[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by novice29

If it is Swift, which will make more sense, K-Series or DDiS? I think the V trims will fall in my budget.

I doubt the VDi comes in 6.5L. Even if it does, I remember reading about some brake issue in the L & V variants. If at all you are looking at the Swift (ignoring the tempting 1.6P Fiesta Classic), I suggest you look at the Swift ZXi (top trim in petrol) which will have safety features (ABS, Airbags etc) - should come in 6.5L IIRC.

[D4D]

Originally Posted by novice29

Yes. Just another What Car thread!

Or in another words, I am looking for a fun to drive car, in the label of a gift to father.
The car is going to occupy the garage for most of the times. I expect a 500KM run per month to the maximum.

Petrol car is your best bet. Yes, it will hurt you at the gas station, but remember, you paid very less for the car.

The swift is a very good choice. I think it will be fun to drive, the K-series engine is a beauty. Alternately consider the brio also.

[DCEite]

Umm.. My Xcent cost be exactly 6.5 lacs, but i don't think it fits your requirements of being a very fun to drive car. At the best, its for those looking for relaxed and refined inter city commutes and occasional hits to the highway.

I suggest you take a look at something like a Liva 1.5 L (Not the cross) - i guess should be within 6.5 lacs and is fun to drive as well. Though not too good in terms of overall quality, but still.

[drmohitg]

Why is no one suggesting the Ford Figo instead of the sedan? I think the Figo is a very capable car.

[humyum]

The Swift LDI will fall in and around your price bracket. But U will miss out on a couple of must have's in a car like a tachometer and power windows. If you are okay with that, I would prefer a Swift D over all of other cars for the simple reason, the fun to drive factor is immense. Spend a little dough on tyre upgrade ( 185/65/R15) and maybe ZDI alloys ( or which ever after market ones you like ) and you are good to go.

I would never touch a Punto or a Linea for the simple reason with your kind of running ( 500 km per month ), you are obviously going to keep this car for long times to come, there will be no resale value first of all and secondly the after sales of Maruti advantage compared to Fiats poor parts availability as well as after sales.

[cpbopanna]

Buy a Swift Zxi, go in for a Remus exhaust, Iridium spark plugs and a BMC filter. Upgrade tyres to 195x60 R15. Keep everything else - stock.

You will indeed live to drive!
My experience!

[novice29]

Originally Posted by ank.nsit

also provide you the power at the RPM range which you like. So you can completely remove the lag if you want to..!!

This is useful info. I was not aware that we can do this at required RPM range. That would take Punto 75 HP to a different level. But don't I need to wait till the vehicle warranty is over? This can void the warranty otherwise, right?

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

I would suggest to try with some other dealers.

So far I have checked with 6 dealers within 250 KMs of my home (via phone). 4 of them quoted 3 months, one gave 20 days and the best commitment yet is 2 weeks. I am planning to visit the dealership tomorrow to get a commitment.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

I find it tragic to see people buy basic cars just because they want a big sedan. Especially here in India since that usually means that they will be missing out on a lot, most importantly, safety features. Which I guess is alright if one is buying the car as his/her second car that will solely be used by oneself. BUT, the thought of carrying your father and wife in a potentially unsafe car, is frightening. I have to be honest here, I am a bit of a speed freak but when there are passengers in my car, I have a certain barrier which I just don't pass even when friends tell me to show them how fast I can go, I say no. That's just how I feel.

Very true and it must be the major concern during a car purchase.
What about a Bolero cruising at 90-100 KMs/Hr with 6-7 on board? No offense to Bolero, but a simple example I could think of. I really respect the capabilities of Bolero and it is people like us who makes it dangerous.

I believe this is mainly happening in Mass Market where most of the buyers are Aam Aadmi. Since the high end vehicles are well equipped, let's exclude them for the time being. I won't blame the buyer alone here. Just consider the case of Honda.
Brio top variant is the only one with an ABS and it comes around 6L OTR here in Kerala where it overlaps with the Amaze. For most of us, big vehicle means better profile. It's a phenomenon I see from my childhood and nothing changed yet. For a middle class person, it is a matter of being in Upper Middle class or Lower Middle class. Obviously he would like to be in Upper one and non-ABS Amaze preferred over the ABS Brio. Same with other companies too.

I would really love to see some strict safety norms in our country, not only in the case of cars, but in general.
What about making ABS and Airbag mandatory in all the variants? They can take off AC, Center lock, etc. to save some money in the lower variants. But then base variants are gonna be a dud. But that's fine, most of us would pay the extra and get some bells and whistles. Otherwise manufactures can bring in features like climate control, cruise control, etc. to account for the higher variant pricing.

Am I ? Of course I am. Sorry about that, but couldn't help.

Coming back to the topic,
I am not looking for a sedan. Personally I prefer a hatchback. But the choice of Classic is just due to its pedigree. Heard a lot about that 1.6 mill and experienced some other nice options there in US (Mustang, Edge, Explorer) and I thought of give it a try here also.

Budget sealing of 6.5L is because it is going to be the 3rd vehicle in the garage. I currently own a VW Polo 1.2 TDi HL and using a Swift 1.2 Zxi (not owned) too. Sometimes this would be the fourth one as I am actively looking for a Gypsy King MPFi now. Family prefers VW for long trips and Maruti for short.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

look at the Swift ZXi (top trim in petrol) which will have safety features (ABS, Airbags etc) - should come in 6.5L IIRC.

Swift in current avatar, Z variant is a must it seems. How could they take off the brake boosters in L and V!

Originally Posted by D4D

Alternately consider the brio also.

Read some reviews where everyone praised the peppy engine. I test drove it and impressed with the power delivery and cornering. I must say 'cornering' twice as I really wondered how good that was for its size and weight. Honda did a wonderful job there. But when test drive proceeded to some bad sections of the road, I was not too impressed. Not sure how to explain that, but I did not felt the same comfort as that on the good road. When you are in Kerala, that is something to consider.

Originally Posted by DCEite

Though not too good in terms of overall quality, but still.

Test drove the Liva D when it was launched. Couldn't convince myself at that time since the priorities were different. Will have another trail, with the current requirement.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Why is no one suggesting the Ford Figo instead of the sedan? I think the Figo is a very capable car.

I drove the 1.4 mill once. I did not find any lag as such but the vehicle dynamics demands more from the engine. Just my personal thought.
I don't have any idea about the 1.2 version. I couldn't find much reviews on a positive note.

Long post, personal opinion, no offense .

[ampere]

OP is not interested in rear seat. Then I think no sedan. And the fact its not going to be driven much, means a petrol. The best option is the top end petrol Swift. There are no two thoughts on that.

[TheARUN]

The car you should go for is the Ritz VDI. Even in costly Bangalore, the Ritz is available for 6 lakhs OTR leaving you with 50,000 to spend on tyres or ICE or anything else that you might want.

Why Ritz - Its got the best co-driver seat for a car with that budget. Take a look at the backrest, its thick, unlike the thin ones you find in a Brio or i10. Its got the right seat squab height. Ask me, my Dad now 70 is finding it difficult to climb into the co-Driver seat of the Safari, he finds it difficult to 'get up' from a comfortable sofa which means the car seat has to be high but not as high as the Safari. The Swift which is the best seller in this price bracket does not fit this requirement of mine, its only the Ritz that fits. Also the Omni, Santro and Wagon R but they are below the budget

National engine - After what I have read on the forum, life is not complete till you have owned and driven the 1.3 multijet. Its gem of an engine and its there in the Ritz

If I were you, the Ritz would be a no-brainer

I also checked out the resale value, its not that bad, it might take time to find a buyer but the Ritz is definitely not going for more than half-price after the warranty is over

[D4D]

Originally Posted by novice29

I don't have any idea about the 1.2 version. I couldn't find much reviews on a positive note.

The figo 1.2 is neither powerful nor fuel efficient. The people did not buy it because of it's poor FE and the enthusiast did not buy it because of lack of power. Don't ever look towards it, resale will be very bad.

[ank.nsit]

Originally Posted by novice29

This is useful info. I was not aware that we can do this at required RPM range. That would take Punto 75 HP to a different level. But don't I need to wait till the vehicle warranty is over? This can void the warranty otherwise, right?

The risk of loosing warranty definitely exists.
But more often than not the service guys don't even realize that the car has been modified.
Alternatively if the tuner is located in your city, you can get the original map before sending the car to service station & then revert. This obviously involves to & fro overhead trip to the tuner. Most tuner I guess provide this service for free.

[Vid6639]

While the Fiesta classic is a good car, it's slightly long in the tooth now. for 6.5L OTR you will only be bale to get the lower trims which are quite spartan.

The Swift will be a good choice but again only the VXi will fall under your budget and is again pretty basic. If you can stretch to the ZXi, this is the best package for fun to drive with all features.

My suggestion would be to look at the Brio. It's got a really sweet 1.2L rev happy honda motor. Very chuckable thanks to compact size. It's not an out and out driver's car but is a brilliant car to drive in the city. You may also be able to get the top end VX MT under 6.5 lakhs depending on where you stay.

Since road tax varies from city you will have to tell us which City you are buying in as OTR can be hugely different.

Originally Posted by DCEite

I suggest you take a look at something like a Liva 1.5 L (Not the cross) - i guess should be within 6.5 lacs and is fun to drive as well. Though not too good in terms of overall quality, but still.

The 1.5L Liva is 8L on road in Bangalore. Around 7.5 in some cities. Not worth it since it's not even fully loaded.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Why is no one suggesting the Ford Figo instead of the sedan? I think the Figo is a very capable car.

In that budget you won't get the Diesel unless you look at lower trims which I would not recommend. Moreover the diesel performance is not that great. The Petrol 1.2 is even worse so is not at all recommended.

[sandeepmohan]

I second Vid6639 on the Honda. It is brilliant. The engine needs to be worked but then who does not like to work a beautiful Honda vtec mill. It is in its element when you rev the nuts off it. The car has surprisingly good road manners for a Honda. I'd say its the best in the portfolio if driving pleasure is the priority.

I do not know the cost of a Toyota Liva TRD petrol but considering its a slow mover, there should be massive discounts on it. No rev monster engine but boy can this car move within the provided rev range.

[IshaanIan]

Just thinking out aloud here; Honda is all set to release the new Jazz in India and with the focus of pricing it as competitively as possible. Will this mean that you might be able to buy a basic Honda Jazz within the budget? This would be an extremely capable all-rounder

[johy]

I have driven the Brio and it is pretty dull to drive. My 2 cents.