[Vijay T]

Voted for 30 lac Desi variants.

Have experienced Desi brand Mahindra for last 16 years in 2cars with good resale value.

Both have aged well without any unforeseen breakdowns.

Maintenance bills absolutely minimum.

Also after reading many threads on failures on New German cars & horror stories of maintenance bills,it is prudent to go for Desi 30 lac car.

[Livnletcarsliv]

Firstly, I don't think you can buy a luxury brand (entry model) for 50L. The closest you may get is an Audi but that too the entry level variant.

Secondly, your requirements/questions have the answers within. Resale, reliability, bang for buck means NON-LUXURY brands.

In addition, plush ride and quiet cabin is very much subjective and depends on what you are comparing to. A Hyrcross/Tucson Petrol/Kodiaq/700 Petrol/Seltos/Carens/Hyryder Hybrid are all quite inside-out. For that matter, an EV (Nexon/ZS EV/Atto 3/Ioniq 5/EV6) are quieter than any of the luxury brands' ICE models.

More than that, since you are going to use the car >90% inside the NCR region, a diesel doesn't make sense at all. Only an EV and petrol makes sense in the same order.

However, please take extensive TD's before since you are very specific on plush ride and silent cabin. These may be your options - 700 Petrol, Hycross Hybrid, Tucson Petrol, Tiguan/Kodiaq Petrol, ZS EV, Atto 3, Ioniq 5, etc.

[Downshift98]

Originally Posted by Guri

Probably my first post in Team-BHP.

Out in the market for a car with a plush ride and the best bang for the buck. Confused between the two-segments - desi/local stuff like Harrier and XUV D vs good discounts from Audi, Merc, Volvo, or BMW.

Looking for a plush ride and quiet cabin, peace of mind, and good resale. I'm in NCR and 90% of usage is on Gurgaon's broken roads or with back-breaking unscientifically designed car breakers or rumble strips which are sprucing here and there daily.

Any rational thoughts and perspectives will be highly solicited here. Are cars with great discounts worthy of meeting my expectations?

Just giving my perspective here - Entry-level German cars have competent rivals within their own stables. It's just a matter of the badge and "luxury". Quality levels are top-notch even in the likes of Skoda/VW.

The way I see it is, If I can get a bigger engine and gearbox combo or a better chassis setup I am open to pay more and get into the luxury segment. I don't want to pay just for the badge and also the extra service cost. Even if they come with huge discounts, the equipment list on these entry-level luxury cars is not in par with say 20L cars (such as ventilated seats etc).

Badge value does mean a lot for a lot of people in terms of accomplishment and satisfaction which gives an "I made it " feel. It's a huge motivating factor and paying more for this cannot be quantified. Entry level luxury also makes sense when you want to stick to the same segment (A,B, C,D) and move up the ladder. Say for a person driving a Verna wants an upgrade, but would like to stick to similar dimensions of the car, 2 series/ A class would make sense.

My suggestion to you is, since you have your requirements set straight to have a good suspension set up and having luxury in mind, Kodiaq with its DCC is amazing and you hardly feel the thuds from the roads. I felt it was more sophisticated than XUV/Safari's. The differentiating factor between XUV/Safari and Kodiaq are interior quality, fit and finish, quicker gearbox and better Quality Control from factory for a peace of mind ownership. Kodiaq sell’s less than XUV/Safari which may give you sense of uniqueness on the road. You can keep the car for a long time without getting bored of the car as there are slue of mods available VW parts bin if you are open to it after the warranty period. On the other hand you get longer warranty options from Skoda for upto 6/7 years.

I am assuming you are interested only in petrol if not I would have suggested you take a look at Tuscon diesel. Tiguan also makes sense but when you compare it with Kodiaq it has standard dampers. Tiguan is less expensive which means more value for money (compared to Kodiaq ofcourse).

Hope this helps!

[Guri]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the thread and shared their perspectives or preferences. If I were to summarize then there are distributed thoughts from fellow BHPians:
1. Spending money is not wise on luxury cars especially if the cost of acquisition is upwards of 30L as the first bracket and then next is 45L. A strict no for luxury spending.
2. ASS is bad with desi brands and likes of Jeep, Hyundai, and Skoda and yet a better/smarter choice than spending money on luxury brand
3. Badge value is not a great puller - more grey matter than heart!
4. Ride quality and comfort is not a key preference for maximum folks out there
5. The EV story is not even on anyone's horizon. (when I bought Vento in 2016, I imagined that my next purchase in 2019 would be of EV and I ended up buying Octavia L&K Petrol with the same imagination. Albeit, nothing much has changed even in 2023 except if one is ready to shell out close to 1Cr.
6. I, intentionally, missed the Jeep, Tucson, and Skoda for the same reason as they bring more confusion than any advantage in decision-making.
7. Kodiaq would have been a choice had it been a fresh model.

Way Forward:
So far A4 was/is on my radar - best ride quality and cabin. Though it is dated and deprived of technology/features. Similar feedback for Q3 with a more outdated cabin.
With a pinch of salt, this may be a ride of my choice or Tucson with a tire upgrade to Continental and insulation on the wheel well and other areas.

I look forward to your solution and technology for aftermarket changes in Tucson (I rarely rev the engine for long, hence the paddle shifter can be managed with manual, though I love the paddle shifter in my Octavia)

Happy and safe riding!

[Maverick1918]

I had a similar conundrum for my brother a couple of months ago.

One thing I found very relevant was considering what I am driving now. If you do not have experience with expensive German cars go for the XUV700, then gradually step up. The expensive cars can get a pain if you do not have experience with them.

We ended up getting the XUV700 and couldn't be happier.

[himanshu_trikha]

I test drove Tiguan yesterday for a good 10 kilometers and was quite impressed by overall build quality and engine response.The

The current deal in Delhi is ~33 Lakhs OTR with BH registration , marking it quite close to desi SUVs.

[Guri]

Dear mobility enthusiasts, sharing an update for a query I posted, which eventually turned into a thread, etc, thanks to our admin and the folks for the same.

Finally took the plunge or if I may say honestly, a leap of faith, with Petrol X1 White color.
Introducing my choice of mobility BMW X1 Petrol M Sport. I love naming my mobility devices - I named it Athena, The White Athena.

Replaced my 2019 L&K Petrol Octavia with X1 at the expense of one family trip to Europe.

Decision making - more of elimination than choice of the plenty. Bad for consumers in NCR especially with deisal fuss.

Head said to go for Harrier. The trade-off was 20+L savings vs the following:

1 Petrol and fun to drive
2. A far better quality car with better boot space. Yes, it is a key feature - Golfers know the pain of a smaller boot space :(
3. BH Series helped me save a couple of lakhs to cover the delta in the planned budget. The 360 Finance plan of BMW helped me to cover the delta of another 18L in my budget. Honest feeling - I have the feeling that I have postponed the delta of 20L to 2028 Nov when this plan expires and I have to cough up the money to continue the ownership or exchange with another Beemer.
4. ASS for Tata and Mahindra. This topic I would like to delve more into this as one of the key requirements for owning a car - especially when the peace of mind is more critical than a piece of metal junk which occupies the mind and consumes time alike.
5. XUV700 D was the contender but with a hyped waiting list, ASS, the attitude of Mahindra including salespersons with their tricky conversations of availability of XUV, etc simply put me off.
6. Tucson D was ruled out by the following criteria - quiet cabin, tire noise, diesel issue in NCR, and 37L(after discount) of brand value with an upgrade on the horizon.
7. Jepp Compass was a close contender however ASS, resale, and diesel issues in NCR made the decision tilt towards X1
8. Learning that petrol heads of Tucson and XUV provide a mileage of 6-7Kms in city was also a big NO

so fellow BHPians, here is my heart/brain or math behind the choice/decision.
Now I hope that I'm lucky and the stars and heaven bless me with a good experience.

More to come on the X1 experience. Happy and safe motoring!

[Guri]

Originally Posted by Livnletcarsliv

Firstly, I don't think you can buy a luxury brand (entry model) for 50L. The closest you may get is an Audi but that too the entry level variant.

Secondly, your requirements/questions have the answers within. Resale, reliability, bang for buck means NON-LUXURY brands.

In addition, plush ride and quiet cabin is very much subjective and depends on what you are comparing to. A Hyrcross/Tucson Petrol/Kodiaq/700 Petrol/Seltos/Carens/Hyryder Hybrid are all quite inside-out. For that matter, an EV (Nexon/ZS EV/Atto 3/Ioniq 5/EV6) are quieter than any of the luxury brands' ICE models.

More than that, since you are going to use the car >90% inside the NCR region, a diesel doesn't make sense at all. Only an EV and petrol makes sense in the same order.

However, please take extensive TD's before since you are very specific on plush ride and silent cabin. These may be your options - 700 Petrol, Hycross Hybrid, Tucson Petrol, Tiguan/Kodiaq Petrol, ZS EV, Atto 3, Ioniq 5, etc.

Thanks!
The list of the cars mentioned above falters either in the quietness quotient or ride quality. Like ZS EV, Ioniq 5 had such a bad ride quality, especially handling bad roads and humps including tire noise filtering into the cabin. Tucson, Tiguan, and Kodiaq would have been a choice but they are getting refreshed in mid-2024 onwards. For me -the benchmark of ride quality is of A4 including quietness. Unfortunately, it is dated like other cars of the VW family mentioned above.

Originally Posted by himanshu_trikha

I test drove Tiguan yesterday for a good 10 kilometers and was quite impressed by overall build quality and engine response.The

The current deal in Delhi is ~33 Lakhs OTR with BH registration , marking it quite close to desi SUVs.

Indeed, a better time to buy vehicles, after three years of mayhem in the auto sector.

Such discounts make the story interesting for buyers out in the market and pricing comes close to Indian auto manufacturers.

My test drive of Tiguan gave me feedback on the ride comfort as " stiff suspension and poor ride comfort".

Originally Posted by Downshift98

My suggestion to you is, since you have your requirements set straight to have a good suspension set up and having luxury in mind, Kodiaq with its DCC is amazing and you hardly feel the thuds from the roads. I felt it was more sophisticated than XUV/Safari's. The differentiating factor between XUV/Safari and Kodiaq are interior quality, fit and finish, quicker gearbox and better Quality Control from factory for a peace of mind ownership. Kodiaq sell’s less than XUV/Safari which may give you sense of uniqueness on the road. You can keep the car for a long time without getting bored of the car as there are slue of mods available VW parts bin if you are open to it after the warranty period. On the other hand you get longer warranty options from Skoda for upto 6/7 years.

Thanks for your input.
Coming from Octavia 2019 L&K Petrol; Kodiaq was my natural choice. I enjoyed my Octavia - perfect bang for the buck with all checks in place (except the low GC). I dropped Kodiaq for three major reasons, I don't enjoy the looks and somehow felt so out of the league with bad taste for 46L OTR. Secondly, it is outdated in almost all areas like tech, interiors, etc and the next model will be there by the end of 2024. Thirdly, the poor resale value.