[SumitB]

Hello,

Buying a car has always been the most confusing exercise for me even after having owned over 10 cars in the last 15 years.

I currently own the (now discontinued) Carnival and am awaiting delivery of the GT Line Seltos in Petrol.

The Carnival is our road trip vehicle and the Seltos is a replacement for a Seltos which I sold a few months back.

I have previously owned a Safari, a couple of Cruze, EcoSports, Endeavour. For work, I have owned Ertigas, XCents, Lodgy.

I need a 3rd personal car for the casual run to the market and school duties. I and my wife feel insecure if we don't have a 3rd car standing in the garage due to a very personal loss we have suffered in the past due to a vehicle not being available when we needed one.

However, we're very choosy and after a lot of brainstorming, we have shortlisted the following requirements, in no particular order:
1. Leather/Faux Leather Seats (This seems to be a deal breaker all the time. Fabric seats start showing their age too early and stink in no time)
2. Petrol
3. Frugal
4. Must be available in Black
5. Manual or Conventional Automatic (No IMT/AMT nonsense)
6. As cheap as possible but Indian. No phoren ka maal.
7. Fun to drive
8. Decent quality plastics and interiors which should not scream that the vehicle is cheap

I have had a look at the Exter, Jimny, Ignis, Hyryder, Vitara, Fronx. Also booked and cancelled the i20.

Just cannot make up my mind and so am here asking for suggestions.

Please help me!

[PaddleShifter]

Petrol + Frugal + manual transmission = Baleno (no black colour, only dark grey). Basically all Maruti cars are gone if black colour is a must.

Ignis is a very competent city car with decent interiors. Can you live with grey?

Else, get yourself a Nexon in black. Price is also reasonable (less as compared to Grand Vitara/Hyryder). Facelift is on the way though.

[SumitB]

Do these cars, strangely, none of which I have tested/seen, come with leather seats?

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Petrol + Frugal + manual transmission = Baleno (no black colour, only dark grey). Basically all Maruti cars are gone if black colour is a must.

Ignis is a very competent city car with decent interiors. Can you live with grey?

Else, get yourself a Nexon in black. Price is also reasonable (less as compared to Grand Vitara/Hyryder). Facelift is on the way though.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by SumitB

Do these cars, strangely, none of which I have tested/seen, come with leather seats?

Leather seats are such as easy add on for cars lacking 6 airbags. I am not factoring leather seats as Ignis and Nexon both lack 6 airbags. I suggest that you focus on other elements that can not be added outside factory, namely good engine with decent fuel economy, interior quality, fun to drive and transmission type. A car that fits all criteria mentioned by you wont be cheap. So better to sacrifice the leather seats from factory and add them in the after market.

[SumitB]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Leather seats are such as easy add on for cars lacking 6 airbags. I am not factoring leather seats as Ignis and Nexon both lack 6 airbags. I suggest that you focus on other elements that can not be added outside factory, namely good engine with decent fuel economy, interior quality, fun to drive and transmission type. A car that fits all criteria mentioned by you wont be cheap. So better to sacrifice the leather seats from factory and add them in the after market.

That makes sense and opens up so many options but I still prefer factory fitted seats. However, I'll avoid Mahindra and Tata. Tata I'll not touch with a pole.

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Petrol + Frugal + manual transmission = Baleno (no black colour, only dark grey). Basically all Maruti cars are gone if black colour is a must.

Ignis is a very competent city car with decent interiors. Can you live with grey?

Else, get yourself a Nexon in black. Price is also reasonable (less as compared to Grand Vitara/Hyryder). Facelift is on the way though.

Baleno has Black color in its palette. Maruti introduced black on all of its vehicles recently after crossing a sales milestone.

Even my suggestion would be a Baleno in manual. AMT is fine but since the OP has specifically mentioned no AMT nonsense, a manual Baleno should do the required job. And I am not sure if the top end Baleno comes with leather seats. Fronx will be my next suggestion, but even that misses out on leather seats if I am not wrong.

Edit: why not try a XUV300?

@SumitB missed buying your Cruze sir, we spoke a while ago. Hope you are doing good and hope whoever bought your Cruze is having a blast with it

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by saikishor

Baleno has Black color in its palette. Maruti introduced black on all of its vehicles recently after crossing a sales milestone.

Edit: why not try a XUV300?

TATA and Mahindra are out of shortlist. I guess OP wants to restrict to Maruti, Hyundai only.

Maruti: Baleno/Fronx and Ignis are most suitable as third car meant for city runs.

Hyundai: Venue

By the way, the main objective of this post is to ask why not the Kia Sonet? You already have a carnival and seltos so Sonet shall also be a suitable option w.r.t. maintenance of the car.

[VaibhavShatna95]

I will recommend to you Honda Amaze CVT although a new generation is planned to be unveiled next year, but don't know how long it will take Honda to launch it in India but still the current one is competitive and probably the cheapest option with good automatic which I feel is necessary in city.
Other options in a similar range would be Kiger/Magnite Turbo or i20 CVT.
I20 CVT is the best all round package near 10 Lakh segment.

[SumitB]

Originally Posted by saikishor

@SumitB missed buying your Cruze sir, we spoke a while ago. Hope you are doing good and hope whoever bought your Cruze is having a blast with it

Hello there!

I really regret selling the Cruze now. Given that Noida cops, at least as of now, don't care two hoots about what is being driven on the streets here, I guess I would have been okay if I'd still have the Cruze here even without the change in its registration plates. However, bygones are bygones and we need to move on.

Given that probably no vehicle comes with leather from the factory, I'll just get the Ignis in the darkest shade available or even the Baleno in black as you have mentioned and move on, but can you confirm that it is indeed available in black? Do you have a link to some website or something that you may have come across? I'll have to settle for after market seat covers and hope that the installer does a decent job in installing them. Whatever it is, it has to come soon.

Does anyone in Noida/Delhi have details about some good quality seat covers in faux/genuine leather? Help here will be appreciated.

The Baleno is indeed available in Black as per Nexa's website. Hopefully, this will be my next car.

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by SumitB

Hello,

Buying a car has always been the most confusing exercise for me even after having owned over 10 cars in the last 15 years.

6. As cheap as possible but Indian. No phoren ka maal.
7. Fun to drive
8. Decent quality plastics and interiors which should not scream that the vehicle is cheap

Just cannot make up my mind and so am here asking for suggestions.

Please help me!

What struck a cord was your point No.6, fun to drive and well appointed interiors.

Get yourself a Nexon, a new one is round the corner, rumoured with a DCA.

I've one from the 1st gen. And still smells as new.

[OpenRoads]

Since you have two car above 4 meters a sub 4 meter wouldn't hurt to run quick errands in city which I believe is the primary requirement here.

If its :
Hyundai then - Nios or Exter (in case Nios is too small for your taste)
Suzuki - Baleno or Fronx
Both have refined petrol engine and will have no issues in terms with after sales service.

If you want fun to drive then it has to be Citroen C3 turbo but without any features.

Now coming to leather seats. Get good quality seats stitched from a local vendor of your choice. Now a days the airbag part is also accommodated by making a slit.

[Cresterk]

Why not take a look at electric options like the Tata Tiago?

[DCEite]

Local Errands in the City ? Nothing beats the Ignis. Alpha MT for your use case.

Perfect size for the narrow city roads, fantastic visibility from all sides, peppy engine and smooth as a butter gearbox, all ingredients for the perfect local errand runabout.

Cherry on cake is discounts on offer and minimal waiting period (almost nil).

Leather seats ? Get it done from dealership itself.

Pro tip: Ignis Manual is quite an easy car to drive even for ladies, with light, precise gearbox, light steering and smooth clutch. You will not miss AT.

[SumitB]

An update, to get a perfect perspective and understand what exactly I and my wife need, we test drove the Ignis, Fronx, Jimny and even the GV back to back, on the same roads, within a few minutes of each other.

Ignis: I wish it came with some more creature comforts and better plastics.
Fronx: Overall, an all rounder. I tested the 1L AT. Wanted to drive the MT but it was not available. Decent plastics. Loaded with gadgets. Better than the i20 for sure. Just that there are no leather seats even as an option.
Jimny: Not a city car.
GV: Everything the Fronx has and much more. Drawbacks being that there is no boot space in the trim I'd get because of the batteries. Expensive. The fact that it came in black and with leather seats would have swayed it for me but wife rejected it due to no boot space. Also, the dealer was willing to deliver immediately. I wonder why people prefer to wait for the Toyota when this is available "off the shelf"!

When I walked out of the showroom, I had a booking receipt of the Fronx in Bluish Black in the 1L Turbo Alpha variant.

Waiting period of 4-6 weeks but I have been verbally committed of an expedited delivery.

I plan to get the seats upholstered in faux leather and if my friends feel, get the tyres upgraded to something better than the OEM Goodyear Triplemax 2 (195 60R16).

Can someone from Delhi NCR please provide me with a few contacts for seat covers (as close as possible to OEM quality in fit and finish)?

Edit: I must thank Sheel for helping me out in shortlisting the Fronx. On day one, he suggested that I either get the Ignis or the Fronx. I was just refusing to budge as I somehow never came to terms with owning a Maruti. But the Fronx clearly has cleared all my aspersions.

[SixPistons]

Congratulations. This is a great decision.
I have cotemplated making a quick switch too after the recent debacle. Even though the Fronx would be just a bigger Baleno on stilts, in addition to our humble 2016 Baleno, with lesser power than i20, I have contemplated switching to Fronx 1.0AT. I just can’t come to terms with owning a Maruti right now so delaying that thought.
I would stay away from OEM Covers. I have felt AutoForm/AutoForum have good material, fit and finish. I don’t have any contacts to share in this. You can check out a few options t at nearby accessories markets in the area I remember you had cancelled the booking with Karma Hyundai(I presume the one in Noida) so you can check out visit Bhikaji Cama Palace accessories market as well. You will find many options.

What tyres does Maruti provide on the Fronx?

Unrelated question:. Are you joining the TBHP Delhi-NCR Meet in first week of October?