[Steer4Ever]

Hello to the venerable forum!

Finally signed on after being a grateful beneficiary of sage advice for over 6 years now.

It helped me buy my first love - the Palio 1.2 ELX (used again!) which lit my life up for 6 years.

Thanks to this forum and the car I was able to get a small education on cars and understand exactly what I love about them.

And yet I made the mistake. I gave my Palio to a junior colleague and bought an ANHC. The car has it's pluses - lovely comfort and great interiors - good reliable engine.

But gone was the intimate connect with the car - the feedback from the tarmac, the solid, steady, secure steering, the high speed bliss of feeling planted at 150 kph, the bad-road conquests which dear old Palio had campaigned with aplomb.

So duly sold the car at a decent price, and on the lookout for either a palio 1.6 or a Lancer GLXi. I've seen one of each.

The Lancer seems to score very high on stability, handling and comfort, with quite a steady power/torque distribution across gears. Behaved pretty well in traffic as well.

The Palio felt a little more raw in it's power, great pull again, including the third gear, superb external styling.

They seem to provide similar FE, and are similarly moddable (I'm only thinking very basic mods - spoiler, wider tyres, free flow exhaust, air filter. A** seems similar too - neither is brilliant but not pathetic either.

- My mind seems to be tilting in favor of the Lancer. Please let me know if I am overlooking something important of if you have any other suggestions.

Thanks in advance!
Krishna

[mb_jg]

The used car market has a mammoth choice. Any particular reason, other than handling, that you are restricting your car choice?

[sreedotk]

If cost is the factor then these two cars are good choices . You could also consider a Fiesta 1.6 if you can get one or the Cedia too. It would probably be up to your tastes

[Ripper]

I have a 2000 lancer glxi and a 2003 palio 1.2 elx. Of the 2 my vote goes to the lancer. The reasons are many , to start with
1) Lancers spares are easily available.
2) Its a car that was built to last even after 11 years i dont see any plastics deteriorating or falling apart considering the roads.
3) It is rock steady at speeds in excess of 130 kmph,
4) Interior comfort too is a plus.
5) Boot is huge.
6) Mod friendly.
7) Decent FE. i get around 10 kmpl in city and 15 kmpl on the highways.
8) The steering wheel is well weighted.
9)Its a reliable vehicle but getting a good example is tough.

One word of caution though, the resale value of the lancer is low so choose wisely.

[Steer4Ever]

@mb_jg: You got it - main constraints - driveability, reliability, handling, build, power and pull, at a cost of < 2l preferably. I am willing to defocus on FE, and can live with slightly painful A** so long as it's not atrocious or fraudulent (a la Skoda's rep for example). Also not looking at resale value becaus I will be asking for too much for all the above PLUS resale.

@sree.k: Thanks - Fiesta 1.6 and Cedia are both lovely vehicles. Loads of pep in the Fiesta, and remarkably understated brilliance in the Cedia (wonder why everyone kills it for being a let down - dont people love simple elegance anymore?). I had Cedia as a choice while buying my ANHC (as I said - I made mistakes in that time). I think my budget is too low for a good fiesta 1.6, no?

@ripper - thanks for the detailed take on the Lancer. Currently, those are my sentiments too - but some of the things you added like high-speed stability, plastics quality and part availability were good new inputs to me.

[MileCruncher]

First of all, have you seen both the vehicle?

If yes please post photographs so that we all can analyse.

BTW my vote goes for the Palio 1.6 as its a much more of a customer car.

[lamborghini]

What is your budget?
Having driven and owning both of these cars in the last 10 years, here are my observations:
- Lancer is easier to drive in the city. Better all round visibility, turning radius
- Lancer is mod-friendly. If you get one cheap, you can get everything from a stonking MIVEC engine, suspension, exhausts, filters, bodykits, alloys, etc. In fact, you would find more tuners who are comfortable installing products, and FFE in a Lancer than a Palio. Also, the Lancer would have more alloy designs due to the commonly found PCD
- The Palio is superbly stable at high speeds. More so than the Lancer, but do keep in mind that the Lancer is superb in this criteria as well.
- The Palio GTX had a stiffer suspension than the Lancer sold in India, though I personally preferred the Lancers steering. Both handle very well, but have taken neither to the limit
- The Palio would have better performance.
- The lancer spares are still available. We finally sold off our Palio because not a lot of mechanics were well versed with the Palio and spares were difficult to source. In fact, we had given the Palio to be repaired before selling it, but the mechanic messed it further.
- The Lancer with its boot and bigger space is more comfortable as an only car, if it will be used by family members.

Depending on your requirements, you could get either car.
However, try to get a pre 2002 Lancer as they are supposed to have better quality imported parts. The color of the speedo needles are different in cars with the local parts and those imported.

If you want to keep a car for a long time, the Palio might be more reliable as it is newer. However, since you are looking for a replacement for the ANHC, I can assume your budget it flexible.
In that case, you could look for some even better pre-owned cars within 6L that would fit your requirement for driving pleasure. Go through this thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...pees-less.html

If you want a new car, you could look at:
- Ford Fiesta 1.6 Classic
- Rumored Figo 1.6
- New Ford Fiesta
- Linea T-JET

[prince_pervez]

Even though I own a Lancer, and if I had your choice, I would go for the GTX for its number of year and ODO reading. Lancer is a great car but in your case, a 10 year old car v/s a 5 year old one that too a 1.6 GTX. I would got for the Palio.

[v&v]

@Steer4Ever , From the above options its is always advisable to go for Lancer. Even you can try your hand on baleno too. Early 2000,2001 model should be in the range of your budget.

[Steer4Ever]

@Lamborghini: Superb analysis - thanks! I had just a couple of queries:

1 - is the Palio 1.6 more planted at high speeds than the Lancer? I love the car and know it's a sturdy beast, but the Lancer seems to have a lower CG - so I would have expected the Lancer to be more stable - but I may be missing something.

I do know that the Palio 1.6/100hp is known to clock higher speeds than the Lancer 1.5/88hp

2 - Is there any difference in the braking quality of Lancer v/s Palio? I felt the Lancer braking is a tad better - but again, it could be touch and go.

My budget is set at below 2.5. The reason is that I want to get a really good used car that me and my family can enjoy, and then after about 3 years buy a good new car and use this as a second car or for weekends.

Unfortunately, they've stopped producing the Palio 1.6 (I asked Fiat before going the used route), and none of the other cars impress me as much on a VFM basis.

@v&v - I did look at Balenos as well (automatic choice :-) ) - but the good ones are all 2.8 and above. The Lancer is coming in at 2l. Also, a couple of folks on the forum were recently mentioning that while the Baleno is a brilliant engine and FTD, it's a much lighter car and the safety setup isn't very good. I just love the car though.

@prince_pervez: It crossed my mind - the age factor. When I test drove the 2001 Lancer, the build quality seemed pretty sturdy. On the 2006 Palio 1.6, I heard a minor vibration or a very smallish rattle if you will, from the front left. It may have been some of the plastic behind the air con knobs, etc. Also, do you feel there will be any difficulty with either parts or service on the Lancer in the near future?

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by Steer4Ever

@prince_pervez: It crossed my mind - the age factor. When I test drove the 2001 Lancer, the build quality seemed pretty sturdy. On the 2006 Palio 1.6, I heard a minor vibration or a very smallish rattle if you will, from the front left. It may have been some of the plastic behind the air con knobs, etc. Also, do you feel there will be any difficulty with either parts or service on the Lancer in the near future?

Right now, I would not say parts are difficult to procure, since they are still selling the Lancer (LX when I was there). But I would definitely say that some OEM parts are expensive. By the way how long are you looking to keeping your Lancer, if you decide to go for it ?

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by Steer4Ever

@Lamborghini: Superb analysis - thanks! I had just a couple of queries:

1 - is the Palio 1.6 more planted at high speeds than the Lancer? I love the car and know it's a sturdy beast, but the Lancer seems to have a lower CG - so I would have expected the Lancer to be more stable - but I may be missing something.

I do know that the Palio 1.6/100hp is known to clock higher speeds than the Lancer 1.5/88hp

2 - Is there any difference in the braking quality of Lancer v/s Palio? I felt the Lancer braking is a tad better - but again, it could be touch and go.

My budget is set at below 2.5. The reason is that I want to get a really good used car that me and my family can enjoy, and then after about 3 years buy a good new car and use this as a second car or for weekends.

Unfortunately, they've stopped producing the Palio 1.6 (I asked Fiat before going the used route), and none of the other cars impress me as much on a VFM basis.

1. I personally haven't driven or been a passenger in either at high speeds recently, so I might not be fully correct. However, on the highway, I found the Palio to be more planted over undulations.
At the same time, our Lancer didnt have a pristine suspension set-up.

2. The braking of the Lancer is superior to the Palio. The Palio didn't inspire much confidence.

3. Have you checked out the Figo? After the Palio and Lancer, we got the fiesta and love the driving experience. Also, you get ABS and Airbags.
If the 1.6 comes out, it will be a blast to drive! Good stability, very nimble, superb handling, and the 1.6 engine is a blast from what I hear.

[Steer4Ever]

@prince_pervez: I am thinking of at least 2 years as a primary car, and then it becoming a second car. Basic mods first - tyres, leather wraps and possibly a free flow exhaust, FTD and performance mods later.

@Lamborghini: Thanks for the info on braking. The only thing I ever missed in my faithful old workhorse (1.2 ELX) was the braking. A couple of close shaves early on (it being my first car) taught me to push only within limits and understand dynamics before speed. I rarely go above 120 anyways.

As for the Figo - I've force-constrained my budget in the hope of being able to get a wider choice a couple of years down - the fiesta is a true gem - I am also eager to see how they launch it's new avatar later this year. I've seen the Australian semi-hatch type release and it looked quite good.

So right now it's down to Palio 1.6 or Lance GLXi. As this thread shows, these are passion cars with very close characteristics. I'm leaning a little more Lancer-wards I think - given moddability, braking, parts (Lancer still in-prod while Palio 1.6 out of prod).

Airbags and ABS - you make a great point - I'll have to be content with safe driving until I can pick the next new one.

@MileCruncher: Looks like a part of my last post did not make it - I dont have any pics unfortunately :(. The 2001 Lancer is surprisingly well maintained - with a very minor dent in the lower rear left door. The Lancer body is surprisingly susceptible - where the 1.6 scores much higher. Otherwise, there were no tell-tale panel gaps between doors, or in bumper/bonnet/boot alignments, etc. Gearbox still smooth - no scraping/rubbery feeling. The glove box flapdoor does not fit in perfectly - which is the only deterioration I observed. Dash looks very well kept. I only wish the Lancer came with a rear a/c vent - but then - if wishes were horses ...

[mb_jg]

With the Ford Fiesta Classic being launched today at 5.5lakhs ex-showroom Delhi, the used car prices for the Fiesta will plummet.
You will get a bargain for a Fiesta on the used car market. Good luck.
BTW, there is one for sale on the classifieds section. Run only 9k.

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by Steer4Ever

@prince_pervez: I am thinking of at least 2 years as a primary car, and then it becoming a second car. Basic mods first - tyres, leather wraps and possibly a free flow exhaust, FTD and performance mods later.

Oh! 2 years it'll/should hold well, provided you do the correct checks while delivery and in the subsequent regular maintenance. In short if the lancer is sanely used then no problems in picking it up.