Which is the Best Sedan in Budget of Rs.15 Lakhs?

[aryayush]

I am planning to purchase a sedan in April and have a budget of 15 lacs. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the various options available to me, both within and slightly outside my budget, and would love it if you guys could, er, steer me in the right direction.

I’ve been looking at the following cars (arranged in order of price):

• Hyundai Fluidic Verna 1.6 SX CRDi (O)
• Toyota Corolla Altis Diesel D4DG
• Chevrolet Cruze LTZ
• Honda Civic 1.8 V MT Sunroof
• Skoda Laura Ambiente 2.0 TDI CR MT
• Volkswagen Jetta 2.0L TDI Trendline
• Renault Fluence Diesel E4

These are the requirements:

• Budget: 15 lacs (on road)
• Location: Siliguri, West Bengal
• Top 5 Priorities: High-tech automation, comfort, mileage, safety, suitability to city driving
• Monthly Running: About 1,300 kilometres
• Purpose: Getting around the city (poor traffic and crappy roads), occasional trips to nearby hill stations
• Seating Capacity: 4–6 people
• Fuel Type: Diesel (but petrol will do too)
• Body: Sedan

I really love features like mechanical seat adjustment, keyless entry, push-button start, rain-sensing wipers, air quality and climate control, automatic side view mirror folding, etc.. After that, I look at comfort, so I’d prefer a car with a smooth gear shift, soft clutch, effortless steering, nice pickup. And the more safety features there are, the better it is.

Given all of those requirements, which is the option where I’ll have to make the fewest sacrifices? And is there any car on the horizon, being released before April, that might be a better fit for my tastes than the current ones?

Thanks.

 

[Akash]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

I would say, its better to go for diesel when you have to crunch that amt of miles in a month. Now this outs Civic from the list.

So based on your requirements, my recommendation would be VW Jetta or Chevrolet Cruze. However, be advised Chevrolet Cruze has quite an amount of lag upto 2000rpm which irritate during city drives.

 

[aryayush]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

Actually, I was wrong in my monthly running estimates. We’ve averaged about 700 kilometres per month in the ten years we have owned our current car, but we’ve been driving more in the past few years, so I’d say we drive around 650–750 kilometres per month. Does that change your recommendation?

 

[AMG]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

What is the verna doing in the list?

And from the mentioned choices, cruze/laura with eyes closed.

 

[aryayush]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

Why not the Verna? Because it is cheaper?

And could you give me a few reasons to prefer or not prefer the Cruze or Laura please? You said “from the aforementioned choices”—do I have any other choice?

 

[Vishwas]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

Buddy you missed out Ford fiesta titanium+ TDCI which is also a good buy when you brought out the Verna and it is good only in the terms of handling and unique features.

If Monthly average is limited only below 700kms then petrol does the job so the hands raised from me is to go for Civic or Altis or Laura as they compete neck to neck in the petrol categories.
Among these three, Civic would be a good option to buy as it proves to give utmost satisfaction,anyway you can get the new civic when you plan to buy in april

 

[aryayush]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

Yes, I’ll be keeping an eye out for the new Civic they’re releasing next year. My only problem with the Civic is that, despite the excellent ride quality, it does not offer much in the way of comfort and luxury features. I love the high-tech stuff, with the car automating as much of the experience as possible.

How about the Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 GL/VL though? The GL version is within my budget and seems to be loaded to the gills with features (passenger airbags, automatic headlamps with washers, EC mirror, smart entry, reverse parking sensor (though not very good), auto lock, electrically adjustable outside mirrors, climate control, 8-way power driver seat, cruise control and push start/stop). I’ll miss the rain sensing wipers, auto-folding mirrors and air quality control of the Chevrolet Cruze, but with any of the other cars, I’d have to make more significant sacrifices.

I wanted a diesel car, but given that we don’t drive that much, I think we should be OK with the petrol version. Do you guys think this is a good decision? Is it worth paying about Rs. 1 lac extra for the 7-speed automatic version? From the specs, it does not look like the mileage takes too much of a hit and it might be fun to drive an automatic for a change.

Would love to hear your opinions.

 

[raj_5004]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

If I was in your place, I would pick the Cruze.

But looking at your requirements, I think Jetta is more apt for you, though the on road price is 18-19 lacs.

 

[aryayush]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

I wanted to buy the Chevrolet Cruze LTZ but I’ve heard too many negatives about it:

• Hard clutch with an aggressive return action
• Significant turbo lag
• Uncomfortable rear seats
• Unsuited to city driving, specially in bumper-to-bumper traffic
• Manual seat adjustment
• Poor quality plastics in the front

My brother wants to buy the Cruze anyway because of all the razzle-dazzle it offers and the breakneck performance, but I think that would be a poor decision. I am frustrated with the hard clutch on my existing Hyundai Santro and don’t want to buy a new car with the same problem, specially after having spent Rs. 15 lacs on it.

I looked into the Volkswagen Jetta and I really love the car. The problem, though, is that it is way outside my budget. The Comfortline trim is the only one that I can afford and it does not have any of the fancy features.

I’m still quite confused, actually. This is a difficult decision to make.

 

[2teja]

Re: Which sedan would be the best buy in a budget of 15 lacs?

I'm in a similar dilemma. I've planned of buying a sedan within Rs. 15 Lacks, TD'ed a few cars. I'm looking for a good suspension setup, comfortable ride and seats that will make me perch a little higher. I guess the only option within Rs. 15 Lacks for my kind of requirements would be Suzuki SX4, as I've found this roomier, and comfortable at par with the other beauties, and the high seats are it's USP making a lot easier for ingress and egress and gives a view of the world (SUVish kind). Comes with negligible gizmos and is NOT a head turner though. Coming on to the ground clearance, I'm sure with the kind of roads you have mentioned, SX4 will triumph with flying colors. SX4 in a nutshell is practical, wannabe luxury sedan. I do love it but is dated by its design.

With your kind of requirements I would however suggest the Verna petrol, its an able performer, plush from inside, has all gizmos and comes with pan-India Hyundai's service. Other alternative could be the Corolla petrol, it's a good performer and a trusted name. One can not go wrong with the Corolla. Other suggestions I think of are the new City V with sunroof since you like gizmos. A last suggestion would be City CE, and since you're too fond of gizmos, add on the ICE of your choice, alloys, seat covers, door handles, and I'm sure you'll have a head turner, a sweet 1.5L engine, with an energy output very close to that of corolla/civic/verna. And yet save money.
If you are too keen on choosing from the C+ segment ONLY, Corolla should be the deal for you. Have not much idea about the new Civic hence can't comment much, but I think it's speculated to be launched in the Q1 of 2012.

About Chevy Cruze, I feel the same way as you do, the clutch of the TD car was as bad as the clutch from my 2001 Santro, and it seems the spring inside the cable is completely loaded, it does have a an aggressive back play. Had a fun time driving on Delhi- Noida DND, but an even worse time after Ashram, in choc-a-bloc traffic. Cruze is a an AMAZING machine but an ok'ish car owing to such facts and also that there is very less head room for the driver, and leg room in all five places.

Also, let me emphasize on one thing, that it's not about spending Rs. 15 Lacks and choosing a car from the C+ segment ONLY but having a machine that you would admire. Like one of the fellow mates indicated as to what Verna is doing in the list and what I could gather from this post is that the fellow doesn't approve of comparing Verna with the other beauties. What I believe is, the car should entice us whatever be the segment, and its not just about money otherwise people wouldn't have been buying Superb but instead going for the German beauties, in spite of having the extra moolah.

Keep us updated, I wish by the time I've earned money for my next machine a new face lifted SX4 is launched.

 

[350Z]

Honda Civic is due for a replacement sometime soon and since you mentioned that the car will have to tackle poor roads – Please beware that Civic suffers from low ground clearance issues. It will be wise enough to wait and watch until Auto Expo 2012 which should clear the immediate future plans of various manufacturers and also unveil a few new products. Another interesting car coming up is Hyundai Elantra. It’s much bigger and more stylish than Verna. New Sonata is also coming up though it will now directly take on Honda Accord while New Elantra will compete with Cruze and likes (http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-new-hyundai-elantra-avante-slated-india.html).

Drive Safe,
350Z