[khan75]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

I am not sure, but they are CS series components. They speakers feel underfed connected with the stock HU, Do you also feel the same? These same speakers sounded a lot better connected directly to Pioneer HU without an amplifier.

The Audi like daytime LED lamps you mentioned in your ownership thread are now available at most accessory shops.

Have you checked your wiring clips at the speaker end? An aftermarket HU will usually sound better than an OEM one but I think the Punto HU can handle a slightly higher output. What genres of music do you listen to? Heavy metal or deep trance is always going to sound underwhelming without a good setup. We can meet up and compare the sound if you're interested.

Know of a cheap shop for the LEDs in or around south Del/Gurgaon? I'm looking for a set for my Polo.

[SilkDrive]

Hi,

This is my maiden post, so please forgive me for any errors.
I am going to buy my first car this year (probably in September), within a budget of 6 lacs. I intend to keep it with me for a long time, (consider 10 years) so resale value does not bother me much.

I am new to driving and my only driving experience, so far, was the almost wrecked 800 of the driving school. I like roaming around about town on my bike (FZ 16) and am very fond of visiting places. I am sure that on owning a car I would be spending sleepless nights waiting for the next chance to go out on a drive.

But because of my lack of driving experience, I am worried that I might not be able to judge much from the test-drives, since each car will feel great compared to the 800, I mentioned earlier.

My monthly running would not be more than 1000 Kms (within city). Apart from this I am planning to take the car on visits to native place once every 2 months which would be 380 Kms one side on good highways. Along with my wife, my parents, who are around 65 years old would also be passengers on these highway runs.

I think a diesel would not be required for this kind of usage, but from what I read, I feel that diesels are more fun to drive within city and would be more suited for highway overtakings as well. So even if a diesel is not the best solution for me, I am still keen on one for the "fun to drive" factor.

But, if someone feels that this impression of mine is not correct and a petrol heart could be as satisfying, then I would love to have and consider his suggestions.

I have shortlisted the following (in the order mentioned):

Swift LDI (5.76 lacs on road, Hyderabad)
Punto MJD Active (5.70 lacs on road after all discounts and freebies)
Figo TDCI EXI (5.65 lacs on road, Hyderabad)

I am totally sold out on the styling, and the tales of ride comfort of the Punto, which I feel would be very cruicial for the comfort of my parents during the long drives. However, reading about the short gearing ratio and the feel of the necessity of a 6th gear at 100+ speeds were major put offs for me. My bike also has short gear ratios and I really miss a 6th gear on 65+ speeds. It feels quite annoying to me especially on long rides. Moreover, a few horror stories about the TATA *** have made me place the Swift over the punto in the list of preferences. But this decision is totally from my head and my heart is inclined towards punto

I would be really good to know if the short gearing is all that annoying or it is something that I can easily accept and learn to live with. So please pour in your suggestions, and also please guide me through which of the above mentioned cars would be the best for me. Also please let me know if I need to consider some other options as well.


One more thing: I got price quotes on these cars, where I noticed something like "Customer care charges" for Fiat / "Logistics and facilitation charges" for Maruti, in the range of Rs 2500/Rs 3950 respectively. Upon enquiring, the sales representative explained to me that these charges are for the expenses for PDI and a few other things that the customer has to bear. It was not really clear to me as what is being covered under this when the registration, TR charges, number plate charges have already been mentioned separately. Is this charge a valid one or is the dealer taking me on a roll?

[quadmaniac]

This customer care or logistics charges is the latest way of fleecing customers. However, EVERY dealer does this (at least in Hyd). It's good if Maruti is charging 2.5-4k for this. My dealer (Orange Chevrolet) charged some 5k for this.

Don't think there's a way to get out of this though.

[aditya116]

hey silkdrive,for starters a swift would fit the bill perfectly.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by SilkDrive

I am going to buy my first car this year (probably in September), within a budget of 6 lacs. I intend to keep it with me for a long time, (consider 10 years) so resale value does not bother me much.

I am new to driving and my only driving experience, so far, was the almost wrecked 800 of the driving school.

My monthly running would not be more than 1000 Kms (within city). Apart from this I am planning to take the car on visits to native place once every 2 months which would be 380 Kms one side on good highways. Along with my wife, my parents, who are around 65 years old would also be passengers on these highway runs.

I think a diesel would not be required for this kind of usage, but from what I read, I feel that diesels are more fun to drive within city and would be more suited for highway overtakings as well. So even if a diesel is not the best solution for me, I am still keen on one for the "fun to drive" factor.

I have shortlisted the following (in the order mentioned):

Swift LDI (5.76 lacs on road, Hyderabad)
Punto MJD Active (5.70 lacs on road after all discounts and freebies)
Figo TDCI EXI (5.65 lacs on road, Hyderabad)


So please pour in your suggestions, and also please guide me through which of the above mentioned cars would be the best for me. Also please let me know if I need to consider some other options as well.

All the 3 cars you have short listed are excellent cars with slightly different set of qualities. Since your usage is on lower side a petrol will suit you better.

Petrols
I find Punto 1.2 and Figo petrol hardly any fun to drive compared to the Swift petrol. The Swift also comes with K series engine from the Ritz, which is one of the best petrol engines in the segment. The Swift will easily return you much better FE.

I would also suggest you to consider Polo petrol, its not as fast as Swift but is quite peppy to drive.

Diesels
Swift is fastest of the lot but Punto and Figo are easier to drive in town with more linear power delivery. All these cars will give you similar FE.

All the cars here are excellent handlers. While the Punto and Figo have better more mature ride and high speed manners than the Swift. On the other side i find Swift more Fun to drive in city with agile handling.

However, reading about the short gearing ratio and the feel of the necessity of a 6th gear at 100+ speeds were major put offs for me. My bike also has short gear ratios and I really miss a 6th gear on 65+ speeds. It feels quite annoying to me especially on long rides.

I would be really good to know if the short gearing is all that annoying or it is something that I can easily accept and learn to live with.

I commented on Punto's short gearing and need for 6th gear in this thread. All these cars will be at similar ~2500rpm in 5th gear@ 100kph.

The Punto with excellent high speed stability feels like doing 80kph at 100kph but the only thing that reminds me of the actual speed is engine note which feels like i am driving in 4th gear since i am used to more relaxed ratios in my Elantra. The gearing is all fine but one additional gear would take it the relaxed highway cruising in the league of much more expensive car.

I am totally sold out on the styling, and the tales of ride comfort of the Punto, which I feel would be very cruicial for the comfort of my parents during the long drives. Moreover, a few horror stories about the TATA *** have made me place the Swift over the punto in the list of preferences. But this decision is totally from my head and my heart is inclined towards punto

Punto indeed is a stunner without doubt, even after close to one year of ownership i find the looks and styling very exciting. No car in the segment can match Punto's steering, ride, stability and vault like solid build.

But my experience with Tata Fiat service centers has been poor, they are no match for Maruti and Hyundai service centers. This may also differ with specific service centers.


Since a Petrol car will suit your requirements better i would suggest you a Swift Petrol. Please also testdrive Polo petrol to check whether this car suits you. If you still want to buy a diesel i cannot point out a specific car. All 3 cars you have short listed are excellent, its on you to decide which one suits you the best.

[better4worse]

@ .anshuman- Excellent comparo and advice there! I completely second your views here. Like Anshuman has said all three are cars are excellent, the second level of refinement comes from the choice one needs to make is the spirited city drive (read Swift) or more of a cruiser with better ride + fresh looks (Read Punto). As for Figo, it lies somewhere in between the two for me.

-B4W

[royalcruiser]

great points, anshuman.
@Silkdrive, my advice would be to seriously consider the Figo TDCI, if at all you do decide on a diesel hatch. considering you are relatively new to driving, you will surely find the Figo much easier to drive with almost no turbo lag and it is a lot more "chuckable" in city driving in comparison to the swift/punto. To add to this, like already mentioned, it has the Fiesta genes in its handling and stability, which makes it a good highway car as well. Looks it one area where it doesnt quite stand-out in comparison to Swift/Punto.

[SilkDrive]

Thanks a lot for these wonderful comparos and advices. I must say the promptness of the replies really made my day. This community rocks and so do you guys!!!!

@ .anshuman : I would surely checkout the Polo petrol like you suggested. But one question regarding the polo is, is it really worth going for it at almost the same price as the Swift VXI, considering that its 3 pot heart would be lower on technology and refinement compared to the swift. However, I am not at all questioning the peppiness of the engine or the ride quality of the polo which appears to be better than the Swift.

I had called up Varun Motors (Jubilee Hills) for a test drive of the swift and Malilk Cars (Banjara Hills) for a test drive of the punto, this morning. I was confirmed by both places that the demo cars are available and time slots were booked.

Malik Cars (TATA - Fiat) : First in list was Malik Cars. Time of test drive was fixed at 12 noon. I reached the place precisely 2 -3 minutes in advance. The sales person greeted me and went to check out on the demo vehicle and came back after 10 minutes with the news that the vehicle was off to some other place and would not be back within a couple of hours. Seeing that he is keeping mute about arranging a separate time or bringing the demo car to my place some time later, I enquired about it. But his response was, "Sir, are you going to book the car today?" I was taken by surprise that a guy who failed to keep his commitment about a TD and is asking this question on the very first visit. Put-off with this behavior, I proceeded to Varun motors for the TD of Swift.

Varun Motors : I reached there more than half an hour in advance of the scheduled time. The sales person had apt knowledge about the car, (which is quite obvious considering the age of the swift). He arranged the test drive of the Swift within 5 mins. He also managed to talk me into taking a back to back TD of the Ritz.

The Drives : I took TD of a Swift VDI, followed by a Swift ZXI and a Ritz VDI at the end. In each car, I took one 5 Km round on good roads, and 2 rounds of 1Km on a rough patch, as a driver and the as a rear seat passenger in each. The pickup on the Swift VDI was great and the feel was lovely too on the good roads. I was shifting up a bit early and the traction was still awesome. I wont talk much on this since these are universally known facts now.

I had hoped to hear some diesel clatter, but there was nothing as such. Engine noise inside the cabin was low on idle and while picking up speed it was like a heavy Voooooommmmm.... sound. But nothing close to any clatter. The sound could not be termed disturbing buy any standards, and I think I kind of liked it.

On the pertol, the engine note was entirely absent during idling, with AC on an windows rolled up. Only indication of engine running was the tacho. While picking up speed the note of the engine was much sportier than the diesel and was easily picking up higher revs. The engine inspired me not to make any early up-shifts on this one. The sound of the engine was like if the BASS of the diesel engines sound had been turned off. I liked this sound better than that of the diesel. I must say that I am very impressed with the petrol and I am convinced that it could give me more than enough driving pleasure that I was looking for.

The Ritz felt almost similar to the Swift on all aspects, except for a higher seating position. The ride quality was the same. It just had a bit more of a feel god factor since the interiors look and feel better. I understand that it is more practical than the swift, but I still feel that it lacks the attitude that the Swift has.

On the rough roads the ride was bumby, especially in the rear on all the vehicles. Going over potholes caused "thuds" inside the cabin that were way more than just audible. The ritz did not have rattles, but the swift had rattles coming from the rear left door and the parcel tray (in the ZXI).


As per my calculations, the Swift VXI is coming to 5.34 lacs on road + the ICE = 5.5 lacs. The Figo TDCI EXI (with inbuilt ICE) comes to almost the same price. So the EMI on both of these would be the same. Thus the figo would save me a bonus 1k every month on the fuel costs and would work out to be the cheaper option for me.

Please pour in your comments and suggestions.

[SilkDrive]

Originally Posted by royalcruiser

great points, anshuman.
@Silkdrive, my advice would be to seriously consider the Figo TDCI, if at all you do decide on a diesel hatch.

Thanks for the suggestion !! would seriously consider it like I mentioned in my last post as well.

Originally Posted by quadmaniac

This customer care or logistics charges is the latest way of fleecing customers. However, EVERY dealer does this (at least in Hyd). It's good if Maruti is charging 2.5-4k for this. My dealer (Orange Chevrolet) charged some 5k for this.

Don't think there's a way to get out of this though.

In that case its really a pity, that even if we are aware that the dealers are fleecing us we cannot do anything to avoid it.

[better4worse]

@ Silkdrive - If you are buying your first car and you're looking to cover less 1500 kms a month, i'd say go for a petrol. Just no point going in for a Diesel. Moreover, for a first time driver, you'd enjoy the initial response of a Petrol engine more than a Diesel especially in city driving.

I'm a petrol head who is looking to buy his first diesel car in the next week or so. Having driven Petrol cars for more than a decade, I still wonder if i'd get the same kick out of a diesel engine.

- B4W

[SilkDrive]

Originally Posted by better4worse

@ Silkdrive - If you are buying your first car and you're looking to cover less 1500 kms a month, i'd say go for a petrol. Just no point going in for a Diesel. Moreover, for a first time driver, you'd enjoy the initial response of a Petrol engine more than a Diesel especially in city driving.

Thanks for the suggestions. Even I am feeling the same now after reading all the suggestions and also from my test drive experiences. I think, I am gradually getting more inclined towards petrol alternatives, off late.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by SilkDrive

Thanks a lot for these wonderful comparos and advices. I must say the promptness of the replies really made my day. This community rocks and so do you guys!!!!

@ .anshuman : I would surely checkout the Polo petrol like you suggested. But one question regarding the polo is, is it really worth going for it at almost the same price as the Swift VXI, considering that its 3 pot heart would be lower on technology and refinement compared to the swift. However, I am not at all questioning the peppiness of the engine or the ride quality of the polo which appears to be better than the Swift.


As per my calculations, the Swift VXI is coming to 5.34 lacs on road + the ICE = 5.5 lacs. The Figo TDCI EXI (with inbuilt ICE) comes to almost the same price. So the EMI on both of these would be the same. Thus the figo would save me a bonus 1k every month on the fuel costs and would work out to be the cheaper option for me.

The 3 Pot engine is surely a deal breaker when compared to the Swift's K series engine but Swift is not perfect either not so great ride and flimsy build strength are a disappointment. My Swift started rattling issues even before the running in period was over, Maruti after sales had no solution for the rattling sounds.

Overall the Polo is a very good package you would like to consider. The Polo has a very good build that any Maruti can never dream to achieve.

As you have mentioned the Figo diesel is costing very close to Swift Vxi, it makes a lot of sense if you ready to ignore the free revving K series petrol engine in the Swift.

If you can stretch the budget a bit i would suggest the Swift Vxi ABS over Vxi and Please upgrade the tires ASAP.

[SilkDrive]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Overall the Polo is a very good package you would like to consider. The Polo has a very good build that any Maruti can never dream to achieve.

As you have mentioned the Figo diesel is costing very close to Swift Vxi, it makes a lot of sense if you ready to ignore the free revving K series petrol engine in the Swift.

If you can stretch the budget a bit i would suggest the Swift Vxi ABS over Vxi and Please upgrade the tires ASAP.

Thanks again..!! I would surely check out the polo and if possible, do a TD this week itself. I would tryto do a back to back TD of the Figo as well.

Apart from this could you please let me know, whats your take on the rear bench width & under-thigh-support of the swift and the punto. And do you feel that the rear seating posture of the Swift is a bit too erect, for a comfortable long journey?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by SilkDrive

Apart from this could you please let me know, whats your take on the rear bench width & under-thigh-support of the swift and the punto. And do you feel that the rear seating posture of the Swift is a bit too erect, for a comfortable long journey?

Honestly speaking i never had an opportunity to sit on the rear seats of either of these cars, i have experienced the rear seats of both the Swift and Punto not more than once each that too for very short distances.

The only thing i can tell you about Punto and Swift's rear seat is a person of my height does not fit there comfortably. In my cars the rear seats are rarely used.

[aditya116]

anshuman,will changing speakers void warranty?