Need a Diesel Hatch To Replace 15 Year Old Santro

[kkn13]

If diesel, Tata Tiago/Tigor is not gonna serve the purpose
Very noisy and underpowered engines given the low displacement, power, 3 pot engine

Wait for new Swift or go for Ignis, i20,Baleno, Figo, Aspire ,Ecosport , Nexon

 

[a4arun]

I believe Concorde isn't bad in Coimbatore. Not really sure about in Erode though. You will have to put up with lazy SAs in Concorde and probably have to escalate. I think other than Nexon, Diesel powered cars from Tata may not excite the enthusiast in you. However if it is going to be used mainly by your partner, I think you could still go for it.

If you do not mind owning another Ford, then I think Freestyle should be a good fit for you. I am expecting it to be priced just above the regular Figo.

If nothing interests you, I think you can go for Liva. It has a great ride quality and the reliability of D-4D is legendary and will probably outlast you. I will not suggest Hyundai for you since CRDI isn't exactly low cost to maintain.

Then you have the regular origamis from Maruti. If you do not mind the build-quality, then you can blindly go for the new Dzire/Swift. Diesel is reliable. You get the practicality of a boot in Dzire. But I believe the Gizmos are reserved for the top end.

Other than this is nothing really in your budget that would tick your boxes.

 

[kkn13]

I dont think CDRi would be pricey to maintain
On the contrary, all my friends say its as cheap to maintain as 1.3 MJD which Ive had in various cars for years
Talking with respect to 1.4 and 1.6 CRDI along with old Grand i10 diesel

 

[a4arun]

I dont think CDRi would be pricey to maintain
On the contrary, all my friends say its as cheap to maintain as 1.3 MJD which Ive had in various cars for years
Talking with respect to 1.4 and 1.6 CRDI along with old Grand i10 diesel

You are partly right kkn13. It may not be costly to maintain in the medium-term, say upto 80K KM. However after that, it does become quite a task to maintain a CRDI. I do not have first hand experience, but I have just come across this from many ownership reviews . Quite frankly I have not come across a CRDI that has done more than a lakh KM. I may be completely wrong here though and I am open for any correction

 

[kkn13]

You are partly right kkn13. It may not be costly to maintain in the medium-term, say upto 80K KM. However after that, it does become quite a task to maintain a CRDI. I do not have first hand experience, but I have just come across this from many ownership reviews . Quite frankly I have not come across a CRDI that has done more than a lakh KM. I may be completely wrong here though and I am open for any correction

Ive seen a few last around 1.6L km
One of the reasons I bought a Tucson

Any car after 80k km will have increased costs of ownership unless its a Toyota, rarely heard of costly maintenance for those

Ownership reports dont reflect the driving habits and other factors that can affect engine life but can be a good indicator of the best and worst that can happen during our own ownership and what we might face and how to solve niggles etc

 

[F4frewin]

I believe Concorde isn't bad in Coimbatore. Not really sure about in Erode though. You will have to put up with lazy SAs in Concorde and probably have to escalate. I think other than Nexon, Diesel powered cars from Tata may not excite the enthusiast in you. However if it is going to be used mainly by your partner, I think you could still go for it.

If you do not mind owning another Ford, then I think Freestyle should be a good fit for you. I am expecting it to be priced just above the regular Figo.

If nothing interests you, I think you can go for Liva. It has a great ride quality and the reliability of D-4D is legendary and will probably outlast you. I will not suggest Hyundai for you since CRDI isn't exactly low cost to maintain.

Then you have the regular origamis from Maruti. If you do not mind the build-quality, then you can blindly go for the new Dzire/Swift. Diesel is reliable. You get the practicality of a boot in Dzire. But I believe the Gizmos are reserved for the top end.

Other than this is nothing really in your budget that would tick your boxes.

I did make a couple of visits to Tata dealership in Erode and it is one deserted place! You have to wait for some one to approach you to entertain and I don't think they are selling any Tiago and Nexons here. I've asked multiple times for test driving a Nexon and I was not lucky even when I took my wife hoping for a test drive with her to form an opinion.
I've put things on a back burner as of now and do not wish to rush into anything. I guess I would have to relax my budget to include more options as the car would be kept for a long period. Yaris sedan, well kitted, though in a petrol guise, is making me wait for initial drive reports. I did like Verna diesel when I took the test drive and I wouldn't mind including that into proposition if at all I could increase the budget.
I will check out the new swift this week. I was not convinced of its build when I viewed it last week with my family. It doesnt have too many takers here and i heard of quite a few cancelled bookings after launch. My wife turned her head away looking at flexing plastic and metal parts! It will take a lot to convince her for a test drive.
As of now, I'll stay away from another Ford, owing to deteriorating service levels at Rajshree Ford here. Most importantly, I wish to try a different engine as a second car.

 

[a4arun]

I did make a couple of visits to Tata dealership in Erode and it is one deserted place! You have to wait for some one to approach you to entertain and I don't think they are selling any Tiago and Nexons here. I've asked multiple times for test driving a Nexon and I was not lucky even when I took my wife hoping for a test drive with her to form an opinion.

This is exactly what is killing the product. You simply have to put up with that bureaucratic attitude if at all you want to buy a Tata.

Yaris sedan, well kitted, though in a petrol guise, is making me wait for initial drive reports. I did like Verna diesel when I took the test drive and I wouldn't mind including that into proposition if at all I could increase the budget.

It is totally worth waiting for the Yaris. I believe it comes a 1.5 Dual VVT engine in both the Hatch as well Sedan. Safe Structure + Fun-to-drive + low cost maintenance = Deadly combo.

I will check out the new swift this week. I was not convinced of its build when I viewed it last week with my family. It doesnt have too many takers here and i heard of quite a few cancelled bookings after launch. My wife turned her head away looking at flexing plastic and metal parts! It will take a lot to convince her for a test drive.
As of now, I'll stay away from another Ford, owing to deteriorating service levels at Rajshree Ford here. Most importantly, I wish to try a different engine as a second car.

I would personally have Swift as the last option. The pricing is horrible and the quality does not really match the pricing. I am confident it will rattle within 2 months of ownership. Ignis/Baleno also can be a good alternative if you are considering Swift. Premium products in comparison with better kit.

 

[F4frewin]

I guess I'm closing in on my choice. After I test drove the Freestyle from Ford. It ticks most of requirements listed in the post. (Please check my starting post). The good thing is it is offering most features that I listed as even I could live without.

The Icing on the cake is the price. The titanium+ variant is a compelling safety choice, even if i have to shell out 1 more lakh from the budget of 8 Lakhs.

I hope I can convert this post into a ownership thread soon!

 

[SilverEyez]

Good Choice, the Titanium+ variant is complete value for money with top notch safety features, powerful engine and lots of comfort and convenience features.
All the best

 

[F4frewin]

Hi Guys!
After a lot of deliberation, I have given the booking for Freestyle in Titaniuim+ Variant in colour Black. i don't know how long it will take for the car to be delivered. I was told they could deliver in June. This car would be used extensively for day today drives and would cover 40-50,000 kms in a year. Here is the cost breakdown:
Freestyle Titanium+ colour Black
1. Ex-showroom - Rs.789000
2. Road Tax - 10% - 78900 + Safety Tax - 1500 + 1500 for registration charges = Rs.81900
3. Insurance - Zero Dep - Rs.15825 (I've got this quote from our agent who insures 30-40 vehicles from our side. Golden Ford said they will match this price - GOOD!)
4. I've not asked for extended warranty for 14541 for 2 additional years for 1lakh kms, as the car will do close to 100K kms in 2 years - So, its not required. I'll decide based on usage at a later stage.
5. So final cost is 789000 + 81900 + 15825 = Rs. 886725.

I guess this is a decent deal for a well kitted top variant at this price. i had to increase my budget by just Rs.86000 from my initial budget of 8 Lakh rupees. Top variant is a steal for this price at present as I fear Ford may not hold this price for long.

I'm excited about getting this new car and share my first ownership thread!

 

[allhyundaicars]

Congrats on your booking. Do get consumables cover as well with the zero depreciation cover.

 

[F4frewin]

Sure I'll. I guess Titanium Variant comes with engine cover on diesel variant. Here are few accessories I'm interested in.
1. Ambient lights
2. Door screen guard
3. Roof cross bars

I have extra anti-theft lug nuts of ford available. I'll add at my end.

I intend to do a roof wrap in white with orange stripes extending till bonnet.

 

[Nanofreak]

Hi Guys!
After a lot of deliberation, I have given the booking for Freestyle in Titaniuim+ Variant in colour Black. i don't know how long it will take for the car to be delivered. I was told they could deliver in June. This car would be used extensively for day today drives and would cover 40-50,000 kms in a year. Here is the cost breakdown:
Freestyle Titanium+ colour Black
1. Ex-showroom - Rs.789000
2. Road Tax - 10% - 78900 + Safety Tax - 1500 + 1500 for registration charges = Rs.81900
3. Insurance - Zero Dep - Rs.15825 (I've got this quote from our agent who insures 30-40 vehicles from our side. Golden Ford said they will match this price - GOOD!)
4. I've not asked for extended warranty for 14541 for 2 additional years for 1lakh kms, as the car will do close to 100K kms in 2 years - So, its not required. I'll decide based on usage at a later stage.
5. So final cost is 789000 + 81900 + 15825 = Rs. 886725.

I guess this is a decent deal for a well kitted top variant at this price. i had to increase my budget by just Rs.86000 from my initial budget of 8 Lakh rupees. Top variant is a steal for this price at present as I fear Ford may not hold this price for long.

I'm excited about getting this new car and share my first ownership thread!

Congrats on your FreeStyle D, a first on TAI, with 6 airbags and other bells and whistles for under 9L Onroad it's a good price.

Await your ownership review.

 

[F4frewin]

Yeah! Glad I'm the first one here to book and possibly will start the first ownership review.

Even now, I could not believe I could get a variant loaded with safety features and with powerful diesel engine in its class for less than 9 lakhs.

Kudos to Ford for pricing this well. I do hope market responds positively to this honest try.

 

[F4frewin]

A month has gone since booking the car. I am disappointed that Ford is taking too long to deliver a newly launched car. I was told last week that the car is assigned in the black colour I booked. However, I got a call yesterday from the dealer if I would like to change to smoke grey for speedy delivery. I told them, as I already own a smoke grey in global fiesta, it's either black or I cancel the booking. Yet to hear from them on concrete ETA.