[naru]

The requirement: driving pleasure
The budget: Rs5-6 lakh
The useage: not much, 30-40 km/day. rare weekend drives

For a friend. which car should he be looking at?

[McLaren Rulez]

If you're open to considering cars used, any of the cars from this list would do. From the lot, I recommend the Octy 1.8.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...pees-less.html

[headers]

Originally Posted by naru

The requirement: driving pleasure
The budget: Rs5-6 lakh
The useage: not much, 30-40 km/day. rare weekend drives

For a friend. which car should he be looking at?

Maruti Esteem MPFi or SWIFT Petrol

[Sheel]

If its new--(i feel so)
Suzuki Swift 1.2K

old-- there are pretty good ones, have a look here--
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...pees-less.html

[Amit Taneja]

seems your friend has more of a functional driving (only 30-40 km / day and rarely weekend). Ideally should be a new car as would keep your friend away from frequent visits to the garage / higher servicing bills. new swift kb 12 wins hands down.

[subscrive]

Palio 1.6 Stile Sports!

Price 443595 + other stuff = in your budget.

http://www.fiat-india.com/features.a...&c=y&ModelId=1

Discussion ends, Thread closes!

[sachinj12]

Diesel would be better for such an useage pattern. Hands down Swift Diesel. Look no further. Or Grande Punto if you can take a little risk with A.S.S

[GTO]

Brand new:

- Swift P or D. The new K series engine rocks

- Punto 1.4. Decent punch but excellent steering, ride & handling

- Wait for the Polo & Figo 1.6

Used:

As Mclaren suggested, this thread is your best friend. The Accord V6 & RS are top favorites. Wait for a bit and you'll see '06 Civics going for 6 lakhs too.

[nutcracker]

+1 for Punto. Plus you gotta love the way the Punto handles our Indian potholes and speed breakers. Its exceptionally smooth and solid.

[lifeonwheels]

If it's sheer driving pleasure that your friend is looking for then the thread mentioned above would be of great help. IMHO a used Mitsubishi Cedia would be a great buy. It would pamper you as well as provide a joyful driving experience and low resale value means you can get a very good car, less used for very less money. you could also look at a used Fiesta 1.6, another great driver's car.

[naru]

Thanks for all the replies.

We've shortlisted three candidates:

1 Used Palio 1.6 -- went through the forum and saw some awesome deals members have got. Anything for around 1.5 lakh will mean plenty left over for mods/ICE. Anyone know someone who's got one and is interested in selling?

(is the Petra the same performance-wise? A guy we know owns one and may be willing to sell...but it's in bad shape, just about 4 years old and the paint's totally peeling off.)

2 Swift -- but can a 1.2 (not looking at diesel as the usage doesn't demand one) be more powerful than a 1.6? will see -- have booked a test drive.

3 Octavia vRS/Accord V6 -- again, any leads will be greatly appreciated.
a car in this segment is hugely tempting, but fuel efficiency's a concern.
For curiosity's sake, how much's the power affected by CNG/LPG? Does it make any sense whatsoever to have a CNG fitted V6??

--In no hurry, so will also wait for the Figo 1.6

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by naru

.

3 Octavia vRS/Accord V6 -- again, any leads will be greatly appreciated.
a car in this segment is hugely tempting, but fuel efficiency's a concern.
For curiosity's sake, how much's the power affected by CNG/LPG? Does it make any sense whatsoever to have a CNG fitted V6??

--In no hurry, so will also wait for the Figo 1.6

v6 with cng?? NO please. if decent mileage is needed then forget the v6. in delhi it will probably give about 6.5 tops. the rs will be a better option but the maintenance could be heavy.

[bbkp]

Originally Posted by naru

Thanks for all the replies.


2 Swift -- but can a 1.2 (not looking at diesel as the usage doesn't demand one) be more powerful than a 1.6? will see -- have booked a test drive.

3 Octavia vRS/Accord V6 -- again, any leads will be greatly appreciated.
a car in this segment is hugely tempting, but fuel efficiency's a concern.
For curiosity's sake, how much's the power affected by CNG/LPG? Does it make any sense whatsoever to have a CNG fitted V6??

--In no hurry, so will also wait for the Figo 1.6

Yes - the Swift 1.2 is equally powerful than the 1.6 Palio - Swift 1.2 is a DOHC and is a totally different technology when compared to 1.6 Palio.

If you get into drag race mode, the Palio will beat the Swift by a couple of milliseconds - but you need to consider other factors.

- Maintaining a Swift is the easiest thing in India, not a Palio.
- With Grande Punto being the current focus of Fiat, Palio might be discontinued. It is also one generation less than the Punto.
- Swift 1.2 is the latest engine that satisfies all the emission norms.
- Palio is also going to give you heavier fuel bills - it yields a mileage of around 9 kmpl. Swift will sure give you a mileage of 13-14 kmpl.

Coming to the fuels department now. Alternate fuels are for those who use their car a lot - something like 60-70 kms a day. For them, cost of fuel is what matters and performance is secondary. CNG / LPG conversions invariably bring about 10-15% drop in performance - this is best possible scenario - it can be as horrible as 30-40% drop in performance. For your usage, just forget it and stick to Petrol / diesel.

Talking about driving pleasure, why not consider a diesel car. Diesel cars are more torquey and this matters a lot. The best diesel car according to me in your budget range are GETZ CDRI and Swift Diesel - Between the two, I would vote for GETZ CDRI as it is much more spacious, luxurious and comfortable than the Swift Diesel. Swift is slightly cramped for space.

To summarise - go for either Swift / Getz depending upon your choice of fuels - for your usage, either petrol / diesel would suit. Don't consider alternate fuels (CNG / LPG). Finally, a little bird whispered me in my ears that the petrol prices are due for a hike

Cheers,
bbkp

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by bbkp

Yes - the Swift 1.2 is equally powerful than the 1.6 Palio - Swift 1.2 is a DOHC and is a totally different technology when compared to 1.6 Palio.
If you get into drag race mode, the Palio will beat the Swift by a couple of milliseconds - but you need to consider other factors.

I doubt this. I haven't compared both in a drag race or anything to check how many millisecond difference they have, but have driven both. Palio 1.6 felt really good in Performance and handling than Swift.

And hello? Palio 1.6 is a DOHC engine. Please get your facts right before posting.

If driving pleasure is the key, Palio 1.6 beats Swift and there's absolutely no doubt about it.

@naru: If by any chance your friend ends up with these two cars and finds hard to decide, just take a good test drive of both. He will buy the 1.6. I am not even recommending, he will decide for himself. Yeah, your friend's only criterion is driving pleasure.. other aspects like maintaining it and all will be difficult than a Swift, as mentioned above.

And don't even think about the Getz CRDi. Driving pleasure -> good handler -> not Getz!

Originally Posted by bbkp

Talking about driving pleasure, why not consider a diesel car. Diesel cars are more torquey and this matters a lot. The best diesel car according to me in your budget range are GETZ CDRI and Swift Diesel - Between the two, I would vote for GETZ CDRI as it is much more spacious, luxurious and comfortable than the Swift Diesel. Swift is slightly cramped for space.

His one and only criterion is driving pleasure mate! Not space!

[Gansan]

How about a Hyundai Getz diesel / Elantra GT?