Midsize Sedan: Hyundai Verna OR Maruti SX4


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Avinashh

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Hi everyone,

I am planning to buy a mid size sedan in the range of 8 to 9lacs. As I already have a Santro since 5 years which has clocked 27000 kms I intent to buy a Hyundai only as I am happy with the quality of their products & service too. But still I am open other cars also.

Car Criteria :

Good interiors
Comfortable space for 5 adults.
Performance & good AC
Good FE
Good service
I intent to keep the car for more than 5 years.

Driving Criteria :

I usaully drive 75kms in a week but do a lot of weekend getaways which includes highway driving. So I think petrol is the obvious choice. But can I consider diesel also with the increase in petrol prices.

Cars had in mind:

Ford Fiesta –
Its good car with great handling but I have read lot of negative reviews about ford service and the spares are expensive.

Swift Dezire –
First of all I don’t like the boot attachment for a Swift. Secondly there is no enough space at the rear as I have a family of four, so this car is not for me.

Toyota Etios
Just for the impeccable quality of the Toyota I would have bought Etios but after seeing the interiors especially the dashboard I was disappointed. I personally don’t like the centrally mounted instrument cluster and overall the interiors looked like built to price.

Tata Manza

It has loads of space but again fit & finish are not up to the mark & service network is very poor.


So finally I closed in to two cars.

Fluidic Verna
Maruti Sx4


Hyundai Fluidic Verna

Hyundai Fluidic Verna 1.4 VTVT – 8.56 lacs on road
Hyundai Fluidic Verna 1.6 VTVT – 9.44 lacs on road

The 1.4 VTVT does not have ABS or Airbags but have all other features like Bluetooth. But the 1.6 VTVT has ABS & airbags and lots of goodies but is almost 1 lac more so is it worth going in for 1.6 VTVT. The diesel verna is out of my budget.
Yet to take TD of both.

Pros :

Its HYUNDAI & had a great experience with my Santro which is still going strong.
Fantastic new design, looks like a 10 lac car.
Has features like Bluetooth.
Good service network of Hyundai.

Cons:
The 1.4 VTVT does not have ABS or airbags.
Low seating position because of which going in & out may be tedious considering my back problem.



MARUTI SX4 ZXI OR VDI

The story is same here also. Both Zxi & Vdi comes at 9.63 lacs. While Zxi has everything including ABS & airbags and there are discounts for petrol variant so it will come little more than my budget which is ok for me. But Vdi has no ABS or airbags and ZDi has which is 10.74 lacs on road in Bangalore, a difference of about 1 lac.

Pros:

Great ground clearance.
Maruti service network.
Have test driven the petrol zxi. I liked the ride & handling.
Good value for money.
Maintainence cost is less compared to verna.


Cons:

Interiors are not attractive compared to verna which has refreshing interiors.
Supension setup is on the stiffer side, was bumpy at low speeds.


So I am confused between these two cars. Though my monthly running is less can I go for diesel as the running cost is low & I will be keeping the car for more than 5 years.

Please I need help in selecting a good car. Thanks in advance.

regards,

Avinash
 
#2
Surfer

Surfer

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As you want car for highway driving then, IMO Sx4 is good.Go for diesel.
Or you can consider Sx4 CNG.
Why do you dont want to consider Manza ? Or Linea (Hugh discounts now a days)?
 
#3
350Z

350Z

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Welcome aboard to The Automotive India, Avinash. SX4 will make for a nice buy if you aren't concerned about those slowly getting dated looks if compared with fresh competitors. You must also consider Hyundai Verna and Fiat Linea (T-Jet?). Both are superb cars and have received a positive response from owners. Just perform a forum search and you will find some real helpful reviews. But with Fiat, the major issue could be after sales support which isn't really wide and being associated with Tata, it might be unhelpful at times. Official reports say that Fiat is planning to open up their own units but then, that's another story.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
#4
TSIVipul

TSIVipul

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@Avinashh:
The hell with the Verna and SX4,I mean haven't you got any other cars in the list..and yes,I'll ask even my senior forum-mates...WHERE'S THE CITY???
I MEAN,THE BEST CAR IS OUT OF THE LIST!!!![frustration]

Okay,now let me explain my way:
Verna:Neither its a good driver's car,nor its a good chauffeur driven car.Buy it only if you want somewhat new styling(Still I feel the Honda City and Vento better proportioned)and a lot of features,the features without which its really easy to live.

SX-4:Good car,VFM too but neither drives well nor rides that good.

Fiesta:Great ride and handling,purely enthusiast's car but Ford thing takes me away from it,especially its FE(petrol one) and maintenance.


Now my choices:

Firstly,the perfect car and the unrivalled king of the segment(leave the diesels,and see still no petrol car can match it)..HONDA CITY:Even its base variant comes equipped with ABS and airbags.
You may need to stretch a bit,but this is simply the best car in this segment,why?The reasons are:
1)The best and most comfy driving position and the steering too is great.
2)Most comfy rear seat,in fact the only car which is good for both self and chauffeur driven.
3)The i-vtec is a gem and performs far better than others once on boil(above 4000 rpm) .
4)Gives great FE,with some small precautions,you can get 15+ overall.
5)The maintenance is lower than all.

FIAT LINEA T-JET:Buy this if you have a pure enthusiast inside you,why?Because:
1)Ride and handling are the best.
2)Body control is great and there is nearly no roll at all.
3)The mid range is simply far-far better than others and this is a serious advantage because a car spends most of its life in this rev-range only.

But....
1)The comfy rear seat has less head room.
2)The driving position is not that good as in City.
3)FE is lower than City,but higher than SX-4/Verna/Fiesta.(petrol)
4)TATA after sales support is pathetic in case of Fiat.

Still this is a brilliant car and you can buy it with closed eyes..

You can consider Vento too.

SO,IN MY VIEW 'HONDA CITY' WILL SUIT YOU BEST,rest is upon you.:smile:
 
Thread Starter #6
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Avinashh

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Thanks everyone. So its the Honda City I should go for. Even I liked the city but I am only worried about the ground clearance. As I sometimes travel through villages which has very bad roads. Even I read on the net that it scraps the underneath when going over a bad surface. So what do I do . . .
 
#7
Vishwas

Vishwas

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Avinashh said:
Thanks everyone. So its the Honda City I should go for. Even I liked the city but I am only worried about the ground clearance. As I sometimes travel through villages which has very bad roads. Even I read on the net that it scraps the underneath when going over a bad surface. So what do I do . . .
Click to expand...
Yes Honda City have this problem and the more complaints from customers of the City is Lower GC as told by my cousin who works in Honda Service station.
If you take it for weekend outings then give a look at SX-4 or Verna
 
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