[Jangra]

This post is on behalf of my sister who wants to buy a luxury SUV with budget of 50lacs. It’s been a month of test drives which is kind of exciting. It came down to a choice between Jeep compass Diesel, Mercedes GLA 220D and BMW X1 Diesel

Her requirements are pretty basic and simple
1. Her monthly running year is about 1500 km. Mostly on the highways of Kerala, predominantly Kochi
2. She has been driving Honda City iv-tech Manual fourth-generation for six years now, and wanted to upgrade to automatic
3. Reliability over anything else, but nothing from Toyota stable excited her
4. Car should suit her profession. She’s a doctor. Whatever that means
5. Car will be solo driven most of the time so not wanting to cross 4.5m length
6. She is a very sedate driver, so handling and BHP is low on priority for her. BUT, I will also be occasionally driving it, so it is somewhat of a priority to me.
7. Only SUV

We were definitely Cross shopping between segments and since I recently bought a Skoda Kodiaq, we could land on the shortlisted cars pretty quickly. We did not want to look at Volkswagen Tiguan due to almost a same car in the family.

So now the decision is between the three
1- Jeep Compass diesel model S - my sister loves the design and Road presence, excellent interiors, she is not bothered of rattles, so that’s not an issue
2- BMW X1 20d X-line - love the badge value. And I love the engine, great box. I feel the new generation of this spec may cross 60 lac, so not wanting to wait
3- Mercedes GLA 220D - love the badge value and interior ambience

NOT looking at
1. Q3 - since it’s the same engine gearbox in my Kodiaq
2. XC40 - sister is not keen on the Volvo brand

Can you please assist

[androdev]

MB offers excellent warranty scheme for GLA - plus it’s a great compact car perfect in so many ways for a lady driver. Should be a top consideration. Given you already have 2.0L TSI DSG, you can dial down the fun to drive requirement for the new car and focus on feel good vibes which MB delivers better.

[revsperminute]

The Benz will be perfect. Looks stylish, compact size, three pointed star. One of my female friends drives an A limo and she loves the interior. Haven’t driven the current gen GLA but it must be nice to drive to some degree to be driven out of a Merc dealership.

The Jeep Compass is a good VFM choice (still overpriced) but I don’t think it can hold its own against the Mercs and Bimmers of this world.

[lonetraveller89]

50 lakhs? H247 GLA prices (Kochi) for April 2022, FYI -



Plus, I heard the waiting time for delivery is around 5 months.

[docsinghal]

I was in the same dilemma till a few months back, and guess what, I am doctor too.
I my case both me and my wife are from hill states, me from Himachal and she from Nagaland and we do drive to each place at least once a year. We are not into off reading but we did have AWD/ 4X4 as one of the requirements.

SUVs considered were:
Jeep Compass (Model S/ Trailhawk) - it ticked all the boxes but somehow just couldn’t find it to be tugging at our heartstrings.
VW Tiguan - VW really messed up a great car by launching it with some weird feature set (Heated steering wheel, come on!!)
Skoda Kodiaq - I own an Octavia 1.8TSI L&K and Kodiak would have been a wonderful upgrade but its wait times were crazy and also we felt that the cabin looked very familiar. Plus we didn’t want a 7 seater (this was longer than our Octavia)

Then entered the GLA 220D 4 Matic, it was love at first sight but the long wait time (5-6 months) put me off, also it was missing some features like keyless entry which was just one of those things that’s bothers you when are paying through your nose. We were still undecided when on one of our visits to the Sundaram Motors in Bangalore, we just met the AMG sales team and realised that at around 10 lakh rupees more, the AMG GLA 35 offers much more and the wait time was almost negligible.
And I was an AMG (ok, technically not a true blue AMG).
We booked it right away.
It arrives next week, maybe I will write a separate post about it.
Buying it at Chandigarh and it will cost me 64-65 lakhs on road (give or take a few).

My advice to you:
If she likes the Jeep Compass, it should save you money, time and she will get a very competitive product. However if it’s a matter of heart over mind, GLA’s interiors are the one to beat.
Do ask for the doctor’s discount, MB is offering 1.5 lakh discount for doctors.

[GTO]

Women generally value style, design, interiors, features & the badge on the hood. From the conventional choices, the Hyundai Tucson (less badge, but the latest & most competent) or a Jeep Compass in red colour would be perfect.

From unconventional choices, take her for a test-drive of the Mini Cooper & the more practical Countryman with 4 doors. She will love the Countryman. BMW mechanicals means good reliability.

[niki9009]

Jeep Compass is a great vehicle but expect zero support from jeep customer care, If any issues arise you are at the mercy of the dealership. Do factor this before you decide.

[EV Fan]

Originally Posted by Jangra

Her requirements are pretty basic and simple

Did you folks test ride any EV's???

[avira_tk]

This is a no contest, GLA all the way, because the buyer is a doctor in Kerala. The Benz has the best badge value of the lot.

The BMW X1 is outdated at this point and a doctor buying a discounted old car doesn't do much for image, it's very important to create a perception of success. Professionals like doctors, lawyers and architects need a luxury car, if they want more clients using their services, that is how the world works.

[hondatoyotafan]

Originally Posted by Jangra

This post is on behalf of my sister who wants to buy a luxury SUV with budget of 50lacs.



Car should suit her profession. She’s a doctor. Whatever that means

My sister is also a doctor and the badge is more important in that profession and nothing better than an MB badge to say that you have arrived. My sister now drives a BMW 330i and previously drove a GLA. She was not happy with the mercedes service so got rid of it. She hates the harsh ride of the 3 series but likes the driveability and the bmw badge. I would suggest go for a Bmw x1 or a GLA 2wd. Do not bother about the compass.

[Cresterk]

X1 is outdated, overpriced and has had major feature deletions over the years. Compass is full of niggles and the 9 speed auto is lethargic and slow. Xc40 is petrol only. GLA is the best option and it comes with a complimentary 8 year warranty to seal the deal. Go for it.

[sameerpb]

My view is Jeep Compass Model S or TrailHawk, JC is very comfortable and my ownership experience for past 4 1/2 years is good. In fact service is improving day by day. Also safety features in Jeep are far better than any other car.

[sups]

Originally Posted by Jangra

Can you please assist

Since you are from Mumbai, I am tempted to suggest a non-conventional choice. Its the newly updated C5 Aircross SUV. It is not bang for the buck. But for a sedate driver like your sister, it is a very comfortable SUV, has an excellent diesel AT, it is 4.5m length with excellent build quality and costs less than 50 lakh on-road. The recently launched face lift looks better and has few new features. Please ask your sister to drive it once.

If you want to save 4-5 lakh for the same car, you can go for the pre-facelift one, some of these are still with dealership. But since you have the budget, the new once would be preferred.

[UD17]

I would suggest to wait for 2023 X1:

- much better design, appealing to eyes
- Brand image, snob value
- Excellent powertrains and equally highly rated Reliability
- BMW ASS is better than Mercedes
- More SUVish than GLA

[vb-saan]

Exclude X1 as its due for a generation change soon.

Jeep Compass is a great choice but doesn’t have the same brand image as the other options you mentioned. Since she is in Kochi, it will be good to do a TD of the GLA and the Mini Countryman and decide; the latter gets my vote.