City car under Rs 10 lakh; Confused between Fronx and new Dzire

Although it will be mainly used in the city, not looking to buy an EV yet.

BHPian digitalnirvana recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi all,

I'm finally posting a What Car? thread despite me thinking I'd never do one. I've had pre owned cars all my life but this time it will be a new one, so here goes.

Use case:

• City use 95% to 100%
• Will be having 2 occupants most of the time plus chauffeur
• MT or AMT is ok
• School runs in dense traffic approx 37km
• Hospital and ad-hoc runs
• 1 kid and 1 adult (elderly) plus chauffer or 2 adults (elderly) plus chauffer

Requirements:

• Safe
• Good ride quality for elderly. Benchmark Aria
• Ingress and egress for elderly
• Preferably seat 3 adults abreast at the rear
• Reliable
• Fuel efficient
• Should support E20 petrol
• Features must have: rear camera, six airbags, ISOFIX
• Features good to have: 360 camera, sunroof

Need for a replacement car:

• Replaces Aria as it is unreliable
• Zen Estilo stays but relegated to backup due to complaints of harsh ride quality from elderly

Why buy new:

• Pre-owned might be unreliable
• Safety
• Aspirational value for elderly
• Sunroof for the kid

Other points:

• Less than 10 lakhs ex showroom preferred as this will be a city use car
• No electric as I don't have home charging setup
• Will be kept for 10 years
• An electric might join the garage in 2-3 years time

Options if purchased in 2024:

• New Dzire ZXI+ MT
• Magnite Tekna+ 1.0 MT

Options for 2024 on the back burner:

• Brezza ZXI+ - 16L ish, plus rear seat is for 2 adults 1 kid
• Fronx Alpha or Delta+ (O) - series hybrid coming, plus not GNCAP rated, plus no sunroof. Top end only with Turbo

Options if purchased in 2025:

• Fronx Alpha series hybrid, possibly with a facelift that adds 5 star GNCAP and a sunroof. The increased price will be offset with lower running costs

Conundrum:

• My brain says to wait for the Fronx series hybrid because it meets easy ingress / egress criteria, can seat 3 adults at the rear, and also will be very fuel efficient
• The Dzire will be low and might be difficult for the elderly. The Magnite has a reluctant Nissan backing it and also it doesn't come with a sunroof
• I'm ok to wait till mid next year but am emotionally considering buying earlier - looking at the regular city run use case, and with the intangibles associated with gifting a new car for the kid and the elderly

What say you, BHPians?

Here's what BHPian Taxman replied:

I would suggest to consider the punch as well as the altroz as well since both are safe, the cng is cost efficient and sunroof is available with both these cars.

The Ingress and Egress would definitely be easier in the punch while the fit and finish for altroz would be bit better.

Since the launch of amaze and kylaq are also around the corner would suggest to wait for the same before taking the final decision.

Here's what BHPian Sensible_Speed replied:

The new Dzire that you shortlisted is a fantastic car. It also has a 5-star NCAP rating if that's your thing. Looks brilliant in my opinion and should work well too. With regards to the series hybrid Fronx, that's still a good year away. If you can wait that long, then there's nothing like it. But, if the requirement is immediate, the Dzire is tough to beat.

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