[Harsha_Chittar]

So I went and test drove Pulse it was superb, my only concern is service, the car is beautiful. Swift i felt was a little expensive vdi comes to 8l. Anyone think Ritz vdi abs makes sense, it is almost a lakh cheaper than swift.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by Harsha_Chittar

Anyone think Ritz vdi abs makes sense, it is almost a lakh cheaper than swift.

Ritz is on its way out. It has been around for a very very long time without any major facelifts.
Resale will take a nosedive once it is out of production. If you are fine with that, then you can go ahead. In fact, because it is a very old model still on sale, you will be in a position to bargain quite a lot on it.

[Dan9ie]

Check out the new figo, I think that's the car to get in that segment this season

[Harsha_Chittar]

Originally Posted by Dan9ie

Check out the new figo, I think that's the car to get in that segment this season

I checked the new figo, could not test drive but had a good look at it. The titanium model has free insurance offer running so it comes to 8.2l on road Bangalore. None of the other models have any offer it looks great but somehow feels smaller than the old figo. The interiors look great, boot is smaller than the old figo, the build feels solid. Going back for test drive in couple of days, has anyone driven the car yet have not seen the new one on the road still.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Harsha_Chittar

I checked the new figo, could not test drive but had a good look at it. The titanium model has free insurance offer running so it comes to 8.2l on road Bangalore. None of the other models have any offer it looks great but somehow feels smaller than the old figo. The interiors look great, boot is smaller than the old figo, the build feels solid. Going back for test drive in couple of days, has anyone driven the car yet have not seen the new one on the road still.

Check out the Figo Official Review thread. Apart from the reviewers, lot of folks have driven it and put their opinions. It is the perfect car for your needs. Even if it means putting in a little extra money , in my opinion, well worth it. Would be brilliant in the hills.

If you push for it, am sure you can get some more discounts/freebies.

[Harsha_Chittar]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Check out the Figo Official Review thread. Apart from the reviewers, lot of folks have driven it and put their opinions. It is the perfect car for your needs. Even if it means putting in a little extra money , in my opinion, well worth it. Would be brilliant in the hills.

If you push for it, am sure you can get some more discounts/freebies.

I test drove the new Figo, it is a superb car. Booked titanium diesel model expected delivery 25th Dec, OTR - 8.1L after insurance, essential kit, RPS and car cover free and 5% discount on other accessories. Hoping I have got a good deal.

[null]

Originally Posted by Harsha_Chittar

I test drove the new Figo, it is a superb car. Booked titanium diesel model expected delivery 25th Dec, OTR - 8.1L after insurance, essential kit, RPS and car cover free and 5% discount on other accessories. Hoping I have got a good deal.

Can you please add your deal details on the Ford Figo thread? If possible, please mention the prices of other Figo models on offer. Also, curious to know - was the old Figo available? did you think of it?

[Dan9ie]

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[adutta2k]

Just came across this interesting thread while doing some random search on the internet. Let me share my experiences with my 8 year old alto (2007 model, 796cc).

This is my first car and I learnt to drive in this car. Then started taking it out on long drives including hills. Started with Nandi hills to get a flavour of hill driving and then to Yelagiri and Yercaud (in TN). Then gained enough confidence to finally try out the 36 hair pin bend on the way to Ooty. All my friends said "36 hair pin bend in Alto? You are mad. You need a more powerful vehicle". I did the 36 hair pin bend without stalling the engine even once. I had 4 adults in my car and faced no problems. Only to get the max power out of the engine I turned the AC off and it did just fine. I went till Doddabetta but being peak holiday season it was very crowded and had to take a turn back on the narrow Doddabetta road. It managed to take a full U turn in 2 turns of the steering wheel. Once on the way to Mulayangiri peak in Chikmagalur tried to take the last 1km of road (which is really steep) and the engine got stalled. Realised I was way too slow. A simple reverse and then ahead in 1st gear full power and it was ok. While coming down just keep the engine between 2nd and 3rd and the engine braking does the job perfectly. No wonder the Alto and the 800 are such a frequent sight on the hills.

Next I drove my friends Linea and Punto as well. They also drove brilliantly on the hills and being diesels the torque was really great and I could easily amble along in 3rd gear in the hills of Kerala. No problems faced. But yes the Alto on the hills was a revelation.

For me its Alto all the way, a car which drives amazingly well in the city as well as in the hills and highways. The K10 series should have a better power since its 1000cc.

If anyone in this forum has en elite I20 petrol or diesel and can elaborate on the hill drive capabilities of the 2 variants that would be really helpful.

[Aroy]

I have driven the M800 in hills. Once around 25th December encountered snow all the way from Kasauli to Shimla. The car drove effortlessly and the next morning started effortlessly, unlike diesels which had a tough time. Yes the Maruti 800cc based cars - M800, Alto and Omni are excellent hill drives.

[bobbafett]

Originally Posted by GTO

The best vehicle would be the Duster AWD.

The Duster indeed has great ability to handle bad roads (very common in hilly areas in India) and a pretty nice engine.

But I'd contend that the Yeti 4x4 is an even better vehicle for hilly areas, especially if looking at Himalayas and snow driving.

The Yeti has almost an equally good ride over bad roads, a more advanced AWD system, better safety ratings and most importantly fantastic body control over corners. Its great in snow (as many Russians and East Europeans posting Yeti snow videos on youtube will certify) and for the money a notch higher on the build quality. Also, its small and lightweight and with the 2.0 TDI, has a lot of grunt to handle climbs. Plus there some other minor features that make it stand out for handling low temperature surroundings, such as heated external mirrors, switchable traction control, etc.

The only issue is that Skoda has discontinued the Ambition 4x4, and the Elegance 4x4 is indeed a lot of premium over the Duster.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by bobbafett

The Duster indeed has great ability to handle bad roads (very common in hilly areas in India) and a pretty nice engine.

But I'd contend that the Yeti 4x4 is an even better vehicle for hilly areas, especially if looking at Himalayas and snow driving.

The Yeti has almost an equally good ride over bad roads, a more advanced AWD system, better safety ratings and most importantly fantastic body control over corners. Its great in snow (as many Russians and East Europeans posting Yeti snow videos on Youtube will certify) and for the money a notch higher on the build quality. Also, its small and lightweight and with the 2.0 TDI, has a lot of grunt to handle climbs. Plus there some other minor features that make it stand out for handling low temperature surroundings, such as heated external mirrors, switchable traction control, etc.

The only issue is that Skoda has discontinued the Ambition 4x4, and the Elegance 4x4 is indeed a lot of premium over the Duster.

Would recommend checking out Tsk's review of the Duster AWD during his trip to Iceland in Winter.

That car is seriously something! Plus a lot more easy to live with in the hills should something go wrong owing to it's simpler mechanicals.

We had taken the Duster AWD from Delhi to Leh mid-2015, and the car performed flawlessly except for a couple of niggles that were sorted out.

[BlackPearl]

I must say that I have been overwhelmed by the Thar during my last Himachal trip. I drove around 12 hours and 520 Kms in a day in the hills of Himachal and thoroughly enjoyed the drive without any fatigue. People who have done this route are amazed that we did it in a single day. The route was - Mashobra-Narkanda-Rampur-Sangla-Chitkul and back via the same route. The abundant torque, power and the easy maneuverability of the Thar made it a pleasure to drive.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by jassi_jeeper

I live in Chandigarh and I love driving to the hills. I drive to the hills near Chandigarh nearly thrice a month. I have driven many cars that my family has owned, but to the hills I have extensively driven the Maruti 800, the Swift VDI and the Mahindra Thar DI 2WD.
The Swift I have found to be pathetic in kuccha roads uphill. The Maruti has always been good (even on LPG). The Jeep I have always loved.
Yesterday while driving on small kuccha roads on the Thar DI, a friend remarked that a small car would be 30% quicker. I gave his statement a thought and I think he is correct. Also no wonder most cab drivers in the hills use Altos. The hill cows are smaller, men are shorter, buses smaller. Can we say the Alto/Maruti 800 is the best car for remote Himachal? Regarding CRDI vs old time diesels I feel that old diesels have much much much better low end torque and are far superior for the hills.
So, the question is, that 'what kind' of car is best suited to the hills, especially kuccha road settings? My mind says a car which is light, small, manual transmission, has a short wheel base. Am I correct?

What you say about the Alto & 800 is quite true - we make approximately two trips a year to Naukuchiatal (Uttaranchal) and from Kathgodam/Haldwani onwards I notice that the proliferation of Altos & 800s far outnumbers other vehicles. The only other car I can add to these two is the Omni, which appears to be the choice of many taxi/tour operators. Lately I have also found quite a few Nanos around - perhaps because Pantnagar was (still is?) an assembly plant for the car.
We have been using the Scorpio for the past 11 years. And even tho' it has a larger footprint than the Alto, we really have no complaints about its utility in the hills. Before the Scorpio we also used the Tata Sierra (a 2-door peculiarity) for several years for our trips, and that one too had given us a lot of fun during its time.

[amitc7]

Agree with GTO on the Duster, i used to live in Yercaud and the best car (out of the swift type II, swift 2nd gen, honda accord and Ford Fiesta)

The best going up and down and haipins - Swift 2013 Zdi - excellent grip, chuckable, good response when kept in the turbo range

Driving through the 'paths' has to be the Fiesta, tried a Duster it would ideal in a one car environment, preferably Automatic with AWD