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Hello all,

This would be my first post on this forum, so let me grab this opportunity to thank the moderators and the community for accepting my joining request!

As the name suggests, I am the proud owner of a Honda BR-V 1.5L iDTEC S MT since 2017, which I have driven for more than 1.2 lac km over a span of 6 years and 3 months. I love the car and take care of it regularly. It has served me and my family with love and diligence without giving me any trouble (on the contrary, I did put her in trouble in the past, but that story is for another post.)

It is my daily driver. I own no other vehicle - neither a second car nor a two-wheeler! So, even if it's a short commute to the paan shop, I take the car. And yet, it is returning a handsome fuel economy of 20+ km/l.

Many might find such a long description of ownership needless, but I took this liberty only because I know that this community would appreciate my emotional connection with my car - while I am on the verge of parting with it!

The reason for this is that I am now getting over to the higher side of the 40s and increasingly getting lazy with my leg screaming, "I am tired of clutching". So, I am going for an automatic. Here are the criteria to consider:

1. Budget - strict sealing of Rs. 13 lacs + exchange value of BR-V (5/6 lacs???)
   
2. Transmission - Automatic, no more manual shifting.
   
3. Wide comfortable seats - all of us in the family including myself are FAT. Way too obese than even normal obese (hence the love and respect for BR-V)
   
4. Easy ingress - apart from being obese, my father has arthritis and even after knee replacement, has a lot of trouble in movement.
   
5. 90% of the time, the car would be driven without any passengers. It will be used for daily commutes. But I like to travel with family in the car at least 3 - 4 times a year. So rear seat comfort and legroom and width are also equally important - again keeping in mind obesity. I am also ok with a 5 seater - but a "proper" 5 seater - this means that the rear floor hump can not be very prominent.
   
6. Monthly drive - would be less than 1,200 km.
   
7. Reliable daily horse. I cannot afford to keep the car at service stations for more than a day.
   
8. Good boot space - to accommodate travel luggage.

I am deliberately refraining from putting up my shortlist. I want your honest opinions.

Welcome Aboard!

I’ll give you a short and sweet answer.
Maruti XL 6 Top Spec.
No need to look any further.

As Shankar said, the XL6. Also consider the Kia Carens & MG Hector. They are both comfort-oriented and very spacious.

As an aside, I am a Gujju too and my native place is very close to where you are. We sure live to eat :D. But you should lose weight before there are more serious long-term consequences. The Team-BHP threads on weight loss & intermittent fasting helped me lose 22 kilos. Please do invest the time in reading them, the advice there could change your life.

Happy shopping!

If you can get a good deal on an S-Cross automatic go for it as it comes with relatively wide seats that don't bother too much with contouring themselves around your body to offer a snug fit and all that jazz. :thumbs up

Cars like Carens and XL6 are just not wide enough to accommodate 3 large adults comfortably at the back. They are not any more spacious than your BRV. You need cars like Hector, XUV700 and Innova HyCross to meet your space requirements. That, along with the necessary automatic transmission means you will have to increase your budget a bit.

My pick for you will be the XUV700 AX3 model, which costs around 21 lakhs. WIDE rear bench, lots of space, easy ingress and egress and a sorted suspension. It will be a proper upgrade over the BRV. You can also get the base HyCross G for this price, but it is positively naked in comparison, even with your existing Honda. If you are willing to forego the automatic transmission part, pick the XUV700 base MX trim with your eyes closed, which is well within your budget.

Mate - No offence meant. I too was obese with a BMI of 30+ a year back.

I wont put a before and after post now as I am still far from my goal but at least have lost close to half the weight that I need to be the fittest version of myself

You don't need a change of car but a change in lifestyle. I come from a family who are genetically well built with a tendency to put on weight easily. Coupled with bad life style (mostly around long working hours) and a couple of covid and a dengue infections in a year my weight reached just shy of ton last April.

One of the tests showed I am borderline diabetic. I am a clean eater 90% of times but it mostly is lifestyle around long working hours , less sleep, no exercise etc. which contributed to my obesity. From being an athlete who was mostly underweight & stick thin the first 25-30 years of life to full fledged obesity in less than a decade I have seen the full spectrum in the first 4 decades of my life itself.

Physical exercise (just walk & jog - averaging 250-300 kms a month) and diet watch (I still eat every single thing which is digestible but follow some sort of intermittent fasting) has resulted in drastic change in how I felt about my body. Visually much may not have changed, but all my wearables fit me better and I feel energetic through out the day. Sleeping ain't sorted yet but I am able to do much more through out the day.

I drive a Punto and still ride bikes/scooters. About a year back was planning to get another automatic as my knees were literally crying. A few kilos off and knees (supported by stronger legs) still do complain sometime but are much happier to carry around a lighter body. I hope you got the message. Now have postponed the new car purchase by a couple of years at least (I hope to be at my fittest best by that time :)

I had sort of accepted that I would continue to be obese and cant do much. If not for Covid I would have continued the same way. It made me understand that the real wealth is health. With a healthy body(am getting there slowly) and mind(work in progress and a long way still to go) life is just so much different.

If extra space than normal is a very big requirement, I guess XL 6 won't fit the bill too. You'll have to check that out at a showroom and do a test drive too with your family members seated at the back.

If you're open to the pre owned route, then an AT Innova can be an option worthy of a look. You may have to up your budget too as Toyotas are very pricey, old and new. It ticks most of the boxes you've listed except that it may be initially cumbersome for you as a daily drive. Even then, it's a matter of getting used to the car. With AT and a tall seating position, I personally have not not found it difficult to drive them in traffic, even at peak hours.

Thank you all for your suggestions and especially the personal concerns of yours towards a fellow Team-BHPian! I am taking steps to go on the preferred side of BMI with consultations - on a No Wheat No Milk Courser Grain diet plan and it is giving results; but it is a long journey. I am confident I will be achieving my goal with determined actions in the right direction.

Now, let me ask model specific questions - a few of the choices not yet discussed which I am considering; and a few concerns:

1. Hyundai Creta - would that be a wise consideration?
   
2. I heard Ertiga / XL6 gearbox starts acting funny once you stall the car on an uphill climb. Is it correct?
   
3. I like how Tata and Mahindra have transformed their vehicles - but I keep hearing a lot of noise about their workmanship issues + some of the technologies which are newer to them having niggles compelling the owners to frequent service stations for corrections. How wide spread and well-placed are those concerns?
   
4. And overall, how much trust-worthy are the NCap safety ratings in real world?

Thanks again for your love

What is it about Indians and their obsession with educating obese people? Do they really think the obese person himself doesn’t know all the advice provided, if not more? Anyway, I digress.

To answer your question, as a large person and an XL6 owner myself, I can tell you that this car has plenty of space in all 3 rows. 3rd row seats me (5’8”) comfortably and the first two rows are great. Only issue is it’s a 6 seater so only two on the middle row. So if anyone in the family is not too mobile, they may find it difficult to get to the third row. But hey, no problem of fitting 3 abreast on the middle row!

My XL6 is an automatic and I have faced absolutely no issues climbing ghats.

My personal preference :

New Car in that budget : XL6 and Tata Nexon

Pre-owned cars : I am a bit on the heavier side and the Duster suits me well. The seats are pretty large and comfortable. The new-gen Duster wont be coming until 2025 I guess, because of the parts sharing contracts and test runs between Renault and Nissan.

Other pre-owned options : Tata Hexa, Innova Crysta (it will be 17 to 18 lakhs for the automatic), XUV500 and if you find an immaculate condition Tata Safari Storme, look no further. Yes, maintenance ofthese cars is on the higher side, but they really comfortable. If I had the chance I would either pick a Tata Hexa Automatic for 15 lakhs.

Mg hector, Kia carens and used Toyota Corolla altis come to my mind. These are perfect 5 seaters atleast and with massive boot space. Reliability is not a concern with these as well.

Have you thought about the MG Hector? It's a roomy car with lots of useful features that could be beneficial in the long term. On the other hand, you might also want to look into the Toyota Innova Crysta or the Mahindra Scorpio, but you may need to increase your budget slightly for top-notch transmission and features.

I can relate perfectly to your scenario, my uncle and his family are all of the obese kind, way more than you can imagine and the only cars, they had were the Innova and now the XUV700, although they only seat two at the back.

So coming to your situation, I would recommend you either increase your budget by a couple of lakhs more and get the XUV700 AX 3 Diesel AT or Innova Hycross G-SLF variant. These are the only cars they recommend.

If you are looking for a used car, an automatic Innova would be a good buy.

But on a personal note, I feel the Scorpio-N Z4 Diesel AT could also be a consideration but it won't be as comfortable as either the Innova or the XUV700.

The MG Hector CVT is also a possible candidate.

Now to answer your other questions:
Hyundai Creta - would that be a wise consideration?
My cousins while in search of a car to replace their Innova and they had considered the Alcazar, with Creta and Alcazar being based on the same platform and having similar widths, I think the Creta would do and could be a good consideration. Moreover, they offer a comfortable ride.

I heard Ertiga / XL6 gearbox starts acting funny once you stall the car on an uphill climb. Is it correct?
I cannot answer the question decisively, but yes the same had occurred once in our case scenario when the car was in full load and the climb was quite steep. I am unsure whether it is always the case.

Concerns on Tata and Mahindra
The early batches of Tata and Mahindra cars did have a few niggles, but as far as I know from a couple of Mahindra XUV700 owners who bought their cars over the last year, they are perfectly fine and don't have any major concerns. As regards Tata, a few Harrier owners have commented on certain niggles in their cars, but those are few and far between.

And overall, how much trust-worthy are the NCap safety ratings in real world?
The NCAP ratings are conducted at a given speed and under test conditions, However, they are one of the most trustworthy sources we have today, Tata and Mahindra have aced the NCAP tests and their cars are definitely safe in the event of a crash.

Hope you have got an answer to your queries, Happy shopping, and wishing you all the best for your new car purchase.

If you bother taking the time to read the entire crash test report for each car, that's great because just going by the star rating is a little rudimentary. Insurance Institute of Highway Safety crash reports are more comprehensive so if the model you are looking at is sold in the US market, do check out its IIHS report as you would be able to glean a lot more from it than from its NCAP rating. :thumbs up

Hi All,

My Honda BR-V iDTEC 1.5 L has aged 7 years and run for 1.2 lac km. I feel its time to make a change for multiple minor reasons like...

• Uncertainty over future of diesel cars older than BS VI
• Need for an automatic
• Fear of on-coming BIG expense in an old car
• Its depleting re-sale value leading to a compromised choice in the future

All of these together have snow-balled into a significant one which I call "The 7 year itch".

With my purse strings tied up tightly at 15,00,000/- (including 5,00,000/- to 4,00,000/- for the exchanging old car), my choices / options have turned out to be quite a mix of cross-segment models. My primary requirements being:

1. An automatic gearbox.
2. Comfortable wide driving seat for an obese 45 years old (and not getting any younger) driver (yours truly) with easy ingress & egress with good shoulder room (in my current car, whenever my father or my wife is seated in the seat next to me, my hand invariably brushes with theirs while changing gears)
3. Good fuel economy for a 60% city + 40% highway commute (min 16 kmpl for Petrol, 20 kmpl for Diesel).
4. Reliability, serviceability and low service cost.
5. Good rear seat comfort - easy ingress, egress and space - for obese family members. No compromise here as well.
6. A good enough boot to accommodate luggage for a 3-4 days trip for 3/4 people.
7. Safety. Mind well, I am a pretty sedate driver and even on highways do not cross 90-100 kmph. But, can't control the others!
8. As much "plushness" as one can get in the budget. (Because - WHY NOT!!)

I do understand, this is more like a "Wish List" for every middle class buyers. rl:

Below are the ones I am considering, and need to know which one should be my choice:

1. Ciaz Alpha AT
2. Brezza ZXi
3. Nexon XZA + LUX
4. Venue SX (O)
5. Carens Premium iMT Diesel
6. Ertiga ZXi+

Note that the last two choices do not suggest a leaning towards a 3 raw MUV. These are there purely because I found them to fulfill the criterion.

For reference, below is my car usage profile:

• Normal month with no outside city travel - total usage is 1000 km.
• Yearly basis - 1300 km a month with odd intercity travels and vacations
• Daily routine commute from home to office - 30-35 km with only me in the car. 30% of time in traffic - which some times makes a 16-18 km one way drive an hourly affair with some compulsive de-tours (yes Delhi / Mumbai / Bengaluru walo, Rajkot bhi kam nahin!)
• Road conditions are OK - not too bad

Whats your suggestion??? Not intending at all to buy a second hand car and not looking to change the new one for at least seven years (God, Help Me)!!