[2000rpm]

Hi Guys,

I am relocating to Mumbai and am looking to buy a new / used car.

I have historically been buying only used cars as my ownership cycle typically is 2-3 years, however I have a very tough dilemma which I am facing this time.

Here are my needs,

1. Reliable car: Fill it, shut it, forget it type cars. I don’t do a lot of DIY or love spending time in garages / service stations / 3M centers
2. Must have a sunroof: This is something I have been wanting for a long time, now may be the right time to go for it.
3. Needs to have good acceleration: I have owned a Civic, Swift 1.3 and a Palio in the past, so high revving petrols is what I love, but am open to any car with similar acceleration figures
4. Minimum 2 Airbags: More the merrier.
5. ABS Mandatory: additional features like EBD, etc. are good to have
6. Decent rear seat space
7. Mileage at least 10 kmpl in the city
8. The car must have decent ground clearance >180 mm at least (preparing for Mumbai rains)
9. Must have decent resale (as I will sell the car within 3 years)
10. Preferably an Automatic (not necessary condition)
11. Budget of <5 lakhs for used cars, upto 7 lakhs for new cars

Cars I have considered so far

1. 2010 I20 Asta (O) Sunroof model: unfortunately the car comes only in Petrol variant and I20 Petrol is not really a fun to drive car
2. 2007-2010 Honda CRV: The car meets all the criteria except the FE which is abysmally low (heard figures of 6 kmpl in city)
3. 2010-2012 Civics: The car meets all the requirements except the GC which was a pain when I owned the car
4. New WRV: Meets all the criteria but is priced way higher, will give me a fair resale hit
5. Ford Freestyle: Doesn’t have sunroof and may have very poor resale

Is there any Car-Variant option I have missed? Also from the criteria and the choices, you must have understood the dilemma I am facing. Please help!

[suhaas307]

Your requirements are a touch peculiar, if I'm honest.

Sunroof, spacious rear seat, reliable, good ground clearance, tight budget..

Phew!

The only car I can think of is a used City. I believe Honda sold the City with a sunroof and autobot in 2013 but I'm not a 100% certain. Still, you will have to make do with low ground clearance that could get lower under load.

I urge you to wait it out or stretch your budget, as there are several newer cars that meet your requirement. The EcoSport is one such example.

Do be ready to compromise in some way though.

[alpha1]

On a different note, you would be aware of the lack of space in Mumbai.
Would it be suitable if you look at the shorter vehicles? I am telling this based on first hand experience encountered extremely regularly for past 10 years - parking is really hard to find and it is getting worse with passing time!

On the other hand, if this is going to be a weekend vehicle then all your specifications are good.

[GTO]

Since you have experience with used cars, go the pre-owned route only. Mumbai is a huge market & there are mouth-watering deals on used cars here.

You can get an excellent Civic for 5 lakhs (and less). Also consider the Corolla or EcoSport TDCi. These are all very safe vehicles too. If you can extend your budget slightly, you could get a Jetta TDI which is one heck of a car!

[narayans80]

Here are few used options I can think of:

- 1st gen i10 Asta. These are quite rare, but do popup once a while in used market. BHPian blackasta owns this trim in the automatic avatar. Prices were in 2.5-3L range. FE will be around 8 kpl or worse in city.

- 4th gen City ZX - I do see these in the used market around, both in manual and automatic versions. Prices were around 7L. Ideally I would've suggested 3rd gen City, which has a better reputation, but the sunroof was introduced only with the 4th gen.

- 9G/10G Corolla petrols - Good entry prices (Few examples: 2010 G manual was being sold at 3.5L, 2008 G manual at 2.5L). Gets the basic safety features right. No sunroof. Regular services are pocket friendly. Spares would be expensive if anything were to fall apart. Can wade through minor waterlogging (100-250 mm rains), not designed to wade 944 mm. There are quite a few ownership experiences on this specific option, 2 dedicated ownership threads I can recollect from swami69 and asit kulkarni's. I'll admit these experiences were the motivating factors to buy a 2010 V AT last year.

PS: The prices are from my search in Madras last, these may different for Bombay.

[2000rpm]

Saw some corollas, the car is really built to last. Feels much more solid compared to the civic.

I am thinking of going for the CRV. Meets all my needs except the FE, which can be managed with a CNG. (inspires by FrankMehta's CNG conversion)

Anything specific to look out for in a CRV?

The problem with the CRV used car market is that you find a lot of cars in 2007 2008 period and then the supply just drops to almost zero. Found a few cars of 2012 vintage but the asking price qas really steep.

[AbhisheKulkarni]

I think the new Ford Ecosoport (with sun-roof) might be an excellent fit to your requirements, considering Mumbai rains and lack of parking space.

Your requirements related to decent rear seat space and good ground clearance might mean that you will have to stretch by quite a bit.

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by AbhisheKulkarni

I think the new Ford Ecosoport (with sun-roof) might be an excellent fit to your requirements, considering Mumbai rains and lack of parking space.

Your requirements related to decent rear seat space and good ground clearance might mean that you will have to stretch by quite a bit.

I can compromise on the rear seat space but want a good ground clearance.

I have also come across a few 2013 City ATs with sunroof. Hows the 3rd Gen city's ground clearance in real world condition compared to the 8th Gen Civic?