[CowlFlap]

Hi All,
Brand new to TeamBHP forums, and I find it to be a really helpful and informed community here. Thanks for all your inputs.

Coming to the question posted by the Original Poster, I have a similar need - Hatchback for parents.

Some of their requirements:
-Parents will be doing the driving.
-Sparingly used (therefore Petrol)
-Weekend getaways out of town (highways) - where the weekends may extend to a full week (at times) when they really enjoyed their getaway!
-These getaways may sometimes be to areas that have poor roads (state highways), and at times to farmlands (no roads!) - ground clearance, bumpiness, suspension?
-They tend to carry their home in the car! (luggage space and weight)
-Not the automatic and fancy types (Manual/no tilt sterring/no fancy spoilers, chrome handles, body coloured accessories, etc.)- They like to feel and stay young! - though I reckon they still must have a power steering along with Airconditioning etc.

Given these requirements, and that Hatches are meant primarily for the city (not to mention my limited budget - 4.5 - 5.5L), I am struggling a bit to find the ideal match.

In addition, I intend to drive (with parents) on really long trips - Mumbai/Bangalore - once or twice a year.

Any inputs from the informed and experienced members of the community would be great help.

Thanks, and looking forward to interacting with community.

[Mr.Beat]

Originally Posted by CowlFlap

Hi All,
Brand new to TeamBHP forums, and I find it to be a really helpful and informed community here. Thanks for all your inputs.

Coming to the question posted by the Original Poster, I have a similar need - Hatchback for parents.

Some of their requirements:
-Parents will be doing the driving.
-Sparingly used (therefore Petrol)
-Weekend getaways out of town (highways) - where the weekends may extend to a full week (at times) when they really enjoyed their getaway!
-These getaways may sometimes be to areas that have poor roads (state highways), and at times to farmlands (no roads!) - ground clearance, bumpiness, suspension?
-They tend to carry their home in the car! (luggage space and weight)
-Not the automatic and fancy types (Manual/no tilt sterring/no fancy spoilers, chrome handles, body coloured accessories, etc.)- They like to feel and stay young! - though I reckon they still must have a power steering along with Airconditioning etc.

Given these requirements, and that Hatches are meant primarily for the city (not to mention my limited budget - 4.5 - 5.5L), I am struggling a bit to find the ideal match.

In addition, I intend to drive (with parents) on really long trips - Mumbai/Bangalore - once or twice a year.

Any inputs from the informed and experienced members of the community would be great help.

Thanks, and looking forward to interacting with community.

If they travel just by themselves and they have good height, they may consider the Chevy Beat for it's superior ride quality.

It does not have good boot space, but in case of 2 or 3 occupants, you can fold the rear seats to get extra luggage.

You can also think of other hatches in the same range. There are plenty of them. Ritz petrol is a good car, but have no idea about its ride quality.

[rnidumolu]

[quote=CowlFlap;2773750]Hi All,
Some of their requirements:
-Parents will be doing the driving.
-Sparingly used (therefore Petrol)
-Weekend getaways out of town (highways) - where the weekends may extend to a full week (at times) when they really enjoyed their getaway!
-These getaways may sometimes be to areas that have poor roads (state highways), and at times to farmlands (no roads!) - ground clearance, bumpiness, suspension?
-They tend to carry their home in the car! (luggage space and weight)
-Not the automatic and fancy types (Manual/no tilt sterring/no fancy spoilers, chrome handles, body coloured accessories, etc.)- They like to feel and stay young! - though I reckon they still must have a power steering along with Airconditioning etc.

Given these requirements, and that Hatches are meant primarily for the city (not to mention my limited budget - 4.5 - 5.5L), I am struggling a bit to find the ideal match.

In addition, I intend to drive (with parents) on really long trips - Mumbai/Bangalore - once or twice a year.
quote]

As you are looking for your parents and the roads they might be travelling I would suggest you to go with Maruti Ritz. Coming to the luggage space, they might want to use the rear seat adjustments to get more.

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Yes RITZ will be the best choice for elders and for your requirement.
* Easy ingress/egress
* Good GC
* Spacious to carry luggages
* Decent comfort
* K series engine are fuel efficient

Only problem is the A Pillar hindrance (if they drive). Take them for the TD, if they are fine with it, then no more confusion take RITZ.

[CowlFlap]

Thanks guys for your prompt responses.

Will have a look at the Ritz then. We did have a look at Figo, i10 (sportz), and etios Liva... They liked the comfort of i10, though a bit dissappointed that the rear seat of does not fold away completely/flat, and may be impractical to store luggage. A roof-top carrier option was considered... but I'm wondering how stable a tall-boy design is with a carrier full of luggage.

Figo was good in the space department... but a bit low for them, I think. Though they don't have an issue with that, I'm concerned about ground clearance (so much already mentioned about it), and reliability (and fewer service stations/network), given their adventurous nature (!)

Someone indicated about fuel efficiency, thanks. Yes, that (FE) is good to have, too.

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Figo will not be good for elders (this comes from an owner) cos ingress/egress will be an issue. Also Figo petrol is not soo fuel effiecient when compare to k-series. But its comfortable once on seat.

i10 might be gives you comfort inside city, take it to highways you will really know what it is and highway handling is also not soo good.

[rnidumolu]

Originally Posted by CowlFlap

Thanks guys for your prompt responses.

Will have a look at the Ritz then. We did have a look at Figo, i10 (sportz), and etios Liva... They liked the comfort of i10, though a bit dissappointed that the rear seat of does not fold away completely/flat, and may be impractical to store luggage. A roof-top carrier option was considered... but I'm wondering how stable a tall-boy design is with a carrier full of luggage.

Figo was good in the space department... but a bit low for them, I think. Though they don't have an issue with that, I'm concerned about ground clearance (so much already mentioned about it), and reliability (and fewer service stations/network), given their adventurous nature (!)

Someone indicated about fuel efficiency, thanks. Yes, that (FE) is good to have, too.

Ingress/engress in Figo is not easy for the elders. This is one of the reason I have opted for Ritz. And another reason is the GC is 170 for Ritz and I was very happy with it. Previously I was having NHC with which it was really a problem for me when ever I had to travel on bad roads. But with Ritz I did not get this issue. It handled all the bad roads very well. I used to travel between Hyd - Chennai via Nagarjuna Sagar. The road used to be in very pathetic condition. With Ritz I was able to handle this issue very well. Mine was having ABS too. I would suggest you also consider the one with ABS.

[Thilak29]

Finally the day has come!

I'm gonna purchase my first car and now I understand what it is like to be really being confused and being pampered with multiple options(?) and tech specs.

Here are the pre-conditions -

• Its for a family of 4 adults (as of now!).I do see cases where all 4 of us would be travelling together often. - spacious
• Car will be driven mostly in a small town with not much traffic and decent roads. - driving condition
• I do not foresee the monthly run to exceed 250 km. - usage
• When I'm out of town my dad would be using it (He has learnt driving very recently) - ease of driving
• Boot space is a factor to consider, as there would be cases where we would be using it to carry some farm products back home for our usage.
• last but not least, Budget - 5 Lakh

.
I live in a place bordering Kerala and I have decided to buy the car in that state itself. I would be filling the fuel mostly there. (All thanks to tax regime in place in Karnataka).

I have these cars in mind -

Petrol
Brio - I just fell in love with this car for its looks,engine and what it offers as a package and I would standout in "crowd", at least as of now.
i10 - Reliable , tested , proven product.
A-star Automatic - ease of driving,no other factor impressed me.
Swift - Same reason as i10 and idea of being part of a herd.
Ritz - Falls within budget and heard/read few good things about it.
Beat - VFM package.
i20 - Very spacious and good looking car with some cool features. that's it.

Diesel
Only diesel i could afford in this budget limit is Beat diesel.Hence included.

Now the obvious question - Which one should I go for ?
Appreciate your help and time.

[kaush666]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Finally the day has come!

I'm gonna purchase my first car and now I understand what it is like to be really being confused and being pampered with multiple options(?) and tech specs.

Only diesel i could afford in this budget limit is Beat diesel.Hence included.

Now the obvious question - Which one should I go for ?
Appreciate your help and time.

Beat diesel does not make any sense at all given your current running of a max. of 250kms per month. You would be better off with a petrol vehicle. I would suggest you to have a look at the Brio Petrol which is quite spacious but boot is rather small. <200 litres I presume. Not too sure though. Ritz is a also a good buy if you can get past that quirky styling and is pretty good for ingress and egress for the elderly. Mind you there is a facelift coming up for the Ritz which will most probably include the VVT tech in the K12B engine so I would suggest you to keep that in mind. Figo is also a brilliant package and I think you can get the Petrol EXi for around 5 lacs. Brilliant car and a huge boot. Rear seats are also quite spacious. Both the Ritz and Figo petrol engines deliver decent mileage within the city.

You should highly consider the Ritz and the Figo. These would be the two cars that highly suit your requirements.

Cheers,
K

[Turbokick]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Finally the day has come!

I'm gonna purchase my first car and now I understand what it is like to be really being confused and being pampered with multiple options(?) and tech specs.

Here are the pre-conditions -
[list][*]Its for a family of 4 adults (as of now!).I do see cases where all 4 of us would be travelling together often. - spacious[*]Car will be driven mostly in a small town with not much traffic and decent roads. - driving condition[*]I do not foresee the monthly run to exceed 250 km. - usage [*]When I'm out of town my dad would be using it (He has learnt driving very recently) - ease of driving[*]Boot space is a factor to consider, as there would be cases where we would be using it to carry some farm products back home for our usage.[*]last but not least, Budget - 5 Lakh

If boot space isnot the factor, and you love the Brio , its a great car. Decent space,great engine,standard features,honda brand and FTD.

i10 will be a well rounded product for city driving and will have almost everything you want. Hyundai's maintenance cost and suspension not the best though.

Figo : Practical,spacious and has a good suspension but the petrol engine is a let down.

If you can extend the budget a bit and get i20 petrol Magna : it will suit your requirements well.
Spacious,luxurious,easy to drive and has a smooth engine.

[CowlFlap]

Hi all,
Thanks for your inputs. Just thougth I'd update the members who responded to my queries earlier.
We did a TD of the Ritz, and a couple others from the Maruti stable.
The first thing we noticed when entering the car (Ritz), was that the rear door is REALLY awkward. You have to conciously avoid the top edge from going Smack into your face/head when opening to enter! Not nice if you're momentarily looking away, or so. Parents also didn't like the rock 'n roll (the type they don't enjoy!) over common city potholes. Overall, poor ride quality. Agree however on the space - Very spacious.

We also hated the new Swift, just no good from the ingress/egress point of view, and an impractical boot. More importantly, we felt it was overpriced (too much demand maybe?).

Curiously, we stopped over at a True Value station to check out some of their used/refurbished cars. We also wanted to get a look and feel of cars (like Ritz) that had been used for a year or two. We ended up taking a TD on the previous gen Swift (2008 MPFI), and we actually felt the handling and ride quality to be better than the new Ritz!

Suddenly we're not very averse to buying a 'second hand car' !

Well, basically, we're back to the hunt; looking at others. We liked the Liva - space/comfort, though we are yet to TD.

Me thinks, a tall-boy design will really not suit my parents - though it offers good ingress/egress. In their words - "What's with ingress and egress? We aren't going to be entering and exiting the car as often as we're going to be in it (or outside it)! Grow up!!"

[devil_angel]

Hey guys,
I don't know if I am posting in the appropriate section. Please point me to the correct place if so.
I've DECIDED to go for a Beat diesel. Now what I want to know about is which/who would be the best dealer to pick the car up from in Chennai?
Also, any tips on bargaining, reducing the marked price of the vehicle?
I've planned to pay for a part of the price and take a loan for the rest.
Any guidance would be really appreciated

P.S.
If I'm planning to fit the car with an audio system (which will be lacking in the version which I'm opting for), will I be voiding the 3 year Chevy warranty cover?

[devil_angel]

Here is the update guys:
I got a quote from 2 dealers. Firstly, I tried at Khivraj Motors, and they quoted a price as below:

Ex-Showroom: 4,59,490
Insurance: 16,892
Reg. + Tax + floor carpet: 56,949
Total on road price: 5,33,331

This price is for the Beat Diesel PS. I'm planning to get an audio system fitted to it. And also the mirror as the PS comes with only one mirror. I tried for a discount or some such, but they were least interested in that. I wanted the cocktail green colour and they said it'd cost an extra 6k as well :|

Secondly, I tried at Sundaram Motors. They gave the same quote, but after talking a little, they said they could adjust the price so that they could get me the cocktail green at the same price as in the quote (i.e., no extra 6k).

I now plan to pit this price against Khivraj and see if they fold in and give me a better offer.

I'm planning to book it within a week. I'm not in a hurry, but if all things fall into place, a week should be possible, I guess.
Any comments, advice on the price and my approach would be most helpful.

Thanks guys

[sumannandy]

Originally Posted by CowlFlap

Hi All,

Some of their requirements:
-Parents will be doing the driving.
-Sparingly used (therefore Petrol)
-Weekend getaways out of town (highways) - where the weekends may extend to a full week (at times) when they really enjoyed their getaway!
-These getaways may sometimes be to areas that have poor roads (state highways), and at times to farmlands (no roads!) - ground clearance, bumpiness, suspension?
-They tend to carry their home in the car! (luggage space and weight)
-Not the automatic and fancy types (Manual/no tilt sterring/no fancy spoilers, chrome handles, body coloured accessories, etc.)- They like to feel and stay young! - though I reckon they still must have a power steering along with Airconditioning etc.

Given these requirements, and that Hatches are meant primarily for the city (not to mention my limited budget - 4.5 - 5.5L), I am struggling a bit to find the ideal match.

In addition, I intend to drive (with parents) on really long trips - Mumbai/Bangalore - once or twice a year.

Welcome to the forum.

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Finally the day has come!

I'm gonna purchase my first car and now I understand what it is like to be really being confused and being pampered with multiple options(?) and tech specs.

Here are the pre-conditions -

• Its for a family of 4 adults (as of now!).I do see cases where all 4 of us would be travelling together often. - spacious
• Car will be driven mostly in a small town with not much traffic and decent roads. - driving condition
• I do not foresee the monthly run to exceed 250 km. - usage
• When I'm out of town my dad would be using it (He has learnt driving very recently) - ease of driving
• Boot space is a factor to consider, as there would be cases where we would be using it to carry some farm products back home for our usage.
• last but not least, Budget - 5 Lakh

.

I have these cars in mind -

Petrol
Brio - I just fell in love with this car for its looks,engine and what it offers as a package and I would standout in "crowd", at least as of now.
i10 - Reliable , tested , proven product.
A-star Automatic - ease of driving,no other factor impressed me.
Swift - Same reason as i10 and idea of being part of a herd.
Ritz - Falls within budget and heard/read few good things about it.
Beat - VFM package.
i20 - Very spacious and good looking car with some cool features. that's it.

Diesel
Only diesel i could afford in this budget limit is Beat diesel.Hence included.

Given your requirements, I would suggest you look at A Star AT. The ease of driving for your parents will be unmatched with reasonable good FE, your parents will love it.

The front seat travel in A Star AT is more than other similar cars and if pushed all the way back, leg space for the rear passenger is really less. But that wouldn't normally happen unless you have a tall person driving the car. A tall person sitting at the passenger seat does not require to push the seat all the way back.

Tata safari is my regular drive, but I am loving every bit of A Star AT. So much so that I have started using it as my daily drive and will be replacing some of the outstation trips with A Star.

Luggage space is nothing to write home about. But the rear split can be folded. With 2 or 3 people in the car, luggage will not be an issue.

[rudrah]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Here are the pre-conditions -

• Its for a family of 4 adults (as of now!).I do see cases where all 4 of us would be travelling together often. - spacious
• Car will be driven mostly in a small town with not much traffic and decent roads. - driving condition
• I do not foresee the monthly run to exceed 250 km. - usage
• When I'm out of town my dad would be using it (He has learnt driving very recently) - ease of driving
• Boot space is a factor to consider, as there would be cases where we would be using it to carry some farm products back home for our usage.
• last but not least, Budget - 5 Lakh

.
I live in a place bordering Kerala and I have decided to buy the car in that state itself. I would be filling the fuel mostly there. (All thanks to tax regime in place in Karnataka).

I have these cars in mind -

Petrol
Brio - I just fell in love with this car for its looks,engine and what it offers as a package and I would standout in "crowd", at least as of now.
i10 - Reliable , tested , proven product.
A-star Automatic - ease of driving,no other factor impressed me.
Swift - Same reason as i10 and idea of being part of a herd.
Ritz - Falls within budget and heard/read few good things about it.
Beat - VFM package.
i20 - Very spacious and good looking car with some cool features. that's it.

Diesel
Only diesel i could afford in this budget limit is Beat diesel.Hence included.

Now the obvious question - Which one should I go for ?
Appreciate your help and time.

Thilak,

Since 5 lac is your budget and requirement is decent boot space and city driving, you have few options that you can look for like Figo, i10, Brio (lower variant) and Beat.

Out of these 4, Brio and beat would stand out. Apart from Brio that you liked, the Beat is also a nice peppy funky car and as always Chevy has good offer in their maintenance schedule!

Test drive these with your family and you will get your answers