[fiestarry]

The Corolla is the best option. There are very good used Corollas in the 7-10 Lakh range. With a Rs 30 k service for new brake pads, oils and a thorough wash, wax and interior shampoo your parents will feel proud of your choice.

[IshaanIan]

Obviously the Corolla will outshine the rest when it comes to ease of maintenance. With your budget you can also look out for a Camry if you find a Renault Fluence you will get something with better ride and fresher interiors given the local Renault dealers are easy to handle

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Obviously the Corolla will outshine the rest when it comes to ease of maintenance. With your budget you can also look out for a Camry if you find a Renault Fluence you will get something with better ride and fresher interiors given the local Renault dealers are easy to handle

Both Corolla & Fluence are good choice, but Fluence is bit painful to maintain considering most of the spares are imported and not readily available with dealers.

Apart from these 2 cars you may consider a brand new Sunny for it's space, excellent city drive ability, decent highway performance, decent FE.

[VW2010]

Toyota Corolla Altis or CRV. Both are the best options. If you can get an used CRV for less than 10L you should go for it. Its a Honda and usually you are looking at minimal maintenance.

To me the Corolla is bullet proof car, low on maintenance, great of rear seat comfort and something that i will always recommend for overall cost free ownership.

If Maintenance cost is something you can manage for say next 5 years, i would recommend the VW Jetta MKV which these days go for around 7-8L. The comfortline is fully loaded top of the segment car with 8 airbags and what not.

And the maximum maintenance you are looking at for this car is a Flywheel (if not changed) or the compressor. You are probably looking at say 4L safety deposit in your own account as ownership cost for 5 years for the Jetta

[speedmiester]

Thanks everyone for your quick responses.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Obviously the Corolla will outshine the rest when it comes to ease of maintenance. With your budget you can also look out for a Camry if you find a Renault Fluence you will get something with better ride and fresher interiors given the local Renault dealers are easy to handle

Camry would be a bit of a squeeze for my parking space. Hence not in consideration.

Not many good options for Fluence, besides not very keen on Renault.

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Both Corolla & Fluence are good choice, but Fluence is bit painful to maintain considering most of the spares are imported and not readily available with dealers.

Apart from these 2 cars you may consider a brand new Sunny for it's space, excellent city drive ability, decent highway performance, decent FE.

No Sunny as we have a Honda City with my brother, so I am looking at a segment above.

Originally Posted by VW2010

Toyota Corolla Altis or CRV. Both are the best options. If you can get an used CRV for less than 10L you should go for it. Its a Honda and usually you are looking at minimal maintenance.

To me the Corolla is bullet proof car, low on maintenance, great of rear seat comfort and something that i will always recommend for overall cost free ownership.

If Maintenance cost is something you can manage for say next 5 years, i would recommend the VW Jetta MKV which these days go for around 7-8L. The comfortline is fully loaded top of the segment car with 8 airbags and what not.

And the maximum maintenance you are looking at for this car is a Flywheel (if not changed) or the compressor. You are probably looking at say 4L safety deposit in your own account as ownership cost for 5 years for the Jetta

Heart is moving towards CRV as I had initially planned to buy a SUV. Only thing I hate about Honda is their pathetic service experience at their authorised service centres.

Jetta is ruled out, don't like the looks of it. Besides this car will be changed within the next 2 year.

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Why dont you consider the Innova?? Corolla will have difficult ingress.

I like the Innova for all it offers. But since I will be the one driving it, prefer a Sedan or a SUV over a MUV.

I looked at a few Skoda Laura TSi. Absolutely love the car, not concerned about the cost of maintenance. Only concern is about the Skoda horror stories experienced by a lot of buyers.

For now Corolla Altis is proving to be the best all rounder.

[ToyotaFan]

Why don't you go in for the new city or ciaz? Both offer good comfort, peace of mind, easy on the pocket and will offer good resale even if you plan to change after 3 years. If you want a high GC vehicle than the CRV is a wonderful barge and prices crash in the used car market. There won't be much of a difference between last gen Corolla and the current city except some luxury nuances which if compromised can get you a new car for similar money.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

With the above criteria in mind I have shortlisted the following cars in the order of preference.
1. Toyota Corolla Altis
2. Honda CRV
3. Skoda Laura
4. Mahindra XUV500
5. Mitsubishi Outlander

Why not a Jetta? It will be ideal if you can find one with a relatively low mileage. It scores high on comfort and safety.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

1. Toyota Corolla Altis
2. Honda CRV

Pretty much the cars I'd look at with these requirements. You could also add the Hyundai Elantra to the list. Since so many of them were sold, you'll get excellent choice in the market. Look for the 1.6 diesel.

You can't go wrong with any of the 3. However, of the list, the CR-V will drink the most fuel and its parts will be the most expensive. It's a very reliable car though.

Sucks about the limited parking space, because there are many Camrys, Accords & Sonatas in your budget range.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by ToyotaFan

Why don't you go in for the new city or ciaz? Both offer good comfort, peace of mind, easy on the pocket and will offer good resale even if you plan to change after 3 years. If you want a high GC vehicle than the CRV is a wonderful barge and prices crash in the used car market. There won't be much of a difference between last gen Corolla and the current city except some luxury nuances which if compromised can get you a new car for similar money.

My brother has a Honda City, so City or Ciaz is ruled out.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Why not a Jetta? It will be ideal if you can find one with a relatively low mileage. It scores high on comfort and safety.

The ones in the market are the older generation Jetta's. I don't like the looks of it.

Sucks about the limited parking space, because there are many Camrys, Accords & Sonatas in your budget range.

That's true, I was very keen on the Sonata and Accord. A lot of good examples.

Amidst all this discussion, one of my ex-colleague is moving abroad and he has a 2 year old XUV500 AWD for sale. I am having a look at it this weekend, if everything checks out, I might close it.

[vineshpikale]

I think this is a fairly common dilemma. I find myself in a similar position thus realizing that the Indian car market still has a long long way to go before it gets much needed depth.

I'm looking to buy a car for my Dad. I have a budget upto 20 lakhs provided I see value in the purchase. The key requirements
a) a comfortable rear seat since it'll be predominantly chauffeur driven
b) it needn't be a drivers car but should not be unrefined since my father would drive it occasionally.
c) should be easy to get in and get out
d) reliability and maintenance should not be a question mark.

Besides this I have absolutely no other demands.
I dont care if it has auto climate control or not - a good cooling AC is all I need.
I dont care whether leather seats or not as long as the seats are supportive and comfortable. I care two hoots whether or not it comes equipped with touch screen player and all that. I dont care whether its petrol or diesel.
Basically I place functionality above all else. I'm flexible about everything else.

I dont think any of the above is asking too much. And yet alas...

For obvious maintenance reasons Skoda and Volkswagen are out.
Fiat's Linea is out because of the rear headroom.
Fluence long term maintenance looks to be a question mark.
Dont think the Fiesta is even available.
Innova is not available right now and even if it were it would be to big to drive around those occasional times that my Dad drives the car.
Duster/Terrano not great rear seat.

I love the Altis but I think its incredibly overpriced (I really want to know if I'm alone in this). I respect reliability etc but Toyota I think is attaching either too much value to it or just taking advantage of the fact there's nobody else.

Would consider the Elantra but I think its due for change and I'm not a fan of the Hyundai floaty ride in the rear seat. BTW we own a Hyundai Accent 2001 model and love it's ride. Wonder what the hell happened to Hyundai's. I recently rode with a friend in his Verna in the rear seat and was close to becoming motion sick for the first time in my life. Verna's out for the same reason.

I'm wondering whether Cruze/Sail given their marginal presence or the Mahindra and Tata cars given their frequent niggles are worth the risk.

That leaves I think
a) Etios
b) Ciaz
c) sunny/scala
or I need to pay for an hugely overpriced (I think) Altis or just contend with the occasional head bump/knee jolt and go for the City.

Sigh!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by vineshpikale

I love the Altis but I think its incredibly overpriced (I really want to know if I'm alone in this). I respect reliability etc but Toyota I think is attaching either too much value to it or just taking advantage of the fact there's nobody else.

If you see its not just Altis. The whole D-Segment has moved-up. From that point of view it all the same. But given that budget, I would say Altis would be the best no-nonsense car and the one with maximum reliability.

[vineshpikale]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you see its not just Altis. The whole D-Segment has moved-up. From that point of view it all the same. But given that budget, I would say Altis would be the best no-nonsense car and the one with maximum reliability.

Thats exactly the tragedy. The Top end Etios is 8.9 lakhs OTR in Goa. The Altis is 19.8 lakhs OTR. Thats a 122% premium for not a corresponding increase in "car". How does that look like fair pricing. Looks like a oligopoly/opportunistic product pricing. I think we need the equivalent of drug price control order in the auto segment.

[kkkkkaran]

Originally Posted by vineshpikale

I'm wondering whether Cruze/Sail given their marginal presence or the Mahindra and Tata cars given their frequent niggles are worth the risk.

That leaves I think
a) Etios
b) Ciaz

or I need to pay for an hugely overpriced (I think) Altis or just contend with the occasional head bump/knee jolt and go for the City.

Sigh!

Any reason for not considering the new Compact SUVs? The S Cross/creta would be a very good option to be chauffeur driven in IMO. The cars being relatively taller to sedans, will have easier ingress/egress.
Please leave the etios out of this. It just does not feel car enough.

From the sedans, either the ciaz, or go higher up and get the corolla.
Even though the car is overpriced, overall costs will get balanced out, cheaper ownership and much better resale 5-7 years down the line will offset the high price.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by vineshpikale

Thats exactly the tragedy. The Top end Etios is 8.9 lakhs OTR in Goa. The Altis is 19.8 lakhs OTR. Thats a 122% premium for not a corresponding increase in "car". How does that look like fair pricing. Looks like a oligopoly/opportunistic product pricing. I think we need the equivalent of drug price control order in the auto segment.

With respect to the Altis Vs Etios, I think there is a huge difference. Altis has lot more to offer per car. While I do agree that D-Segment has moved-up. (C-Segment expanding quite heavily and then the advent of premium X-Overs).

Here is an old thread with regards to the same.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ura-et-al.html

But in spite of that, if you need a D-Segment Chauffeur driven car, nothing beats the Altis. But yes, you need to decide, if you need a D-Segment in the first place.

[IshaanIan]

Try and find yourself a Nissan Teana or a Toyota Camry. New or Used (sometimes dealers might have discounts on older stock or on slightly used ones with warranty etc.) These are the ultimate chauffer driven no-nonsense cars (Teana being my favourite, slightly more difficult to get into the rear bench but supremely more comfy) Japanese reliability is a given with both cars and sourcing parts for any Japanese car is always going to be easy.

If you are looking at a new car, I'd suggest atleast sticking to the D1 segment. Don't compromise just because something like the Corolla doesn't feel worth it. It is still going to be leagues ahead of any C-Segment car at the end of the day. That said, Toyota is being shamelessly greedy with the car and I fully understand you not wanting to give into such nonsense. If there are no complaints with your Renault dealer, then simply go for the Fluence. I have a friend who has owned a Fluence since day one when it was launched and another who bought one subsequently in 2012. Absolutely no issues with the car. Reliability is top notch, engine is tried and tested DCi motor, ride is fantastic, design is fresh inside-out, and it just feels more worth it than the Corolla