[bottle]

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[rxpaul]

A tough requirement and that too in an oil burner. Would the Ford fiesta diesel be the 'Quietest one" ? I found my nephews Diesel figo relatively silent, so expect the new fiesta to be better.

Btw which is the quietest diesel car in India....a million dollar question ?

[revintup]

Even I would like a 500Bhp, 20 kmpl V12 within a budget of 15 lakhs. But then I realised the wait would be quite long for such a car to materialise and so decided to settle with a VTEC city.

Your friend seriously needs to reconsider his requirements. Diesels and refinement do not go hand in hand especially within the budget mentioned. He would have to go for a petrol!

[sreedotk]

Originally Posted by rxpaul

A tough requirement and that too in an oil burner. Would the Ford fiesta diesel be the 'Quietest one" ? I found my nephews Diesel figo relatively silent, so expect the new fiesta to be better.

Btw which is the quietest diesel car in India....a million dollar question ?

May not be that hard to answer, the S class Merc Diesel would be the one

[pganapathy]

If money for maintenance is not an issue I would suggest a used D segment vehicle in good condition. After that damp the vehicle efficiently to reduce even more noise. Cars would be camry, accord, 3 series, a4, c class. Suv would be better for sound from bad roads but overall not as good as the cars.

Actually come to think of it, even 5 series, a6 and e class are available in this budget, particularly the petrol versions

[Added_flavor]

Why hasn't anyone thought about a Hyundai? IMO Hyundai makes the quietest diesel engines in the segment. Check out the new Elantra!

Good ICE will also help.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

This guy is a sucker for silence in the cabin.
Nothing matters to him more than this. Which according to you is the most refined vehicle he can get within a 15 Lakh ex-showroom budget.
Diesel is the preferred fuel choice.

Refinement and a diesel engine doesn't go together. Even if your friend can't hear it, he will certainly feel that oil burner. So, I think it's got to be a petrol sedan.

A used Camry, Accord etc should be a good start. Then again, he should spend on damping, carpeting, wheel well insulation and some quiet tyres etc.

And as others noted, a pair of noise cancelling headphones will go a long way for giving comfort. I hope he doesn't plan to drive around himself.

[arjab]

For 15lakhs, and I am including the sedans & both the fuel choices, just in case your friend changes your mind from the MUV/SUV category as he will be carrying mainly 3 people, my shortlisted candidates for the "Sound of Silence" stakes will be:

New Vehicles:
- Toyota Corolla ALTIS Petrol
- Suzuki Kizashi Petrol
- Skoda Laura TSi Petrol
- Tata ARIA

Used Vehicles:
- Honda Accord
- Honda CRV
- Skoda Superb Petrol
- Toyota Camry
- Merc E-Class Petrol (old , twin round headlight)
- Merc C Class Kompressor

[Omtoatom]

That is the most idiosyncratic set of requirements I've come across in a long time! Quick lesson: every once in a while, a query pops up which tests the cerebral ability of even BHPians - the most hallowed of them all - to the limits! à la that "hanky panky" question. Seriously, this one brings back memories.

Diesels and refinement tend to be mutually exclusive. As I see it, any oil-burner will struggle meets such exacting demands.

Perhaps a Corolla Altis/Civic AT/Elantra would come close. Or may be a pre-worshipped Camry. But he'd have to "make do" with Petrol.

P.S. The noise cancellation headphones suggestion was priceless!

[eq24]

My God, those are some requirements, One thing though you can not get a new diesel car in India for that budget with those requirements. It got me thinking almost all the cars coming up are noisy, Yes the extent of the noise differs but dead silence, that is not possible.

On another note is it even possible to have those requirements even with petrol. You can get pretty decent damping but a pin drop silence is actually dangerous isn't it. What about horns, yes they are annoying but they save lives in our country. The driver of such a vehicle can be very attentive but he will never know about oncoming things in his blind spot's without horns.

@ShankarBalan - Hovercraft, LOL man, excellent suggestion.

[VW2010]

Diesels and refinement tend to be mutually exclusive

I am not sure if i can completely agree to this. The new age diesel engines are very refined. Some even question these cars if they are run on diesel. The 5 series for example is a fine example of refined engine. The cabin noise is so low and may be on the border line of petrol engines.

Even the 2L TDI engines from VW group is one of the refined engines that hardly make a noise from outside.

There is a grunt but thats pretty much it. Refinement is not just about the noise. The vibrations are nothing compared to old age diesels.

Specially the Laura and Jetta when you are sitting in the rear seat, you can hardly feel the engine. In the drivers seat you have to feel the engine for i drive by feel and not by looking at RPM or speed

I disagree to the statement that refinement and diesels are mutually exclusive .

There is no comparison though between a petrol or diesel. The petrol engines hardly make a feeling that they are running. (Except the polo engine which is noisy and actually feels like diesel)

[Omtoatom]

Originally Posted by VW2010

I am not sure if i can completely agree to this. The new age diesel engines are very refined. Some even question these cars if they are run on diesel. The 5 series for example is a fine example of refined engine. The cabin noise is so low and may be on the border line of petrol engines.

Even the 2L TDI engines from VW group is one of the refined engines that hardly make a noise from outside.

Your point is well taken VW2010. That is precisely why I said "tend" to be mutually exclusive as opposed to making a hard/close-ended statement such as "they are". And that they would struggle to conform to such fastidious needs. The 5 series and the 2.0 L TDI engines you cited (or Hyundai's 1.6 CRDI for that matter) are fine examples of refinement. However even they are substantially noisy up the RPM range and the growl is pretty evident inside the cabin as well. The inherent point I was trying to make is that for someone that is so sensitive to noise filtering back into the cabin, perhaps a petrol engine makes for a slightly better proposition. Of course, nothing can guarantee 100% sound insulation but the petrols might still just have the edge.

[A M]

Dude!! Show him the video of the Avantador that Racetech uploaded in another thread. Would be awesome to see his expressions. Priceless!!

On a serious note, advise him to invest in good sound deadening material.
I agree, as many have already suggested, the VW 2.0 TDi is refined.

So a Laura or a Jetta plus the sound deadening material would be ideal for him.

Else, Rolls Royce make the most silent cabins.

[MetalBuff]

Since the budget has not been defined here, how about the i20 CRDI? AFAIK, there are no noticeable squeaks in this car and it's a pretty good one.

The same would also apply to the Swift/ Dzire sisters (however, the new models come with an even thinner glass, which let out outside noise but, this can be changed (?))

And as mentioned by most, get a good damping and we set sail. All the best to your friend.

[Astleviz]

I don't think your friend is asking for the moon, all he wants is the car with the best NVH levels within 15 L. It's not just about the most refined engine but the overall cabin insulation. Here are 2 cars that would meet almost all his requirements-
10-12 L- Ford Fiesta 1.5P
upto 15 L- Laura 1.8 Tsi

As far as the petrol vs diesel debate goes, sure modern diesels are very refined but even the best of oil burners cannot match the silky refinement of the best petrol engines. Not yet. And certainly not within his budget. Drive any diesel within 15L- Ford, Skoda, Jetta, VW, and then compare them to their petrol counterparts. The petrols will have lower NVH levels.

Since NVH can be a subjective thing (some people are more sensitive to the slightest of rattles or suspension noise than others), your friend should take some time off and test some or most of the cars within 10-15L and decide for himself as to which car suits him most.