Budget 15 lakh: Need suggestions for a car to replace my Dad's WagonR

Dad is in his mid 50s and it makes sense to go automatic now, especially considering this would be a primarily city driven vehicle.

BHPian Fury recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Here comes a post after a long time and its to help clear a dilemma.

Let me start by explaining my current garage:

Ford Ecosport (2016) TDCI: The family car used for all our family trips. This is a pure highway car that clocked 74k KM in 5.5 years without anybody using it as their daily drive. Its mostly driven by either me or my brother and we have had countless road-trips throughout south India where it proved its highway mettle and solid reliability. Its a pure gem and we have no plans to sell/replace it since I need not elaborate on this forum on how hard it is to find a good upgrade from Ecosport diesel within a reasonable budget. Hence any suggestion to sell the Ecosport will be met with hostile judgement

Hyundai Santro (2019) Sportz AMT: Mom's drive and a pure city car with very low running. We bought the car in 2019 and just recently crossed 10k on odo. Need I elaborate more on the "low-running" part? Its a good city tool that meets mom's requirements. However, we did have an incident were the car stranded us on the road (middle of a bridge to be exact) with a broken clutch plate. While it was replaced under warranty and the car will be under warranty till 2024, it has left us with a sour taste and we are yet to recover from the experience completely. We are open to selling it for a viable alternative but it is not of the highest priority. (Emotional attachments and mothers are always a deadly combo)

Maruti Suzuki WagonR VXI (2010): Dad's daily drive and the oldest car here. 2022 will see our WagonR touching 12 years and hence the number one choice to be replaced. The car has run over 1 lakh KM (exact figure unknown since the speedo conked off for a while and dad took his own sweet time to replace it, thus clocking untracked miles). It is a heavily used/abused car with dents and scratches all over and unresolved mechanical faults along with it. Restoring the car will take substantial effort and resources, thus prompting this post. Dad also mentioned his fuel expenses have crossed ₹10k a month, which is an issue due to rising fuel prices and also probably due to the aging mechanicals.

Scenario- We are looking for a car to replace the WagonR (unless somebody comes with a masterstroke idea that involves selling the Santro and keeping the WagonR) and the following are our requirements:

• Budget of around 15 lakhs: this is flexible but considering the other requirements, increasing the budget is not going to help our cause.
• Compact dimensions: this is critical since the car will be driven in the ultra-narrow streets of Kochi (Jew town, Palace Road and the likes- Kochi natives will know how narrow and congested these areas are).
• Fuel Efficient: We are open to a diesel as well.
• Automatic Transmission: Dad is in his mid 50s and it makes sense to go automatic now especially considering this would be a primarily city driven vehicle. A good AMT should be fine as well but no IMTs..
• Abuse Friendly: I know this is asking too much from today's tech laden gizmos that we call cars but at the least, service experience and warranty claims should be straightforward and simple. Longer warranty periods will be an added bonus.
• High seating: Lower back problems and a 6 foot frame means low slung cars are a big no. Has to be a CSUV/Tallboy hatch.

Everything else is not relevant as deal-breakers and as long as the above criteria are met, we are good to go.

Options we are considering:

• Kia Sonet diesel automatic: Currently the top contender. The idea behind spending 14 lakhs for a city car was due to the Ecosport being mostly used by me or my brother and hence not available for use at home. Hence, the car replacing WagonR should also be capable for the occasional highway trips that dad makes. The Sonet fits the bill well from this aspect with its excellent powertrain and compact dimensions.
• Maruti WagonR AMT: This was dad's suggestion and its no surprise that a WagonR user wants to replace it with another WagonR. Its a practical choice but can it be a decent highway cruiser? Also, will we be looking at significant fuel savings over our present WagonR?
• Dad finds the Ecosport a little too wide for his comfort and hence convincing him for the Nexon, Brezza or the XUV 300 which are of similar width, will be difficult.
• Magnite and Kiger were good choices with a diesel auto but turbo petrol and city driving would probably just shoot up his already high fuel bills. Also, I wouldn't define their service experience as "Straightforward and Simple".
• Dad liked the S-Presso but I hate the looks of that car to my guts. Also, not really an upgrade to the WagonR in my opinion, especially for the highways.

Am I missing something out here guys? I feel Sonet is the best option but what do you guys think? Lets fire up the comments.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Pamper the man! While a new WagonR would be a great replacement for the old WagonR, it's time for the man to drive something nicer. My pick would be the Kia Sonet Diesel AT, a significant upgrade from the WagonR. Looks good, nice suspension, he'll love the interiors, while the engine & transmission are just top class. The AT is perfectly mated to the frugal diesel.

Here's what BHPian IshaanIan had to say on the matter:

I think the easiest to suggest would be a brand new WagonR but have you checked out the Citroen C3? It seems to have been manufactured and assembled with some thought and atleast as per reviews, it might even be abuse friendly. Only problem is the 3cyl motor but I suppose that is the norm these days and it has been about a decade since the Ecoboost first came to our shores so issues with 3cyl turbo petrols ought to have been sorted out by now .

Here's what BHPian shancz had to say on the matter:

Completely empathize with your Dad in keeping with the narrow WagonR in city traffic

With that perspective and your requirements in mind I can suggest a TD of the following:

• Ignis : if you like the looks, can live with the AMT and don't need the space of the wagonR this should work well either as a replacement for your Santro or the WagonR. In city traffic with AC it should give similar/better FE than the wagonR and should be much easier to drive.
• I10 Nios: if you're open to another Hyundai and the AMT works for you this could again be a replacement for either the Santro or the WagonR.
• Tiago CNG : if the seating works(which I doubt) and CNG is acceptable this is a good car and better than the WagonR/Ignis on the highways and GNCAP 4 stars. Suggesting the CNG because if you're comprising on the seat height front then make up for it in the FE and as per our review its one of the best execution of a factory fitted CNG car.

On a side note, I won't recommend going with an AMT in any car that costs over 8 lakhs.

Here's what BHPian AJ56 had to say on the matter:

Get the City CVT eyes closed,. You seem to keep your cars long and it’s a reliable, comfortable compact car for city use. Will be a proper upgrade from the WagonR. Mid variants with CVT should be well within your budget.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.