[hserus]

Originally Posted by vvvinod

Buy new Ertiga and throw the third row seats or keep it in folded position. Comfortable 4 seater with enough space to put 100kg with decent safety kit may be an option to think of.

Please don’t even think of oversized hatchbacks or fwd sedans for this application.

[AirbusCapt]

Originally Posted by hserus

Needs a yellow board and a commercial vehicle license

Read again! I said a xenon not a yodha.

[Alpha8118]

Originally Posted by ChoosetoCruze

+1

Something rugged which can withstand abuse. Also keep a lookout for a used Innova, Fortuner, DMax. These will keep maintenance (premature suspension wear) costs in check.

For 4 adults + a healthy cargo payload, you can skip most pretend SUVs below 10L.

I would suggest you avoid Innova completely. I say this from personal experience after having a long ownership of almost all the generations of the Innova. It is not a decent luggage carrier by any sorts. My car(2nd gen face-lift) was once loaded with approx 100kg weight for a distance of 250 km, most of which was on a national highway. On reaching our destination and giving in the car for service, we found that the rear suspension had to be replaced as the shockers were completely busted. So please go for a tested and proven luggage carrier and not for an urban vehicle.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

I would pick up the Bolero any day.

Rural friendly, reliable, sturdy. Yes it does not have the modern airbags etc. but it is one vehicle to traverse unsafe routes.

[Lowflyer23]

My choice would be the TUV300/300+, they are more modern and refined than the Bolero and are very spacious and can withstand heavy loads along with rough roads with ease due to ladder on frame construction.

[ram.iyer95]

Originally Posted by Alpha8118

My car(2nd gen face-lift) was once loaded with approx 100kg weight for a distance of 250 km, most of which was on a national highway. On reaching our destination and giving in the car for service, we found that the rear suspension had to be replaced as the shockers were completely busted.

Now that's surprising! Isn't the Innova a people-mover where 2-3 people (whose combined weight may very well exceed 100kg) are supposed to be seated in the third row? It does not have the typical Torsion-Beam rear suspension that you find in most hatchbacks/sedans, so I believe it can take quite a bit of abuse. Curious to know what went wrong in your case.

[Alpha8118]

Originally Posted by ram.iyer95

Now that's surprising! Isn't the Innova a people-mover where 2-3 people (whose combined weight may very well exceed 100kg) are supposed to be seated in the third row? It does not have the typical Torsion-Beam rear suspension that you find in most hatchbacks/sedans, so I believe it can take quite a bit of abuse. Curious to know what went wrong in your case.

I don't exactly know what went wrong but I would like to tell you that this has happened twice before. New shockers had to be fitted both times. And yes, both of them happened after traveling on the same road with almost similar weight. But still, I don't think a second hand Innova should be bought for hauling samples as most Innovas have been used for a lot of mile munching over god knows what kind of roads and also have they been maintained well like in my case (service after each trip, regular changing of parts etc). Also, for village areas, the Innova may have trouble dealing with muddy roads, uneven and narrow paved roads with huge potholes. I say this again from personal experience as we regularly take our Innovas to our village.

[low_rider]

I would recommend a Bolero. Have myself driven one and was extremely satisfied with it. Reasons are as follows:

• Rugged - The suspension can withstand abuse on worst of the roads. even with regular heavy loads.
• Load capacity - Heavy loads doesn't make it sink on the suspension like other soft roaders.
• Decently comfortable - I have found it to be decently comfortable with good AC.
• Safe - Solid body with a solid chassis makes it safe.
• Easy and cheap to maintain. Can be repaired at most basic of the workshops, even in villages

[ManojEllappan]

Since you have mentioned that it should be under 10 lakhs, safe car,

So I see the following aspects as your requirements from your multiple comments,

1. Under 10 lakhs
2. Safe car
3. U would carry a weight of 100 kgs mostly. So you need a car with good ground clearance so that it doesn't scrap its belly
4. Since you have mentioned that you drive in bad roads, a car with a good suspension manners

So I feel Ford Freestyle is the one for you. It is reasonably well built. Event he top end diesel with loads of safety features such as 6 airbags, ARP, ESP, HLA is under 10 lakhs. Its 190mm ground clearance will help you carry your weight and handle all the bad roads with ease. Have a test drive and you will definitely tick all the boxes in your requirements.

Happy Miles.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Alpha8118

I don't exactly know what went wrong but I would like to tell you that this has happened twice before. New shockers had to be fitted both times. And yes, both of them happened after traveling on the same road with almost similar weight. But still, I don't think a second hand Innova should be bought for hauling samples as most Innovas have been used for a lot of mile munching over god knows what kind of roads and also have they been maintained well like in my case (service after each trip, regular changing of parts etc). Also, for village areas, the Innova may have trouble dealing with muddy roads, uneven and narrow paved roads with huge potholes. I say this again from personal experience as we regularly take our Innovas to our village.

Maybe the shock absorber were already old and weak and this journey with heavy loads caused them to fail? Just a thought.

By fail, what happened? Did the coils break or the shock absorber leak?

[Alpha8118]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Maybe the shock absorber were already old and weak and this journey with heavy loads caused them to fail? Just a thought.

By fail, what happened? Did the coils break or the shock absorber leak?

The car (2nd gen 2.5 V 8 seater) had been serviced a month before heading onto this trip. This car is only used for traveling on the aforementioned route and is not taken out of the garage otherwise. After returning from the trip and giving it in for service, the service centre advised us to change the rear shockers and we agreed to do so because-

1. The car could be seen to be riding lower at the rear.
2. The ride quality and ability to deal with bad sections of roads had been affected to a great extent.

After these incidents, we got the 2.5 Z and then two Crystas (2.4 Z manual) and they have not suffered from this problem. We still use the 2.5 V for this route but avoid carrying heavy luggage in the back.

[Shanky_1002]

Considering your usage and load carrying capacity, Bolero will be an apt choice new or used, it has leaf springs at the rear which can carry good weight and rides well when loaded. Pretty sturdy built for rugged use, nothing would go wrong with it if serviced regularly and driven sanely. I've had Bolero for 6 years now driven around 93,000 km and recently have done 2000 km long drive with four on board, pet doggo and luggage loaded till the roof. It performed without a fuss, it does get tiring after such a long drive and ain't as comfortable as other SUV's or soft roaders but it does the job well and dirt cheap maintenance and repairs are an added advantage. It doesn't come with ABS, airbags or other active/passive safety features but it's probably one of the few SUV's available today for the price of a premium hatchback. Secondly you can also look at a used V-cross, seats 4-5 comfortably in the cabin and tons of cargo space at the back, ticks all your requirements to the T and will mostly out perform whatever you throw at it.

[Aniket03]

Originally Posted by Alpha8118

The car (2nd gen 2.5 V 8 seater) had been serviced a month before heading onto this trip. This car is only used for traveling on the aforementioned route and is not taken out of the garage otherwise. After returning from the trip and giving it in for service, the service centre advised us to change the rear shockers and we agreed to do so because-

This is certainly news to me. My office Innova carries 100-200 kgs of material almost daily, sometimes twice a day along with the weight of 3 adults over 10-15 kms and has not faced any problems yet. Maybe in your case, since the distance was long i.e. 200 odd kms and higher speeds would have been maintained. Thus, leading to a loss of rear shockers.

[₹itzylove]

I would recommend BOLERO; you can go with eyes closed.
I work in the apparel industry in Coimbatore; one of the leading garment manufacturers in Tirupur who is also a supplier for our brand has atleast 20 Boleros if not more in their group. On few occasions I travelled in those cars and most of them have clocked above 6-7 Lakh Kms and still in excellent running condition.

At the worst case you may have A/C failure after 4-5 Lakh kms, that's all. Also the maintenance is very very cheap; you can get it serviced at any workshop.

[Alpha8118]

Originally Posted by Aniket03

This is certainly news to me. My office Innova carries 100-200 kgs of material almost daily, sometimes twice a day along with the weight of 3 adults over 10-15 kms and has not faced any problems yet. Maybe in your case, since the distance was long i.e. 200 odd kms and higher speeds would have been maintained. Thus, leading to a loss of rear shockers.

The distance of the car being fully loaded was actually near to 700 KM. 200 km was just the distance it covered when it wasn't loaded. And yes, I think this might have been the case. But now we use the Endeavour instead so no problems