[07CR]

I think I would be in a good position to answer this, as my dad owned a 2013 Honda Amaze S diesel and now (in 2020) has purchased a pre owned Ecosport S TDCI.

Amaze is really a competent product mechanically. Idtec is nearly lag free, offers great performance, and has a smooth gearbox. Even the steering feedback is good.

Only cons we faced with Amaze-
NVH of diesel is horrible. Not just engine noise, all sorts of noises filter inside.
GC- We frequently travelled on rural roads and not well maintained highways. The underbelly frequently scraped those high speed breakers. Eventually the oil sump was broken under one such scraping incident. The replacement would set us back by 40K!
Ride quality isn't good. Be it highways or cities.
After sales experience was costly and horrible with all Honda dealers in Pune.

Now coming to the Ecosport. I would suggest he stretches and gets the S Variant which should cost a further 1.5 L. It's very well loaded and is future proof. Since he uses his cars for long he should definitely go for S variant.

My experience with car-
ASS is very affordable and better than the Honda.
Mileage in City conditions is 16-18 kmpl ( depending on traffic) Highways if driven till 100 kph will deliver around 19-20 kmpl. At 120 kph 16-17 kmpl.
Amaze figures for comparison-
City- 18-22 kmpl
Highways at 100 kph- 21-22 kmpl
Highways at 120 kph- 17-18 kmpl.

Many thoughtful touches like- all backlit switches, a full size alloy spare wheel, puddle lamps, request sensor on both doors, complete MID control through steering mounted buttons( huge convinience compared to ugly stalks seen on speedo console)

Only cons with Ecosport- low speed ride isn't good.
Can seat 4 full size adults in utmost comfort. 5 full size adults is a squeeze.

Hope this helps !

[buntee90]

Wanted to vote for Ecosport, but your brother keeps his cars for long, so sonet would be a better choice.
Sonet is a fresher product in all aspects will necessary bells and whistles and the 1.5 D is a good match for Sonet. It's more refined and more efficient than the Ford's 1.5 Tdci.

Ecosport is also a very good choice but the interiors have started to show their age and keeping in View of Ford's uncertain future in India, I would suggest to keep away from ford for now.

I also think that your brother should TD the Sonet D AT also before making the final purchase decision.

Happy Hunting and stay safe!

[mohitchalla]

Since your original post consists of both compact SUV and sedan and you are open to petrol also, why not consider Toyota Yaris. The entry-level or even the mid-level variant can be purchased under 12L. It offers amazing ride quality, comes with Toyota quality and is much more spacious than the cars that you have listed here. Ground clearance won't be a problem unless you are planning to drive on really bad roads. My second pick would be Suzuki S-Cross. Cheers!

[kpkeerthi]

He should wait for the new Brezza or pick up Seltos. Ecosport is way too old.

[Vishal.R]

Voted Others.

Would suggest to check XUV 300.

Have not personally driven or even travelled in XUV 300, but still suggesting due to following reasons,

1. Best safety rating in all cars in segment.
2. Best power to weight and torque to weight ratios. and drives also good as per Team-BHP official review.
3. Good interiors also as per review.

[Fiestaboy]

Being a guy who keeps his car for 10years, my personal suggestion would be to go to Ford Ecosport S version.

Options you get in "S" which will help in long run (esp 10-years) are as follows:
1. Superior SYNC audio,
2. Android auto/Car play,
3. Partial leather seats,
4. TPMS & Ambient lights etc.
5. Neon Projector instead of Halogen Projector.
6. Dual tone paint scheme & 3D floor mats.

Moreover it will cost only 1L additional & i would say it is worth every penny he spends, as all these features can be utilized or enjoyed everyday.

[Lowflyer23]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

You should definitely consider Vitara Brezza Petrol which fits all your needs of FE, GC, Maruti Assurance and solid build quality with NCAP-4.

Sorry to say sir, but you are absolutely wrong if you think the Brezza has good build quality, the safety of the car has little to do with the build. Many people are often confused regarding the same, I have seen well maintained and carefully driven Brezzas with interiors rattling at as low as 10k Kms and suspensions giving away within 40-50k Kms.

Regarding the OP's post I might be biased as an owner but EcoSport is still the best according to his requirements listed and a very competent vehicle. The build and suspension (though stiff) are so robust that it can take a lot of abuse on bad roads. I frequent my Village in Rajasthan where the roads are no less than an off-road track and there is not a single squeak from our car in more than 7 years and it's still running on stock suspension. The stiff ride can be compensated by carrying a little more speed on rough patches and the TDCI is a gem, with a good remap it easily matches Hyundai's now discontinued 1.6 CRDI. The downsides of the Ford include :-

1).Narrow back seats where a third occupant will be a tight fit but so is it with the Sonet which offers even lesser space at the back.

2).Lesser features (gimmicks?) compared to sonet and the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android auto till the Titanium trim.

3).Lack of a diesel automatic.

Also, no offense to anyone but I'd rather stick with an untested (crash test) Ford which has proven it's safety all these years in several mishaps instead of trusting Kia/Hyundai after the Seltos rating. Happy shopping to the gentleman and I wish him a pleasant ownership regardless of the choice.

[PrasannaDhana]

Altroz Diesel

165 mm ground clearance seems low on paper but it takes largest of speed breakers without scraping, even on full load.

It's extremely fuel efficient and has good driveability. Don't forget the gorgeous looks and 5 star Safety.

The poll winner will be Ecosport. A cramped car that is over-priced and has bad ride quality at low speeds. It's aging and feels dated too. If these doesn't bother you, go for it. It's a good car otherwise.

[jithin23]

Go for Ford EcoSport S if your brother is keen on MT if it's AT, there no better choice than the new Kia Sonet though there's a lot of controversy over it's build quality.

I do the same kind of running and travel a lot so I own the erstwhile Titanium with Sync 3 which is 3 years and 51,000km young.

On the maintenance perspective ,the maximum bill you will get is 6-6.5k for the EcoSport and parts are easily available. This will help keep the ownership cost low as your brother keeps his cars for long.

The ride In the EcoSport is stiff if you're driving alone and <25km/h. Once you cross 60km/h, the ride quality actually feels better and this car is really addictive to drive like a go kart. Weirdly if the car is full and you're on highway speeds, the car ride is much better.

As CR07 said, 4 people can travel all day with utmost comfort and bootspace is good enough to carry a lot of luggage.

If you're brother is keen on both technical, performance and visual mods, there are plenty of options with the EcoSport

[ashvek3141]

Voted for the Sonet!
Simple reasons,
- Latest in the segment
- Looks great
- Drives well
- Decent set of features even in the mid variants & the freshly re-jiged HTX variant makes the most VFM option.
However, the only chink in the armour is the rather ‘unknown’ safety rating.

If your brother is absolutely ok with MT, then the HTX D MT makes perfect sense as it retails @ ~ 12.40 L OTR Delhi. I know it will be a strech of 30k - 40k; but since he holds onto the cars for 10 years, I am sure the strech is worth it!

P. S.: My personal reco would be the HTX D AT.

[Raghuwire]

I voted for others. I was looking for an upgrade from B1 segment hatchback to a little more premium hatch, with same budget. I zeroed in on Altroz- i-turbo.

Disclaimer - If highway travel is more, then i would definitely urge you to look beyond just mileage. Safety should be given utmost priority. No point in dying a stunning looking Kia, because of lack of safety! (sorry for being blunt)

The Altroz is a really good step up from Swift. Smashing looks of Swift, to a gorgeous Altroz, with added 5-star safety. The power of swift is continued into this i turbo petrol, it pulls and accelerates in a really clean manner. It has better handling and ride quality than swift. Superb space management, awesome interiors, connected features, flat rear floor, 180 deg door opening. This truly is an update on the swift in every aspect, and sits right in your budget. Also, Tata ASS is not known to be pricey.

Thanks,

Raghuwire

[Car's Paradise]

Dear Fellow Bhpian,

IMHO, Ecosport & Sonet both are competent contenders.

Here's my experience of an Ecosport after owning it for 2 years, which can suit your brother's needs.

1. Robust build quality, feels very safe when travelling in it.
2 Abuse friendly construction. No rattling sound from any plastic trims or body even after two years of rugged usage.
3. Perfect blend of ride quality + handling. You can feel slight discomfort while travelling though pot holes and uneven roads but its livable and not bone jarring.
4. Very Stable on highways at triple digit speeds.
5. Affordable Maintenance.
6. Very silent cabin, hard to make out its diesel at highways speeds.
7. Small attention to detail which makes the ownership experience pleasant.
-All illuminated power window buttons.
-Cargo management system( flat rear, no hump)(Only in Titamium+SE, Titanium+ S)
-Tilt & Telescopic adjustments for Steering.
-Full Sized Alloy Spare Wheel
-Smart Unlocking/Locking of doors through capacitive sensors.

Over the above, one feature i sorely miss is Android Auto & Apple Car Play.

Posting a feature comparison of Ecosport Titanium vs Kia Sonet HTX (Prices are Ex-Showroom Surat)
Note:- Common features have not been included in the comparison.



Hope it helps!!!

[arjab]

Voted "Others".
You land up in quite a quandary when you are looking for a SWIFT replacement.
The criteria that a SWIFT replacement has to fulfill:
1) Funky styling
2) Supportive front seats
3) Adequate performance (need not be a "fireball"). Decently quick will do.
4) A beautifully mated Engine - Transmission combination with a slick shifting manual gearbox and smooth revving engine
5) Adequate ride comfort
6) Nippy handling with a tight turning circle
7) Average rear leg room for the segment
8) Average boot space for the segment
9) Reliability
10) Fuel economy (irrespective of the type of fuel)
11) Ease of access to after sales service and spares
12) Relatively affordable acquisition cost (below Rs 10 lacs on-road)
13) Good resale value

If you tot up all the above you will find surprisingly that, still, the replacement for an old SWIFT is, well, a new SWIFT

and that's my choice: A new SWIFT. It ticks all the boxes 90% of Indian car buyers want. No wonder it is now the monthly best seller, having toppled its elder brother, Alto, from the top of the podium.

Long live the SWIFT!

[Silver Knight]

No doubt the Ecosport.

1. You get the fully-loaded Ecosport at 11.5 lakh OTR and will be the cheapest of the lot.
2. 'Fun"tastic and matured diesel motor giving 20+ kmpl on normal highway drives.
3. Ford service is pretty transparent and cheap.
4. Solid build.
5. Well equipped.

The only gripe is it's a 2013 car and Ford may launch a new Ecosport soon.

[TheVegabond]

First of all its really commendable that the car was kept for 10 years and 1.6L happy KMs.
Looking at the usage mentioned and the budget constraint, let me suggest a left of the field choice here - Honda WRV and here are the reasons to consider it:

1. The top end diesel is within your budget. Unlike the Petrol motor, the diesel has enough grunt to keep your highway drives effortless. The fuel economy is good too.
2. The cabin has enough space to challenge cars from a segment above. No only that, the cabin is rich and classy. You get a sunroof too.
3. You kept swift for long and Hondas have proven even more reliable.
4. Looks even better than Ecosport - IMHO.
5. When you intend to keep a car for long it is always good to buy higher variant with all the bells and whistles. It keeps you in love with your car for longer.