Car & Bike Suggest car for max 4L, city driving only (Mumbai)

raksrules

raksrules

Elite
My father in law needs to buy a new car. Suggest one for max 4 Lakh on road price. Just assume there is no way we can extend that budget. It is for city driving only. In Mumbai particularly.
We have no clue about cars and also have never driven one (my father in law and anyone else in his family)
So we do not understand the technicalities when it comes to vehicles.
 
Your best bet in this budget is an Eon era +.
It's an excellent car for the money and the engine is very very refined for city driving.
It is a comfortable car as well and can take 4 decently sized adults nicely.

It is around 3.85 on road in Mumbai.
Hyundai also has a fantastic dealership and service network so the ownership would be hassle free as well.
 
Consider an alto as well, cheap to run and maintain, a perfect starter and learner car.
 
Chevrolet spark LT model will be 4L on road. good car. I drive the dual fuel (petrol + LPG) LT model myself. No complaints
 
bitsandpieces said:
well, will that fit in 4lacs ? In Bangalore, a Santro zip glx with power steering costs around 4.3 on road
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It might just overshoot that 4 lac budget by 10-15k with the prevalent discounts. However, for that much little extra you get a bigger and more powerful car (than the Eon or Alto) which is also very easy to drive in the city with modern and quality build inside out.
The Spark fits in as the No.2 contender and could be availed for less than 4 lacs OTR easily. It is also easy to drive in the city and provides good build quality for the price. It is more spacious than the Eon/Alto. But will not be as fuel efficient as the others.
I would not want my father/FIL to bear with an Alto. I've noticed the displeasure the elderly express when they are forced into cars with cramped interiors. Moreover, I find the Alto to be too small and too basic , more so when a similarly priced Spark/Eon has much better packaged interiors both in terms of space and interior quality. In short I don't find the Alto a value for money proposition. Bargain hard and you could get a A-Star Lxi for the price of a Alto K10 Vxi.

For a long term investment, do not mind that extra 10-15k. That said, I am not aware of the tax structure prevalent in Mumbai/Maharashtra, if the taxes take the i10 out of reach, check out the Sparky and/or Eon.

Edit : Just checked that the 1.1 Era costs a whooping 4.25l ex-showroom Mumbai. I don't think you can have it for less than that OTR even with all the discounts. In that case, suddenly, a Ford Figo @ 4.08 Ex-Mumbai seems to make a lot of sense.
 
Why is nobody suggesting a Wagon-R? The high seating and tall boy design makes it easiest for ingress-egress. Definitely recommended for the elderly. Although you will be able to fit in only a base version in the budget.
 
Dhrubo said:
Why is nobody suggesting a Wagon-R? The high seating and tall boy design makes it easiest for ingress-egress. Definitely recommended for the elderly. Although you will be able to fit in only a base version in the budget.
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The base version doesn't have power steering and hence wont be suitable for elderly folk.
 
@mithun

Man i totally forgotten the spark!

I do agree the Alto 800 is a car which is not at all suitable for ingress and outgress.
The car is also not decent in interior space as compared to te Eon and in most cases the Eon looks a lot more posh and feels a lot more premium for just a few extra k's.
The alto however will be quicker off the line but that isnt something to consider in this case.

My recommendations as follows :-

1) spark - i had purchased the beat from chevy last year and their after sales service and their cars are excellent.
I love the spark and the value it offers.
Carwale on road price for mumbai -3.91
For the base model

2) Hyundai Eon - this was the car i td'd for a friend along with the alto 800 few months back. This was my second td of the eon and to be honest, this car is worth the cash. The era version costs 3.90 as per carwale on road price.

Leaving the santro coz its a bit too old and currently in Mumbai every other cab is a santro.
 
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Same situation was with my friend's dad(hard core Maruti fan, already has two MS in home). I told him to try Spark
he loved it, esp the small wheelbase, excellent for parking, good ac, decent boot, etc

1L engine :enough power
4 cylinders : no stupid 3-cyl clatter(eon, alto, liva etc)
 
Is there any place i can see what the base version offers and what the versions above that offer ? For the same car i mean.
This will also help us in knowing if we would go for the base version or will it be any worth going for the next higher version and so on.
 
raksrules said:
Is there any place i can see what the base version offers and what the versions above that offer ? For the same car i mean.
This will also help us in knowing if we would go for the base version or will it be any worth going for the next higher version and so on.
Click to expand...

I have found carwale to be the best for that.
 
raksrules said:
Is there any place i can see what the base version offers and what the versions above that offer ? For the same car i mean.
This will also help us in knowing if we would go for the base version or will it be any worth going for the next higher version and so on.
Click to expand...
Any car magazine last few pages. Even a six month old issue will suffice your need.
 
Or so from the thread till now I see people suggesting

Alto (least preferred as per the votes here )
Chevy spark
Hyundai eon
Wagon r (no suggestion for this yet)

Over to experts here.
 
Now that you have a list, get started with the Test Drives I would say. Once you have TDed the shortlisted models in your budget, get your FIL to TD the i10 1.1 and the Figo Lxi just to make sure he doesn't rue his decision to save that 20k at a later point. I'll reserve my comments w.r.t. the Waggy, but in the price bracket of 3-5lacs, only one MS offering brings a smile to my face and that is the Ritz(rear design apart, its wonderful vfm).
 
raksrules said:
Or so from the thread till now I see people suggesting

Alto (least preferred as per the votes here )
Chevy spark
Hyundai eon
Wagon r (no suggestion for this yet)

Over to experts here.
Click to expand...


I would actually suggest you the wagon r before anything that has been mentioned but the Wagon R LXI variant which has the power steering and A/C would set you back by around 4 lakh 60 thousand.

Is it worth it?? Umm i think so because of its low maintainence nature and it is also very good on the highways unlike eon and spark. The ingress and outgress is perfect for old folks.
 
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