I have been going through the same 1 car- 2 car dilemma for the last few months. And I have been contemplating upon various combos.
First of all, my primary needs are:
A chauffer- driven car for daily office commuting and city runs. The decision to keep a chauffer was hard to make because I am an enthusiast and I love to drive. But, practicality dictates that I waste a lot of precious time in commuting to and from office. And all that time can be utilized working, thanks to the advancements in technology and all the gadgets at our disposal.
Next point, I am of the opinion that a person like me (An enthusiast) cannot happily drive the same car himself which is chauffer driven most of the time. I might be wrong here, and people having experience in this regard can help me out. Hence, thats the primary reason for having 2 cars rather than 1.
So, I came up with various possible combos I could look into:
1. Ecosport Diesel (Self-driven) + Innova Diesel (Chauffer driven)
Rejected because of the long waiting periods of the ecosport and some negative feedback too. Also, an Innova, though very comfortable, does not make sense for city runs with 1 or 2 people max in the backseat. I had booked the ecosport but cancelled it within a month.
2. Next up, I replaced Ecosport with Duster and rejected it immediately coz number 1, I dont like the interiors and number 2, the reliability of Renault's A.S.S is always a question mark.
3. Then, I formed an all new combo i.e. the new Skoda Octavia (Chauffer- driven) plus a Polo GT TSI (Self- driven). I always wanted to own the Polo TSI. But, owing to my self driven needs, I need something which can be used for travelling to remote places and the TSI fails in this department. Its a great car for the city and the smooth highways but not for something like Ladakh. I might buy the TSI later when I have the option to accomodate a 3rd car at home. As of now, 3 cars do not make sense for a bachelor who lives alone in a congested south delhi colony. Maybe I can buy it for my wife next year when I get married. Then I will have the best of all worlds.
4. I replaced the Octavia with the fortuner and decided to use it as a Chauffer driven car in the city and also to use it as a self driven car for travelling. And to buy a TSI for weekend city drives. Somehow, I could not live with the idea of travelling daily to work in an old school diesel truck as it does not provide much comfort on the back seat. Low mileage was another aspect. Plus the point of sharing my ride with the driver eventually put me off.
Also, this combo was out of my budget. (30 lacs + 2 lacs max)
5. Next up, I replaced the TSI with Nissan Sunny/ Renault Scala (Chauffer driven) and to buy a used fortuner (A very close friend of mine was selling his 3 year old fortuner) as a self driven car.
The only problem with this combo is that both the cars are too much apart from each other and I would soon end up taking my fortuner everywhere at social gatherings and places where I need to maintain my status. The sunny/ scala would not fit in the role of that. And I attend regular social events at least thrice a week. That would mean, going to the office, coming home and then going again in the other car or giving a lot of leaves to the chauffer.
After living in all this confusion for the last 6 months, I have finally decided (Hopefully) to buy a new XUV 500 AWD (Self driven) and a pre-owned Corolla diesel or Laura diesel (Chauffer driven). As I type this, I have an appointment today at a Mahindra dealership for booking the XUV. Somehow, Im still doubtful about the XUV owing to my past research since its launch. And I am still gathering reviews from people I know and fellow BHPians threads.
I hope people who read my boring and long story would understand my requirements and would help me out in making a choice. Any suggestions and inputs are welcome.
Also, need expert help on the use of AWD in an XUV. I dont know how the on-demand AWD works and if its really useful as compared to traditional 4X4 vehicles. My usage will comprise of 25% city runs and the rest highways with occasional trips to Ladakh and other such remote areas (Where I think the AWD will be useful). I dont want to do any serious offroading. Will the AWD still be useful i my case? Plz help guys. Your inputs can help me saving 1.2 lacs and a month's waiting period.