Warning: This a going to be a long rambling post on the thought process that went into deciding which car to buy and how I ended up where I am today.
After having spent a few years in USA and deciding to come back to India, the first thing I realized that having a car is slowly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury if one has a family. The incredibly hot summer in hyderabad only served to strengthen the feeling. So my car hunting started in earnest about a month ago.
I stumbled onto t-bhp via a google search and I could not believe the amount of information available here. So my sincere thanks to all t-bhpians who have spent their valuable time in giving feedbacks and reviews about various cars. Without the help of you guys and gals, I don't think I would have been able to get so much information about cars in India.
So car hunting started in earnest and I don't think I was confused so much even when I bought 2 cars in USA. The first point that needed to be decided was Hatch v/s Sedan. I saw a lot of hatches in hyderabad and decided that hatch is the way to go. I narrowed down my choice of hatch to i10 and swift petrol.
Other cars that were crossed off the list were
800/Alto - Too small and underpowered
Zen estilio - Wierd looking car
Santro - Old technology/model and not so great interiors
Chevy Spark and U-VA - I would not but a chevy in US , so why would I buy it in India
Fabia - Overpriced and not so great engine. Also never heard of skoda in US.
So the only cars that remained in the list were i10 and Swift. Test Drove and i10 and liked the interiors, the looks etc. But further research showed me that it is the same engine as santro and I felt it was little bit underpowered and not great VFM. And also I was told that while i10 is good for city driving, it was not very great for highway driving.
Test Drove Swift petrol and liked the engine, the exterior looks of the car but horrible interiors. Also there were too many complaints about rattles and quality of interiors. In spite of these issues, likes the car and wanted to get a zxi petrol since diesel wait times were insane (4-6 months). Liked the petrol zxi because it had all safety features and the interior was a little bit better than the other models. But to my surprise I found that even getting a petrol zxi was difficult and add to that the "Take it or leave it" attitude of Maruti dealers left a bad taste in the mouth.
So now it was time to move up the ladder and find a Sedan. I wanted to stay under 10 lakhs and that ruled out the corollas and civics. The choices were
Honda City -Way overpriced for what it had to offer. The model I wanted, vtec with ABS and airbags was coming close to 10 lakhs OTR and I did not feel like it was worth the money. Also the current model was going to be discontinued soon.
Chevy Aveo - Again, no way I will buy a chevy.
Mitsu Cedia - Very underrated car lots of good reviews in t-bhp. Seemed like good VFM with all features. Strong Candidate.
Hyundai Verna - I have seen the same car in US (sold a Accent). It is funny how a entry level cheap car in US was marketed a near luxury car in India
Ford Fiesta - Lot of bad reviews about A.S.S and parts and historically I have an version to ford products because of a couple of bad experiences.
So the final decision came to choosing between Cedia and Verna Diesel.
Test drove both and loved cedia. The quiet cabin, excellent pickup and low end torque, lots of features etc etc. But I was very wary of buying a mitsu because of resale value, A.S.S. Also the fact was that the cedia was previous gen lancer in US and it did not sell very well. I was not sure if I wanted to buy a car that has been discontinued all over the world except India.
So the final decision came to verna diesel. Hyundai has come a long way in the world of car manufacturing and it does put out some quality products. My friend owns a santo and I was impressed with the level of service he got from a local dealer. Also verna was a current gen car which was being sold worldwide. The diesel engine in verna had got some rave reviews from t-bhpians and when I test drove it, I was also impressed. Very quiet, fantastic pull once you hit 2k RPM and looks like it is pretty fuel efficient too. Some concerns were its lack of stability at high speeds (exceeding 120 km/h) and also the need to shift gears constantly in city driving conditions.
So after lotsa research and head banging, I decided to buy the Verna Diesel SX with ABS. Took delivery of the car from KUN hyderabad yesterday. The color is midnight grey.
Cost me 9.14 OTR with the 3rd year extended warranty.
More driving experiences and pictures to follow.
Again thanks to all t-bhpians whose reviews and inputs helped me make this decision. Hoping it turns out be the right decision and not a 9 lakh mistake