[sandeepmdas]

Don't know this is a point-to-note for you: the duster has 4 year warranty. 2 year standard + 2 year extended.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

The diesel engine is too noisy. Also, Honda will not offer the solid and stable feeling on the highway. Driving pleasure and highway stability are my top priorities.

Then looks like sooner or later, you will have to strike off the Duster (or the Ecosport) from your consideration list due to handling & outright performance that you are striving for. Have a feeling that Ford Fiesta ticks all your boxes.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by saket77

Then looks like sooner or later, you will have to strike off the Duster (or the Ecosport) from your consideration list due to handling & outright performance that you are striving for. Have a feeling that Ford Fiesta ticks all your boxes.

As I already mentioned, I would have bought it without a second thought if it was not a market flop. Two separate sales persons updated me that they have not received any fresh stock of the the Fiesta this year.
Ecosport waiting period is 14 months. I am not considering it because of the small boot. After you mentioned city, I was looking at the Honda website.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

After you mentioned city, I was looking at the Honda website.

Do also refer to Teambhp official review of the City. It is as unbiased as one can get- as always. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

The petrol engine really is good for us enthusiasts! Oops, you are probably looking for a diesel.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by saket77

Do also refer to Teambhp official review of the City. It is as unbiased as one can get- as always. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

The petrol engine really is good for us enthusiasts! Oops, you are probably looking for a diesel.

The choice of diesel is also a practical one as is the decision to change the car. Otherwise I would not have sold the current car.

I do read all Team BHP reviews

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

For your requirement, you can consider only Fiesta or Vento to an extent, as Linea you ticked out due to its dull performance.
Duster handles well but i personally found its not sure footed like Ford, something is missing.

Since Fiesta is not available, i think you have option limited to Vento. Oops it seems only very very few cars available in the market to satisfy y(our) requirement under 10L budget

[ampere]

The other one you should check out is the Ertiga. A 1.3 MJD gives a brilliant performance for the highway. Surefooted at three digit speed and a brilliant mileage. Surely it may not handle like the Fords or sedans, but its extremely high on utility value. In city if need comes it can carry 7 people too.

And last but not least: At about 11L OTR you get the top-end all inclusive. Do check with Parag about Ertiga. He drove with family to Gujarat. A just see what he had to say about the car !

And need we say anything about Maruti service ?

[B103]

Unfortunately, some good to drive cars are market duds because of mediocre after sales service. Japanese cars in general have better service but are lightly build which may not be to everybody's liking.

For the 10 lac range, diesel sedans currently available are: Etios, Vento, Rapid, Fiesta, Linea, Manza, Verna, SX4, City, Verito and Sail. Did I miss anybody?

Etios and Verna may not garner a green signal as they both are typical light Asian cars alike Honda City. Personally, I am not a Duster enthusiast to recommend it to a friend. Vento is a sober car but probably a little jaded now because of the age. Finding it very difficult to recommend a car in this case.

Buying a 10L car? Well, I would have probably waited till I find a car of my liking (not interested on any significant compromise). Alternatively, I will try upping my budget and consider models in the next bracket, if financial position allows. But that is me.

[iceman7]

Why aren't you considering the Skoda Rapid? It should tick all your boxes.

Looks. Check.
Power. Check.
Handling. Check.
Boot Space. Check.
Air Bags & ABS. Check
Driving Pleasure. Check.

Service, grey area.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by iceman7

Why aren't you considering the Skoda Rapid? It should tick all your boxes.

Service, grey area.

After so many horror stories about Skoda service, I would not want to take a risk

[rdhawan15]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

After so many horror stories about Skoda service, I would not want to take a risk

If only Skoda and VW would take steps to give confidence to aspiring customers, they would easily multiply the sales by a factor of 1.3 to 1.5 times their current volumes.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

70% on highway

This one point alone suggests a Linea T Jet. I know this deviates from diesel and the car is not on your list. There is no car from the segment that does better on the highway than a Linea T Jet. I am not marketing the car cause I own one. Before you put down 10 big ones, please take the T Jet for a spin.

Getting back to the cars you have listed;

There is no reason to ignore the new Fiesta just because it is a market flop. This is a good car to drive. The only concern I have is, as you are coming from a 1.6l Fiesta, the new Fiesta will feel kinda lame after a point. I feel the interior quality is better on your current Fiesta.

On the Duster, the air conditioning works well and the interiors are durable. Yes; the interiors are not modern in appearance but they hold tight and nothing is known to fall apart. The Duster drives really well. For something that high, it has excellent road manners and does beat a few sedans in the handling department. This is the biggest car from your wish list and has the most interior room. My only problem with it is the cost of the top spec Duster. The on road lands to a shade over 15lac.

The engine noise on a Vento is not intrusive at the speed you pointed out. This is a well built car. There is no quality issue with German cars.

[IshaanIan]

The new Fiesta is the one I'd recommend by a country mile.
The Vento just looks boring and cheap on the inside, the Linea in diesel guise is quite a pain to live with and the driving position never quite feels right. The Duster is far less involving to drive and less safe than your old Fiesta even.

Anyway, if you do instead go with the Vento, I urge you to think about the Rapid since it is a little more interesting to look at, I might be crazy but also feels like it has a slightly better tuned handling characteristics and far better equipped especially the facelifted one. (compared to the vento that is since in the Diesel category my top pick would still be the new Fiesta )

[pramodpk]

Many thanks for all your inputs. All the above listed cars are a comprise on one or more factors. After a lot of thought and e decided to stay with the current car. The reasons.

1. The thought of selling this makes me and my wife so depressed. We are so much in love with this. The car is in perfect condition and maintained so well.

2. None of the above cars tick all the right boxes for me as the current one.

Duster - Weak AC and highway manners (high wind noise, less stable than a sedan) and less crash safety. I also think it is highly over priced. I could live with the no so premium interriors. Many thanks to Ampere for his detailed reply to my PM.

Vento - Not a driver's car as such. The noisy diesel engine. Also, not sure about ther reliability of German cars.

Fiesta - This is a market dud and going for this would be a risk. I might as well take the risk of retaining the current car.

3. The value offered to this will be very less. Even diesel cars are not easy to sell these days. This is from the direct experience of couple of friends. Hence, even if I make a "practical" decision to buy any of the above cars, there is no guarantee that it will fetch a good value.

[H_Dogg72]

Well let me add a few points that might make you reconsider.
The polo GT twins :
You're doing highway driving so the petrol "ideally" does not make sense but, you should go take a test drive !
The highly refined "silent " petrol along with a dsg ,is a good bet.
It's got esp,abs,airbags and a 4 star globalNCAP rating.

The tdi is not that great,since it's the same noisy engine which you don't like.
Although good music does mask the sound

Safety is a must right ?
Since you're driving so much on the highways ,why not get an upgrade. The only thing you'll compromise is on space.

There should be some discount on the Tsi as well ,because there's going to be a price hike for the abs/airbag standardisation on all models.