Another what car to buy thread :P

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Chaos

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So I'm planning to buy a new car in a month. I have a preset, self imposed budget limit of max around 9.5-10 lacs and want a comfortable sedan which is the first and most important criteria. The second is performance... the car should be fun to drive. I don't care much about FE. Anything around 8 km/l or higher is fine as I don't intend to do too much daily commuting since my office is very close to my home.

I was wondering what is the best buy in that price. I really loved the Civic but 13 lacs is too hard to swallow. At my price point I'm looking at the Mitsubishi Cedia Sport, Hyundai Elantra CRDI or Petrol, the base model of Toyota Corolla and finally the NHC VTEC.

The toyota base lacks ABS and Airbags which I think is a must for the price. It also is a completely stripped down model and basically has no luxury features whatsoever. However it does have the toyota reliability and an excellent engine.

The Hyundai has the korean tag associated with it and the front does look kinda ugly. But ride quality is very nice. Also the FE is kinda bad for the petrol which seemed like a smoother ride than the CRDI. Power delivery is probably the most linear amongst all the cars in this bunch. After sales service and warranty are the best in the industry. However build quality is suspect.

The Cedia is what I liked the most in TDs. Incredible handling and ride quality. Build Quality is probably the best amongst all the cars I tested. However the engine is poor and badly detuned for India :( (I wonder why?). It runs out of steam very quickly beyond 4500 revs. The car also has very high cost of maintenance and HM after sales is a big question mark. Also resale value on both the cedia and elantra is a b1tch.

The only thing going for the City is an excellent engine and the Honda brandname which seems to matter in India for resale. The styling is really ugly :P. So I'm really confused. I'll keep the car for 5-6 yrs so resale is not a priority. I'm tilting towards the Cedia or Elantra CRDI considering everything. Is there anything else I'm missing?

PS: After having fun in an Acura RSX Type S here, all indian cars seem like rubbish :P.
 
IMO in that range nothing beats the reliability and comfort n performance of Corolla, even though it may lack some essential features, it will be reliable, n have good resale value + a very good engine which u will need to run for 5-6years
 
you are missin out on so many options..i guess, instead of considering elantra, why not try Verna? It is doin well in the market..has a very good engine and fuel efficiency and will surely have much better resale than elantra..afterall, how many elantras do we get to see on the roads? Agreed they belong to different class but since u included city into the equation, so i thought of including verna into ur list of probables...

Its got gr8 performance and looks better than the city..the highend version is priced around 7.3L.. the ford fiesta cud be another good option in this price range...u cud get a mother of all upgrade for ur rig with the remaining bucks.. :P wot say??

But if u so insist on spending all of it on rolling wheels..then Corolla wud be the safest bet..i personally dont like its looks..but as an overall package, its very good...u cud also take a look at the Octavia.. although its very common,

it still looks pretty good, performs well and is quite sturdy to say the least.. :)
 
You are missing the Verna Crdi....

on paper, the car has a 110 bhp diesel, but do not forget that with the relatively low band power deliver and high low end torques, a 110 bhp diesel feels like a 140bhp petrol

Additionally, it is very refined for a diesel
 
^^I had a TD of the verna. It did have a super powerplant under the hood but the brakes felt weak. In fact I felt scared to push that car cos of the thin tyres and bad brakes. The elantra in comparison is a lot easier to drive and get along cos it has wider tyres and better handling and road grip. BTW czar did you buy your car? I remember you putting up a thread sometime back.

@ryan: The basic issue with ford is after sales... its probably the worst out of all makers. Also the engines are underpowered at 68bhp for the diesel is a joke :P. The petrol isn't that much better either. About verna vs elantra, I stated my reasons above. I don't care much either about resale or FE. Its all about ride quality and performance. The skodas are nice but I don't think I can afford the vRS which is the only one I care about. Diesel skodas are not that nice.
 
get a 10-12lac 150bhp skoda octavia and mod the b**ch - turbochargers, nos, etc etc for ~5-6 lac more ..... your car should match up to your computer's reputation :)
 
^^ LOL rPok, you'r nowhere near his budget!

The Elantra as you put perfectly, has that KOREAN tag (which is disliked by many). But overall its a good car! And i'd differ with you on the FE. My friend has a Elantra petrol and it gives him ~9-10 easy. Its pretty comfortable too.

The NHC Vtec frankly has a killer heart but its not the prettiest of vehicles. I have the NHC(old) and its very comfortable etc but not one of the best looking things..especially the shape..

Best would be the Cedia Sport then :D Its got everythin you need plus comes wit small kits/spoiler etc. Very good option (and about the detuned part, you can ALWAYS go aftermarket and get it tuned to how the engine is supposed to be :P)

Btw, any chance you could fit in a Civic? It would be perfect.. And if FE is not a problem then DONT even think bout diesel ones. The performance and drive is just not good enough...

Where's you drive the Acura RSX Type S ????????????
 
I guess then Corolla seems to be the best bet..its got a good engine, gr8 ride and efficiency(which u dont care about..:P ) only grey area is the styling..if u can live with it..its a gr8 buy.. the Cedia looks good n rides well too, but i wudnt rsik my money on HM if i were u..and lastly, Elantra...its a good car overall, but i dont know why but it looks soooo..... :no:
 
If i were to spend 10 i would wait a while and spend 13 to get a Civic... You are thinking in terms of long term investment for 5-6 years... Makes no sense not to go in for a Civic... Just dont upgrade the bloddy comp for a while...
 
Chaos, since you're going to keep the car for 5+ years, spend the extra money and get the Civic or Skoda RS ;)
 
13-14 lacs is waay too much to swallow lol. No chance I can afford so much. I need to eat as well :rofl:. Honda is just ridiculously overpriced in india for no real reason. Skoda RS is a nice deal for the price... that Audi TT engine simply owns but its frankly beyond my means.

@ambar: Innova is yuck to drive :P. Its meant to be driven in, its not a driver's car.
 
^^Those are ex showroom prices... Honda doesnt give any discounts so the OTR price is close to 13 in bangalore.
 
I have a Toyota Corolla (dunno which model but AT+leather seats) and that was close to 11.8lakh after discount. Maybe you can get a little lower one for 11lakh?

Also what about Optra?
 
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