[neofromcapone]

Same Situation for me in 2022, budget was 25 lacs and my search started with
1.) XL6 - dropped due to wife flatly refusing a Maruti Suzuki.
2.) XUV700 - dropped due to poor middle row.
3.) Creta & Alcazar - Just didn't consider it.
4.) Hector twins - horrible fuel economy for the Petrol AT & no Diesel AT.
5.) VW Taigun & Skoda Kushaq - poor interior space management, I need to push my seat to the max, to drive comfortably, then only a child can sit behind me. So dropped.
6.) Harrier - checked all the boxes, but something was amiss, and I found myself fatigued after a 20 min test drive (on the route I do my daily commute)
7.) Seltos - Surprisingly spacious, I don't need to push the seat right back, middle row is good, features are good. picked the diesel HTX AT. 2 years and 46k miles of smile on the highway and in the city.

I choose the HTX as that gave me all and a bit more than the features I needed and got it for a little over 20 lacs on road. (Dunno what the current on road price is)

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Great thread and lots of information. I have been toying with the idea of a 20L "SUV' on company lease. The plan is to close the lease in 2 years and sell it (high probability) unless I fall in love with the machine.

You might keep it longer then 2 years.
Hope this helps.
All the best.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Great thread and lots of information. I have been toying with the idea of a 20L "SUV' on company lease. The plan is to close the lease in 2 years and sell it (high probability) unless I fall in love with the machine.
[*] Variant : Most loaded (if not top variant)[*]Post purchase expectations : HIGH Re-sale value / Reliable / Fun to drive / Comfortable[*]My physique : 6"2", medium frame
(HIGH RE-SALE VALUE is a MUST)

For this criteria, options can be safely limited to the Creta/Seltos twins and the two Mahindras. These top sellers have the best resale values and are big enough to accommodate you comfortably.

My pick will be the XUV700 which is a far safer car than the Hyundai and Kia, and has better highway manners than the Scorpio N. That the Mahindra diesel engine is by far the best of the lot of just icing on the cake. Do try the manual XUV700, it is surprisingly light and effortless. I find it better to drive than the automatic which tends to hold the lower gears too much (unnecessary noise and fuel consumption).

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Great thread and lots of information. I have been toying with the idea of a 20L "SUV' on company lease. The plan is to close the lease in 2 years and sell it (high probability) unless I fall in love with the machine.

If resale is an important factor then few things I would keep in mind while purchasing a car -

- to go for fully loaded top end variants
- to go for an automatic, preferably TC or DCT
- to go select a popular color
- would tilt towards petrol unless the diesel variant is compelling (like XUV700)

My choice would be Creta, Sonet and XUV700 in the same order provided a loaded variant is available in the budget. Also think about the Hyryder/GV strong hybrid variants.

[singh86]

Hi All,

I am writing to get your opinions and advises on my dilemma which I am currently having while purchasing a new car.

A bit about me:
I am in late 30's with 2 kids and a wife (so 4 in total). Kids are quite young - 2 and 6 yrs old. My office is quite close to my current home i.e. less than 1 km and I would not be using the car to travel to office on a daily basis. Possibility of changing home due to increasing rent in the immediate future (1 year or less). New house would be at a distance of 50-55 kms round trip twice/thrice a week. We typically go out twice or thrice in a year covering distances of ~1000km/trip and maybe twice in a month going out for small trips - 100kms on a trip. Also I have plans of doing trips across India in my car once the kids grow up a bit and I can travel long distances with them. My wife doesn't drive and I would be the one sole driver who would be using it mostly. Dad could use it once in a while as well but it would be rare. I currently drive a Diesel Honda City 2014 model (mid variant). This was a reliable car for me for close to 9.5 yrs but due to me being in Delhi-NCR, have to sell it and get a new one. I love driving and would be taking on long trips in shortly.

Budget:
Budget for the car is max 35 lacs. I am working where we have option for car lease and I am planning to utilize the same while getting the vehicle. I have questions around the lease which I would like to get some advise around in the later section.

Car's shortlisted:
Jeep Compass - Took a short test drive. Looks solid from outside but when I sat inside, gave a feeling of a small car and not a SUV even though it is. Has some good features but I didn't like the car's pickup and for me handling of the car was a bit hard (could be due to test drive car not being serviced). Was a bit boring from my taste but I had heard good reviews, hence took the test drive. Test drive car was top end with 4*4. Not sure if I would ever use 4*4 but I was told by someone I know who has it, that it's better to have it than not have it.

Harrier - When it was launched in India, I just feel in love with this car and always wanted to have it even though I could not afford it initially. Now when the time has come for me get a new one, it is in my budget and I test drove the top model (Adventure plus) and it was good. Though the engine is shared with Jeep Compass, I felt it had more power and more refinement in the Harrier than the Jeep Compass. Loved the features of the car especially the screens which are crisp and better looking than the XUV 700 or Jeep Compass. Features list is long and the people sitting in the second row have sufficient space and are comfortable. Loved the design of the car as this has been my first love always and loved the way it drive. Had heard about the initial lag but didn't really feel it. Dark edition looks amazing and is really the head turner each time I see it on the road. Have also heard about the Tata horror stories on the forum and am a bit scared of getting a Tata. Not too worried on this front as lease company would be getting a preferential treatment from the showroom and they would push for any issues that come in the car and would ensure that things are done faster and better compared to a someone who owns his own car and does all the dealings himself with the showroom. There we panel gaps as multiple people have mentioned but I was not concerned about it and the knee resting place which I know is an issue in Safari, I again was fine with it. Seats were good but I felt XUV 700 had better seat.

XUV 700 - Initially when the car was launched it, I was not a big fan of the car design. It was a miss for me but since a few years have passed since the launch and now I have seen quite a few XUV 700's in my society, the design has grown on me. I now quite like it (not as much as Harrier's but it's a close second). I took a test drive of the car and felt it drives the best and has almost all the features which are there in Tata Harrier and has an added advantage of 2 additional seats which I know would be used very rarely but it's a good to have feature. It also has a AWD version which I would take if I book XUV700 which again is not great like a proper 4*4 but it's better than the FWD cars like Harrier. I know I would never had used the Compass's 4*4 to the extent it could be used but AWD, I think would come handy in multiple scenario's I have in my mind. Loved the sound of the music system and the screen's (Harrier's was better). Sunroof was really good (almost same as in Harrier). Drive modes are great and I loved the manual mode of XUV 700 AX7L compared to the paddle shifter's of Harrier's. Seats were good for long distance drive and ventilated seats was there which was missing from the previous version of the car and is really a blessing for hot summers we have in India. Not too much to complain in XUV except the worry due to overuse of sensors but I am assuming that it would have been sorted by now since it's there for more than 4 yrs now and was told by the sales guy that these issues were there initially but now it is sorted. DEF is there for all cars, so no point talking about it. Had some useful ADAS features like emergency braking and lane assist which are quite beneficial for my long highway trips which I would be doing. Also loved the beige interiors as they look so nice compared to Harrier's interior's.

A few more points:
Safety is most critical for me and hence only car's that are 5 star are chosen for consideration.
Didn't like the design of Hycross, hence didn't consider it. Don't like Alcaraz as well.
I love driving and hate traffic (which is I am assuming all of us have in common) hence chosen a automatic over a manual though I love manual's as they are more engaging than automatic's.
Need ADAS as this would be useful in highways and I don't want to hit anything by accident.
Looking for a Diesel car only as I love driving and somehow feel Petrol's don't match up with Diesel (only an opinion could be wrong also).
5 seater is good enough but 7 seater would be useful once in a while.
My brother in law has a manual Scorpio N which I could use in case I get a 5 seater and need a 7 seater for a few days. It's a manual one and I have used it quite a few times and it's drives good.
I am not too worried about the mileage as I wont drive too much and this is not a concern for me.

Quotes from Lease company for the lease options. It's for 5 yrs and 90000 kms.
Jeep Compass - With Maintenance- ~ INR 73000 & Without Maintenance- ~INR 69000
Tata Harrier - With Maintenance- ~ INR 63000 & Without Maintenance - ~ INR 59000
XUV 700 - With Maintenance- ~INR 60000 & Without Maintenance- ~INR 57000

Questions I need advise on:
Requirement for 4*4. I am not in proper offroading. Would I ever be in a situation where I would need it? Would an AWD vehicle suffice for my requirements? This is one of the most important question for me to answer cos there are only very few real 4*4 and this changes my requirement completely..
Can I negotiate with the lease company on the monthly lease? There is no option for buying back the car from the lease company. With no buyback options, does lease still makes sense? I understand about the 30% tax savings + the save on the interest I would have paid to the bank on a loan which I definitely would have taken.
Safety wise, both Harrier and XUV 700 are 5 star rated but is there something like both are almost equal in safety or is one way better than the other in terms of safety?
The assumption that niggles in XUV700 are sorted with time. How true is this? and the same question for Harrier with the facelift version.
Any other car I might have missed which could be my new car?
Difference between with maintenance and without maintenance is close to 3000-4000/month and comes to close to 36000-48000/year which I believe is a bit on the higher side. Actual numbers would not be this high for sure. Would it make sense to take this with maintenance or without maintenance.
In terms of reliability which would be the best product as I definitely would not want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing for miles on end.
Any good accessories' members of the forum can recommend to go with the car?

I would appreciate the member's for their advise and suggestions provided during my car buying journey.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by singh86

Questions I need advise on:

Requirement for 4*4. I am not in proper offroading. Would I ever be in a situation where I would need it? Would an AWD vehicle suffice for my requirements? This is one of the most important question for me to answer cos there are only very few real 4*4 and this changes my requirement completely..

Safety wise, both Harrier and XUV 700 are 5 star rated but is there something like both are almost equal in safety or is one way better than the other in terms of safety?

The assumption that niggles in XUV700 are sorted with time. How true is this? and the same question for Harrier with the facelift version.

Any other car I might have missed which could be my new car?

Difference between with maintenance and without maintenance is close to 3000-4000/month and comes to close to 36000-48000/year which I believe is a bit on the higher side. Actual numbers would not be this high for sure. Would it make sense to take this with maintenance or without maintenance.

In terms of reliability which would be the best product as I definitely would not want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing for miles on end.

I would appreciate the member's for their advise and suggestions provided during my car buying journey.

AWD is good to have if you see yourself touring a lot to places without proper roads, but by and large not really required - the tourist favourite innova manages to go almost everywhere with ease! We did Leh Ladakh circuit and there were a couple non AWD vehicles that did the trip as well but yes having AWD will give you a little more peace of mind. Do note though that these aren't ladder on frame vehicles built for abuse - so if you plan to do some serious off roading, these cannot really help : but on a wet / snowy surface the AWD will give you that much more confidence and comfort.

I'd also urge you to look at the Hyundai Tucson Diesel, and the VW Tiguan (albeit petrol) given your requirements - both of these are on two ends of the spectrum too but worth considering just to have a look.

Safety wise - you need to see the ncap reports and the ratings across various spheres to come to that conclusion - it could even differ depending on your passenger load / driving conditions.

I'd skip the Compass - you aren't enamoured by it really and fair enough - it is now an old design, cramped, expensive, with average service and the odd niggle.
The Safari too - looks brilliant, but reports of the facelift haven't been niggle free either. The XUV700 should score better on that front.

Maintenance depends on your running and what all is included - if tyres and brake pads, etc. are included it could be somewhat reasonable - generally 30K-35K life for tyres & brake pads, and 60-65K for discs for city / hilly driving is what i've seen. But if your running is low then it may not make sense as annual service would be around 12-20K for these cars (Tiguan will be higher as every 3 yr have to change AWD oil, and every 4yr have to change DSG oil).

In terms of reliability, best product is an Innova. None of these 3 are known for being trouble free, but I would expect the XUV700 being the easiest to live with due to number of service centers, popularity, and that they have been working on the niggles. Even if you include the Tucson and the Tiguan - the Tucson should be easier to live with as well but parts availability for both of these (and I reckon Compass) wouldn't be great for non-routine parts.