[lamborghini]

Given you want a car that is compact enough to be easy to drive, but punchy + safe + a great cruiser; I would look at the Europeans again especially with your Ford background.
If you aren't in a rush, do check out the Kushaq (good deals on the 2021 stock if available), and also the Slavia which should be coming to showrooms soon.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by JeepSilver

I've now started questioning whether its prudent to spend INR 30L for the kind of usage I am likely going to have (no daily commute, occasional drives to the city, weekend trips once a month, a 5 day trip once a quarter).

Thanks in advance!

For this reason alone, and since you have a budget of 30 lakhs, I would suggest you to try Octavia. Weekends trips once a month and 5 day trips in a Quarter warrant some good time on highways and you would need a more powerful, spacious car with good road manners. Also Skoda service in Bangalore is good and I had no issues.

If Diesel, I would suggest Compass

[NarediAni7518]

Honda city is a great car for you as your very personal first car, it still has a charm of its own and looks apart in the sea of crossovers and SUVs. And since your running is not that much, go ahead eyes closed with it and you’ll be good for at least 8-10 years, and believe me, this car will turn heads on the road for sure, as nowadays it has become a rarer vehicle. The comfort, ride and handling, looks, power are good and it gives a sense of premium-ness even today. Just slap in some meatier tyres and see how it changes the car’s highway manners ! All the best for your purchase.

[shancz]

Welcome to TBHP.

Strangely your "Need 5 star GNCAP" will be difficult as only the 700 from your shortlist attains it

Listing out your primary requirements :
- petrol due to irregular usage
- automatic transmission as a non-negotiable and TC/CVT only
- good highway manners and long range driving comfort
- well built and preferably GNCAP rated 4 stars and above

Originally Posted by JeepSilver

1. Are there any other options I should be checking out?
2. does my usage pattern justify a spend upwards of INR 20L?

1. Some other options you can look into and worth a TD :
- S-Cross Alpha AT : qualifies but looks dated, AT is adequate but not very inspiring,
- i20 Asta IVT : as wide/wider than sedans, well built and mannered, you can also try out the N-Line but be cautious about the DCT issues in our traffic scenario.

If automatic was negotiable then XUV300 and Altroz make a strong case for themselves.

2. It doesn't justify but it also depends on how desirable and important that car is.
If the Compass was something you always wanted then buy it but if it's something you liked recently during your TDs then don't.
If I was in your shoes I would TD a lot of cars hatchback/sedan/4x4/SUVs alike to see if something really works well into my requirement but wouldn't breach the 20 lakh mark though but that's my perspective.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by shancz

- i20 Asta IVT : as wide/wider than sedans, well built and mannered.

While i20 IVT is a good car for city, I wouldn’t suggest for highways. Not very stable at triple digit speeds and quick overtakes are going to be tricky with IVT gearbox

[shancz]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

While i20 IVT is a good car for city, I wouldn’t suggest for highways. Not very stable at triple digit speeds and quick overtakes are going to be tricky with IVT gearbox

No experience with the latest i20 on highway/speeds, thanks for the heads up, the OP can check it out in the TDs

IVT is the usual CVT in Hyundai speak right or did I get it wrong?
I am assuming that the IMT is what you wanted to mention ?

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by shancz

No experience with the latest i20 on highway/speeds, thanks for the heads up, the OP can check it out in the TDs

IVT is the usual CVT in Hyundai speak right or did I get it wrong?
I am assuming that the IMT is what you wanted to mention ?

Nope IVT, which is a CVT gearbox. Recently bought one for the city use. The car is very comfortable for city drives, spacious, lot of features and feel premium in the segment. The high speed stability has definitely improved over previous gen, but still don’t feel very confident. I am not comparing it with my Octavia, but with my cousins Polo which I drive a lot.
While CVT shines in city and relaxed drive, when you floor the accelerator for sudden pace the rubber band effect is very evident.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

Nope IVT, which is a CVT gearbox.

Got it

So you're talking about the response from the CVT/rubberband effect.
If you're comparing it with a DSG/well tuned TC you won't like a CVT

DSG is telepathic and it spoils you, I wasn't impressed by the Mazda 6's TC gearbox after driving the Jetta's DSG. I could sense that split second lag in the shifts.
Till date the only TC gearbox I think matches/exceeds the DSG is the ZF8.

PS : DSG and poor response from VAG on its maintenance issues here is another side of the coin.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by JeepSilver

Hi all,

Are there any other options I should be checking out? The strongest contenders at this time seem to be Honda City and Jeep Compass - does my usage pattern justify a spend upwards of INR 20L?

Thanks in advance!

Given your requirements I’d say avoid subcompact cars like the City which feel light and underpowered on the highways and simply aren’t as safe as heavier, larger vehicles (NCAP ratings only hold against the same class of vehicle, a 5 star rated midsize/large car will fare much better against a 5 star rated small/subcompact car due to inherent mass differences.)

You want a comfortable cruiser and something that does well in a moose test, this rules out crossovers/SUV’s automatically as they aren’t as comfortable on highways with all the pitching and body roll (including monocoque crossovers). Test drive a low riding car and a crossover back to back around a corner and you’ll understand.

Around 30L I’d suggest test driving the Octavia, great car for your listed needs and gets ESP which I think you should have as a non negotiable in any new car you buy. It’s also small enough to be easy to park in the city.

Sub 20L I’d say ideally don’t buy new as all the cars currently on sale feel compromised in one or more core areas, be it power/handling/build quality, etc. given you want to retain this car for 10 years, buy something that’ll make you happy every time you drive it.

Whether it’s worth spending 30L on a car is highly subjective and difficult to answer for another person, for me personally I’d either buy something I really like or not buy at all and wait until I can buy it, whether it’s 30L or 60L doesn’t matter. If I feel good every time I drive for the next decade I consider that money well spent. Cheers.

[captainklaw]

Hello my fellow team BHPians! Hope you all are doing well.

I'm in a desperate state, as I'm looking for a worthy alternative to Ford Figo (2014).

Figo was my dad's choice. We both fell in love with that 1.5L TDCI. We did check Ecosport and considered getting a cheaper variant (which was around 7.5-8L), but because the budget was tight we ended up getting Ford Figo Titanium variant (as with other discounts and factors, it cost us 6.5L). It was awkward for Figo to not have rear power windows even though Titanium was the topmost offering by Ford India.

Anyway, we enjoyed every bit of the drive experience that Figo offered. The build quality was just superb. The handling was amazing. It handled Indian village roads like a boss.
After 7 years in 2021 we decided to look for a better alternative to Ford Figo. We went to Honda in Faridabad first. The SA was polite to showcase us Honda City and asked if we wanted to trade in a vehicle. We happily showed him our Figo for him to do primitive checks. As soon as he opened the hood with the car engine running and pulled out the oil dipstick, there was a good amount of oil being thrown out of the dipstick and he told us it was compressed charge.
We took Figo to different Ford agencies, and nearest repair shop. The repair cost was high for us when we realized the root cause, and the car had done 70-75k already. We thought it was best for us to let go of it since a lot of folks advised us that the car may get damaged if the repair was not done in time.

As an alternative we ended up buying Maruti Baleno Delta (2021) due to budget constraints, along with Baleno ticking a lot of checks (My parents found the ingress/egress to be easier, the height was ok, had a lot of legroom and bootspace). Honestly it was not the best decision, and deep inside I regret it, but I have found my peace with it since I get a decent mileage out of it and my wife recently got Brezza which is far better than Baleno to be honest. I keep Baleno as something that is required on a need basis, but I still miss my Figo's reliability and drive quality. I currently am on the lookout to replace the car with something better. Need your advice on what would be a better alternative in 2023 to replace my Baleno. My budget is around 20-25L. I am open to all suggestions (hatchback, sedan or SUV).

Requirements:

• Safety: I won't be doing a compromise on safety with my future vehicle now. I've heard and experienced enough. Looking for a car that is NCAP 4 and above.
• Build quality: Equal or better than Ford Figo. I TDed Nexon & XUV 300 before finalizing Baleno and I found XUV300's quality to be a desirable one.
• Handling: Because I would be taking the car on highways and village roads, I want something that's able to absorb minor bumps, and driving longer hours does not cause fatigue.

Looking forward to your input!

[Krish_Diesel]

Hello All,

I have a 2016 Ford Ecosport Titanium diesel with 78K on the odometer and a single owner. I just checked with Cars24 just for fun, and they made me an offer of 6.5 Lakhs for the car. And since this is simply a rough number, it may possibly be closer to 7 lakhs.

The car hasn't had any troubles up to this point, with the exception that I need to replace the tyres, which have about 47K kilometers on them. I genuinely love this car and am quite attached to this emotionally. It still runs without a hitch.

Please let me know if I can keep this car and, if so, for how many more kilometers. What are my options if not for a new car under 18 lakhs? Thank you in advance.

[arnav17]

I would say keep it. 7 lakh seems to be a fair price but there is no vehicle you can buy now to match the Ecosport (my personal view) and It would simply be a loss to sell a car that's running smoothly and happily, along with having an emotional connect to it.
A person who I know had an Ecosport 1.0 and loved it to bits, but due to failure of the ecoboost engine, he had to let it go without a choice. He still misses that car for its practicality.

[Samfromindia]

This post should be under this thread and not under long term ownership review:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-car/

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buyin...ed-car-11.html (ARTICLE: Buying a New Car vs Used Car)

My 2014 Ecosport Diesel which clocked over 1L KM is holding on good. I see no reason to get a new one unless looking for an upgrade in terms of space or power. You can always upgrade ICE from aftermarket in case that is one of the main drivers for new car purchase.

Here is a thread discussing new cars within your price range:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-...h-range-5.html (Ideal car in the 15-23 lakh range?)

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

This post should be under this thread and not under long term ownership review:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-car/

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buyin...ed-car-11.html (ARTICLE: Buying a New Car vs Used Car)

My 2014 Ecosport Diesel which clocked over 1L KM is holding on good. I see no reason to get a new one unless looking for an upgrade in terms of space or power. You can always upgrade ICE from aftermarket in case that is one of the main drivers for new car purchase.

Here is a thread discussing new cars within your price range:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-...h-range-5.html (Ideal car in the 15-23 lakh range?)

Many thanks SamfromIndia. My exact confusion was about the kms it clocked. Since its already 78K I am little worried on how many more it can run. Since you already confirmed that even at 1Lakh its still doing good, I am fine and can keep it peacefully for some more years. Thanks again

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by arnav17

I would say keep it. 7 lakh seems to be a fair price but there is no vehicle you can buy now to match the Ecosport (my personal view) and It would simply be a loss to sell a car that's running smoothly and happily, along with having an emotional connect to it.
A person who I know had an Ecosport 1.0 and loved it to bits, but due to failure of the ecoboost engine, he had to let it go without a choice. He still misses that car for its practicality.

Thanks arnav17. Yes it still runs like a charm and don't have any issues. Since I had to invest 30K on tyres, I was thinking if I have to sell it then no point in changing the tyres. And also you are absolutely right that I couldn't find any match as Ecosport and its mainly due to the rugged body and the ergonomics it provide. Thanks again.