[Roadster17]

Originally Posted by ampere

Good to note! This was what I would have expected, especially given there is a weight advantage on Seltos against the Compass for the same Engine / power specs.

Given your needs, if you filter out subtlety of premium finish for Skoda, I think you pretty much lean on the Kia.

So summary end of the day: Kia or something else? Petrol AT ? None. Diesels: Look elsewhere.

Well I would disagree a bit in the numbers. The numbers ( power to ton) are almost same if compared to their weight. JC has 163 horses and Kia has 138. Torque is almost similar with 250 JC and 242 seltos. However the peak torque band is wider in JC. Rest I have a Seltos TD tomorrow so would be in a better position to speak. How does all of it translates on road.

[adimicra]

Its not just the power, the turbo lag is pretty bad in the Jeep Compass, the engine is boomy and the gearbox is laggy. There is ample power if you are patient enough and rev the engine really hard but the entire experience is underwhelming and do not provide a refined/sophisticated powerful drive. Checkout the official review of the Compass petrol auto. In contrast, the Seltos has less turbo lag, it sounds more refined and the gearbox is much more responsive. I am pretty clear and decisive about my observation, but will be interesting to know yours. Have you driven the Compass petrol auto?

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by ampere

So summary end of the day: Kia or something else? Petrol AT ? None. Diesels: Look elsewhere.

So you wouldn't recommend going for the Diesel Seltos? I believe is rather the diesel + AT combination which is quite difficult to find elsewhere ( other than Creta which is outdated now).

[ampere]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

So you wouldn't recommend going for the Diesel Seltos? I believe is rather the diesel + AT combination which is quite difficult to find elsewhere ( other than Creta which is outdated now).

My point was as long as one can lay hands on a BS-IV 1.6 Hyundai diesel based product it would be better compared to BSVI version of the same (I am just speaking of engine performance).

In my opinion we need to wait and watch on the BSVI response for diesels to see how they make mark.

[Roadster17]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Its not just the power, the turbo lag is pretty bad in the Jeep Compass, the engine is boomy and the gearbox is laggy. There is ample power if you are patient enough and rev the engine really hard but the entire experience is underwhelming and do not provide a refined/sophisticated powerful drive. Checkout the official review of the Compass petrol auto. In contrast, the Seltos has less turbo lag, it sounds more refined and the gearbox is much more responsive. I am pretty clear and decisive about my observation, but will be interesting to know yours. Have you driven the Compass petrol auto?

I have driven the petrol auto JC for 3000 km now so I do understand what you are referring to. I will compare it with Seltos after i test drive it today. Getting gt dct for test drive is a pain. Anyways coming back to JC, even i had the same feeling when i took it for a first test drive. Then i asked the SA that I will take it for a 20 km spin on new expressway. And this ride neutralized me. I will not say I was floored, but I became neutral. I am a sucker for safety and build quality, so that tilted me. Rest, let me go and ride the seltos. But from whatever I have read everywhere, you will not go wrong with Seltos.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by Roadster17

I have driven the petrol auto JC for 3000 km now so I do understand what you are referring to. I will compare it with Seltos after i test drive it today. Getting gt dct for test drive is a pain. Anyways coming back to JC, even i had the same feeling when i took it for a first test drive. Then i asked the SA that I will take it for a 20 km spin on new expressway. And this ride neutralized me. I will not say I was floored, but I became neutral. I am a sucker for safety and build quality, so that tilted me. Rest, let me go and ride the seltos. But from whatever I have read everywhere, you will not go wrong with Seltos.

I didn't know you are a JC petrol auto owners. So, congratulations on the car and wishing you many happy miles with it.

The JC petrol auto is powerful but the way this engine-gearbox delivers the power is temperamental If you can figure out how to tame this thing and use it to your advantage, you can have fun. Just that, it does not work for me. The JC has a tank like build which Seltos can't match though the Seltos looks like a very well-finished product and the quality levels are at par with JC (not talking about features).

[streetfighter]

I'm in the same boat and confused a hell lot on coming to a conclusion on what I should get home for the next 8-10 years. A little background, I think I'm form the "enthusiast" lot which reflected in me buying the Aquarius 1.6S Fiesta against the advice of my friends and even the Ford salesman. I still get asked if I painted the car and if the sports kit was an aftermarket fitment. The 1.6S has spoiled me a bit with its ride, handling, performance and looks, hence I've been looking for a all-round package that comes close.

My observations of the present lot:

Seltos: I'm looking at the GTX+ automatic, Seltos looks like a good package overall, but somewhere the heart and mind isn't sold on it fully. The long term reliability and trust isn't coming through. Also I'm not sure if all the electronics and bling will hold up in the long run.

Tucson: Seems like a dull package, including the colour options. I feel Tucson also has the identity crisis and doesn't stand out on anything.

Compass: The limited plus is on the top of the list, but the lack of features and the non-wow interiors at the price point is holding me back.

MG Hector: Was bitten by the Hector buzz and followed it closely till the launch and thereafter. Feelings are same as that for Seltos. Hector is a size bigger to my taste.

There is another very strong contender, the Isuzu V-Cross, and the heart is very much inclined towards it. Much like the 1.6S, it has a distinct look and personality, is decent on performance too. Getting this means this will be more of a weekend or holiday drive vehicle and I have to let go of this as a daily commute to work or to the market (I can live with this compromise ). It is refreshed with the automatic and looks a decent quality product with ample scope to customise and keep it interesting in the long ownership period.

Then there are some very very practical options like the Honda Civic, or the Hyundai Elantra and maybe look at the pre-owned market too. I am absolutely not looking at the big size SUVs. Life has never been so confusing and to add to that there are factors like automatic or not, BS4 or BS6, year end purchase vs new year, discounts/offers, etc etc. I'm in no hurry to buy one and can wait for a while. Subscribed to this thread and would like to hear what you all think.

[adimicra]

Don't kill me for saying this but I went ahead and booked a Vento TSI Highline plus toffee brown color today - something which was not even an option till a few days back

I know this might come as a total surprise to all of you. So, let me summarize how I ended up with the decision -

As I mentioned, I wanted the convenience of Automatic with good performance. Though I had a preference for petrol, I was open to diesel due to lack of options as long as refinement and performance is good. Among the crossover/SUV in the 25 lakh budget, the only automatics which offered good performance were - Seltos 1.4 Turbo-petrol DCT, Tucson Diesel AT. Tucson Diesel AT was ruled out as I did not like the ride/handling and interiors and I had to go beyond my budget as well. Also, the Hyundai sales guys have no clue as to how to sell a premium car, absolutely pathetic experience. That left me with only the Seltos DCT.

I wanted a crossover/SUV mainly because of the ground clearance to tackle the terrible roads in our cities. But I also wanted something fun to drive, which is automatic. I soon realized that I have very limited options. So, I started looking at sedans. I always wanted to own an European brand for their sturdy build, classic understated design and good ride-handling combo. Also, all Skoda, VW cars in India come with decent GC and rough-road package/underbody protection. Also, as per the owners in this forum, almost nobody had problems with GC on Skoda/VW cars unlike cars from Honda. This also gave me the confidence to explore some sedans. So, I test drove the Octavia (1.4 TSI and 1.8 TSI DSG both) and I was floored. I really loved the Octavia and so did my family. I read lot of horror stories about the DQ200 and finally decided that the pros outweigh the cons as there is simply no other auto gearbox which gives this level of performance. ALso, with 6/7 year extended warranty, it was no longer a blocker. I spoke to 2 Skoda dealerships in Hyderabad and both of them had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Unfortunately, both are owned by a single entity - MahavirSkoda. In fact, they are the ONLY dealer in the 2 states of AP and Telengana. I was still putting up with their attitude (they never called me for follow up, I was always the one to call them and sometimes, they dint even bothered to call back) because I liked the car so much. Finally, they agreed to provide a 1.5 lakh discount on Octavia 1.8 style. We were close to a decision when the style variant was discontinued and the Onyx was introduced. We had shortlisted the Capuccino beige and grey color options but the Onyx was available in white/red/blue. My family just couldn't stand the red and blue colors while I can't live with another white car. Also, I did not think the Onyx looked that great with those glossy black alloy wheels and my family does not like full black interiors. I tried to stretch to the L&K version but the dealerships were not willing to negotiate. I asked them to take out the accessories (not interested), handling charges and told them that I will take insurance from outside (almost 60K cheaper). The salesperson was not willing to do that as well and said he will talk to the manager/head of Mahavir Skoda and get back to me. He even told me that I can go to any dealership and that will not help as every dealership is owned by Mahavir Skoda. He never got back and when I called again, he was still not sure. By this time, I had decided that I can't buy a 25-30 Lakh car from these guys. Bye Bye Mahavir Skoda.

In between, I had done a test drive of the Tiguan due to the huge discounts on Tiguan comfortline. It was within a touching distance of my 25 Lakh budget. Tiguan did impress me with the build quality, ride and handling. But it did not blow me away like the Octavia - the performance was not so impressive considering the price tag, the exterior design did not appeal to us and basic features were missing in Comfortline (reverse camera). It was too much of a compromise considering the price.

Since I was in the VW dealership, I also checked out the "New" Vento. It looked smart with the new Honeycomb grill. I checked out the features and it is pretty decently loaded as well, other than a few missing bits - push button start (dont care), auto headlamps (can live without), 4 airbags instead of 6 (this is the major missing feature). It had the awesome LED headlights and DRLs similar to Tiguan along with auto-leveling, the 16 inch gunmetal alloy wheels are one of the best OEM alloys in this price range IMO and yes, it did have the reverse camera along with Android Auto. So, I went for a test drive and was very impressed with the performance from the small 1.2 TSI engine. On paper, the specs might not look great but it did put a smile on my face. I was impressed by the refinement and rev-happy nature of the motor along with the super-quick shifts. In-gear acceleration was very impressive, which will be very useful for quick overtakes. I think it is the best performing automatic south of 20 lakhs. The ride and handling seemed well sorted, the interiors were nice and it offered a decent amount of space for passengers and luggage. I would have liked the paddle shifters though, may be I will get those at a later date along with a remap.

Overall, it has been a very interesting and enlightening journey over the last few weeks. I started with some options and ended up at a completely different car which was not even in my consideration. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your contributions in this thread and I hope some of my experiences will be helpful to others. When I started this thread, I thought 25 lakhs is a lot of money and I can get all my expectations fulfilled. But, I was totally wrong - it is all about knowing your priorities and compromises. Having said that, there is a serious lack of options (automatic) in our market in the 25-30 lakh range which provide a good mix of luxury and performance.I hope Jeep Compass, Skoda Karoq/Kamiq, VW TROC/TCross and may be some SUV from Honda/Toyota in the future will provide more options. I would have to replace my 9+ year old Jazz in the coming 2-3 years and hopefully I will have more options by then.

PS - Since the Vento is well below my initial budget of 20 Lakhs (which was later increased to 25 Lakhs), I plan to fast-track my long-pending family trip to the Swiss Alps

I forgot to mention that Seltos was very much into consideration but the 3-4 months wait time (possibly more) was not feasible, as we needed a second car sooner. Seltos is a very good option though I feel both the interior and exterior designs are overdone with too many elements and might not age very well. If Seltos would have been available in 1-2 months, I would have probably gone for it.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by adimicra

If Seltos would have been available in 1-2 months, I would have probably gone for it.

Congrats!

But again: Food for thought: A Question of 4 month wait vs a decade of ownership?

End of the day what you buy is all about one that gives you a smile every day when you head out of home.

[satish_appasani]

Congrats adimicra. Mahavir is a big downer for Skoda in Telugu states.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by ampere

Congrats!

But again: Food for thought: A Question of 4 month wait vs a decade of ownership?

End of the day what you buy is all about one that gives you a smile every day when you head out of home.

I have thought about it. May be, I should have been clearer. We liked Seltos for as it met my main requirements of high GC, decent performance and features. However, as I mentioned, it was not that I was blown away. Like, I think the design is overdone, too many elements, too much going on, trying too hard. Even the interiors has too many design elements and I didn't like the big block of plastic for the instruments console and ICE in the dashboard. On top of it, I enjoyed the drive in the Vento TSI more than the Seltos and the 7-year warranty on the VW was a confidence booster. Also, during the last few weeks, I have realized that though I started my search with a SUV/crossover in mind, the driving experience/handling of a sedan/hatchback is so much more enjoyable. Overall, if Seltos would have been available easily, the decision would have been tougher but we might have still gone for the Vento (also 5-6 lakhs cheaper). Seltos didn't blow me away and so it does not feel like a big compromise. The only car which really impressed me was the Octavia but that was not bound to happen.

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

Congrats adimicra. Mahavir is a big downer for Skoda in Telugu states.

I am not buying Skoda in Hyderabad ever unless we have more dealerships.

[vvrchandra]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Don't kill me for saying this but I went ahead and booked a Vento TSI Highline plus toffee brown color today - something which was not even an option till a few days back ..

Can you elaborate on the discounts you got on the TSI Highline Plus and the total on road price in Hyderabad. Thanks.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by vvrchandra

Can you elaborate on the discounts you got on the TSI Highline Plus and the total on road price in Hyderabad. Thanks.

Buddy, you can contact Mr Chetan from VW Hitec City dealership (7036543241) I am not sharing the price as he asked me not to. He is a nice chap and should be able to provide a very good price. If you need more details, please PM.

[EvilZombie]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Don't kill me for saying this but I went ahead and booked a Vento TSI Highline plus toffee brown color today

Congratulations on your new ride. I have long contemplated getting a Vento as I just love the way she looks and rides, but sadly a bit out of my league for now. Interesting color choice by the way, do share pics and your ownership experience.

came here to suggest a new option from the stables of Hyundai, but considering you've made a choice, and a great one at that, I'll hold my tongue

[bharatbits]

Originally Posted by adimicra

The salesperson was not willing to do that as well and said he will talk to the manager/head of Mahavir Skoda and get back to me. He even told me that I can go to any dealership and that will not help as every dealership is owned by Mahavir Skoda. He never got back and when I called again, he was still not sure. By this time, I had decided that I can't buy a 25-30 Lakh car from these guys. Bye Bye Mahavir Skoda.

That's a major reason why i never wanted to even visit them. Buying is one experience and after sales is an all together a different one. With nobody else to go to you will be stuck if you have a disagreement with them on any service bill, warranty part replacement, accident repair, misdiagnosis, shoddy service etc. You will have to visit them unwillingly through out your entire ownership period. As a customer that's not a situation i would want to be in. Same applies to all other manufacturers with a single dealer in a city. Wonder what the German trio owners do in Hyderabad when they have a problem with the ASS.
Multiple options of ASS really help because each one is ready to get your business if the other does not satisfy you.