[car_guy1998]

Hi all!

My brother is planning to replace his 10 year old Swift VDI, which has run 1.6L Kms and will be exchanging his car with new one!

His budget for new car will be around ₹12L and cannot extend it beyond!

He is considering the Ford Ecosport TDCI as his next car, but, I’ve suggested him to have a look at Honda Amaze iDTEC for fuel efficiency as well as Venue/Sonet twins! But, the only grouse with the Amaze is low GC!

His monthly running is around 1500-2000 Kms and he travels mostly on highways and on rural roads, which consists of potholes!

And, his main requirements are good FE, low maintenance cost, good A.S.S, should be MT due to his heavy running on highways and he is open to petrol cars as well!

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

And, his main requirements are good FE, low maintenance cost, good A.S.S, should be MT due to his heavy running on highways

• Ecosport ticks all the boxes, including a better build quality than other options listed
• Ford is no more 'heavy on maintenance', at least all my friends with latest ford cars are in-line with this statement.
• Has good ground clearance for rural roads
• FE is not bad IMO, diesel engine delivers around 20 kmpl on highways

[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. Cost wise it will be way within your budget and will be feature rich too. I would not recommend Sonet / Venue as your budget being 12 lakhs you can go for more spacious options including XL6 if you are open for MUVs but of course you already own an Innova.

If you are open to consider Mahindra then TUV-300 and XUV-300 are two other options worth considering based on your needs but Maruti will beat them in mileage.

Of course your primary choice of Ford Ecosport is one of the best in this segment.

[Emvi]

With a monthly running of 1500-2000 Kms, diesel definitely makes sense. From the list of cars that you have considered, EcoSport is my first pick and Sonet, the second best option. I am assuming with a budget of 12 lakhs, you are aiming at mid variants. And if your brother is genuinely open to petrol cars, Brezza is another option which can be considered. Top of the line variant or a variant lower might fall well within his budget. While FE is decent at best, rest of your brother's requirements will definitely be taken care of.

[sid_deb]

Voted Others.

Would suggest looking at the base models of Kia Seltos/Hyundai Creta, the bigger brothers of Kia Sonet/Hyundai Venue if preference is towards manual transmission. The base model is decently equipped and mostly need to add a touchscreen audio.

You get a bigger car which is better suited for highways with wider seats, superior suspension and low noise inside the cabin.

[GTO]

Firstly, congrats to your brother for holding onto his car for 10 years. My kind of guy .

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

His monthly running is around 1500-2000 Kms and he travels mostly on highways and on rural roads, which consists of potholes!

Two options - Kia Sonet & Ford EcoSport. Both are extremely competent. I would personally pick the Sonet between the two because:

1. Superior ride quality to the EcoSport which can feel too stiff on the rural & potholed roads your brother is going to travel on. I found the Sonet's suspension to be well-tuned.

2. A newer, fresher product.

3. Proper Diesel AT available, although I don't think your brother is keen on ATs.
3

[KPR]

Diesel means eyes closed your brother should opt for Ecosport Titanium. But if he plans to keep the car for next 10 years he should get Sports variant at ~14L on road and not be strict about 12L budget.

Since he is open to Petrol, I would suggest two more cars -
S Cross Zeta at ~11L on road. Good car from Maruti which is greater than sub 4m barrier and the car space will be liberating for a swift owner.
4th Gen Honda City top model at 11L on road.

[Benoit]

Congratulations on the long term ownership. Considering the usage, the tried and tested Ecosport TDCI would be a good choice. Why don't you consider the Nexon 1.5D ? It is 5 star rated on safety. Nexon offers good FE(has drive modes too), and is low on maintenance and offer good ride and handling. Service center reliability depends on the area. Ask your brother to take a test drive on Nexon. He might like it.

[prasi55]

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[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

Hi all!
My brother is planning to replace his 10 year old Swift VDI, which has run 1.6L Kms and will be exchanging his car with new one!

Given the option, I'd mostly wait for a bit. The VW/Skoda CSUV Twins are soon to be launched and that might be worth it. Yes, VW/Sk.A.S.S is still a problem in most regions but needless to say, they've improved.

If he would not be willing to go for these, I'd say he take a look at the EcoSport or even Nexon, for that matter. Also please recommend him to go for the top variants because going by how long he keeps his cars, he will probably recover the extra money spent on buying those.

Wildcard Entries could be the City/Vento, but I wouldn't recommend the Hyundai-Kia twins after the crash test results of the Seltos.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

Hi all!
And, his main requirements are good FE, low maintenance cost, good A.S.S, should be MT due to his heavy running on highways and he is open to petrol cars as well!

Besides the oft-repeated suggestions of Sonet and/or Ecosport, why not go for the Swift again? The last 10 years have seen a quantum jump in this car and yet it retains the fun factor.
Besides, with dwindling difference between diesel and petrol price these days, choice of fuel is really not a showstopper for high mileage cars.

This calculator (link) by Maruti answers offers some interesting views.

[Eddy]

I had a Swift for about 2.5 lakh KMs, and now an S-Cross 1.3 for almost 80k km. No reason to complain.

If the need for a rear AC vent is not there, you should consider the S-Cross as well if petrol is ok.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

Hi all!

His budget for new car will be around ₹12L and cannot extend it beyond!

He is considering the Ford Ecosport TDCI as his next car, but, I’ve suggested him to have a look at Honda Amaze iDTEC for fuel efficiency as well as Venue/Sonet twins!

And, his main requirements are good FE, low maintenance cost, good A.S.S, should be MT due to his heavy running on highways and he is open to petrol cars as well!

I would definitely recommend the Venue / Sonet diesel AT over the Ecosport. Since he keeps his cars really long, I think a slight stretch to buy an AT would be well worth it in the long run. Once he gets used to the convenience there is no turning back.

Given Ford’s slightly questionable future in India, particularly in the lower end segments, combined with his long ownership outlook, I definitely think its better to buy one of the Korean twins over the Ford. They are also much fresher and newer looking so that’s a big plus as well. The above combined with good dealer outreach (specially Hyundai); predictable cost of ownership, general reliability, good resale value (should he unlikely sell it sooner) all make one of the Koreans in this case a better buy.

EDIT: Another car I’d add into the mix is the manual diesel Ciaz (even though its in Manual). If in time he starts getting driven (5 - 10 years is a long time), then the Ciaz will be robust enough for all road conditions, comfortable on the highway with a much more comfortable back seat to sit on. No need to say anything about Maruti’s dealer outreach and cost of upkeep / reliability.

Happy shopping!!

[car_guy1998]

Thanks for the inputs everyone!

Will surely TD those cars after this month end as my brother is busy with some work and he told that, we will have TD of these vehicles after this month end!

And, I already TD’ed the Ecosport at Ford dealer few weeks ago and was impressed with the drive though it was a short drive!

Brother has a soft corner towards the Ecosport as he liked the looks and build quality and in fact, the Ford service center is less than 500m away from his home!

Coming to Nexon, he doesn’t want to purchase a Tata vehicle although it’s improved than before due to some reasons!

[Sahilrai166]

I think your brother has already chosen the right car as his upgrade The Ford EcoSport Diesel. After owning the EcoSport Diesel for 2 years now this car feels glued to the roads and will be more enjoyable on the highways compared to the Sonet.
Maintenance costs are also very reasonable and is on par with the Swift’s maintenance cost.
Fuel efficiency is not the greatest but it’s not bad either when driven sedately under low rpms.
If he is okay with a slightly heavy clutch and stiff suspension then he should seriously consider the EcoSport Diesel.
Not suggesting the Nexon Diesel as XZ variant is barebones compared to the Sonet HTX or the EcoSport Titanium.