[rkbharat]

LoL this is interesting, After having a bucket of India Jelly beans, you have to choose between Japaneses Marsh-mellow or Korean Marsh-mellow.

Though I feel i20 will be to tough for any place outside city on bad roads and even in city a little high hump will scarp under body. Not sure, may be i20 owners can confirm

[whitelion]

If you read his first post, he is having a negative prejudice about Figo due to non availability of A.S.S.C. in near locality. The same is reflected in form of Performance of Engine. I too have TD Figo, Swift and Ritz back to back and found engine performance of Figo next to Maruthi twins. For me Figo won on other factors, its a different story altogether. In his other thread he has clearly mentioned that he has A.S.S. phobia, so Figo is clearly out of Picture. It seems that he is very much troubled by A.S.S. issues. I guess he will Zero down on Ritz, since it is has fast pickup, low engine noise, Maruthi's A.S.S has good reputation and Its near to his residence.

[mohandas]

Yo Tanveer:
It's really a nice write up.
But, I am little surprised that you are not considering Skoda Fabia TDi and VW polo TDi at all. I know they have got 3-cylinder heart but as a package (read built, quality and dynamics) they are not bad at all.

[sarmarishi]

Great write-up.. Absolutely loving it!

What about the Punto? Especially with the free upgrade offer they are running might be a good buy. Its a great car with its beautiful engine and handling as well as comfort. If you are booking a petrol then you can get a diesel (same variant) at the price of the petrol and If you are booking a diesel and you are chosen, they will give it to you at the price of the petrol of the same variant. I think thats a great offer!

If you dont choose the free upgrade offer they will give you fuel worth Rs. 13k + road side assistance and free insurance.

Or maybe its out of your budget. Not very sure! Added advantage would be known service centre for you and if you have a good relationship with a SA there you dont have to worry. And you are getting the same engine that Maruti gives you with parts costing far lesser

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

Figo would scrape a lot on these roads I suppose, what with the low GC & longer wheelbase.
Ritz, it should be!

I don't think so. Drove on a few bad roads too, and the GC is adequate. With careful driving, you can manage to avoid scrapes in any hatchback, even the low slung i20

Originally Posted by vina

First of all, if you need good (and cheap) service all over India - Maruti is your only option.

Second, i20 steering is not a "rattle" issue - it is a design flaw. The rack and pinion assembly on some cars wore out within 3000km twice. And that on city roads. If I remember correctly I read some months ago that one customer's steering became inoperable to some extent. Rattle is one annoying thing - inoperable is a safety problem.

Third, i20 customers do not expect so much from Hyundai because of the brand - they expect more because they pay a lot more and you know the numbers. You see, when you buy an Indica (not Vista) and there are niggles - who cares, for the price of a fully loaded i20 you can buy 2 Indicas - no matter how much kit is on offer, for most people 2 is more than 1.

OTOH somebody who chucked that option, did months of research and finally paid a few lacs more simply to have peace of mind and quality of his ride - not giving him that peace of mind is called bait and switch. Denying that a problem exists is adding insult to injury.



Fourth, go ahead and buy an i20 - you are so used to Tata, Hyundai can't mess your mind.


EDIT: how about the AC on i20 - I hear it is not so great that it'll make NCR summers feel like Shimla

Ac was fine, but then ambient temperatures in NCR are not 35 degrees only. maybe you are right, at 45 degrees it may not be enough. But I do get your point about the cover up mentality. As for messing with my mind, Tata does not mess with my mind. Its just that their cars need more visits to service center. When we report a problem, they change everything they think will fix the problem. For example, my safari spent a lot of time at the service center in the initial days for service light and rpm fluctuation problem. The defect was a fuel temperature sensor, a small part, but since it could not be diagnosed TATA changed the engine head, injectors, common rain, fuel pump, clutch, rpm meter and what not. No questions asked.
I did not have to pay anything. So while in warranty, its cheap to run and own, but since we have two TATAs we have been finding ourselves in situations where one car is in workshop for a few days, and the others AC conks out. Not a good situation. So one Tata and one non Tata is the thing here. The safari will stay with us for atleast couple of years more. So we need a brand new non tata car which goes to service centers only for service

Originally Posted by Kimified

Great write up Looks like you got bowled over by the i20. Something very similar happened to me around 8 months back. That engine, that interior, that solid feel when you close the door and that space made me forget all the niggles reported here. Nothing from Maruthi was even remotely close to the feel the i20 gave. You might think i own it that's why i am saying all good things about it. But trust me, I would have said all this even without buying the car.

I just could not take the i20 out of my mind after the TD. Every other car i took a TD, I ended up comparing it with the i20 even though it almost belonged to the next segment in the price range .I have not seen the rattle in my car after 8 months of use (Touch wood. Hope it doesn't happen anytime soon) and yeah, the ac just about does the job.

Since you want me to talk about the bad things, Yes, It costs 4k per service and the intervals are 6 months unlike many other cars which have one year intervals. Other cars give you better mileage when you compare it with the i20. You might end up getting the steering rattle which might piss you off so much that you might regret putting money on this car.

Oh well, wait a sec. I can't go further. I love it for whatever it is. Its not troubled me for 8 months, I don't want the steering rattle to come up tomorrow morning.

PS : All said, I think you should wait for the new Swift.

thanks for the "negatives". I did not find anything in the swift which is worth to us to justify cost and waiting period. Except for the internal day night IRVM. I am told it costs 300rs. So I will add 300rs to my purchase cost of ritz

Originally Posted by musicmanaman

tsk1979 I told you the Ritz makes more sence to the head, Swift is just over rated for no reason, and especially you coming from an SUV kind of driving position, will not like low seating cars for too long.

Thats not too bad as long as my back is comfortable

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Tanveer, that was some awesomely funny stuff. Specially that White Buffalo, gotta show this to my friend who has a D'zire. Now, we've found a new way to pull his leg

Anyway, isn't i20 has some Turbo lag which makes it a bit painful to drive in the mountains(incase you are planning to take it to mountains). I might be wrong but I kind of remember reading about it somewhere. Otherwise, I would choose an i20 over a Ritz anyday. It's more car than a Ritz is, be it the space, feel or the looks. And cars and bikes are always a matter of heart than head. I would say go with your heart and you'll never repent it (we live once as you said).

Ritz is indeed the strongest contender now

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

1) Ritz:
+:
-> Good utilization of space
-> Overall more compact dimensions that are certainly easier for city driving
-> Overall better visibility
-> Better FE
-> Definitely lower maintenance cost
-> Higher seating

-:
-> Less on space as compared to i20
-> Looks if you can digest

2) i20

+:
-> Quite spacious
-> Better fit and finish
-> More features and more premium feel

-:
-> A/C issues are more heard
-> Steering rattle, this does not even happen in a cheaper car like Alto/Santro/Spark. Still not fully solved
-> Rear seat design. A bit more flat than necessary
-> Unsorted ride. With that wheelbase, things could have been better. Ritz even with small wheelbase show how to sort out ride quality
-> Not so good handling. Given that the car is lower than tall boys with a longer wheelbase, handling could have been better


If you are purely buying the car for highway drives, i20 is good. But if city + highway driving or only city driving is involved, Ritz is better.

But at the end of the day, it all boils down to what you feel and what your heart says.

My highways are very bad roads also. with steering rattles, and members complaining that GC can be an issue, Ritz is emerging as a winner. Its stable upto 110-120kmph which is more than enough for us

Originally Posted by charthom

@tsk1979,

A thoroughly amusing,splendid account which is well written
with remarkable craft work.But re-structuring your article a little bit by adding a few heading etc would have made the reading more systematic.The article is not free flowing IMHO.

Still waiting for Godot

Rgds,charthom.

Thanks for the constructive criticism, will take care in future

Originally Posted by RS_DEL

WRT i20 steering issue. I have to agree with Vina. This is a design flaw. This niggle(if you are in charitable frame of mind) has surfaced across production lots in vehicles sold in different regions at different points in time. It affects the operation of the vehicle in a manner that has the potential to be life threatening.This is a safety issue.

Now we could well be wrong in making this inference. For that the company has to make public the reason why it happened. As I have said elsewhere leave alone acknowledging there exists a problem, the company is NOT even saying there is NO problem. To me this is just brushing the issue underneath the carpet and forsaking all responsibility.

The steering issue and service costs, and dogdy hyundai dealing is what is pushing us away from i20

Originally Posted by honeybee

If you are willing to expand the hatch a little, you could also look at the Logan.

I saw a Ritz up close this evening and it makes a good choice. Only the factory fitted 'dent' on the rear will likely take away some important bootspace is my concern.

Its a mahindra, and its expensive. We do not need a boot

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

There is only one car that is custom made for you, but only two things can stop you from buying it. One is how long can you wait (about 2-3 months) for it, remember 'Sabar ka fal meetha hota hai', and the second is what if costs a little more. That car is the Liva diesel. Going by the pricing of Toyota on its petrol version, it will be priced well, may be a little more than the Swift, but new Swift is on the way, and we don't know what will it be priced at. Even if it is cheaper by 30-40 K, yet Liva will out pay itself in less then 2 years. And I am sure it will be cheaper than the i20. Everything said and done, no other car comes even close to these top three, Liva, new Swift and i20, but Swift & i20 will be a far far second, particularly for your requirements. My Dad owns a 2003 Corolla which has done 1.25L kms, the car is still fresh but he is bored! You cannot beat the reliability of a TOYOTA.

If there was a confirmed launch date it would be a contender. But there isn't. Even etios diesel is not here

Originally Posted by akshay

Some ritz vdi love.

5 months.

Del to ahmedabad with one stop in 15 hrs.
Steep Kasauli hills made really easy. Took us out of a sticky situation involving a steep incline, a narrow road and a stupid innova.
Avg. Fe 18 kmpl. Best 22 del. - chd.
No underbody scraping over even the nastiest speed breaker.
The wife and I both love to drive it with it's peppy nature.
Rear seat folds down to easily accommodate one big dog and several crates of mangoes alongwith bags.
I genuinely think it can take on some seriously bad roads - planning leh or chitkul or something exciting next month.
Can sustain speeds of 130 on clear roads.

Two happy owners, us.

Thanks

Originally Posted by iFuel

Loved reading the story, eh! review you posted and I can surely understand your dilema as I am looking for a hatch for myself and my family, a total of 2 adults and one 22 month little kid who wants to fiddle and break everything in the car that he can lay his hands on.

However after having explored the market and read all the reviews on this forum, I have broken it down to the New Swift, I currently own an Accent. Reason being that the car is pretty much what I as an enthusiast driver wants, has the Maruti A.S.S. network all over India and a reliable engine. What's with a 20-30K difference as long as I don't have to put up with a rear ended wagon R trying to be a start trek battle ship, and to think I am on a budget too and a similar story like yours.

No, I will not recomend the i20 no matter how much you fell in love with it, even I fell in love with it. My friend owns one and I have driven it a few times, his steering rattles, the A/C is barely there in hot summers here up North, the music system volume button has a mind of its own and will function only when it wants to and it bottoms out on big speed breakers that we are gifted with in North India and add to it, the cuvy machine burns a hole in his pocket every 6 months while going to the A.S.S.

Thanks for your inputs.

Originally Posted by akhilesh

I for one would strike out the i20 immediately simply because the A/C will be useless in Delhi summers, its the most expensive of the lot, the steering issues being reported everywhere are as serious as they sound and A$$ is most expensive of the lot.

Ritz is a good city runabout but I doubt if you would enjoy it on the highway as much. If I were you, I would test drive the Punto and Swift and then decide. But wait... the new Swift is going to be out very soon so you might as well wait for that too.

As far as premium hatches go, I see a lot of i20's on sale in the used car market. You can try your luck if you want to save some money. But a lot of used cars of a particular brand in the market is not reassuring too.

Do not want to walk into a Tata showroom. We are worried that we will see the space and price, and end up buying the vista

Originally Posted by honeybee

Please do mention a few details as to what your heart's choice was and what a sensible decision would be. This will enlighten us all as to which cars you are talking about.

Will update by weekend. Car will be finalized and booked in a couple of weeks

Originally Posted by greenhorn

even if you are not serious about a vista, I would still suggest you td one anyway ( what do you have to lose but a little bit of your time ). I know tata service sucks, but if you're looking at a ford, then a tata is not that further downhill

If I do take a TD, we may end up with buying it. This is the reason, we are not walking into the showroom

Originally Posted by Sheel

I am quite tempted to shoot a video of the Car doing 80-120kmph and 100-140kmph and post up.

I find it on par with the multijets.

Originally Posted by akhilesh

A video.... are you sure? I could have posted a video of the Punto too but who's gonna believe it is what you said.
All said, I don't think Figo's performance is as bad. I have driven one considerably and it goes until 120 kph without much effort contrary to what being reported here.

I am not saying it will not touch 120.
All I am saying that it weighs almost 200kgs more than the Ritz, and has 6 less horses. So unless ford is lying about the engine power, it cannot be as fast as the multi jets.
While testing I took the car to around 75 on a slightly rising road(slight uphill), in 5th gear, and then floored it. Same was done with swift and ritz diesel. I do a lot of hill driving, and do not want to downshift every time slight elevations come.
Even on level ground, 5th gear pickup from 70-80kmph was found wanting. Of course city drivability is adequate for the figo. Its the highway which is an issue. Esp with 200kgs payload.

Originally Posted by Sheel

We aren't talking about xx figures acceleration times, are we?

I too was surprised when I first sat in the Car and the speedo hoisted over 140kmph in no time at all. (It was Drivoblog's Figo)

All I can say after driving various diesel Cars, I find the acceleration upto 140kmph brisk, post this the spike begins to taper off.

Its OP's Car and let him decide

I have spoken to a few owners, and they confirmed my findings. Some even fitted a free flow air filter, and after that they say the highway character is greatly improved. Two owners have told me that with 3 people in the car, you have to downshift when around 80kmph in 5th gear if you want to undertake a quick overtaking maneuver.

Originally Posted by rkbharat

LoL this is interesting, After having a bucket of India Jelly beans, you have to choose between Japaneses Marsh-mellow or Korean Marsh-mellow.

Though I feel i20 will be to tough for any place outside city on bad roads and even in city a little high hump will scarp under body. Not sure, may be i20 owners can confirm

I guess ritz short wheelbase will be of advantage here

Originally Posted by whitelion

If you read his first post, he is having a negative prejudice about Figo due to non availability of A.S.S.C. in near locality. The same is reflected in form of Performance of Engine. I too have TD Figo, Swift and Ritz back to back and found engine performance of Figo next to Maruthi twins. For me Figo won on other factors, its a different story altogether. In his other thread he has clearly mentioned that he has A.S.S. phobia, so Figo is clearly out of Picture. It seems that he is very much troubled by A.S.S. issues. I guess he will Zero down on Ritz, since it is has fast pickup, low engine noise, Maruthi's A.S.S has good reputation and Its near to his residence.

I don't consider that a negative because in 3-4 months a new showroom will open in noida. Ford cannot ignore such a major region. As mentioned above, with 3 people in the car, I did not like the way car had to be downshifted to 4th at 80kmph for quick accleration.
One TD car done 19000kms felt like the old indica( I guess abused car), and other TD car done 5000kms was much better but still not good enough as compared to ritz and swift. We took the TDs within 1 hour

Originally Posted by mohandas

Yo Tanveer:
It's really a nice write up.
But, I am little surprised that you are not considering Skoda Fabia TDi and VW polo TDi at all. I know they have got 3-cylinder heart but as a package (read built, quality and dynamics) they are not bad at all.

Skoda, VW??? I have read a lot of horror stories. I am a horror and fantasy fan too. But I do not want to play the lead actor in one.

Originally Posted by sarmarishi

Great write-up.. Absolutely loving it!

What about the Punto? Especially with the free upgrade offer they are running might be a good buy. Its a great car with its beautiful engine and handling as well as comfort. If you are booking a petrol then you can get a diesel (same variant) at the price of the petrol and If you are booking a diesel and you are chosen, they will give it to you at the price of the petrol of the same variant. I think thats a great offer!

If you dont choose the free upgrade offer they will give you fuel worth Rs. 13k + road side assistance and free insurance.

Or maybe its out of your budget. Not very sure! Added advantage would be known service centre for you and if you have a good relationship with a SA there you dont have to worry. And you are getting the same engine that Maruti gives you with parts costing far lesser

Do not want to have a car which may need to go to service center apart from services.
I have good relationship with SA in gurgon 1.5 hours away. I want to have a car which I can get serviced in noida.

[Fordmanchau]

Tanveer, superb write-up , particularly liked that pregnant Buffalo for D'zire bit.

Have read through all the posts here. While Ritz may be a good contender, I would still like you to go visit the Tata-Fiat Showroom and TD both the Indica Vista and Punto .

I know with your experiences at Tata A.S.S you are very negatively biased towards them , but still keeping an open mind towards those two cars would put things in better perspective.

While Ritz is a good car, I have seen it disintegrating on a highway in a accident(well, what car doesn't, that way), but for your kind of driving on rough roads, you need a little stronger and wellbuilt car.

I know you are scared that once you get in the Tata Showroom, you'll buy a Vista for it's VFM quotient, but I am talking about Punto here.

Have a look, a TD perhaps ( I would still suggest you TD Vista too) and make a better informed decision.

I hope you have gone through "epicenter.rulez" review of Punto. That is one epic of a review.
And seriously, which car doesn't have niggles?? A small bit here and there would come up in all cars.
EDIT: here's the link http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ms-review.html

A note about the Ford A.S.S: Inspite of owning a discontinued Ikon, I have only good experiences at the Ford A.S.S here in Hyderabad. I get good pick and drop service and I have made it a point to treat those technicians well. So if at all I get small niggles, I just drive in ,get it rectified and drive off without even a gatepass and bill.
I would say the poor A.S.S is not a generic issue but specific to a dealer and your experience with them.

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

We look around. And then I see a buffalo. Fat pregnant white buffalo. Oh wait.... Its a dzire.
Then I see an alien insect, like the one in starship troopers. Its an A-STAR.

But our shock climb new heights when I see a car with badly dented rear parked! Wait... its a Ritz. And there are no dents. Its tailgate is like this. Maybe while protyping the engineers had a fight and kicked the rear of the prototype?
.....
This is time for shock number two. The cars are tiny from inside. If I plant my 6.2" frame on drivers seat, the rear passenger has to do yoga. And if rear passenger does the firm planting, I have to do yoga.
.....
Unfortunately, ford is far away, the sun is setting, and we spot a Hyundai dealership.
A real bad thing.
The steering automatically turns to the left. I am trying to drive straight, but the Hyundai magnet is very powerful.
...........
The showroom is small, and does not look to be doing good business, however, its packed with cars.
Apart from a couple of eyesores, its sheer poetry everywhere.

There is the i20 with her curves, the sonata with her elegance, the the fluidic verna with its catty exterior.

What a car.

She flies in any gear. The clutch is so light that all you need to do is whisper and it presses. The gearshift is a work of art, and so are the interiors. the seating is perfect, so is the controls position. Its a car made to run on the big empty road to nowhere.

7000 units a month for such an expensive car. Now we understand why this whips the figo and ritz.
Its worth every extra penny!

Will it be our next car. Yes! But then reality bites. The reality of 60K extra over the ritz. Time to wake up.

The sun has set, and its time to go back.
tomorrow Sunday will come, and we will TD the Americans. Tonight, its time to catch some i20 dreams?

- Tanveer - Your TD experience just made my day. ROFLMAO !!

Originally Posted by tsk1979

i20 is out

Why? Every service at 10,000kms costs close to 4K atleast, 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.

So whats its going to be?

We still don't know. Ritz is the strongest contender, but i20 still tempts. 3 years back we bought the big white elephant listing to our heart, but now its time to listen to the head, and head is saying ritz.
But we were never good listeners. Were we?

So its all open again. We know that after a couple of years, when we let go the big white elephant, 99% another big white whale from Tata will stand in its place. So maybe, for the second car, its time to listen to the head, and not the heart?

But then they say, you live only once? Clean out your bank account, mortgage your soul to the banks, and bring home the i20. To hell with the 24K clutch, and the expensive services. You live only once? Eh?

Its flop flip flop flip flop

Maybe we will toss a coin.
Maybe we will bring home what the heart desires, or maybe, for once the head will win.

If there is a conclusion, its only this, when you are a truck driver, every hatch seems small and nice!

Tanveer - Hyundai hasn't moved from once in 6months / 10k service interval while the world have moved far ahead on this.

H.A.S.S point is it helps a customer maintain his car well

[selfdrive]

Have you considered the available options in the pre owned car market?

A first glance at www.carwale.com revealed a lot of diesel hatches in your budget. Of course this may translate into a few more TDs, but this will definitely save you some cash.

I also noticed there are 4 pre owned Honda Jazz'es available in the NCR region. They range from 2009/ 2010 and quoted run kms vary between 3K kms to 20K kms. Asking price varies between 5.75L to 7.2L. I am not sure if you are tempted by this, but may still be worth a second look.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Have you considered the available options in the pre owned car market?

A first glance at www.carwale.com revealed a lot of diesel hatches in your budget. Of course this may translate into a few more TDs, but this will definitely save you some cash.

I also noticed there are 4 pre owned Honda Jazz'es available in the NCR region. They range from 2009/ 2010 and quoted run kms vary between 3K kms to 20K kms. Asking price varies between 5.75L to 7.2L. I am not sure if you are tempted by this, but may still be worth a second look.

Only brand new cars being considered. We are not believers of the pre-worshipped philosophy

[vina]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

...

Do not want to walk into a Tata showroom. We are worried that we will see the space and price, and end up buying the vista
...
If I do take a TD, we may end up with buying it. This is the reason, we are not walking into the showroom

...

I am not saying it will not touch 120.
All I am saying that it weighs almost 200kgs more than the Ritz, and has 6 less horses. So unless ford is lying about the engine power, it cannot be as fast as the multi jets.
While testing I took the car to around 75 on a slightly rising road(slight uphill), in 5th gear, and then floored it. Same was done with swift and ritz diesel. I do a lot of hill driving, and do not want to downshift every time slight elevations come.
Even on level ground, 5th gear pickup from 70-80kmph was found wanting. Of course city drivability is adequate for the figo. Its the highway which is an issue. Esp with 200kgs payload.


I have spoken to a few owners, and they confirmed my findings. Some even fitted a free flow air filter, and after that they say the highway character is greatly improved. Two owners have told me that with 3 people in the car, you have to downshift when around 80kmph in 5th gear if you want to undertake a quick overtaking maneuver.

...

First, on Vista, for my ride to airport last Friday I called Dot Cabs Hyderabad and asked for an Indica - they sent a Vista.

Now I have been driving Figo for over two months now - and man Vista had space . In contrast to Ritz - a friend gave me a ride in his new Ritz and I felt cramped, the guy is 3 inches taller than me, I'm a shorty, and I was thinking how does he manage to fit in the driver's seat.

There was NO ENGINE noise all the way till 80kmph - in contrast the engine of my Figo (with a reputation of being silent) can be heard very much at 60kmph itself, at 80 you can hear road noise also.

I loved it is the bottomline - we had done a TD when I was still learning to drive (so wife do the TD) and also the idiots from Tata had brought a run down low-end version of the car (as against all others who brought shining top-end versions) - wifey rejected it in 15 min.

I'm pretty sure if you enter the Tata showroom you'll come back in the Vista.




Second, as a Figo owner driving it every day in Hyderabad city I concur fully with what you had written earlier and are writing now. On inclines (and we get steep inclines in city in Hyderabad) you can not even maintain speed a lot of times - gear change is mandatory. Starting in 2nd gear on a flat surface - while possible - is always painful. And racing the Swifts on the roads is out of question (for the reasons of lack of power as well as the fact that in Hyderabad people play Russian Roulette on the roads).

The thing is, shifting gears is so easy in a Figo all of this hardly matters to most Figo owners (except when they are new to driving like I am - then you want it to behave like AT which it doesn't)



My suggestion would be, since you'll almost never need the new car to carry 5 passengers with lots of cargo, Ritz is perfect - go ahead and buy it.

The "dented" rear frankly may grow on you eventually and the looks from the front and frontal-side-angles are not bad at all (looks like a meaty baby monster - kind of a mini-Safari on the sides with muscle oozing out)

[nacd80]

Originally Posted by vina

My suggestion would be, since you'll almost never need the new car to carry 5 passengers with lots of cargo, Ritz is perfect - go ahead and buy it.

The "dented" rear frankly may grow on you eventually and the looks from the front and frontal-side-angles are not bad at all (looks like a meaty baby monster - kind of a mini-Safari on the sides with muscle oozing out)

Absolutely agree. Ritz is a good car, but you put in five people and loads of luggage (I know, there isnt any space for it) it will run out of breath. And I am sure, since you have driven the Safari, you will feel it.

Else for strictly City driving, it really is a good Machine. Can vouch for Ritz, having driven almost 30k in a Vxi ABS.
All the best.

[ant_vas]

Hey Tanveer,

i am 5'11" and when i sat in ritz it felt like i am locked in to confined space! the performance, the after sales might be great, but not sure about the safety of the car on highways!

i20 might be spacious, but don't you feel its too low! and going by your bad road driving requirement am sure it too would scrap the ground lot of times!

Like some of the members here, i too would suggest you to atleast go and take a TD of punto (both 75 and 90 BHP). if you feel that if you sit in a vista you might end up owning one, then don't go near to it when you go for punto TD.

as far as the service is considered, 15k KM service interval is really good and with the diesel for petrol offer, i think it would be a wonderful car for you! yes there might be some scary stories, but ask a real punto owner about his service or maintenance experience and am sure majority of them would be more than happy.

and yes not to forget the drop dead gorgeous looks!

cheers

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

Hey Tanveer,

i am 5'11" and when i sat in ritz it felt like i am locked in to confined space! the performance, the after sales might be great, but not sure about the safety of the car on highways!

i20 might be spacious, but don't you feel its too low! and going by your bad road driving requirement am sure it too would scrap the ground lot of times!

Like some of the members here, i too would suggest you to atleast go and take a TD of punto (both 75 and 90 BHP). if you feel that if you sit in a vista you might end up owning one, then don't go near to it when you go for punto TD.

as far as the service is considered, 15k KM service interval is really good and with the diesel for petrol offer, i think it would be a wonderful car for you! yes there might be some scary stories, but ask a real punto owner about his service or maintenance experience and am sure majority of them would be more than happy.

and yes not to forget the drop dead gorgeous looks!

cheers

what is this diesel for petrol offer in case of Punto?
At 555500 approx, the front power window variant is overpriced. And from their website, the 90 bhp punto costs a whopping 6.9 lakhs.

[Klub Class]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

what is this diesel for petrol offer in case of Punto

Tanveer, here you go :

• Fiat Upgrade Offer
• Fiat India

Get diesel for petrol offer exists for Fiat Punto & Fiat Linea too.

PS: I've bookmarked and subscribed to this thread. Hopefully, I'll finish reading the thread within a day or two.

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

what is this diesel for petrol offer in case of Punto?

Tanveer - This is an interesting scheme. Effectively if you book a petrol car you become eligible to participate in the scheme. Based on an equivalent of "lucky dip" you may become the chosen one for diesel car at petrol price
(This is as explained by the Sales Rep of FIAT India)

HTH

Sateesh