Advice on Purchasing a New Car

[pradeepgems]

TAI'ns,

I just joined recently to get advice from experts about which car would suit for my family need. Below are my requirements:

1. The main purpose is to keep for long drive; we may drive 3000 km easily for long journey (Hyderabad - Coimbatore - Cochin - Coimbatore - Hyderabad).
2. Three people usually on board but occasionally 7 people (5 adults + 2 kids) for long journey.
3. Expecting pretty good luggage space, I am okay with roof top carrier.
4. Should be very comfortable for long drive. We have elder in our family (aged 60+) but she is enthusiast for long drive.
5. City drive should be comfortable as well for all of us (7 people on board).
6. Expecting to drive only on highways. NO OFF ROAD drive.
7. Budget can be up to 11 lakhs.
8. We have planned to keep the car for at least 10 years, so not worried about re-sale value, but at the same time I don't like too many visits to service center when the car becomes old.
9. My daily drive to office is about 40 km a day and weekends may go up to 150 km.

I have not shortlisted any cars so far and I am open to take any practical feedback from TAI’ns and I am not in a hurry to book the car immediately as I can wait till December 2013. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[dharmesh]

5 adults + 2 kids == Eritga

Here is one of the comprehensive ownership report for Ertiga.

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...uzuki-ertiga-zdi-bought-ownership-review.html

Other options may be Chevrolet Enjoy, 2-3 members of TAI have already bought the same.

Here are the links to their ownership report.

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/ownership-reviews/14087-my-new-chevrolet-enjoy.html
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...vrolet-enjoy-ls-initial-ownership-review.html

Other car I can think of is Quanto, But I personally dont like the looks. But you may like it.

These are the three cars I can suggest you in the priority of

1. Ertiga
2. Enjoy
3. Quanto

 

[Raaj]

In addition to the above mentioned, you may have a look at Innova, Scorpio, Safari/Storme, Xylo, XUV500 or Aria.

And, Since you are planning long journeys on highways, Make sure ABS as mandatory in your vehicle. All the Best.

 

[draneeshpm]

Pradeepgems Ertiga and Enjoy ticks your most requirements.
Regards,
Aneesh.

 

[pradeepgems]

Dharmaesh,

My Opinion on few cars:

Enjoy :
Pros:

1. Good space
2. Captain seats
3. AC is really good.
​

Cons:

1. Family did not like because of look and ride quality is not good as Ertiga.
2. I did test drive and seems it is not driver friendly car either, and pickup is not great.
3. overtaking on highways little bit risk.
4. Bored interiors and single din audio system.
5. Service network is the problem as I don't see many.
​

Quanto:

Pros:

1. It is practical city driving car rather than highways.
2. AC is good​

Cons:

1. 0-100KM takes leisure time of 17 seconds, so certainly cannot impress for long journey where we need to overtake immediately.
2. I am skeptical on ride quality because it is not good as Scorpio.
3. I did not like the look of this car.
​

Ertiga:

Prons:

1. Certainly good car in terms of ride quality.
2. Decent space for 5 Adults + 2 Kids and roof top carrier may help me to keep the luggage.
3. Ertiga pick up is really good and especially when the turbo kicks, it just goes like jet. Overtaking is easy when driving on highways.
4. Except front side look, it is really good.
5. Better mileage than any other car in this segment.
​

Cons:

1. I doubt about the reliability because it is still relatively new to get long term ownership feedback.
2. AC is decent but in damn summer it is going to be hard time for 7 people on board while driving long journey.​

but still I see Ertiga is better than any other cars, however I would like to get advice from long term owners of Ertiga. It seems Ertiga Wins in this segment. Brio MPV also seems getting launched in 2014 ( may be first quarter?). I think I will wait to see this car in Indonesia market as already pre-booking started.

@Raaj,

Scorpio is dying model, Mahendra needs to refresh this model. Xylo reliability may be good but believe me when I did test drive I just got back pain and it is bouncy MPV so dropped from my list. XUV 500 is really fun to drive and good for long journey but I heard so many niggles and nagging issues.

Innova:

Pros:

1. Certainly a good MPV for comfort & ride quality.
2. Pretty good AC
3. It is 8 seater vehicle.
4. Toyota reliability is excellent, so you will not be worried much.
5. It is abusive friendly vehicle, so can be driven by many people.​

Cons:

1. it is too much priced on road top-end.
2. if you dirve more than 100KM speed, you hear engine noise and slight vibration gets inside the cabin.
3. Mileage is not like Ertiga.​

However, if any thread available already about comparing Ertiga and Innova in terms of long term reliability, that will be great. Appreciate any advices.

 

[dharmesh]

With Ertiga (read Maruti) there are less chances of going wrong as far as reliability is concerned. The engine that Ertiga diesel uses is well known engine that is being used widely in many cars including Enjoy in India.

regarding AC, you can also go aftermarket roof AC vents, which will only serve as blower. Taking air from front section and blow it on the rear section.

Else, I dont see any issue as in why you should not go with Ertiga. And it is comparatively smaller in size than Innova so city driving will be easier as well IMO.

For comparison between Innova and Ertiga, you can have look at this video below:

2012 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Vs Toyota Innova | Comparison Test | Autocar India - YouTube

 

[vikyjoshi]

Hi Pradeep,

if 11 L OTR is ur budget, I recently got Storme LX for around 11.8L on road. Youwill get good discounts. Its a wonderful vehicle to drive.

From M&M stable you have a Scorpio facelift coming. Could be around 2014.

For long drives a bigger car would be better. IMO.

There is yet another car in the market, called the Aria. Experience it. its a great car if u have 7 Adults.

 

[envynicky]

Aria is a perfect 7 person long Drive family. The only concerns being past multiple issues reports plus big price tag (now being offered with hefty discounts.

Aria, Innova, Scorpio, Xylo would compare on mileage but Ertiga wins here. Between Scorpio and Xylo, it has to be Xylo that wins as for Long Drive Scorpio is crampy and not that comfortable. Xylo has lot of space on offer

 

[Raaj]

Frankly Ertiga is nowhere competitive to its rivals. It's engine is same as Swift or Dzire. Where as the rival engines are nearly 2000 CC diesels. So, naturally, they have less mileage but too good on highway performance. So, its like a competition between Beauty Vs Beast.

 

[TAIDhana]

Ertiga seems to be a good fit considering your requirements and constraints. For 5 people you will get plenty of luggage space in Ertiga. But with 7 people on board there is hardly any luggage space even for a 2 day trip. Some Ertigans have installed roof top carrier - which is definitely an option. For that matter, even big brothers like Innova of XUV don't have much space with all seats in place.

I was also very apprehensive about the power aspect and never had Ertiga in my list since I owned a rocket before (Hyundai Verna). But the perception changed after I test drove Ertiga with 4 people on board. It is probably 10 - 15% less powerful than my earlier car, but I went ahead considering the practicality Ertiga offers. I did miss power-on-tap for first 1 month or so, after which I got used to Ertiga.

However you might want to test drive yourself to see on this aspect since there is lot of subjectivity involved and everyone have different driving styles. And your previous car also matters.

 

[ss80]

Recently I drove a Enjoy & this is my opinion about the car (may be useful to you)

Positives:
1. SPACE, SPACE & SPAAAAAAAACE...tons of it
2. Engine refinement is good & turbo surprisingly kicks in a bit early & helps in city driving by great extent
3. Clutch is feather light (yes its a hydraulic one), Gearshift is weightless! the effort required is so less (much lesser than Beat, Zen, Sumo etc)
4. Turning radius is lesser than what I thought
5. Tyre upgrade is adding more fun to the drive
6. Wheel caps look almost like alloys at night
7. AC throw is fantastic, cooling is felt even in last row within a minute of switching on the AC.
8. A complete VFM car, that delivers more features than its competitor Ertiga at a lesser price.
9. All service points are easy to access - air filter, oil filter is behind grill instead of underside, ECU is in engine bay (but well protected from water etc)
10. Rear Wheel Drive, turbo charged Fiat engine, HPS, Coil springs, double AC, power windows - that's a lot of things to get factory fitted in this segment.
11. Car will be easy to drive even in city, although it doesn't look like that
12. If last row is folded, the luggage space is fantastic.
13. Suspension is good, did a fast TD on a variety of roads, comfortable ride guaranteed

Downside:
1. Quality of plastic on the door lock/unlock thing is not that good
2. Looks is where this car loses to Ertiga, boxy rear design can be a deal breaker for some buyers
3. Second gear with AC seems to have less power (only in this gear) - may be I am wrong
4. With all seats up, almost nill luggage space (just like ertiga)
5. Overall plastics are not bad (like say nano/sumo victa/etios etc), I just expected a bit more since so many features were available
6. Wheels could have been a bit bigger for a car this size
7. Strength of the armrest in middle seats is something to worry about on the long run.

Ertiga:
It is a good car, but the price is not justified especially for the LDi variant where they sell bare bones (car without any features as such). Even rims are silver colour & without wheel caps! Maruti assumes its brand value can make customers pay any price.

Chevrolet has good no:of service centres (atleast here in Bangalore, not sure about Hyd). Anyway only once in 15,000kms you are going to visit the service centre (hopefully) in that case I think the Service center count should not really matter.

The biggest plus point of Ertiga is "Ertiga has VGT which costs more than FGT of enjoy". Although we do have a fair no:of FGT lovers (for its sudden acceleration) like our favorite Gurrala Sir .

 

[icecool]

Since you are planning for a highway car, i feel security features, high speed stability, comfort and overtaking pickup(when completely loaded) is quite essential. Also you even speak of office driving the same for 40kms a day, so it should be peppy, easy to maneuver, and should not feel the bulk. Considering all this here is my list in order of priority

1. Innova ( 2-3 years old - if you do not have a brand new only requirement)
2. Ertiga top model
3. Tata Safari / Storme (storme is new so that gets a upper hand here)
4. Evalia
5. Xylo
6. Enjoy

Aria is a very good car, but expensive. Big discounts are also available. But in city driving, you may feel the bulk.

 

[TAIDhana]

Recently I drove a Enjoy & this is my opinion about the car (may be useful to you)

Positives:
1. SPACE, SPACE & SPAAAAAAAACE...tons of it
2. Engine refinement is good & turbo surprisingly kicks in a bit early & helps in city driving by great extent
3. Clutch is feather light (yes its a hydraulic one), Gearshift is weightless! the effort required is so less (much lesser than Beat, Zen, Sumo etc)
4. Turning radius is lesser than what I thought
5. Tyre upgrade is adding more fun to the drive
6. Wheel caps look almost like alloys at night
7. AC throw is fantastic, cooling is felt even in last row within a minute of switching on the AC.
8. A complete VFM car, that delivers more features than its competitor Ertiga at a lesser price.
9. All service points are easy to access - air filter, oil filter is behind grill instead of underside, ECU is in engine bay (but well protected from water etc)
10. Rear Wheel Drive, turbo charged Fiat engine, HPS, Coil springs, double AC, power windows - that's a lot of things to get factory fitted in this segment.
11. Car will be easy to drive even in city, although it doesn't look like that
12. If last row is folded, the luggage space is fantastic.
13. Suspension is good, did a fast TD on a variety of roads, comfortable ride guaranteed

Downside:
1. Quality of plastic on the door lock/unlock thing is not that good
2. Looks is where this car loses to Ertiga, boxy rear design can be a deal breaker for some buyers
3. Second gear with AC seems to have less power (only in this gear) - may be I am wrong
4. With all seats up, almost nill luggage space (just like ertiga)
5. Overall plastics are not bad (like say nano/sumo victa/etios etc), I just expected a bit more since so many features were available
6. Wheels could have been a bit bigger for a car this size
7. Strength of the armrest in middle seats is something to worry about on the long run.

Ertiga:
It is a good car, but the price is not justified especially for the LDi variant where they sell bare bones (car without any features as such). Even rims are silver colour & without wheel caps! Maruti assumes its brand value can make customers pay any price.

Chevrolet has good no:of service centres (atleast here in Bangalore, not sure about Hyd). Anyway only once in 15,000kms you are going to visit the service centre (hopefully) in that case I think the Service center count should not really matter.

The biggest plus point of Ertiga is "Ertiga has VGT which costs more than FGT of enjoy". Although we do have a fair no:of FGT lovers (for its sudden acceleration) like our favorite Gurrala Sir .

Enjoy should be a good alternative to consider and you have 'captain' seat option in the mid row too. If one thing I am not happy about the Ertiga it is the suspension. American cars are generally built to be more comfortable and hence I am guessing suspension would be better in Enjoy.

What you pay more for Ertiga is definitely justified, for the fit and finish, better looks** inside out, peace of mind, guaranteed resale premium (the initial price difference will be easily offset). In spite of the lower price, we hardly see any Enjoy on the road.

**Looks is subjective and Enjoy looks much better in person (than in photographs).

 

[Gurrala74]

@Pradeep

I have a Ritz and if I am not wrong Ertiga has the same powered engine under the hood. No doubt Ertiga is good family car and can't go wrong on reliability for sure and definitely returns good FE, But for the kind of High way drive(of 3000km) with 7 on board it may have limited capabilities either it is power or comfort for long travel, this is where you need to think about it as how many times you do such long trip, it is once in 6 months then you can really go for this car.

I heard Enjoy is good, but I do not have any experience about it, our members Vishwas, Varun can comment on the same and you can also check the Evilia too

Next comfortable option is TATA Safari Storme within that budget as told by Vikyjoshi, I am not referring you XUV 500 as it is out of that budget(if you can increase the budget then you can go for that too). Storme is an excently highway SUV with lot of comfort and you will really enjoy driving it and comes with safety too which is most important on highway drive. At the same time it is also very good to drive this beast in city effortless as Vikyjoshi and Rajiv can elaborate on this much.

The other comfortable option is Innova, yes it is very comfortable for sure, but the down side is that it is beyond your budget and using it in city is bit painful as per my experience

 

[dharmesh]

^^ Gurrala. Ertiga and Enjoy both have same engine. But Ertiga is the one with 90PS and Enjoy have 77 PS. so in this front Ertiga provides more power than Enjoy.