[jagan88]

From Hexa to Comet. Well, I didn't sell of the Hexa (yet), but in the last 30 days since got the Comet, the Hexa was started twice for a railway station and airport run while the Comet did complete 1,000km+.

I do not see taking my Hexa out in the city in the near future. Does Comet feel like a downgrade? Not at all. Am I happy with the downsize in the city? You bet!

[Axe77]

Great thread and food for thought here. I guess it also has to do with where you live, what is your typical commute and specially last mile parking conditions at your most frequented places.

Personally, I’d always rather err on the side of having a bigger car than I need 90% of the time rather than have a car that’s smaller than I need if its going to fall short on space even 10% of the time.

The bigger option generally comes with added comfort (useful 100% of the time) and convenience (even if you need it 4 times a year while touring) and I am more than happy to drive or be driven in a larger car round the year for this. My current garage also for instance comprises an SUV and a sedan - no hatchback (other than my mum’s hatch which is often not available to us for long periods so we dont count on it). While neither of my cars - the 3GT and the GLC - are XXL sized like a Hycross, neither is particularly small either. If I had to change my 3GT in the coming years, a longer car like the Camry/ Hycross are very firmly on the shortlist.

I guess the above works for me for multiple reasons:
- I have predictable large size parking at my home as well as office.
- Most places I visit too tend to have parking (e.g malls etc or are generally normal sized roads and not tiny congested markets).
- If on the rare occasion I want to visit an overly crowded place or one that’s difficult to park in I have the option to either Uber it or even take one of my two wheelers. I also have the option of using a driver for many of these occasions.
- For people who are majority chauffeur driven, a larger car generally also means a more comfortable 2nd row than a smaller alternative.

[sunilarkt]

I have moved from my beloved Polo TDI to the KIA Seltos DCT. Even though it is an absolute pleasure to drive automatic in Bangalore traffic compared to manuals and it is nice to sit at a higher driving position, I do miss the Polo's smaller footprints in the city and in the tight parking spaces. My next car will be a smaller sedan or a powerful hatch (if VW somehow brings back the Polo GT or Golf to India again).

[SaurabhB]

I have a MY 2019 Tata Hexa XT which has done 88k kms till date. It is in pristine condition and is mostly used for highway runs. However driving Hexa in congested Kolkata city is highly cumbersome due to its length and heavy steering.

Many times I have thought of selling the Hexa. However every time i have taken a step back considering that Hexa provides immense value in terms of comfort, long distance cruising, FE, stability, safety and security etc. I don't find similar value from present day 7 seater SUV's in the market. Further prices have also skyrocketed in the past 5 years. Hence I decided to keep it as long as I can.

I use a MY 2006 Swift LXI for my daily city commute which is ≈ 50-60 kms per day.

[krishnakarthik1]

Originally Posted by jagan88

From Hexa to Comet

I have the competitor's combination with me. Innova Crysta and Tiago EV.

Crysta has not been even started once in the past 2 weeks. The ease of use of a small EV in the city is unbelievable. It's just like driving a 4 wheels activa. I should have got this a lot earlier. Driving the Crysta through traffic is a nice little punishment.

[pratikmantri]

I have Hyundai i20(MT) and MS S Presso (AMT). We had i20 for last 6 years and I was sometimes interested in upgrading to a bigger car but since I drove primarily in city, we had opted for a budget hatch.

I now enjoy taking out S Presso a lot in the city. The AMT makes it very easy to throw around in the choked lanes of the city. I use S Presso 90 percent of the time now.

[viraj_s85]

Having gone through similar experience in past we ended up selling XUV500 and downgrading to Hyundai Venue.

Driving in metro city in in 3 row SUV has its challenges, Specially when I realized and calculated my Ride Hailing Cab bills and use of car

[sairamboko]

I am in the same boat. Have an XL6. 90% of the usage is just me in the car. Rarely I have 6 seats occupied. Thinking to downgrade to a good hatchback or compact sedan due to high fuel bills even for smaller trips . Yet to evaluate on the car options.

[Sedate driver]

Having a proper bigger car and a tiny little car will perfectly complement each other. The bigger car offers comfort, convenience and can cruise long distances effortlessly. On the other hand the smaller car will be a perfect companion for the city trips helping in maneuverability and tight parking. I have both the Hector manual and the S-presso AMT. For distances less than 50 kms the S-presso is preferred and for long drives the Hector does the duty. I believe if a single car is the preferred option, then 4m+ C2 segment cars like Creta, Seltos, Astor, Taigun / Kushaq, Elevate etc. will be better than sub 4m hatchbacks or crossovers.

[voldemort]

Originally Posted by ramubwoyy

Lesson learned:
For us, we were willing to compromise on that 'Big car' feeling for more relaxed driving. And personally, the whole big car sentiment I think is highly overrated. How long will one keep satiating oneself with that feeling, throwing away money on fuel and glamour? Car driving continues to become more difficult in many Indian cities. I say go for the smallest car possible car that you are happy with and save yourself a lot of cash and headache.

I think there are confounding factors at play here.

• Crysta, despite being probably the comfiest vehicle of its class, has a commercial vibe to it.
• Crysta steering is heavy.
• Seltos in comparison is a much more nimble car. Perhaps that could be why you prefer it over the Crysta.

Think if, instead of the Crysta you had a Kodiaq (completely different price-point I know, but it's a significantly better car to riding/handling car with somewhat comparable sizes and similar number of seats), would you still prefer the Seltos for highway runs over the Kodiaq?

As for me, I prefer driving around a big car for both city and highway runs. Yes parking can be a hassle at times, but never have I ever been in a situation where I was like, man I wish I was in a small car.

[car_guy1998]

We almost did the same thing. Sold our type 2 2011 Innova in 2022 and was supposed to downsize to a Seltos D AT as we are a family of 3 and last row is barely used. But, due to some circumstances, couldn't get the Seltos and in the meanwhile, dad had heard about Toyota launching Innova in Hybrid guise and there itself, he decided to get the Hycross, to which he did as cars like Seltos or Creta didn't cut him especially after using older Innova for 6 years.

I really persuaded him to get the Seltos or a Creta considering our family size and me moving out of country last year, but for him, bigger car with 3rd row mattered him the most as he likes to ferry people.

But, after 10 months of ownership and close to 33k Kms on the odo, we are happy with the Hycross due to steering being city friendly, mileage due to being Hybrid and comfort.

Recently, did a trip to Kerala in our Hycross with 4 people on board and was impressed with its ride quality and comfort. The mileage I got is almost 16 Kmpl, which is not bad IMO and spent just 15k on fuel.

For strict city usage, we have Honda City iDTEC too, which is 10 year old (bought used in 2017) and run 184k Kms. We might replace this one with a Petrol AT or EV soon or else, we might retain this as a spare car and get an EV or a Thar. My folks love to drive this car despite having Hycross at home.

If I insist my dad to downsize from Hycross to Seltos or Creta now, he will kick me out of the house.

Even Scorpio-N was an option over Hycross but dad wanted only Hycross and Toyota.

[ramubwoyy]

Originally Posted by voldemort

I think there are confounding factors at play here.

• Crysta, despite being probably the comfiest vehicle of its class, has a commercial vibe to it.
• Crysta steering is heavy.
• Seltos in comparison is a much more nimble car. Perhaps that could be why you prefer it over the Crysta.

Think if, instead of the Crysta you had a Kodiaq (completely different price-point I know, but it's a significantly better car to riding/handling car with somewhat comparable sizes and similar number of seats), would you still prefer the Seltos for highway runs over the Kodiaq?

As for me, I prefer driving around a big car for both city and highway runs. Yes parking can be a hassle at times, but never have I ever been in a situation where I was like, man I wish I was in a small car.

That is an interesting point, but one for which I have a ready answer. For me, what makes a 4-wheeler appealing is practicality. And one of the components within practicality is serviceability and reliability. Now this is not to say that Skoda car's or dealerships are outright terrible! I am a big fan of their premium sedans and would even consider buying one if finances allowed me to.

However, given the many horror stories about servicing and running costs about Skoda's in Kerala I think I can say very easily that I would keep the Skoda as a kind of joyride-occasional use car and Seltos for all the hardcore tasks anyday! Incheon Kia in Kochi has been very very impressive with their servicing thus far.

[Phantom 510]

Congratulations!!! First of all. You absolutely did the right thing. Crysta has its strengths but for everyday driving in our chaotic scenarios smaller is always better. I would say that you have upgraded to a better car. Size doesn't matter if it couldn't be used properly. Glanza is a great choice with lots of space, best in class 1.2L NA motor and superb Toyota after sales.

[speed79]

I have a Hexa (automatic), a Punch (AMT) and a Vista (2011). I use Hexa for my daily office drive, to go to any destination within city where I can find a large enough parking and as our highway drive. Before Hexa, I had Safari Storme which performed the same duties as Hexa. I find driving Storme and Hexa in Bangalore traffic easy due to high seating (better visibility) and probably the heft (big cars face no bullying from other cars). Any place where I am sure of facing parking issue, Vista is the choice. Vista is my beater car too.

Hexa covers about 5,000 KMs a year for city drives (and 1,000-2,000 highway KMs a year). In comparison, Punch sees only 1,200-1,500 kms in a year and Vista sees about 2,000 kms a year.

So for me, largest car is the most utilized one.

[DessertOnWheels]

Downsized from a Skoda Yeti to a Nexon EV. Do I miss the Yeti? Yes, indeed, every day of my life. Do I regret the decision? Not one bit. The kms I put in everyday, suits a more economic car. Yeti was a driver’s delight (and the mechanic’s dream, if you get the drift) Prudence won over Pride.