[SanjayW]

Originally Posted by KPR

WRV diesel for me. It gets all that are needed plus excellent diesel mileage and sunroof, all at around 13L on road. Why not WRV especially after 4 Star safety rating for Jazz. I'm sure one can get more than 50K discount during this festive season.

WR-V diesel VX(Sunroof) is priced at 14.5L onroad.

[tiagoatrix]

None of the above.

About a year back, I was looking to replace my Tiago with a petrol automatic in this segment.

I had to compromise a lot for the price I was going to pay.

All of them are basically a extended hatchback with high ground clearance.

Venue and sonet had good mechanicals but lacked in space, nexon and xuv 300 had space but had pseudo auto box.

None of the car felt like a real upgrade from a hatchback. That was the time when I read this forum on how an expensive car works out cheaper in the long term.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...llzrZhqUOz6jJJ

I had finalised venue, but stretched (or almost doubled) my budget and bought a 1.4TGDi Creta SXO. Zero compromise made, spent extra but I calculated my finances well.
So, if your friend is finances allows you, go for a segment above this, else buy the one which suits your NEED, all the cars mentioned above has its pros and cons.

[ArijitGupte]

Voted for Sonet.
After lot of reading and on field demos, found the Petrol Turbo with DCT a very good package. With the newer 2022 models programmed to prevent the dreaded DCT overheating issue.
Haven't found issues with the rear space, it is just enough and a humongous boot space. Engine is completely capable of triple digits even when fully loaded. Suspension setup may be on the stiffer side but does help on the highways to keep it planted.

[CarNerd]

What is the reason for this Poll? I don't understand. We pick cars according to our requirements and I don't see for what purpose should we choose one of them? Engine, Drive, Features, Safety, Space, Ride, Mileage? Surely none of them can have all the qualities.

[vineshpikale]

Voted for the Sonet.

And considering I just took delivery of a Sonet Diesel AT last month I’ve put my money where my mouth is 😉

Even by process of elimination:
1. AT needed. All the manual only ones are out. Bye bye WRV/C3.
2. Not ok with AMT and the associated Headbanging. Bye bye Nexon/XUV300/Tata Punch
3. Expecting impeccable fit and finish. bye bye Magnite/Kiger. (Though I do really like the Magnite, it kind of appeals to me).
4. Cabin to be a special place to be in: Bye Brezza/urban cruiser. (The new ones are a step up though). I honestly think it’s overpriced.

The car’s replaces the Wife’s Honda city and her usage is very very limited. So I was ok with any fuel. But the “I don’t want headaches of an unreliable tech” guy in me wasn’t ok with DCT.

So that left the Sonet Diesel AT (yes despite the higher price and the very low usage 😬 and it was my starting choice anyways. So there exists a possible confirmation bias.)

Grievances:
A. The sunroof. Didn’t need it. Didn’t want it. Have three and have barely used. Would have happily liked a lower price instead.
B. Missing telescopic steering. Can make do without it via other adjustments but I do sincerely believe that a telescopic steering is really transformative in getting settled into a perfect driving position.
C. White fabric seats with airbags. Who in their right mind.. atleast put those airbags in the pillar.

The Nexon EV came close, super close. Almost issued the cheque. But it didn’t appeal to my Wife.

[SinghBHP]

We should also be given an option for 'None of these'. I voted for OTHER as I do not like any of these as none of it comes closer in driving pleasure to what I own today.

I drive Ford Ecosport 1.5 TDCi (7.8yrs / 93000 KMs) and after reading the driving reports I can say none of these comes close to Driving pleasure one can experience in Ecosport. It's a sub 4m car however has a road presence of big SUV and feels similar in driving as well. Additionally all these are highly expensive. I understand the inflation and new technology aspect however still these are way higher than what they deserve. Look at the cost high variant of of BREZZA or VENUE or SONET. Completely playing with customers pocket and sentiments.


I was eagerly waiting for Ford to launch something in this segment and never thought Ford will leave India and now customers are forced to search for options in this list and I do not like any.

[Guite]

This is a hot segment. Occasionally I look at this segment for our second car, but am usually detered by lack of decent safety rating. It would be great if we could have crash test ratings included in the car data sheets/ charts. This will also be a way of Team Bhp promoting safety in cars.

[mkumar79]

Voted for the Magnite.

Safety: Stable structure. ESP, TCS, Brake Assist, Hill Start Assist even for lower (Turbo) variants.

Engine: Ample power through the RPM range that I am allowed by my better half to drive at. Yes, she watches both the needles.

Good AT: CVT. I feel Nissan gives the best-matched and a reliable AT without expecting an exorbitant premium.

Road presence: I find it on par with the XUV300, Urban Cruiser and just a notch below the venerable segment maker - Ford EcoSport. The 2022 facelifts (Brezza,Venue) are fresh and smart but not quite there yet.

Interior feel: Not a deal-breaker. I do admire companies who cut costs at such visible places. It seems honest and fair to the buyers.

Having survived a few scary and many minor frustrating episodes with broken glass panels, I truly appreciate that no sunroof is being forced over my precious head at my cost when I choose the top variant.

Service, spares availability and resale value: Nissan was almost done in this country. But now this is the first Nissan product doing good numbers here within this hotly contested segment. The tailwinds for a positive change are there. That said, the risk for the buyer is still too big.

Safety is paramount for me so I would rather embrace the smaller risk with the Magnite.

[Arun_S]

Voted for Others as None option was not there.

Currently in the market for this segment. None are appealing if are looking for proper Auto.

Closest one Nexon but no proper AT, Brezza was there but price is through the roof.

Might go for a Sedan as nowadays they seem more VFM

[itsmeparvathy9]

Originally Posted by Arun_S

Voted for Others as None option was not there.

Currently in the market for this segment. None are appealing if are looking for proper Auto.

Closest one Nexon but no proper AT, Brezza was there but price is through the roof.

Might go for a Sedan as nowadays they seem more VFM

If you really are looking for a proper Automatic Gerbox, the best option is the KIA Sonet, it gets a Petrol DCT, and a Diesel Torque Converter AT as well, the Hyundai Venue offers the Petrol DCT too, but I'd prefer the Diesel AT on the KIA Sonet as it is a tried and tested engine which also runs duties on the Seltos, Creta, Carens, Alcazar and Elantra.

Although you may say safety is debatable, the KIA Sonet does come with all active safety features and 4 airbags as standard.

Besides you also have the Urban Cruiser with Torque Converter AT, the Kiger and the Magnite with the CVT as well.

You get all kinds of Automatics in this segment, be it AMT, CVT, DCT or Torque Converter AT.

As far as sedans go, they are not the best for the bad roads we have in our rural areas, and even the urban roads have potholes too, but nothing beats the comfort and space of a sedan if that's what you are into.

[Roadster101]

Can't vote as I'm currently a newbie.
However, out of the cars mentioned above, I'd pick the Kia Sonet. Handsome looking compact SUV with the best automatic gearboxes in the segment and loaded to the gills with features. If I were to choose solely based on manuals, the Mahindra XUV3OO would've been my pick. Although it's on the pricey side of the segment, it still packs in a lot of features and the manual gearbox paired with the Diesel engine is so smooth unlike the jerky AMT.
I still don't get why our homegrown giants like Tata and Mahindra still put AMTs in their cars when segment has advanced to such developed gearboxes like the DCT in the Sonet and Venue.
Hopefully with facelifts we might get to see better automatic gearboxes.

But for now, my pick would be the Kia Sonet for the reasons mentioned above.
Thanks.

[CafeRacer16]

I would not buy any of the sub 4m SUVs since most have become too costly.
I generally go for base or middle variants & in this case would buy a base version (which I did & again plan as well) of the next segment SUV as stretching budget by approx 1 lakh gets one a bigger, better engineered car with all the necessary features I require in a car.

However if I want all the bells & whistles in my car then Brezza would be my pick amongst the lot.

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by ArijitGupte

With the newer 2022 models programmed to prevent the dreaded DCT overheating issue.

Sorry for being off topic, from where did you get this info? I own a Sonet DCT, 2021 model. I’m trying to understand if there’s a related update.

[ArijitGupte]

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

Sorry for being off topic, from where did you get this info? I own a Sonet DCT, 2021 model. I’m trying to understand if there’s a related update.

I have May 2022 model and this was what I was told by the service advisor. During the first servicing they updated the cars software, which I was informed had some DCT gearbox updates as well.

A few days back was stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours to cover 3kms and randomly did forget to slot car in N. No heating error or any issues. Fingers crossed though.

Kia still recommends to slot car in N or P mode if stationary.

[venus1975]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

Cars have become very expensive in this Sub-4m SUV segment, at 16.5Lakh OTR the Brezza and Sonet are quite expensive for the size!

That's the perception issue. As you would be aware, these are prices of the top end models with all the bells and whistles that were present only in a segment or two above, until few years ago. I guess Hyundai still does not provide a Diesel AT in Venue so that people don't call it the most expensive compact SUV forgetting what exactly the car offers.

As I mentioned earlier in another post, 16.5L Sonet will still make sense for someone who wants almost the same experience (feature-wise) of Seltos in a compact body. These are people who have the budget for a Seltos but do not want to deal with its size for various reasons and hence go for a Sonet.