Car & Bike Another small car thread

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sarang

sarang

Explorer
Want to buy a small car with following requirements:
1. Monthly run: 1200 KM
2. Budgest: ~5 (Can stretch a little but strictly below 6)
3. Will mostly be used for city commute little highway travel.
4. Driving experience: 6 months.
5. Location: Pune
6. Test rides done so far: None
7. Buying time frame: July first half
8. Feature preference: Power windows, Power steering, drive quality.
9. Decent FE in city conditions is essential.
10. Avid Car AC user.
11. Brand preference: Maruti, Hyundai, Fiat in that order

I am a totally n00b driver and will be using the car strictly commuting to drop spouse move to my office pick spouse back home routines, till I can afford a separate car for her (Another 3 years).

Looking for inputs around what to buy what are the features that one must look at, what cars fair well in the longer run, and whatever gyaan i can digest before I make my purchase.

Will be TDing the Ritz this week, this will be my first TD ever so kindly advice what to look for.
 
try reversing, taking the car through cramped roads etc. any n00b can be a hero and drive a car around on a road, its parking, maneuvering & reversing which takes skillz :P
 
Your options are plenty in this segment. Considering your requirements, you should be checking out Ritz, Swift, Beat, i10, i20.

Beat is an excellent VFM car with very good FE, and futuristic looks (subjective) and probably the only car offerring Automatic Climate Control at this price. You can get the fully loaded Beat LT option for just above 5 lac onroad. i20 would be a good buy too, though slightly expensive.

If you can stretch it slightly above 6 lacs, get the i20 or else get the fully loaded Beat at a great price.

You've 8 cars in this segment, apart from the above 5 I mentioned, you have Figo, Punto as well as Polo. Test drive all of them and see which one you're most comfortable with.

My personal opinion is that Beat and i20 are the best VFM cars, catering to your needs of a good city car with high FE. Beat coming with ACC just makes it even better.
 
Ok time for an update!

Had a few Test Drives in the meantime. Had shortlisted Ritz, Swift, i20 and Beat. (Punto Emotion PK is only in 1.4 and out of budget).

Swift: Good ride quality and driving comfort, ACC is a plus. Rear leg room is terrible.

i20: Asta overshoots my budget, great ride quality, very little cabin noise for a small car. Feels underpowered for the heavy frame.

Beat: A good example of externally great looking bad usability car. Only if you are a couple, have no kids and family you can consider this car. Too impractical for other purposes. Interior at the back seat aren't great either.

Ritz: The most complete package except ACC, and some bizarre looks. (I like the looks, the interior plastic quality could be a bit questionable though). The ride quality is fine for what you end up paying. The rear leg room is good due to the tall boy design.

So finally I have zeroed in on Ritz. Did not notice any obvious shortcomings, so if you know any do chime in. Otherwise I am booking it today. :)
 
Well, I was also in the same situation and finally booked the Punto 1.2 Emotion yesterday.

Ritz is a good car, but didn't quite like the rear end so didn't consider it. If you like it, its one of the best buys in this segment.

Beat, well I would have bought this if the car was for myself, but parents didn't like the shape of it for some reason, also the rear seats are too cramped and wouldn't accomodate 3 people, small boot, hence not a good family car. Else it's a great car.

i20 Sportz, best VFM car IMO, loaded with tons of features, but slightly off my budget by 50k.

Figo, parents liked it very much but I feel looks are a bit dated, else nice car and good VFM. But, bad FE.

Swift, I was tired of its looks and wanted something different, also not very VFM considering all the other options we've these days.

Polo, didn't consider it because of the terrible waiting period and thin service network.

i10, again not very VFM I feel, we get less than what we pay for.

Punto 1.2 Emotion, good VFM, great looks, great ride quality, steering and handing, decent space. Had everything I was looking for, and hence booked it. Interior plastic quality could have been improved, my only complaint about this car. Although a Punto 1.2 Emotion pack could have been better, but such a thing doesn't exist. Miss the bluetooth and steering audio controls.
 
I also am in the same situation.. deciding on a car is becoming a tough decision. I cannot drive (for that matter of fact no one in our family can) and I got fried by countrock coz of that.
From the looks of it, i20 seems to be a winner but at a little higher price. I don't like the Polo and the safety of Maruti is questionable apparently.
 
well.. i know this is a weird suggestion.. but do give a try to the micra.. pretty sure u'd like it.... :)

same goes for u "not decided on my car yet" beech.. (michael) :P
 
Petrol Variant | ERA 1.2 | MAGNA 1.2 | SPORTZ 1.2 OPT | SPORTZ 1.2 w/ ALLOY | ASTA 1.2 | ASTA OPTION 1.2 S/R | ASTA A/T 1.4 On-Road | Rs 513263 | Rs 557398 | Rs 585252 | Rs 601709 | Rs 647755 | Rs 697320 | Rs 837589 Diesel Variant | ERA 1.4 CRDi | MAGNA 1.4 CRDi | SPORTZ OPT 1.4 CRDi | SPORTZ 1.4 CRDi w/ ALLOY | ASTA CRDi On-Road | Rs 643975 | Rs 688873 | Rs 716213 | Rs 732067 | Rs 778859
Prices are EX-VASHI (SHARAYU HYUNDAI) as per 20th May 2010.

Just to help you out. Also you can go through my i20 thread. TD the i20 if you haven't. It's a very very nice car.

http://www.techenclave.com/auto-zone/hyundai-i20-asta-owners-anything-look-166202.html
 
kauzy said:
well.. i know this is a weird suggestion.. but do give a try to the micra.. pretty sure u'd like it.... :)

same goes for u "not decided on my car yet" beech.. (michael) :P
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If it were upto me I wud be zoomng arnd Pune in a Swift... and u know that too...
P.S.: Study beech.. go offline :bleh:
 
Going for the TD of BEAT and Figo on Sunday. I want BEAT for looks but seems the rear space is too cramped. Also read some reviews and looks like Figo is the best for 5L segment car so far.
 
tried the polo?? i dont know where actually the price foes to stand upon .. but as far as ive heard .. is a great car .. so .. please do have a look ..!!
 
Roxtin ur quoting the ex-showroom prices i'm guessing? or its bloody expensive here.. the titanium petrol costs 5.3L on road in Bangalore.. will be going tomo for a last test drive of the ritz.. Surprisingly the Hyundai sales guy told he'll get his car outside the maruti dealership, so I can compare them on spot! At the 5L budget(B-lore on-road) Ritz or the i10 petrol FTW!
Also make sure u see the Nissan micra, absolutely loved the way it looks! Pretty big in real, price for the top end one is 6L and the one below it is 5.7L.. 76ps, 1.2L 3-cylinder engine.. now u might be thinking its underpowered.. then here's the best part.. the weight is at 935~940 kilos as per the sales person.. thats lighter than i10..
GL with the purchase, will post back here once i book the car :)
 
Wait there is a Nissan dealer on the Mumbai - Banglore Highway.. need to check that out.
Me had impressions that the VW Beetle is very small in size but when I saw it in person I was like :O
But I dont think the Micra would be that big after all...
 
If people are willing to put up with a bit of grief , it was reported that Palio Mjds and 1.1 stiles are available at a discount of around 1.5 lacs to clear stocks :lol:
 
Nissan Micra has some cool features like intelligent keyless entry, AFAIK, you don't have to take the key out to enter the car, just approach the car and press a button on the door handle and it unlocks itself, sensing the proximity of the remote. Also, start/stop button, electrically foldable mirrors. Driver airbag is standard across all variants, which is fantastic.

But yea I don't like the looks, and also buying a car just after the launch involves some kind of risk.
 
sathyanaidu said:
Roxtin ur quoting the ex-showroom prices i'm guessing? or its bloody expensive here.. the titanium petrol costs 5.3L on road in Bangalore..
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Its the Ex showroom price but even then on-road price would not exceed 5L considering the dealer discounts you get all you need is negotiating skills. Road Tax is 6% of Car cost in UP and Insurance I think would be around 25k max (I may be wrong). but usually dealers give free Insurance and RTO charges (not Road tax). So seems it is costlier in B'lore.
 
Booked a Ritz Vxi @ 4.9L on road. Absolutely loved the center console, gear knob positioning n the high seating position(feels great for my height too!), feels like ur in a MUV/SUV :P
[I'm 6'4 :ashamed:]
 
sathyanaidu said:
Booked a Ritz Vxi @ 4.9L on road. Absolutely loved the center console, gear knob positioning n the high seating position(feels great for my height too!), feels like ur in a MUV/SUV :P

[I'm 6'4 :ashamed:]
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ya ya ya nice now u owe a party......:clap::clap:
 
@Sathyanaidu: Congrats!! What color?

I also booked the Ritz ZXi yesterday, 5.38 on road after all the discounts + some sundry accessories. Baker's Chocolate.
 
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