[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?

[beemer5499]

Originally Posted by Guri

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

AFAIK, the entry level Merc, Volvo and BMW (I do not consider the 2 series) models are not available in the lower 40s even after discounts.

Audi A4 and Q3 might be available in the lower to mid 40s still and they are great cars for NCR given the suspension setup. Also the engine and gearbox tuning is great. Q3 might be a better choice for you if you often drive on broken and sometimes waterlogged roads off Gurgaon though the Q3 has a lesser interior quality if compared to the A4.

As for Harrier, I would not consider it given the horror stories of Tata Aftersales Service and the absence of a petrol engine as it doesn’t make sense to buy a diesel while living in NCR.

The XUV 700 is a great car with a great engine but obviously the interior quality and the luxury feel cannot be compared with the Germans. Also the price has increased by a lot since launch and it still has the typical Mahindra niggles.

Other cars that you can look at are the Hyundai Tucson and the Skoda Kodiaq as well as Volkswagen Tiguan if a luxury badge is not a must.

[Guri]

Originally Posted by beemer5499

I feel that you are mistaking the Premium variant pricing for the premium plus variant pricing...

The other challange is to take the plunge to 50L+ OTR of these cars for 10 years vs 30L of Tata/Mahindra D for 5 years with average interiors/feeling. At times with hit or miss ASS of Tata/Mahindra. One rational thought is there in one X1 D one can afford one Harrier + one XUV

[Aditya]

Spend 30-lakhs on XUV700 / Safari, or spend 50-lakhs on entry-luxury cars - Posts moved to a new thread.

[heydj]

There is a gap of 20L between 30 & 50. Also consider service cost and ownership cost of 50L cars over 30L. Quickly all of this adds up and answer becomes complicated.

Then consider extra loan amount in terms of interest paid on 20L and thar is another cost.

[raptor_diwan]

Investing 30 lakhs in a product with a few niggles and an additional 20 lakhs for standard ( Quality ) features, I would recommend opting for entry-level luxury cars. Considering your requirements for resale value, perfect suspension, peace of mind, and a quiet cabin, spending an extra 20 lakhs will not disappoint you in any way.

[Satkaj]

If you are happy with XUV 700 / Safari , you should avoid stepping in to Luxury zone. As that zone comes with its own set of expectations, expenses, up grade dilemma etc. You can enjoy that zone only if gap of 20L and the extra maintenance expense does not trouble your daily life balance.

[youknowitbetter]

Interesting poll and a thread. I would go with desi option of spending less (since you clearly are okay doing so) even more so if you will be driven around. Another option will be to consider pre-owned entry level luxury cars as they can be petrol and may last you longer than the 5 year period that you are looking at (in case of desi options).

[ike]

Given that most of the usage is in the city, why not a used luxury car, entry level or otherwise? NCR I understand is the biggest preowned market and I'm sure you would be able to find something nice at less than the price of a new Harrier/XUV. The remaining amount can be parked for maintenance.

[noufal.ps]

As long as you're okay to average annual maintenance of 50k, get a new entry level luxury. The feel is different, no niggles, exclusivity on road, peace of mind dealing with ASC and insurance (yeah they treat to well) and YOLO.

the insurance and tyre cost will be similar range. However not battery and brake pads- which we covered in above 50k

[ShivrajG]

Voted for XUV700/ harrier.
I got my vehicle xuv700 D AX7 L AWD delivered in oct end and have already done pune to prayagraj and back. The vehicle performance is exceptional and road manners are good. NVH are best in the category. I would never go for an entry level luxury as same engine, power specs are there in 30 L bracket. But then its my opinion.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by Guri

Probably my first post in Team-BHP.


Looking for a plush ride and quiet cabin, peace of mind, and good resale.

My vote is for the Hycross, with some aftermarket sound damping material added. Ticks all your boxes

[FASTLIFE]

Just try the Newly launched Jeep Compass FWD cars, starts from 22.5 lacs ex showroom and you won't be disappointed by the badge value or the safety or features. Do try the Harrier but buy it after 6 months/1 year later if you can wait. Same engine of Compass and Gearbox of Hyundai Tucson (AT) . Best of both worlds

[Cresterk]

I was faced with a similar decision this year. I decided not to go for the entry level luxury models and I think I made the right choice. Yes, they are opulent and have much better interiors and what not. But they are also fragile and not really suited for our road and traffic conditions. You can travel in absolute bliss for maybe 30% of your journey and utter misery for the remaining 70%. Or you can just buy a decent car from a more mainstream brand and travel in reasonable comfort for 90% of your journey.

Most luxury car owners, even enthusiasts here in teambhp barely put any kind of mileage on their car. Buy it only if you have disposable income and want a toy to play around with.

[gautam109]

Ironically, a close friend of mine who had an Audi Q3 for about 5 years recently sold it off and "downgraded" to an XUV 700.

From the 4th or 5th year onwards, he was getting repeated breakdown issues, poor ASS experience and expensive repair bills on his Audi. He had repeated suspension, braking and steering/alignment issues which took 2-3 tries to properly diagnose and solve. Parts were replaced (out of warranty) without actually solving anything. The car would be checked, clean bill given and something would break next week or month after check-up.

The final nail in the coffin: he was quoted 5 lac+ for repairs, which was downgraded to 2.5 lacs+ after escalating and even after this, the car did not handle anything like before.

His conclusion, at least w.r.t. his car was that:

1. Despite being a marquee German luxury car, it has not aged well
2. Anytime there is a problem, the service center just wants to replace parts, seemingly at random, at atrocious prices, and hope it solves the problem vs actually doing a root cause diagnosis and fix

While his experience may not be typical of the brand, his experience led him to write off the entire German luxury segment and switch to an XUV 700. He's owned it for a bit less than a year and has had a good experience. The ride is nothing like a brand new Q3, but is quite good and far better than his 5 year old Q3. He also believes that the XUV's longevity & ASS quality cannot be worse than what he experienced with his Audi, DESPITE shelling out a huge premium.