Changing my Car...Need feedback & Comments

superczar

superczar

Skilled
Not surre if this belongs on TE but I will pose it nonetheles coz of the trust I have on the members here :)

I am planning to sell off my trusty 3.5 year old Corsa to a friend..I wouldn't have even considered selling it but he is the one who has talked me into it :p

I have had a brilliantly good time with the car from the day I picked it up from the showroom and headed out to Chail (Shimla) the next day till this date when I clipped it across the Bangalore- Chennai highway this Sunday under heavy torrential rains when pretty much half the cars had stoppped by the side :)

But perhaps it is time to move on to something new, as he put it which brings me to the next qstn.what next?

Here is my take on some of the cars I test drove Y'day and today

A) Honda City ZX (Non VTEC):

Pros: Good resale, trustworthy brand, decent ride, very low NVH (Noise & vehicle harshness)

Cons: 77bhp only :( doesn't feel too responsive, more expensive than the other choices (at approx 8L on road ) in Chennai

B) Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zxi (Petrol)

Pros: Looks good, decently powerful, nice handling, Has sold a lot (given the large number of Fiesta seen on the road) which (possibly) means it should be a good car....Reasonably priced

Cons: Not sure of the Ford service quality + Don't find the car too exciting also. slightly high NVH levels

C) Hyundai Verna Xi

Pros: Looks (to me) the best of the lot, Nice drivetrain, responsive engine, somewhat exciting

Cons: Slightly overpriced for the car it is (7.1 on road), sloppy steering, sloppy interiors, Also, why isn't it selling?, there are hardly any Vernas seen on the roads!

D) Chevy Aveo

Haven't test driven it as yet so can't really comment, planning to take a TD tomorrow, but any comments appreciated

I know I should be posting this on say Teambhp but I don't like that forum all that much...

Junta will generally pounce on a thread and start recommending everything from a Palio to a Baleno to even a Scorpio without even looking at what the guy wants..

Just for the record, I am looking for a vehicle thats fun to drive, has a nice responsive engine, has a great suspension and handles well..Fuel efficiency is a consideratyion but not a very big one as long as the FE isn't too bad

Size, interior space etc. is not a consideration at all...The rear seat will be almost never used (At least not when the front seats are occupied ;) )

I'll perhaps be posting this elsewhere too, but would love to hear the take of the folks on TE...Comments plz :)
 
A friend was also looking for a new car and it appears he is settling for the Chevrolet SRV. And personally, when you spend 7L on a car, it better look nice - that's where the Verna loses out ;)
 
I would say Honda. One of my friends has Ford and he says spares are costly but car is wonderful. Maybe u should also take Adventure for a drive.

i know 2 car buffs on TE... Darky and nik... They should jump on this thread pretty soon.
 
superczar said:
I know I should be posting this on say Teambhp but I don't like that forum all that much...
Junta will generally pounce on a thread and start recommending everything from a Palio to a Baleno to even a Scorpio without even looking at what the guy wants..

Just for the record, I am looking for a vehicle thats fun to drive, has a nice responsive engine, has a great suspension and handles well..Fuel efficiency is a consideratyion but not a very big one as long as the FE isn't too bad

Size, interior space etc. is not a consideration at all...The rear seat will be almost never used (At least not when the front seats are occupied ;) )

I'll perhaps be posting this elsewhere too, but would love to hear the take of the folks on TE...Comments plz :)
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U r pretty much right :p..cos those cars r FUN to drive :p

anyway considering ur requirements..i will be pointing out positives of owning a baleno.

1) Responsive engine: The baleno will probably score a 10/10 in this regard..you will feel the punch of acceleration even when poteering at 40kph in the fifth cog. It is probably the only car (along with the esteem) that can do 110-120 kph in the 2nd gear itself.

2) Suspension and handling: This car isnt top notch in that area, however you could get the suspension set up tighter and if ur going for the VX version, u will be getting wider tires compared to the lx. This helps in high speed stability. The steering of the car is responsive if u dont tinker with it aftermarket :p. So just remember: Stiffer suspension setting (can be done on the showroom) + wider tires (atleast 185/65)

3) Seats: I know and i agree with two very famous auto magazines who have written that the baleno has the best seats on this side of rally cars.
Yes, the seats r rally inspired and they hold u firm in place, whatever hooliganism u decide to do :p..the only comparable seats are in the skoda RS.

4) A/C: Not specified in ur requirements, but when first released, its A/C was tested to be better than that of a merc E-class (back in 2002). In other words, its an arctic zone in there..believe me :p

The mileage of the car is decent too...it gave us 17kmpl on a long road trip where we averaged 110kmph...with the a/c on

In the city, it gives us 9-12 kmpl when driven sensibly...with the a/c on.

So, there u go, its a great car and will probably be replaced with the newer version in 2007Q1. Go and take a test drive to experience it..the Maruti salesmen usually insist on the cutomers hitting 100kmph on test drives..if u dont, they will :p
Oh yeah, its absolute rubbish in the looks department..but who cares..u will be IN it..not outside it :p
 
Heh... I would say Honda and then Aveo. Apart from wat I got, have 2 of da ZXs in my Family both "Auto" and both are doing just superb. Ford aint dat gr8 specially in service.... and Verna, well lets say it doesnt look new with ODD design, but heard its got good engine so if u decide it will take u good for 3-4 years.

EDIT: Aaahhh! The Baleno, Good point Smith!! But its been around fortoo long and in this age of good looking cars its a misfit. I would go for a second-hand Baleno and MOD da shit out of it! :D but then thats just me :p
 
I've been driving a Baleno for 3+ years and I agree that it scores big on performance, but the only drawback is it's dated looks which bother some people. And service is out-of-this-world.

Based on superczar's requirements, however, I think the SRV fits right in - when you go to test the Aveo, don't forget to check the SRV :)

@Harshal, yeah Balenos with aftermarket upgrades rule - I've seen a few really cool mods, but can't mod mine until I get a second :D
 
@ harshal, thats what we did..albeit with a new car, not a second hand one.
but u get to see all those "good looking cars" only in ur rear view mirrors :p

@Rio, a month wait is advised before buying the SRV, because a new supercharged version is releasing in india...hold ur horses..there wont be any BIG performance boosts..chevy just wanted to make their SRV more drive-able, thats all :p
 
Definitely not the Baleno....not now. If you are ready to wait for the new one (SX4 abroad), then fine....but buying the Baleno now is a mistake in my opinion as the resale value will be pathetic when you want to sell it.

Honda City ---- Loads of comfort, interiors are nice, and of course, HONDA name. If you arent going for the Vtec, then no point....

Fiesta ---- Very good car, very good handling, decent engine (1.6), superb economy (Duratorq). The diesel is slow as you would expect but not by that much on the road. Statistically, the Fiesta diesel would be left for dead by the Verna CRDi but in reality, it doesnt make much of a difference. It has very good driveability on the road.

Verna --- Hyundai's good after sales service (this is a very important point.... where Ford really really suck) and the CRDI is a stormer. Drive it. If you like it, go for it. Looks are crappy though.

Aveo --- Very good ride and rear seat space. Bad transmission.

SRV --- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Absolutely freaking not !! I get the feeling that you like your drives. The SRV will spoil it completely for you. The transmission is pretty sad and the 0-100 times are the same as the Verna CRDI.

A major advantage of the City DSi engine would be the mileage. My dad gets 11 in the city with the Vtec.... Imagine what the figure would be with the idsi.

If you like driving, I would say drive the Verna and the Fiesta and decide.

Fiesta looks better but Ford service is downright pathetic. Have heard tons of horror stories.

Hynudai looks sad but is actually a good car. And Hyundai's service is second only to Maruti.

If you are ready to wait, the new Baleno...
 
If you want a drivers car, then the fiesta is the best among the lot.... But maintenance of Ford cars is generally on a higher side...

Chevy Aveo got a NCAP safety rating of 2/5 which is pretty bad since the Getz and Swift got a 4/5. (know that european versions of Getz and Swift got 4, but even the european version of Aveo got 2)... so taking safety into consideration i wouldn't recommend it.

Honda City is the best of the lot... but as you said it isnt that responsive...

so its basically between the Fiesta and the City.... drive the vtec and then decide....

i wouldnt recommend the baleno it suks in looks....
 
About SRV, I dont know.. I mean its is not dat gr8 performance @ da price and overall if your running is high I think NHC make more sense with being refined and always giving better FE. Tho I dont really care about FE, some may and hence da Point. VTEC is diff league totally honestly.
 
Rio said:
A friend was also looking for a new car and it appears he is settling for the Chevrolet SRV.
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I'd love to, and not that I didn't take a TD when it came out :p

but the looks are misleading in this case...it is nowhere as powerful as the looks would lead you to believe..Personally, I found the 1.6 Fiesta a better car driving pleasure wise...

:p

Maybe u should also take Adventure for a drive.
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Great looking car but the interirs and the engine are very dated, and the resale value would be xtremely poor

Smith said:
.i will be pointing out positives of owning a baleno.
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the current Baleno is on its way out, maybe another month or so...and I don't think it makes sense to buy a car that is being phased out...Though I do not miind waiting a month or so to see how the new Baleno is like

Harshal said:
I would go for a second-hand Baleno and MOD da shit out of it!
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Would have loved to do dat Harshal, But financial and time considerations deem otherwise...Add my love for technology and the financial dents it nakes, and passion for cars is out of scope :D

Nikhil said:
If you arent going for the Vtec, then no point....
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9L is beyond budget Nikhil...I am long out of the 3rd party ATM phase :(

Didn't find many comments on the Verna though ....anyone around driven one?
 
Head there's a Toyota Corolla "Executive Edition" thats priced arouund ~ 8.7 lakhs. Know its quite above your budget, and not sure what exactly they've scaled down in it - but it seems like good VFM. Has a 125BHP engine that would squish the competition :D
 
Verna is a good car.... if you have to buy the Verna, it would have to be the CRDI version..... Dam ngood performance.

Drive it and see if you like it. And whether you can live with the looks :p
 
^funny... I kinda like the looks of the Verna:p not kidding!

As for the Cdi, the diesel Verna is stepping into the 8+ category which I'd rather avoid
 
But think of the savings in fuel costs :p.... and Hyundai service is pretty good.....

And if you like the looks, then even better.....

Handling isnt as good as the Fiesta though.

Otherwise, I think Fiesta is the one for you (except for Ford service). IF after the warranty period, you can start giving your Fiesta for service elsewhere, then that would be pretty good.
 
verna diesel all the way..... looks r sad.. but fiesta isnt as good a drivers car as say..the old ikon 1.6..or the old city.....diesel verna is expensive what u get... but the premium is fr that brillant engine...... however...baleno new is worth the wait....

SRV s transsmission is pathetic & the engine is just bout ok
 
if u consider 2nd hand. how about a 2nd hand skoda :)

the honda & aveo seem good choices.
if u can wait id say wait for the skoda fabia releasing in 2k7
 
Dude, if its going to be 8L or more I would say Honda... have 8 years experience man and that is old one.. new one is more refined and kinda practical, tho lil less on power [it settles dat with good FE].

About Skoda Octavia, I think it has a very high running cost as far as I know... but Darky can tell us more about it.
 
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