[KadiNiSikhiya]

Hi
I'm looking to buy my first car in January 2022(cannot wait beyond this as my wedding is in February). The last car we bought was back in 2005, a Maruti Esteem VXi. For the upcoming buy, my requirements are as below;
1. Budget 15 lakh(easy)-20 lakh(Hard).
2. Range 100Km+ whenever driven, as it's not going to be a daily driver but rather family mover(3-4 people) over long distances for vacation/pilgrimage.
3. Fuel owing to general wisdom that Petrol engines are low maintenance w.r.t Diesel ones and the lower cost of Petrol variants, I'm inclined towards Petrol.
4. Mileage vs Performance whenever it will be driven, it would be on longer routes and sometimes on poor roads, I opt for Performance
5. Comfort vs Carriage, as my parents are both 60+, I want something that has good 2nd row features and comfort. But as long-distance travel requires some luggage, that some is summed up in our household, so need a good amount of boot space too.

Now here's what I have evaluated. All sub 10 lakh SUVs (XUV300, Sonet, Venue, Brezza, Nexon) are small when it comes to luggage carrying capacity.
In 10-15 range, I'm considering mainly Seltos HTX G. Creta is ugly for my taste, Taigun and Kushaq aren't "feature rich" plus costly service and spares for them. Don't like MG Astor either. Scorpio, my mother doesn't like it.
While Seltos ticks all the boxes for me, it's Safety report and record makes it a questionable choice. Now inching above 15 lakh bracket puts a strain on my budget but I get the option of XUV 700. Not considering Hector or Harrier here.
In case of 700, as per the review thread here, Diesel makes more sense and that too 7 seater version and it will come in useful if in case the in-laws too join us for a trip. But the basic AX3 7 seater misses out on key features of safety and comfort and while AX5 has curtain airbags, it misses out on Cruise Control and also its on-road price is just shy of 20 lakh, a costly proposition considering what it doesn't offers.

[Sushil Pingua]

Originally Posted by KadiNiSikhiya

my requirements are as below;
1. Budget 15 lakh(easy)-20 lakh(Hard).
2. Range 100Km+ whenever driven, as it's not going to be a daily driver but rather family mover(3-4 people) over long distances for vacation/pilgrimage.
3. Fuel owing to general wisdom that Petrol engines are low maintenance w.r.t Diesel ones and the lower cost of Petrol variants, I'm inclined towards Petrol.
4. Mileage vs Performance whenever it will be driven, it would be on longer routes and sometimes on poor roads, I opt for Performance
5. Comfort vs Carriage, as my parents are both 60+, I want something that has good 2nd row features and comfort. But as long-distance travel requires some luggage, that some is summed up in our household, so need a good amount of boot space too.

Hello Brother KadiNiSikhiya,
The Maruti S-Cross hits your requirements bang on. Has the best built quality among all Maruti models currently on sale.
Easy on budget with the top model which is feature laden,
Comfortable over long distances for the rear passengers as well,
Very easy to get in or out for the aged parents,
Performance and boot space are balanced for a 5 seater. Frankly speaking if considerable boot space is required then a 6/7 seater vehicle with last row folded down does the job like my Honda BRV which is a 6 seater but we always travel max 4 people and fold the last seat row to use it as additional boot space - it amounts to truck-load space.
Enjoy.

[HTC]

Why dont you consider MS XL6 or SX4. You will save some money which can be spent of pampering your ride.
Most of the cars you have listed have wait time of 6 months and above. You need to consider that aswell as you need it by Jan 2022.

[Shreyfiesta]

Originally Posted by HTC

Why dont you consider MS XL6 or SX4.

SX4 sedan was discontinued long ago in 2015, Ciaz came as a replacement.

[TorqueMonster]

If you are not keen on an SUV, why not go for the Honda City. It will easily seat 4 people comfortably, has a really competent petrol engine and for 40k more than your budget, you can get the top end ZX model for 15.4l. If the budget doesn't permit, you can always get the VX model too, which is also well equipped. And since it is a sedan, Boot space is aplenty in it. If you are not wanting SUV's this ticks your bill perfectly.

And as for SUV's, the Seltos is feature-rich but safety is an issue, while other cars don't seem to be your priority. You always have the S Cross as the backup choice, even though I personally feel the car to be slightly dated wrt competition, it is still a good car.

[KadiNiSikhiya]

I'm not going for a sedan so not considering SX4 and neither looking for a MPV so skipping XL6/S-Cross. Plus the engine of the two, even on paper, isn't that impressive.

[dust-n-bones]

Originally Posted by KadiNiSikhiya

2. Range 100Km+ whenever driven, as it's not going to be a daily driver but rather family mover(3-4 people) over long distances for vacation/pilgrimage.

4. Mileage vs Performance whenever it will be driven, it would be on longer routes and sometimes on poor roads, I opt for Performance
5. Comfort vs Carriage, as my parents are both 60+, I want something that has good 2nd row features and comfort. But as long-distance travel requires some luggage, that some is summed up in our household, so need a good amount of boot space too.

Not sure why do you need to spend 15-20 lakhs for this 1-2 times/year requirement honestly .

Hire an innova or kia carnival when on a pilgrimage with your parents or an audi a4 or a6 (or its bmw siblings) when you want to pamper your better half.

[HTC]

Originally Posted by Shreyfiesta

SX4 sedan was discontinued long ago in 2015, Ciaz came as a replacement.

My bad. I meant to say S-cross.
Thanks for correcting

[KadiNiSikhiya]

It won't be once or twice a year, rather monthly pilgrimage. Moreover, I have residences split across 3 cities, so need a vehicle with room to shuttle stuff around at the behest of Mother and Missus. I know what I need is rather 2 vehicles, an MPV and a full-fledged SUV but till I can afford either, want something that can do the job of both for next 2-5 years.

Originally Posted by dust-n-bones

Not sure why do you need to spend 15-20 lakhs for this 1-2 times/year requirement honestly .

Hire an innova or kia carnival when on a pilgrimage with your parents or an audi a4 or a6 (or its bmw siblings) when you want to pamper your better half.

The said pilgrimage is almost a monthly affair. Right now I'm looking for something that can perform the duties of both, an SUV and an MPV for the next 2-5 years. As my residence is split amongst 3 cities, each within 25Km of the other, require a vehicle to be roomy enough for moving stuff between them when demanded by Mother or Missus. So a Sedan won't do, a Hatchback won't do.

[lamborghini]

Have a look at the S Cross. Specs on paper aren't great, and it doesn't have the butch SUV look like the seltos, neither is it feature rich.
But for the asking price you get a sturdy, abuse friendly, comfortable, well driving car. Effectively its in sub-4M category in terms of price despite being a segment higher. I expect the next gen S Cross to take the pricing closer to seltos / creta levels (as previous generation S Cross was priced similarly to previous generation Creta).

The seltos is a good all rounder but for safety as you rightly pointed out. Plus Hyundai / Kia aren't niggle free either as some threads on here would elaborate.

If you can deal with lower kit, but better handling, performance, safety, etc., have a look again at the Kushaq. With Skoda's 6 year warranty, maintenance would be lower as well.
I wouldn't say Skoda spares are more expensive than Kia either as both are equally premium brands.

XUV700 has a long waiting period so getting one before your wedding may be difficult though it is a great all rounder on paper.

[nikhilthegunner]

Originally Posted by KadiNiSikhiya

Not considering Hector or Harrier here.

Considering that you've ruled out a lot of options, why wouldn't you consider the Hector? Wouldn't the lower variants be within reach for you? It's got a petrol too that's supposed to be decent so I'm not sure you ought to be dismissing this. If nothing else works out and you feel you can manage with Seltos, then you could go ahead with it. Otherwise you may need to dip into the used car market and see if you're able to pick up a Jeep Compass petrol within your budget.

[swapzero]

I would second Sushil Pingua and lamborghini's suggestion to look at S Cross.

I am in the market for a suv in roughly the same price range. While I was eager to get a Seltos/ Sonet/ Creta/ Harrier initially, the more I researched, I found S Scross to be a value for money car that gets the essentials right, while saving my money by not offering gizmos.

I would highly encourage that you do a test drive of S Cross with family to check the comfort and ride quality.

See my thread https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-...a-variant.html (Maruti S-Cross AT | Should I buy the Alpha or Zeta variant?) if you consider S cross and are confused on the variant.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by KadiNiSikhiya

Hi
I'm looking to buy my first car in January 2022(cannot wait beyond this as my wedding is in February). The last car we bought was back in 2005, a Maruti Esteem VXi. .

Whatever you decide to buy please make sure it is a new model so that it stays new for a good amount of time. Avoid vehicles that are due for refresh or replacement by the manufacturer.

All good cars in the market has waiting period of a few months , if X model suits your need , see if certain color or powertrain combination would get you the delivery faster.

Consider XL6/Ertiga as well from an aged parents perspective.

[KPR]

Originally Posted by KadiNiSikhiya

Hi
Now here's what I have evaluated. All sub 10 lakh SUVs (XUV300, Sonet, Venue, Brezza, Nexon) are small when it comes to luggage carrying capacity.
In 10-15 range, I'm considering mainly Seltos HTX G. Creta is ugly for my taste, Taigun and Kushaq aren't "feature rich" plus costly service and spares for them. Don't like MG Astor either. Scorpio, my mother doesn't like it.
While Seltos ticks all the boxes for me, it's Safety report and record makes it a questionable choice. Now inching above 15 lakh bracket puts a strain on my budget but I get the option of XUV 700. Not considering Hector or Harrier here.

I would strongly recommend S Cross in MT or AT as per your wish. Ticks almost all your requirements. Put the rest of money in savings/deposit. Do remember new S Cross may come next year. But price will go up for that new facelift. SCross at this point is a very sensible buy. The engine isn't bad. I would rate that as a very good NA engine. A test drive can help you understand better.

[KadiNiSikhiya]

Will check out S-Cross, just sceptical about its performance in hilly(Himachal) and sandy stony(N-W Rajasthan) conditions, the 2 areas where it would be mainly driven besides the usual highway. As I'm buying the vehicle before my wedding, cannot go for a pre-owned one, so it has to be a new one.

Going through the responses and thread posts shared above, I'll be going for TD of S-Cross, XL6, Kushaq, Seltos, Sonet, Venue (want to see if it's any good) and will report back here. Have already driven friend's and family's Scorpio and Brezza. Mother didn't like the former and I didn't like the latter.

Regarding wait time, I'm not that much concerned about it as have enough connections here to get me any vehicle I decide upon within a week except XUV700. My cousin got his Mahindra Thar within the week of booking in March 2021.

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