Recommendations : First Car

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greenhorn said:
Me a noob to cars :ashamed: besides drooling at fancy italian cars in red, Havent really given much of a thought about cars practically , cos i was, am, and will be a biker :hap2:

but apparently reality dictates that we get a car for the family, and dad's decided to (finally) get a car.

the budget is about (and preferably less than ) 3L, and criteria?

It should be rugged! the road to our house is incredibly cramped , and unbelievably bad .

should be easy to drive ( dad's gonna use it , and he wants to reach the office relaxed :) )

no second hands.

I know there are a zillion other places where i should ask this , but just wanted to know what you guys think :)
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If you want a Rugged car in that budget i would recommend the Indica Xeta. Other options in that budget are Alto and base model of Santro. Dont know if WagonR LX fits into that budget. Its without power steering (base version), so dont consider it unless you decide to increase your budget.

I suggest you test drive the top end varient of Alto (LXi) and mid level variant of Xeta (GLS) and decide for yourself.

Do keep in mind that Xeta although more spacious than Alto is going to give you lesser Fuel efficiency. TATA petrol cars are also known to be somewhat unreliable.

Alto has a good suspension for a small car. Shouldn't be much problem handling bad roads, but Xeta will do a much better job.

P.S. Dont even THINK of ESTILO
 
My two bits -

the older zen was a good car. We had one for 9 yrs. No issues. Peppy too. But once you drive one of the foreign cars all marutis seem unrefined. Also maruti's tend to develops the shudders and judders after 3-4 years.

The indica will fit your budget. A tank, not really a pleasurable drivers car, but its solid, comfy, cheap on spares (imp if you plan to keep a car for 5+ yrs).

The xing, well cannot comment as I've never driven, but looking inside one, i'd say rear legroom may be an issue. Plus the price thing.

must say the new zen looks good. Get dad to go around test driving all the candidates before choosing. The feel of a car can be a decider ;)
 
go for indica zeta.....much better suspension, lots of space inside, ride comfort and decent mileage
 
My two cents -

Have an old model Zen. Amazing car. Great fun to drive as it can get it the smallest spaces in Bangalore's so called roads(village pathways actually) and it's spacious enough inside for a small car i.e. not like the santro, wagon-R, or estillo and the likes of those tiffin boxes with very poor width and hence less space inside. Spares are much cheaper as it's a maruti(hear my cab drivers complaining all the time with the cost of indica spares.)

But as Vandal said, once you go to the newer generation of cars, the power steering, comfort seating, nice powerful ACs and makkan jaisi suspension make a second hand zen look bad.

Have been in santros and a wagon-R. Have driven a santro. Terribly cramped width wise. Leg room is a joke. What are you going to do with tall body? I'm nearly six feet and I can fit in a zen without any issues. But hey, it's easy to drive these cars on narrow roads as they fit in without problem.

I like cars with a low centre of gravity(low height). Makes for a better driving experience. The newer generation of small cars feel like vans to me. Just my opinion. Not trying to tread on anyone's feelings.

Fiat makes good cars(anyone sat it a fiat petra...hell anyone know about a petra?). But their mileage and after sales service leaves much to be desired.
 
tifôsi said:
You've seen Estillos toppling over ?
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I have driven it and it seems to have a tendency to skid less and topple more on sharp turns...ofcourse if you drive well its fine...
 
This months 'Overdrive' has done Estilo vs WagonR vs Indica XETA vs Xing

Ranking(according to Overdrive)

1.Indica Xeta

2.Santro Xing

3.Zen Estilo

4.WagonR
 
Indica Xeta hands down. Much more peppy/spacious and nice suspension in its class. Have you test-driven one yet ?? Do so ..... even if you wish to go for Estilo. I think it costs somewhere around 2.5 L
 
Indica Xeta (petrol), New Delhi prices as of now ..... source

GL-BS III Rs. 2,52,964/-
GLE-BS III Rs. 2,78,310/-
GLS-BS III Rs. 2,95,905/-
GLG-BS III Rs. 3,19,259/-
GLX-BS III Rs. 3,46,459/-

GLE model comes with power steering and body coloured bumpers. Highly recommended for 3L budget. Diff people may have to say diff things about tata vehicles but I am one satisfied customer. I drove a diesel Indica for five years and sold it last month. My next car would be a varient of Swift but the point is that I am highly satisfied with my indica and the value-for-money it gave me. No high maintenance costs involved. So whatever you decide, do check it out once.
 
Indica Xeta (petrol), New Delhi prices as of now ..... source

GL-BS III Rs. 2,52,964/-

GLE-BS III Rs. 2,78,310/-

GLS-BS III Rs. 2,95,905/-

GLG-BS III Rs. 3,19,259/-

GLX-BS III Rs. 3,46,459/-

GLS model comes with power steering and body coloured bumpers. More features.

Highly recommended for 3L budget. Diff people may have to say diff things about tata vehicles but I am one satisfied customer. I drove a diesel Indica for five years and sold it last month. My next car would be a varient of Swift but the point is that I am highly satisfied with my indica and the value-for-money it gave me. No high maintenance costs involved. So whatever you decide, do check it out once.
 
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