Hatchback or Sedan For Long Term Use

[visran]

Have heard horror stories about TATA A**, any good A** that you know of in bangalore?

You can try Concorde Motor's Dairy circle which is owned by TATA Motor's, My Dad give's his Manza to them and till now the service is more than satisfactory.

 

[Quadra]

I really doubt any of modern diesel will stand good for aprx 3 lac kms ( as per your projected plan of usage). As almost everyone suggested your best pick will be Manza since your priority #1 is rear space. But as a owner of vista must give a "statutory warning" before one decides to by a tata car. A.S.S. is horrifying. If can accommodate in rear space, I will suggest you to check out Ford Classic once. Many of us must have seen decade old Ford cars (specially Icon- its predecessor) in good roadworthy state.

 

[micky123]

I really doubt any of modern diesel will stand good for aprx 3 lac kms ( as per your projected plan of usage). As almost everyone suggested your best pick will be Manza since your priority #1 is rear space. But as a owner of vista must give a "statutory warning" before one decides to by a tata car. A.S.S. is horrifying. If can accommodate in rear space, I will suggest you to check out Ford Classic once. Many of us must have seen decade old Ford cars (specially Icon- its predecessor) in good roadworthy state.

Yup, i echo your thoughts wrt the projected usage. I was also looking at the vista diesel, but i felt the turbo kicked in a little too late for my liking. Fords are costly to maintain despite the sales person at elite ford convincing me that the figo would be cheaper to maintain than the Maruti Swift!
A little hard to digest that one !

 

[micky123]

You can try Concorde Motor's Dairy circle which is owned by TATA Motor's, My Dad give's his Manza to them and till now the service is more than satisfactory.

Concorde Motors seem to be the best of all the showrooms i have been too, but i have a beef with them, they quoted Rs. 70000 as exchange value for my 2008 M800 BS3 AC model and an exchange bonus of Rs. 50000, i was disgusted and just walked out!

Welcome to TAI, looking at your requirements i would suggest you to take a look at Manza as it fit's your bill perfectly and also Tata Motor's are offering a mouth watering discounts on it.

I some how did not like the Manza when i had a look at it, maybe coz im stuck with the option of a top end hatch. The same money will buy me an entry level sedan!

I also think so Manza fits best in your budget and requirement (as A** is your last priority.). And as far as turbo lag is concerned it is part of Diesel cars.

I understand that turbo lag is a part of all diesels, but i did not find this when test driving the Figo Diesel and Etios Liva.

4000 kilometers monthly running = diesel for sure.

i think you should get a good diesel top end hatchback having all the safety features.
you want to keep the car for 10 years so make sure you get those safety features.

in your budget i20 sports diesel can easily come , you can also go for the swift zdi.

Yup, this is looking more likely at this point. Swift sucks in my opinion, its too big and fat for my liking.
i20 - I have heard a lot of issues from owners of this car, apparently petrols are fine but not diesels, not to mention that it is going beyond my budget!

I also would have suggested you the Manza but since good A.S.S. is your priority, check the Etios diesel.
Also, longevity of toyotas are good compared to other manufacturers.

TD the Etios Liva diesel, the cabin noise was a little too much and it filters into the cabin despite the AC being on (which itself is loud). I am told the sedan too has the same issue!

Considering your monthly run it would be diesel that would fit you.
I would suggest you etios diesel if you want a sedan and a swift zdi if you want a hatch.
Toyota and Maruti are considered to be the the benchmarks when it comes to reliabilty, after sales service and resale value.
Dzire is another choice if you are not happy with the rear legroom swift offers.
Which ever car you select I would advice you to consider variants with ABS and airbags since you are going to keep your vehicle for a long period + your monthly run of 4000kms

I dont like the swift/dzire due to them being very fat and too common i suppose . ABS and Airbags are definitely on the anvil, provided i go for a hatch, in which case i can buy the top end model.

Looking at you monthly running diesel is the way to go.

Since you are buying it for long term. I would suggest you to get a sedan and Manza fits weel in your budget.

And if you want to go for a hatch, you can go for I20 or Swift.

I have started leaning towards the Figo for some reason - Linear power deliver y and turbo kicks in at 1600 RPM, cabin noise is also low, the music system is fantastic and the top end variant falls within my budget. I am only afraid of the ground clearance at this point though!

 

[Quadra]

I have started leaning towards the Figo for some reason - Linear power deliver y and turbo kicks in at 1600 RPM, cabin noise is also low, the music system is fantastic and the top end variant falls within my budget. I am only afraid of the ground clearance at this point though!

Yes, you have the right doubt. Figo tends to touch its belly with almost everything bit high on the road, and you always need to be extra cautious while crossing an "Indian" speed-breaker or potholes. And I somehow didn't like its driveability in B2B traffic (in comparison to Vista), may be it's with me only. let me correct you please- cabin noise in Figo is a bit on higher side. otherwise it's good VFM performer with great driving dynamics.

 

[micky123]

Yes, you have the right doubt. Figo tends to touch its belly with almost everything bit high on the road, and you always need to be extra cautious while crossing an "Indian" speed-breaker or potholes. And I somehow didn't like its driveability in B2B traffic (in comparison to Vista), may be it's with me only. let me correct you please- cabin noise in Figo is a bit on higher side. otherwise it's good VFM performer with great driving dynamics.

Hi Quadra,

I TD the Vista as well as the Figo and found the turbo lag to be more in the vista, which is a pain when u have to take off from signals for example. I loved the feel of the etios liva, but then it would be a compromise on cabin noise if i go for it .

As regards the cabin noise, maybe i was a little biased, but i did find it better with the Figo (due to the fantastic music system, no doubt!) than the Liva, the vista was in a league of its own in terms of cabin noise though, practically noiseless.
If only i could get a bit of all these cars and create one with no anomalies! Wishful thinking indeed!

 

[TSIVipul]

Hello Micky,considering your requirements and your running I'd recommend you to go for a big hatchback instead of a sedan.Yes,if your budget would have been 10 lac then it would have been a sedan.
Since you need good power,then the power must show up too and hence a big hatch will give you what you want.I will recommend you only a couple of cars:-

• Maruti Suzuki Swift ZDi/Ritz VDi ABS.
• Toyota Liva GD.

See buddy,my running is also near about same as yours and its a fact thet there is a lot of difference between 1000 kms/month and 4000 kms/month.
If your running is high that means:-

• You drive longer distances.
• You need a more reliable car.
• Good A.S.S. is not needed here,instead it is a must.
• Service time and spares availability must never be an issue with the A.S.S. because you need your car quite soon as compared to others.
• I too drive long and I know how tough it becomes if your car is in A.S.S. and you are in a need of it.

• Considering these factors I have removed Tata and Ford from the list.
• I removed Fabia and Polo because they don't have that good engine.
• I removed i-20 just because safety is a must for me and ABS equipped i-20 is way above your budget.

• I added Swift and Ritz because both are fantastic diesel cars and always give you the adequate feedback and also the A.S.S.of Maruti is unarguably the best.
• I recommended Live because Toyota A.S.S. is really great and added to it is the reliability this car offers.I am also driving a car with same engine coupled with a VGT(Corolla D-4D).And I must say that this is a fantastic engine.Also you get a very relaxed and linear power delivering diesel in the Liva.

 

[micky123]

Bumping up this thread!

Hi All,

I have been travelling the length and breadth of the country for the past year and now back in Bangalore. Looking to renew this search and the contender list has grown a bit bigger now :)

Looking at two other options:

Honda Amaze - Yet to take TD, but wifey is might impressed with this car! Looks like it can seat 3 people in the rear seat in comfort and the Honda Badging makes me feel a bit relaxed wrt the overall quality of the car.

Fiat Punto - TD taken and was blown away! I never thought that FIAT would have such a good car on hand. It is built like a tank and does not have too much turbo lag, the only thing really worrying me is the plastic quality and the seating comfort, i feel the seats are too stiff for my liking, any Punto owners who can clarify this?
Do the seats remain firm or will they eventually become comfortable?
The other major concern is the A**, now with FIAT splitting up with TATA motors, does this auger well for the A**, again request Punto owners to comment!
Need to really get my mind around things as my 2008 M800 is starting to feel the strain of the 52000 km done! :)

 

[set12]

Yep Honda Amaze ticks the most boxes here. Also Honda's A.S.S quality and network is much better and widespread than Fiat. You have already ruled out Dzire and Manza for valid reasons. May also want to check out Ford Classic diesel instead of Figo if you want a bigger car.