[jasjotbains]

Originally Posted by anto1212

Have you considered MG Astor?

Not by a mile.

Being a banker, I am liable to be transferred anywhere in the state, so niche brands are out of the picture.

[Phantom 510]

Nexon Diesel AMT.
Pros-
• Frugal diesel engine.
• GNCAP 5 star rating.
• Best in class ground clearance.
• Accommodates 5 people easily.
• Excellent ride quality that flattens bad roads.
Cons-
• After sales service experience is sketchy.
• The fit, finish and quality is not it's strength.

Kia Sonet Diesel Automatic.
Pros-
• Smoother driving experience.
• Extremely refined 1.5 L crdi.
• Strong performance.
• Long list of features.
• FIt, finish & quality.
• Strong after sales.
Cons -
• Stiffer suspension set up.
• Slightly cramped for 5.
• Pricey.
These are my personal observations. However, test driving them back to back (if possible) would give you the best possible answer to your question.

[pavanmadhini]

I think this decision will boil down to what you're willing to compromise on.

If you're willing to compromise safety for slightly smoother gear shifts and cooled seats, go for the Sonet.

If I were in your shoes though, I would compromise on everything else for the added safety and go for the Nexon.

[anb]

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

Now as for the jerky shifts, this totally depends on how you drive. If your drive foot flat to the floor all the time, yes, the shifts are jerky. But the gearbox can be tamed. It has certain behaviours you can use to your advantage to enjoy extremely smooth shifts. I drive my family's Tiago most of the time, so I have dialled in my actions to enjoy as smooth a shift as dare I say, a TC gearbox.

TC is the most reliable type of automatic gearbox. Chances of failures for a TC gearbox is very less compared to AMT. There are is no wear and tear item like clutch in a TC. AMT’s are not known for reliability and there are many instances of AMT failures in Tiago/ Nexon. So chances of spending for maintenance is much more in AMT. If AMT’s are so good, why is not popular in other countries.

[Muscle Boyy]

Hey BHPians !!!

This is being posted on behalf of my cousin brother who currently uses a 2015 Fiat Punto Evo Emotion 1.3 Multijet(75hp tune). The car has clocked 96k kms in 6 years and has started showing its age.But mechanically,the car still stays intact and robust with no major niggles and issues. He gets the car serviced at a local workshop,with which he is very much satisfied. But due to the overhauling and frequent replacement of multiple parts,the service amounts are skyrocketing. Moreover, the market value of Punto is already on the lower side and he says that keeping the car for another 3-4 years won't fetch him anything. Due to the low seating position, lower back pain issues have started bothering him too much,which is the final reason for considering an upgrade.

His budget is flexible to an extent as it majorly depends on the price quoted for his Punto.

Requirements:
1. Should be a crossover or an SUV, strictly no sedans and hatchbacks.
2.Preferably a diesel,as he loves his 1.3 Multijet.But he's open to Petrols too.
3. Preferably an Automatic or semi automatic (yes IMT).A big NO to AMTs and DCTs.
4 If the options don't meet his requirements,he's willing to consider pre owned cars as well.
5.Should be reasonably spacious for 4 people. (Himself,Mom,Wife and his daughter,who has turned 4)
6. Safety is taken into consideration very seriously but that would limit the number of options he has within his budget. Therefore the car should have a good set of safety features like ESP, TCS etc and most importantly,airbags(more than 2 most welcomed).
7. Should be reasonably well equipped.

He isn't a car guy and I was asked to suggest him some of the cars which would suit his requirements. The cars which came to my mind were MG Astor 1.5 Sharp CVT( need to drive it though),Nissan Magnite XV premium CVT and Kia Sonet GTX+ 1.0 GDI IMT and 1.5 Diesel AT.

Waiting for your valuable suggestions and if there are any other cars that I have missed out,please do let me know.

Thanks a bunch BHPians!!!

[KPR]

Voted others. SCross can be considered. Or if TDCI ecosport is available in stock I would prefer it for diesel. I don't mind company closing sales. Ford ES is a keeper atleast for next 7 to 8 years.

[RPRIME95]

Originally Posted by anb

TC is the most reliable type of automatic gearbox. Chances of failures for a TC gearbox is very less compared to AMT. There are is no wear and tear item like clutch in a TC. AMT’s are not known for reliability and there are many instances of AMT failures in Tiago/ Nexon. So chances of spending for maintenance is much more in AMT. If AMT’s are so good, why is not popular in other countries.

A couple of points my friend.

A TC has a "Clutch" although not in the traditional sense, but it does have one

An AMT is basically a manual with a hydraulic operated clutch. Which means that costs are same for a manual and AMT except for the hydraulic assist part and it's ECU. And since you mentioned reliability, a TC is inherently reliable due to it being a fully contained and closed system. However that does not mean it is cheaper to maintain.

My family's Tiago has ran over 50k kms in 5 years, never had a complaint from either my father or brother over the gearbox. And it has had no failures for anything.

As for your last point, people are lazy and reluctant to learn and adapt. Hence they prefer immediate convenience over a slight learning curve. Hence "true" automatic gearboxes are more popular. As for me and Im sure many people, an AMT offers the best of both worlds. Great fuel economy which extremely close to the manual version and convinience of not having to fiddle with the clutch. Not to mention its cost effectiveness at purchase and follow up maintainence as compared to a TC

I say that because some of my friends have had TCs and they plainly say that apart from the smoothness, there is nothing that they would consider as a notch higher than a manual. And just for some perspective, you cannot repair a TC gearbox as extensively as a manual/AMT. If the gears break, you are done and a new box is needed.

[RPRIME95]

Originally Posted by Muscle Boyy

His budget is flexible to an extent as it majorly depends on the price quoted for his Punto.

Requirements:
1. Should be a crossover or an SUV, strictly no sedans and hatchbacks.
2.Preferably a diesel,as he loves his 1.3 Multijet.But he's open to Petrols too.
3. Preferably an Automatic or semi automatic (yes IMT).A big NO to AMTs and DCTs.
4 If the options don't meet his requirements,he's willing to consider pre owned cars as well.
5.Should be reasonably spacious for 4 people. (Himself,Mom,Wife and his daughter,who has turned 4)
6. Safety is taken into consideration very seriously but that would limit the number of options he has within his budget. Therefore the car should have a good set of safety features like ESP, TCS etc and most importantly,airbags(more than 2 most welcomed).
7. Should be reasonably well equipped.

Please ask if your friend can give an actual budget. I understand that the Punto's resale value will factor in, but a number will help people here give some options around that price bucket

You have already ruled out more than 80% the cars due to point 3. If manuals are okay, I would suggest the Tata Punch. Meets all criteria except Diesel preference

Apart from that, as another member mentioned, take a look at a pre-owned SCross. Lovely car and has a good automatic. Will probably fit within budget and will be relatively cheap to maintain in the long run

I suggest to walk away from CVTs as you have ruled out DCTs and a CVT is almost always worse than a DCT.

[anb]

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

A couple of points my friend.

A TC has a "Clutch" although not in the traditional sense, but it does have one

An AMT is basically a manual with a hydraulic operated clutch. Which means that costs are same for a manual and AMT except for the hydraulic assist part and it's ECU. And since you mentioned reliability, a TC is inherently reliable due to it being a fully contained.
I say that because some of my friends have had TCs and they plainly say that apart from the smoothness, there is nothing that they would consider as a notch higher than a manual. And just for some perspective, you cannot repair a TC gearbox as extensively as a manual/AMT. If the gears break, you are done and a new box is needed.

TC doesn’t have a clutch. Instead it uses fluid coupling( fluid flywheel) which has no wear and tear and an epicyclic gearbox. Please refer this video for the working of TC gearbox.

https://youtu.be/bRcDvCj_JPs

I have four automatic cars, three of them are TC and one is DSG. My friend’s Tigor is now resting at Tata workshop due to AMT issue. He has driven less than 15000 km. A clutch needs replacement at some point of time as the frictional materials wears out, but it’s not the case with fluid coupling.

[RPRIME95]

Originally Posted by anb

TC doesn’t have a clutch. Instead it uses fluid coupling( fluid flywheel) which has no wear and tear and an epicyclic gearbox. Please refer this video for the working of TC gearbox.

My friend, this thread is not the place for this discussion about workings of a TC. However in the video you shared, the host specifically mentions 2 clutches being used in modern TCs and more importantly, drop the notion of a clutch as a device. Think of it as a concept.

A clutch is a mechanical or non-mechanical entity which is used to isolate the transmission from the engine. It can be fully mechanical, fully fluid based or a combination of both. This is what I meant by a TC not having a "Clutch" in the traditional sense.

If you want to discuss more, please message me privately. Lets not clutter this thread with a nerd discussion

[archat68]

As someone who drives two AMT cars I can vouch that AMT is not all that bad. It is not suited for enthusiastic drivers. It can drive well in city bumper to bumper traffic as well as highways.

However, it takes a bit of time to get adjusted to the gear shifting pattern and with more and more driving you know when you have to have "let off" the accelerator to up shift the gear or you have just press hard to remain in the gear to overtake.

Most people who mostly drives a manual drives a AMT car for an hour or two and feels it's awefull. I again reiterate it takes time to adjust and even after that it has its negatives. But it can be lived with.

[jasjotbains]

I checked with my Tata dealership and the response was pretty quick and good! The SA has, over phone, informed that delivery of my now 90% shortlisted XZA+D can be taken within 6-8 weeks of booking. This puts the delivery in end December - Jan starting category if I book it this weekend.

Should I bite the bullet and book one, or wait it out till December end to get some discounts? With the chip-shortage, I honestly do not expect much discounts but somehow a surprise may come up from somewhere.

I am yet to test drive both Sonet and Nexon, but at 1.5 lacs more expensive with a TC gearbox, ventilated seats but compromised safety, my preference towards Sonet is not very high. Will test drive both of them this weekend though.

[itsmeparvathy9]

Originally Posted by ashvek3141

As the title suggest, many BHPians might be going through, or must have been through in choosing a car in this particular segment.

Introduction
Hello BHPians!, First of all, I would like to thank you for making me a part of Team-BHP and admitting me into the forum. My name is Parvathy and I am in search of an Automatic Transmission Compact SUV as well, I am a from the rural parts of Thrissur, Kerala where the roads are almost non-existent during the monsoons, so a vehicle with a higher ground clearance was a must for me.

Current Scenario
All my family members (4 of them including me) are on the shorter side (Me being the shortest at just 5 feet) with the tallest member just 5 feet 5 inches tall. We have a Honda City CVT Automatic and a Renault Kwid AMT in our home, but the former is always with my dad. We bought the Kwid just so me and my mom could learn to drive but went on to keep it for 5 years! So after having driven a few other vehicles and being unhappy with the AMT transmission in the Kwid, we decided to let it go!

Requirements
So, we are now on the lookout for an SUV with
1. Budget 15 lakhs on road in Thrissur Kerala, extendable to 20 lakhs if it meets all our requirements perfectly!
2. At least 180mm of ground clearance
3. Ability to seat 4 of us comfortably (most SUVs can do that I suppose!)
4. A Proper Automatic Gearbox (no AMT)
5. Rear Camera
6. Good Fuel Efficiency (Any fuel is fine too!)
7. Fit and finish should be top notch
8. NVH levels should be too high.
9. ABS.EBD,TC,ESP,Hill Hold Control
10. Rear AC Vents

I would like your thoughts on this and bring in all your valuable suggestions!

Originally Posted by searacer932

I would suggest if your running is high (>2000 kms/months) then go with Sonet Diesel AT or if your running is low then go with Brezza K15C AT.

Sorry about that! Newbie here My running is low, hardly 5000 km a year but I expect it to improve going forward and I am open to a diesel because of the mileage and better power and torque figures diesels have over petrols. Thank you for reply and yes, the KIA Sonet Diesel AT does feel like it ticks all the right boxes especially with the price difference between corresponding variants of Petrol Automatic and Diesel Automatic being just Rs.60,000/- or so. The Brezza looks good too, but I am not so sure whether the fit and finish and plastic quality are something to write home about, moreover the 103bhp engine and just 138nm of torque on tap doesn't feel exciting to me.

[searacer932]

Originally Posted by itsmeparvathy9

Introduction


I would like your thoughts on this and bring in all your valuable suggestions!

I don't know your running/month.

I would suggest if your running is high (>2000 kms/months) then go with Sonet Diesel AT or if your running is low then go with Brezza K15C AT.

[searacer932]

Originally Posted by itsmeparvathy9

Sorry about that! Newbie here My running is low, hardly 5000 km a year but I expect it to improve going forward and I am open to a diesel because of the mileage and better power and torque figures diesels have over petrols. Thank you for reply and yes, the KIA Sonet Diesel AT does feel like it ticks all the right boxes especially with the price difference between corresponding variants of Petrol Automatic and Diesel Automatic being just Rs.60,000/- or so. The Brezza looks good too, but I am not so sure whether the fit and finish and plastic quality are something to write home about, moreover the 103bhp engine and just 138nm of torque on tap doesn't feel exciting to me.

Honestly for that kind of running you should be looking at only Petrol and trust me for Kerala highways the Brezza AT would be more than sufficient

If you want a better fit and finish vehicle then consider one of the following
1. Seltos IVT (but a 3* only rated car in GNCAP test)
2. Creta IVT (same as above)
3. Toyota HyRyder/Suzuki Grand Vitara K15C AT (should at least be 4* rated if not more) - Better fit and finish than Brezza but the same engine as that of Brezza.

P.S : I am not suggesting any DCT/DSG or the Skoda/VW twins considering their unreliability!

If you want a fill it, shut it, forget it kind of vehicles in automatic category then go ahead with traditional torque convertors or CVTs/IVTs!