Hi all, this is my first thread on the forum. First of all huge thanks to all the BHPians for sharing such valuable pearls of wisdom across the forum - I have learnt a lot from you all. I am trying to present all my points as clearly as possible, but pardon me for any errors.
Here's a bit of background:
I am a software engineer, currently working from home. We have a Celerio CNG (5 years/48k kms) at home - which belongs to my dad. We keep our cars for long time. Before the Celerio, we owned an Alto which was with us for 10 trouble-free years.
I also intend to keep my car for 10 years minimum, and this is my first car which I will buy from my own salary (very special for me) - so let's not keep any scope of wrong decision here.
Fuel type:
I plan on touring a lot with my car. Also, the usage will increase two-fold once work from office resumes, since this is the one and only vehicle I plan to keep (once I move to a different city for job requirements).
Considering my planned usage, fuel prices and the fuel efficiency, I feel that a diesel car makes sense for me. I am ready to pay extra amount for a diesel car once, rather than crying every weekend at the fuel bunk.
Body type:
This. This was a big head vs heart decision. I prefer and
love sedans. I have even mentioned in a couple of posts here that I will be getting myself a 5th gen Honda City very soon but as we know - the decisions always change when we start considering all the influencing factors.
I called in for a Honda City test drive and they brought a petrol ZX MT variant. The car felt very spacious on the inside and looked bigger in person than expected. But there were 2 main issues which cropped up in the test drive:
- All my love for this car started vaporizing quickly as we moved on with the drive. The rear suspension felt very weird - the car felt as if it was bouncing on the slightest of road undulations. The engine noise inside the cabin was much higher than what I would expect for a premium car like this. Also, the build quality felt very ordinary by Honda standards.
- Thanks to the bad roads at my place, I managed to hit the underbelly while negotiating one of the bad potholes. This was the deciding factor. It will be very painful for me if my new car hits the underbody every other day (plus the bad roads are everywhere).
Also, when I worked out my fuel requirements, Honda City was eliminated because of a not-so-great diesel engine (when I am getting the same engine with the same power figures in a Rs. 8 lacs Amaze, why would I pay Rs. 18 lacs for it?). Gorgeous car - no doubt, but the stars didn't align for this one it seems.
Hyundai Verna was another contender with a strong diesel engine, but the rear seat space (both - leg as well as head room) was not worth the asking price. Also, the interiors felt a little dull for my taste (Honda City effect?)
So, now considering the road conditions and the fuel type requirement - it has to be an SUV.
Final requirements:- SUV
- Diesel Engine
- Manual Transmission
- Should feel a real upgrade in terms of size and space from hatchback category
Dilemma:
I have shortlisted Tata Nexon XZ+(O) (Dark edition) and Hyundai Creta SX(O) after looking at all the available options in the market. Other options either didn't feel like a proper upgrade in terms of size (Venue, Sonet, XUV300) or don't have a diesel powertrain (S Cross, Kushaq, Taigun).
I have curated a mini-comparison with all the
relevant pros and cons of both the cars and here they go:
Tata Nexon:
Pros: 5 star crash test rating.
Cons: No rear disc brakes, Tata's niggles and service quality, 2 airbags only - even in the top trim, 6 months service interval, and that HORRIBLE instrument cluster (did they get inspired by a Casio Scientific Calculator?).
Hyundai Creta:
Pros: Size (feels like a big upgrade), Rear disc brakes, 6 airbags, Auto Dimming IRVM, Beautiful TFT instrument cluster, LED headlamps, Very silent and refined engine, ventilated seats, electric seat adjustment.
Cons: Safety? (Coming from Kia Seltos' GNCAP result and Hyundai's brake failure history).
Neutral: Panoramic sunroof, 10.25 inch touchscreen, etc.
There is approx 4.5 lakh rupee price difference in the on-road prices and Hyundai Creta has 30 weeks waiting period, while Tata Nexon has about 4 weeks waiting period for the dark edition (even lesser for normal variant).
Now here are some of the key differences between the 2 brands in terms of attitude that I noticed:
Hyundai:- There are 3 Hyundai dealers in my city and NONE of them has a test drive car available for Creta (despite being one of the best selling models in their lineup).
- Only 1 dealer had a Creta available on display - that too was not the SX(O) variant. We wanted to check out black as well as red colour options to decide based on how it looks in person.
- All the dealers just wanted me to book the car - none of them even agreed to arrange a test drive in the future, even if I agreed to book the car with them.
- On social media also, the car brands are actively engaging with the public so that any potential customer is not missed - but not Hyundai. I dropped an email to them for a couple of queries as well as tweeted at them twice - but no response whatsoever.
- I am worried that if this is their attitude before buying their car, how worse will it get once I make the purchase. God forbid but if I ever need some support related to the product or need to escalate a complaint, how will I deal with such an attitude? There's a good reason why Maruti is still at the top spot by a good margin.
Tata:- Tata's attitude I found exactly opposite to Hyundai's. The salesmen were polite and tried their best to answer each and every one of my doubts.
- They attended me enthusiastically the same way, every time I visited them for any query/to see the car in person.
- They agreed to provide me with test drive - even multiple if there is something I need to check again etc.
- They have multiple units and colour options available at their dealership to compare the colours/variants etc.
- Haven't interacted with Tata yet on social media, but other than this the experience with them so far has been pleasant.
One more observation I would like to share:
My cousin's Altroz is just back home after a minor accident (repairs taken care of by insurance) but the work quality is not very good. The dent repairs have been done in a shoddy manner and they are clearly visible when viewed from certain angles. They have also missed some deep scratches in the bumper. It does not inspire confidence handing over the car to such workshops and it is where Tata has to improve a lot.
There is no scope of increasing my budget any further as I started my car search with the Honda City and now the Creta has stretched it to the max possible limit.
So here it is - all my points. I have mentioned whatever I could remember at the time of writing this post and will add my points later in the replies if I remember anything else. Thanks in advance to all BHPians and hoping that I am able to clear this confusion soon with all your help.
Best Regards,
Saksham