[manish84]

Originally Posted by AZT

This pretty much seals the deal. All else aside, a car is also an aspirational purchase and your dad would rather be seen around in a Yaris / City.

Any reason the Sonet and Urban Cruiser are not in contention as you mentioned bad roads etc.

I agree with you.
Kia and Hyundai are out of consideration due to brake failure issues. Sonet I have personally checked and I did not like the interior quality. Also it has high waiting time and an unknown price hike.

UC or Brezza or even S cross have come into my consideration set after suggestions on this thread today. Will check them out.

[shancz]

Since your drive is mainly inside the city, the 4 speed automatic of the S-Cross could work. Do take a detailed TD in the target environment if possible. Its more a Suzuki than a Maruti, well built and available through Nexa so technically not a Maruti

If you didn't like it or prefer the sedan, I would recommend the City. More expensive but a better car in the long run.

Ditto for the "car" being discussed here, as the sedan was what we called a car, that's what was in the books and that's what we drew. So, anything which didn't fit that silhouette isn't a car to us

[Durango Dude]

I'd suggest you go for the City CVT. I've been living with one for the last almost four years and is good; it's got performance, mileage and seating comfort (as it's for your dad, he'll vouch for it) Just take a TD with him and decide. 2020 model must be better as it's got a pliant ride too. Mine (2017 facelift) feels a little jarring on broken roads.

[manish84]

Originally Posted by shancz

Since your drive is mainly inside the city, the 4 speed automatic of the S-Cross could work. Do take a detailed TD in the target environment if possible. Its more a Suzuki than a Maruti, well built and available through Nexa so technically not a Maruti

Yes, adding two cars to the consideration set - S-Cross and Brezza/UC. Will take a TD and get pricing before making a decision this week.

Have been able to find a buyer for old Dzire at 2.5 lakhs and that solves a lot of problem. Now got to choose one from - Yaris, Jazz, S-cross, Brezza/UC and City.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by manish84

Yaris, Jazz, S-cross, Brezza/UC and City.

My top picks will be the City, Brezza, and S-Cross (in the order.) If he’s okay with the lower seating position and the size of the car, pick the City over the other two as it’ll be more premium.

Else, the Brezza is a better choice for it’s height & ease of seating. S-Cross is a good middle ground between the other two - a nice premium design and with the height of the crossover.

Either way, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the three Good luck.

[chandu]

We used to have the old 2004 City CVT and it was pretty good and then we replaced it with a BRV CVT in 2016 and it has been trouble free since.

When we got the BRV we also tested out the Jazz CVT but were not happy with it as the whole car seemed very tinny!! too much road noise filtered through the car making is not so pleasant.

The City CVT was my choice but my wife wanted the flexibility of the additional seats in the back so we went with it. The auto is smooth and does not affect the mileage too much. Its used generally for short runs around the house (<3km per trip) and it gives us about 8.5 to 10. When i use it for longer trips around the city, it easily gives 11-12 kmpl.
I dont know about the Yaris but I have also had a corolla and a fortuner and they were amazingly reliable as is normal for a toyota.

So I would say that take a call on how much you like the interiors of both cars. Both will be good in the long term.

[Ritzvxi]

Small town traffic could be worse than the metros. Narrow lanes, total disregard for traffic rules, tight parking spaces. Your answer is Jazz VX CVT. I own one, not only driving it is a breeze but with the parking assists (Camera, buzzers and excellent all round visibility) that comes with the VX variant makes it the perfect pick.

Try this and you can proudly proclaim to have 'conquered the traffic'.

[headbanger]

With due respect, your father is 71. Get him a car which is safe(your research) and has an aspirational value in his eyes. My vote goes to the new City.

[Simhi]

Originally Posted by manish84

Currently he drives a 11-year-old 4+ meter diesel manual Dzire.

He is using Dzire which is 11 years old.

I think deep down my father values only sedan to be a true car (car should look like a car = sedan).

Considering the above factors, the only option is either City or Yaris. If he is able to drive 4+ meter Dzire in the traffic, he will be able to drive City or Yaris too with ease. Many people suggest <4m cars for narrow lanes, tight parking space. I graduated from i10 to Yaris and can say that you can take a sedan to all places where a hatchback can go based on my experience of driving in Pune city.

Get him City or Yaris and he will be proud of it. S-Cross / Brezza / UC / Jazz will not fulfill his dream or desire.

[SoumenD]

For small town chockablock traffic and narrow lanes Jazz cvt would be my choice. Space management in the small surface area is commendable. It’s narrower than i20 and baleno on the outside but packs more space inside.

However for aspirational value City CVT would be the best choice. Only negative being the bigger size which might get cumbersome to park in narrow lanes as you mentioned.

[manish84]

A quick update:
Took a test drive of S-Cross yesterday. The interior quality is top notch and I was quite surprised about the premium feeling in a Maruti car. Driving the 4 gear TC was a bit of let down (maybe because my daily runner is Polo GT TSI). But I think it would be a fantastic upgrade for for my dad driving diesel manual.

As for the size of the car, S-Cross, at 4.3 meter it comes in between the 4m Jazz and 4.5m City/Yaris. Among the variants, Zeta makes the most sense and the dealer has one ready piece in white color. Most likely would pick that up if we finalize S-cross.

Broadly the thought right now is:
1. Jazz makes 100% sense but then it feels a bit small/lightweight for those occasional highway rides. Also seems like a bit of downgrade from lifelong usage of big cars
2. Honda City seems like an overkill and the low ground clearance doesn't help either.

Only thing remaining is to check out Brezza for completeness sake. Will do that today and update.

S-cross is priced 2 lakhs more than Jazz and 1.8 lakhs less than City. I hope S-cross doesn't have any reliability or expensive service or any other long term ownership cost? I have read the official reviews and ownership threads. Please highlight if I am missing anything.

[tirumalavoleti]

The ideal option would be V city, but since the town is congested and could cause parking issues, would suggest V jazz, fuss free, good space.

[Siva Prakash]

Since i have test driven all the cars you have shortlisted except Brezza and Jazz, i will try to give my views on all of them.

Toyota Yaris -
The engine felt good in the city and was extremely refined, but under hard acceleration it didn't feel too fast. The brakes were very good and are definitely the best in the segment. Steering is precise and light and not much to complain about.
Between J and G variants i would suggest the G variant because the price difference matches the extra features they are giving, and over the lifetime of the car you will appreciate those extra features.

Reasons for not buying -
Only 3 airbags in the optional variants compared to the 7 airbags it was launched with.
Outdated compared to the Honda City.
There isn't anything the competition cannot do better.

Maruti Suzuki S Cross -
The engine was adequate in the city but not as refined as in the City or the Yaris. One major difference between all the other cars you have shortlisted and the S Cross is the transmission, all the others you have shortlisted are CVT's but the S Cross has a 4 speed torque converter. I personally prefer torque converters to CVT's and although the S Cross only has a 4 speed torque converter, it is not that bad, also i think the 4th gear in the S Cross is overdrive which keeps the rpm very low at cruising speeds and gives good fuel economy. Braking and build quality is good, although i heard a few rattles during the test drive.

Reasons for not buying -
I didn't want to but a 4 speed transmission in 2020.
The interior felt a step below the competition.
Didn't want a crossover (Realised after the test drive.)

Honda City -
Most refined engine of all the 3 cars, paddles help the CVT's situation by a big margin. Steering is very light at low speeds and weighs up pretty well at higher speeds. Interiors are the best in the segment, all the switches,knobs and buttons feel very high quality.
The rear seat comfort and boot space is also better than the others. Ride quality and NVH levels are also good.

Which is why I bought the Honda City ZX variant.

If the global NCAP rating is a must before you buy a car then the only option is the Brezza, otherwise i would buy the City.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by manish84

Zeta makes the most sense.
I hope S-cross doesn't have any reliability or expensive service or any other long term ownership cost?

Agree, Zeta is the one to get if you finalize S-Cross, I would've got the same.

Shouldn't have any reliability issues since the engine is also being used in the Ciaz and as a silver lining that 4 speed has been around for a long time

I remember someone mentioning that the smart-hybrid system related costs push the service cost up, so he doesn't get that done anymore so the costs have come down. The owners can shed more light on it.
But not a deal breaker though.

[buntee90]

Originally Posted by manish84

I understand that I am comparing cars across segments. But frankly, my yardstick is to buy a hassle free car which seems like a value proposition. Any suggestions on the following lines would be very helpful:

I am in Bhilwara currently and want to close on this purchase before I go back to Mumbai in Dec end. Please suggest. Thanks in advance.

You could also check out Ecosport Titanium AT, it has 6 speed Torque Convertor AT, it has ample ground clearance, good dynamics and its fairly reliable too.

Among the choices either of the Yaris will do the job just fine, its a segment above jazz in terms of comfort and cabin quality, your dad will surely appreciate the NVH levels and it has ample ground clearance too!