[Fury]

Here comes a post after a long time and its to help clear a dilemma.

Let me start by explaining my current garage:

Ford Ecosport (2016) TDCI- The family car used for all our family trips. This is a pure highway car that clocked 74k KM in 5.5 years without anybody using it as their daily drive. Its mostly driven by either me or my brother and we have had countless road-trips throughout south India where it proved its highway mettle and solid reliability. Its a pure gem and we have no plans to sell/replace it since I need not elaborate on this forum on how hard it is to find a good upgrade from Ecosport diesel within a reasonable budget. Hence any suggestion to sell the Ecosport will be met with hostile judgement

Hyundai Santro (2019) Sportz AMT- Mom's drive and a pure city car with very low running. We bought the car in 2019 and just recently crossed 10k on odo. Need I elaborate more on the "low-running" part? Its a good city tool that meets mom's requirements. However, we did have an incident were the car stranded us on the road (middle of a bridge to be exact) with a broken clutch plate. While it was replaced under warranty and the car will be under warranty till 2024, it has left us with a sour taste and we are yet to recover from the experience completely. We are open to selling it for a viable alternative but it is not of the highest priority. (Emotional attachments and mothers are always a deadly combo)

Maruti Suzuki WagonR VXI (2010)- Dad's daily drive and the oldest car here. 2022 will see our WagonR touching 12 years and hence the number one choice to be replaced. The car has run over 1 lakh KM (exact figure unknown since the speedo conked off for a while and dad took his own sweet time to replace it, thus clocking untracked miles). It is a heavily used/abused car with dents and scratches all over and unresolved mechanical faults along with it. Restoring the car will take substantial effort and resources, thus prompting this post. Dad also mentioned his fuel expenses have crossed ₹10k a month, which is an issue due to rising fuel prices and also probably due to the aging mechanicals.

Scenario- We are looking for a car to replace the WagonR (unless somebody comes with a masterstroke idea that involves selling the Santro and keeping the WagonR) and the following are our requirements:

- Budget of around 15 lakhs: this is flexible but considering the other requirements, increasing the budget is not going to help our cause
- Compact dimensions: this is critical since the car will be driven in the ultra-narrow streets of Kochi (Jew town, Palace Road and the likes- Kochi natives will know how narrow and congested these areas are)
- Fuel Efficient: We are open to a diesel as well
- Automatic Transmission: Dad is in his mid 50s and it makes sense to go automatic now especially considering this would be a primarily city driven vehicle. A good AMT should be fine as well but no IMTs.
- Abuse Friendly: I know this is asking too much from today's tech laden gizmos that we call cars but at the least, service experience and warranty claims should be straightforward and simple. Longer warranty periods will be an added bonus.
- High seating: Lower back problems and a 6 foot frame means low slung cars are a big no. Has to be a CSUV/Tallboy hatch

Everything else is not relevant as deal-breakers and as long as the above criteria are met, we are good to go.

Options we are considering:

- Kia Sonet Diesel Automatic- Currently the top contender. The idea behind spending 14 lakhs for a city car was due to the Ecosport being mostly used by me or my brother and hence not available for use at home. Hence, the car replacing WagonR should also be capable for the occasional highway trips that dad makes. The Sonet fits the bill well from this aspect with its excellent powertrain and compact dimensions.

- Maruti WagonR AMT- This was dad's suggestion and its no surprise that a WagonR user wants to replace it with another WagonR. Its a practical choice but can it be a decent highway cruiser? Also, will we be looking at significant fuel savings over our present WagonR?

- Dad finds the Ecosport a little too wide for his comfort and hence convincing him for the Nexon, Brezza or the XUV 300 which are of similar width, will be difficult.

- Magnite and Kiger were good choices with a diesel auto but turbo petrol and city driving would probably just shoot up his already high fuel bills. Also, I wouldn't define their service experience as "Straightforward and Simple".

- Dad liked the S-presso but I hate the looks of that car to my guts. Also, not really an upgrade to the WagonR in my opinion, especially for the highways.

Am I missing something out here guys? I feel Sonet is the best option but what do you guys think? Lets fire up the comments!

[IshaanIan]

I think the easiest to suggest would be a brand new WagonR but have you checked out the Citroen C3? It seems to have been manufactured and assembled with some thought and atleast as per reviews, it might even be abuse friendly. Only problem is the 3cyl motor but I suppose that is the norm these days and it has been about a decade since the Ecoboost first came to our shores so issues with 3cyl turbo petrols ought to have been sorted out by now

[shancz]

Originally Posted by Fury

I feel Sonet is the best option but what do you guys think?

Completely empathize with your Dad in keeping with the narrow wagonR in city traffic

With that perspective and your requirements in mind I can suggest a TD of the following :
- Ignis : if you like the looks, can live with the AMT and don't need the space of the wagonR this should work well either as a replacement for your Santro or the wagonR.
In city traffic with AC it should give similar/better FE than the wagonR and should be much easier to drive.

- I10 Nios : if you're open to another Hyundai and the AMT works for you this could again be a replacement for either the Santro or the wagonR.

- Tiago CNG : if the seating works(which I doubt) and CNG is acceptable this is a good car and better than the wagonR/Ignis on the highways and GNCAP 4 stars.
Suggesting the CNG because if you're comprising on the seat height front then make up for it in the FE and as per our review its one of the best execution of a factory fitted CNG car.

On a side note, I won't recommend going with an AMT in any car that costs over 8 lakhs.

[GTO]

Pamper the man! While a new WagonR would be a great replacement for the old WagonR, it's time for the man to drive something nicer. My pick would be the Kia Sonet Diesel AT, a significant upgrade from the WagonR. Looks good, nice suspension, he'll love the interiors, while the engine & transmission are just top class . The AT is perfectly mated to the frugal diesel.

[AJ56]

Get the City CVT eyes closed, you seem to kelp your cars long and it’s a reliable, comfortable compact car for city use. Will be a proper upgrade from the WagonR. Mid variants with CVT should be well within your budget.

[Porcupine]

The Kia Sonet AT for sure! It is far better than the Wagon-R in terms of looks, feel, drive. The interiors are lovely and the diesel engine is a joy. The AT is also really good.

[NarediAni7518]

Go for the Kia Sonet eyes closed it’ll be the perfect car for him IMO

[DevSunit]

Get him the Sonet Diesel AT. Other option maybe a Nexon electric but as mentioned it is quite wider than Sonet. A good diesel AT for 15 lakhs itself is a tough league. So leaving the safety (body shell) matter, there is no other car that make a competition for Sonet at that pricepoint. Yaa, this comes from a Nexon Owner
(Believe me that Amt is very jerky in the initial gears)

[delusional_fool]

Sonet seems like the better choice of the two since it is much nicer than Waganor in pretty much all the aspects. But one thing to keep in mind when it comes to Sonet diesel is the DPF if primary usage is gonna be within city.

If your usage doesn't warrant a Diesel then my next choice would be the new Brezza AT. And I don't think Brezza's dimension is any different than Sonet, it is pretty much the same. Brezza might look bigger but the actual dimensions are identical.

[bharanidharang]

The city could be apt for his needs plus a good highway cruiser and a sedan at home (I see rest of the cars have hatch level boot space or less). The only sore point would be that it is wider than the ford ecosport

[Benoit]

If the usage is only within the city, I would recommend the Tigor EV. No manual gearbox, can be charged at home, ultra silent, minimal maintenance, adequate ground clearance, narrow body.

If the usage is predominantly in the city, it's best to avoid diesels. If you prefer automatics, it wouldn't be so great on fuel efficiency. So the best bet is an EV. And its progressive.

[Gypsian]

Originally Posted by Fury

Am I missing something out here guys? I feel Sonet is the best option but what do you guys think? Lets fire up the comments!

KIA Sonet and XUV 300 have got more or less similar dimensions. You can opt for the XUV 300 diesel automatic which is well within your budget and equipped with tried and tested 1.5 mHawk.

[Gautham_v6]

S-presso/ Celerio should be an ideal option, if your dad prefers simple mechanicals and abuse friendly characteristics. Tiago and punch are also good alternatives.

Would always advise you to have a sense of caution when you consider Hyundai-Kia products due to the maintenance costs.

C3 is not recommended as we still do not have end user units available as of yet and given Citroen's slow approach with service and sales points, I would not recommend C3.

Another interesting choice would be Renault triber.

[CoolFire]

Can I go out of OP’s list and suggest the Honda Jazz CVT? The top variant is well loaded and within the budget.

Knowing how the region’s roads are, width and size of the Jazz is a nice fit. The iVTEC CVT is quite smooth and drives much better than all the AMT options now. Safety and quality are among the best in the segment. It is also quite roomy inside.

Of the options listed, Kia Sonnet is slightly bigger and less safe. It is actually almost as wide as the bigger cousin, the Seltos. Safety may not be too important within the city limits, but you can’t completely ignore the factor in Kerala roads.

As mentioned, Wagon R is too basic and Kiger/Magnite do not give the quality and service comfort.

Only drawback for the Jazz is that it is too old a model now and will not excite young buyers. Also, the 1.2 engine will not set the charts on fire. Hope these are not much of an issue in this case.

[ynike99]

My pick would be the Kia Sonet 1.5 D AT. It will be a proper upgrade in terms of everything over Wagon R. Also I was in a similar situation for my Dad, he had a I20 which was abused and had many issues and dents overall when we sold it after 10 years. We got him a Ignis auto, fits all his needs and is easily manoeuvrable and fits his 6"1' body frame perfectly. So consider that as well if Petrol is an option.