Hello !
Some context before I come to the actual problem statement --
Dzire diesel was my primary car for city and outstation travel for last 14+ years before I sold it off as it was nearing 15 years and I was not sure if the registration would be renewed or not. In the 14+ years of ownership I drove it for appx. 2.2 lakh kilometers across multiple states and all types of roads. With excellent mileage, fuss free ownership and japanese reliability, I never had to think twice before taking it out in any weather or any road condition. Link to forum post on completion of 2 lakh kms (
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5044344 (The 200,000 km hall of fame | Pics & experiences with your 2 lakh km car))
I had started the process of replacing Dzire with a suitable option when I got a good deal on a used Audi A6 with the bonus offer of buying my Dzire as well with RC transfer. Link to forum post (
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/luxur...-guidance.html (Planning to buy a pre-worshipped Audi A6 | Need advice and guidance)).
After buying it, I covered 5K km in a month with multiple trips. During one of the trips, I crossed a water logged area and the Audi underbody protection sheet which is made of some cardboard stuff went soggy and came off. I did not know it earlier and realized that driving such cars in rainy season is tricky and many owners play safe in rainy season.
In 2012 I had bought Honda City top variant with automatic gearshift and sunroof. However it remained a secondary car because of low city mileage (8-9 kmpl) and low GC. Since Dzire has been sold, it has become the beater car with drops to school, market and other smaller runs. It is a pain to take Audi in traffic with horrible pot holed roads. As a rule, if the distance is less than 10km, I do not take Audi out. With low fuel economy, the weekly petrol bill of Honda City reaches 2-2.5K and monthly spend about 10K (petrol is 108.5 rupees a liter in Rajasthan). If I keep it for another 5 years, my fuel bill will reach appx. 6 lakhs with the current rate.
Also, imagine a situation like kisan andolan when the delhi-jaipur and other highways were jammed for months and one had to take detour through narrow crater like village roads, none of the above two are suitable options. Highways can be jammed otherwise due to accident or road blockade and diversions through uneven, rough, patchy roads are not friendly options for both the above cars. If I had Dzire, I would not even bat an eyelid before taking the same.
Actual Problem Statement --
So, I have been thinking of replacing 10 year Honda City with a frugal but fun to drive car. I have explored CNG and hybrid options but while they give good mileage, they are not fun to drive. I also want a car which is highway friendly and has good luggage space for short trips.
I shortlisted all the C1 segment cars (as defined in the monthly sales report) and then prepared a comparison excel. I took the most powerful engine on offer for each model in petrol.
c3 comparison.xlsx
One of the cars I shortlisted was C3 turbo due to its great engine, handling and dynamics and ability to go anywhere. It is there on the top with high Power/ton and Torque/ton figures.
So I test drove it two days back and instantly liked it. The suspension is one or two segment above and engine just pulls effortlessly giving a good mileage of 15-16 kmpl. Its wireless car play works like a breeze and in a wink of an eye my phone got paired. There is a microphone button on the steering console so that you can invoke siri as well for voice commands. You press the button and then speak "call so and so" and your call gets dialled. I find this feature very necessary today. You can take office calls while driving etc.
It is good to look at, drives well, has a great engine and I can not only use it in city but also take it on Highway trips. C3 110ps puretech engine is a tried and tested engine and is quite reliable. Also C3 has scored NCAP4 rating in one of earlier crash tests. I am ok with all the missing features and some of them I can get it aftermarket also.
But there are few concerns - the dealer network is puny (only one dealership in whole of Rajasthan). Service and parts availability remains a concern in spite of all the assurances. Due to frugal nature of the interiors, home minster is not very happy.
Money wise, I get C3 in appx 10lakhs or so while for others I will have to stretch my budget which is already stretched due to Audi A6.
Should I go ahead and buy it or Should I consider other options or Should I drop the whole plan and continue with Honda City for next 5 years ?