Team-BHP - NRI desperately seeking desi solution

Hi Gentlemen and Ladies (very pc).

I'm in a bit of a predicament. I live in the uk but visit the motherland about 3 times per year. I need a car for trips between ludhiana and chandigarh that can transport on any one occasion 7 adults in comfort.
I can spend about 7-9(max) lakhs on a reliable and safe car that will not be driven much (kept in storage unless needed). On my last visit i quite liked the mahindra scorpio, though a few friends mentioned the tata safari and toyota innova are good alternatives. Comfort, space and reliability are of paramount importance. Which would you recommend?

thanks guys

Innova is the way to go. Its a capable car and very easy to drive. Handling is a breeze and FE is also good. Suspension one of the best and its a gr8 Family car. Space is good, its a toyota so reliability is no issue.

Out of the three i vote for Innova as it's just suits your purpose well.

And welcome to Team BHP.

You can also check reviews here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...my-innova.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ghlight=innova

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k (Post 413110)

three times a year !!
why don't you explore rental options?

i wouldn't like to rent a car from ludhiana, especially the way they drive:) I wouldn't be confident of the hire cars previous history (e.g previous accident damage). Anyway i could not find any rental companies in ludhiana. Any ideas?

Thanks for replying guys, so the consensus is innova as1st choice. Is it really much better than the scorpio? I like the scorpios pumped up looks. I'm sure it would be useful when intimidating other cars to give way whilst on the GT road

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhibh (Post 413088)

Thanks for the link abhibh.
I should have also said in my first post that the ride needs to be soooo much better than the chevrolet tavera taxi we took. The rear passenger seats were crap. does the innova have rear parallel benches like the tavera? If so, that would be a big negative.

From my experience, when driving in india (ludhiana and chandigarh), the more imposing your car is, the more other cars will move out of your way. Therefore, making driving easier. Is this true? If so the benefit of a scorpio (pumped up muscular look) would outweigh the innova (less aggressive) technological advantage? What do you guys think?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kompressor (Post 413129)

Suspension is good. Its good on bad roads and takes up pot holes better than any other MUV and some SUV's. The best suspension is of Safari TCIC as people say the DICOR have less comfort levels compared to TCIC.

Its better than Tavera in all aspects. Innova comes in 7 and 8 seater and do not have parallel benches as u find in Tavera and Qualis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfinstein (Post 413091)

You should consider Safari-Scorpio-Innova in the order..!

Miss India Universe-Safari
Miss India World-Scorpio
Miss India Asia Pacific-Innova
Mrs India World-Tavera

How many Miss India World do you want ?????????/

Quote:

Originally Posted by navdeep (Post 413099)

Innova is the only option that comes to my mind. Nothing can beat in this price range.

agree: absolutely

Quote:

Originally Posted by kompressor (Post 413123)

so the consensus is innova as1st choice. Is it really much better than the scorpio? I like the scorpios pumped up looks. I'm sure it would be useful when intimidating other cars to give way whilst on the GT road

You are partially right there. if thats what you want, get the scorpio, you will not be disappointed. Forget the plain jane toyota.

I've just googled images of the toyota innova. Not oo impressed to be honest. In the uk, cars like the innova (mpv's) are seen as cars for mums which are filled with children and shopping bags. Not a nice image for a fun loving punjabi guy to be in.
I therefore stand corrected, image is important and suv's look the business. Which is the best for upto 9 lakhs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by invincible7 (Post 413087)

Toyota is more reliable any day than the TATA's and the Mahindra's.. my suggestion choose between Qualis or Innova...

hi invincible.
I just saw some pictures of the qualis. It seems like a very dated design? Is the innova the successor to the qualis?

So fellas, which suv?