| Upgraded from Esteem VXi to SX4 Zxi - car choice
Hello Friends,
Below is the description of how I bought my new car SX4 ZXi. I would like to clarify that the observations etc made below are my own and no offence to any other car owner meant. This can be beneficial for new car buyers in C segment and I can take queries if you PM me..
Sorry for the long write-up...
PART 1: Background
The car I was driving stock 2004 Esteem VXi - an excellent car and served me well for 45K
Reason for selling Had run the car enough, Esteem was out of production and wanted a bigger car!
Emotional Choice for the (new?) car OHC VTEC Type 2
Expectations from new car:
Powerful Engine more than Esteem
Safety and Feature List
Budget of 8-9 lacs
Good Balance between Mileage, *** and Cost of Ownership
Need to stand out from the crowd
Good Ground clearance
PART 2 Hunt for OHC VTEC
Sold the Esteem in Mar, 2008, started hunt for OHC VTEC. Family was not too convinced about going for a 5+ yrs old car, but looking at my passion, they did not argue. Test drove at least 5-6 cars, mostly 1.5Exi but 1 VTEC too. Price expected from 1.5 EXi was in the range of 3.8-4.2 and most of them were company owned. Also, the engine seemed to have been tinkered with, so did not go for it. VTEC was in a shabby condition and after consulting mechanic found that it might have been in an accident as the chasis had issue. There were quite a few cars with dealers in Mumbai and my mechanic checked them out, were polished and painted well but engine was not clean. Also, the interiors of the car were not suiting the folks at home. So having spent 1.5 months, got dejected and lost patience.. Family pressure mounted for a new car and I succumbed.
PART 3 Hunt for new car
In parallel had started the hunt for new car. The choice was amongst the usual suspects Aveo, City, Fiesta, SX4 and Verna, also included Corolla and Cedia for good measure. Had TD for all of them, first round the below were out of the list for the reasons mentioned:
Aveo: Nice car but a jack of all, master of none. Lack of power in lower bands, drive was good, but it did not excite, Resale value etc a concern
Fiesta 1.4 Petrol and Diesel: Petrol was going to be discontinued soon, both had the same issue - lack of power
Verna Diesel: Awesome power but expensive and lack of equipments even on the higher version, noisy. Also the power was scary as the car did not handle as well. Also, in Pune Diesel is in short supply at times
City EXi/GXi: Lesser power, artificial steering, low ground clearance, no safety features such as ABS/Airbags
Did TD again for the remaining cars and again removed a few more from the list:
Corolla: Was looking at the lowest version so very less equipment with the car, the car steering was huge, also compared to the power, the thrill was less. Also most important, I was stretching my budget too far even with the discounts. But need to mention that it was an excellent package, Toyota has the best reliability, if you have a driver than one of the best cars and the handling in rough terrain was awesome
Verna Petrol: A competent car, but did not like the handling, the looks both from the front and rear, boot was small. But need to mention that the interiors were very good, there was a nice discount of 30K and Hyundai has excellent A.S.S.
City VTEC: Excellent power, but same issues as GXi/EXi. Though safety features present, but it did not inspire confidence on highways or on bad roads; I thought its fragile and also very light on the steering. Also very expensive for the car I was getting as per my budget
Finally was left with 3 cars:
Cedia: Pros - Good value for money, Fitted LPG Kit, more powerful engine and a bigger car. Cons Dealer network, Resale Value, a bit underpowered for a 2 litre engine, Looks did not appeal to me, Sports model was the best but it did not have any difference in the engine tuning, also was stretching my budget
Fiesta: Pros the best drivers car in my shortlist, great handling, decent interiors, best looking of the lot; Cons Ford does not have a good perception, spare parts expensive, they build cars only to last for 3-4 years, maintenance becomes very expensive once the warranty is over.. maybe perception but this is what most of the folks advised
SX4: Pros Good power, equipment list, Maruti A.S.S, height, presence on the road, ground clearance, safety equipments, suits my personality 6+ height; Cons - bumpy ride at low speed on not so smooth roads, interior quality cheap and other issues gathered from the forum (low mileage 10-11; rear middle seat, noise level in the cabin)
Cedia was dropped first due to the cost as well as the lack of sale numbers of the car and the lack of good response / follow up from the dealer. Then dropped out Fiesta due to Fords image, also the 1.6 was not the best seller amongst the fiestas at that time. We did not have the new Fiesta SPORT at that time
Had long chats with some of the TBHP owners to take their inputs on specific points.
Finally, I zeroed in on my dream car.. the SX4 ZXi.. Have driven 5K till date and I am more than happy with my choice | 
14th October 2008, 16:41
(1)
Thanks
