[sp2894]

Hi TeamBHP members,

This is my first post on the forum and it would help to get your advice on a crucial car purchase decision.

I will be moving back to my hometown (New Delhi) in a month's time and need a vehicle to do my daily commute from home to my office in Cyber Hub in Gurgaon. We are four people in the family and the two cars that we have currently are being used by my parents and my sister respectively.

Monday to Friday the vehicle will be used in bumper to bumper traffic for around 25 KMs one way. Hence, an automatic is a must.

I have been driving for the past 10 years and I am well versed with hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs. So, I am not fixated on the car type. However, only looking at 1st hand cars and not pre-worshipped.

At present, we have a 2020 Endeavour 3.2 and a Maruti Celerio at home. This new car is unlikely to see a lot of outstation family trips due to the presence of the Endeavour.

I have planned for a budget of around 15-18 Lacs (on road price)

Please do let me know if there are some good discounts/offers that I can look at.

[neeraj0272]

Honda City ZX CVT or City hybrid keeping in mind the long commute.
Pros:
1. Quick delivery
2. Quick delivery
3. Comfort
4. Chiller AC
5. Good sound system
6. Rather cheaper than other hyped compact SUVs
7. Very good mileage if driven above 40km/hr which you will be doing on Delhi-Gurgaon commute
8. I feel in the long run Turbo engine cars will be rather expensive to maintain compared to NA engines.

[GForceEnjoyer]

The Honda City ZX CVT will have you completely covered, so will the Ciaz automatic. However, if you desire a few other bells and whistles, the Hyundai Verna 1.5 CVT is also worth a look. A standout feature would be the ventilated seats which are a massive plus in Delhi's sweltering summers. It's not as comfortable as the City though. Test driving all three should help.

I'd not recommend the Slavia-Virtus twins since the DSG in the 1.5 TSI will take a serious beating in Delhi traffic and even the 1.0 TSI (with the Torque Converter) is by no means a slow sipper. Good luck with the decision.

[narayans80]

Have you thought about Tigor or Nexon EV?

Your commute only use case, presence of alternate cars, a good budget all make very good case for an EV. Since there is no longer journey involved, there isn't a case of range anxiety either. 2-3 times a week of overnight slow charging, would take care of your commute needs.

No need to worry about 10-15 year lifetime as in case of ICE cars in Delhi.

[GreasyCarb55]

Originally Posted by sp2894

Monday to Friday the vehicle will be used in bumper to bumper traffic for around 25 KMs one way. Hence, an automatic is a must.

At present, we have a 2020 Endeavour 3.2 and a Maruti Celerio at home. This new car is unlikely to see a lot of outstation family trips due to the presence of the Endeavour.

I have planned for a budget of around 15-18 Lacs (on road price)

Please do let me know if there are some good discounts/offers that I can look at.

Honda City ZX CVT Petrol (17.5 Lakh, on-road Delhi) tops this list in terms of petrol powered cars in this segment, I speak from personal experience as my father's daily driver is a 2017 Honda City ZX CVT, the Hybrid is too expensive IMO as that sits at 22 Lakh on-road Delhi.

I'd avoid the Hyundai Verna DCT and Virtus/Slavia as those cars have DCT's which aren't really known to be reliable in Indian conditions, especially with the cheaper cars.

You can also look into getting a hatchback or C-SUV like the Tata Punch or Tata Altroz i-Turbo.

If it's gonna be a purely city vehicle you could eliminate petrol altogether and go for an EV, a Nexon EV or Tigor EV would fit perfectly into your budget.

[Rajeevraj]

15-18 Lakhs is 'sweet spot' budget and your requirements are fairly genric and can be satisfied by pretty much any car starting from the premium hatches, compact SUVs , C segment sedan segments.

Suggest to think through some of your additional requirements and expectations ( preferred brands, priority for specific features, safety elements, drivability factors, type of Automatic, any exclusivity requirements etc..) and based on that do some test drives and then shortlist cars you like.

[GTO]

Your use case is just PERFECT for a Nexon EV. Great styling, zero emissions, awesome refinement & wicked acceleration. I think the regular Nexon EV will be ideal for you, although the newer Max variant is available if you want more range. Plug it into a regular 15A socket every 2 - 3 days and you're all set. Go on, do your bit to lower Delhi's pollution levels . And while at it, you will have fun. Take a test-drive, you'll be a convert.

Among the conventional choices, it's either the Honda City CVT or any of the new-age crossovers.

[NarediAni7518]

I would suggest you to go check out the Honda city, and if your budget is flexible then stretch out for the hybrid city. It’s a great comfortable product, and Honda city is made for the “City” as in its comfortable, reliable, fill-it-shut-it-forget-it vehicle and drives well too.

[sp2894]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

A couple of points to get more specific with the requirements-

1. Will not be able to go for EV due to our current dwellings

2. In terms of features, 4-6 Airbags are must have, would be great to have ventilated seats, physical dials instead of touch based AC controls, smooth automatic with minimal rubber band effect.. Others like Sunroof etc are not a priority at all

3. Hyundai Verna is good but severely space constrained.

4. Although I am a fan of the Creta and the Seltos, I am not looking to get something extremely common on Delhi roads.

5. Also, I cannot wait for 3-4 months for the delivery. Hence, the quicker the better.

[speedfreak77]

Knowing how bad the traffic is in the capital city of India, I always suggest to go for something which is small, quick and is easily manoeuvrable. Considering you don’t want the hatchbacks, and keeping in mind all the features you enlisted, Hyundai Verna is a perfect choice but again the space constraint will be a big issue for you. If you can stretch your budget a little, you can buy the Elantra and I don’t think you can go wrong with that car. Nearly 17 lakhs for the Verna so you can also look at more options like the mammoth Harrier or a MG Astor. I would ask you to stay away from the German brands because 25km daily in bumper to bumper will cause troubles in the DSG gearbox. Plus these cars run better with higher octane fuel because normal petrol doesn’t suit them. All in all, a better package is the Creta but again its your taste and preference. I would suggest you to take a test drive of Harrier, Creta, Verna and Seltos. You don’t need want an EV but in my eyes, the Nexon EV is a great choice and will tick all the boxes.

[AZT]

The new Maruti Brezza is launching on the 30th. It’s got a 6 speed AT and the usual bells and whistles. A friend postponed his buying decision just to check out this car. Maruti should give good mileage and this one is also launching with a CNG variant incase you are inclined towards that.

[Chitta Pradhan]

Check Magnite CVT. It's quite peppy with minimal rubber band effect. It's feature loaded too. For congested city drive, CVTs are the best.

[charanreddy]

50 KM round trip bumper to bumper will cost you a bomb interms of fuel costs. An EV is godsend for your use case but as you have mentioned , your residential place does not give you that flexibiiity. The next best thing is a hybrid and only City Hybrid ticks all the boxes for you.

Another alternative is to go for a cheaper petrol car and spend f the money on fuel, but better stretch for the city hybrid as you intend to retain this car for many years

[nTorq]

Originally Posted by sp2894

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

A couple of points to get more specific with the requirements-

1. Will not be able to go for EV due to our current dwellings

2. In terms of features, 4-6 Airbags are must have, would be great to have ventilated seats, physical dials instead of touch based AC controls, smooth automatic with minimal rubber band effect.. Others like Sunroof etc are not a priority at all

3. Hyundai Verna is good but severely space constrained.

4. Although I am a fan of the Creta and the Seltos, I am not looking to get something extremely common on Delhi roads.

5. Also, I cannot wait for 3-4 months for the delivery. Hence, the quicker the better.

With these points (except ventilated seats), I don’t think you have any other option apart from the City! And if you don’t need the fancy bells and whistles, you can even go for the base (V) variant, and save a few lakhs.

[kvsneela]

Among the stalwarts , I will give a different idea. As you have mentioned yourself that you don't require this car for outstation family trips but only for commuting purpose, why you want to buy a 3 box sedan with third box unnessarily tagging along to and fro 25 kms one-way that too in a city like Delhi . Look for something like Nios AMT ,which, in my circle, 2 people vouch for comfort and ease of operation.