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BHPian SaiChaithanya recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Hi Team,
This is my first post and thank you admin team for approving my registration to such a wonderful library of automobile brains.
I’m planning to buy a new car which is going to be our first car & need opinions to decide the best one.
There are twists & turns in my car search which might feel interesting when you read completely.
This post might be lengthy for someone but all my search experiences are mentioned so that forum members can share their opinions accordingly.
The search began in the beginning of COVID. Have searched each and every brand website, watched YouTube reviews after short listing few cars, read Team BHP user reviews and further short listed few cars.
My initial interest: A performance oriented car.
Wife’s interest: A practical family car.
I never knew the value of the Polo earlier and only came across when I was reading posts related to my short listed cars on this forum. Finally, I wanted only a Polo GT & forgot the rest. Literally, I was like babies crying for toys that they’ve seen until we buy them.
However, these are the short listed cars based on our needs at that point of time:
Started test driving each short listed car and went to the Altroz first as it was on the way to the VW showroom.
Altroz TD:
Polo TD:
Glanza CVT TD:
Jazz CVT TD:
Apart from above listed cars, I have test driven the Magnite, Kiger, Punch, Swift, i20 but didn’t like any of them except i20. Didn’t want to go with the i20 as it was costlier than others and front design didn’t appeal to me.
Finally I decided to go with Polo GT for its performance and classic looks. Started hearing rumours about discontinuation and by the time I was ready with money, the dealership stopped accepting bookings. Tried almost with all the dealerships in Bangalore and Hyderabad but no luck. Was upset that I will never my hands on the GT as a first owner.
Whenever I see a GT/Legend passing by, I feel bad that I’m late to the party.
Couldn’t digest the Polo discontinuation and started searching on used car platforms considering I would get at least any colour with less driven.
Have found 1 Legend badged car with 2k kilometres on the odo but asking price was 15L.
Didn’t want to go with this price & love towards Polo remained in the heart and started looking at other cars.
When I started searching used cars, things changed from here.
Found a less driven Toyota Liva at a good price.
Knowing Toyota’s ASS & build quality, I started hunting for a Liva though it’s a manual gearbox but easy to shift. Compromised on everything and thought this should be a good decision and this car will help me in understanding car ownership, wife can learn driving, the duration of owning this car should act as a bridge by the time a Polo replacement comes. But checked details at a known Toyota service centre and understood this car met with an accident whereas seller agent told me this car is non-accidental and he’s having all service history.
Service centre guys whom I know well for 5 years advised me not to go with this deal.
Couldn’t find a similar good deal again.
As I mentioned earlier that after understanding Toyota ASS & build quality, I slowly started digging at Toyota's own products in my affordability. As Yaris is discontinued, I could only go with used car market. Considered the Yaris VX as it 6 airbags, now we’ve a infant and safety concern increased. Good that I’m getting ISOFIX in this car.
Have test driven a Yaris CVT from Spinny recently but didn’t like the engine noise, unable to trust used cars, I’ll be 3rd owner. Spending huge amount for a used car, why can’t I take a look at new car with same price bracket.
News about the Hyryder started coming in but I was worried on the pricing. Later understood it’s more of a Maruti than Toyota on the inside. Don’t know if I have to wait or I should go with another reliable car or brand.
Then I looked at our shortlisted cars again and was finally left with Jazz considering reliability, build quality, engine refinement, ASS. Started seeing rumours about discontinuation of Jazz and this time I didn’t want to lose a good product.
The Altroz was a strict no for me as I’m particular about ASS & peace of mind ownership as well.
Was going through Honda website casually and found there’s a City with manual gearbox being offered for lower price than Jazz CVT. I was wondering why such a good car is priced below Jazz CVT & wanted to understand by seeing physically.
Visited same Honda showroom again.
City 4th Gen TD:
Here’s my experience with car search and landed up with a sedan & CSUV which I never thought of.
Currently, HyRyder prices are not out and unable to decide on which car.
If I have to go with the Hyryder, I will be able to go with only base variant Hybrid version, will miss lot of essential features & lots of boot space. Have considered this only for Toyota’s peace of mind ownership.
If I have to go with 5th gen City, should I go with V or VX variant - both are manual as shifting gears is easy for me here and can’t stretch the budget for a CVT. VX variant itself is out of budget but considered as Honda added important features over V variant.
Or, should I wait for few more months so that there’s any chance for these 2 brands to launch much better products at affordable range.
Here's what BHPian AJ56 had to say on the matter:
Get the City VX CVT, trust me after a few hours in traffic your left leg will thank you every day for years to come. Hondas are very reliable and chances are you’ll keep this for 10-12 years, don’t let 50-80k sway your decision and get the variant you want and I’d highly recommend the CVT over the manual. I doubt Honda is going to launch any new sedan anytime soon so no point waiting.
Here's what BHPian Small Bot had to say on the matter:
I'd second AJ56's opinion. Even if you'd have to stretch your budget a bit now for the VX CVT, you'll end up loving the car more.
And most folks are switching to automatics these days and for good reason. I'd also suggest to take the CVT. Honda's CVTs are very reliable, have been proven over the decades, are very smooth shifting in traffic, and you'll probably not need another car than the City CVT for the next decade, post which the Indian car scene would be vastly different. While you'd feel like you'd have more fun with the MT, if your usage is mostly within the city (pun unintended), City CVT could be the ideal car for you.
And even if Honda ends up leaving India in that time (which I doubt), your local mechanic would still be able to address most common issues, as the NA CVT Honda Citys are not nearly as complex as the turbocharged petrol + dual clutch cars in the market at that price point.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information