Car & Bike Planning to buy Automatic hatchback with safety features

I understand that one option is to learn manual and buy a manual car which opens up N number of choices. But call it mental block or whatever I just don't want to juggle N number of things while driving.
For people who are driving manuals it is a piece of cake I know.
It is just that I don't want to hate the car after I buy and it is a manual. As it is now being monsoon I am not going to book anything.
 
Does the Xcent AT have something that the i10 grand auto does not?

I guess Tata would be out of your consideration but their AMT diesel on the Zest is pretty good. They have really improved on all fronts. I am waiting for the same version on the Bolt.
 
kuld33p said:
I am sorry, but I really can't do anything on someone with mental block. You can do what you think is best for you. For a person who has some mental block does not need anyone's suggestion because he/she is not open for suggestions, he is living in that block only. He is looking for something he feels is right and he will just stick to it, because of that mental block.

Pardon me, but I have to say this. With this comment of yours I feel you want to buy the car for a mere status symbol and nothing to do with the utility of it. Get a driver buddy, get an ALTO or a NANO. You won't need to drive at all for your life. And you would be spending less moolah on that. But, let me tell you something. Does not matter in what vehicle or mode of transport I am sitting, I feel uncomfortable/insecure if the vehicle is not under my control. Be it anything, train, car or plane. So i prefer to drive on my own and refrain myself from traveling in public transport unless its the only option.

Just because you don't want to manage a clutch, accelerator and a gear nob while fixing your eyes on the road, you want to buy an automatic drive because you felt great driving the car in America. This is the most absurd excuse I have heard for buying an AT. Wake up buddy!!! You are in India now. There is a huge difference in India and US and that too with the cars here and there apart from mentioning the road conditions. And did you also not learn to ride a bicycle because there were too many things to fiddle around with like pedals, handle, bell, brakes etc.

You won't hate the car if you buy a manual car if you learn to drive. I can guarantee you, provided you go for quality instead of bling-bling. But I can not guarantee wether you will be happy after getting the AT for you if you don't learn to drive. Because buying a AT is not the end of story, you still need to drive it. And driving an AT is not driving in my opinion. And its good news that you are not booking anything because no one stops you to buy anything in monsoons, at least a new car which is meant to be driven in monsoon. This comment of your also came because you have a mental block that car would get dirty in monsoon. LOL. Like I said earlier, if you buy the tank, as suggested earlier, you can take it anywhere in any season provided you know how to tame that beast.

PS: The difference between a manual and AT is of just 1 thing and that is the clutch. Though I have not driven an AT yet but correct me if I am wrong. There is still a gear knob, accelerator, brakes, steering, dashboard etc which will be required to be touched at times if not all times. But yeah I can understand in that block of yours AT is THE CAR that is desired and that too with a specific budget.
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Moral of the Story ???
 
@kuld33p

Thanks for your effort to write such a long post. I would have loved to say TL;DR but I actually read it.
So here are few questions for you.

1. Do you feel like you are man enough or some supreme guy when you can manage gears and clutch and all in car and some people like me refuse to?

2. Do you perceive that anyone who drives an automatic is an incompetent jerk who is a loser as well ? At least your post sounds so.

3. You mentioned you have never driven automatic and still know that it is a bad product?

4. What makes you think I want car for status symbol ? Just because I select a Xcent and not an alto makes me want a car for status symbol ?

5. As of today, why do we have so many automatic options in hatchbacks as well as sedan ? Small sedans as well.


@manu1991

ABS and Airbags. Grand i10 AT doesn't have any of these. I did consider this as well but lack of safety features puts me off.
 
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" Does not matter in what vehicle or mode of transport I am sitting, I feel uncomfortable/insecure if the vehicle is not under my control. Be it anything, train, car or plane"

So u basically kick the pilot out when on flight and assume control of the cockpit ?
 
I was at a few dealerships today. Testing a few mid segment sedans. Had commented on this thread too so tried out a few hatchbacks too, just to refresh my memory abt them.

First went to VW to try the jetta and passat but for kicks tried the polo too. 1.5 diesel and 1.2 petrol. The 1.5 diesel is a performer. Superb engine and gr8 feel. 1.2 petrol is nothing gr8. It was nice to see a dead pedal in a polo, something that the Vento too doesnt have. But i personally still wouldnt buy a polo. The car is really uncomfortable to drive. Just too cramped for my liking. Im 6 tall and my uncle was with me who is 6'2. Whilst we swapped places between front and rear seats, either way we were not comfortable sitting. Irrespective of features and sheer performance, comfort is very important to me.
The 1.5 diesel is gr8, 1.2 petrol is alright, nothing gr8 to write abt. If petrol, i would still look at the swift for its superior spacing.

Next honda. Tried brio. This is a really spacious car for its size. Good feel too whilst driving. Polo has better build quality and suspension, brio better spacing and a nice peppy engine.
Amaze too is amazingly spacious. Do consider this car.

Toyota. Etios liva. spacious, everything was good. polo, swift and brio were better.

Skoda, No hatchback in sight. Rapid would be out of your budget.
 
srkmish said:
" Does not matter in what vehicle or mode of transport I am sitting, I feel uncomfortable/insecure if the vehicle is not under my control. Be it anything, train, car or plane"

So u basically kick the pilot out when on flight and assume control of the cockpit ?
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Cmon man. These words clearly mean that he feels uncomfortable in those situations. Obviously he can't do anything about them. I feel the same way when traveling in public transport but for me the reason for discomfort is loss of freedom to make the decision when to stop or take a break.
To each his own.
Having said that if he didn't have anything constructive to say, he should have stayed out of the thread.
 
raksrules said:
@kuld33p
1. Do you feel like you are man enough or some supreme guy when you can manage gears and clutch and all in car and some people like me refuse to?
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Having a manual shift gives u control and u can manage how much u wanna rev the car. in AT u cannot have that. Apart from that I really do not see any difference bet AT and MT.
I have a Honda City MT and I love it. Yeah it scrapes sometimes on some really tall breakers but what the hell, I love it. It comfy and gives me a super safe feeling.

@raksrules what I wanna say is, buy a car which makes u feel like happy. Do not buy a car just coz its the best in the market. Even if u love an automatic pink car.. go for it.. Haters gonna hate no matter what you buy !! Also no matter which car u buy, you are gonna have to face the traffic. So AT / MT I really do not see any advantage in traffic. But then again its only me.

Also to add, u will get manual driving just like that coz u already ride a bike. Its super duper easy mate...just join a driving school and drive around in thier car, that should give u a feeler of how things are here.

After the smooth US exp I know its gonna be a little difficult for you, but hey u need to move on some time :)
 
raksrules said:
Yes I am going to join a driving school soon. Just not sure when. Not joining MDS though, they are super expensive.
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Good choice dude. MDS has that simulator crap which is pretty useless. U need to drive around to get the actual feel of the traffic and uncertainty of the human behavior while learning itself.
 
Have a query....

I see lot of Automatic Honda City on olx for under 3Lakh usually, year around 2005-2007 etc.
Does anyone know how good those automatics would be ?
 
raksrules said:
Have a query....

I see lot of Automatic Honda City on olx for under 3Lakh usually, year around 2005-2007 etc.
Does anyone know how good those automatics would be ?
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As told to me by a Mechanic, automatic gearboxes have a tendency to fail in the long run. Some fail, most don't. But if they do fail, the cost is around 1.5l to replace.
So check abt this Point with a Service centre abt any second hand automatic
 
its not that expensive to replace them unless its from the company , basically if the gearbox has proper oil changes done.. (which most people in india don't do when they service the cars .. its not on every service but good to do every 30/40k, if ur using a good oil) on automatics . mechanics would charge round 40/60k depending upon the car / make + model. my corolla gearbox gave up after 1lac 45 thousand Kms done. it would have lasted a good 4 months more.. but i ended up selling the car cuz i didn't want to spend 50k+ on a 10 year old car .

so if ur buying any car after 2007/2008 and not done a crazy amount of km then my guess is gearbox should be fine.. .. keep a look out on steering vibrations.. and vibration when in neutral swell.. big sign of a badly kept gearbox .. can also be worn out gearbox mounts - :)
 
Was searching for used automatics on carwale and saw one in Borivali itself at Mahindra First Choice.
It is 2010 i20 Asta automatic with 38K kms. They have mentioned price as 4.5 Lakh.
Is this price less or more. If less then it raises red flags for me. I am yet to see the car.
Also I have no idea how trustworthy these Mahindra first choice and such dealers are. I have sometimes read horror stories like odometer turned back by few thousand kilometers and such.
 
raksrules said:
Was searching for used automatics on carwale and saw one in Borivali itself at Mahindra First Choice.
It is 2010 i20 Asta automatic with 38K kms. They have mentioned price as 4.5 Lakh.
Is this price less or more. If less then it raises red flags for me. I am yet to see the car.
Also I have no idea how trustworthy these Mahindra first choice and such dealers are. I have sometimes read horror stories like odometer turned back by few thousand kilometers and such.
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I've purchased from MFC, very reliable and transparent. Make sure the car is certified by them. They usually give a year's warranty with their cars as well, and their cars come at 10-15% premium than the prevailing used car pricing. No idea about the pricing for the i20 though
 
That is unbelievably high usage for a petrol automatic, which gives pathetic FE.

Rest assured, the odo is not likely to be tempered with.
 
AMG said:
That is unbelievably high usage for a petrol automatic, which gives pathetic FE.

Rest assured, the odo is not likely to be tempered with.
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Why ? Is it that people who have less running will only go for a car with not so good FE ? I believe FE of this would be 10 or so right ?
Do you think this car is worth considering ? I can only have a look at it next weekend now and that too if it is still with them.
 
raksrules said:
Why ? Is it that people who have less running will only go for a car with not so good FE ? I believe FE of this would be 10 or so right ?
Do you think this car is worth considering ? I can only have a look at it next weekend now and that too if it is still with them.
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expect single digit figures in city with AC. most probebly 7-8. I get 10-14 on DSG, torque converter would give very less efficiency.
 
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