Maruti Alto K10 AMT vs Renault Kwid AMT vs Something Else?

[adithya]

Hi Guys,
Your Budget: Not an issue
New or Used: New
Your Location:Bangalore
Top Five Priorities: Automatic, Very easy to drive, safety.
Monthly Running: Very less. May be less than 100km. We have a driver.
Type of Fuel: Petrol
For What Purpose: Occasional city use
Seating Capacity: 5
Type of Segment: Hatch.
I am looking for an automatic hatch for my wife. My first option was Polo GT TSI. But ruled it out since its very big. The main requirement is, it should be as small as possible. So removed grand i10, figo, brio etc. Rejected Nano since it didn't appeal to me. ( No offence to nano owners). So I am left with Alto K10 AMT and Kwid AMT
Alto: Likes, has a manual mode too. Trusted brand. Dislikes. There are so many altos on the road. Also, alto has been there for a long time. Looks boring.
Kwid: Likes, new model, good looks. Dislikes, no manual mode.

Can the experts recommend which car to buy?. Also, I heard about eon face-lift in may. Will it have an automatic variant?
thanks in advance.

 

[AbhisekVerma]

Re: Alto K10 AMT vs Kwid AMT vs Something else?

Your requirements are contradictory. First of all you have mentioned you have a driver, then why worry about car size that too under 4m cars? Since your monthly drive is less than 100km is it meaningful to buy a car cinsidering uber/ola availibility is good in Bangalore. Also Brio is left out and Kwid is selected but Kwid is 7cm longer tham Brio but its 10cm less wide. Due to very narrow body both kwid and Alto K10 are strict 4 seaters. Safety is your requirement but both Alto, Kwid (or any A segment car) can be safely termed as weak. For safety Polo GT TSI is best auto and looks class apart. Celerio AMT is also there and is almost same size as Kwid. Tiago AMT is also very good option with a premium feel but it would be big according to your size constraints.

 

[Nanofreak]

Re: Alto K10 AMT vs Kwid AMT vs Something else?

TD the Tiago AMT, it should satisfy all your needs, Kwid AMT is a strictly no no, no creep no manual mode.

 

[kkn13]

Re: Alto K10 AMT vs Kwid AMT vs Something else?

My vote goes to Brio CVT, Ignis AMT and Tiago AMT, however AMTs are very jerky and are very different from ATs and manuals. No hill rollback assist etc unlike traditional ATs.
CVT is pretty smooth and reliable.

If going for AMT, Tiago offers more features etc but engine is a let down compared to Brio IVTEC
Tiago has more features and better interiors however

Avoid Kwid, Celerio etc imho, for a little more money, Tiago, Brio etc offer more value for money

GT TSI is best avoided for bumper to bumper traffic for maintenance and reliability concerns as dual clutch automatics ie DSG/DCT dont agree with our bumper to bumper traffic conditions

Ignis AMT is also worth considering , very handsome looker and fairly compact too

Ignis is the only car mentioned here that can seat 5 comfortably
Polo and Tiago have hump in the rear, that makes seating 5 difficult
Ignis also has a hump but not intrusive at all

 

[vijay_968]

Re: Alto K10 AMT vs Kwid AMT vs Something else?

Hi Guys,
Your Budget: Not an issue
New or Used: New
Your Location:Bangalore
Top Five Priorities: Automatic, Very easy to drive, safety.
Monthly Running: Very less. May be less than 100km. We have a driver.
Type of Fuel: Petrol
For What Purpose: Occasional city use
Seating Capacity: 5
Type of Segment: Hatch.
I am looking for an automatic hatch for my wife. My first option was Polo GT TSI. But ruled it out since its very big. The main requirement is, it should be as small as possible. So removed grand i10, figo, brio etc. Rejected Nano since it didn't appeal to me. ( No offence to nano owners). So I am left with Alto K10 AMT and Kwid AMT
Alto: Likes, has a manual mode too. Trusted brand. Dislikes. There are so many altos on the road. Also, alto has been there for a long time. Looks boring.
Kwid: Likes, new model, good looks. Dislikes, no manual mode.

Can the experts recommend which car to buy?. Also, I heard about eon face-lift in may. Will it have an automatic variant?
thanks in advance.

Correct me if I am wrong : "Whenever your driver is on leave, you need your wife to travel in the safety and comfort of an Autobox car, instead of using an Activa". Though Nano doesn't appeal to you, it is a cute Chicklets Box and might appeal to your wife in some color. Ask your Mrs.

If Nano is No-No, and as you have rejected the Kwid AMT due to lack of Manual moe, you can consider these three : 1) Grand i10 Auto, 2) Honda Brio Auto, 3) Celerio AMT. Ask your Hi Command to TD these cars on the "ups and downs" of an incline and find out the most comfy Auto Box of HER choice.

PS: Buddy, be prepared for the monthly run to increase from 100 to 250 km/month

 

[AbhisekVerma]

Re: Alto K10 AMT vs Kwid AMT vs Something else?

My vote goes to Brio CVT, Ignis AMT and Tiago AMT, however AMTs are very jerky and are very different from ATs and manuals. No hill rollback assist etc unlike traditional ATs.
CVT is pretty smooth and reliable.

If going for AMT, Tiago offers more features etc but engine is a let down compared to Brio IVTEC
Tiago has more features and better interiors however

Avoid Kwid, Celerio etc imho, for a little more money, Tiago, Brio etc offer more value for money

GT TSI is best avoided for bumper to bumper traffic for maintenance and reliability concerns as dual clutch automatics ie DSG/DCT dont agree with our bumper to bumper traffic conditions

Ignis AMT is also worth considering , very handsome looker and fairly compact too

Ignis is the only car mentioned here that can seat 5 comfortably
Polo and Tiago have hump in the rear, that makes seating 5 difficult
Ignis also has a hump but not intrusive at all

Yes for heavy traffic like Bangalore Polo dsg/dct are unreliable as they break down. They are made for fast roads.
There is a correction, Brio is not cvt, its a traditional torque converter. You can consider Micra cvt as well.
Its correctly pointed out that Conventional Torque converters and CVT are very smooth and more advance tech compared to AMT. Engine wise Brio ivtec AT is by far the smoothest and best engine if you can live with the small boot and quirky rear. Micra cvt is the next smoothest options. If you're okay with AMT then choose Celerio for smaller size or Tiago for more features/interiors/looks (but both are 3cyl). Avoid Kwid AMT as creep mode is very much required for Bangalore traffic and switching to manual mode helps. Both these highly important AMT features are present in Celerio/Tiago

 

[bhvm]

Since you have Metioned Safety as a factor, Things like Alto, Celerio, kwid are out of question. Check out the new Tata hatches. They have airbags & ABS as option.

A funky a premium option could be new Ignis.

 

[kkn13]

@AbhisekVerma yeah I confused City/BR-V CVT with Brio AT
Still, the torque converter in the Brio is a smooth one
Also has functions for incline and decline and also has D3,2,1.
This means you can lock the gears to 3rd, 2nd or 1st in tricky scenarios such as rains or hills etc

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2012-Honda-Brio-Automatic-Hatchback-3.jpg

If AMT, Tiago and Ignis are good options in terms of features and safety etc
Ignis AMT doesnt come in top end Alpha variant however

 

[Akash1886]

Top Five Priorities: Automatic, Very easy to drive, safety.
Monthly Running: Very less. May be less than 100km. We have a driver.
Type of Fuel: Petrol
For What Purpose: Occasional city use
Seating Capacity: 5
Type of Segment: Hatch.

Hi Adithya, You have a driver so that means your self-drive use is below 100 Kms/month. I would suggest if you really need a car in the first place, you may check out the hatchback Ford Figo DCT.

Regards

Akash

 

[kkn13]

Hi Adithya, You have a driver so that means your self-drive use is below 100 Kms/month. I would suggest if you really need a car in the first place, you may check out the hatchback Ford Figo DCT.

Regards

Akash

DCT/DSG being dual clutch isnt ideal at all for bumper to bumper traffic and Polo GT TSI would be more ideal if going down that route(dual clutch) at all
Ford DCT is very lethargic in comparison and reliability remains a question mark

 

[Akash1886]

Ford DCT is very lethargic in comparison and reliability remains a question mark

Considering requirements of Adithya and keeping in mind his monthly use and the fact that he has a driver, does it really matter for 100 Km per month as to whether to use DSG or DCT? In terms of reliability, even though DSG is a premium transmission, yet it has a notorious history of failures.

Regards

Akash

 

[kkn13]

Km count doesnt matter here, traffic conditions do
Bangalore has notorious traffic and I wouldnt advice DCT/DSG
The driver factor makes it even worse, most drivers are known to keep engaging clutch and edge very very close to cars in front in traffic in manual cars itself ie excessive inching in traffic , at least from what Ive seen.
DSG/DCT doesnt like being engaged in this manner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W42zsFYjZvM

 

[Akash1886]

Km count doesnt matter here, traffic conditions do
Bangalore has notorious traffic and I wouldnt advice DCT/DSG
The driver factor makes it even worse, most drivers are known to keep engaging clutch and edge very very close to cars in front in traffic in manual cars itself ie excessive inching in traffic , at least from what Ive seen.
DSG/DCT doesnt like being engaged in this manner

If the drivers aren't conversant enough of a AT Transmission then no matter what sort of Automated transmission it might be, their way of driving won't change. If the chauffeur driven car is a necessity in family then he should opt for something in which the driver also feels at ease.

Regards

Akash

 

[kkn13]

^^ Not really
If you see the video I posted, DSG/DCT are brilliant technologies but with chinks in the armour which require extra care etc which is not possible in our present conditions

AMT is literally a made for India transmission however jerky etc it is in this regard, its made for rough scenarios and driving hence why its so popular suddenly amongst Ola and Uber drivers off late whereas Aspire DCT isnt touched with a barge pole whereas manual variant is fairly popular these days in comparison.

CVT and torque converter would be my personal pick of the bunch as they offer a balance of comfort,reliability, costs,performance and efficiency. These also play well with our conditions and can take fair amounts of abuse

DCT/DSG would be the last on my list unless I lived in an area where I could self drive my car with care and enjoy it only in open stretches. DSG/DCT are expensive to maintain, less reliable, require more care and cannot take abuse.

@F4frewin will back me up on this, he owns Vento TSI DSG and Ford Fiesta

 

[roadrunner]

If I am not wrong, it appears you are going to decide between K10 and Kwid 1.0. Otherwise all the others are in a higher segment. It's going to be a tough choice. First, safety wise, there's no ABS in offer in both and only airbags, that too as a consolation, afterthought kind of thing. Three months ago I was also in the market for a small hatch. Rode both K10 and Kwid 1.0. The former is more refined above 2,000 rpm. Kwid has better interior, but the engine wasn't that nice. Of course both are three-pot, but the Kwid's is more coarse and industrial. K10 was much smoother. Want looks? It's Kwid. Want a slightly better performance for the money, it's K10.