[confusedbuyer80]

Thanks a lot. Appreciate your feedback. In that case, I would finalize between Sonet and Venue after taking Sonet TD.

Happy with the features they provide and of course, I find them more appealing than Baleno. FE is a mirage I believe I should not chase when looking for cars that give road presence and feel good to own

[epiccross]

Originally Posted by confusedbuyer80

Thanks a lot. Appreciate your feedback. In that case, I would finalize between Sonet and Venue after taking Sonet TD.

Happy with the features they provide and of course, I find them more appealing than Baleno. FE is a mirage I believe I should not chase when looking for cars that give road presence and feel good to own

Oh absolutely. Road presence wise Baleno is not that great, but I just took a TD of Baleno automatic and it's pretty good! Nicely tuned engine, suspension and throttle response. I just like how you get all that plus pretty decent FE for a petrol. But yes if you're looking for CSUV form factor, I don't think you can go wrong with either! It's your pick

[shubham7799]

Hello Folks,

My father is retiring from a PSU next year and is planning to purchase a car which shall be an upgrade from the following

1. Maruti Alto k10 Vxi 2012 - Bought new in 2012 and sold last month with 48K KM in 10 years

2. Tata Indica Vista Aura 1.3 Quadrajet 2011 - Bought used in 2019 and has done 35000 KM since then as my ride. Still in a good condition, but replacement being planned since the 10 year diesel rule in and spares are becoming tougher to procure. Plus, being a discontinued Tata, it is not a customer magnet in the used car space.

Dad loves to travel but has a diametrically opposite view from me on the mode of transport. Not very keen on road trips and trusts the Railways more than any other mode for inter city travels.

He prefers Scooty to car for his daily office commute of 3 KM to avoid traffic and parking woes and goes for online deliveries for everything ranging from groceries to jewellery.

The car will only be bought for the sake of having a car in the household, for say doctor's visit, family functions or any other local visits where mother has to accompany him, since she does not sit on a two wheeler.

My requirements

1. Petrol Engine - Given the low running, which shall drop further with dad retiring.
2. Usage - 90% City + 10% Highway trips(not exceeding 500 KMs)
3. Seating - High, since Mom suffers from pain in lower back and knee
4. Transmission - No specific preference, though Automatic will be an advantage
5. Budget - Though not a constraint, I would rather not splurge since I stay in a different city and a bigger car simply parked in the porch for once in a while 10 KM run in the city makes marginal sense to me financially. As of now, we are keeping it at 10 Lac, with a blanket of 2 to 3 Lac more
6. Ownership - New. No used cars.
7. Dimension - Sub 4 meter
8. Safe - Although I do not expect the safety equipment being tested due to low running, but firmly believe that one is never too safe on any road.
9. Fuss free ownership

Options considered and test driven in no particular order

1. WagonR 1.2 ZXi - Probably the best option for the usage and running, but rejected outright by mother on the basis of looks.

2. Tata Nexon XM+(S) - Offers everything and shall be an upgrade. Maintenance due to low running + Tata service + Turbo issues(if any) are holding me back. Also, long waiting period isn't helping matters.

3. Maruti Brezza - The Vxi variant looks VFM but too bare bones when compared against the ZXi. The ZXi costs a little less than INR 13 Lac in Lucknow with a waiting of 2+ months.

4. Maruti Ignis Alpha - Another good option, but felt cramped

5. Toyota Urban Cruiser(Discontinued model) - This one was at the top of the list, but no stock in any variant in Lucknow. If available, we are ready to go for any trim.

6. Mahindra XUV300 W8 - Good car but simply overpriced. For the same price, I can get a Nexon XZ+. Also, A$$ experience.

7. Baleno / Glanza - Rejected by mom due to low seat.

8. Kia Sonet 1.2 HTX - Good car, decent drive, the only negative was that the horn sounded annoyingly loud on the inside. Also, body-shell stability of the Seltos/Creta do not instill confidence.

9. Hyundai Venue 1.2 SX - Same observations as the Sonet.

10. Maruti S-Cross - The only car for which the sub 4 meter criterion could have been skipped. But sadly, no stocks.

The options from Honda, Renault were not considered because of their shaky plans for India.

As of now, we are left with
1. Ignis
2. Brezza VXi
3. Nexon XM+ (S)
4. Nexon XZ+ (Since not much of a price difference and the feature set will keep it relevant for the next 10 years)
5. Kia Sonet 1.2 HTX

Members, please help me make a choice and point out any options that I may have skipped.

Unlike my dad, I have a different perspective. I just love driving and would like the car to have the features and power to take on the highways when needed. Frankly, of the combined running of 75K KM of both the cars in the household, 65K+ have been done by me. However, I have relocated and won't be home to do justice to the car bought in terms of driving.

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by shubham7799

Hello Folks,

My father is retiring from a PSU next year and is planning to purchase a car which shall be an upgrade from the following.

Let him TD Punch AMT, he'll love the compact dimensions, and being an automatic, he'll love the convenience of a scooty.

I'm 62, and my garage consists of
'82 Bajaj super.
'15 Jupiter, 17k km.
'16 Nano AMT, 31k km.
'18 Nexon D AMT, 15k km.
Just love driving, next change a Thar AT.

[Prelude83]

Since I am looking for a compact SUV I have taken test ride of most of the cars mentioned here - my favourite is Tata Nexon .
My requirement was compact petrol SUV with Automatic transmission
Following are my observations

Breeza 2022- Ruled out due to higher price of top variant and not so premium interior.

Venue facelift - Ruled out because the car dosent look like a SUV - looks more like a hatchback .

Sonet - Was impressed with the interior but ruled out due to poor suspension setup . My 6 year old Kwid has a better suspension - the engine was not smooth as well . Badly wanted the car to excel in test drive but unfortunately the car didn't pass my test .

Kiger - Interior matrials were of very poor quality to consider it seriously- Renault is persistently poor in interior quality of its cars . The center console design looks like an as after market copy of Nexon .

Magnite - I was so much impressed with the car that I almost made up my mind to buy it inspite of limited Nissan after sales service outlets .
Magnite in my opinion has the best Automatic gear box amongst its rivals and Nissan engineers have done wonderful job in tuning the gearbox with the engine - resulting in a smoothest drive among the rivals .
The suspension was not at all bad as mentioned by several reviewers.
However there was one aspect which spoilt the deal - the steering has centring problem -I heard Nisaan has rectified the steering problem - I test rode the car for two hours - the steering centering is still not reliable - at times it does centre as expected and it dosent at others - until this problem is fully rectified I had to reject the car which was otherwise my favourite.

XUV 300 - This was another impressive SUV - wonderful engine, best ride quality overall among rivals and well tuned AMT - still rejected due to the following
1 Ground clearance of 180 ! Too less for a SUV
2 Center console looks dated
3 Lack of Drive modes
4 Nexon gives more SUV fell due to its higher sitting position .

Tata Nexon -
This was my final choice because of the following
1 Wonderful steering response
2 Wonderful suspension
3 good quality of materials used
I think the best thing about Nexon is that there was nothing in Nexon thats a deal breaker - Nexon in second best /third best in all aspects where it is not the best .
The bad things about Nexon that I observed were
-
1 The engine was not as refined as XUV or Magnite and was noisy at times - but the deficiency was too minimal to be considered a deal breaker.

2 The gear shifts were felt in first two gears - irritating but not significant enough to be considered as a deal breaker.

Whith this I think Nexon offers the best compromise available today .
However Magnite would have been my favourite if not for its steering problem ( the sales representative persistently told that the steering problem has been corrected - but didn't pass my test ) .

[FireBlade]

Originally Posted by Prelude83

Tata Nexon -
This was my final choice

Great choice, I must say

Magnite also visibly doesn't offer the same road presence or width/height as Nexon. Nexon is the "king of all compact SUVs", IMO. And its sales figure proves that.

[giri1.8]

Giving my inputs about our recent purchase. We recently bought Grand vitara Sigma for my dad, he still drives 20k km minimum per year and has been extremely happy with the car.

Pros:
-Superb ground clearance, commanding seating position.
- Good ride and handling balance
- Good mileage and light controls.
- Base version is well loaded for the price.
- Superb engine refinement and low end torque.
Cons:
- Engine is a bit of a letdown on narrow highways.
- Best for 4 passengers and a child. Narrow cabin.
- Doors feel super light, tailgate and bonnet are decent.

[gandharjc]

Originally Posted by shubham7799

As of now, we are left with
1. Ignis
2. Brezza VXi
3. Nexon XM+ (S)
4. Nexon XZ+ (Since not much of a price difference and the feature set will keep it relevant for the next 10 years)
5. Kia Sonet 1.2 HTX

1) Brezza
2) Nexon

Brezza AT would offer you you a proper TC AT, alongwith a decent crash rating. Nexon is definitely safer, but the AMT would be jerky; and more pronounced in city drives.
Plus, MSIL cars have better resale value, and more # of service stations.

[Gaur]

Originally Posted by shubham7799

Hello Folks,

My father is retiring from a PSU next year and is planning to purchase a car which shall be an upgrade from the following

Try the Punch MT/AMT.

If needed you can get the top end AMT dual tone as well in your budget.
A close senior citizen family member replaced his Skoda Rapid TDI with Punch AMT top end and seems to be happy.

Of course the engine is a bit dud but something your dad can easily adjust to, best part is the space and seating, fairly comfortable ingress/egress for elderly folks.

Top it with 5 Star Safety rating.

[AROO7]

Originally Posted by shubham7799

As of now, we are left with
1. Ignis
2. Brezza VXi
3. Nexon XM+ (S)
4. Nexon XZ+ (Since not much of a price difference and the feature set will keep it relevant for the next 10 years)
5. Kia Sonet 1.2 HTX

Buddy you can definitely drop Ignis from the list, reason poor crash test performance. Avoid Tata because the service intervals are short and its petrol+AMT is not the best combo. In case of Sonet the diesel+AT is the best, rest all powertrain can be given a pass. Have driven both the Nexon and Sonet in above guise so telling from my experience.

In your case I would suggest going for an EV will be best as usage will be limited and predictable. Plus very easy to drive and no major servicing needed. EVs to consider in no particular order, Tiago EV, Tigor EV(update expected soon so keep an eye out for it), and Nexon EV.

If not comfortable with either then I suggest checking the Kushaq and Taigun twin in 1.0L TSI+AT guise. Compare both with Brezza and choose between these.

Hope this helps

[arjungod]

Originally Posted by shubham7799

As of now, we are left with
1. Ignis
2. Brezza VXi
3. Nexon XM+ (S)
4. Nexon XZ+ (Since not much of a price difference and the feature set will keep it relevant for the next 10 years)
5. Kia Sonet 1.2 HTX

I would suggest the Brezza Vxi automatic over the Nexon since it offers a proper automatic and a relatively fuss free ownership compared to the nexon.

[NarediAni7518]

My father is retiring from a PSU next year and is planning to purchase a car which shall be an upgrade from the following

I think you should definitely go ahead with the Brezza here. Since your call will be having low running and it’ll be used by your dad sparingly, a naturally-aspirated motor will definitely age better with time and lesser complications. It’ll be more simpler to live with. Plus, it being a Brezza, you don’t need to worry about the build quality as Brezza is one of the safest Maruti Suzuki products on offer today (and definitely safer than a venue/Sonet) and it being a Maruti you don’t have to worry about anything I suppose. It’ll be a simple fill-it-shut-it-forget-it car. All the best for your purchase.

[NarediAni7518]

Originally Posted by shubham7799

As of now, we are left with
1. Ignis
2. Brezza VXi
3. Nexon XM+ (S)
4. Nexon XZ+ (Since not much of a price difference and the feature set will keep it relevant for the next 10 years)
5. Kia Sonet 1.2 HTX

I think you should definitely go ahead with the Brezza here. Since your call will be having low running and it’ll be used by your dad sparingly, a naturally-aspirated motor will definitely age better with time and lesser complications. It’ll be more simpler to live with. Plus, it being a Brezza, you don’t need to worry about the build quality as Brezza is one of the safest Maruti Suzuki products on offer today (and definitely safer than a venue/Sonet) and it being a Maruti you don’t have to worry about anything I suppose. It’ll be a simple fill-it-shut-it-forget-it car. All the best for your purchase.

[GreenerPlanet]

Originally Posted by confusedbuyer80

Thanks a lot. Appreciate your feedback. In that case, I would finalize between Sonet and Venue after taking Sonet TD.

Happy with the features they provide and of course, I find them more appealing than Baleno. FE is a mirage I believe I should not chase when looking for cars that give road presence and feel good to own

If you have not finalized a car yet, maybe you can also consider the gen4 Honda City.

The previous iteration of Honda City is still on sale starting from 9.99L (alnog with the new Gen5). It is superior to Sonet and Venue in my book and you get a trusty brand, 4* rated NCAP, full sized car.

[khanmaj]

Originally Posted by confusedbuyer80

Thanks a lot. Appreciate your feedback. In that case, I would finalize between Sonet and Venue after taking Sonet TD.

I bought a Sonet HTK+ imt last month. Its a feature rich car and offer more than the value. I initially compared Nexon, Venue, Brezza & Sonet but finally went for Sonet. IMT gearbox is really good not fully Auto or Manual. I would suggest you to do TD of both the Venue and Sonet imt and decide per your liking and convenient. Expect FE around 13-14 depending on driving style.