[Laidbackakki]

Hi, I recently saw a video of Autocar India doing a run from Bengaluru to Mumbai in Honda City hybrid in one tank of fuel. Although the car was driven in Hypermiling way i.e speeds were capped at 60kmph with light throttle input and slotting the car in B mode on slopes to get regen braking. All of that aside, the car covered 1006 kms in just 29.86 litres of petrol. That gives you an average of 35kmpl. That's just insane for me. So I believe the Hybrid cars is the future for atleast the next 10-12 years. My personal opinion is that India is jumping on the EV bandwagon without proper planning. It will create hassles. Now I might be completely wrong more experienced members can comment better on this.

So coming to your choice, if I would have been in your shoes I would definitely go for strong hybrids out there considering your running and the strong FE associated with them.

Regards

[amitc7]

You seem like a practical person with your expectations. I would always say go EV, but alas infrastructure has a lot catching up to do.
Go for a Citroen C3 Turbo whichever trim is cheaper and run it in peace for 4-5 years.
It has the best suspension for stress free comfy driving and next to zero electronics. You've ticked reliability and comfort.

Forget all the over loaded with gizmos crap that's in the market these days, my friend with her top end Tata Altroz DCA is seeing the service station more than her office carpark.

[Dharmesh Vats]

Originally Posted by sunbaj

Would have opted for the Vitara Strong Hybrid. The only downside for me would be the size. Am more inclined towards a compact car. Could have gone for a pure EV also had I not required to travel close to 300 KM once or twice a month. Is anyone owning Breza 2022. Any feedback on the same ?

I am under a similar dilemma, having booked vitara alpha plus. When I sat at the wheel of demo vehicle in the showroom, it felt extremely vague, there is no cost feel to it despite all that has been put in. Moreover, handling the steering didn't give the confidence, it appeared that steering sensitivity may take a beating just like in Baleno. It felt like handling an olden time car those that had a little play in the steering. Utterly confused without a test drive, would Seltos similar variant be better...? Some advice pls

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by Laidbackakki

Hi, I recently saw a video of Autocar India doing a run from Bengaluru to Mumbai in Honda City hybrid in one tank of fuel. Although the car was driven in Hypermiling way i.e speeds were capped at 60kmph with light throttle input and slotting the car in B mode on slopes to get regen braking. All of that aside, the car covered 1006 kms in just 29.86 litres of petrol. That gives you an average of 35kmpl. That's just insane for me. So I believe the Hybrid cars is the future for atleast the next 10-12 years.

This is a wrong example to look at when you are buying a car. Do remember that it's not real world conditions when you do a 1000km run at 60kmph. There have been regular ICE cars that have done similar mileage runs. Imagine the fatigue that sets in when traffic around including the overladen truck is faster than you on the highway. I recently drove from Mumbai outskirts (Jambrung) to Bangalore and it took us 18 hours at a average speed of 100-110 kmph, covering an average distance of 75-80 km every hour.

At a speed of 60kmph, you would barely cover 45-50 km every hour. That's over 20 hours or running time alone, without pitstops. Anything faster will result in a drop in mileage. So, even the Honda City Hybrid can't do this run without refuelling in real-world scenarios. Or might pull it off given the fuel tank size (45-50 lts?).

EVs are here to stay. The tech will keep improving, batteries will get smaller or range will get higher or both. Today's EVs in India can do between 200-400 km on a single charge and with a little bit of planning, a drive across the country is possible.

What the OP needs right now is a car under a million bucks that can take him through another 3-4 years before he would think of an EV (for the range anxiety). There's one member here who drove his Nexon EV for 50000 km and now upgraded to a MG ZS.

[carthick1000]

Originally Posted by sunbaj

Any other recommendation anyone !!!

I think a petrol CVT Honda Amaze would be a good fit in your use case.

Recently got a facelift and has a comfortable CVT, reliable and is the same format of your current car with decently modern features. Honda provides you with a fuss free ownership and long warranty periods. Their AMC price also seems good.

Good luck with your search!

[sunbaj]

Hello members.

First of all wishing everyone a very happy Raksha Bandhan. Apologizes for not responding back as was very busy with office work and then had to travel to Chandigarh on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan

Thanks for the overwhelming response to my queries. Really thankful to each one of you for your suggestions and sorry for not being able to respond back. What I could make out is most are suggesting to go for strong Hybrid and that is where I am also inclined to considering my driving requirements. However the only thing that is going against this decision is the size of the car. Had they provided Breza in strong Hybrid it would have been a no brainer for me to go with it had it even costed me 12 to 14 laks for the lowest variant.

I cannot opt for a EV at the moment as:
1. I stay in a rented accommodation in Delhi NCR and probably vey soon would be making a shift. So charging would be a challenge.
2. I directly travel from Chandigarh to office on Monday mornings so spending like 45 minutes to charge the car while travelling to office would be a challenge and not feasible.

Pure Petrol:
1. I guess irrespective of which car I take unless it is a hatchback would not give me good mileage.
2. Only hatch back with a required safety rating in probably Tata Altroz.
3. Heard some good words in terms of build quality of Maruti Baleno but not sure how true it is as no official NCAP ratings. Would have been open to even Baleno if the crash ratings were out.
https://www.carblogindia.com/2022-ma...ft-ncap-score/

Pure Diesel:
I was even open to buying a pure diesel had the cost difference between Nexon Diesel and Petrol lowest variants not been as high as 2.3 Lakhs and with insurance overall would be like 2.5 Lakhs. Please correct me if I am wrong out here. I believe in 10 years I would have extracted the money as I would have kept it for 10 years.


So for me now the choice is between Mild Hybrid and Strong Hybrid. Would have gone for Honda City Strong Hybrid had it been in the range of approx. 14 Lakhs. Will probably be going in for a Test Drive of Breza tomorrow and see how it performs. Have seen 2 Red Breza since past 2 days in Chandigarh and I am in for the shape and the looks of the car. Lets see how it performs on road.

Will keep you posted if I happen to go for a test ride tomorrow. !!!

[Crank]

Did you try Nissan Magnite Turbo Petrol? If you need automatic, there's a CVT option too. I did a similar search liner yours. Test driven almost all the cars with 4* plus ratings and found Nissan Magnite to be the best bang for the buck. Avoided all the Koreans and Japs as at this price point they don't have any 4* plus cars.

[KebabBoi]

Originally Posted by sunbaj

Is anyone owning Breza 2022. Any feedback on the same ?

Originally Posted by sunbaj

Will probably be going in for a Test Drive of Breza tomorrow and see how it performs. Have seen 2 Red Breza since past 2 days in Chandigarh and I am in for the shape and the looks of the car. Lets see how it performs on road.

Brought my White Brezza ZXI home on the 8th, and let me tell you, it is a phenomenal car. Since you have been driving a Suzuki in the past just like me (WagonR), this car will have a tough time disappointing you. The engine is super refined, to the point that thrice I have had to glance at the odometer to check if the engine was actually running.

I have seen a lot of people complain about the power being inadequate. From my understanding, I think its a matter of perspective. The power in the 1.5L 4-cyl is sufficient for both bumper to bumper traffic and highway pulls as well. The car excels in terms of FE courtesy the Mild Hybrid - it will match your Dzire with a slightly conscious foot.

Ground Clearance is also sufficient. The wheel size and suspension setup allows it to sit planted on the ground and absorb minor bumps and undulations with ease. Steering is light as well. Headlight are amazing for stock units. I highly doubt you will find the need to upgrade.

The fit and finish is acceptable, cabin space is more than adequate such that 3 medium-built adults can sit in the rear comfortably for the highway run in question. Boot space is also good.

And need I remind you of the "niggle-free" aspect of MS ownership.

I respect your no-nonsense, practical approach to the car but I would recommend you opt for the ZXI instead of the lower variants because it is a well packaged car and will not feel dated in the long run.

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by sunbaj

Will probably be going in for a Test Drive of Breza tomorrow and see how it performs. Have seen 2 Red Breza since past 2 days in Chandigarh and I am in for the shape and the looks of the car. Lets see how it performs on road.

Will keep you posted if I happen to go for a test ride tomorrow. !!!

In case, you are going for Brezza MT test drive, please do keep an eye on the following point from the official review, which is a potential concern for me.

Originally Posted by Omkar

On the highway, the Brezza MT's performance remains sedate. The Brezza is strictly a relaxed cruiser with nothing for the enthusiast. It's best to enjoy cruising at speeds of 80-100 km/h. What CrAzY dRiVeR and I didn't appreciate was that the engine revs at 3,000 rpm at 100 km/h, which is on the higher side. At this rpm, the motor feels like it's working hard and your passengers will feel that you are doing a higher speed than you actually are. The AT felt way more relaxed cruising at 100 km/h than the MT. Try to pull off a sudden overtake and the lack of grunt is apparent. This necessitates aggressive downshifting. The excess engine noise at higher revs just makes things worse. Even while climbing steeper bridges at 80 km/h, I found myself shifting from 5th to 4th gear.

[nd26]

Your requirements seem to be pointing to the Maruti Baleno/Toyota Glanza.

It is feature-rich, gives excellent efficiency, has a very smooth and refined engine and you get the peace of mind associated with owning a Maruti vehicle.

The AMT has improved quite a lot as well. Furthermore, it would be easily available in the specified budget ( 9 to 11 ).

[sunbaj]

Originally Posted by ajayc123

In case, you are going for Brezza MT test drive, please do keep an eye on the following point from the official review, which is a potential concern for me.

Ajay to be honest with you I am not a very sedate driver but a very very sedate driver. Though I drive Swift Dzire I do not recall when I last saw the RPM on my swift dzire above 2K. Even when I go for a pollution check I am hesitant to take it above 2K RPM though the person doing the pollution check repeatedly asks me to take it to approx. 2.5K for a valid pollution check. I have till date never driven above 100 KM/hours as I do not have trust on Indian roads nor the cars that we get under 15Lakhs. Even if we have cars capable of going above 100 KM/hour the roads are not.

Originally Posted by KebabBoi

Ground Clearance is also sufficient. The wheel size and suspension setup allows it to sit planted on the ground and absorb minor bumps and undulations with ease. Steering is light as well. Headlight are amazing for stock units. I highly doubt you will find the need to upgrade.

The fit and finish is acceptable, cabin space is more than adequate such that 3 medium-built adults can sit in the rear comfortably for the highway run in question. Boot space is also good.

And need I remind you of the "niggle-free" aspect of MS ownership.

I respect your no-nonsense, practical approach to the car but I would recommend you opt for the ZXI instead of the lower variants because it is a well packaged car and will not feel dated in the long run.

KebabBoi thanks for the positive points about the car. I am in complete agreement with your post. Thanks for inspiring confidence in me for the car rest time will tell when I go in for a test drive. The only reason for not going in for ZXi is that I do not need a sun roof as I see it as a potential maintenance overhead in near future due to a probable leakage. But will definitely consider your recommendation to go for ZDi if I happen to go for Breza.

[Gummybear]

It's hard to find cars that are as frugal and reliable as those from Maruti stable. I would suggest you to check out S-cross, as it will give you a feel of upgrade, suitable for your bi-monthly highway runs and comfortable for urban traffic also.

[RijuC]

Old Brezza in Toyota Urban Cruiser avatar is still available, with a discount. If you are okay with not so spacious rear seat (new Brezza rear seat area is substantially better now), and Automatic transmission is not a must, the last few batches of Toyota Urban Cruiser offer most Value for Money.

Plus points are excellent FE, better built (compared to other Maruti Suzuki cars), bulletproof reliability, sober look, great resale value, good service support of Toyota, most importantly readily available with discount.

Negatives are- modern features are missing, no sunroof, no ESP, only 2 airbags, cramped rear seat, comparatively lower FE than the new brezza, 4 speed Torque Converter AT (may not be a big problem for your driving style), to be discontinued very soon (maintenance, spare, support won't be a problem since it is Toyota).

Otherwise buy a new Brezza ZXi MT or AT as per your need and budget. Don't buy Ertiga/ XL6, these are very unsafe for your Delhi-Chandigarh highway trips.

[prasanna_indaje]

Having EV as the only car at home when you need to cover 300+ kms once or twice a month is not advisable. Though there are lot of fast chargers coming up, availability and reliability of those chargers is a big question mark.

Though number of EVs will increase in coming years, ICE cars are not going to be obsolete. They will coexist for good number of years.

Pick a compact SUV or hatchback of your choice and enjoy your drives.

[RijuC]

Update: I suggested Toyota UC to my colleague who was looking for Swift AMT for his wife. Today he enquired at Toyota dealership in Gurgaon. He has been offered 60k upfront discount. I suggested him to start with some absurd discount figure (1 lakh+) for bargaining.