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Old 8th November 2010, 10:09   #16
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The consideration set is wide apart and each has its pro's and con's. Hence, I think it might be useful for you to decide what your priorities are first;

1. Do you want a car or an SUV/MUV?
2. Whats the primary use you will put it to and on any typical day how many passengers do you expect to transport here and there?
3. How much mileage do you believe you will do in a month? - this will help you decide between petrol and diesel because while diesel fuel may be cheaper, the initial acquisition cost of a new diesel car is considerably higher than a similar petrol variant and is only justified if you do at least 40-50 km per day and of course if it motivates you to do more out of town trips than you currently do!
4. Do you have sufficient parking space?
5. Which would you feel more comfortable in, while navigating tight squeeze Cal traffic and non existent parking?

Try and answer these queries for yourself in as fair a manner as possible and you will be able to narrow down your consideration set and funnel it down to make a sensible happy decision!

Cheers!
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Old 10th November 2010, 09:51   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kadanaJ View Post

If you feel a sedan will have adequate room, also look at the SX4, after all it's supposed to have best-in-class Ground Clearance.

Kadana this is what i am precisely looking at now SX4 ZXI . reason being the ground clearance and also the safety features.

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Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post
The savings you'll make by running a diesel Vento will be offset by the higher service and maintenance costs vis-a-vis the ANHC. Both are good only for smooth roads, not to explore the NE or Ladakh. Styling is a personal choice, and is best left to the person actually owning and driving the car. For that matter, don't you like the SX4's styling?
Traveller I do like the sx4 styling but fyi the ones that we see on TV with the side skirting is not available with the dealers and if you haggle then they might sell the same to you for approx 30k. but even without it it does have a mighty presence to it.

Regarding vento in cal there is a 4 month waiting so i didn't bother talking much to the dealer and as i read somewhere only 54 outlets in India

City with safety features would require me to stretch my budget a littel too much which i am not sure whether i should go for now!

I went for a TD of the sx4 vxi yesterday. The ride qulity was excellent and other stuff. only thing is that sx4 probably has a poor mileage in comparison to it compatriots but i guess that is not a reason to let go of the car
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Old 10th November 2010, 10:16   #18
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I'd recommend the automatic version of the SX4.

AT is Comfortable for city traffic.
Sedan level comfort / ride.
Good enough ground clearance to handle bad roads.
Cheaper than the city - so the lesser FE gets compensated by initial savings.
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Old 10th November 2010, 10:24   #19
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For Ladakh has to be an SUV...
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Old 10th November 2010, 10:28   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vampire View Post
ANHC : 9.1

OPTRA : 8.1

SCORPIO : 9.6 (SLE - BS IV)

SAFARI : 8.5

VENTO : 7.8
Rolling with laughter... happy that yet another person is like me..

You may want to check my ownership thread because my considerations included ANHC, Vento, Safari and Xylo. I had excluded Scorpio because of space considerations.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...omes-home.html


Quote:
I went for a TD of the sx4 vxi yesterday. The ride qulity was excellent and other stuff. only thing is that sx4 probably has a poor mileage in comparison to it compatriots but i guess that is not a reason to let go of the car
mileage you get in SUV would be ~10 +/- 1-2 ? If this is main consideration stick with the likes of Vento. I dotnt think you can go with ANHC to Ladakh et all..

Last edited by druva : 10th November 2010 at 10:31.
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Old 10th November 2010, 11:13   #21
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@vampire

The spread of choice is indeed difficult to compare. Let's see how my post helps you decide.

I feel that the prices of Vento & Optra are for petrol variants, so are you considering diesel variants as well? Correct me if I missed something.

Now, 2 SUVs in your list are Safari and Scorpio. Questions you need to ask yourself- how much do you want to own an SUV?

How much parking space you have? (or are you OK with parking your vehicle in open area?)
What is split of your city driving, highway driving and North East or Ladakh driving? (Every one aims to conquer North East and Ladakh but how many times in your lifetime would your actually do it or are you a die hard fan to drive to Ladakh/North East) There is an answer to once in lifetime wish to conquer Ladakh, rent an SUV
Who is other driver in your family and what are their preferences? (as I understand you are a Marine Engineer, so who is going to drive the vehicle when you go on sail?)

Now after answering the questions above, you will have some shortlisted choices. Further go with a vehicle you like and not under influence of anyone else.

I saw some comments about dropping Optra from list but why? I bought Optra for 11.4 Lac (paying 20K more than ANHC AT) in Jul 2010 and I do not care if some thinks I did wrong, in their own way. I did not want to buy car to please others.

On lighter note: whoever thinks that Optra does not look good, the catch is that car is driven & enjoyed from inside. What is important- driving pleasure or pleasing fellow road users with looks of your car?

@nanduchitnis- please do not post one liners that do not add much value to the thread. Such instances are monitored closely by Mods and may attract infractions

Last edited by drive_or_die : 10th November 2010 at 11:25.
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Old 11th November 2010, 11:22   #22
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I've always insisted that, unless you need the space and / or AWD of an SUV, please choose a sedan. A C segment sedan like the ANHC / Vento / T-Jet will be:

- Immensely more satisfying to drive
- Better handling, braking and high speed stability
- Easier to drive within the city
- Way more fuel efficient
- Generally cheaper to own over a longer period

I understand you also plan to tour to Ladakh....But how many times? At the maximum, 5 times in 5 years? Just hire an SUV / MUV for that trip. That way, you'll have a better time the other 355 days of the year.
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Old 15th November 2010, 10:57   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
I've always insisted that, unless you need the space and / or AWD of an SUV, please choose a sedan. A C segment sedan like the ANHC / Vento / T-Jet .


Accepted GTO. Thing is that SUV should mostly be a second car unless one has ample of space and patience. Plus cal roads is something which is makeing me think twice. vento has a four month wait . IMO T-jet styling was not so good . ANHC model with safety features was crossing the 10L range so wasn't ready to shell out that much.
So taking everything in view i booked the sx4 zxi silky silver. The ride is really good plus i love the underbody clearance. Car should be here soon!!! would love to post the pics. any opinions guyz?
Actually i was driven a lot by GTO's sales figures which helped me figure out many things!!!


MODS : Please edit the subject to - BOOKED SX4
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Old 15th November 2010, 11:25   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vampire View Post
...i booked the sx4 zxi silky silver.
MODS : Please edit the subject to - BOOKED SX4
Let me be the first on T-BHP to congratulate you for the booking. Good to know you considered my recommendation. (The "I told you so" grin!!!)
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Old 15th November 2010, 11:36   #25
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Congrats Vampire.
I was in a similar confusion, but with a difference, I was testing a T-Jet instead of a optra and there is no safari in my list.

Finally decided on a T-Jet !!! Mainly because of the reason that GTO has mentioned.
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Old 15th November 2010, 12:17   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
I understand you also plan to tour to Ladakh....But how many times? At the maximum, 5 times in 5 years? Just hire an SUV / MUV for that trip. That way, you'll have a better time the other 355 days of the year.
Notwithstanding the immense respect we all have for you and your opinions, can I please disagree with your generalized comment above?
The unpredictable (bad, broken, pot-holed, non-existent, water-logged...) roads that we tend to face in India, make an SUV or MUV an ideal choice for a vehicle. If driven reasonably, it gives more peace of mind, more safety to passengers, albeit at slightly lesser comfort compared to a sedan. Also, you can wade through many of our water-logged city roads during rains, when lesser sedans would come to a sputtering halt.
It gives the owner the flexibility to enjoy certain lifestyle activities, that cannot be dreamt of in a sedan. By the way, how many places do we know, where we can go and Hire a 4x4 SUV, at whatsoever price?
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Old 15th November 2010, 13:09   #27
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From my perspective as a Scorpio owner/ daily drive user in a pretty crowded city like Bangalore, I would only add two more small things to your list below;

1. Preference for Diesel or Petrol (dictated by inherent fondness for doing regular long drive holidays (once in 2-3 months) and generally cheaper cost of diesel fuel)

2. how bad / pot-holed are the roads in your city (the innate high gc of an SUV will help if they are bad, like in Bangalore)

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
I've always insisted that, unless you need the space and / or AWD of an SUV, please choose a sedan.
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Old 16th November 2010, 10:19   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vampire View Post
Actually i was driven a lot by GTO's sales figures which helped me figure out many things!!!
Really? That's a first....deciding on a car based on the sales figures. I'd love to hear more on the reasoning.

Quote:
Originally Posted by roy_libran View Post
Notwithstanding the immense respect we all have for you and your opinions, can I please disagree with your generalized comment above?
Of course The beauty of a forum!

Quote:
The unpredictable (bad, broken, pot-holed, non-existent, water-logged...) roads that we tend to face in India, make an SUV or MUV an ideal choice for a vehicle.
Agreed. But it really depends on how bad the roads you use frequently are. Infrastructure in MH is improving by the day, and I have never stopped short of visiting a place in my regular sedans. They were just fine at the end of the drive too.

Again, I reiterate that someone should buy an SUV over a sedan if they need:

- The extra space
- AWD
- Frequently travel on completely broken roads

Quote:
If driven reasonably, it gives more peace of mind, more safety to passengers, albeit at slightly lesser comfort compared to a sedan.
A sedan has better handling, thus I could argue with your safety point. A Vento can manage an emergency manouveur 10X better than a Scorpio.
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Old 16th November 2010, 12:02   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Agreed. But it really depends on how bad the roads you use frequently are. Infrastructure in MH is improving by the day, and I have never stopped short of visiting a place in my regular sedans. They were just fine at the end of the drive too.

A sedan has better handling, thus I could argue with your safety point. A Vento can manage an emergency manouveur 10X better than a Scorpio.
1. You should try the roads up North sometime. Haryana, UP, etc... You might get surprised. I know it is a different story in MH and GUJ.
2. My opening statement was - "If driven reasonably...". But -
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Old 17th November 2010, 11:14   #30
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@vampire - I had a similar dilemma last year and finally ended up buying Manza. I had shortlisted everything from Dzire to Corolla. But as the days progressed, my head took control of my heart and i quickly dropped certain cars (not because they were incapable but they didn't serve 'my' purpose)
In your case as well, you have 3 Sedans and 2 SUVs.

As rightly pointed out by GTO and other fellow BHPians, its better to answer certain questions yourself on why would you need a 'SUV over a Sedan' or the Vice-versa. Some of the questions around daily usage, your needs, kmpl, safety, etc should help you shortlist the selection.

The perception (when i hear to some of my family members) is that an SUV is safer than Sedan however i beg to differ from them.

Since you are spending 9+ Lacs on-road for a 4 wheeler, it's better you take an informed decision since the cost of owning the car doesn't end with buying.. Infact thats the start !!!
These days most of the cars are quite nicely engineered (else they won't sell) and serves most of our daily purpose (for a person like me who does Home-Office-Home for 330 days a year and some short vacations).
And when i goto some fishing camps or to jungle resorts, I prefer to rent SUVs from car rentals like Avis or Budget !!!

I would advice you to broaden your search to include SX4, Manza, Verna to your research list. (With confirmed news of Fiesta launching All-new model in 2011, it may not be wise to invest in it now since the new one looks very promising.)

Do keep us posted on how the TDs are progressing (since dealer experience is gaining great significance in the last 3-4 years) and A.S.S (again customer service doesn't stop at selling a product, that where it begins)...

Best of luck to your search, hope you find the best one soon.
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