[halcyoner]

We are looking to purchase a car for our office staff, they will be regularly travelling between cities to visit clients and may even have to carry about 100kg of product samples in sacks in some cases.

Safety is of the highest/first priority as they might have to frequently travel through unsafe routes. Good mileage is preferred. The budget we had in mind is 5-10L

Any suggestions are appreciated

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by halcyoner

We are looking to purchase a car for our office staff, they will be regularly travelling between cities to visit clients and may even have to carry about 100kg of product samples in sacks in some cases.

Safety is of the highest/first priority as they might have to frequently travel through unsafe routes. Good mileage is preferred. The budget we had in mind is 5-10L

Any suggestions are appreciated

Ford freestyle diesel Titanium plus: 6 airbags, good ground clearance and that diesel is great to drive as well as frugal.

Nexon/Ecosport diesel(lower variant): solid build (Nexon has 5 star safety rating and ecosport although not tested (India variants) is solid. Good GC, decently frugal engines with good cargo capacity.

I will suggest a car with good GC as you mentioned 100kg cargo and by unsafe roads am guessing you mean village roads.

[bharatbits]

I'd assume luxury and creature comforts are not something that are on the top your priority list. I'd suggest a Bolero, either new or used. Does the job. Frugal to run and maintain. Have seen many businessmen give their staff a Bolero. It's tough and nothing that can go wrong with it unless very badly misused. Fixing something at the ASS is also economical just in case something goes wrong. Can easily be worked upon by road side mechanics too because of it's simple mechanicals. With all the modern electronics and delicate sensors on the Freestyles or Nexons or Ecosports it would be expensive to maintain a vehicle that would most probably be driven by multiple staff.

[NaXal]

Try to find a second hand Renault Lodgy. Pre-owned Lodgy aren't that hard to find & they are dead cheap.

Spend 3-5L on a private, single owner, low mileage Lodgy & save the rest for service / maintenance (in case you end up with a troubled one)

It's relatively safe, very specious & offers excellent fuel economy.

Otherwise, in case you need to purchase new, next best bet would be Marazzo. I may have suggested Etriga but there is no diesel, plus that safety issue as Maruti & safety aren't from the same book. But with Mahindra Marazzo, even the base variant may push your budget up by another 2L

Thanks.

[Mynameis]

Based on what you have mentioned, I think you need following:

1) A reliable car (should not break down in unsafe areas).

2) High GC will be better (rear suspension would sag with 100 kg in boot + people)

3) Diesel, assuming high running (and so maintenance should be reasonable)

4) Manual transmission.

5) Should be comfortable enough since travels will be long.


My suggestion would be Beezza Ldi/Vdi, though, have mentioned two others as well.

Brezza is super reliable, good comfort, has decent FE and basically a no-nonsense car for such duties. Another very close one is Tata Nexon which suits your all requirement. Still, Brezza will be better off as a beater car, since its a maruti and thus better peace of mind compared to a Tata.

Another option would be Renault Triber. Yes its petrol, but very less priced as well compared to other two. Only concern is the weak engine, for which you can test drive it with considerable load and then decide yourselves if it can do the job.

[2000rpm]

I would go for the Etios Diesel blind folded.

None of the cars like Brezza or Freestyle have the testimonials to perform such tasks well. Etios, well, just look around the city commercial segment

Used Innova will be another suggestion!

[Raghu M]

I would suggest a Bolero. Can wade through rough roads, is easier to maintain and has great value for money.

[kraken]

I woud suggest you to go for a reasonably priced variant of Tata Nexon or Maruti Suzuki Brezza (only petrol available) or a used Brezza VDI. The Mahindra Bolero is apt too, but only if the A.S.S in your place is trustworthy and prompt. BS6 vehicles and their service is still quite unfamiliar to FNGs and during the days I had the Bolero camper, original spares were very hard to procure (atleast in Kerala).

The best would be if you can procure a decent example of a used Toyota Innova. Toyota Innova is dependable and with proper maintenance it's bulletproof engine will last forever. It's diesel, you can load it up with 100+ kgs of samples with room to spare for 4 passengers.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by halcyoner

We are looking to purchase a car for our office staff, they will be regularly travelling between cities to visit clients and may even have to carry about 100kg of product samples in sacks in some cases.

Safety is of the highest/first priority as they might have to frequently travel through unsafe routes. Good mileage is preferred. The budget we had in mind is 5-10L

Any suggestions are appreciated

When you say, frequently travel through unsafe routes, what kind of hazard are you referring to here? Is it bad roads or roads where you can waylaid and looted or something else.

Also, would be useful if you give details on what kind of roads the car will travel- smooth 4 lane/2 lane or bumpy village roads.

100 kg in boot is not a small load. That is like 1.5 adult sitting in the boot.

If travelling through bad roads and reaching to remote areas then Bolero/Nexon. If smooth roads then Eitos

[abhishek46]

Bolero, Tavera etc are the most suitable as staff cars.

These are suitable for handling any type of abuse thrown at them by the "staff".

Rural roads, No roads, Unsafe roads, water-logged roads, these vehicles can handle everything.

Since the Tavera is no longer in production, you could go for the Bolero.

[KarthikK]

Considering your luggage hauling needs, I would suggest the TUV3OO or the Bolero. Both are basically rugged and can take on bad roads while also being easy to service and maintain. Since you mentioned safety and the Bolero is quite bare bones, the TUV can come in there. It will be reasonably more comfortable for passengers over longer journeys, while also having the flexibility of being able to dump luggage on the unoccupied seats at other times.

[akash_v12]

Since you mentioned that you are looking for a safe and reliable car, your choices are easily narrowed down to Maruti/Hyundai/Tata/Mahindra.

My 1st choice here would be a new/Pre-Worshipped Brezza/Nexon since they are pretty safe cars with good crash test ratings. The Brezza being a Maruti will definitely be more reliable that the Tata. The Venue is also there but it's a bit more complex than the rest. However, Hyundai Service centers are present almost everywhere so reliability and servicing shouldn't be an issue.

My 2nd choice would be something like a Scorpio/Bolero (Pre-Worshipped) due to their simple mechanicals which means that anyone could repair them easily. However, safety does remain a concern

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by halcyoner

We are looking to purchase a car for our office staff, they will be regularly travelling between cities to visit clients and may even have to carry about 100kg of product samples in sacks in some cases.

Safety is of the highest/first priority as they might have to frequently travel through unsafe routes. Good mileage is preferred. The budget we had in mind is 5-10L

Any suggestions are appreciated

It would be better if you could provide more details like :
- how many occupants would be there in the car
- what kind of load is required to be transported
- whether chauffer driven or self driven

If a 4 seater is sufficient, you could also consider Tata Tigor. Even the AMT would fit in your budget. It is a slow mover, so you could negotiate for good discount.

Rohan

[halcyoner]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

When you say, frequently travel through unsafe routes, what kind of hazard are you referring to here? Is it bad roads or roads where you can waylaid and looted or something else.

Also, would be useful if you give details on what kind of roads the car will travel- smooth 4 lane/2 lane or bumpy village roads.

100 kg in boot is not a small load. That is like 1.5 adult sitting in the boot.

If travelling through bad roads and reaching to remote areas then Bolero/Nexon. If smooth roads then Eitos

Hi, thanks for the reply. By unsafe roads I mean bad roads i.e like you mentioned village bumpy roads or narrow 2 lane roads etc

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

It would be better if you could provide more details like :
- how many occupants would be there in the car
- what kind of load is required to be transported
- whether chauffer driven or self driven

If a 4 seater is sufficient, you could also consider Tata Tigor. Even the AMT would fit in your budget. It is a slow mover, so you could negotiate for good discount.

Rohan

Hello,
There would generally be 2-4 occupants and it will be self driven.
The load I mentioned would be ~100kg so for example 4 sacks - 25 kg each

[Cessna182]

Going against the grain here, but an Eeco could be a good buy. It has AC, airbag and a decent boot. Safety ratings are another matter, but in terms of practicality it is very good. Bonus points for CNG or LPG if that's in your area. It doesn't break down and even if something goes wrong, it can be repaired anywhere even by a roadside mechanic.