[vina]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Read today in the paper that the new swift is going to be priced higher than the older one. Looks like they might be continuing the older one which could justify the higher premium for the new one.

Another reason to price it higher (and add more features etc.) would be that (as tk mentioned before) there is hardly any difference between Ritz/Swift at present - Maruti may want to position the new Swift a notch higher than Ritz (which fills the space between WagonR/Estillo and Swift)

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Fiat Punto is very expensive when you talk about the 90bhp engine. Even the weaker 75(or is it 70) bhp engined punto is 5.6+
for that kind of money, I would risk an i20.

As for Tata, well swift is still far away, so maybe I take a TD or two?

tsk - Nice thread.
Did you TD any of the Germans/Scandinavians? Polo /Fabia 1.6s have long legs and are very good highway cruisers. But then the budget would need to be stretched a byte.
Personally I switched from the Swift petrol (the older 1.3 L 89 BHP gas burner) to the Polo 1.6 (105 BHP) and just can't stop driving it on the higways. It has covered 20K in 10 months.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Tanveer dont buy a Tata. Having owned two, you know T-rouble is the middle name, vfm notwithstanding. Its best if your next ride is a diesel Maruti. Stay away from the following; Fiat, Ford, Hyundai.
Its a known fact that American and European cars are expensive to maintain.

[zulfi hansi]

so as long as you are waiting for the new swift, the diesel Liva will be just round the corner. Remember, the competition is cut-troth and nobody wants to shrink their market share.

[romeomidhun]

Tsk, I would recommend you to wait for Maruti RIII, which will serve you instead of both Safari and Indica, because IMO, it is big enough to accommodate what a Safari can, and small enough to run inside city.

[indianvirus]

Dear Tks,

I know I am little late for this comment (rather a compliment), but I had to do it after I read your write up. Amazing!!! I know you are not a writer but you should consider it, at least as hobby. You are great with words and can capture the reader.

I hope you decide and buy a car soonest, I can't wait to read your buying and owning experience.

Regards.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I cannot bring myself to walk into a Tata showroom again, because 99% about 2 years from now we will walk into the tata showroom and buy a merlin or something. So two Tata's once again....

No TD of vista yet, maybe I do TD the vista, maybe not. Can't promise.

C'mon Tanveer,

Dont deprive us of the pleasure

Even if you dont buy it, We atleast need to read your words on this TD, go on

[amit_2025]

Tanveer, your Ladakh travelogue was a brilliant and this thread is no less...Love the way you have described the experience :-)
Rated *****

Just a suggestion, the new swift looks promising, so it might be a good idea to book it to avoid the waiting time should you actually decide to finally buy it.
Else, you could cancel the booking. The cancellation charges are Rs. 250. Got this confirmation from My POC at a Maruti Dealership.

[igp_79]

Excellent write up. i read only a couple of pages of replies.

I own a diesel i20. All that you said is true. it is a fantastic car. well put together. at 30k, i haven't had steering issues. The Ac is just adequate. It is very plush inside. highway perfomance is very rewarding. I never had too much of an issue with the handling. You see, when you own a xylo everything else is a piece of cake. But one thing that i think is not mentioned is that that i20,s low end is extremely poor. On a steep climb you need to slip the clutch even in first to pull from standstill or from 10-20kph speeds. Being in ooty this can be a real irritant. You said you do a lot of hill driving. when you take the car up, this will come as an unpleasant surprise for you. because on flat terrain you would never suspect this because the i20 has a very powerful mid range

[drjanakpatel]

I am also in the market for diesel hatch for my wife with as much budget as yours (may be a little more). But I want my car to have maximum safety features. I20 has everything i want but I do not want a hyundai (poor road manners). Next comes punto but FIAT is putting me off. I am hoping the new swift comes with Zdi variant.

[swiftnfurious]

Beautiful write up. And I should say its a completely UNBIASED report too. I found it all the more genuine to my type because even I am 6'2" and this translate that I will find the space / positions very much like you. I guess its time that we make it mandatory to put the Test Driver's physical status also on the TD report.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Anyways, we check out the maintenance plans
1. Pay 45000 INR and your car is covered against everything for 60,000kms. Heck even the safari cost 45000 for 60,000kms.

What is this "everything" include? Only mechanicals [just like Maruti extended warranty] or does it include even fibre parts [windshield, bumpers etc] ?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

2. Take 7 services only(60,000kms) and we will take only 13000. Again, 2500/service is okay, nothing too cheap, eh?

Isnt it cheap for a Diesel car? My Swift VDi [at 55,000 kms now] gets the below cost for each service and it has been almost constant for all the services.

Every odd 10K km service [10, 30, 50 (x 1000 kms)] etc

3000 - 3500/-

Every even 10K kms [20, 40 etc (x1000 kms)]
6000 - 6500/-

So the average works to around 4500 - 5000/- per service for Swift where as Figo stands @ 2500/- per service.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

200mts of TD, and we realize, we can't take the Alto K10. Its too crude, its not fast, its not peppy, its too flimsy. And 200mts of TD is all it takes to shatter our ultra low budget dream.

This is surprising for the Alto K10 after all the reviews I heard on the engine part. Did you do only one TD or tried at least 2 different cars [like Figo]? I agree that this car seems so crude & basic with respect to the other cars you tried.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Why? Every service at 10,000kms costs close to 4K at least, and the clutch costs 24K because you need to change flywheel.
So if clutch lasts 70K, we are looking at a good 1rs/km maintenance cost. Same as the big while elephant.

Even the average service cost for i20 is less than or at par with Swift. But looks like people get ripped off on maintenance a little later for the Hyundais

Originally Posted by igp_79

I own a diesel i20. The Ac is just adequate. It is very plush inside.

One of the reasons why I like Hyundais now is the "feel" of the car. No two words about it. But on the A/C front, I guess people are rating it very good barring some issues. Don't you find the A/C excellent?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Time to take a TD of the Chevy.
1km later we both are back with our busted knees. I am sure there is commission somewhere for knee surgeons with every sale.

Oh boy, the beat is out. Even if it comes for 4L for diesel, its out.
Not for the long legged ones you see.

Looks like Chevy has patented this technology called "knee busting" ! I had the very same problem when I TDed Spark, Beat is reported on the same lines and even the Cruze [for tall drivers] !

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

In fact, when I took the TD of i10, the sales person almost challenged me by saying that "If you take a TD of i10, you will definitely buy it".

Absolute truth, I still remember how I was sold on an i10 in just 3 minutes [less than 50 feet] over a Santro which I TDed [back to back] for almost 6-7 kms.

[singhupinder]

Brilliant write up tsk. I am 6'3 and need to buy a diesel hatch soon. Will be keeping a close eye on this thread ( both for your buying decision and witty posts )

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

My Swift VDi [at 55,000 kms now] gets the below cost for each service and it has been almost constant for all the services.

Every odd 10K km service [10, 30, 50 (x 1000 kms)] etc

3000 - 3500/-

Every even 10K kms [20, 40 etc (x1000 kms)]
6000 - 6500/-

I am surprised at the service costs. My VDi (one lakh kms) service has never costed me more than 5200 (includes engine flush and gear oil additive but excludes WA and WB), except for the time when I replaced the brake pads.

The 10k, 30k etc services include only an oil & oil filter change. Should not be more than 1800 at the max.

PS: I always get my WA and WB from specialist tyre shops.

[tsk1979]

This weekend we checked out some more cars, and due to popular demand, even tested the Fs and the Ts.
Will put up the review by tomorrow.
All this weekend circus has put all plans haywire, and suddenly, the ritz is no longer the 99% car.

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

All this weekend circus has put all plans haywire, and suddenly, the ritz is no longer the 99% car.

Can we guess it will be another Tata after your recent weekend circus. Common tsk1979, you are emotionally attached to Tata but you are not showing it publicly.

Let me give you one more option:

Go for second hand sedan in less than 5 lakh with decent mileage on ODO. This will enable you one more option besides Safari for your kind of tours. Sedan will enable you to pack your luggage in boot neatly.

In fact in NCR region second hand market price is not sky rocketing like in Bangalore due to killer road tax.

Also, I do not think there is much difference in driving sedan and hatch. (You already have experience of trucks, so it hardly matters you).

So, here would be your option to consider:

1. Ford Fiesta Diesel
2. Linea Diesel
3. Honda City new gen petrol cars due to its remarkable FE.