Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Hatchbacks (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchbacks/)

-   -   Budget diesel hatch - For one with A.S.S. Phobia - EDIT: Booked Liva GD! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchbacks/103540-budget-diesel-hatch-one-s-s-phobia-edit-booked-liva-gd-4.html)

My vote goes for RITZ LDI/VDI.

Would have voted for Swift D, but considering "lesser the better" I thought you may be able get discounts in RITZ to make the deal cheaper than Swift and also get the delivery sooner. RITZ seems to be a better package overall for the given requirements.

New Swift may not fit 5.50 ex showroom budget.

I have recently booked Figo and waiting for delivery, though Swift allotment letter was in my hands. My thoughts behind doing this are as follows.

In my decision making process, with requirements similar to you, I shortlisted Swift, Ritz, Punto and Figo. This was done by reading many threads here on T-BHP and similar price range. Since waiting period for swift was highest I booked Swift and Started researching.

Best TD satisfaction was with Punto but dropped it for Quality feel and ***.

Ritz TD I felt it bouncy and Looks were bit disappointing.

Swift TD was OK but ride comfort was not satisfactory but engine and driving feel kept it in Final Options.

Figo TD satisfaction was next to Punto but rear power windows was a set back but overall performance kept it in Final Option.

Now the Price, FE, ***, Overall visibility etc. etc. Factors were in Picture.

Price : Figo ZXI cheaper than swift VDI by 25K but Plus was ICE, Elec. ORVM, Rear Defoger, wiper, washer, button boot open etc. etc. Overall Felt swift overpriced by about 50K to 60K Compared to Figo. Figo found to be better.

*** : For Ford or Maruthi i dont have any experience though I own m800 for last 17/18 yrs. I get it serviced/repaired by Independent mechanic. Now with modern cars I felt that this strategy is not worth so got opinion from local friends owning Ford and Maruthi. They rated both equally good or bad. But frequency of Maruthi owners visit to *** was found to be more compared to Figo owner, due to some small issues which got sorted immediately. Costwise both are more or less same.

F.E. : Swift practically gives 18/19 in city, Figo gives 16/17 Highways both are in similar ratio. (Data from few local Owners). Swift found to be better.

Driving : Over all visibility all around, HPS, Stability found to be Better in Figo than Swift. I tried parking by reversing both cars I could park Figo without any assistance but swift needed assistance for same. Driving on congested city road found Figo much better to swift. On empty stretch swift was much better and Figo was found to be sluggishly speeding up. Noise levels, swift was more refined than Figo. At higher speeds (my standards 90 to 110) both cars were stable but felt figo to be confidence inspiring than swift. Overall rated Figo better than Swift.

Space : Figo own hands down nothing to comment. Rear legroom, front legroom, rear bench width, boot space etc. etc. way ahead of Swift. Swift looks bigger from outside but inside space is less. Only soar point about Figo was its height you have to bend down and sit, in swift ingress is much easier. Figo found to be better.

Resale Value : I generally keep vehicles for longer period say 10 to 15 yrs. In this scenario I found Figos built to be Sturdy and Long Lasting compared to swift. For this reason resale value was not a factor in my decision making. Otherwise maruthi cars have best resale value compared to Ford cars. Swift is better in this factor.

Dealership experience : Over all both dealerships experience is equally good or bad as far as follow up, timeliness, product knowledge etc. etc. is concerned cant blame Dealerships but to the person working need to be blamed. Seems that the job they are doing is their last resort.

Overall : Considering all above Three major factors Price, FE, *** applying effect of other secondary factors the balance tilted towards Figo.

I am aware of following most reported issues for Figo.
1. Poor Head Lamps.
2. Low GC and scraping on Big bumps.
3. Rattles and squeaks.

Hope you find this useful. Voted for Figo naturally.

Thanks for the insight Whitelion. I've been wanting to ask this for a while now. How is the high speed behaviour of Figo relative to other hatchbacks?

Rather, how would you guys rate all hatchbacks in the market strictly in terms of high speed behaviour(stability, ride quality, steering response etc)?

Sorry to hijack your thread Tanveer sir :) Coming back to the topic, a high seating vehicle seems to be better suited to you, from what I could gather from the various posts on this thread. The Ritz seems like a sensible choice, in my very humble opinion. Of course you will have to discount the looks and the boot space (though have also noticed that the looks improve considerably if one gets a nice set of alloys). All the best for your search.

Punto / Polo should be way ahead of anything else with respect to the above points. Figo comes next followed by Swift IMO.

Well I am not expert on this topic but definitely would like to share my views. I am a sedate driver and my general driving speed hovers between 60 to 90 on highways and like to keep at constant speed of 75/80 when a open stretch is available. My tests were very rudimentary. I tested Both cars at speed between 90 to 110 on a lonely 4 lane road in my city. What I observed that Both cars were moving smoothly and on curves there was no feeling of being toppled thats all. About Figo I was able to take curves at ease and in case of swift there was some amount of fear in my mind and felt like I should reduce the speed. Similarly while going in straight line in case of figo felt that I can increase speed but in case of swift I felt that its enough i should not go further. The Maruthi SR took over car from me and showed me that it can reach 140 easily but at that time also I was bit tense though I was sitting besides him. I was feeling bit unsafe when speed was increasing. In case of Figo and Punto I never felt like that. The Third TD of Figo and swift were back to back, where high speed was tested.

I think persons like GTO and others can comment on this. They know better about car Dynamics and Steering response. What I can comment is whether I felt better or Not. I am unable to explain things technically. One analogy I can give, I can tell whether I felt curry tasty or not, I cant tell what went wrong in recipe or ingredients.

What I feel is while buying or acquiring something its necessary to judge what one felt about various options and choose, rather than on too much technical analysis. Thats why most of the T-BHPians (after their comments) suggest "have TD yourself and decide". I too suggest for own TD and decide. Off course reading threads gives you new perspective and your home work is ready, for what to test and register your experience. One more thing I would like to suggest, please dont stop on a single TD of Final Options (should be 2/3), get multiple TD and then decide. As suggested else where here, Final TD should be Back to Back. After every TD read related car's threads, tally your experience and list things to be tested in next TD. For niggles, maintainability, Ownership costs, FE etc. etc. read threads of respective cars here and form a opinion.

T-BHP has treasure of information regarding cars, your buy on reading that can not go wrong. As many of them have put here "No car is Perfect", be prepared to compromise on some of the matters.

If space in the rear seat is not a constraint and if you are going to drive alone mostly, it is no doubt swift. I own a swift D, but I somehow liked the soft ride of figo. The suspension on the figo does a great job, where as in swift you can literally feel each and every bump you pass thru.
There is a thread on the engine stalling issue with Figo TDCi, do check it. I am not sure what the conclusion was.

Coming from a SUV, I think both the swift and figo are going to be low slung for your comfort, this is where the RITZ scores few brownie points.

But I think the wait for new swift is going to be worth it.

I'd say go for the Ritz, although the Beat D also looks to be interesting. The current gen Swift is on its way out and with the waiting periods the way they are on this model, i can only imagine the waiting period once the new one launches.

The Ritz is a very practical choice and is mainly overlooked because of its looks. If that does not matter to you, book it right away.

You are right about Punto. Figo is a close second.

The Polo is nowhere near the above two, the steering is very light and vague and body roll is more than Punto and Figo.

Are you sure Polo doesn't score above Figo ? :Shockked: That's so surprising for me because of the rave reviews I have read & heard about Polo's dynamics [ride 7 handling] !

Yes, I am 110% sure having driven both. GTO can correct me if I am wrong here. I am talking about handling only, Polo has a good ride quality but it can't be compared with Punto and Figo on the handling front.

Autocar had conducted a mega comparison test of all hatchbacks a year back and they had given ratings to individual attributes like - body roll, steering feel etc.
Only 2 cars scored 5 stars in the above 2 parameters - Punto and Figo.
Polo had 4 stars for body control and 3 for steering, most probably the same as Swift. Actually, the Swift has a better steering IMO

I had felt the same during my TD's but was not sure whether to say it given the various reviews and the pedigree of Polo being a German car from VW etc etc. But after I read the comparison test at Autocar, I felt more confident to say it as I was not the only one to feel the same.:D

Had to grapple with the same choice last Sept, and after much deliberation, chose the Swift Vdi + Abs. Must admit, I'm extremely satisfied with my choice. TD'd all the other cars you're considering, and some you are'nt, but the best to drive was the Punto by far, however the *** scared me off, and the others are just not in the same league as the Swift. I had to wait 3 months for delivery, and yes, I could have gone for the Figo or Ritz or I20, but they would just have been compromises.

Since Sept, I've driven it for 16k kms, no issues whatsoever, only the scheduled services, no hassles, no breakdowns, extremely refined, frugal, and fun to drive. My earlier car was a Santro, and I simply love Maruti for their service.

Go for it, you wont regret it.

tsk1979 saab

After all said and done my prediction for your purchase is Figo EXI if walking into a car is not on the top of your list, in which case Ritz will win.
The reason being, Figo cruises more comfortably at your desired speeds of 100-110 on highways than either Ritz or Beat. which you will invariably find out.
Then again the space up front in Figo is more than in Ritz. Convenient for you. Ritz is slightly claustrophobic but Figo is spacious in contrast.
Thirdly AC shouldn't conk out also (i guess) :). Largest compressor etc etc you know. Smart move by Ford!

Lastly Ford may or may not have niggles. Some report and some don't. Same as Maruti. (I have a Figo petrol. Running like a charm. Going for a diesel as well next week. Intend to keep it for a looong time)


I will follow your thread with interest. One thing though Fords have are expensive accidental repairs. Maruti is al cheapo by comparison. Rest no hassles.
Happy buying!!

PS- Beat is the dark horse, can't say about it. I don't like its strange design, looks like a kid's fantasy inside out.

Lots of interesting observations from members.
Let me tell you, my primary highway car has a turning radius and handling worse than a large container truck. So chuckability around corners is not a big criteria.
However, straight line stability is a +.
for example, I find the santro slightly bad in this regard. Getz(we have a petrol in the family) is great in this regard.
So if any of these cars can equal the old getz in handling and stability, we are happy.

Now front space and walking/sitting into the car is definitely a critera, but more than that what matters is front seat lumbar support, and condition of ankle and feet after a long traffic jam.

For example, in the safari, traffic jams are not an issue, but in our 2002 indica, the pedal postion is such that your right(acc. pedal) foot starts paining after a very long traffic jam.

Safari front seats offer decent lumbar support, through not as good as the santro which is very comfortable on the body.

I guess saturday its TD time.
We have shortlisted the following cars for TD
1. Figo
2. Swift
3. Ritz
4. i20 - Not a primary contender, but wondering why its 5.86 (30K more than swift)
5. Micra diesel (Even though its not a contender)

there is only one car that is custom made for you, but only two things can stop you from buying it. One is how long can you wait for it, remember 'Sabar ka fal meetha hota hai', and the second is what if costs a little more (that little more will go a long way for you). That car is the Liva diesel. Going by the pricing of Toyota on its petrol version, it will be priced well, may be a little more than the Swift, but new Swift is on the way, and we don't know what will it be priced at. Even if it is cheaper by 30-40 K, yet Liva will out pay itself in less then 2 years. Everything said and done, no other car comes even close to these top two, Liva & new Swift, but Swift will be a far far second, particularly for your requirements. My Dad owns a 2003 Corolla which has done 1.25L kms, the car is still fresh but he is bored!

Finally we TD'd every hatch we could.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...h-hopping.html