Options for chauffer-driven second car: Buy diesel or new / used hybrid

I don't want to give my Tiago EV to the driver, hence considering a used second car which can be driver-driven.

BHPian adisag recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My first tryst with electric cars was the Mahindra E2O in 2014, sold my 2009 i10 Magna on a whim and suddenly found myself without a car. Zoomcar had a batch of E2Os available for rentals, so I decided to try one out.

Spent maybe 3 months, zipping through the NCR, charging it at friends' houses, convenience stores, the occasional petrol bunk, basically wherever I could lay my hands on a 15 amp socket. The range was about 80 km to a charge, but charging (even back in 2014) was fairly easy. I recall doing a Gurgaon-Rohini-Greater Kailash-Gurgaon run in a single day probably about 140km in all, charging at every stop - sure it wasn’t the most convenient, and there were a few anxious moments, but all in all the experience was definitely more fun and memorable than it was painful. I loved the silence, and the go-anywhere nature of the tiny E20, but it was an impractical choice.

But I guess, it was my time in life to live vicariously, and I gave up my electric dreams, only to burn my hands on another impractical machine in the form of a second-hand Skoda Yeti, which I had to sell off within a year. Was it fun - oh absolutely, Was it wise - heck no!!

The Honda Jazz i-dtec on the other hand was a super practical albeit boring choice. Incredible fuel economy, acres of space and peppy performance. This was my daily drive till March 2020 (Pre-Covid) and covered 130,000 km without breaking a sweat.

In July 2020, I was back to commuting to work, and we bought a pre-loved e2o hoping the wifey would use it to learn and get comfortable driving. I totally loved the small size and manoeuvrability in traffic, not to mention the savings in fuel costs. This didn’t really play out as planned, and instead, we ended up getting a driver for the Jazz, while I ended up self-driving the e2o regularly. The e2o, however, was shortlived, as a catastrophic flood at our factory in Aug 2022 meant the car was totally submerged and had to be written off. Ended up booking a Tiago EV to replace it.

The Jazz has been relegated to being the driver-driven car, and I must say, I enjoy the rear seat space and comfort immensely. I have meanwhile been driving my brother's Sonet DCT in and around town, on weekends and even on a quick road trip to Nainital and back.

Enter the Tiago EV XZ+ Tech Lux (Tropical Mist Color) delivered at the start of March 2023, Oh boy what a supremely comfortable, fun and easy car to drive. I literally haven't enjoyed driving so much since my college days and my i10 drove 4000 km in 45 days (including maybe 500ish by the Mrs who is finally getting comfortable behind the wheel).

The Jazz got sold end of March (8 years old + it was beginning to show its age), and I love the Tiago too much to hand over to our driver (plus its not really great in terms of backseat comfort), so we now have a driver without a car to drive :/ We also don’t have our own car for longer trips/ larger loads and carrying stuff around. Although we can always borrow Dad’s Kia Carens or my brother's Sonet, it is less than ideal. Although it's not an outright need, there is a definite want for a second car.

The penny-pinching miser in my head says, get rid of the driver and just self-drive the Tiago daily, but the traffic in Delhi NCR is getting worse day by day and even if it is reasonably enjoyable/comfortable, spending over two hours driving every day isn’t really the best use of my time. Also, we find that both sets of parents do like to use our driver now and then, and that is definitely important to consider, so we would like to keep him long-term.

But my ever-practical heart/gut says buy a second car which can primarily be the driver-driven car, with the occasional use for a self-driven road trip. (Of course, my college boy romantic heart yells and says let's get a Jimny!! - but that will just have to be put on hold)

So the parameters for our second car:

• Good backseat comfort and reasonable space for luggage etc.
• Good Fuel Economy so that we don’t feel stupid about using a guzzler while having an EV sitting at home.
• Reasonably abuse resistant/hardy and easy to maintain as it's going to be primarily driver driven.
• Happy with pre-owned or new, a budget of 15L could stretch a couple of lakhs maximum.
• If pre-owned must have at least 9-10 years of life left (rules out used diesels)

This thought process brings the choices to either a new Diesel Creta/Seltos, or a Strong Hybrid Hyryder/Grand Vitara (pushing the budget a bit, plus long waiting times). Let's also throw in a Honda City Hybrid for good measure, although it's not a car we much fancy.., it brings to mind one wild card entry - a used Camry Hybrid.

So after all that, the question here is simply: How does a 2016-17 Camry Hybrid compare with a current Hyryder/Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid? Or do you think a diesel car is a better bet than both of the above choices?

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