[BrittleRabbit]

Hello Everyone.

I've come out here and posted this question because I've been through the forum and have not seen anything similar to the problem/confusion I am facing at the moment.

So, as the title itself suggests, I'm looking at buying a new car for myself. I had more or less made up my mind on which one it was going to be, but then all of a sudden, a few life updates were installed and here I am, now confused about my decision. I'm listing down my current conditions:

1. I currently live in Noida and am traveling to Gurugram 5 days a week by car. It's a 2017 Petrol Elite i20.
2. Travel distance is approx 50kms one way, 100kms for a round trip.
3. The route taken is Noida>Kalindi Kunj>Badarpur>Faridabad>Gurugram via Pali Road. Also popularly known in Delhi/NCR as "The Pahaad" waala raasta.
4. I leave early morning and am also able to return early as well. This helps me cover the distance in roughly about 1 hour and 15 minutes (give or take a few for the toll + occasional jams for random reasons)
5. We would soon be shifting to Noida near sector 150, and that takes my total kms covered in a day to approximately 130-135kms (66kms one way).

Now while the distance covered is huge, the time taken to cover said distance is not bad at all considering the hours I commute at has minimum to no traffic.

I had shortlisted the new Verna SX(O) 1.5IVT (before all this daily Gurugram commute started). However, considering the running every month, I'm looking at almost 27-30k km a year. It is a huge figure (for me at least).

Luckily, mileage is decent with my car as of now; because of the nearly empty roads and I'm able to extract close to 16kmpl with the ACC on the entire time. I'm pretty sure I can get a little bit extra if I turn it off in between stretches

Given the conditions, could the group please help me decide on a vehicle that could be apt for my use?

Please Note:
1. I'm not sure about getting a diesel car, given that Delhi/NCR randomly spews out rules that either limit or restrict the use of diesel cars entirely as per their convenience. However, all suggestions are welcome.

2. The yearly running is really high. 30k kms a year is basically 3 years' worth of service done in a single year. Not to mention replacements of parts due to wear and tear.

3. Given the current predicaments in life, I'd appreciate it if suggestions on moving to Gurugram are avoided, albeit it is the most practical and logical answer.

4. My budget allows me to look at something not more than 16-18 lakhs on the road.

5. Historically, we generally have kept cars at our home for 8-10 years before selling them. However, the running was seldom more than 85-90k, and hence fetched a decent resale value. How would the resale value be affected by this? Even if I keep the car for just 5 years, the ODO is looking closer to 1.5L kms.

Thanks in advance!

P.S.-
I’m considering only Automatic Variants due to certain issues with the leg. However, for the sake of this thread and the lack of similar threads, please feel free to drop a comment on your thoughts. It may help someone else going through a similar situation.

[Overtune26]

I think you should go for an hybrid it perfectly suits your use case. Toyota Hyryder S hybrid would fall around your budget. Being a Hybrid with it's high fuel efficiency it would certainly compensate for the premium you pay for it especially with the kind of running you have.

Being a toyota maintenance would be easy on your pocket and this being a lower trim will also mitigate the AC colling issues caused by sunroof shade.

Even with a resale point of view you won't have to worry much about it as Toyotas hold their value pretty well and will fetch you some good bucks when you decide to sell it.

[bijims]

Originally Posted by BrittleRabbit

Hello Everyone.

So, as the title itself suggests, I'm looking at buying a new car for myself. I had more or less made up my mind on which one it was going to be, but then all of a sudden, a few life updates were installed and here I am, now confused about my decision. I'm listing down my current conditions:
.

Considering your situation. A Hybrid seems to be the best bet, but they are all out of budget with the Hyryder S Hybrid being the cheapest option still at 19 lakhs OTR in your city. Another option would be an EV, but range anxiety and charging for long outstation trips should the need arise would be an issue. The next option would be to consider a frugal petrol car, and in that sense, the Verna ain't a bad option at all (albeit not as Frugal as the ones from Maruti though)

[jaspal singh]

Originally Posted by BrittleRabbit

I had shortlisted the new Verna SX(O) 1.5IVT (before all this daily Gurugram commute started). However, considering the running every month, I'm looking at almost 27-30k km a year. It is a huge figure (for me at least).

Luckily, mileage is decent with my car as of now; because of the nearly empty roads and I'm able to extract close to 16kmpl with the ACC on the entire time. I'm pretty sure I can get a little bit extra if I turn it off in between stretches

P.S.-
I’m considering only Automatic Variants due to certain issues with the leg. However, for the sake of this thread and the lack of similar threads, please feel free to drop a comment on your thoughts. It may help someone else going through a similar situation.

Diesel is not recommended considering the policy flip flops in Delhi NCR. Resale value too will drop sharply after 6-7 years and even the mileage advantage may not be big over petrol variant,since you travel during non peak hrs to Gurugram from Noida.
You are already using petrol elite i20, so Verna SX or SX(o) IVT would be nice upgrade and will give similar fuel economy or even better if driven gently on your route. It is a large spacious sedan with all modern features like ADAS, sunroof, ACC , heated and ventilated seats etc. 1.5 NA is highly reliable and IVT too is efficient. Being a Hyundai it will offer good resale value but not as good as Mid size SUV like Creta, Seltos, Hyryder since sedan segment is shrinking. But who knows we may see revival of sedans in next 4-7 years.

Would strongly advise against german brands ( though I like them!) considering the uncertainty regarding their future plans in India and high running cost, less reliability ,since you will be driving 30k kms in a year. Tata petrols are not good so Nexon etc are also ruled out, it's not a big upgrade over elite i20 either.
Also in your budget of 17-18 lacs no practical long range EV is available neither there is any Good Hybrid.

If you want to significantly reduce fuel cost , and are ok with less boot space , Grand vitara Zeta CNG variant is also a practical option but it's manual gearbox!

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by BrittleRabbit

Hello Everyone.

Luckily, mileage is decent with my car as of now; because of the nearly empty roads and I'm able to extract close to 16kmpl with the ACC on the entire time. I'm pretty sure I can get a little bit extra if I turn it off in between stretches

Given the conditions, could the group please help me decide on a vehicle that could be apt for my use?

Please Note:
1. I'm not sure about getting a diesel car, given that Delhi/NCR randomly spews out rules that either limit or restrict the use of diesel cars entirely as per their convenience. However, all suggestions are welcome.

2. The yearly running is really high. 30k kms a year is basically 3 years' worth of service done in a single year. Not to mention replacements of parts due to wear and tear.

3. Given the current predicaments in life, I'd appreciate it if suggestions on moving to Gurugram are avoided, albeit it is the most practical and logical answer.

4. My budget allows me to look at something not more than 16-18 lakhs on the road.

5. Historically, we generally have kept cars at our home for 8-10 years before selling them. However, the running was seldom more than 85-90k, and hence fetched a decent resale value. How would the resale value be affected by this? Even if I keep the car for just 5 years, the ODO is looking closer to 1.5L kms.

Thanks in advance!

Given the budget and your specific use case I can think of nothing better than a Camry hybrid from 2015-16. Something like this- https://www.carwale.com/used-cars/de...amry/tlsdbmxv/

Look for low mile, single owner cars. Have them checked thoroughly by a Toyota dealer and your trusted mechanic and go for it. You’ll get brilliant fuel economy and excellent ride comfort, something no new car can offer you at this price point. Cheers.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by BrittleRabbit

Hello Everyone.

You should either get an EV or look at XL6 petrol or CNG variants.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by BrittleRabbit

5. We would soon be shifting to Noida near sector 150, and that takes my total kms covered in a day to approximately 130-135kms (66kms one way).

That puts you in 40-50K km per year type of usage category. This is a very costly commute :-) Most people with such usage typically go with Maruti and Toyota brands as these brands can be expected to deliver 3L km/6-year ownership experience without any major glitches. Their hybrid cars should also give you decent FE. You can also consider EVs because you will save fuel costs - but not sure if the current EVs on market can serve you for 3L km/6-year usage.

Don't go purely by fuel costs as you need to look at the effective cost per KM which includes purchase, insurance, service and fuel costs. EVs will incur higher purchase cost and potential poor resale. OTOH, regular ICE cars will have high FE costs but purchase/resale costs might be favourable. There might be other considerations like if your employer pays you for fuel and other expenses.

[ABeeBytes]

Originally Posted by BrittleRabbit

a day to approximately 130-135kms (66kms one way).

Approx 130-140 Km/day and a 16-18 L OTR budget makes XUV 400s custom made for you, I wonder if there could be a better fit for your needs; maybe a cheaper EV like Citroen eC3 or Punch EV though I've not seen or driven either of these, they do seem like a downgrade from i20 though.

Your travels are ~70km/one way, that takes away the reason for range anxiety. Even better if you can charge at your workplace!
30k KMs annually means you recover the EV premium in less than 2 yrs you'll still have some battery warranty left. ( ~40-50k kms is the breakeven in my calculation)

EVs are vibe free, silent & gearless by default, that takes care of most comfort factors IMHO.

[racing_panda]

We are in the market for a new car, and am hoping to get a dilemma cleared by members here.

Allow me to set some context: current car is a 2012 Alto. We keep our cars for long. The last one was a 2006 (if memory serves) Alto, which was with us till it was cruelly stolen in 2012. The budget is 20L, the less we have to spend the merrier, but can possibly stretch by 1-2L given a compelling enough reason.

Usage: City usage in Ghaziabad, frequent trips to Delhi and Gurgaon. Occasional trips to Agra/Lucknow/Uttarakhand (and planned road trips to central/south MP). While these trips are rare (once a year), when we do go we carry enough luggage to embarrass a regiment on its way to deployment. So boot capacity is a prime factor. We (I, sister and parents) love sedans and I have been successful in getting them (sister and parents) to hate CSUVs, so sedans are the primary candidates under consideration. But willing to consider a CSUV given a compelling enough reasons.

Constraints: Given that 2027 is very close, the Alto's time with us is limited. The new car will be the sole workhorse from then. Therefore it needs to be utterly reliable. Honda and Skoda have sales and service within 3KM of our place (and if it helps, so do Tata, Hyundai, VW and Mahindra)

What have we considered thus far?

Had a marathon of a day yesterday, left home at noon and by 4PM, had visited and test driven a City, a Slavia, checked out a Verna. Also visited Tata and Mahindra for the sake of diligence but quickly realized that not a lot can be had given our budget, and left.

VW Virtus looks odd to me and given its handsome Skoda sibling, am not really considering the Virtus. The Verna is, in my opinion, hideous, and the interior is not good enough to justify the stomach turning countenance. That takes the Verna out. The earlier point about this being the sole car come 2027 and reliability therefore being key knocks out the upcoming Tata Curvv, which would otherwise be within budget (based on the tentative pricing per the SA). This is a shame as unlike most of the community, I love how the Curvv looks. This leaves us with the dilemma of either the City or the Slavia (the top auto variants of both). Interestingly, there is zero road tax on the City Hybrid currently, which makes it a very tempting car. The SA indicated a low 19s OTR. However, that 306 ltr boot is a deal-breaker for us.

My observations (reminder: our current car is a 2012 Alto, so the benchmark for NVH, appurtenances and space are not exactly sky high)

Both do the basics well. Both offer 6 airbags and good safety ratings (though City has not yet been tested in India). The engine of either is adequate for our needs. They excel on the road, albeit City is better at low speed rough roads (something I was able to confirm given the back to back test drives), and the Slavia is better at 'higher' speeds (something that I could not confirm in the TD environment but is apparent from other members' comments). As far as our needs go, this difference seems to be splitting hairs so is not decisive. Both are spacious and offer enough boot space to satisfy our needs. Both are BS6 RDE2 compliant. Both offer wireless AA and Carplay.

The Slavia is quieter and is better looking than the City (although the 'Pearl White' City ZX is quite the looker). The Slavia outscores the City on modern appurtenances as it gets front ventilated seats, front electric seats, a cooled glove box, a better display, a better integrated wireless charger (the City's is a tacky add on which has you choose between a wireless charger and cupholders). The Slavia also gets an additional subwoofer, but frankly this is not important to us at all. The Slavia outscores the City in practicality with a slightly larger boot (521 ltr vs 506 ltr on the City) and a 40:60 split rear seat (as opposed to the City's rear seats which cannot be folded). The Slavia can deactivate 2 cylinder at low loads so highway fuel efficiency.

It is the DSG in the 1.5 turbo version that weighs heavily on my mind. I have also read about persistant rattling issues in other BHPian's car. Is that a prevalent problem?

The City has more comfortable seats, physical AC controls as opposed to the moronic touch controls in the Slavia. It gets adaptive cruise control (as opposed to the manually adjustable one in the Slavia) and an air purifier, which in NCR is not a trifling addition. It gets some driver assists (in the form of Honda Sensing) which is good to have I suppose. Alexa and Google Assistant integration is available, which should provide occasional hilarity.

The CVT is not the most fun, but fun is not a factor for us (I know, sacrilege for a BHPian, but I have a good sim at home, which was incidentally also my first post here. It really quenches the need for 'fun'. Also, off topic, I have added some more bits to the sim rig - will try and write about that too). Importantly, the CVT has proven to be reliable for others (please correct me if it hasn't been), which is a big plus. I have also read about rusting which surprised me a lot.

The City is cheaper. I can get one for high 17s. The Slavia is currently being quoted at 20.70L.

My heart does say Slavia. The 3L premium (if I cannot get further discounts) is made more digestible over a 15 year ownership. But some concerns nudge the mind towards the City. I am looking for advice on the following specific points:
1. How probable are the DSG issues? If it is low, should I accept it or should the sole car fact make me avoid it altogether. The car will mostly be maintained by my parents, so is this low probability but high pain burden justified?
2. How prevalent is the rattling issue?
3. For the Slavia, should I switch to the 1.0 AT top variant from the 1.5 turbo? Any reliability concerns with that?
4. How is Skoda service in Ghaziabad? And Honda?
5. How prevalent is the rusting issue in the City?

Answers to these 5 questions will help clear my dilemma. Should I add any other car to this melee?

[philipmathen]

Hi all, looking for a few options around 15 Lakhs on-road in Chennai. Will consider 'SUV's if there are no good deals in the sedan space. Have narrowed it to between the Verna and Slavia/Virtus. Current thinking is a petrol+manual combo to ensure i get a reasonably equipped trim level without too many omissions.
I keep hearing about cash discounts given the slowdown in sales overall, but my intended purchase date is end of September so it's hard to get a decent quote from a dealer.
Wondering if anyone in the forum has any knowledge on what the actual discounts might look like(maybe that brings petrol+AT into the equation). Also, what the general wait times are for delivery(assume they are within 6 weeks based on what i hear)
Will likely hold on to the car only 5 years or less, so a good resale will be an added bonus but not a deal breaker.
Driving will primarily be in the city with a few outstation trips(800-900km one way) every couple of months.
Off topic for this thread-only proper SUV at this point seems to be the Thar. Any others i should be looking at(including the so-called SUVs like the Hyryder/Vitara) if the sedans don't work out?
Thanks in advance!

[voldemort]

I need a car that'll be driven 100% in the city traffic. Practically no highway runs at all (have a Mercedes for that). There will be a lot of stop and go traffic. Expected to run only about 5000 km a year.

This will be a replacement for my nearly decade old 4th gen diesel Honda City, which has been absolutely reliable so far. Primary reason for the change is that I need a car with an automatic gearbox; I'm tried of driving a manual in stop and go traffic. The gearbox must be either a torque converter or a CVT. No DCT or AMT for me. Also, don't recommend me EVs; not feasible for me at this point.

It should be safe and comfortable. I don't particularly care about the features as such. Don't care about sunroof, smartphone integration, digital instrument cluster etc.

No vehicle in the ₹20L segment has really caught my fancy. City meets all my requirements but I don't want to buy another City.

I'm considering the Virtus/Slavia 1.0 AT, the City (because it satisfies my requirements despite me not wanting it) and a few compact SUVs. Verna IVT is not very exciting but I haven't eliminated it.

My questions are:

1. How bad is the 1.0 turbopetrol AT in slow moving traffic? Since I won't be driving it on the highways I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the engine's full potential.

2. Is there anything indirectly advantageous about CVT gearboxes that makes it particularly suited for urban traffic?

3. My usual route involves a lot of inclines and slopes with slow moving traffic. Will any of these cars struggle to get moving after stopping on an incline? For what it's worth, the City diesel easily climbs steep inclines.

4. Have the AC problems of the new VAG cars been sorted out for good?

5. How is the noise insulation of the Virtus and the Slavia? In my City diesel — which has a noisy engine to begin with — even if all the windows are up I can hear the engine noise of all the cars around me. I think this adds to the fatigue.

If I exclude the Virtus and the Slavia I'll probably get an Elevate.

[sreerknair]

Originally Posted by racing_panda

5. How prevalent is the rusting issue in the City?

Yet to see rust on body panels in my 3 year old 5th gen city driven in coastal Kerala roads. The silencer has some rust though despite it being treated with anti-rust coating.

Originally Posted by voldemort

2. Is there anything indirectly advantageous about CVT gearboxes that makes it particularly suited for urban traffic?

3. My usual route involves a lot of inclines and slopes with slow moving traffic. Will any of these cars struggle to get moving after stopping on an incline? For what it's worth, the City diesel easily climbs steep inclines.

#2 - Linear acceleration which avoids sudden jerks in stop and go traffic. Disadvantage being - you can't do mad overtakes in split seconds.
#3 - Highly unlikely. I have driven City in hills and never struggled anywhere.

[geminivirtus]

Originally Posted by voldemort

1. How bad is the 1.0 turbopetrol AT in slow moving traffic? Since I won't be driving it on the highways I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the engine's full potential.

2. Is there anything indirectly advantageous about CVT gearboxes that makes it particularly suited for urban traffic?

3. My usual route involves a lot of inclines and slopes with slow moving traffic. Will any of these cars struggle to get moving after stopping on an incline? For what it's worth, the City diesel easily climbs steep inclines.

4. Have the AC problems of the new VAG cars been sorted out for good?

5. How is the noise insulation of the Virtus and the Slavia? In my City diesel — which has a noisy engine to begin with — even if all the windows are up I can hear the engine noise of all the cars around me. I think this adds to the fatigue.

If I exclude the Virtus and the Slavia I'll probably get an Elevate.

As a Virtus 1.0 AT owner, my PoV:

1. You'll have some lag until 1800 RPM, but beyond that you'll hardly face any issues. The TC also maintains a good RPM in all speeds in such a way that you a gentle press away from entering the torque curve.

2. I test drove City CVT before opting for Virtus, CVT may give you better mileage. But in my long test drive of City, I didn't find engaging at all.

3. For inclines, a turbo engine will give you that additional punch, of course you need to go into the torque curve. I honestly didn't face any issues so far even when I am traveling with family and heavy luggage.

4. I purchased my last year, didn't face any AC issues. But you need to keep the temperature at 18 and keep fan speed little high if you've parked under sun. Keeping it in Auto mode, the AC takes its time to cool the cabin. Wouldn't say it's that big of an issue.

5. This is where I found a big difference between City and Virtus, 30 40 km test drive really tired me and my dad, could hear lot of road coming into cabin. In Virtus even when cruising at 80 and 90, hardly hear anything. For City, Verna and Virtus comparison, you may look at this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2FPF1nVE1g