[Overlander]

Ok, so let us get real. You are a TeamBHPian. Or at least someone who frequents these forums in anonymity while still wiping the grease off your palms in a towel. Your living room drawer have the latest electricity, PNG, telephone, school bills that need to be paid. You are enjoying a perfectly (and directionless) sedate weekend after a strong grind at the office, or the modest workshop you call home for 5 days a week. You are already looking deep and long into the horizon, where you would wish for jumping dolphins, and ochre sunset to be setting in. Instead, you are not sure of what Monday holds for you. And then while you stand perilously close to the thought-cliff, someone comes and just gives you a gentle nudge.

It could be a classmate, now showcasing their latest garage acquisition on Facebook/ Instagram (the holy grail of this generation's existence); or it could be that annoying neighbour you scoffed at for their disenchanted pompousness. It could be easily that match-box of a car sketch that your child proudly handed over to you, reminding you of the silhouette you used to sketch at their age. That's all it takes, you know!



You are laughing? This car has suicide doors man!


<Lest I digress, scene pans out and returns to the story> You forget about your middle class dispositions, and dive into a myriad of online portals/ resources at your disposal and while still being able to carefully (somewhat hesitantly but cautiously) keep moving the price range slider to an acceptable range. 40 lakhs? Sure, what are these mushroom-banks going to be come to work if not now. There is this hilarious Bengali-quotation shirt I have in our family which say "Jaa kamai, shob EMI" (eloquently loosely translated to - "All Earnings, Wasted on Yearnings"!) Nope, you put it to 20 Lakhs.

So very recently, let us say a friend of mine got down this rabbit hole. I (sorry, I meant HE) scoured through the threads available on TeamBHP to find optimum utilisation of scarce resources a new definition - 101 ways to 'invest' 'small savings' into a car that puts a 'smile on your face'. Requirement? Satiate that long standing penchant to own a car (fossil based) that will plaster a grin that you do not want to post on social media, because it made you look stupid.

Now anyone who has been even slightly diligent with their searches (I am not referring to generative AI search capability - just a sliver of common sense capability) will know there are tons of such threads on this forum. Some basic educational threads, that will try its level best to knock some sense into that hard shell of yours.

• A fun-to-drive pre-owned car for an enthusiast
• Buying used cars in India: Advantages, doubts & expert advice (The 'not-so-obvious' advantages to buying pre-owned cars)
• The 'not-so-obvious' advantages to buying pre-owned cars
• ARTICLE: The Beauty of Lateral Upgrades (Getting MORE CAR for LESS $$$)
• ARTICLE: How to buy a *USED* Car in India

But then here you are, looking at yet another one. Then you realise, why is this required on the first place? The purpose of this thread will be to note down defined price bands, and listing down options on a basic rule of 'feasibility' within that price band and tingles your senses on nostalgia (Yes! I am looking at you, please do not say M340i 10 years down the line at 25 lakhs). How do you know either of us will live that long for the other person to say "I told you so!". Therefore, here are the ground rules:

1. Price Bands: < 10 Lakhs; >10 lakhs but < 22 Lakhs (Nothing more, please refer the Thread name!)
   
2. Car Criteria: Fun to drive enthusiast car, it has to be special and it has to be fast. Reliability is definitely a thing, so no references of 1985 LR et al. Therefore, by that design, you cannot recommend a car of extraordinary vintage, which will need 3x price to make it road-worthy.
   
3. Maintenance: Necessary upkeep should be reasonable for a middle class, or salary earner. No point adding to Pics: Imports gathering dust in India <sad face>.
   
4. Vintage: Now for the demography, it would be nice to be able to drive it for at least 2-4 years before 'khatara'-police (read NGT) come knocking on your door!
   
5. Most Importantly: Be honest! If you will not buy the car, please do not recommend. This forum is something that non-enthusiast also refer, it would be our moral obligation to ensure recommendations here are things that we, as ardent car enthusiast, will also don't mind buying.

The question to answer is, which car that attains to your nostalgia and one you would like to consider, given a restriction on funds available? During the time on this thread, one would like to come to answer that very question.

[Overlander]

Less than 10 Lakhs: I am positive that other members would chip in with their inputs as well, for the time being, I do not fancy any other cars in this group.

Note: Pictures courtesy Google images, and respective upload owners.




Mercedes E350 CDI (2011-2013):

• The daddy of Octavia with quad-headlights
• TeamBHP review suggested it had S-Class interiors. Need I say more?
• 3.0 V6 diesel, 231BHP, 540nm torque. If you feel 530D prices are obnoxious, this is the alternative.
• Make sure to read this thread (Maintaining a Mercedes-Benz in India) before you start financially planning for it

Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro (2012-14):

• If you like your tail to point another direction and your steering to other, this is not the car for you. For everyone else, the venerable Quattro ensures your leach of a car stays firmly rooted to the road.
• When Renuka was still making the auto world sit up and listen, she had chosen this over the other 2 marquee offerings.
• Do not be surprised to see VWAG branded parts used in the car. There is a lot of cross-pollination in the brands.
• A4 3.0 would be a better handler, so would the 530D. This would be a sleeper car, and could potentially sleep for some time in the garage if something went wrong. An acquaintance waited well into 2-3 months trying to prim up his pre-owned car recently.

Fiat Punto Abarth (2015-16):

• Remember the time when India got excited at sub-10 0-100kmph timing? Yes. This is the one that made heads turn then.
• Powerdrift had a very emotional video on this car. This was at a time when they hadn't migrated to gaming-console-inspired graphics; and somehow made more sense.
• Built like a Tank! While the space inside is not near as a family person would want, the steering is more a place to hold on to than steer the car.
• Fiat's future in the country? Oh well! There have been rumour mills since acche-din was not even a thing.

VW Jetta TDI (2015-16):

• The Jetta in this vintage came with a multi-link suspension at the rear offering great ride quality along with very good handling. The Octavia came with a compound link crank axle.
• A very dear friend of mine bought 2 of them recently. Unfortunately sold both of these, for no reason given by the car. But any garage specialising in European cars can upkeep it perfectly.

E90 BMW 330i (2010-11):

• Paraphrasing from what Dark.Knight had written on this very forum while disclaiming his inability to write 'drab, boring language' "For the E90 I cannot exercise that restraint, Freude am Fahren is an understatement for the car, even ahead of the present F30".
• It will be extremely rare for you to find one that is in half decent state. But if you do come across one, you will do well to put a token money down at the least.
• The 330i after this generation lost 2 cylinders in the engine bay.

Honourable Mentions: Volvo came with >300BHP V8 at the turn of previous decade. Audi A6 came with stonker of an 3.0 TFSI till 2014. Octavia was similar to Jetta in many ways, and therefore can be considered as well. YouTube is flooded with modifications that give the current vRS a run for its money as well. Last, but not the least, VW Polo GT TSI, but it is not "special" enough.

[Overlander]

More than 10 Lakhs, but lesser than 22 Lakhs: Why the odd ball 22 lakhs? Why not 20? Why not 25? Well, I do not know for sure. I would like it to be 20, but with an epsilon of 10%.

Note: Pictures courtesy Google images, and respective upload owners.



Skoda Octavia TSI (2019-2022):

• This was a time when the shift to Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. ("SAVIPL") was happening. The acronym reminds me of the numerous additions to the original LGBTQ nomenclature. Therefore, we lost the Jetta, leaving a gaping hole in the D segment.
• Immense mod-potential. In the used market, and enthusiast driven forums, I can assuredly say that no 2 Octavias are tuned or designed similarly.
• The vRS is a great car. But for the current prices quoted, it is not worth the price. if it had depreciated like the regular model, it would be the first choice here.
• The third generation got a facelift in 2017, which included slight progression to the EA888 engine. The erstwhile generation (4th) introduced in 2021 has a 2.0L 190 I4 engine, that exists in other cars today. Therefore, maintaining these would be relatively easier than fossil-equivalent V6/8s listed before or after.

VW GTI (2017-2018):

• A 2-door look-alike version of the much loved VW Polo. Sorry, as blasphemous as it sounds to have the GTI and Polo in the same line, that's how the larger audience is going to perceive. That would be until they check the car from its side profile.
• 1.8TSI engine allows this car to reach speeds that will surely get you a speed ticket. However, the un-practicality and the sense of car-per-rupee feeling will let you down. This is when you like your car after you have scratched the top soil.
• It was massively discounted in India during 2018; but like Guru Dutt's Kagaz Ke Phool, has developed a cult following after it became a has-been.

BMW 530D (2013-15):

• https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ped-beast.html (BMW 530d M-Sport (F10) : My pre-worshipped beast)
• I really do not want to say much about this car, more than what has been written in the above thread. But this simply remains the car of choice for BHPians, and for good reason.
• Having said that, maintaining this will require a lot of TLC. And at this price point, one would still need to keep a handsome amount in reserve for general upkeep. This diminishes the value proposition.

Jaguar XF-R Portfolio 5.0 Supercharged (2011-12):

• Isn't reliability one of the criterion defined in Post #1? Yes, sadly, yes! But this one is a little too special to let go of. V8, supercharged, close to 400 horses. Exceptions are allowed for such creamy digits.
• In the sea of the German trios, a well-kept Jaguar still allows for head turns.

Honourable Mentions: I wish we could get a Porsche Cayenne (pre-2015) in there, but those in the price range would most probably be bust. Like I said earlier, ideally one should also be able to land a 6 year old vRS at the north end, in which case that would be my choice. Finally, 2014-2016 BMW X3 30D would be a fantastic buy, if one can find it with a loving owner. Considering it was a version available in limited numbers, finding one would be difficult.

Let the suggestions, and recommendations begin!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

Great list & great thread! Pre-worshipped cars are very close to my heart.

Under 10-lakhs: I would probably spend a little more and get a new i20 N-Line. New is new, and that car is a lot of fun to drive. Among used, I'd look for a very late model Jetta, the newest Octavia I can find for 10-11 lakhs, XUV300 TurboSport or even a Seltos turbo-petrol (slightly overbudget).

Under 22-lakhs: Top choice would be an F10 530d. I own one and can vouch for its performance, luxury, mad 6-cylinder engine, addictive 8-speed ZF gearbox and topnotch reliability (my car is now 11-years old and still my primary driver). I'd get the newest, best F10 530d I can find and keep the balance money for upkeep (1-2 lakhs a year).

[Asoon]

My pick would be

Sub 10L - Polo GT 1.2 (2014-2018)
[Abarth Punto was on the list but very difficult to maintain given Fiat, also 1.6 TDI Manual in Rapid / Vento]

10-22L - Skoda Octavia (2018+)
[7+ year old luxury germans {BMW, Merc, Audi} can turn out to be liability and there is nothing sub 50L (new) more fun than Octavia]

[VtechSupreme]

Sub 10L: Used Vento/Rapid/Polo/Fabia TDI. 1.6 CRDI Verna could also be fun. If I had solid daily driver then I would use the 10L to build a project car (Old Laura/Octavia, 99-2007 Baleno, Civic, Esteem). Spend 2-3L to procure and then the rest on building it up.

Under 22L: 2019 Octavia L&K, could even get Mk4 for 23-24. Something quirky maybe like s60 Cross Country. Or like GTO suggested, the best F10 you could find. At 22L why not just go for a new Virtus GT though.

[sunikkat]

In Bangalore, a relatively less driven (say < 5 years and 50k kms) will work out expensive. By this logic my pick would be Polo/Rapid/Vento (1 TSI, 1.6 / 1.5 TDI) under 10 lakhs and Octavia / Jetta (2 TDI, 1.8 TSI) under 22 lakhs.

[SaiSW]

Under 10 lacs: Ford Freestyle T+ last MY of BS4. Fun to drive, extremely reliable diesel, nice gearbox, all the necessary features, service is cheap, spare parts are cheap. Even without any remaps, it still smokes several cars that cost twice or thrice as much. With a nice tune, it becomes a different beast.

Under 22 lacs: a clean, low-run 2.0 TDI Jetta, I like Octavia's looks better than the Vento Pro Max looks of the Jetta but Jetta's superior rear suspension setup for the diesel is more important to me than looks. Mod options are near endless for VAG cars, I like that about them. No other mass market brand in India has this level of world class customisation options (I'm not talking about ricer bumpers and spoilers).

[Bhuvan]

This advice is from multiple sources like the car inspection guy from one of the online portals, a German technician which came to rescue my friend when fuel pump fuse blew in his 2014 Polo 1.2 P and others.

• Honda Brio - best bang for buck, light weight but not flimsy, 1.2 i-VTEC (need I say more), very reliable, <2 lakhs for clean car
• Ford Ecosport - easily available for way less than 10 lakhs for very good cars, solid build with reliability and a great handler
• VW Polo Petrol - will be priced at premium for its cult status, suggested petrol engine for more reliability, benchmark build and handling, more than 2 experts stated that they are yet to see a clean VW/Skoda having rust spots
• VW Vento/Skoda Rapid Petrol - all the above reasons with more real estate, 1.6 MPI is cherry on top

[speedracer05]

Octavia 2018+ DSG TDI is a special car at a very sweet spot for me.

Engine - 2.0 TDI is loads of fun, easily tunable to ~180 bhp. Its extremely efficient at the same time.
Transmission - DQ250 DSG automatic used in TDI has been globally reliable, unlike DQ200 that haunts people. DSG are still one of the most fun transmissions out there!
Practicality - Loads of space inside and a cavernous boot. Its very practical with folding back seats and full size hatch at the back. This tipped my purchase toward Octavia instead of a BMW 320d.

[Noctis]

New cars: i20 N line (slightly overbudget) and Virtus 1.5 TSI. Fun to drive and you get a brand new vehicle.

Preowned mainstream: Polo and Octavia. Maintenance can be higher than other mainstream cars, but it's worth it for what they can provide.

Preowned luxury: F30 330i or 320d. BMW would be the only brand I'd buy preowned with this budget and requirements. Something like the E350 or XF-R can easily burn a hole through your pocket with maintenance.

[Shreyans_Jain]

While all this is great to discuss here, one must not forget about the elephant in the room. The minimum ethanol content being blended into petrol is 14% nowadays, which none of these cars is compatible with. Things are no better for the oil burners, as standard diesel is now a 5% biodiesel blend. Again, something none of these older cars is compatible with.

Fact is that this fundamental change in fuel specs has thrown the entire used car market over on its head. Buying pre owned nowadays means you are opening yourself to all kinds of maintenance related issues. The old wisdom of buying pre loved doesn’t hold anymore.

[Santy19]

Under 10 lacs would be

VW Polo/Vento/Rapid (2020-2022) turbo versions:

• Turbo version can be had anywhere from 6.5lacs for a POLO TSI manual to 9.5-10 lacs for Turbo Automatic on a Vento or Rapid (both being very clean examples)
• Tried/Tested and reliable platform with a workaround for all known issues
• Newer generation of turbo engines with a choice of manual or a reliable torque converter automatic, which does duty in newer MQB A0IN platform cars
• Loaded with all necessary and useful features like Auto AC, auto wipers, auto headlights, one touch windows, factory tinted glass, Auto IRVM…crisp infortainment etc etc
• Mod friendly platform to add euro spec stuff
• Well priced those cars were, for example POLO TSI Highline manual was just 7.98 lacs ex showroom, and 1 lac more for automatic versions and highline trim which has all the above said features….and compare it with the newly launched Swift which has a 3 cylinder non turbo engine and doesn’t even have some of the above said features…and upwards of 11 lacs for a 3 cylinder Amt is robbery IMO

Under 22 lacs I personally would prefer a new car.

[ahmad.007]

Under 10 lakhs
There are many great cars suggested by fellow members, but I'm gonna suggest the one that wasn't mentioned and I went for.
It had been on my radar for over a decade before I decided to take the plunge. Such are childhood obsessions.

The OG muscle in affordable form-


* You can get it anywhere between 3-6L depending on the model.
* Always a looker.
* 150-163 bhp of pure fun, almost the cheapest 150 bhp car you can pick up today in 3L.
* Reliable gearbox in AT form. No DSG like scares.
* Electronics not as reliable as Germans or Koreans.
* Parts are expensive, but you can offset that by it's low acquiring price.
* Not as fast as the Germans, but plenty quick, and plenty refined.