[kashesh]

Originally Posted by GTO

One of the best crossovers money can buy today . Damn thing handles like no crossover has a right to. Brilliant and way too much fun. Space is at a premium though.

Would also consider a 6-cylinder BMW X5 (BMW's engines + gearbox + reliability are the best in the business)

GTO - will you pick a Macan over X5 40i? I have recently booked a X5 40i and was in the same dilemma. if yes, then why?

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I was checking the price of X5 and find it gone to 87 lac Ex-showroom for the diesel with almost little discounts and no availability. Last Year around March, we bought one at 67 Lac ex Showroom after discounts And BMW has removed a lot of features from the 2019MY.

After a month long negotiation, I was only able to get 3 lacs off on ex-showroom. Maybe some discounted BSI package are in discussion too and a wait period of 2 months. After reading this, I feel like taking a step back and giving it another thought. I checked out GLE300d too, and I wasn't impressed. I feel 400d is better pick if you can go an extra mile.

@Turbanator - i have read extensively through your posts on BMWs. Would you pick X5, Macan or a GLE? Why?

[RishavRBhardwaj]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Absolutely. You got lucky and I agree patience is the key but with LC, I will say, luck and perhaps the right circle too.

Yes, I guess it will not take any less than 6 months to find a good one. But I believe the effort will be worth-while. Will constantly be on a lookout for one on the side.

Extending the budget is not really a choice, especially when you're upgrading from a Jeep Compass. The Discovery Sport being Dad's first choice, testing out and getting the XC60 or X4 30d also won't hurt. (The XC60 has my vote between the two). I foresee a lot more stories/updates coming in from my side in the coming months.

Also, I'm absolutely blown away by the kind of people I'm finding through this forum. Would love to thank each & everyone who made time to share extremely valuable insights.

[CosmicWizard]

Originally Posted by kashesh

After a month long negotiation, I was only able to get 3 lacs off on ex-showroom. Maybe some discounted BSI package are in discussion too and a wait period of 2 months. After reading this, I feel like taking a step back and giving it another thought.

A discount of 3L on X5 is quite low, by BMW standards. I was in the market for X3 and in Feb, it was available at 7.5L off ex-show (but our choice of color wasn't in stock :( Since then, I am only hearing that there is no production of X3/X4/X5/X7 till July due to no kits coming from Germany so now doesn't seem like a good time to be in the market for those. Maybe its worthwhile to wait a few months more.

[parekhakshar]

Originally Posted by RishavRBhardwaj

I'm absolutely blown away by the kind of people I'm finding through this forum. Would love to thank each & everyone who made time to share extremely valuable insights.

I'm not trying to contradict with fellow members' opinions but I'd like to say that if you're spending 75 lacs which is great budget and I assume that you'll use car for atleast 5 yrs then why go for a used car? Almost all SUVs in that range are great products but you should decide on yourself which option is best for you and your dad. Generally Volvo and Land Rover are not good in terms of reliability but have you checked maintenance costs of Mercedes? It costs a BOMB, BMW is reliable and not expensive when it comes to regular maintenance but spares are expensive, if you buy Lexus/LC then it'll be very hard to find a buyer for your car and although reliable not very popular options in Indian market. There are too many complains about after sales service of Skoda but I've never ever faced any issues in 10 yrs of ownership so it is not necessary that your ownership experience will be bad. What I'm trying to say is that every brand has its pros and cons, it all depends upon your preferences. If I were at your place, I'd wait for situation to get normal and once dealers start getting stocks in full swing buy brand new X5/GLE at huge discount.

[AirbusCapt]

As a Discovery Sport owner, I am quite happy with the car, the brand and the service. To be honest, I had no issues with the car so far, both services have been regular affairs, with fluid and filter changes only. The car is robustly built, can take the rough roads extremely well and has enough and more space for 5 adults with a weekend full of luggage. The best part is the car is compact enough for the city, big enough to tour and reliable enough to use as an everyday car. Inspite of the lockdowns and having multiple cars, I have managed to put a fuss free 45000kms from 2019 onwards.

[Straight6_N54]

I was shopping in the same price bracket and finally had to extend the budget to 1cr. The main reason is availability of these cars. BMW here has told me they stopped taking orders for X5 for atleast 3 months also there is a backlog of many orders. Merc is also getting very limited cars and demanding a white car will take another 2-3 months minimum.

Moving from GLC/X3 territory to GLE/X5 has massivr benefits. The rear seat and cabin space is instant lunch more comfortable. The MBUX and dashboard design in GLC looks very outdated compared to GLE. Yes it does come at a price, but when looking to use for 5+ years. It adds a good value.

JLR’s are almost like wining a jackpot. If the vehicle happens to be a decent one, its a calm ownership. But even then alot of JLR vehicles are always showing up some errors. My friend’s brand new evoque was pain to maintain even for a year, ended up trading for BMW.

[RishavRBhardwaj]

Originally Posted by parekhakshar

have you checked maintenance costs of Mercedes? It costs a BOMB, BMW is reliable and not expensive when it comes to regular maintenance but spares are expensive

Taking regular yearly maintenance costs into consideration, the German big three demand no less than a lac. Although Volvo and Land Rover don't have a very good reputation for reliability and A.S.S, owners claim of not getting billed more than Rs.50k unless there's no major part replacement.

Originally Posted by Straight6_N54

Moving from GLC/X3 territory to GLE/X5 has massivr benefits.

Size is one disadvantage that comes with it though. But not a problem if you have other cars to use in the city.

[Akash_1806]

My take would be the Toyota Land Cruiser. Rugged build, Reliable, quite good off the road and can munch miles all day long. Not much can go wrong in a Toyota, given that it has been serviced according to the schedule. But finding a decently used Land Cruiser will not be an easy task. It can easily take a year or two to find a model which suits you. Most of the vehicles I was able to find on OLX or other places had either an odometer reading of 1L+ or highly exorbitant prices.

[bamaboy]

With a 75 Lakh budget, I will recommend you to look for a used Land Cruiser or Prado. You'll be able to easily cater to every nook and cranny of Jharkhand, Bihar & Odisha and will be trouble-free ownership.

You can even consider used low mileage 5 series/E Class + new F/L Fortuner combo. We were in the same dilemma two months ago and wanted to exchange our 2015 W205 C200 with GLE300d. After almost a month of negotiation and factoring trade-in/resale value, we decided to retain the C Class and bought a new Fortuner F/L 4x4 AT. I don't regret not buying GLE and elated with the Luxury Saloon & tough Japanese SUV combo.

[Straight6_N54]

With the ongoing shortage of cars, non of the dealers were in for any negotiations or any form of discounts. Only service package and accessories division had minor discounts, else for cars they did not offer any discounts.

[Aaroah]

Originally Posted by RishavRBhardwaj

Although Volvo and Land Rover don't have a very good reputation for reliability and A.S.S, owners claim of not getting billed more than Rs.50k unless there's no major part replacement

Not sure what is your source of info but Volvo cars are the most reliable bunch. I have been using the S60 for the past 3 years and have absolutely no issues with it. The spare parts and service, in general, are relatively inexpensive. To illustrate I have personally never have paid more than 25k per service (my car has run <10k km) and have never seen other owners paying more than 40k/service at least till 50k Kms. In contrast, I have never paid less than 60k for my Audi's service.
These cars should be taken out of consideration because of a bad dealer but not in terms of reliability/maintenance cost

[RishavRBhardwaj]

Originally Posted by Aaroah

Not sure what is your source of info but Volvo cars are the most reliable bunch.

I’d still not say that Volvos are unreliable, but they haven’t been able to make any ‘reputation’ in India, be it Good or Bad. Part of the reason could be that they have sold so few cars.
But At least in Europe they are known for being solid.

[chandu]

Originally Posted by RishavRBhardwaj

I’d still not say that Volvos are unreliable, but they haven’t been able to make any ‘reputation’ in India, be it Good or Bad. Part of the reason could be that they have sold so few cars.
But At least in Europe they are known for being solid.

I have had my V90CC for a bit more than 3 years now and its generally been very reliable. The only issues I have had are below:
1. the AC system leaked gas so the dealer charged the gas and found a crack in the hose and had to change it, this took about 2 weeks to get. in the meantime we used duct tape to seal the old hose
2. The AC compressor then gave up and it took another 2 weeks to get a new one. Both fixed under warranty.
3. There was a light clunking sound from the left front suspension, the SA told me that some part was bent but its not a problem for driving, they ordered and replaced it in warranty. This was the upper wishbone on the left front.
4. Had some strange issue with the door locks, it got fixed in a software update which was also done within warranty for no charge.

Service costs were covered by the dealer for 2 years / 40K km, it took me 3 years to do 40K so i ended up paying for the 4th service, this costed me about 70K. Included a lot of part changes and fluid replacements.
So I would say, not as reliable as a Toyota, but, certainly just as reliable as an Audi, BMW or Merc. No real engine issues, touchwood

[RishavRBhardwaj]

Originally Posted by chandu

I have had my V90CC for a bit more than 3 years now and its generally been very reliable.

Hope Volvo could crack out of its ‘Bus Brand’ shell soon. With such happy customers already, An aggressive marketing approach will do wonders IMO.

[sircar]

Originally Posted by RishavRBhardwaj

Hi Guys,
So we have been looking for a SUV that fits in the 75 Lac bracket (OTR).

Heres the criteria it should fill:

Ride Quality
Offroadability
Highway-Mile munching (Most Important)

Dad booked a Discovery Sport 2021 MHEV Diesel a few days back. Seeing all the rage about reliability all over the internet, Can't figure out if we made the right decision.
Heard from current owners that they have made some huge improvements (none of theirs have broken even once). Have JLR really upped their game in terms of reliability, A.S.S etc. now? Or Is it just a "bad image" that remains now?

Given your budget and criteria, I would look at three cars - two Germans and a Swede.

1. BMW X3
2. Mercedes GLC
3. Volvo Xc60

I believe if you take a test drive of the above 3 and the Discovery Sport, you will notice that the Discovery Sport is a bit more hard and rugged compared to the pure luxury the other 3 will offer.
The Volvo XC60 looks great and the interior, both in terms of materials used general look and feel, is probably the best. You will get ventilated nappa leather seats with messaging function, a delightful Bowers and Wilkins speaker system and the minimalistic but quality finish will surely impress. It drives well too and is a well rounded package for the price. It will come with a host of radar based driver assistance and safety package that the others will not offer.
The Mercedes GLC is probably the best selling car among the 3 and for good reasons. I must say that on the outside this looks the best of the lot. I know looks are subjective but the 3 pointed star on the bonnet is something to covet. The interior is pure Mercedes and classy. It however does not have pure leather seats nor does it come with the Burmeister speakers. It drives good and will always put a smile on your face.
The BMW X3 is the best to drive out of the 3. If you plan to drive more often than take the back seat then this is the car for you. The engine and gearbox combo is superb and so is the handling. The interiors are not as classy as that of the GLC or XC60, but its not a bad place to be in either. The dashboard is straight out of the 5 series, which is not bad at all. The leather seats, Harmon Kardon speakers, adaptive LED headlights and adaptive dampers does make it a better value proposition compared to the GLC and XC60. The BMW also provides service inclusive package which you can negotiate with the dealer to be included in your onroad price.
I own the X3 xdrive 30i and absolutely love it. I had actually test drove both the GLC and the XC60, and would recommend you do the same before you decide.