[Turbohead]

Since you frequent the highways a lot, please try to get a test drive on the highway also. It will help you make a better and more informed decision rather than being taken by surprise on your first long distance trip.
Skoda/VW usually allow, but not sure about the other brands.

[mkumar79]

I say it's the Virtus if you need fun else Crysta it is.

Even if you get the alternator replaced, the lurking fear of getting stranded again is enough to spoil the drive.

Disclaimer:
I am hoping you find the perfect new car so I can shamelessly copy your decision when I face the moment eventually.

But then I hope for the impossible. I had high hopes of the Nexon EV Max turning out to be a sedan.

I have a worshipped 2014 t-jet and going good so far, touchwood. When riders are less, we prefer the t-jet over the XUV500 to criss-cross the Western ghats.

[sandeepmohan]

There is only one sedan that comes to mind as a Worthy and Reliable Fiat Linea T Jet replacement. That is a Honda City. Yupp, it ain't going to drive or feel anywhere as good as your Fiat. When to comes to dependability and ease of maintaining one, it is hard to beat.

Alternatively, look at some electric vehicles like a Kona or MG. Once you drive one, you won't sit in a gas car again.

[sagarpadaki]

Alternators do not fail suddenly or so frequently. Did you mean the Voltage regulator which failed? Also Alternators are completely repairable at a fraction of cost of a new one. Did you consider doing that?

I would not consider the fuel leak and tyre burst as a reliability aspect since that can happen in any car.

Sorry for going in a different direction to the query that you opened this thread for but I feel that replacing the whole car for alternator trouble is not the right approach especially when the other aspects of the car are excellent and the car itself is one of the rare specimens when it comes to the package of power, safety and comfort. TJet is a car that is hard to replace with another car in the same segment. Not to mention you will end up paying around twice the amount of money for another car in the same segment

[asit.kulkarni93]

The Octavia will feel like an upgrade. I will go against the popular opinion here and say that the global products like Octavia, Jetta, Altis are far more reliable than their made for india counterparts like vento, salvia, city.etc. You already had a C2 segment sedan. A D1 segment sedan will feel like a proper upgrade.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Alternators do not fail suddenly or so frequently. Did you mean the Voltage regulator which failed? Also Alternators are completely repairable at a fraction of cost of a new one. Did you consider doing that?

+1

Alternator related trouble is surprising but if it happens repeatedly then the real issue needs to be diagnosed.

[KPR]

I'm own a MJD90 Punto and facing a hard time to replace this Fiat with a decent sedan. I can understand how difficult it will be to let a Tjet go. But replace with what car? Yaris was a decent sedan with a boring engine and now stopped. Honda city is good but we must forget build quality coming from a Linea. How good is Verna diesel? Any views on it? I've heard rear seat discomfort in previous generation Verna. Has it been sorted out in new gen on sale now?

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

There is only one sedan that comes to mind as a Worthy and Reliable Fiat Linea T Jet replacement. That is a Honda City. Yupp, it ain't going to drive or feel anywhere as good as your Fiat. When to comes to dependability and ease of maintaining one, it is hard to beat.

As an ex-owner of both the T-Jet and the City (CVT), I agree that City is not going to "feel" anything close to the T-Jet with its fat 205 section tires and vault-like build barreling along the highway. But the City is deceptively fast in it own way and decently well built. But if I were you, I would look at going past 120bhp and keenly look at the VW Slavia/Virtus 1.5 (not the 1.0 under any circumstance-I'd rather keep the T-Jet around for a year or two in that case). I never faced any DQ200 issues in my Polo, so I would still recommend the DSG. Like GTO said, a minimal risk of a 4-day downtime is worth the 361 days of pleasure.

[shinuak]

My suggestions as follows

Octavia :- Is the apt choice and will make you feel as if you have done an upgrade, if budget of 32-37 lakhs is not a constraint
Virtus / Slavia 1.5 TSI :- This can be option B in case if Octavia is out of budget. The cara are well proportioned, grand in size but they have skimped slightly on overall quality when compared to the models it is replacing (Rapid/Vento)

This is the option available IMO for a driver's car in the sedan segment that you are looking for. If its SUV, you may also consider Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tucson too.

[SSD2122]

Originally Posted by sparameswaran

I am, finally, considering replacing my Fiat Linea T Jet emotion (2014).
sparameswaran

@sparameswaran, I can understand how difficult it is to find a suitable replacement to the Tjet. I too have 2014 Tjet (emoticon variant) and my running is lesser at around 24K. I too had started a thread under what car? - SUV, MUV section around same time as yours.

Your alternator issue needs to be diagnosed as it seems to recur often.

The only suitable upgrade that you may like would be to move up the segment. I am looking at automatics to replace both Tjet and Nano with a budget of 15L on road and it is proving a mighty tough task!

Manual / Automatic - you can think of Slavia or Virtus if you want a sedan only. Honda too for its lovely petrol engine and I think it's rated at 4 stars.

Compact SUV - You can also check out XUV 300 either turbo or diesel if boot space is not a priority. Rating to me is a priority and it has been rated 5 stars.

MUV - pre-owned Innova looks sensible buy if you want within a certain budget.

Rest I too am searching but somewhere I feel that either you would need to move up the segment or prioritize your need and arrive at some compromise that will cause less heartache.

Best wishes for getting a suitable replacement. Let me know if you find something worthwhile. Would help me too!

[nareshov]

I still have my TJet but it had a problem last year where the coolant pipe had a crack and there was a loss of coolant causing the engine to overheat. The pistons were bent and had to be rebuilt at a significant cost.

Ever since I’ve had aftermarket audio installed there have been inexplicable electrical gremlins which till date have not been resolved.

The thing I want to highlight here is:
1. the overall quality of the car isn’t particularly great in the long term (ten years ownership)
2. It’s close to impossible to find technicians who know what they’re doing for the specific issue at hand. We’ve had to consult more than four garages to conclude that there was no other option but to rebuild the engine.
3. The closest that gave me comparable driving satisfaction was the mk2 Octavia (Laura) but that shared the 2nd feature above.

Fast forward: today, I’m a Toyota convert. In a very different market enjoying the (so far) trouble-free (and neutral feeling) ownership of a preowned Lexus hybrid. While my father is happy with a preowned (AN) Honda City for city use. The Tjet remains kind of sparsely used but I don’t think it’ll leave our garage anytime soon.

As others have remarked above, once one sits on a Hybrid or an EV, there’s no going back.

[sassid]

From experience, a t-jet is a very hard car to replace. I drove mine for nearly 5 years and it was always the standard by which I judged every other car that followed. It’s also the car that I regretted selling the most - but with the difficulties in service and spares, I decided to exit during the mini renaissance that followed the Abarth launches.

Since then I have owned and/or extensively driven,

The Maruti Ciaz diesel
i20 diesel
The venue turbo petrol
The Kia seltos and the Kia Sonet both Diesel Automatic

None of them came even close to the overall impression the linea made. I missed the rock solid feeling of control, the confidence that the engine would power through any reasonable overtake and the chassis balance that is above par even in relation to current gen cars.

In my most recent purchase, I had auditioned the City and the Slavia 1.5. I passed over the city for much the same reasons that held when we picked up the linea-it’s nice and all…but misses the spice that makes things really nice! The Slavia also left a very neutral impression when driven and didn’t really tug at the heart strings.

What did was the Octavia. It has much the same attributes as the t-jet did in its time. It’s great around the city and grand on the highways. It has all the power that you would want and is confidence inspiring to boot! Personally speaking, I heavily endorse the Octavia and I believe you and your family would enjoy it too!

[AGupta]

Do test drive XUV700 and new Tata Safari once. These are brilliant capable products under 30 lacs with sorted ride and handling with a brilliantly tuned AT. The feel-good factor of a Panoramic sunroof on winding Kerala roads with pouring rain is quite an experience on its own.

[kapilsharma80]

Originally Posted by sparameswaran

So, here are my 'requirements':
1. A driver's car
2. Reliable
3. Safe
4. Service available in Pondicherry itself
5. Would prefer to have the features which were there in my T Jet to be there in the new one too (any extra creature comfort is welcome). Specifically, cruise control is an absolute must.
6. Preferably a sedan, willing to consider other options if worthy

Hi Sparameswaran, I was in the same dilemma last year when I was looking to upgrade my Punto. Did lot’s of research and finally went ahead with Civic 2019 as it met most of my requirements: Safety, reliability, features and comfort. Also, at that time there were very few options with respect to new car launches.

In your case, if budget is not a constraint I would suggest to check out the following:
1- Jeep Compass: worth each penny spent. Meets all your requirements. Do check out for service Center's location in your city.
2- Hyundai Elantra- though discontinued, you might get a good deal on left over stock. Do note that ‘driving pleasure’ will be missing.
3- Innova- Safest bet. Go ahead without any doubt and you will not repent.

[McLaren Rulez]

The MG Astor has a very European feel to its interiors and build. Might be worth adding to your TD list.

[anand.shankar]

IMHO Honda City or Slavia/Virtus if you want to stick to the same body style.

Else the Jeep Compass!