Team-BHP - My <10 lakh ex-showroom new car conundrum
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Hello All,

After 5.5 Yrs and 86,000 Kms with my Chevrolet Beat (Diesel), its time for me to move on and looking to you to help bring clarity to my decision process.

I had bought my beat for Rs 4,98,000 ex showroom in 2012 December and barring a few hiccups it took everything I threw at it in its stride, be it very bad village mud roads, > High way speeds on NH, grueling Bangalore traffic and the journey has been a good one..

I am a practical person with reasonable clarity around my priorities in life and as a result fixed my new car budget to around 10 Lakh Ex- Showroom (~ 12.5 Lakh on road in bangalore, courtesy high road tax)..

My constraints / needs.

1. Diesel as my monthly running is ~ 1200 KM to 1500 KM: 800 KMS In City driving, 300 - 600 KMS Highway (Mostly state highway, village roads). I stay in the sub-urbs of Bangalore, Sarjapura village and in my ~ 40KM ( two way incl.) commute to office ~ 25KMs is traffic free. My office timing is mostly flexible so I can choose to travel closer to 11:00 AM where traffic is more manageable.

2. Enough Boot Space, and Rear seat space, elderly friendly.

3. Ability to handle bad roads. Regardless of the maintenance roads are in pretty bad shape most of the time and would like peace of mind / good suspension.

4. Power on tap to accelerate quickly out of traffic. I maintain a std <100 Kms in Highways and rarely accelerate above that except to avoid getting stuck behind a truck. Would love to be able to zig zag my way out of traffic / take narrow lanes to avoid traffic.

5. Automatic, Cruise preferable but cant find one in my budget :(

6. Family insists on a 'Big' car.. Peer pressure, but cant completely avoid it..

7. Dependent on Finance (~ 75%) so new car is preferable..

8. Will be keeping the car for atleast 5 Yrs / 1 Lakh KM. So needs to age well with time

Cars Considered:

1. Hyundai Creta Diesel E+: Loved the new facelifted creta.. It looks really awesome in silver and ticks most of my boxes. Rear seat space - Check, Boot Space- Check. Looks - Check, Ground Clearance to handle bad roads - Check.
Interior / exterior / build quality - Check. Test drove this a couple of time, one on a free strech of road with minimal traffic and second in peak traffic on ORR. No real negatives, but would have loved an automatic.

2. Honda AMAZE Facelift : V AT. : Cars looks reasonably ok. The build quality feels flimsy like most Japanese cars. The CVT Auto feels nice, has enough power on tap. Overall not disappointed but not really excited either. My short test drive felt OK but having driven a manual for 6 Yrs, I found that I needed to exert greater pressure on the brake or the car was slowly inching ahead which could be dangerous in traffic or signals.

3. Vitara Brezza AMT: The test drive cars have not made it to the showrooms yet so not driven it, however the plastic quality is bad and I mean really really bad. The new swift gets better interiors than the Brezza.. Did not feel like a million rupee car.

4. Baleno CVT. : Checked this for completeness sake, but not in the same league as others. it is very practical for a city hatch, but at the end of the day it is a hatch. Will not have family approval

Others considered but discarded.

TUV 300 AMT : Interior quality average. Concerns on how car will age in the long term.

Nexon AMT : Not a fan of the looks. It is too curvy for my liking.

Verna AT : Rs 14.5 Lakh on road for the Diesel EX AT + felt not as good as the Creta.

Couple of thoughts :

1. I would have liked Automatic option as it is easier on the knee and i see most customers moving to automatics in about 3 to 5 yrs time. However these are insanely expensive at the moment. I realized my million rupee budget does not buy me a lot in the current market with base ATs starting at ~ Rs 15Lakh. the Creta S AT for god's sake is not greatly specced and costly 16.8 on road :eek:

2. Given I don't currently deal with B2B traffic for most part of my journey, I dont feel the pain of driving a manual. With bangalore growing and a lor of offices coming near the suburbs this may change very soon..


Please pour in your valuable thoughts :)

I suggest you to go for an AT/AMT option;

Honda Jazz V CVT - Petrol ~ 10L OTR
Nexon XZ+ AMT ~ 11.4L OTR for Petrol and 12.5 for diesel
Toyota Yaris J CVT - Petrol ~ 12L OTR

The only car which has the (proper)Automatic+Diesel combo in your budget is the Amaze. I'd suggest that you go for it. Yes, there are other Automatic+Diesel options within your budget, but they are all AMTs. If you are willing to sacrifice on the Automatic aspect, then do consider the Ameo and the Aspire which offer the best diesel engines in the segment. The Ameo does have a DSG+Diesel combo which is actually the best engine+drivetrain combo which you can get, though it might pip your budget by a bit. If a still bigger car is required, then do check out the Ecosport Trend+. It does feel like a million rupee car and the punchy diesel will keep you happy as well.

The Creta E+ while being a segment higher, will miss out on a lot of essentials plus it has a small 1.4 engine for its size. In that case, you'd rather stick with the Ciaz Delta.

Why don't you take your family for a drive in the i20 Asta(O) diesel just after driving those compact sedans? There perception about hatchbacks might change. :) And if not, then convince them that the i20 Active is an SUV. :D

If I had your budget, I'd have gone for either the Ameo Highline or the i20 Asta(O), with the Ecosport Trend+ being the dark-horse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by charanreddy (Post 4408506)
1. Hyundai Creta Diesel E+

Consider Hyundai i20 Active. Rear seat space - i20:Creta wheelbase 2570:2590 mm, Boot Space- 285:402 litres. Looks - subjective, Ground Clearance to handle bad roads - both 190 mm.
Interior / exterior / build quality - Check.

You can have top end diesel with all the bells and whistles under 10 L ex-showroom.

Check out the Ameo / Rapid - generally they have some good discounts on offer as well though they are over your budget and reliability of the gearbox is iffy.

The Amaze too is a very good option.

However, as you rightly pointed out - a good diesel auto is dearly missing, and the Amaze is the first one providing a competent engine and gearbox. Going ahead, manufacturers will either maintain status quo or will try and plug in this gap - but that is a few years away and it all depends on the various rulings and judgements on diesels polluting, and acceptance of electrical vehicles.

At some point you will have to compromise:

Manual: Creta has won you over, and rightly so! But also see the fun to drive Vento/Rapid

Diesel: If you're open to petrol's, the Yaris base trim makes sense and there are a whole lot more options to choose from.

Reliability: Vento/Rapid may be a good choice but reliability of the gearbox is suspect. At least cost will be covered by the manufacturer but you will still have to wait for parts.

Maruti Ciaz, Maruti Scross, Maruti Ertiga, Toyota Etios are the practical choices that suit your requirements. Tested and proven mechanics with excellent service support. I'd recommend you wait for the next generation ertiga which is likely to be launched later this year. Ciaz and Ertiga provide good rear seat comfort and ergonomics of getting in and out respectively.

If you can compromise on the A/T requirement, you should seriously consider the Maruti S-Cross, Honda WR-V, Hyundai i20 Active, and Creta 1.4 CRDi.

However if an A/T is a must (considering BLR traffic), Honda Amaze is a good option. If you could extend your budget a bit, the Verna diesel auto would fit the bill quite well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by charanreddy (Post 4408506)
My constraints / needs.

1. Diesel...
2. Enough Boot Space, and Rear seat space, elderly friendly.
3. Ability to handle bad roads.
4. Power on tap. Would love to be able to zig zag my way out of traffic / take narrow lanes to avoid traffic.
5. Automatic, Cruise preferable but cant find one in my budget :(
6. Family insists on a 'Big' car.. Peer pressure, but cant completely avoid it..
7. Dependent on Finance (~ 75%) so new car is preferable..
8. Will be keeping the car for atleast 5 Yrs / 1 Lakh KM. So needs to age well with time

Amaze is the top choice. It fulfils all your requirements from 1 to 8. I would not suggest that you go for manual transmission car. Your city driving is quite heavy, and you might start regretting your choice soon. At that time comfort of knee, would be more important than having a higher segment car. And zig zagging out of traffic and taking narrow lanes is best accomplished in a compacter car.

My second choice would be Brezza. Yes, the interior quality is not the greatest, but its something you will get used to. Again you will appreciate the AT and the ground clearance on bad roads more than the interior quality.

Finally, given current pricing 1200 km a month is a grey area. If you start considering petrol AT you will have a lot more options, whoch would be more refined. You would roughly pay around 2000 per month on fuel per month, 1.20 lakhs over 5 years, but quite a bit of that would get compensated by EMI too.

Then you get the option of Baleno, Jazz, i20, Amaze Petrol, Ecosport, Yaris, Ciaz to chose from, and they all seem quite good options.

Quote:

4. Baleno CVT. : Checked this for completeness sake, but not in the same league as others. it is very practical for a city hatch, but at the end of the day it is a hatch. Will not have family approval
At the end of the day this is a hatch, which is of the same size as Amaze. Just the shape should not be a deciding factor. The utility it provides should be.

S-Cross seems to be the perfect fit for your requirements. The Zeta variant is just a shade under 10Lakhs and comes with cuise control too. The plastic quality is also better than Brezza. It has a manual transmission though.

I would suggest you try out the new Ford Freestyle. It ticks nearly all your requirements- A good engine, nippy handling, good suspension, good features, decent boot space ( for a hatchback). The only requirement this doesn't tick is the big car feeling. Otherwise it does went well suited for your requirements. Good luck.

Out of all the cars that you mentioned (considered+discarded), the Nexon AMT is the most refined of the lot (barring the Creta). The Amaze might be good to look at, but even in the video reviews the interior noise is quite loud.

If you are open to Petrols, the Tigor AMT is a much cheaper and comfortable option. Petrol and Diesel prices are reaching parity in any case.

Tata Nexon XM 1.5 diesel will be the best bang for your buck IMO. It's decently powerful and torquey, good space, comfortable ride quality and gives a big car feel while not being as cumbersome as a ladder on frame SUV in traffic. Plus it will be more feature loaded than the Creta E+.

The only issue is that the TASS experience will be a hit or miss (mostly a miss). BUT if you can manage to find a reliable service centre then Nexon will surely prove to be a worthy companion on road.

To be frank you are expecting a bit too much :) - Less than 10 Lacs ex showroom + Diesel + AT .

If you are willing to switch to petrol - (i think with your running petrol might fit in ) then you might be able to some options in your budget.

P.S. The Creta Diesel clutch is quite light and i think it shoud not worry your left leg too much. I raised this point as you seemed bit inclined towards the Creta E Diesel MT.

Here's my take after having carefully looked over your requirements:

I would suggest going for a petrol. Both the pattern and amount of your usage suggest it. And as rightly pointed out, Petrol and Diesel prices are fast achieving parity - given the current difference, I would strongly suggest rethinking your very first stipulation of the vehicle being a diesel. You'll save money upfront for sure and won't pay that much more for fuel over time as you would previously. You might not even have to pay more.
Moreover, despite how good diesels have gotten lately, given your requirement for a nippy character in traffic, a petrol would be so much better. I think the combination of absence of turbo lag and lower price upfront is worth serious consideration.

And now, looking at the other side of the coin, I'd strongly suggest an auto as well, given your usage pattern, location and what I can glean about your less overt personal desires not perhaps overt in the post. I think, and I know it is a broad leap in reasoning, that you will subconsciously hanker for an Automatic soon enough, and then, as Team BHP so wisely tells us, no matter what we tell ourselves, upgrading costs a bomb. Better to pay a little extra upfront for something you need than have to buy it all over again later.

You may think the advice is contradictory between paying less for a petrol and paying more for an auto right now, but an Automatic is a definite convenience, and potential saving on not buying a diesel now may not be realised in the future.

The only downside I can think of is fuel economy - buying an auto for your next upgrade will likely be from a newer generation of cars with still better FE, and conversely, if you bought a petrol auto now, the fuel costs might pinch. I know I'm not much help, but I feel I must present as many sides of the argument that I can see for myself.

Anyhow, bottom line is that I would think that the current use value of an automatic (subjective) + lower upfront cost of a petrol would be the petrol (objective) + elimination of an upgrade-itch just for wanting an auto (objective) > a more efficient auto later + lower running costs of diesel.

And do not forget the way our population and congestion in big cities is increasing - just look at expansion, 2- & 4- wheeler sales - you might need an auto sooner than you think.

So, with AT and not necessarily diesel in mind here are 3 recommendations:

1. What I would do if I was forced to make such a choice - Stretch my budget for the Creta AT. You'd get your diesel + AT. It's really irritating the way Hyundai have positioned the AT variants - the cheapest AT is a diesel :Frustrati
16.5 is waaaaay over your budget and will really hurt - 15.25 for the corresponding petrol AT mightn't have pinched much. But I'd stretch for my needs - you only live once. I know this isn't a good answer because I simply don't know the background of your purchase decision in this sense (after all, that's what we leave out and leave it at budgets). But, without wishing to trouble you with the most common advice of simply stretching your budget, I will still do it. If you can, go for it.
I suppose that just always happens here - If only you just were to spend a little more, there'd be no compromise. lol:

2. Best car within budget with least compromise - Ecosport Trend+ Petrol AT. Within budget. Will last. Good GC. Good quality. Good ingress and egress. A proper TC AT - none of that AMT nonsense here. Cons - Terrible ride (IMO bad doesn't do it justice), largely a 4 seater (don't know how important that is for you).

3. While I don't see the point of you getting a sedan - bear in mind that they barely match the 175mm GC of your Beat, and on top of that, they'll have much longer wheelbases. So, only if you are ready to compromise on what little bit of rough road ability these others provide, you could consider a sedan. Trust me, this comes from someone who very much likes to push through corners and doesn't care for this new trend of SUVs - they lack true off road ability and have all the body roll. But in our country, even people like me have given up on getting those thrills from Sedans (unless you can afford multiple vehicles) - sometimes even reaching a fun twisty road can be a real pain. So please evaluate this carefully based on your own rough road usage - I couldn't glean much from what you've written. The Amaze has just 164mm of GC for example.

Back to which Sedan. Well...
1. I wouldn't recommend the Amaze for all its decent aspects. The ride quality isn't great, and neither is the build. The poorest GC in the bargain doesn't help (every 5mm matters).
2. Ford Aspire. The quality and dynamics aren't up to the Ford standard, but the ride quality is good, GC is liveable. Nice engines too.
3. Maruti Ciaz. The ride quality on this one is really really good. As is the space - your family's "big car" requirement will certainly be fulfilled once they see the interior and particularly the boot. But seriously, this has just about nothing going for it except the ride and space. The AT option, while a TC, is a mere 4 speed, and the engines aren't really up to the mark. Not this one either, unless you feel the ride quality and space are worth the trade-off.

So, to put it in a nutshell:
If you can, stretch for the Diesel AT Creta.
If you can compromise on ride quality, Ecosport Petrol AT.
If you can compromise on rough road usage (or it isn't required that much), go for either the Aspire or Ciaz. The Aspire might be the better overall package, but if you find the Ciaz's performance adequate for your needs, the space and ride quality are really surprising.

Cheers!

Edit: Have left out many others, but they would matter only once you decide where to compromise. I'm not one of those who'd never consider or recommend Tata etc. There's other good stuff that might fit you even better, but your first need to pick a lane.

A petrol is sufficient for your usage pattern.

I think you should check out the new i20 Asta CVT. Hyundai is known for it's great interiors and the i20 is a very practical car.


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