[astrodex]

Go with the Verna, that is what your heart wants. That is also what your head would say since it saves your money. Realistically Creta is an SUV only in terms of ground clearance. Everything else, it is just like Verna. And you are getting next gen features at reduced price. A facelifted Creta would be also more expensive and might stretch your budget further. And since you drove a City you already know how to avoid getting the bottom scraped and Verna does have better GC than City.

Personally, I don't like the exterior looks of Creta but I do love the design of Verna. I feel Creta is selling despite the bad looks just because of its features and the fact it is "an SUV".

I think you have a Verna in your future

[ABeeBytes]

Originally Posted by AGupta

You might have a look at "Harrier". It looks stunning and has the best ride quality compared to Creta/Seltos/Verna.

OHH Harrier, : sadly way out of my budget.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

None of the shortlists will fit the bill for this highlighted reason itself, especially the Verna. If 4+3 is a regular affair, you are better off considering something like the Carens.

True that! At a point, I thought of getting into MUVs and wifey put her foot down on that; That could easily be achived by hiring outstation cabs.

Originally Posted by CherryBomb

Even i was in the similar dillemma 2 months back when Verna launched. But as per your need and Budget Virtus GT is the right pick. You can take extended warranty of 7 years if you are not sure of reliability. It gives SUV like seating position and GC. Best suited for long drives

I simply bought one last Month. Its a hoot to drive and no other car can match driving pleasure it offers

Problems in the earlier VW Cars are mostly on Jetta's and there TDI's matted to dsg's. VW Claims that newer cars are much more reliable and trouble free as seen in POLO TSI'S

That offers a lot of solace, I did love the Virtus, even the 1.0 L turbo did not feel under-powered. The hunt continues.

Originally Posted by astrodex

I think you have a Verna in your future

HAHA Spoken like the ASTRO

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[SeshSrini]

Originally Posted by ABeeBytes

What does the forum think, Please help out.

I had the same dilemma and settled for a 5th Gen City. Happy with the ownership experience barring a few niggles. The key in making this choice is to evaluate your driving landscape. If you are a revv enthusiast, willing to explore go for a SUV. If a family man happy to take that ocassional long drives on highways seeking comfort to occupants coupled with sedate driving habits own a Sedan. Hope this helps

[Illuminati]

I had a similar dilemma last week in choosing between Virtus & Taigun.

Virtus was looking more beautiful than Taigun.

The advantage of Taigun was the seating comfort & driver's view, when I entered the cabin felt comfortable from the first instant, while in Virtus I felt the seating to be low to my liking.

Although the Virtus was cheaper and had certain more features for the Highline variant, still went ahead and booked Taigun just for the seating comfort.

[John s]

I was in the similar situation last year, was thinking of buying a SUV. My wife wanted car specifically from Maruthi Suzuki's stable. Her preference was AT. The choice was obvious either Brezza or S Cross. We were leaning towards S cross as it was best build car from MS. After i saw the prices being increased for New Brezza ( which was way pricey compared to previous generation for the increment offered). At that time i felt the replacement for S cross will be very likely expensive, we bought S cross MT Zeta for my wife in June 2022. My wife loves the car even though it is MT( she was driving 2013 swift dzire).

I was on hunt for one more SUV for me, for daily commute. The requirement was spacious back seats, in addition to engine more than 1.2 litre but NA. I dont fancy latest tech. My budget was around 16L. I was open to Sedan as well.


After test driving Honda city 5 th gen , Vitara/Hyryder Comba, Kushaq/ Skoda Slavia, and Creta ( except for honda city all were manual). To avoid recall bias I did the test drive on a single day.( On Mysore road, most of the car showrooms are located. I went on a weekday, so less crowded and SA were eager to consider most request).
Mahindra and Tata vehicles were not considered, as i have seen most of my friends had niggles with cars from both companies.

I loved Kushaq/ Skoda Slavia engine and driving dynamics but its AC was underwhelming and huge let down. Even though the company claims the horror involving VW/Skoda group cars have been addressed. I was not brave enough to take the plunge.

Creta was not bad, but its safety rating did not inspire confidence. Even though Seltos is beautiful car, safety is important. I would have bought seltos if its structure was stable.

Eventually, bought Honda city 4 th v variant in Nov 2022. I am happy with bare bone car which met my requirement. I could save significant amount.


My sister also bought Honda City 5th gen V variant in Oct 2022. (My BIL wanted to consider Creta but sister loved driving dynamics of sedan). She was aware of Honda potentially may be heading GM/Ford's way. Her opinion was she could see very old Honda being still driven as compared to old Vernas and any mechanic could repair.

My friend , based in Bangalore was also in the similar dilemma. He has 2013 A star AT variant. He is very busy surgeon, travels to many hospital in bangalore. He wanted a comfortable SUV as he needs to travels to Mysore or chikabllaupur ( two cities near Bangalore) almost every weekend.His preference was to consider fortuner but due to budget constraints and also mileage being important factor. He considered Hector/Astor,( for luxury quotient), and Brezza/vitara/Hyryder. His budget was around 15 to 16L but he could see car in the range of 17 to 10 lakhs ( he could get BH registration). His final choice was between Brezza or Hyryder as he was conscious about the mileage. His wife choice was Hyryder as it had better leg room compared to Brezza. He was keen on Brezza as he was offered early delivery as compared long wait period for Hyryder. He eventually ended up buying Hyryder as he had to comply with his wife's wishes.


We use Honda city for city commute and S Cross for highway. Honda city does not feel safe after it goes past 100 or 120. Where as S Cross is very stable at 140.

I hope this helps.

[ABeeBytes]

Originally Posted by John s

I was in the sim...

I loved Kushaq/ Skoda Slavia engine and driving dynamics but its AC was underwhelming and huge let down. Even though the company claims the horror involving VW/Skoda group cars have been addressed. I was not brave enough to take the plunge.

Creta was not bad, but its safety rating did not inspire confidence. Even though Seltos is beautiful car, safety is important. I would have bought seltos if its structure was stable.

We use Honda city for city commute and S Cross for highway. Honda city does not feel safe after it goes past 100 or 120. Where as S Cross is very stable at 140.

I hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the wonderfully detailed response.

I also have similar hesitations for the Germans and might buy them after they're proven over the years (much like Ford, other Americans did not persevere) maybe the next car.

I am coming out of a City and honestly I'm a bit shocked that even the new ones have high speed stability problems, I could accept the 100+ shakiness on a tattered 2007 Car, but absolutely unacceptable for a new car that costs 15-20 Lakhs.

I would not have 2 cars in my garage to pick and choose for city vs highway, so I need an all-rounder. Creta/Seltos/Verna, all 3 are perfect packages.

I've also seen many threads of Verna m & vids of new Verna munching 1000 kms/ day on highways. It seems I'll have to let a coin make the decision

[John316_WRC]

Originally Posted by John s

Even though Seltos is beautiful car, safety is important. I would have bought seltos if its structure was stable.....Her opinion was she could see very old Honda being still driven as compared to old Vernas and any mechanic could repair....Honda city does not feel safe after it goes past 100 or 120.

Hyundai/Kia make the same models elsewhere with better safety ratings. Does India deserve double standards? If only the seltos had a stable structure it would be an easy pick. Sadly even the humble Tiago fares better in terms of safety. I'm not surprised Kia conveniently totally skipped speaking about safety/structure during the recent launch.

Honda has the worst isolation and road noise among competition. Road noise and tyre noise does increase above 100 and that is why it probably feels unsafe. Honda's have great longevity and your sister is right about that.

Originally Posted by ABeeBytes

I am coming out of a City and honestly I'm a bit shocked that even the new ones have high speed stability problems....It seems I'll have to let a coin make the decision

Now coming to the stability part, please take a longer test drive of the City, and try reaching speeds of 100kmph if safe and see for yourself. High speed stability can be easily affected by something as simple as wrong tyre pressure, bouncy road surface etc.

You seem well informed so please don't buy a car after a coin toss. Look at all your options and then go ahead.

For a single car garage I will nudge you towards the SUV side simply because they can be all things to everyone. Check out the Kushaq/Taigun again. But if you're a sedan guy the Virtus/Slavia are great options with 179mm ground clearance(almost similar to a Xuv300!). Recent batches seem to have ironed out most of the earlier complaints from Skoda/VW so you should be good to go there.

As a wildcard entry the Elevate should be a very sensible choice. It won't hold a candle to the Koreans when it comes to features, but what it will do is keep you and your family safer and will be more reliable in the longer run.

The Verna is a cult car and I have huge respect for it, it's the safety part that is hard to overlook. I don't think we can put a price tag on safety.

[ABeeBytes]

Originally Posted by John316_WRC

Hyundai/Kia make the same models elsewhere with better safety ratings. Does India deserve double standards? If only the seltos had a stable structure it would be an easy pick. Sadly even the humble Tiago fares better in terms of safety. I'm not surprised Kia conveniently totally skipped speaking about safety/structure during the recent launch.

Honda has the worst isolation and road noise among competition. Road noise and tyre noise does increase above 100 and that is why it probably feels unsafe. Honda's have great longevity and your sister is right about that.
Now coming to the stability part, please take a longer test drive of the City, and try reaching speeds of 100kmph if safe and see for yourself. High speed stability can be easily affected by something as simple as wrong tyre pressure, bouncy road surface etc.

You seem well informed so please don't buy a car after a coin toss. Look at all your options and then go ahead.

For a single car garage I will nudge you towards the SUV side simply because they can be all things to everyone. Check out the Kushaq/Taigun again. But if you're a sedan guy the Virtus/Slavia are great options with 179mm ground clearance(almost similar to a Xuv300!). Recent batches seem to have ironed out most of the earlier complaints from Skoda/VW so you should be good to go there.

As a wildcard entry the Elevate should be a very sensible choice. It won't hold a candle to the Koreans when it comes to features, but what it will do is keep you and your family safer and will be more reliable in the longer run.

The Verna is a cult car and I have huge respect for it, it's the safety part that is hard to overlook. I don't think we can put a price tag on safety.

Hmm, clearly everyone loves the CITY and I almost don't get it

It's not the isolation that we talk about here, though that can get a thesis on it's own "Why city rear seat sounds like the insides of a drum"; but the car literally trembles beyond 100-110 and I would go there only with a huge insurance & "sarfarishi ki tamanna". I always thought that's because my car is that old, evidently, not the case.

You listed the 4 VAG twins that I would avoid for a generation at least, I want to see trouble-free ownership for the VAG cars over a 7-10 yr horizon before I can invest any trust in those brands; a case of once bitten twice shy.

I don't want to wait for elevate, it doesn't feel like the first cars would roll out before Diwali. Moreover, it doesn't excite me one bit because of the aged engine.

If I have to be making compromises, I think I would make the XUV300 & Nexon as my top contenders. The 300 in particular drove like a charm, the deal-breakers for me were a)Almost non existent boot b)The interiors feel like they're borrowed from a 2010 car.

[John s]

Originally Posted by ABeeBytes

I've also seen many threads of Verna m & vids of new Verna munching 1000 kms/ day on highways. It seems I'll have to let a coin make the decision

There is an option, rent or borrow your shortlisted vehicles for few days, and decide which appeals to you and your family. The confounding factor would be the state of the rented/borrowed vehicle.


I am quoting something completely unrelated ,


(1) From Marie Kondo

https://konmari.com/marie-kondo-rule...ng-sparks-joy/

Rule 6: Ask Yourself If It Sparks Joy


In the KonMari Method™, your feelings are the standard for decision making – specifically, knowing what sparks joy.

(2) “It's better to regret what you have done than what you haven't.”

Paul Arden,


Hope this helps.

[inwester]

Originally Posted by ABeeBytes

What does the forum think, Please help out.

After reading through all the posts I think your general instincts and initial picks are correct. Go for Creta/Seltos or Verna. Get the turbo / auto combination that suits your budget. I would pick the SUV anytime over a sedan in India.. kids, elders, bad traffic, potholes, floods, speed bumps, us getting older, etc.

Do not get the Honda City. It's a car which has lost its heart and have become an appliance, perhaps a decent appliance. I own one (5th gen CVT ZX) and I regret buying it every time I drive.

[ABeeBytes]

Originally Posted by inwester

After reading through all the posts I think your general instincts and initial picks are correct. Go for Creta/Seltos or Verna. Get the turbo / auto combination that suits your budget. I would pick the SUV anytime over a sedan in India.. kids, elders, bad traffic, potholes, floods, speed bumps, us getting older, etc.

Do not get the Honda City. It's a car which has lost its heart and have become an appliance, perhaps a decent appliance. I own one (5th gen CVT ZX) and I regret buying it every time I drive.

OUCH! Sorry to hear that. Somehow the city never excited me, it looks FAB but small, specially now with the segment expanding in general.

I am finally pulling the trigger on Seltos. Thanks to the impending facelift, expect to get pricier by 1L across the board; the existing car is getting decent discounts and this makes the current Seltos a more VFM buy.

I'll journal the final buying experiences in next week.

[ABeeBytes]

I had promised that I'll journal my buying experience for the seltos, unfortunately, as luck would have it, I had a fall from my bike that turned into a major Near-fatal accident and all the car buying has been put on hold for a few months till I get accustomed to monocular vision. I was trying to search and I don't see any posts or threads that deal with driving with disabilities. Should be fun and insightful to capture all of that I hope.