[benu9714]

Hello

I need to find a replacement for my wife's Hyundai i10 - it had to be sold recently because it was nearly 13 years old and had developed problems.

My wife has laid down a set of specifications, which must be met :

- New car, not used.
- SUV, or a car with a high, upright driver's seat, not a sedan.
- As small as possible - definitely not over 4 meters, and not a 7-seater.
- A "proper" (her word) automatic, maybe a CVT, but definitely not an AMT or even a ASG in which a manual gearbox is shifted by electronic control.
- Petrol or diesel, but not electric. (I am the one who takes care of fuel, and I can't be bothered monitoring charge level and recharging the car. There is no charging point in the underground basement of my building where the car will be parked.)
- Cost up to Rs 15 lakhs on-road is OK.
- Colour - red.
- Usual features - power steering, power windows, rear (+ front, if possible) camera, good size touch screen etc. No need for sunroof and other fancy gadgets.

I will need the car in December or a little later, but I will be abroad in Oct-Nov, hence I would like to choose the car during September, and maybe book it if needed.

Please could someone suggest the best buy for these specs? Thanks

[raptor_diwan]

Originally Posted by benu9714

specifications, which must be met :

- New car, not used.
- SUV, or a car with a high, upright driver's seat,
- As small as possible
- maybe a CVT,
- Petrol or diesel,
- Cost up to Rs 15 lakhs on-road is OK.
- Colour - red.
- Usual features - power steering, power windows, rear (+ front, if possible) camera, good size touch screen etc. No need for sunroof and other fancy gadgets.

Nissan Magnite ticks all the boxes, talking about CVT gearboxes, there are only a handful of cars available, and when it comes to SUV stances in a compact form, options like the Kiger or Magnite would be ideal choices.

[BleueNinja]

Originally Posted by benu9714

Hello


- New car, not used.
- SUV, or a car with a high, upright driver's seat, not a sedan.
- As small as possible - definitely not over 4 meters, and not a 7-seater.
- A "proper" (her word) automatic, maybe a CVT, but definitely not an AMT or even a ASG in which a manual gearbox is shifted by electronic control.
- Petrol or diesel, but not electric. (I am the one who takes care of fuel, and I can't be bothered monitoring charge level and recharging the car. There is no charging point in the underground basement of my building where the car will be parked.)
- Cost up to Rs 15 lakhs on-road is OK.
- Colour - red.
- Usual features - power steering, power windows, rear (+ front, if possible) camera, good size touch screen etc. No need for sunroof and other fancy gadgets.

I would suggest Maruti Suzuki Brezza.

• Smooth Torque Converter gearbox
• Frugal and smooth engine.
• Reliable and easy to maintain
• Pretty good set of features
• Built on previous gen platform which was rated well for safety as well.

Along with above set of features it will come within your budget as well and in colour Red.

The only disadvantage i see with brezza is that it doesn't come with the most eye catchy interiors but definitely gets the job done. It's Functional.

Another option that you can check out is Kia Sonet which has a TC gearbox, good ground clearance, feature loaded and three engine options but safety rating is unknown. It definitely has better interiors than brezza.

[DCEite]

Your requirements scream Nexon Facelift 2024. Should be releaseing by mid of September itself.

Ticks most of the boxes. The variant you should consider is the 1.2 Turbo Petrol with DCT.

[amit_purohit20]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Your requirements scream Nexon Facelift 2024. Should be releaseing by mid of September itself.

Ticks most of the boxes. The variant you should consider is the 1.2 Turbo Petrol with DCT.

My choice too-
1) Its safe
2) Its compact
3) Its coming with DCT which has wet clutch and planetary gearbox - chances of higher reliability than regular DCT configuration like DSG. Also its not tuned for performance shifts so should be reliable.
4) Fresh model gives a feel good factor.
5) Additonal features with new model like a better touch screen etc can be a selling factor for your wife.
6) Vehicle is sold in high numbers so getting parts and maintenance should be easy.

If not Nexon my next choice would be Brezza automatic.

[SixPistons]

IMO, I would stay away from the Korean Sisters(Sonet/Venue). My i20 N Line DCT barely gets me 13kmpl on a very good day. Generally it hovers around 10 - 11.5 kmpl.

Today’s approx 22km run from my Grandparents’ place gave me 9.9 kmpl. This was a completely city drive with medium, all moving traffic.

The Venue, Sonet and i20 carry the same 1.0 Turbo GDi Motor in their performance guise with DCT/iMT.
The drive experience otherwise is good.

I would strongly consider (In decreasing order):

1. Brezza 1.5+TC (Interior feels a bit dated; overall a good product)
2. Fronx 1.0 Turbo+ TC (Must check out this Cross-Over once)
3. Nexon DCT (If you can wait for some time)

[Superleggera]

Please check Nissan Magnite, i just booked one this week. It has a balanced combination of power, technology, comfort and looks.

[OpenRoads]

Here are the two choices which your wife should definitely try

1. Kia Sonet HTX AT ( 6 speed TC 1.5l diesel engine) < 15 laks OTR

2. Maruti Brezza ( 6 speed TC 1.5l petrol engine)

Both are compact, efficient and has very good after sales. Test drive multiple times before deciding.

I would not recommend DCT (venue or sonet petrol) varients for peice of mind and brands whose future is questionable ( Nissan magnite)

[Raghav07]

Here are some cars which you should considerL

1. Seltos/Creta 1.5 IVT
2. Sonet Diesel AT
3. Kushaq 1.0 AT

[vattyboy]

When someone asks me to recommend a car for their female members of the household, I always advise Hyundai or Kia. The automobiles of these brands are generally niggle free and require less maintenance i.e. 1 service a year and you are good to go.

Go for Sonet Diesel Automatic

Reasons-

1. Proper Torque converter Automatic.
2. Very good fuel efficiency.
3. Promising power on tap, fast on open roads.
4. Your missis will find it easy to drive inside the city due to its size i.e. under 4m.
5. Packed up to the brim with features.
6. Low service costs.

Your wife will steer the car to the city at a slow pace so you don't have to look for a 5-star rating car.

[matchvan]

Greetings,

Having been in the same dilemma and having scouted for the same for almost 6 months, my choice is JIMNY ZETA AT, i.e if you have good convincing skills.

Else as everyone suggested go for Nissan Kicks or for trouble free ownership and better service support, Brezza it is.

Koreans ask more money for the cars they give, so no VFM there.

You can look at the Elevate as well.

In my experience the options for a proper AT are very limited.

So we got, myself/Wife/daughter a Jimny Alpha AT as a second car and also for occasional Solo rides.

Drive Safe.

[bijims]

Go for the Kia Sonet HTX Diesel AT, It is powerful, torquey, and frugal and comes with a smooth 6-speed Torque Converter AT. It now gets 3-year maintenance and a 5-year extended warranty for free too. It will definitely provide you with a smooth and niggle free ownership experience.

The next best option would be the Maruti Brezza ZXI AT, with a 6-speed TC AT, good mileage, adequate feature set, wide service network, and the reliability of Maruti, you can never go wrong with it.

The last option is one, which has just launched, with prices to be revealed by mid-September, the new Nexon with 1.2 Litre Turbo Petrol and DCT gearbox, do check it out before finalizing

Hope it helps!

[jomyboy]

You can go for the new Kiger Urban Night Edition. It comes with a Smart Mirror Monitor which doubles as an interior rear view mirror with adjustable view angles and monitor for front & rear camera recording with wireless smartphone connectivity for downloading recorded content. I don't see any other car in this segment offering front and rear cameras? I wish I had waited a month or two for this edition. The CVT turbo is fun and easy to drive as well.

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by benu9714

My wife has laid down a set of specifications, which must be met :

- New car, not used.
- SUV, or a car with a high, upright driver's seat, not a sedan.
- As small as possible - definitely not over 4 meters, and not a 7-seater.
- A "proper" (her word) automatic, maybe a CVT, but definitely not an AMT or even a ASG in which a manual gearbox is shifted by electronic control.
- Petrol or diesel, but not electric. (I am the one who takes care of fuel, and I can't be bothered monitoring charge level and recharging the car. There is no charging point in the underground basement of my building where the car will be parked.)
- Cost up to Rs 15 lakhs on-road is OK.
- Colour - red.
- Usual features - power steering, power windows, rear (+ front, if possible) camera, good size touch screen etc. No need for sunroof and other fancy gadgets.

I will need the car in December or a little later, but I will be abroad in Oct-Nov, hence I would like to choose the car during September, and maybe book it if needed.

Seems like your query can just in-time where there are slew of launches in the sub 4m SUV segment.

You could look at the following cars and see what fulfils your requirement to the max.

1. Nexon Facelift - Already revealed and to be launched on 14th Sept. Packs a whole lotta stuff and the icing on the cake is the 1.2 turbo + DCT which will surely make for a sweet combo. This is the car which will be readily available in September.

2. Sonet Facelift - Another solid choice which varied engine and gearbox combo. If you're running is high, you can pick the beautiful D AT combo. Trust me, it's a gem of a combo! However, expect this car to come somewhere in late October or November.

3. XUV 300 Facelift - A spacious car and the facelift will surely have good amount of features thrown in; but you'll have to compromise on the boot space. Launch expected towards the end of this year as it's already undergoing testing. The turbo petrol is expected to come in DCT / TC combo. However, Diesel will be offered in AMT.

4. Brezza AT - The jack of all trades! A decent offering from Maruti but slightly pricier for what it offers. I don't quite feel it is VFM anymore as was the earlier USP of Maruti cars. However, you cannot go wrong with the tried and tested NA engine with a TC gearbox. Decently spacious too.

[PaddleShifter]

Appears to be a mainly Point A to point B travel, fill it, shut it, forget it kind of use case scenario where you need a reliable sub-4m automatic SUV under 15 lacs.

As others have also recommended, Sonet and Brezza should be your top choices considering better probability of availing good service. You’ve mentioned that you take care of refueling the car timely. I guess servicing the car would also be your responsibility. There are multiple service centers for these brands in each city in contrast to Nissan/Renault. This is the reason why I have not mentioned Magnite/Kiger. Maruti offers service on wheels facility and the same must be available with Hyundai/Kia too I guess (not sure).

Your final call should be to select the type of fuel:
1. Petrol- Get Brezza (my recommendation)
2. Diesel- Get Sonet

I wouldnt recommend diesel cars due to the DPF related niggles reported by many owners.