City Hatch as an Alternative to Scorpio!

[raj_5004]

Guys, I got a new job in BKC which is around 20kms away from my residence. This means a 40 km drive everyday in mumbai traffic. For some reasons, I cant take my scorpio there & so I am planning to buy a new hatch.

My budget is around 6-6.5 lakhs on-road. Priorities are -

1) Good to drive, not necessarily super fast
2) Preferably a diesel - I am a diesel head & you cannot ignore the savings in fuel bills too!
3) Large & spacious cabin
4) Feature loaded
5) Good ride quality
6) Looks looks & looks! I like a stylish car!

I dont like the Micra, Vista, Fabia, Ritz & the Figo! I am also confused between petrol & diesel! Good diesel hatches like i20 & punto is out of my budget, i guess. We are not looking for second hand cars.

Cars i am considering right now -

1) Hyundai i10 Kappa2 - I guess the top end with all bells & whistles will fall in my budget. Top end costs 6.07 lakhs on-road. I have heard the VTVT engine is a joy to drive.

2) Swift Vdi - At 6.03 lakhs, this is well within my budget. but it has a huge waiting period. also, even the top end VDi variant is pretty basic!

3) Hyundai i20 1.2 Asta - The 1.4 is not available with manual right? The top end 1.2 Asta petrol costs 6.5 lakhs on-road, just 33k more than i10, worth the money i feel. Does the 1.2 in i20 have the VTVT tech like i10? Is it similar to drive?

4) Fiat Punto 1.4 Emotion - It costs 6.31 lakhs on-road. I love the way this car looks, I am a big fan of it but I am wary about Fiat's quality issues & TATA's service.

5) Maruti Swift 1.2 petrol - I like this car but its too common now & I am actually bored of it. but at 5.8 lakhs for the top end ZXi, its cheap!

6) Volkswagen Polo 1.2 Highline - At 6.67 lakhs, this seems to be a good car but i find the interiors too drab & boring. also, the rear styling is too bland.

All the above are petrols - top end.

The punto, polo & i20 diesel, which i would have loved, is out of my budget. I guess there is no variant within 6.5 lakhs which has atleast ABS.

 

[cooldhaya]

With sky-rocketing petrol prices i will prefer diesel anyday! Though for your running petrol will not cause a huge hole in your pocket! I would have suggested you Figo but unfortunately you have discarded it!


If petrol i would suggest you i20. Yes , the 1.4L is available only in AT. i20 feels a bit sluggish in lower gears and so could be tough in city driving , but you get similar FE like i10. Since its within city drive only i10 could also be a perfect choice for you.


If diesel Swift seems the worthy winner but a new Swift is expected by this year end.



And BTW congratulations for your job!

 

[RSM]

Guys, I got a new job in BKC which is around 20kms away from my residence.

First , congratulations, good news on new year.

For 40 KM, I would strongly recommend diesel.

Considering diesel, the 2 best option I can think of, assuming you need just for yourself -
1. Swift Diesel - Top end
2. Punto - Emotion (has ABS)
Just check the actual price. Actually at year end you would have got Punto, around 55K discount was going-on. But i think, the price will not be too much from 6.5L.

 

[ilango[speed thirst]]

Congrats for the new job!
swift fits the bill perfectly!

 

[bharathj85]

Hi raj,

I find Figo is the best driver's car better than all its competitor's by a way margin and a decent pricing. Diesel is damm awesome to drive man. But i pity why dumped Figo out coz since its gonna be ur 2nd car why cant you compromise on few things and get a decent car in all the aspects. May be you may love it after you go for a TD.

 

[Akash]

1) Hyundai i10 Kappa2 - I guess the top end with all bells & whistles will fall in my budget. Top end costs 6.07 lakhs on-road. I have heard the VTVT engine is a joy to drive.

The VTVT is definitely much more funfilled thaan the kappa1. However i am not a fan of i10's styling. Also i dont think you should buy a petrol considering the fact that your monthly running will be about 1200kms.

2) Swift Vdi - At 6.03 lakhs, this is well within my budget. but it has a huge waiting period. also, even the top end VDi variant is pretty basic!

Looks great, handles well, but is too common. The interiors are basic and cabin space is limited. The new Swift will be launched soon, and i dont think you would like to buy a car which will soon have its newer version launched.

3) Hyundai i20 1.2 Asta - The 1.4 is not available with manual right? The top end 1.2 Asta petrol costs 6.5 lakhs on-road, just 33k more than i10, worth the money i feel. Does the 1.2 in i20 have the VTVT tech like i10? Is it similar to drive?

Hyundai i20 1.2L is highly underpowered. If you want to go for i20,then go for diesel one else cut it off from your list.

4) Fiat Punto 1.4 Emotion - It costs 6.31 lakhs on-road. I love the way this car looks, I am a big fan of it but I am wary about Fiat's quality issues & TATA's service.

I find this to be the perfect car for you. Punto(Emotion) comes with good interiors, airy cabin, good looks and decent performance. However, since you are concerned about the A.S.S, a better optionwould be to check out with your friends who own some Fiat car.

5) Maruti Swift 1.2 petrol - I like this car but its too common now & I am actually bored of it. but at 5.8 lakhs for the top end ZXi, its cheap!

I personally find the Hyundai's Gamma engine much better than K12. So if you want to go for a petrol car, go for Hyundai i10 or VW Polo.

So the bottom line is
Go for Punto or i10. However i would strongly suggest you to extend your budget a little and go for Punto(D Emotion).

 

[Zinam]

Guys, I got a new job in BKC.

Great News !! When is the party ?

My budget is around 6-6.5 lakhs on-road. Priorities are -

1) Good to drive, not necessarily super fast
2) Preferably a diesel - I am a diesel head & you cannot ignore the savings in fuel bills too!
3) Large & spacious cabin
4) Feature loaded
5) Good ride quality
6) Looks looks & looks! I like a stylish car!

Good priorities. Lets see if we can get all these in one car

I dont like the Micra, Vista, Fabia, Ritz & the Figo! I am also confused between petrol & diesel! Good diesel hatches like i20 & punto is out of my budget, i guess. We are not looking for second hand cars.

Basically you hate all new entrants & cars with poor A.S.S :)

I would also prefer Diesel for your usage which is around 1000kms / month now.

1) Hyundai i10 Kappa2 - I guess the top end with all bells & whistles will fall in my budget. Top end costs 6.07 lakhs on-road. I have heard the VTVT engine is a joy to drive.

Yeah, its really joy to drive & fantastic car, but I feel i10 Asta is over priced atleast for its size. And I really dont like the looks of New i10

2) Swift Vdi - At 6.03 lakhs, this is well within my budget. but it has a huge waiting period. also, even the top end VDi variant is pretty basic!

Better stay away, its been pretty aged car now.

3) Hyundai i20 1.2 Asta - The 1.4 is not available with manual right? The top end 1.2 Asta petrol costs 6.5 lakhs on-road, just 33k more than i10, worth the money i feel. Does the 1.2 in i20 have the VTVT tech like i10? Is it similar to drive?

i20 is worth the price. But you wont get spacious cabin which you demanded for. Some how the cabin feels clumpsy. No i20 is not refined with VTVT like the New Gen i10. Its the same old Kappa Gen 1 engine. And you dont have Gamma engine with M/T.

4) Fiat Punto 1.4 Emotion - It costs 6.31 lakhs on-road. I love the way this car looks, I am a big fan of it but I am wary about Fiat's quality issues & TATA's service.

Its worth every penny you spend. If you know some one in TATA A.S.S then this will be the best buy.

5) Maruti Swift 1.2 petrol - I like this car but its too common now & I am actually bored of it. but at 5.8 lakhs for the top end ZXi, its cheap!

Pretty old car. Pls stay away or wait for 2011 Swift which is expected in Q1.

6) Volkswagen Polo 1.2 Highline - At 6.67 lakhs, this seems to be a good car but i find the interiors too drab & boring. also, the rear styling is too bland.

Hmm.. Highline is too costly & not easy to justify the price tag. And the sound out of petrol engine will not be up to everyone's taste.

At the end of the day, I would suggest you to go for

i20 P or Punto D. Congratz for your buy!

 

[raj_5004]

Guys, thank you for your quick response.

We have decided to extend our budget a bit & go for a diesel hatch. contenders are Punto 90hp & i20 CRDi.

I hate the way the Figo looks, so i am not considering it.

 

[jayadev]

Raj,
Congratulations for the new job.

if you are ready to ignore the sluggish initial pickup,long clutch travel and old gen gear shifts,then punto 90hp is the ultimate hatch you can go for.
[i think metropolitan cities and maharastra are taken care very well by fiat A.s.s. its the suburbs and other part of the country which suffer .]

else for your requirement i20 is the right choice.

 

[Zinam]

I would recommend i20 CRDi when comparing with 90Hp beast.

 

[RSM]

We have decided to extend our budget a bit & go for a diesel hatch. contenders are Punto 90hp & i20 CRDi.

Time to re-open http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...r/1033-fiat-grande-punto-v-s-hyundai-i20.html thread.

 

[sriharsha]

my pick: i20 CRDi.

 

[Akash]

Guys, thank you for your quick response.

We have decided to extend our budget a bit & go for a diesel hatch. contenders are Punto 90hp & i20 CRDi.

I too vote for i20 CRDi. Looks good and is backed by good A.S.S of Hyundai.

 

[AMG]

Has to be the Punto.

Good fun to drive.

 

[P3T3R]

Guys, thank you for your quick response.

We have decided to extend our budget a bit & go for a diesel hatch. contenders are Punto 90hp & i20 CRDi.

I hate the way the Figo looks, so i am not considering it.

I drove the Punto 90HP as well as the normal. The 90HP is only better on the highway. If you are not doing much spirited driving on the highway, stick with the normal one.