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Hey BHPians, hope you all had a good week.

My friend's son, who is around 24 years, has now decided to buy himself a car. He is an IT professional, who has been working for around a year, and has a decent income.

He too is an enthusiast, and even though he is not a member, he follows the forum regularly. This post was requested on behalf of him. He is a person who loves driving MT cars. A bit of backstory: His dad (my friend) owns a Seltos IVT, and he drives it, just like when he is present (for the lack of a better word, like how a son drives his dad's car). He now desires a car for himself that he can enjoy. He is planning to pay all by himself (or at least 90-95%) and not rely on parents / relatives.

He has 3-4 cars on his mind, some are as below:

1) Virtus / Slavia 1.0 MT: He absolutely loves both these, and is planning to go for the Highline / Ambition variant for the analog dials. But, his conundrum resonates with car number 2, as below.

2) VW Taigun GT 1.5 MT: He is confused whether he should take the 1.5 MT. He is worried if it is too powerful for a first car, but he absolutely loves the engine. The only concern is, first car + 150 BHP = mess?

3) Maruti Suzuki Swift: He is enthralled by the low seating position and sporty dynamics, but is slightly concerned by the engine. He has not taken a test drive yet, but he feels that turbo engines work better with him.

4) Tata Altroz 1.5 Diesel: He likes the power and torque of the diesel mill, and it is a user friendly car too. But, he is worried about missing out on the Turbo-Petrols of the VAG.

5) Maruti Suzuki Fronx 1.0L Turbo: This is also a car he liked, and is willing to give it a chance too.

So, what are your views? What car do you think he needs to pick? Please do provide your insights on this matter, all help is greatly appreciated. :thumbs up

Maruti Suzuki Fronx Turbo !
Comfortable dimensions, good ground clearance and that enthusiastic engine all backed by service of Maruti.

Superb. Amongst the above, I would shut my eyes and go straight for the Fronx Turbo. Its a beauty. Especially in pure white and that dark blue.
Its a nice good looking, reaaonably chuckable, well appointed medium hatch and should give him a great deal of fun.

The Maruti Fronx Turbo is a great first car, from both driving and financial (read: lighter wallet) POV :thumbs up.

If looking for a used car, Fronx would still be the top choice, and if he is looking specifically for a VAG car, Polo 1.0 TSi is also worth considering.

Surprised to see no mention of the i20 N Line here. This nice little warm hatch will leave him grinning from ear to ear in MT guise. It is a great car to start with, and comes backed by Hyundai's strong after-sales too.

Mahindra turbo-petrols can also be considered if he's willing to look beyond hatchbacks and sedans. The 3-door Thar petrol is immense fun, and so is the XUV3xo. That said, AT is the way to go in case of Mahindra cars as their manuals can be really disappointing. If MT is non-negotiable, give Mahindra a pass and pick from i20 N Line or Fronx.

As he has no particular choice on the body type and he is looking from hatchbacks to sedans to crossovers, my suggestion will be the Kylaq 1.0MT.

This car has proved itself in track timings too.
The Kylaq will be easy on the pocket, as it will be approximately 40% cheaper than the Taigun 1.5MT, but it will match more than 90% of the Taigun 1.5’s performance.

Plus the kylaq offers very good handling and comfort.

The shorter dimension will ensure that it will be easy to drive and park in congested cities.

On top of these, the 5* safety ratings can’t be ignored either!

Among the cars shortlisted by him, the Kylaq will be the most fun to drive car, barring the Taigun 1.5 MT.

Thanks guys, will ask him to check out the Fronx once again. He liked it, but he preferred a sedan or a hatchback, especially since the Fronx looks like a jacked up pseudo SUV.

He did not consider it I guess, will recommend it to him. I too do like the i20 N-Line MT, its good fun to drive.

He did not want ATs, he wanted MTs only. He's pretty new to driving, so a Thar would probably not be the first car to buy. But, he also said that he liked the 3XO diesel MT. He left it only because his heart craved for a hatchback / sedan.

He did consider the Kylaq. But, in the Ambition trim, it has analog dials but a small touchscreen. In the Signature trim, it has a big touchscreen, but digital dials. He is a little picky, I know, but what can I say? Features and classiness should go hand-in-hand according to him. To give a comparo to that, was the VAG cars in their 1L guise was considered.

One more major question: How much power should a first car ideally have? He loves the turbo cars, but is worried if it might be too much power. If BHPians could comment on that, it would be really helpful. :thumbs up

Indeed the Hyundai N Line MT is an interesting car. Its got nice dynamics and is a good looker too.


The Hyundai Verna 1.5 Turbo is a superb car. It handles excellently, is powerful, well-appointed, good looking, has good features and comforts and so on.


He might also want to ‘just test/ try’ a Jimny Manual - it is great fun in its manual avatar and being a nice 1.5 litre 4 cylinder naturally aspirated engine with good gear ratios, makes one ‘row through to keep in the rev band and this gives the feeling of fast, active, involved driving.

(Had many of our generation been able to, at his present age, we’d have loved to own a Gypsy…)



I don't think he should worry about the power overmuch because he will ‘get the feel’ pretty quiclkly, being an ‘enthusiast’.

Please also have your friend screen our curated list of fun-to-drive cars - thread link.

Drop the Swift & Altroz from your list. He can clearly afford / buy better cars.

- The Virtus or Slavia 1.5L Petrol. Absolute joy to drive. Top choice here.

- Fronx 1.0 Turbo: Fast, fun, chuckable, compact...if he wants to save some cash over the Virtus.

- i20 N-Line or a fast EV like the Currv EV (test-drive it, you'll fall in love)

Have fun TD'ing all these cars and come back to us with post-drive feedback. Happy shopping to your friend, it's a great time to be in the market.

Have a look at the Skoda Kylaq - faster than the Virtus and Slavia 1.5’s and the i20 N line - handles better than all of them as per the track day results with Narain Karthikeyan. Probably the best reasonably priced enthusiast car.



Looks good in black too.

New:
1. Citroen C3 Turbo Petrol Manual top variant

Used:
1. VW Polo TSi 1.0 L Manual
2. BMW 3-series (F30) Diesel or Petrol. He will not miss the manual. Plenty of good and well maintained F30's are available around the 12-14 lakh rupee mark.

Drive safe!
Best,

Having driven the Kylaq 1.0 TSI MT extensively during the press drive in Goa, I can confirm that it’s a fabulous car to drive and fairly light on the pocket to buy / maintain. The compact dimensions and added ground clearance is a big bonus, in terms of practicality.

Alternatively, he could consider the i20 N-Line MT, if he likes a little bit of drama (burbly exhaust note and firm+sporty ride.

If he is open to used cars, he should consider a Polo 1.0 TSI MT if he can find a lightly used example.

Hey MG Astor, I can relate to the views of your friend's son as well because I too purchased my first car around that age group. Is he looking only at new cars or is he open to used as well?

Since quite a few members hae already mentioned about the new cars available in India, I'd suggest a few used ones too which might help if he 's an enthusiast and will encourage him to learn more about cars.

1. Ignis(new or used) is better to pick new, but this car is fun to drive, frugal, compact and has good mod potential. Of course service costs are reasonable. Only bummer is safety rating.

2. Skoda Rapid Diesel or Polo TDI/TSI. Apt for a mid 20's person but if too much travel is involved, he can consider a used kushaq or a new kylaq.

3. The Ford BS4 Diesels. Figo triplets(Figo post 2015,Aspire and Freestyle) are available for the price of an alto in the used market, however do check the service history and then pick a Ford. I've seen people sell their ecosports and buy back another EcoSport, so ecosport is a great choice for a first time car owner as it's fun to drive, efficient, frugal on the wallet and can travel anywhere. However, well kept ecosport diesels command a good premium and a decent one is available between 8-9L.

4. Jeep compass Diesel (used jeep compasses are available for very attractive prices) is another driver's delight but maintenance is slightly on the higher side which is okay for a car of that segment.

5. Scross 1.3 or 1.6. Both are excellent engines and a rare maruti to drive well and build quality is good.

On a side note, once you drive a tuned diesel car, there's no turning back! That was the first thing I did as soon as I purchased my car.

Good luck!

If he has basic driving experience, the 1.5 should be easy to manage. I would recommend it over the N-Line since the I20 only has a 3 star safety rating. However, as a first car, I would always recommend a basic used car. It will essentially have to be a beater car he can manage a few dents with. I am not saying major accidents, just dents and scratches that happen in the initial stages.

If he would rather spend on those kinds of repairs, then a new 1.5 virtus or slavia. I don't recommend the manual version. Enthusiast or not, a manual will be a pain in a metro city. He may be enamored initially, but unless he plans to get a daily driver within a year, the manual experience will quickly tire him out and he will start looking for automatic options.

To sum up, a used cheap car like swift to practice driving, or an automatic 1.5 virtus or slavia. 150 bhp is not a lot of power, unless the new driver is still confused between the accelerator and the brake. if anything, it is a good introduction to a good driver's car.

As a new driver, he should test drive everything on a nearby twisty road and buy whatever clicks. Because something that might not bother an experienced driver, like a slightly vague (Fronx) or overly light (Virtus) steering might be a huge obstacle for a new driver.

In my time as a beginner corner-carver, the difference in steering feel between a hydraulic Corsa and electric City was too huge to ignore, even if the City was a sharper and more stable chassis. Later I was able to exploit EPS cars as well, but it was a process getting there.