Car To Replace Swift


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Thinking of replacing my year old Swift as my mom is having a lot of difficulty getting into the back seat. Plus wanted to get a car with abs & airbags. I tested the following

Maruti Baleno Sigma- TDed the Alpha (as no Sigma or Delta available for TD)and found the car to be less peppy than the Swift. Gear stick is not in the correct comfortable place. Brakes seem soft, just like the Swift. And its a new car, so its problems are not known. Plus very long waiting period even for the base Sigma with no way to see the fit & finish of the base

Maruti Dzire vxi- Surprisingly, she was really comfortable getting in & out even though its just a Swift with a boot. There are minor changes though that help, especially the door size. My issue with the car is that the brake issue i have with the Swift (indifferent spongy brakes at half clutch in traffic) havent been resolved in the Vxi. The back seat is fixed whereas i need folding seat for some purposes. the top end zxi that has the features and even the vxi is more expensive than corresponding spec the Baleno

Honda amaze ex / s - test drove a neighbours s mt & its brakes are as should be. The sx variant is too expensive though. My mom didnt seem to have any issue getting in & out of the s mt. Also, interiors are very basic & i am hearing a lot about quality issues. The Ex may be the only car in my budget and that doesnt have airbags. Based on my test drive of the S mt, abs may not really be necessary here

Tata Zest xms- TDed one but the dealer himself told us that one was not in good shape and promised to send the proper one on Sunday. I liked the fit & finish and the way the car is built with doors etc feeling solid. Again the car doesnt have folding rear seats. And its a Tata, so wondering regarding longevity. The car is just a little bit of a stretch to buy. The xm variant is cheaper but doesnt have airbags

Toyota Etios Cross G- haven't test driven but liked the way it looked and mom was able to get in and out ok. Really liked Toyota's approach of one price with everything included and am told their cars have very few problems. But its the most expensive of the lot & has a long waiting time. Plus i am told handling is just ok & not great as compared to the Swift. Plus it doesnt have ABS in the G trim

Ford Figo Aspire- nice soft smooth driving car. Doesn't have folding rear seats again. Plus concerned regarding Ford's bad reputation in india. Not sure what to make of it

Honda Jazz s- this is the car u started my search with. Very spacious and easy to get in & out of. Floats down the road. But the car in my budget doesnt have abs & airbags. also, hearing a lot recently regarding the power not being sufficient on slopes & of quality issues stemming from honda making the car too light. Also the car has a long waiting period & has no discounts or offers

Hyundai Elite i20 / xcent- havent been in either as yet. The abs+airbag trims are very expensive & sm told the non abs trims have the same spongy brake feel as the Swift. Plus there was a 3 month waiting last time i tried

Now getting really confused. My budget peaks off at 7l including rear camera with sensors, rust proofing, sealant, seat covers, carpet lamination, rubbing strips and a basic music system (i intend to transfer my HU from my Swift to the new car & pass the Swift off with a basic HU). I dont mind receiving my car in January especially since some of what i saw have that kind of waiting periods. Please suggest what to do

Ameyam
 
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@Ameyam:
Since you are well aware of engines and all; let's straight ahead move to the rear seat experience:
Baleno: Low seat, flat like a bench and small rear door. Even I too felt uncomfortable while getting out of Balenos' rear seat.
i20: Well shaped and placed rear seat and the A/C vents just add a bit more to the feeling of comfort. Definitely the place to be in as compared to the Baleno.
Zest and Bolt: Well padded, well shaped and well placed rear seat with a large door for comfortable ingress and egress.
Swift DZire: A nice rear seat with a bad legroom for a tall person.

My Recommendations:
1) Swift DZire ZXi
2) Zest/Bolt XT
3) Hyundai Xcent S(O)

All three will get ABS and airbags, have a comfortable rear seat and will fit your budget, even if they jump; then also the jump won't be any significant. Rest if we take the discounts on the said cars into consideration then all three of them will easily fit the bill and still fulfilling all your requirements.
 
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Hi,

Xcent S [o] doesnt have airbags (as per the internet). They start from SX model. The Swift dzire zxi & xcent s(o) are too expensive.
The zest works but is the car reliable in terms of quality. Need some user experience here
Nissan Renault have not considered due to aftersales consideration

Ameyam

Also, having seen the competition, i am wondering whether to go for the Jazz only.

Ameyam
 
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Ask your mom to check fiat Avventura back seat. You need to get in or get out of the car. No climbing in or alighting down.
 
Thread Starter #6
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Well, lets take this one by one
To keep an apple to apple comparison, I will keep the on-road price in the same ball park of 6.5-6.75L. Not considering any exchange bonus or discount

Honda Amaze S MT (7.23L - 45k discount): Compared to the other cars, the space and interiors are not that great for the price. The S version does not have air bags. So I am not too keen

Ford Aspire Trend MT(7.01L): Nice soft driving car and feature loaded. However, the Trend does not have ABS. Pedal feel in the test drive was just OK. Plus Ford is known for high maintenance costs, isint it?

Tata Zest XMS / XM (XMS 6.9l XM 6.7) : Test drove it today on familiar roads in my locality. Nice spacious car with good features. ABS, CSC and Airbags from the XMS variant. However, you can feel the engine rattling in the gear stick which even the sales rep admitted. The driver side mirror on the one I drove didnt open up to the point I couldnt see the corner of my car but I dont remember this problem in the one I drove yesterday. When I raised the seat handle to straighten the back, it just refused to go down. Quality issues there. And dont Tata cars have a reputation for falling apart sooner? TATA OWNERS PLEASE ADVICE

Hyundai Xcent S(O)-7L/ SX-7.4L- The S (O) doesnt have airbags. Both are way too expensive. Even with discounts, the front seat space is less that the others. Not too keen

Maruti Swift Dzire VXI (7L): Known and established car but lacks the basic features- no ABS or airbags in this one. However, really like the interiors and backed by good support network. Not sure what to make of it. The ZXI is 8.1L (with discounts 7.5L but thats out of my budget) and didnt it have hard brake pedal / ABS calibration issues?

Maruti Baleno Sigma / Delta: When I test drove it, I didnt feel it was a peppy as the Swift. However, I did end up driving a 500km old car and judging it in bumper to bumper traffic and then thought it wasnt as eager as the Swift! I think, the Base Sigma is not too bad as it provides ABS+airbags in 5.9L. If I step up to the Delta, I get a lot more features at 6.8L, it isint too far out of my budget. The current waiting period also ties in with my timelines for purchase (after Jan 2016 registration).
I have asked someone to snap the Sigma from Nexa, Pune and send me the pics for a better feel of the Sigma

I20 Elite Magna / Sportz: The Magna is 6.7L and the Sportz 7.3L. The Magna doesnt come with ABS or airbags. Then the rear seat is just about same as the Swift to get in and out. Not too keen as too expensive anyway

Toyota Etios Cross G: Really liked Toyota's approach on pricing model offers in that nothing needs to be added or done over and above the model's price. The car was well built and put together for a 11000km old test drive vehicle. However, space inside is not even the same as the Swift, car doesnt have ABS and is way outside my budget at 7.3L. Not keen

Honda Jazz E/S/SV: This car drives very well and flattens out the bumps and stuff. Having seen so many other cars recently, I decided to just go and sit in the showroom model (SV) today. Realised that its interiors are not as premium as some others. The SV is 7.73L and the S is 7.1L. There are no offers, so I can only look at the base version! And the E or the S doesnt even come with ABS or air bags. Other that the space it offers, I wouldnt even be considering this car

I didnt look at any of the others due to other issues.

So basically, it looks like I have to choose between the Baleno (Sigma or Delta), Dzire (and forgo the ABS and airbags) or the Zest (and hope it doesnt give too many issues). I always have the option of waiting a few months to see if the Dzire price corrects (as it should or the Baleno's price goes up, which is rumored) and / or Hyundai and Honda react and start offering ABS and airbags in their base versions also. In the meantime, I can also get reports on the Baleno but I am considering booking the Delta (which has a 8-10week waiting period) by which time I will get the Baleno reports and can decide whether to cancel my booking.

Please suggest

Ameyam
 
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1)Instead of checking a Etios cross 'G' just check the Liva 'V' with abs and airbags. Both the cars have same engines. Why pay a lakh extra just for those plastics? Etios cross is worth only if you go for the 1.5 L petrol engine. Etios twins are reliable and fuss free. If you can stretch a bit check out the Etios V just for the 1.5 L petrol engine and it has acres of space inside. I personally use an Etios and have gone to many places with it. Its reliable and maintenance cost is dam cheap. Its cheaper to maintain than my Figo diesel or my previous Alto k10! On the negative side it has boring interiors and lacks in features.

2)Go for the Figo only if you want a diesel, the petrol Figo is a fuel guzzler.

3) I do not find anything in the Baleno to be termed it as premium & sale it in the Nexa showroom! If Baleno is premium then whats wrong with Ciaz? Baleno neither has a premium engine nor anything greater than the competition! Except the rear seat space i will prefer a swift over a Baleno. So if you are looking at Maruti, Dzire vxi should be a better option.
 
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1)Instead of checking a Etios cross 'G' just check the Liva 'V' with abs and airbags. Both the cars have same engines. Why pay a lakh extra just for those plastics? Etios cross is worth only if you go for the 1.5 L petrol engine. Etios twins are reliable and fuss free. If you can stretch a bit check out the Etios V just for the 1.5 L petrol engine and it has acres of space inside. I personally use an Etios and have gone to many places with it. Its reliable and maintenance cost is dam cheap. Its cheaper to maintain than my Figo diesel or my previous Alto k10! On the negative side it has boring interiors and lacks in features.

2)Go for the Figo only if you want a diesel, the petrol Figo is a fuel guzzler.

3) I do not find anything in the Baleno to be termed it as premium & sale it in the Nexa showroom! If Baleno is premium then whats wrong with Ciaz? Baleno neither has a premium engine nor anything greater than the competition! Except the rear seat space i will prefer a swift over a Baleno. So if you are looking at Maruti, Dzire vxi should be a better option.
I had test driven the Etios Liva before I bought the Swift last year and its not really as fun as the Swift was. The Etios sedan G version itself is not in my budget. Then also, its a big car and I do have to play parking musical chair here on the road outside my house

No diesel for me. The new Ford would be a lateral update in either engine option. If I was to do that, I would have gone for the Swift ZXI na? Any other diesel is just too expensive

I never said the Nexa Baleno was "premium". If fact, the first thing I told the RM was that there was no point giving me a premium experience for one time at purchase and then failing in aftersales multiple times. I even told them their aftersales was pathetic, to which he quietly grimmaced in agreement.
In fact, most people looking at the Baleno are looking at the value in the product rather than the purchase experience. And I think the product itself is just great in the Sigma and Delta trims with the Delta being more value with looks. No wonder the waiting period is 8-10 weeks.

Had a heart to heart talk with my family in the evening and my mom plainly told me that, of all the cars she sat in yesterday, she liked the Dzire best. Remember, we didnt test drive the Dzire because I wasnt looking to get it then as it isint the best value as compared to the Baleno. However, with the Baleno selling and looking like a hit, the Dzire will need to price correct to sell at all. If I need to decide between the Baleno and the Dzire, I do know the way forward clearly- book in December and have a delivery in Jan end-Feb by which time the Baleno's intricacies will be out in the open. At that time, if the car hasnt worked out, I can cancel the booking in favour of the Dzire or book the Baleno if all is well. I want to know really about the Tata Zest, particularly from current owners- their user experiences and any complaints, so that I can exclude it if required. My concern stems from the totally vacant Tata showrooms I say in the last two days whereas all other brands were entertaining potential customers

Ameyam
 
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@Ameyam

TATA Zest is a very good car and the design is much more bolder than any other TATA Car and the quality issue might be mainly due to the, Test driven vehicles are usually roughly handled by many persons differently as each and every customer handles it roughly in such a way that they are satisfied with the quality of plastics and to get used to it many times before they purchase one.

TATA Zest has the perfect design when it is compared to the Dzire especially the boot so just leave of Dzire from your list and have the baleno and the TATA Zest in your list and see which will be more comfortable and more worthier buy and not to forget the waiting period for these two cars.

TATA Zest will be more comfortable than the baleno and the easy ingress makes the car to be a daily usable one.
 
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@Ameyam

TATA Zest is a very good car and the design is much more bolder than any other TATA Car and the quality issue might be mainly due to the, Test driven vehicles are usually roughly handled by many persons differently as each and every customer handles it roughly in such a way that they are satisfied with the quality of plastics and to get used to it many times before they purchase one.

TATA Zest has the perfect design when it is compared to the Dzire especially the boot so just leave of Dzire from your list and have the baleno and the TATA Zest in your list and see which will be more comfortable and more worthier buy and not to forget the waiting period for these two cars.

TATA Zest will be more comfortable than the baleno and the easy ingress makes the car to be a daily usable one.
I am leaving the Dzire in the list for the time being rather than excluding it, mostly because a lot of stuff I have in the Swift will be directly transfered to the Dzire. At this point, I really need feedback from Zest owners. Can any one share their ownership experiences with that car?

I have no issues with the waiting period of either of the car. The Zest has just a weeks waiting period. The Baleno Sigma has 4 weeks and the Delta 8 weeks. The Dzire has 2 weeks. But I want a 2016 registration car anyway

Ameyam
 
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Well I am not a Zest owner but a storme owner for the past 2.5 years. Believe me these lots of car from Tata are really great, In terms of longetivity. there is good impetus from tata on the ASS front as well.

I am currently servicing my car in concorde motors and I dont have any thing to crib far as yet.

Fit and finish wise my storme is good, no complaints whatsoever (there are minor rattles but its due to my adventurism and changing the door settings.)

Also would like you to check out Zest ownership reviews on this site. I am sure you will find many satisfied zest owners.

One key thing I would want to tell you is develop a relationship with the service center manager and you will not have anny issues with ASS as well.
 
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Well given the list of cars you have listed Zest is easily the most VFM offering and the most rugged of the lot. I have a Zest petrol XT owner in my apartment and he says the car is great no issues so far in the six months of ownership and having myself driven all the cars you have listed Zest and Jazz would top the list for me. Try test drive from another dealer for the Zest.
 
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Would you not try Sail UVA hatch or the sedan - it will have ABS/Airbag in LS/LT model and within the price range.

The backseat is comfortable, enough leg room for 6" and suspensions are good. Mileage maybe around 12-13 kmpl
 
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A lot of people told me that TATA cars of late are uite ok. However, most are diesel owners. I cant afford diesel. There is one more thing I have discovered recently- rattling sounds trouble me a lot. I often stop to stack stuff in my glove box properly, ask my driver to keep the spoon in his tiffin from rattling away, even my toolkit is wrapped in heatlon cloth to prevent it from ringing. The brake sound in my Swift has been driving me up the wall. So if the Tata cars rattle, they are not for me

Not considering any american brand for reasons of previous complaints of large repair costs and non-accidental damage expenditure

Ameyam
 
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A lot of people told me that TATA cars of late are uite ok. However, most are diesel owners. I cant afford diesel. There is one more thing I have discovered recently- rattling sounds trouble me a lot. I often stop to stack stuff in my glove box properly, ask my driver to keep the spoon in his tiffin from rattling away, even my toolkit is wrapped in heatlon cloth to prevent it from ringing. The brake sound in my Swift has been driving me up the wall. So if the Tata cars rattle, they are not for me

Not considering any american brand for reasons of previous complaints of large repair costs and non-accidental damage expenditure

Ameyam
Why dont you try Nissan Micra ? It really doesnt need much servicing and therefore less issues with after sales. It is very comfortable for 4 people, and has folding rear seat as well. Plus, no rattling as such. Much better built than an equivalent Maruti. I have an automatic Micra and no issues so far in 21000km of ownership. Mileage too is between 14-15 kmpl in Pune city traffic. Plus you can get one for around 7.7 lac or so, and then there would be discounts.
 
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