New Sedan Under Rs.12 Lacs with Good Ground Clearance


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Hi all,

I am in the market to get a new sedan. Currently using a zen and now thinking of getting an upgrade. Cannot go beyond 12lacs because of financial constraints. 12lac on road.

Looking at diesel as my monthly usage will be close to 1500km or more.

Cars that my family have in mind

Fiat linea - I love this car from my heart but the after sales complaints are really very bad and my parents will surely screw me if the car gets any issues as they are just OK OK with the car. The car is good but its a Fiat is what I get from them for now.

Ford fiesta - I loved the drive but I feel the back seat is not a good place to be in the car. My dad is not happy with the back seat so may just drop the idea of getting this one

Honda city - this car is good in terms of premiumness. Personally feel the hump on the back seat permits only 4 people to sit comfortably including the driver. The 5th person in the center will not be comfy sitting on the hump on the seat. Also scared of GC in this car.

Hyundai - never even test drove the car as my dad is completely against it

Nissan/Renault - not sure whether I should consider these cars

Skoda rapid - issues with after sales and that they are very costly to maintain

VW Vento - same as Skoda but if I had to choose between the two I like the vento better. One other issue is the GC too low for Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

A car list without maruti? Maruti Ciaz - My parents love it and I not so much. Feel the underthigh support is mediocre but they like the car anyway as its a maruti.

I'm stuck between Linea (except me everyone say its a FIAT!!!!), Ciaz (except me everyone like it and its their favorite). City and Vento are options I could consider

Need help to come down to at least 2 cars from which I can choose

I donno my heart says Linea and my family trying to brainwash me with Ciaz.
 
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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

If you could live with Fiat A.S.S, Linea is a no non-sense car. Having owned Linea for more than couple of years, I could say this with confidence. But be informed the rear bench isn't that spacious as Ciaz.

Prioritize your requirements to decide the car.
Linea:
Higher GC
Solid Build
Matured R&D

Ciaz:
Badge value
Spacious rear seats
More features

Looks are subjective and I don't include them to this list.
 

Akash1886

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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

Dear buddy, Ciaz Actually is a good car and based on the official figures of Ground Clearance of it that I have, it fairs better than City and Sunny. Not considering SX4 since its phased out but had one hell of a GC. I have one with me and find it way better in ingress/ egress and GC than my Honda 2011 City. Neither I am referring Hyundai Verna as its due for a face-lift early next year.

Ciaz- 170mm

Sunny- 160mm

Honda City 2014- 165mm

For detailed info on Ciaz: Please check this.

Regards

Akash
 
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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

Honda city - this car is good in terms of premiumness. Personally feel the hump on the back seat permits only 4 people to sit comfortably including the driver. The 5th person in the center will not be comfy sitting on the hump on the seat. Also scared of GC in this car.
Being a Honda City Diesel user, my comments on Honda City.
Honda City comfortably can accommodate 3 adults in the rear seat. The hump will not make much issues. I had traveled for almost 500KM stretch with 3 adults in the rear, no one felt uncomfortable.

After running the 10,000KMs, I haven't had any major scrapping under the body. Only unscientific humps (so called speed breaker) may touch the body.

Fiat, VW, Skoda may have better service in location in Bangalore (may be). If you are changing the locations frequently, you may consider the ASS of the above.
 

Akash1886

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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

After running the 10,000KMs, I haven't had any major scrapping under the body. Only unscientific humps (so called speed breaker) may touch the body.
Gandhi, you have that 165mm GC wala Honda City right. Ya, that's better than any of its previous siblings. Rear seat comfort is also good in City. But in comparison to Ciaz, the GC is slightly low. I feel there is a eternal rivalry between Ciaz and City. Feature wise too Ciaz can be more VFM than a CITY.

Regards

Akash
 
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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

Gandhi, you have that 165mm GC wala Honda City right. Ya, that's better than any of its previous siblings. Rear seat comfort is also good in City. But in comparison to Ciaz, the GC is slightly low. I feel there is a eternal rivalry between Ciaz and City. Feature wise too Ciaz can be more VFM than a CITY.

Regards

Akash
Yes Akash, I have Honda City 2014 with GC of 165mm. I'm just trying to clarify yerabaka's misconception on Honda City 2014.

May be Ciaz is VFM over City. Ciaz is under powered (I think Ciaz is least powered under the hood [frustration]. The same Fiat engine. But FIAT gives good build quality) which is stopping me to refer Ciaz.
 

Akash1886

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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

Ciaz is under powered (I think Ciaz is least powered under the hood. The same Fiat engine. But FIAT gives good build quality) which is stopping me to refer Ciaz.
Yes that's the same Fiat sourced Engine. Well I agree for the 1.5 naturally aspirated Ivtec. Its one rev-friendly engine. But those who have test driven Ciaz are of the opinion that engine doesn't feel that bad in drive as the figures suggest.

Regards

Akash
 
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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

Maybe you should consider the Ertiga. It can be a sedan when you need, it can be a people mover at other times or it can be a luggage hauler when necessary. It is an extremely versatile car provided you don't mind watch the neighbours think.
 
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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

Since GC seems to be the main criterio, I would suggest linea. Ciaz and city will do good negtiating small humps. but if you need a vechile that can take on any humps, it has to be linea upto certain extent or get into the UV segment and lot of options from ertiga, xylo, duster, terrano and safari.
 
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Fiat linea - I love this car from my heart but the after sales complaints are really very bad and my parents will surely screw me if the car gets any issues as they are just OK OK with the car. The car is good but its a Fiat is what I get from them for now.
Please buy the Linea with your eyes closed .Tell your parents that there are enough satisfied users of Fiat cars in India and they face next to nil problems. This after-sales myth of Fiat can be debunked only by satisfied users like yours truly. 25500km on Fiat Linea T-Jet, ZERO problems till date. Z-E-R-O.
 
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Maybe you should consider the Ertiga. It can be a sedan when you need, it
Sedan??? Will you please elaborate on this ? If Ertiga can be labelled as sedan then what purpose the Ciaz serve from the same stable?

Considering it being a family car go for Ciaz.
almost all the cars in Yerabaka 's list are family cars.
Fiat linea - I love this car from my heart but the after sales complaints are really very bad
Recently fiat has come up with its own or exclusive dealerships. So it is necessary to go in details about the ASS complaints, especially about time, city & names of the dealers.

It fits your budget very well. And fiat ASS is not costly.

Ford fiesta - I loved the drive but
Eighter edit the title of the thread or delete it from the list GC is 156 mm.
Hyundai - my dad is completely against it
Why?
Anyways, By virtue of soft suspension, Verna 's underbody can scrap a hump especially when fully ladden
Nissan/Renault - not sure whether I should consider these cars
I have test drove sedans of both brands. Scala SE told me to be careful on speed breakers before TD.
Sunny is little bit better on GC but I haven't came across such punny rearseats.

VW Vento - One other issue is the GC too low for Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
Agreed on GC & cost of ASS . AFA GC is concerned Skoda Rapid is bit better than Vento on this front, however Rapid is likely get major face-lift in 2015.

I'm stuck between Linea (except me everyone say its a FIAT!!!!)
No problem buddy, you can also call it Fiat!
Past reputation of fiat was spoiled because of low GC And underbody scrapping use to lead to some serious damage to important parts such as oil sump, fuel lines etc leading cars getting stranded in the middle of roads.
But since 2012, Linea Mjd GC has been increased to 185 mm against previous 160 mm.

Recently, I have TD Linea Mjd on really bad roads extensively with 5 full size adults on board. On Pune's really big humps, I was able to pass the car @40 kmph without scrapping the underbody and without giving a feel of unsettling to the occupants.You can also try it on Banglore speed breakers with family on board.

Other thing which tarnished fiat image was cost of ASS as in the past they needed to import spares from Italy which use to invite 100 %tax on them and it use to take more than 15 days time to arrive at Indian shores. This use to increase the delay at ASS.
But, now their cars and spares are getting manufactured in India hence less taxes and cheaper.
If you explain this to your family, it would be easy to reduce the exclamation marks associated with comments on Fiat.
And mind well, Linea is pure driver pleasure car and 2014 Linea comes with whopping discounts. Top end comes with Cruise control also.

Ciaz (except me everyone like it and its their favorite)
Any special reason cited by them to pefer it over Linea other than resale value?
Maruti cars are known for their resale value in India and failure in safety tests in foreign countries.
It is up to you to decide whether you want to become a used car dealer or driving pleasure & high safety profile.

City and Vento are options.
Hondas were known for reliability and refinement but AFA diesel is concerned they are still in R&D state.
 
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The ertiga is sedan like when driving if one were to flip the last row down you would have enormous luggage space, the versatility of this vehicle is unmatched. I would avoid fiat like the plague!
 
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Re: new sedan under 12lacs with a king of good GC

If you could live with Fiat A.S.S, Linea is a no non-sense car. Having owned Linea for more than couple of years, I could say this with confidence. But be informed the rear bench isn't that spacious as Ciaz.

Prioritize your requirements to decide the car.
Linea:
Higher GC
Solid Build
Matured R&D

Ciaz:
Badge value
Spacious rear seats
More features

Looks are subjective and I don't include them to this list.
So if you are not brand conscious or conserve to some specific category, then you can think of compact SVU's where you can get good ground clearance. Although each category has its own style statement.

Cars like Ford Eco-Sports, Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano will have much a ground clearance.

Well if you do not want to have SUV's then Skoda Rapid, VW Vento, Fiat Linea, Ford Fiesta, MS Ciaz, Honda City, Hyundai Verna are better options.

Thinking of Diesel variant Rapid, Vento, Linea are really better option than the rest.

If you love gadgets & gizmos and loves smoothness Hyundai can serve you the purpose.

One more thing all above car I did mentioned, but Ford Fiesta is the only car which comes along with Electronic Stability Program [ESP]. And Linea is the only car that comes with "early crash sensor" [this features is mostly found in expensive car like Volvo, Mercedes, BMW, Audi etc.]

My Choice : Ford Fiesta
 
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