[Sanjeev Chhiber]

Hi I drive a civic which I have taken through all mountain raods. I have been stranded a few times though with a ruptured oil sump etc .At Moling I have beentowed. But love the zip and the low hugging. I reachMumbai from Delhi in 16-17 hours non stop.
my car in 4 years looks like a wreck but runs fine.

Now I need an SUV.
1. It has to be good

2.4WD and rough handling

3. Good A/c, stereo and GPS

4. Good HP and torque

5. 21-22 lakhs max is my budget as of now .

Please help me decide.

I was thinking of Pajero

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Sanjeev Chhiber

Now I need an SUV.
1. It has to be good

2.4WD and rough handling

3. Good A/c, stereo and GPS

4. Good HP and torque

5. 21-22 lakhs max is my budget as of now .

Please help me decide.

I was thinking of Pajero

Though i have posted this several times already but posting again for your convenience.

Since Ruggedness and 4wd are important to you, i advice you to choose between Fortuner, Pajero and Endeavour.

• Fortuner comes with the best engine, pulls from 1200rpm with close to nil lag and mated with well chosen ratios it's equally comfortable on and off the road. Though the Ride and Handling are not as good as the Pajero but Handling is very safe and Ride though firm is fine for a Chassis based SUV.
  
• Endeavour comes with an equally good engine which has super mid range, the 4wd version comes only with the 5 speed Automatic. The AT is good but not excellent, works well unless you are used to something better. Ride at rear is a cause of concern for many, do drive the car properly before finalising, personally i find the ride slightly inferior than Fortuner but much more tolerable than the Scorpio. Priced lower with better equipment makes it seem good value. Low seating, especially for the middle and last row makes you sit in knees up position.
  
• Pajero is dated but has a brilliant Ride, Handling and Steering combo. The engine is weak and dated, it is a old school IDI Turbo producing 108 bhp(Euro IV) which is quite for a SUV of this segment. Pajero uses low gearing to mask the lack of power, it is able to hide the power handicap in city decently but out on open roads it feels weak.

Test drive all 3 SUV and choose whichever suits you best. My vote goes to Fortuner.

[Sanjeev Chhiber]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Though i have posted this several times already but posting again for your convenience.

Since Ruggedness and 4wd are important to you, i advice you to choose between Fortuner, Pajero and Endeavour.

• Fortuner comes with the best engine, pulls from 1200rpm with close to nil lag and mated with well chosen ratios it's equally comfortable on and off the road. Though the Ride and Handling are not as good as the Pajero but Handling is very safe and Ride though firm is fine for a Chassis based SUV.
  
• Endeavour comes with an equally good engine which has super mid range, the 4wd version comes only with the 5 speed Automatic. The AT is good but not excellent, works well unless you are used to something better. Ride at rear is a cause of concern for many, do drive the car properly before finalising, personally i find the ride slightly inferior than Fortuner but much more tolerable than the Scorpio. Priced lower with better equipment makes it seem good value. Low seating, especially for the middle and last row makes you sit in knees up position.
  
• Pajero is dated but has a brilliant Ride, Handling and Steering combo. The engine is weak and dated, it is a old school IDI Turbo producing 108 bhp(Euro IV) which is quite for a SUV of this segment. Pajero uses low gearing to mask the lack of power, it is able to hide the power handicap in city decently but out on open roads it feels weak.

Test drive all 3 SUV and choose whichever suits you best. My vote goes to Fortuner.

Thx Anshuman.

How is Santa Fe? It claims 197BHP and has a excellent torque?

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by Sanjeev Chhiber

Thx Anshuman.

How is Santa Fe? It claims 197BHP and has a excellent torque?

Fortuner is your best bet. Santa Fe will be over 25 Lakhs on the road for the 4x4 version. Besides with Hyundai, sourcing parts will be a problem down the line.

[Sanjeev Chhiber]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Fortuner is your best bet. Santa Fe will be over 25 Lakhs on the road for the 4x4 version. Besides with Hyundai, sourcing parts will be a problem down the line.

Ok. THx. I wouldnt mind 26 if its a good car

[Sajuanchorage]

Short list to Endevour and new facelifted Pajero (introducing soon) and choose Endy.
Endy have the best road presence, you will complaint only 'everybody starring at me !'

[nilanjanray]

Since you love fast driving, the Santa Fe or X-trail would have been good bets. But they are not as tough as the Fortuner, Pajero or Endy. Out of these 3, Fortuner is the best highway mile cruncher.

[blueblooded]

Sanjeev ,why not wait for the force motors upcoming launch ,based on the legendary merc G-wagon it must be really a very good suv.Moreover as the various reports on team-bhp goes the previous Gurkha really has very good comfort and ride ,though the engine vital statistics does not come near any of the suv under consideration,but do give a thought as force motors now seems to be bent on catching up with the suv market.

[siddheshb]

Sanjeev, I have done 20K in 1 year in my Endy 3.0L AT - on expressways at 170, on ghats and thousands of kms in Pune city... and trust me, you won't get a better SUV - road presence, ease of driving, huge cabin that can take 10-12 adults and children with a little practice , offroading capabilities, sond system, GPS, bluetooth, name it you have it. Check my Endy thread for tonnes of road trip reports, and pictures. Go for it, you will leave memories of the Fortuners and Pajeros and Xtrails and what nots far behind...

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

Sanjeev, I have done 20K in 1 year in my Endy 3.0L AT - on expressways at 170, on ghats and thousands of kms in Pune city

My only grouse against this vehicle is its ride quality and low seating, especially in the middle and last rows. What has been the take of your passengers so far on these?

[vb-saan]

Autocar India have an article on the upcoming 2011 Captiva. Looks quite promising and refreshed.
Here is the link: New Captiva test drive, review | Autocar India

[radiokidb]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Autocar India have an article on the upcoming 2011 Captiva. Looks quite promising and refreshed.
Here is the link: New Captiva test drive, review | Autocar India

This is what they had to say about the ride

The Captiva’s chassis set-up has been modified for the 2011 facelift, with the intention of making it more worthy of the ‘sport’ element of SUV, or at the very least a more positive driver’s car. And whilst the steering is marginally better tuned with that in mind, this is still a distinctly stodgy car to drive, now with correspondingly lumpy ride. This could in part be down to the 19-inch alloys that all top-spec LTZ models get as standard, since our test car did settle down on smoother main artery roads, but there’s too much jogging and jarring over typical b-roads.

For an SUV which is going to be used mostly in the city, this is a huge weakness. I dont think anything still comes close to the CRV's ride (nothing comes close to its price either though..)

[siddheshb]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

My only grouse against this vehicle is its ride quality and low seating, especially in the middle and last rows. What has been the take of your passengers so far on these?

I am not sure why people talk about ride quality - might have been an issue with older Endys but this one simply rocks (not literally!)

Yes, it does have some limitations, so let me elaborate...

1) Front seats - absolutely a pleasure, irrespective of terrain, road quality, turns, whatever. So for driver and passenger, the drive can't be more enjoyable and comfortable. The under-thigh support is also superb, and the seats recline all the way back, so passenger can really curl up and go to sleep.

2) Middle seats - much more comfortable than a Innova or Xylo, I haven't sat in the Fortuner or Pajero, so cannot compare to them. It's not very low seating, and the leg space is great too. Under thigh support is also pretty good. Can comfortably take 4 adults. Can jump a little though on sudden speed bumps, but otherwise extremely comfy. Body roll can be a problem on the ghats, though - and we usually make it 4 adults on the middle seat to counter that

3) Last row - low seating, jumps quite a bit. Good for children, or 2-3 adults for short drives. Not recommended for long drives. I usually let my kiddo use it as a bed.. and she loves it. Need to slow down on speed bumps so she doesnt get launched.

So overall, for city driving, ride quality is excellent. For rough roads, ride quality is great for first and middle row. Last row is OK for short drives, or as a bed, or to carry luggage. Avoid jumping bumps when carrying passengers on last seat, avoid screeching on ghat curves when you have less than 4 passengers on middle seat

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

So overall, for city driving, ride quality is excellent. For rough roads, ride quality is great for first and middle row. Last row is OK for short drives, or as a bed, or to carry luggage. Avoid jumping bumps when carrying passengers on last seat, avoid screeching on ghat curves when you have less than 4 passengers on middle seat

Im going to agree with you on the front seats part. But the middle row is really quite low with bad under thigh support.

Nice driving style you seem to have Jumping bumps and screeching on ghat turns that too with an overloaded car.

[V-16]

i will agree with the last seat which is pretty useless. Its not even comfortable for children if they happen to be tall, else they would b sitting with their heads bobbing between their knees. With such huge dimentions one would expect the endevours last seat to be rally comfortable.

Another fact is that the middle row is not as good as the Innova and im talking out of experience. I have had he fortune of travelling in both but not the Xylo so i cant compare and im comparing the middle row bench seat as you mention 3-4 people to be seated in the Innova's rear seat. Captain seats of both the Innova and the Xylo are unbeatable.