
> Scorpio W10 AWD


Me and wife took TD of safari and scorpio top models (4x4), but ruled them both because she did not like the bouncing effect in those vehicles. So it was decided that the vehicle needs to be monocoque.

A friend then came up with an idea of why not sell the i20 which is nearing 90K mark. Got a quote for the vehicle at 3.75L.
So the total amount on hand stood at ~20L

There are now two options in front of me.

Option 1:
Buy XUV500 w10 AWD - The cost of the car is around Rs 20L. The car was already liked by wife due to being AT and monocoque. She also liked the ride quality and the looks. It is a decent 7 seater which dad liked and can be called a softroader which I liked. Therefore it fitted the profile perfectly.

Option 2:
Buy Ciaz vxi AT for wife and get a thar with the remaining money.
Although this option costed a lakh and a half more on the original cost, I thought it fulfilled my desire of owning a proper jeep as well as my wife of owning a sedan AT.


It seems like a never ending battle with new options popping up every now and then. But the decision has to be made.

Just want a final advice from you BHPians. Which option should I take. Buy XUV 500 AWD AT or CIAZ vxi AT as well as Thar.

Who knew that buying a car would be that simple when you have to decide between heart and mind.

[condor]

Originally Posted by Moun10

Yes brother, Last couple of months have been test drive after test drive. Took test drive of new Duster couple of time, both AT and AWD, but the car did not justify the price tag. Also duster somehow felt a bit outdated even after the upgrade.

The exact reasons why I only asked about the TD and did not suggest the Duster. It is only 5 seats, but has a fantastic ride, and is a stable product. And the reason for asking about the XUV.

Originally Posted by Moun10

Just want a final advice from you BHPians. Which option should I take. Buy XUV 500 AWD AT or CIAZ vxi AT as well as Thar.

Can you do XUV AT + Thar ? And you could try for a little extra discount.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Moun10

Cannot do that brother, the wife is more precious than fulfilling my dream of owning a thar.
There are now two options in front of me.

Option 1:
Buy XUV500 w10 AWD - The cost of the car is around Rs 20L. The car was already liked by wife due to being AT and monocoque. She also liked the ride quality and the looks. It is a decent 7 seater which dad liked and can be called a softroader which I liked. Therefore it fitted the profile perfectly.

Option 2:
Buy Ciaz vxi AT for wife and get a thar with the remaining money.
Although this option costed a lakh and a half more on the original cost, I thought it fulfilled my desire of owning a proper jeep as well as my wife of owning a sedan AT.


Just want a final advice from you BHPians. Which option should I take. Buy XUV 500 AWD AT or CIAZ vxi AT as well as Thar.

My two paisa worth is that you go for the Ciaz + Thar combination. Important to keep wifey happy too. After 31 years trust me on this. Also a family needs a smart looking sedan for many occasions. Be grateful you have a decision between 3. I have 8 in my joint family and it is like a coalition government when we have to decide on a new car.

[Moun10]

Originally Posted by condor

Can you do XUV AT + Thar ? And you could try for a little extra discount.

Well I looked at that option, and the only possibility was if I go for
XUV500 w6 AT and Thar DI.
Even after discounts this would stretch the budget further till 23-24L. So not possible..

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

My two paisa worth is that you go for the Ciaz + Thar combination. Important to keep wifey happy too. After 31 years trust me on this. Also a family needs a smart looking sedan for many occasions. Be grateful you have a decision between 3. I have 8 in my joint family and it is like a coalition government when we have to decide on a new car.

Yes sir, even I am inclining towards this option. Went to Maruti showroom and test drove Vxi AT. Although the vehicle cannot be compared to city and Verna, in terms of performance, it seemed an OK choice considering the price bracket of the car.

My brother is coming down next month, and hoping to book both vehicles during the diwali occasion.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Moun10

Yes sir, even I am inclining towards this option. Went to Maruti showroom and test drove Vxi AT. Although the vehicle cannot be compared to city and Verna, in terms of performance, it seemed an OK choice considering the price bracket of the car.

My brother is coming down next month, and hoping to book both vehicles during the diwali occasion.

If you're a tall person or if anyone else in the family are tall people, you'll find that the sloping rear roofline in the Ciaz is too low for comfort.
I am 6 feet 2 inches tall and if seated in the back of a Ciaz, my head hits the roof.
When being driven in a Ciaz, my head constantly hits the roof every time the car goes over a bump. This was my experience last October in Mumbai and I have always specified post that, that the car company we use for our outstation work transport, only provides me with other cars, like the Etios, Corolla, Camry, Innova, Dzire etc because I don't face this head hitting problem in those.
Horrible feeling to go through and thats why I dislike that Ciaz most intensely.
Sorry to be a dampener but this is the truth and I wanted to state it here.

[Moun10]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

If you're a tall person or if anyone else in the family are tall people, you'll find that the sloping rear roofline in the Ciaz is too low for comfort.
I am 6 feet 2 inches tall and if seated in the back of a Ciaz, my head hits the roof.

Thanks sir for that info. I am around 5'11" and yesterday took a test drive of Ciaz. Although I did sat at the back, but did not notice the headspace. Will look into it. Also had a word with a Hyundai dealership today and they are offering a good deal on VTVT S AT after exchanging my i20. The price is coming similar to Ciaz vxi AT. Both of them have similar features. So the option for sedan AT can get tilted towards Korean.

[bigron]

Hello Folks , as the topic suggests, have been in a quandary for a while over which one to pick as a successor to our aging swift.
Both cars are fairly competent in their own right. For us though, it is going to be a purely city car and will always be used as a 4 seater. Also has to be a diesel only as petrol becomes expensive given the usage. Spacious and comfortable seating with ease of driving being the two paramount points to consider. Have sat in both and have also taken them for test drives. For the S cross looking at only the 1.3 as it is far more palatable for in city use. The quality, width and general aura of the S cross is unlike any Maruti. Feels solidly built and the rear bench is spacious than the swift. The 1.3 felt alright in city moving traffic. It Definitely feels a size bigger.
Coming to the Ertiga, frankly it feels like an elongated swift. However the rear space after pushing the middle row seats back is simply great. The size is very manageable and somehow it just works as a jack of all. The biggest cavet though is the hump under the middle row seats that gets exposed once the seats are pushed back. Creates a very odd position for the feet. Other than that it is a thoroughly practical van.
The vehicle will be both self driven by my parents as well as chauffer driven.
I am leaning towards the S cross but open to views from either sides.

[landcruiser123]

I don't see a comparison at all.
S-Cross is a superior car. Period.
It is well engineered and extremely well put together.

The only reason why I would think about buying the Ertiga over the S-Cross is because of the petrol AT and seven seater- both which you don't need as highlighted in your post.

[bigron]

Thanks for responding and I share your views. The S cross is definitely a product superior to the Ertiga. I am assuming here that ingress and egress is going to be pretty similar in both cars and relatively easier for the aged compared to the swift.