Looking For New Family Car

[bimlendrak]

Hello Team,

I am looking for a new car. My budget is 4.2 -- 4.75 Lacs (max 5 Lac).
We are a family of 3 and looking for a family car with good space.
My monthly running would be 300 -400 Km per month + 3000-4000 Km highway trips yearly.
Roughly, it would be 7k -9K per year at max.
I have checked below option available :

1> Alto 800 / K10 new – (not suited)
• Front seats Ok.
• Not so good rear bench
• Suitable for small distance ride only.
2> Santro (no)
• Good old car
• Reliable, sturdy and well built
• Production shut down in near month
• Spares availability/ resale will be issue
3> Wagon-R (yes)
• Space, space and space . Comfortable
• Acceptable performance in city
• Well within budget
• Fully loaded vxi trim @ 4.52 Lacs on road in Pune.
• Good features like Rear wash-wipe/ fog lamps/ Music system
• ABS-Airbag option available at 4.85 Lacs
• Not so sure about highway performance

4> Hyundai i10 (no)
• Quite high priced
• No VFM
• Magna trim costs 4.7 Lac on road with no Music system / fog lamps/Rear wash-wipe.
• Era version is poorly equipeed
• Same 1.1 ltr Santro engine.
5> Datsun Go (Not sure)
• Spacious
• Big car like feel
• Poorly equipped
• Very thin Nissan dealership network.
• Not so sure about future
• No Safety at all.


Would like to have advice from Forum mebers about Wagon-R ownership experience, its highway performance.
is it good to buyWagon-R with ABS/ airbag..

Also, pl suggest any other options if missed.


Thanks,
Bimelndra

 

[acechip]

Stretch your budget a bit and go for Nissan Micra Active. It has space, (more than Wagon R), boot space, safety and is a well built car in general. And dont be misled by the low GC on paper. It performs quite well with out ever scraping. I have a Nissan Micra (XV CVT) and it has done quite well (zero issues, 10K kms in first year) , with good fuel effficiency for an automatic.

 

[rsrs_in]

Wagon R is a good bet, I did review this while considering a small car. however did not go for it only because it was less in space for me, also was not sure if the bodyroll on highway will be within manageable levels.

Try the Sail hatch, suprisingly there are deals going on it and the space, power is more than enough. I booked a sail hatch and hence sharing.

If I had the funds I would have also considered 120 and Polo.

 

[Hari Nair]

Why dont you try the Chevrolet Beat. It has got decent leg room in the back

 

[thenali]

In my opinion wagon r is not suitable for highway trips. If you can stretch your budget a little more, go for beat petrol Lt(o) with twin airbags and abs.it has got very good built quality,adequate rear legroom for a medium sized adult,4 star safety rating. Further if you are able to strech a lakh more, you can get polo petrol with twin airbags. Polo is my choice which ticks all boxes space,ride,build,safety,look. Go for polo you will not regret.

 

[vijay_968]

Hello Team,

My budget is 4.2 -- 4.75 Lacs (max 5 Lac) ... family of 3 and looking for ... good space . ..
1> Alto 800 / K10 new – (not suited) ... Not so good rear bench ... Suitable for small distance ride only.
...
3> Wagon-R (yes)
...
4> Hyundai i10 (no) ... Quite high priced ... No VFM ... Magna trim costs 4.7 Lac on road with no Music system / fog lamps/Rear wash-wipe.
...
5> Datsun Go (Not sure)
... Also, pl suggest any other options if missed.
Thanks,
Bimelndra

First, I'll say a little about your choices. Pls do not discount Alto K10 just like that. It is quite decent for the price. Rear bench is for the Chottu and occasional guests/friends etc. So do NOT let that be a determining argument. I've seen quite a few Altos on the Highways. As long as you know the limitation of the car and drive sensibly, any small car is good enough on the NHs. But, if your heart says No, then forget it.

Wagon-R. A big NO. IIRC, 13-14 year old design, that too soap-box-on-wheels design. I would like you to be eager to take the car out. I rarely see this car on the Highway. If you ONLY want basic convenience for City commuting, then you might consider this. If you want something more from the car and had you been my relative AND if you had chosen W-R, I would have locked you up in my house, till you changed your mind.

Hyundai i10 introduces Luxury to its owner, w/o migrating to a good Sedan. The feel-good factor coming with i10 is worth the price. It's like buying a Samsung instead of a Micromax. Add 15K for a good audio system + 2K for Fog lamps to the 4.7 Lac and it is still less than your max limit of 5 Lacs. I drive a Verna; it doesn't have rear wash-wiper; it doesn't matter IMHO. My friends have Waggy and i10. We sometimes sit in the back seat of our cars for some nonsense talks. I feel more relaxed in an i10, as compared to the Waggy.
more relaxed = more nonsense talk = late to home = Danda from home Minister.

Datsun Go. Yet another Big NO. Just google "withdraw Datsun Go" to know why.

Now, it is "suggesting other options" time.
1. I second recommendation by acechip on Nissan Micra Active XE. It is very good.
2. You can also consider Hyundai EON 1.0L Magna Plus (O) and Maruti Celerio VXi. The car will be with you for 3-7 years; spend a week's time in TDing as many vehicles as possible. Ask your Home Minister about her opinion. They normally say they'll choose the Color, but, if they don't give a 2nd glance at a Car, that Car SHALL NEVER be bought. Good luck.

 

[bharathbigb]

May I know why is the New Chevrolet Spark LT not considered ? It looks much better and is much more safer than the Alto K10 and the Waggy.She does NOT drive like a Tall-boy ! It is also rarer to see it on roads so it will be a Head-turner ! Please consider it.

 

[furious_driver]

My suggestions will be :

1. Celerio ZXi - (Top end within your budget)
+Space
+M.A.S.S
+Mileage(Many claimed a whooping 20+, i mean 20 in petrol?)
+Tall-boy, ingress/egress is not an issue
+Decent boot

-Cheap interiors
-Engine purely for City driving and occasional highway driving

Grand i10 Magna 1.2 VTVT (With discounts in Dec, it will be within your budget)
+Premium interiors
+Legroom in rear seat
+Peppy engine
+Feature list that no one can match
+Awesome highway manners
+Decent boot
+Impressive NVH levels
-No Audio system
-Many claim that steering is bit vague, but I never felt so. TD to feel it yourself

Nissan Micra Active XV (With discounts, will come close to 5L)
+Fun to drive
+Good for City driving
+Audio system
-Nissan's miniscule A.S.S
-3cyl engine for 5L? (If you are okay with it!)
-Space is limited IMO and rear legroom in Grand/Celerio is better than Micra

Just note down +/- like this and decide for yourself. Just TD all the options first.

 

[karthick raja]

Extend some more and go for Grand i10. Brio, Micra is also a good option.

 

[Akash1886]

Dear Bimlendra,

Is there a specific reason for omitting Chevrolet Beat? Also, I feel Wagon R is a good car and out of all hatchbacks, the best driver and passenger seating position(even if tall people) is with Wagon R. Apart from that Maruti's ASC network is icing on the cake. Whereas Chevrolet Beat is also a good car and one of the most selling car of Chevrolet.

Regards

Akash

 

[bimlendrak]

Thanks a ton guyz..
Superb advices coming from all corners.
Ok so my next course of action would be TD below vehicles :

1. Alto K10 new -
• Will check for rear seat space.
• In fact, it may suit most of my requirement.

2. Celerio Zxi
• 5.15 Lac for a 3 pot engine with no Safety, cheap interior
• From MASS

3. Grand i10 magna
• Current price is 5.4 Lac in Pune.
• Would be a deal if able to get free insurance, thus a superb all rounder at 5.2 Lac.
• May add Music system later.
4. Hyundai i10
• Great choice at 5 Lac for Sportz version
5. Micra active -
• Its fun to drive and No-Nonsense type
• Will check its XV and XVS version.
Thanks all ( acechip ,Rsrs_in, Hari_Nair, Thenali, Vijay, bharathbigb, furious_driver, Karthik_raja ) for your value able suggestions. Will keep you guys posted further once I start Taking TD.

Why not selected any Chevy? – Have heard that after 3 yr free maintenance schedule, it costs a bomb to maintain Beat/Sail. This opinion came from my colleague who owns Optra.

Polo - Costly, high maintenance. Also, have got bad reviews about spares availability and cost (Source- Team-bhp).


Thanks,
Bimlendra

 

[Altocumulus]

Depending on how long you want to keep the car, stretch your budget a bit and go for a car with safety kit. Below are the reasons:

1. You mentioned you will have considerable highway travel, being one of your priorities. You never know when an ABS + Airbag may come handy.
2. From October 2015 all cars are to have Safety Kits. So after that resale value of cars without it presumably will plummet.

I would say stretch your budget a little bit and go for the Ritz Zxi. Huge discounts on it. You get everything you want + Kseries 1.2 L engine which is a jewel. It has all the goodies you can ask for , absolute VFM at that price. Ofcourse if you are okay with the looks.

 

[Akash1886]

Why not selected any Chevy? – Have heard that after 3 yr free maintenance schedule, it costs a bomb to maintain Beat/Sail. This opinion came from my colleague who owns Optra.

See, there is no doubt that maintaining an Optra is really expensive. I have owned it for 18 months. But, the maintenance depends from car to car dear. Maintaining a hatchback like Beat won't cost a bomb. Don't mistake it for being a premium segment hatch. Allow me to state that the 2 most reasonable vehicles to maintain from Chevrolet are Beat and Spark only.

Chevrolet Sail is an attempt by Chevrolet to gain foot-hold in the premium hatch segment.

Regards

Akash

 

[vijay_968]

May I know why is the New Chevrolet Spark LT not considered ? ...

Spark is too long in the tooth. Dismissed.

... Is there a specific reason for omitting Chevrolet Beat? ...

Chevy Beat? Great Design, Poor pricing. It could have given i10 a run for money. The 3 Pot Diesel is a Gem; but, pricing ? Interior Dimensions of Spark and Beat are almost identical. And... all bad words come to me, so, I'll stop here.

Sorry, but time to go
About Chevy and Sail Sedan: Chevy has become a sort of risky proposal in India. Just look at the monthly Sales Figures. If I do not know someone personally, I do not suggest a Chevy. Sometime back, I recommended Petrol Sail Sedan to one of my friends. After the TD, his family ruled-out the earlier 1st Choice Dzire. They are happy with their car. You should see a Sail Sedan doing duty on the Highway. It bloody SAILS; Big, Comfy, Neutral on the Eyes. But, not for the normal folk. One needs to evaluate VERY CALM and shall I say a bit adventurous (I can here the Chevy owners shouting YEY!) before committing to a Chevy. Yo guys from General the Motor, you know how to s*@## things up.

Why the heck am I rattling all these? I'm one of those idiots who expected the Beat to transform (pun intended) Indian Auto Market .

 

[amitpshelke]

GO for MS StringRay Vxi [ABS].

Well equipped features like ABS+Airbag, HID, piano black finish interior, gun metal finish alloys.

There is no car in the market with above features & great space. Also interior space and head room gives a roomy feeling.


Visit showroom. Take a test drive. Best car for CITY ride and can be taken on highways easily.