Maruti Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel?

[TDCi]

Hello friends,

This is my first post here and I would like to thank all the fellow members who keep contributing to this forum for the good of us all. I have been silently following this forum for quite some time now and finally decided to take the plunge and register myself.

Right now, I am in the market looking for a car within maximum budget of Rs. 8 lakhs.

I have been thinking of buying the car for a couple of months now and had been contemplating one or the other car. The cars considered so far are Baleno petrol, i20 petrol, Liva petrol, Zest petrol, Aspire diesel.

Having test driven all of them, I have shortlisted Baleno Zeta Petrol and Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel. (yes, I know it is quite awkward to ask for suggestion considering one is petrol car and the other diesel)

I had booked Baleno Zeta petrol 3 months back and waiting for the delivery of the same (long waiting is not an issue as I already have a car to use and I am in no hurry; can even postpone the car purchase by a few months if something good is expected to be launched few months down the line)

Although I am sitting on the booking of Baleno, I am slightly apprehensive of the car's safety and general build. Last month, I came across this news of Ford reducing the prices of Figo and Aspire which led me to test drive their diesel just for the sake of it (had read about their 100 bhp motor) And, I am so glad I test drove it! I fell in love with the car instantly. The car runs like a champ and I had an excellent control of the car with car pulling effortlessly. The car also had a very effective AC along with everything I wanted in a car. (I am no fan of push button start and all such things available in Baleno Zeta and would not miss those features)

My running may be about 1000 km a month.

Baleno Zeta Petrol: 6.55 lakh
Aspire Diesel Titanium: 7.15 lakh

Considering the price difference in Baleno petrol and Aspire diesel isnt much, I am thinking of jumping on the Ford bandwagon. What do the experts here think about my decision?

Resale value is irrelevant for me considering I am hopeful of keeping the car for at least 7-8 years, if not more.

 

[Akula]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

So ,basically you want to buy ford figo aspire diesel ;you just want to hear it from us .

Ok,go ahead buy it!good choice.


By the way you have already bought it in your mind.

 

[allhyundaicars]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

Have you checked the on road prices ? Difference will increase after adding taxes and insurance amount.

Another awkward thing is you are choosing a hatchback and a compact sedan. Any reason why you are not considering the figo hatchback ?

Anyways your username proves how much you like the car :p you should buy what you like to drive and glad to know that you are one of those persons who don't care about the resale. I had the same feeling when I test drive the diesel figo and that's why I own one now.

Figo hatchback titanium diesel will cost exactly the same as the Baleno zeta petrol variant.

But there's one more thing i'd like to add. One should not buy a diesel if running is just a 1000 kms.

 

[balenoed]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

For engine its Aspire Diesel for anything else its Baleno.
Ford has lost for what they were known for, be its the build quality or riding dynamics. My vote is for aspire only because of its 1.5 TCDi.

 

[puneet848]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

See if you compare to a diesel no petrol hatch below Polo TSI will come close to fun driving as they all have similar weak 1.2 ltr engines. For your running a petrol is more suited but if you want to enjoy a diesel is great and that 100ps ford is sure very fun to drive. I too would suggest a Ford Figo titanium diesel than the aspire.

Im surprised you didnt TD Baleno Delta diesel as it is also under 8 lakhs on road with most needed features ( in NCR) and is more fun to ride than the Petrol. Do ride that too as it is also feature packed though engine power is a bit lower than Figo/Aspire.

 

[$@ndy]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

if you are not in need to buy a compact sedan i would too suggest Figo Titanium

 

[TDCi]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

So ,basically you want to buy ford figo aspire diesel ;you just want to hear it from us .

Ok,go ahead buy it!good choice.


By the way you have already bought it in your mind.

Well, I still dont know. I have been test driving cars since a few months. I forgot to mention I had once gotten close to buying Honda Jazz Petrol but then test drives (yes 3 of them) made me decide against buying it. It was a very poor puller. Other than the poor engine, everything was excellent, be it space, safety, practicality.

Have you checked the on road prices ? Difference will increase after adding taxes and insurance amount.

Another awkward thing is you are choosing a hatchback and a compact sedan. Any reason why you are not considering the figo hatchback ?

Anyways your username proves how much you like the car :p you should buy what you like to drive and glad to know that you are one of those persons who don't care about the resale. I had the same feeling when I test drive the diesel figo and that's why I own one now.

Figo hatchback titanium diesel will cost exactly the same as the Baleno zeta petrol variant.

But there's one more thing i'd like to add. One should not buy a diesel if running is just a 1000 kms.

I have not gone deep but if I am not wrong, Figo has a very small boot (or the car just appears to be very small from outside). Not that Aspire appears much bigger but the boot of Aspire will be able to accommodate a few suitcases better than the Figo just for those ocassional trips with the family. Oh, and that Indian mindset - Hatchback vs sedan.

Regarding buying diesel car for only 1000 km a month, I was not considering diesels earlier as the difference in prices of diesels vs petrols was quite huge. But then, in this equation, the difference is quite less.

I reckon the difference (even after insurance and road tax) will be less than what I said earlier (60k) because I expect Ford to have some schemes whereas Baleno is gung ho on the success of Baleno. So, difference of price will be quite less.

For engine its Aspire Diesel for anything else its Baleno.
Ford has lost for what they were known for, be its the build quality or riding dynamics. My vote is for aspire only because of its 1.5 TCDi.

I may not be correct on this one as I am no expert but I believe the structure/build of Ford to be better considering it weights almost 150 kg more than the Baleno. I have not driven old Fords but found this current Aspire to have good enough handling.

See if you compare to a diesel no petrol hatch below Polo TSI will come close to fun driving as they all have similar weak 1.2 ltr engines. For your running a petrol is more suited but if you want to enjoy a diesel is great and that 100ps ford is sure very fun to drive. I too would suggest a Ford Figo titanium diesel than the aspire.

Im surprised you didnt TD Baleno Delta diesel as it is also under 8 lakhs on road with most needed features ( in NCR) and is more fun to ride than the Petrol. Do ride that too as it is also feature packed though engine power is a bit lower than Figo/Aspire.

Aspire diesel happened by chance on a Sunday when they slashed prices last month. Otherwise ex showroom price of Aspire Titanium diesel itself was 8+ and I wasnt even considering any diesel car.

if you are not in need to buy a compact sedan i would too suggest Figo Titanium

Thanks for the suggestion. I need to check the difference in boot space there.

 

[allhyundaicars]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

The difference in weight could be because of the diesel engine but I know ford has much better quality than maruti and hyundai.

An activa hit my figo (standstill) at around 40 kmph ( he was busy on his phone so didn't apply brakes) and the bumper's right side had a dent and the locks were all good. Even my verna's bumpers are pathetic when compared to figo. Just a small hit and all locks gets damaged.

And I dont think they will offer more discounts on the car after the recent price drop but still you should ask and keep us updated.

Boot space
Baleno- 355 liters
Figo - 257 liters
Aspire - 359 liters.

 

[doors666]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

i found the aspire's interiors to be made up of very cheap materials, be it the seats or the roof liner, me and my wife actually liked the liva's interiors quality to be better than ford's (not the feature set, but the materials, touch, feel etc). So much so that my wife refused to take a test drive or even look at figo after that, she said and I quote "lets just get out of here"... No wonder that car is not selling and they had to reduce the prices by some 90k. these two arent looking like a commercial success anyway and the resale value probably will be quite bad.
I vote for baleno, or whatever else you pick from your original list...

 

[TDCi]

Re: Suzuki Baleno Zeta Petrol or Ford Aspire Titanium Diesel

The difference in weight could be because of the diesel engine but I know ford has much better quality than maruti and hyundai.

An activa hit my figo (standstill) at around 40 kmph ( he was busy on his phone so didn't apply brakes) and the bumper's right side had a dent and the locks were all good. Even my verna's bumpers are pathetic when compared to figo. Just a small hit and all locks gets damaged.

And I dont think they will offer more discounts on the car after the recent price drop but still you should ask and keep us updated.

Boot space
Baleno- 355 liters
Figo - 257 liters
Aspire - 359 liters.

A little search on Google gave me this data:

Baleno Petrol: 890 kg
Figo Petrol 1.2: 1015 kg

So, a difference of 125 kg is still there, although Figo has smaller dimensions as compared to Baleno. Aspire will probably weigh a few kg more than the Figo.

Thanks a lot on the boot size data. I think I will stick to Aspire rather than Figo for the luggage capacity which is required at times..

i found the aspire's interiors to be made up of very cheap materials, be it the seats or the roof liner, me and my wife actually liked the liva's interiors quality to be better than ford's (not the feature set, but the materials, touch, feel etc). So much so that my wife refused to take a test drive or even look at figo after that, she said and I quote "lets just get out of here"... No wonder that car is not selling and they had to reduce the prices by some 90k. these two arent looking like a commercial success anyway and the resale value probably will be quite bad.
I vote for baleno, or whatever else you pick from your original list...

I didnt really find it bad. I find it to be better than most of the competition. Holding the steering in the hand gave a very confident feel.

 

[abhi17]

Hello TDCI. I am a global fiesta owner and proud to own it still after 5 years, let me tell you that ford has really downgrade it's body material since global fiesta still you fell lot more safe in comparison to MS & Hyundai. Yes they are poor in interior but far better in engine, steering & drive. The steering always make you confident on road and ford is always a driver's car. Remember it. My vote for Aspire. Go ahead with family wali feeling. They are really changing their image.:)