[Slowjet]

Voted for Tata Hexa since I bought it about 1.5 yrs back. Done 20K till now. First thing I look for in any vehicle is space for occupants. I find Innova to be expensive and Marazzo was yet to be born and could not have waited for Marazzo. It just took 5 questions (my 5 must requirements to have shorlisted Hexa without looking at other veicles) and few test drives to confirm and finalize the Hexa. Had it not been Tata Hexa then probably it would have been Innova or I would have had to wait for the "right" vehicle. What I miss in Hexa is flat folding seats and some small bits but will leave that discussion for another day.

[coolmind]

Only MPV that comes to mind is Innova. Hence chosen that.
Morazzo can be second choice if the budget is a constraint.

[speedmunster]

My first choice would have definitely been the Hexa. But, the choice tilts in the favour of the Innova Crysta (in spite of the high sticker price) only due to the fantastic resale value.

[low_rider]

I would choose Hexa At if budget allows. Although a bit cumbersome in city, but the highway performance, stability, plushness and the feeling of safety, is far better than others.

It can be summarised as the Royal Enfield of the MUVs

[HammerHead]

Since there is hardly any comparison between these MPV's, I have voted for Hexa after answering the very first question which I would ask myself before buying any vehicle.

Would you like to be seen driving one?

[sreeram50]

[A big thanks to the moderators for approving my membership!]

I am a regular visitor here, but this is my first (and a long post), so please bear with me.

The story so far:
I am currently owning Hyundai i10 Asta since Dec 2012, which has run for almost 1.1L km. The car has seen so many events over the past 8 years - and the standout has been when I had to make multiple trips in waist deep flood waters during the 2015 Chennai floods.

The car has not given any major problems, except for one off battery related issues. There is a minor niggle with the window up-down switch and the steering-mounted audio control - but nothing major. More importantly, it hasn't given me any irritants such as rattling windows during short or long trips - something that I have come to appreciate over the years.

The car was driven mostly inside city (my daily office commute of 55-60km), and occasional medium distance drives (Tirupati, Bangalore...). There would be occasional weekend in-city trips to visit relatives - with 2 to 4 occupants consisting of my wife & kid + parents / parents-in-law.

I had clocked 1L km until last December, and felt so comfortable to keep this vehicle for atleast 3 more years. Hyundai has always been reliable in terms of car reliability, service support (save for slightly higher service costs compared to Maruti) and peace of mind. The same was the case with our previous car (Santro Zip Plus), which we owned for 12 years albeit with around 70K km mileage.

Then came Covid:
My father had traveled to Hyderabad pre-Covid, to visit my brother, and had to make an unplanned stay back for more than 5 months thanks to the lockdown. Even when the restrictions were eased, both my brother and I had our trepidations in allowing him to travel back by flight. The only alternative left was to pick him up by car.

I had my own personal doubts about making a long drive (650+km, 11-12hrs) with a small car. But long story short, the drive was so wonderful that I have now made 3 to and fro trips so far, with more to come.

Thanks to Covid, I am now firmly convinced that long distance car rides are here to stay even in the post-Covid world. A car ride opens up so many opportunities for vacations, that need not be restricted by point-to-point journeys that a flight / train / bus journey offers.

The major challenge - all our journeys so far had to be with 4-5 people max. We couldn't do a trip with the entire family together - this would consist of 6 adults & 2 kids right now.

So began my search for a new Car:
It is quite clear that the virus is not going anywhere anytime soon. The value of buying a 7-seater MUV made a lot of sense from a flexibility standpoint. This will also become my daily driver if / when we start working from office again.

My Criteria:
1. Budget: 10-15L
2. Fuel Type: Petrol or Diesel
3. Flexibility of use: Both for city and long drives
4. Comfort level for all passengers
5. Long term safety & reliability
6. Prefer to buy a fully loaded model, with no / minimal mods outside what the company provides

Alternatives Considered:
Hyundai i20 / Creta
One of these two would have been my automatic first choice as a replacement for my i10. The rich features and my comfort with the brand made this a really tempting option. But choosing one of these two would mean that I have to lose out on the flexibility offered by a 7-seater vehicle.

Maruti Ertiga
My natural 2nd choice for a 7-seater. I took this for a test drive with family and they seem to be quite happy. The car-like feel, petrol engine, in-car features such as ICE with Android Auto, Push Start-Stop, Auto SRVMs etc. were all value for money. I went through the forums here and found good reviews all over. The downsides that I could see were mainly on long term reliability (rattling noises), thin sheet metal & window glasses.

Mahindra Marazzo
This car was not in my primary list, because of being a diesel vehicle as well as for not carrying all the bells and whistles like Ertiga. But after a test drive with my family, everyone seemed to be sold out on the level of comfort offered inside. The test drive felt very good - almost car like, and I didn't seem to find much difference from a driveability standpoint, coming from a petrol car. The forums here seemed to have not a lot of Marazzo owners here, but many of them seem to vehemently vouch for the value on offer. The car does lose out on Android Auto, push Start-Stop button, auto SRVM etc. (why did they have to do away with M8+!), but the car seems to be good from all other aspects. The M6+ costs 16L on-road in Chennai, so stretching the budget by a lakh is fine.

There do not seem to be many other options -

• XL6 comes as a 6 seater and doesn't make sense with kids in middle row
• Innova is priced above my budget, or I have to end up going for a lower variant
• I don't want to go for a used vehicle, so that restricts me from going for others like Tata Hexa or even a pre-worshipped Innova.

Marazzo seems like the underdog. Most people either prefer to go for value for money (Ertiga) or pay a lot more for fully loaded vehicle (Innova). But my heart says to go for Marazzo - it seems to provide the best value for money.

I really would like to know your opinions before making a decision.

[TL;DR]: Looking for a reliable 7-seater family car in 10-15L budget, moving up from Hyundai i10. Should I choose Ertiga or Marazzo, or something else?

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by sreeram50

[
[TL;DR]: Looking for a reliable 7-seater family car in 10-15L budget, moving up from Hyundai i10. Should I choose Ertiga or Marazzo, or something else?

Welcome to the forum.

The Ertiga pales in comparison to the Marazzo in ergonomics, NVH and hence in passenger comfort. The Marazzo's in-cabin decibel levels are something to be experienced. Moreover, its suspension is tuned for comfort as well. I'm not sure of the Ertiga's suspension and its effect on passenger comfort, so can't do a comparative comment.

The clincher for me is the safety aspect. The Ertiga inspires little confidence in that aspect. If I were you, I'd just get the Marazzo.

If you can wait a bit, Mahindra is force-fitting a 2 litre engine into the Marazzo and by mid 2021 at the latest, it will be available according to a relative who's in Mahindra. As of now, the Marazzo is still competent but you just need to keep the car in an appropriate lower gear whenever its speed drops. One can't drive it currently as they would with a bigger engine; bigger engines allow you to get away with lower speeds on higher gears...