[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by mikeautherton

Meanwhile is it true that Punto is getting a facelift. Dealer said the production resumed after a brief stoppage.

I don't think the current Punto will receive any more facelifts, it is simply not selling enough. FCA it seems is more focused on the JEEP brand as of now & their next product most likely will be the JEEP Renegade. As for production being stopped, it is more likely due to the fact that their is no demand. But still if you go ahead with the Punto, let me tell you that you won't regret your decision due of qualities like pure hydraulic steering, brilliant ride quality, rock solid stability, supermodel like looks etc.

[Sebring]

This could be interesting, but all the brand/product attributes you associate with Fiat fits perfectly with Tata now. Rock solid build, good looks, great engines, and service has really improved (if not the best). You wont be left in the lurch. So it's a better Fiat in a way. Would love your thoughts on this.

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

Qualities like brilliant ride quality, rock solid stability, supermodel like looks etc.

[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by Sebring

This could be interesting, but all the brand/product attributes you associate with Fiat fits perfectly with Tata now. Rock solid build, good looks, great engines, and service has really improved (if not the best). You wont be left in the lurch. So it's a better Fiat in a way. Would love your thoughts on this.

Well I haven't yet driven the Nexon, but from the reviews it seems that the Nexon has all the qualities you mentioned. Over the years I have exclusively driven the likes of Fiesta 1.6, Polo 1.6 P, elite i20, i10, Xcent, Ecosport, but somehow the Punto feels better than all the above mentioned cars w.r.t steering feel, highway stability, ride quality, built quality. Punto somehow used to appeal to the driver in me better than most cars I have driven.

[srvm]

An article published in today's edition of The Hindu (link) compared the Petrol Ecosport (facelift model with Dragon engine) and Petrol Nexon.

Quick summary:
Where Nexon trumps the Ecosport: Better handling, Better steering feedback, more Spacious in the rear but poor ergonomics in drivers seat, More goodies & more premium interiors

Where Ecosport outshines the Nexon: Engine, Driveability & Fuel economy


Verdict: With the facelift, Ford has really upped the EcoSport’s game — the ride and handling has improved. But the big improvement is the engine and it beats the Nexon by a huge margin.

This difference, along with the Nexon’s stunning looks, will be enough for most buyers to go the Tata way. The Tata SUV also offers better ride and handling and a few more features. It should have been the winner, but the Nexon does have an Achilles heel — its petrol engine. This battle isn’t as much won by the EcoSport as it is lost by the Nexon. The new kid on the block has quite a few things to learn.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Coming back to the topic, I would hold on to my vote until Ecosport pricing is revealed.

Both Ecosport and Nexon look pretty competitive in the segment for now.

Voted for Ecosport. Because this is the only complete offering with decent engines and auto-transmission. Pricing too wasn't increased from the pre-facelift model

Originally Posted by blrboy

I am not the one who would change car frequently...
1. My daily running is not high
2. Maintenance should be light
3. Decent Mileage in City ( I would be happy if I get around 14 kmpl in City, around 17 kmpl in highways)
4. Enjoyable / fun filled ride quality within and outside city
5. Manual transmission:

I am in a similar situation though not in a hurry to upgrade. Running around 35-40kms a day and maybe once a month 200-300kms highway trip. Overall 1000-1200kms a month. Budget strictly <10L OTR

Looking for a premium petrol hatch with higher ground clearance (top most criteria, thanks to Bangalore roads ), to upgrade from my 2010 Estilo. One thing I like about my current car is the mileage (16.5-17kmpl) in Bangalore outskirts (Begur road-Jigani-EC) and ease of chucking it around the traffic. But surprise potholes spawning every other day keeps reminding me of the low ground clearance. Have to be very careful all the time.

Apart from the obvious ecosport and nexon, I was checking out the i20 Active. How's the Active petrol in comparison to the ecosport/nexon Petrol in terms of driveablity, mileage? My roomie had the 1st Gen i20 and the petrol mileage was kinda low at 10-11 in city, but heard it has been tuned a bit different in the active compared to even the current Elite i20? Any owners here who can share some experience? Good part about the active is that in 10L OTR I can get a fully loaded (6 airbags, rear wash/wipe etc) vehicle with decent ground clearance (190mm)

Ecosport Trend+ petrol MT would have been perfect for my budget as I need the rear wash/wipe & defogger(this should be standard safety feature) but they decided not to offer it in MT.

P.S: Am not comfortable with investing in a diesel as I tend to keep my vehicles for pretty long time (bike 10 years, car 7 years already) and the discussion around diesels' future confuses me.

[Sathya_sc]

Hello All,

I can't think of a better place than to ask the folks here to ease me out of the dilemma that I am currently in. I live in Europe currently but the plan is I will be visiting India for a 12 month stint and return back to Europe in 2019.

This car is primarily for my wife to drop the kid to school, handle house-hold stuff etc., However I will also be using it over weekends and the car should be capable enough to do 800-1000km long hauls without a fuss. I generally maintain triple digit speeds (atleast 120) at Highways.

I shortlisted Nexon XM Diesel, Tiago Diesel and the Figo Sports Diesel for this. Also looking at the new Swift that will be launched.

I have not yet decided whether to sell the car or to leave it in Chennai and use it once in 3-6 months (basically use it when am on vacation to India)..

My wife doesn't like the Ford - considers the Interior very basic, but the driver in me drools for the Ford. Nexon is also good IMO. From a VFM, Tiago it is, however am afraid whether the Tiago is a 'good' Highway cruiser?

Any thoughts/ suggestions welcome.

[Arjun Reddy]

If you are in this segment, I would actually suggest the Honda Jazz CVT. Good and spacious city car and a decent highway cruiser. The automatic will be easy for the wife to drive the kids to school.

Should solve your dual purpose and can retain it for your holidays.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

My wife doesn't like the Ford - considers the Interior very basic, but the driver in me drools for the Ford. Nexon is also good IMO. From a VFM, Tiago it is, however am afraid whether the Tiago is a 'good' Highway cruiser?

Any thoughts/ suggestions welcome.

Honestly, for such a short stint - it would make sense to go the pre-owned way.

Get a good pre-owned automatic hatch for the city runs - like the older i10 / i20 / Jazz which will be reliable and easy to maintain.

For the highways you can always rent a self-drive car which will give you the flexibility depending on the type of trip you are planning. For example, a nice clean highway with 2 passengers would be a whole lot more fun in the CLA, and similarly an XUV would be good with family on some of the rougher roads.

The Tiago is a good city car, and should be quite stable on the highways as well.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Hello All,

I can't think of a better place than to ask the folks here to ease me out of the dilemma that I am currently in. I live in Europe currently but the plan is I will be visiting India for a 12 month stint and return back to Europe in 2019.

This car is primarily for my wife to drop the kid to school, handle house-hold stuff etc., However I will also be using it over weekends and the car should be capable enough to do 800-1000km long hauls without a fuss. I generally maintain triple digit speeds (atleast 120) at Highways.

I shortlisted Nexon XM Diesel, Tiago Diesel and the Figo Sports Diesel for this. Also looking at the new Swift that will be launched.

I have not yet decided whether to sell the car or to leave it in Chennai and use it once in 3-6 months (basically use it when am on vacation to India)..

My wife doesn't like the Ford - considers the Interior very basic, but the driver in me drools for the Ford. Nexon is also good IMO. From a VFM, Tiago it is, however am afraid whether the Tiago is a 'good' Highway cruiser?

Any thoughts/ suggestions welcome.

Aspire all the way, the vehicle is a beauty, and for you would be the best shortlist amongst your choices. I have not driven the other 2, but I feel that the Aspire would be most suited for your needs.

If automatic, how about the GT TSI? Pretty capable highway muncher and good for the city as well, if you can live with the claustrophobic back seat; but then the same is the problem with the aspire as well

[MDED]

I would second what Arjun has to say on this topic. Jazz is indeed a spacious car with excellent boot space considering the fact that it is still considered under hatch category. Honda's are known for their efficient petrol engines and Jazz stands no exception to it.

You can avoid Tiago, as it is a cramped car and not sure about its cruising capabilities on 4 to 6 lanes. Considering the fact that the car is needed during your vacations, buying a used certified one is also not a bad idea.

My verdict: Go for Jazz CVT!

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Aspire all the way, the vehicle is a beauty, and for you would be the best shortlist amongst your choices.

Somehow, am unable to convince my wife for the Ford. She is not a fan of those interiors while I will buy it within a blink of my eye just for the driving fun.

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

If you are in this segment, I would actually suggest the Honda Jazz CVT. Good and spacious city car and a decent highway cruiser. The automatic will be easy for the wife to drive the kids to school.

Should solve your dual purpose and can retain it for your holidays.

I haven't considered Jazz. Let me look into it as well. However am planning for a diesel. I like the torquey nature of the Diesels.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Honestly, for such a short stint - it would make sense to go the pre-owned way.

The Tiago is a good city car, and should be quite stable on the highways as well.

True. Will visit a few pre-owned showrooms when am in Chennai now for a holiday and need to decide.

Originally Posted by MDED

My verdict: Go for Jazz CVT!

Thanks will look into the Jazz and add it to my list.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

I have not yet decided whether to sell the car or to leave it in Chennai and use it once in 3-6 months (basically use it when am on vacation to India).

I think you have to decide this first before you go ahead with the purchase. Reason being, an unused car will basically deteriorate. If you plan to sell the car after your stint, I would either suggest you to lease / long-term rent the car or purchase one that commands a strong resale value.

Incase of lease/rent, your choice will be limited to the ones offered by the company, however almost all new cars can be bought on lease. Lease might also help you for tax reasons - although after GST, the lease rates have gone up.

Will recommend you to buy a new car only if you plan to keep it for 3 years or more and you can keep the car with your friends / family who can take her for a spin once in a while.

Honda Jazz, Ford Figo, Maruti S-Coss are some of the car that come to my mind. If possible, wait for the new Swift to come out before you decide.

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

If you plan to sell the car after your stint, I would either suggest you to lease / long-term rent the car or purchase one that commands a strong resale value.

Incase of lease/rent, your choice will be limited to the ones offered by the company, however almost all new cars can be bought on lease. Lease might also help you for tax reasons - although after GST, the lease rates have gone up.

Leasing is definitely an interesting option. Any good companies where I can look at leasing? Also, will the companies ok to lease for 10-12 months?
On, long term rent, how does this work.. any companies offer this service? Would be definitely worthwhile to explore.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Leasing is definitely an interesting option. Any good companies where I can look at leasing? Also, will the companies ok to lease for 10-12 months?
On, long term rent, how does this work.. any companies offer this service? Would be definitely worthwhile to explore.

For lease - Check out Orix, LeasePlan. If considering a Maruti Suzuki car, they offer N2N Leasing as well.

Renting - Again you can approach Orix, selfdrive.in, ecorentacar.com, etc.

I don't know many companies that do long term renting. But I have done leasing through all the mentioned companies when I was working in a car dealership. Some leasing plans require you to stipulate the number of km you would do in a year, make sure you over estimate this figure by 10-15% when asking for quotes.

The major difference that could arise would be the kms the car does - so if you are not sure how much you are going to do, renting would make sense, however, never seen anyone rent a self drive car for more than 3 months. You will have to ask around for reviews from other. While, incase of Lease, you do get plans from 2 months till 5 years. Generally, anything less than 2 years is considered as short term, but I've known Orix to do it. LeasePlan does a minimum 12 months I think.

Main advantage for leasing would be like owning a new car, but one which you can return back by the end of your stint. Not sure if you'll get a brand new car when you rent.

[AnInternetUser]

My usage pattern is similar to yours. We were in the market for a pre-owned car and our budget was similar to yours, too. We really liked the XUV but before going forward with the purchase, the dealer asked us what our use was and if we really needed an SUV. He recommended getting a sedan since it's better suited to our needs plus it'll be easier to drive in the city.

We ended up getting a 2009 Honda City from him - saved us a ton of cash too. We've had the car for two months or so now and we've already been on three road trips (ranging from 400-1500kms). Sure, we had to spend 15-20k on suspension work and other miscellaneous work but apart from that, it's served us well.

The issue, I feel, with getting a new car in your case is that you'll have to bear at least 2L in depreciation when you sell it just a year later. This amount will be considerably lower in case of a used car. Plus, you'll get a proper sedan for the price of a hatchback - GTO's thread on lateral upgrading is a must-read I feel.

I would personally avoid keeping the car after 2019 and using it while on vacation since the car will need some work whenever you want to use it and it's an additional hassle I wouldn't want to be involved in.