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Old 6th July 2008, 20:25   #31
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agree with you JK - but he had a Mahindra Jeep with soft top before, then he owns an old ex army Willys, then he has had a number of others like Armada, MM540, Armada Grand, lately a pre Crde Scorpio etc
He said that this reversing issue is to do with the size of the rear window on the grande and the fact that it is a bit high off the ground - thats why, instead of scratching the car or bumping into something by mistake he opted to fit the reverse camera - I can appreciate this because funnily enough in my old bolero I actually bumped into a pole once while reversing because of the size of the rear window and the thickness of the last body pillar! Sumo Grande also has a thick last body pillar so I guess my colleague is finding this a bit difficult. But his main idea in buying it was to transport his family in spacious comfort, which Sumo Grande undoubtedly has in abundance.

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Old 6th July 2008, 20:29   #32
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agree with your comment about leaf springs behaviour when fully loaded - same feeling when I had my Bolero but when NOT Loaded, as in normal city driving conditions, they can make you jump about a bit in the back and skitter about a bit if you are driving alone. Thats why the suggestion that he should go for the vehicle with more comfortable suspension.

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My comments below....
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Old 6th July 2008, 20:34   #33
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agree about the poor resale value in general for the poor Fusion.
But the new TDCi Fusion Plus hasnt yet come on the secondhand market because it was only launched in Feb/March this year, so it might be a little early to judge its resale value right now.
It is truly a well thought out car and I think its a very good vehicle, though somewhat maligned because of the price/ cost vs benefit ratio mostly because we Indians are very value conscious and when paying a price of about 8 lacs, generally we seem to prefer a car with a boot to one with a hatchback!
cheers

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The ford fusion also has a very very poor resale value, but as shankar.balan said its a great car and very easy to handle, great GC etc. Why not consider a ford incase you dont mind the looks and are only 2 people travelling in city?

Its much easier to park too.
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Old 7th July 2008, 17:27   #34
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i have sat in a grande and found the rear seat to be very bumpy compared to the scorpio and safari.
your dad will love driving a scorpio more than an innova, even parking it! (i have been driving both in mumbai city for the past 6 years and can confidently say that both are easy to park. yes, the scorpio's high-ish stance does limit rear visibility but after a few days, you get a hold of it. also VLX's sensors do assist you!) but he will be more comfortable in an innova's backseat.
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Old 9th July 2008, 04:21   #35
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Thanks but.... How about Vitara?

Thanks a ton guys.... never expected opinions from you guys to this extent. Sorry for delayed response, had to go out somewhere.

I can’t possibly discuss and thank each one of you but I have thoroughly read each one of the responses and have to say that it has really helped, especially shankar.balan's detailed post.

It is much clearer that there are not many options. Innova is the first one to be eliminated as tsk1979 rightly said that it has got that "taxi image", moreover my father is into his nature and visits Ranthambore National Park about twice a year, maybe Corbett and several trips to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary (in other words the car goes through fair bit of rough usage). Besides that he will use the car daily in Delhi travelling to North Delhi for business.

He has until now used Maruti Omni, Uno, WagonR, Getz, Accent, City and occasionally a friend's Scorpio. He has been most pleased with the low maintenance for WagonR. In the four years that he had two of them (2 years each) he had only opened the hood to top up oils and windscreen washer tank.

This also brings me Maruti's Vitara. I quite like it and am sure he would love it. I know its raises the bar to Rs.15 lakhs but is it worth it? Are there any known problems with the Vitara? Although price is an issue that I need to discuss with my father, is it worth the extra money? What about daily driving issues like mileage?

If he rules out Vitara due to the price, it is likely to be Scorpio (not Safari) but will evaluate that further.

Thank you very much once again.


Regards
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Old 9th July 2008, 08:36   #36
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moreover my father is into his nature and visits Ranthambore National Park about twice a year, maybe Corbett and several trips to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary (in other words the car goes through fair bit of rough usage). Besides that he will use the car daily in Delhi travelling to North Delhi for business.
Going by the above, the scorpio is the only choice available. Pushing the limit to 20 can have the likes of GV, Honda CRV, Hyundai Terracan, Mitsubishi Montero, Chevy captiva etc.

But stick to a scorpio, its proved itself and will have peace of mind.
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Old 9th July 2008, 09:17   #37
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Going by the above, the scorpio is the only choice available. Pushing the limit to 20 can have the likes of GV, Honda CRV, Hyundai Terracan, Mitsubishi Montero, Chevy captiva etc.

But stick to a scorpio, its proved itself and will have peace of mind.
the terracan is discontinued. and the 2l crv will barely just fit into 20l while the montero is about 40l.


samurai owns a GV and is very happy with it. i suggest you send him a pm with your queries.
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Old 9th July 2008, 09:36   #38
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Am very glad the suggestions have been of some help, redcandle - thank you for your acknowledgement.
Nice to hear of your dad's regular visits to Ranthambore and the other National Parks with a bit of rough use/ highway driving - in such a case, the Scorpio is definitely a very good choice. I say this because of the combination of usage patterns - in city usage much of the time but garnished with regular jaunts on the highways and rough roading in the jungles/ hill stations etc. Incidentally, this is very similar to my own personal usage pattern and it is precisely because of this reason that I chose to buy the Scorpio three months ago! In my experience, the Mahindra vehicles reliability in general is excellent. Therefore I do believe it will serve you well.
Also, while the Grand Vitara is a lovely SUV, it is petrol driven, which may be something you want to take into consideration, given the price differential between Diesel and Petrol in India these days.
All the best.

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Originally Posted by redcandle View Post
Thanks a ton guys.... never expected opinions from you guys to this extent. Sorry for delayed response, had to go out somewhere.

I can’t possibly discuss and thank each one of you but I have thoroughly read each one of the responses and have to say that it has really helped, especially shankar.balan's detailed post.

It is much clearer that there are not many options. Innova is the first one to be eliminated as tsk1979 rightly said that it has got that "taxi image", moreover my father is into his nature and visits Ranthambore National Park about twice a year, maybe Corbett and several trips to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary (in other words the car goes through fair bit of rough usage). Besides that he will use the car daily in Delhi travelling to North Delhi for business.

He has until now used Maruti Omni, Uno, WagonR, Getz, Accent, City and occasionally a friend's Scorpio. He has been most pleased with the low maintenance for WagonR. In the four years that he had two of them (2 years each) he had only opened the hood to top up oils and windscreen washer tank.

This also brings me Maruti's Vitara. I quite like it and am sure he would love it. I know its raises the bar to Rs.15 lakhs but is it worth it? Are there any known problems with the Vitara? Although price is an issue that I need to discuss with my father, is it worth the extra money? What about daily driving issues like mileage?

If he rules out Vitara due to the price, it is likely to be Scorpio (not Safari) but will evaluate that further.

Thank you very much once again.


Regards
Redcandle
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Old 9th July 2008, 09:49   #39
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Originally Posted by redcandle View Post
This also brings me Maruti's Vitara. I quite like it and am sure he would love it. I know its raises the bar to Rs.15 lakhs but is it worth it? Are there any known problems with the Vitara? Although price is an issue that I need to discuss with my father, is it worth the extra money? What about daily driving issues like mileage?
Given your father's usage pattern, if the price of Petrol is not an issue, a GV would be a very good buy. PM Samurai & Sudev (who has already notched up some phenomenal mileage on his GV, crossed 50k kms IIRC) for more details.
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Old 9th July 2008, 10:28   #40
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I did not post anything earlier as your budget was lower. However if you are able to hike this .... GV on road is 14lacs in Delhi.
Read my or Samurai's thread of ownership report.
I reckon with FE of 10~9.5kmpl in city it is better than spending 2~4 lacs extra for diesel options.
Handling and ease of drive if superb in comparison to Scorpio or Safari. Do a TD.
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Old 9th July 2008, 12:40   #41
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RedCandle, if you and your father are comfortable with the on-road price of the Vitara, and your father has been happy with a Maruti before, then you should head down to a Maruti dealer and book it. It is one of the best SUV in India for the price with the only drawback being the unavailability of the diesel variant. Sudev reported that if it is driven properly, it can return a mileage of 13 on the highway which is great. Also, its a CBU from Japan and so you can be sure that it wont rattle like a Safari or Scorpio and it will bring some peace of mind. Given your father's annual trips to these wildlife sanctuarys, your father will fall in love with the Vitara and will bless you more

Sudev's report of a mileage of 10 in the city should make your father happier should you and he decide on the Vitara. Do a TD and then decide. Its also available in an AT version.
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Old 9th July 2008, 14:15   #42
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i dont suggest a GV as i feel its engine is underpowered for the segment. but it looks great.
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Old 9th July 2008, 14:18   #43
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i dont suggest a GV as i feel its engine is underpowered for the segment. but it looks great.
Are you making this claim after a test drive?
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Old 9th July 2008, 14:54   #44
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i dont suggest a GV as i feel its engine is underpowered for the segment. but it looks great.
Really? This is interesting, what exactly are you benchmarking against?

And have you driven the vehicle?
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Old 9th July 2008, 22:29   #45
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@ sumitb: i dint test drive it but have been driven around in it. apart from the comment of the driver itself, i found the engine straining and lacking any momentum expected from a car of this price segment.

@ suman: i am benchmarking it against the tucson (even though its a diesel) and earlier generation CRV as these are similarly priced SUVs.

Last edited by raj_5004 : 9th July 2008 at 22:31.
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