Upgrading to a Premium Hatchback - Please Help

[anand_p_r]

Help me choose my ride.

Hi Guys,
I am new to this community. I own a 10 year old Hyundai Santro and I'm looking forward for an upgrade. I have been researching and finding it difficult to come to a decision. So,please give me your suggestions.

Budget: 6L (petrol) or 7L (diesel)
Average monthly ride: 600-800 kms
Requirements: Ride quality, Interior space, Decent fuel efficiency. No maintenance headache.

Choices:

Petrol:
Swift Zxi - Rear space is less. Service network is advantage. Too common!!
New Dzire Vxi - Would miss the safety features. Rear appearance looks weird.
Hyundai i20 - Asta varient is very expensive and worried about fuel efficiency.
Honda Jazz - Great design and interiors.Honda quality.Different in the crowd. is it fuel efficient?

Diesel:
Punto Dynamic - Ride quality is good. Dint like the plastic quality and interior space.
i20 Sports - Good interiors. Would miss the safety features.(ABS,Bags) Asta would be too costly.
Swift ZDi - Waiting period.

Please advice me guys.

 

[singh890]

I would say that go with Jazz if you are going with Petrol and if you wanna go with diesel, i guess swift is the best option (If you can wait and you not in a hurry to buy one)

Below is an amazing ownership review for the Honda Jazz, hope you find it useful.

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/ownership-reviews/4664-loved-punto-booked-micra-got-jazzed.html

 

[mads2849]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

Anand, my humble request would be to go for a diesel hatch as the ever increasing petrol prices will make driving your car an obligation after some point in time( A birdie told me that the petrol prices will be hiked again shortly). No coming to Diesel let me not confuse by talking about all the cars. I have done quite a research for one long year before finally deciding on my car. I give you two straight options Ford FIgo ZXI or Punto Dynamic. Both cars are fantastic to drive.

Ford Figo-
• Fantastic drivers view
• Feel good steering
• More rear leg space as compared to Punto
• Fit and finish better than Punto
• Cheaper
• After sales better than Fiat

Fiat Punto
• Drivers car..awesome to drive
• Road grip, best in class
• Steering wheel feels heavy even at high speeds.
• Best looking hatch in India
• It’s a heavy car and feels big when you sit inside.

Both are European cars so the ride and handling will be sturdier than their Asian counterparts. Built and material used in both the cars have not been compromised. The Punto fits in better if you are a occasional highway driver. Figo is fantastic for city ! Now can you guess which car I went for?

 

[anand_p_r]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

Thanks for the response!
@singh890: Thanks, I would go for jazz if I choose to go for petrol. The production has restarted and I will not have to wait much.
@mads2849: Well, you have a point there. I am not a big fan of the appearance of figo (no offense!!). I haven't even considered it. I will research on it. But, punto, I test drove twice. Yeah, it has the best handling of the lot. But compared to i20 and jazz, the interiors are not spacious and the dash looks outdated. Not only that i20 is priced well above these.
I'm confused!!

 

[gdave]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

I would prefer Jazz since it is the most fuel Efficient among the listed IMO. And you know Honda.
For my Honda City I am getting an average of 14 kmpl (Avg. FE for City and highway). So you can guess how i-vtec is helping to gain more mileage for the Honda's. So what I would say now will be, you can expect more FE from Jazz.
It has good leg room, good boot space, Stylish interiors and powerful engine.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

Hello anand_p_r. Welcome to TAI. Please start another thread for you dilemma since this one is exclusively meant for new member's introductions. You will get a much better response for your new thread. Wishing you a pleasant stay at TAI. Happy car hunting !

 

[Akash]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

Looking at your monthly running, i would anyday suggest you to go for a diesel car. You never know when Govt would hike the petrol prices again. Further more, i feel Ritz would be a good choice since it has good cabin space, ride quality and the engine which is same as that of Swift (which you may have to skip due to long waiting periods).

Also please go through the following sub-forums which would help you with your query.

The Automotive Shopper
Test Drive Reviews

 

[Thetraveller]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

Your running doesnt really justify an oil-burner! The upfront additional cost and extra maintenance cost will be more. From petrol best bet is Swift and Jazz. Swift currently has a month of waiting or may be even less depending on the color and whether dealer has some cancelled bookings. Jazz will have a longer waiting period.

I would not suggest Dzire, as except for additional boot space, it does not have anything else to offer. I TD'd one this weekend, and everything about it looked flimsy.

 

[raj_5004]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

Since you drive only 25 kms per day, I would have suggested you a Petrol. But then, with rising petrol costs, why not consider a diesel?

With a budget of Rs. 7 Lac in diesel & with your requirements, I would recommend you a i20, Punto & Figo in that order.

 

[anand_p_r]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

@Akash: Ritz is a good choice, but personally, I dint like it's appearence.
@Thetraveller: Jazz's waiting period is would be around 1-2 months as Honda has restarted production. Dzire's rear seats looks less cramped.
@raj_5004: I TD i20 twice. Nice car, spacious interiors. But all I can get it magna or sportz for my budget. But only Asta(7.8L) has the premium features.

 

[autosafari]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

Anand,

From your posts I understand that you like Honda Jazz and found it better than all other options.

Just go with that

 

[Sam Dinkar]

Your usage does not justify a diesel car. Close your eyes and go for the Honda Jazz (unless you have your heart set on any other car). The base version is roughly Rs. 6.15 lakh on road and comes fully loaded with all safety features. Yes, it's fuel efficient, though a bit low on low-end-torque.

 

[raj_5004]

You wont get a feature loaded car in that budget. For that, you need to have a 7 Lac budget for a petrol hatch.

In petrol, I would ask you to look at i20, Jazz & Punto 1.4 in that order.

 

[anand_p_r]

Since, I am looking forward for an upgrade, I'd need a feature rich hatch.
@Autosafari: Yes, I am impressed with jazz. The last confusion is, Petrol or diesel.
@SamDinkar: Ok, Thanks..

 

[shailinder]

Re: Help me choose my ride.

Anand,

From your posts I understand that you like Honda Jazz and found it better than all other options.

Just go with that

I agree with autosafari here. Moreover, your running does not justify a Diesel car as of now. But yes, if you think it is going increase in due course of time then consider a Diesel car.

Jazz is a great car and waiting on it justify that. People always wanted to buy it but due to overprice factor they did not but since then Honda revised price of Jazz. Booking started pouring from all angles but then Honda could not support it due to flood and what not.

Go with Jazz.