[CJP]

Originally Posted by condor

Suggest to consider one point here: Post retirement, how much do you plan to drive in the city ?

The Hybrids score higher in city traffic than on the highway. Hence, if the running will some in city but more outside, then the higher cost of the Hybrid will be less justified.

Agree with you Condor - post retirement, our usage will be constrained mostly to the local area, perhaps some cross town trips to meet friends or family. My driving patterns will change in about two years. Which is probably why the suggestion to 'wait a bit' makes sense.

And you are right, Hybrids (e.g. Hycross / Camry) are perhaps only justified when there are daily city runs. For longer trips, am quite sure the more frugal diesels or even turbo petrols might be winners.

Unless of course the plugin pure electrics and the availability to charging stations across the country - both improve dramatically. The former in range and the latter in availability.

Imagine, trying to charge the car at Spiti!! Just thinking of that gives me the heebie-jeebies

[condor]

Originally Posted by CJP

Imagine, trying to charge the car at Spiti!! Just thinking of that gives me the heebie-jeebies

Man, you are thinking far ... I get the creeps just thinking of asking my relatives if I can charge an electric car at their place. Forget the villages I go to (where 15A sockets arent available), even my cousins' houses in the towns dont have an accessible 15A point to charge from !

[souvikjana83]

Originally Posted by CJP

The car (rather companion) we need:
Hence a companion on our travels needs to be built to last, reasonably free of drama or need for roadside assistance - reliable as our Innova has been, simple enough to fix in most states without the need for brain surgeons or rocket scientists.

Fairly cheap to run (hence the preference for Diesel), torquey enough and have basic 4x4 capability to drive on relatively bad roads without having to replace our teeth or reset our bones.

We are aiming here for being able to get from point A to point B at relatively decent speeds, safely. Safety is a priority. Something that does not stand out and scream 'look at me' is also another factor.

Good seating, front row for the most part, quiet cabin, sorted suspension and air conditioning. Space to carry a couple of cases and some bits and pieces. And of course full size spare too!

And finally of course the price - under Rs.40L would be great, even at Rs.40L we will be splurging, but our IFA (independent financial advisor) says that is ok and we will not be left in penury after this purchase.

If I summarise your requirements, these will be in order of priority:
1. Safety
2. Comfort (Suspension and Air Conditioning)
3. Reliable
4. High Mileage (Lower Running Cost)

Ideally Hyundai Tuscon Diesel should be your preference since it will be close to all your requirements.

But I will also recommend you to check out one car before making your purchase decision. It will be MG Astor Turbo AT. It has good looks which don't scream, solid build quality (unlike Hyundai), very comfortable seats at front and back (middle one is less comfortable), superb suspension, very quite cabin, high interior quality, lot of great features, great air conditioning. You might lose on mileage figures of diesel but at half the price of your budget, you can invest the remaining amount to balance out the extra spending on fuel. On reliability front, while I have heard bad stories about Hector, I haven't heard any regarding Astor. Please do check it out and do test drive to see if it meets most of your requirements.

[mgastor2022grey]

Originally Posted by souvikjana83

If I summarise your requirements, these will be in order of priority:
1. Safety
2. Comfort (Suspension and Air Conditioning)
3. Reliable
4. High Mileage (Lower Running Cost)

Ideally Hyundai Tuscon Diesel should be your preference since it will be close to all your requirements.

But I will also recommend you to check out one car before making your purchase decision. It will be MG Astor Turbo AT. It has good looks which don't scream, solid build quality (unlike Hyundai), very comfortable seats at front and back (middle one is less comfortable), superb suspension, very quite cabin, high interior quality, lot of great features, great air conditioning. You might lose on mileage figures of diesel but at half the price of your budget, you can invest the remaining amount to balance out the extra spending on fuel. On reliability front, while I have heard bad stories about Hector, I haven't heard any regarding Astor. Please do check it out and do test drive to see if it meets most of your requirements.

Absolutely what I would recommend! I have an Astor and I'm quite impressed with it. It is a lovely car. Mileage is not that bad, mine gives around 13-14 kmpl (CVT). Great car to drive inside the city. Check it out before decision..

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by CJP

Hello folks,

Our 14 going on 15 year old Innova Diesel has covered over 2,75,000 KM this year, I bought it in 2009...

We are aiming here for being able to get from point A to point B at relatively decent speeds, safely. Safety is a priority. Something that does not stand out and scream 'look at me' is also another factor.

After 15 years with Innova, no car would satisfy you other than a INNOVA

Don't worry about diesel mileage, go for Innova Hycross Hybrid. Milewage-wise it should be closer and NGT headache won't be there. Being a Toyota should be reliable enough for your considered timeframe(15 years) but you already know that being a Toyota Owner.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by CJP

My wife and I have ambitions of travelling around the country...

I have tried to capture primary requirements from your end - kindly add/modify, as needed:

• Reliable - so as to not break down in the middle of nowhere
• Durable - to last you 15+ years
• Safe - goes without saying
• Wide service network - since you intend to travel far and wide
• Comfortable - essential for long drives
• Easy to drive - I would take the liberty of equating this to an AT, given that your age bracket for usage is 60-75 years
• AWD, if not 4x4 - again, good to have for remote corners of our country

Firstly, here are my thoughts on what you should NOT consider:

• Hybrids - contrary to popular opinion, I'd still not want to go on multi-month tours on a hybrid, given the complex tech involved and not-so-easy repairability quotient
• Germans and Americans do not score high on reliability (no offence to owners/fans) so please rule them out
• Latest Innova Crysta would have been good but it comes only in the MT guise and I would not reommend that for your use case

I will list the closest contenders below, with respective shortcomings:

• Fortuner 4x4 AT - ticks almost all boxes, except 'Comfort' and 'Easy to drive'. However, the latest iteration of the Fortuner is not all that bad when it comes to ride quality - do check it out once before ruling out altogether. Moreover, after-market suspension like the OME can sort this out to a large extent. The steering is a tad heavy, though. But for these, this is THE SUV that you would want for those multi-month cross-country drives.
• XUV 7OO AWD - again, ticks most boxes except the 'reliability' part, given the niggles being reported. That said, it is getting more stable by the month (as with all new launches from Mahindra) and of late I have not heard of any serious issues. If you can wait for another 6-12 months, almost all issues would have got ironed out. Even now, the glitches are mostly electronic, and not mechanical. Also, the AWD variant of the XUV 7OO is quite capable, I have seen it in action.
• Tuscon AWD - ticks almost all boxes but personally, I am not a big fan. If you are okay with it, do try it out.

Let me also throw a wildcard entry in - have you at all considered the Jimny AT? I know it is a small car but since it is going to be just the 2 of you, a 7-seater full-size SUV might be an overkill, unless of course, you would want all that space to carry enough stuff for multi-month sojourns. Even that can be resolved by chucking the second-row out Do give it a thought - I think it checks all boxes and fits your use case perfectly. Of course, it won't be considered an "upgrade" from your Innova, if it matters to you. But look at it - Japanese reliability and durability, no DPF headaches, no NGT hassles, small footprint for those hilly drives, an extremely simple machine that can be repaired anywhere (if at all it fails, which is highly unlikely), very easy to drive in both city and highways, legendary 4x4 capability, etc. Worth a look, I'd say.

Hope this helps.

[CJP]

Originally Posted by souvikjana83

If I summarise your requirements, these will be in order of priority:
1. Safety
2. Comfort (Suspension and Air Conditioning)
3. Reliable
4. High Mileage (Lower Running Cost)

Ideally Hyundai Tuscon Diesel should be your preference since it will be close to all your requirements.

But I will also recommend you to check out one car before making your purchase decision. It will be MG Astor Turbo AT.

I did not anything from the MG stable on the list - am not sure if the MGs could handle some of the rough/broken roads that are typical of our rural areas. Will consider. Thanks.

Originally Posted by mgastor2022grey

Absolutely what I would recommend! I have an Astor and I'm quite impressed with it. It is a lovely car. Mileage is not that bad, mine gives around 13-14 kmpl (CVT). Great car to drive inside the city. Check it out before decision..

Thank you, now on the list

Originally Posted by SoumenD

After 15 years with Innova, no car would satisfy you other than a INNOVA

Don't worry about diesel mileage, go for Innova Hycross Hybrid. Milewage-wise it should be closer and NGT headache won't be there. Being a Toyota should be reliable enough for your considered timeframe(15 years) but you already know that being a Toyota Owner.

The Hycross is currently the winner from across all the comments and feedback I've received so far. So yes, this one is on the list for sure. However, the intent is to drive on the highways for the most part and some of that could also include rural roads or goat tracks that pass of as roads in the country side.

Originally Posted by cool_dube

I will list the closest contenders below, with respective shortcomings:

• Fortuner 4x4 AT - ticks almost all boxes, except 'Comfort' and 'Easy to drive'. However, the latest iteration of the Fortuner is not all that bad when it comes to ride quality - do check it out once before ruling out altogether. Moreover, after-market suspension like the OME can sort this out to a large extent. The steering is a tad heavy, though. But for these, this is THE SUV that you would want for those multi-month cross-country drives.
• XUV 7OO AWD - again, ticks most boxes except the 'reliability' part, given the niggles being reported. That said, it is getting more stable by the month (as with all new launches from Mahindra) and of late I have not heard of any serious issues. If you can wait for another 6-12 months, almost all issues would have got ironed out. Even now, the glitches are mostly electronic, and not mechanical. Also, the AWD variant of the XUV 7OO is quite capable, I have seen it in action.
• Tuscon AWD - ticks almost all boxes but personally, I am not a big fan. If you are okay with it, do try it out.

Thank you for building a nice list - the Fortuner was high on my list as well, upgraded suspension and decent tyres should do the trick, but it is a big car, we could perhaps overland in it, just the two of us!

The Jimny is probably another worthy candidate, this has come up as a strong recommendation.

[NPV]

@CJP - coming in late to the party

*Did you mention your preference for the transmission?
I would definitely recommend a good, competent auto transmission given our traffic and road conditions

At the cost of repeating what others have already said, I think your shortlist in order of priority could be:

• Hycross - Hybrid sets you up for the future, though charging, battery replacement and disposal infrastructure in general needs to improve in India
• Innova Crysta (I think they've discontinued the auto transmission recently?)
• XUV 700 - delivery times are at ~48 weeks! If you decide to get one, go with dealers like Sireesh who can probably get vehicle allotment faster than some other dealers like PPS (based on a friend's experience). Definitely can't beat the Toyotas in quality and reliability though
• Harrier - adding this only because the XUV 700 is in the list (Disclosure: I bought one last month!) I think in the spirit of test driving your shortlisted cars, you should TD this as well, just to compare/contrast what's on offer
• GLA 220D - If you're ok going the pre-owned route

On some of the other possible contenders, here's my opinion:

• Fortuner - overpriced for what if offers, Crysta is more VFM for your needs
• Compass - Overpriced for what it offers, Parts are expensive (example compare engine mounts at 12k+ with others that cost 4-6k), FCA's commitment to Indian market isn't clear
• Meridian - Compass with an extra row of seats, otherwise the same engine, etc, not worth the additional premium
• Hector - same Fiat Diesel engine as the Compass & Harrier, but does not offer auto transmission, MG might sell stake to an Indian suitor soon, future of the company isn't clear
• Tucson - Overpriced, but a good car, will take budget to mid 40L territory
• Tiguan/Kodiaq cousins - great cars, only petrol engines on offer though, will take budget closer to 50L
• X1 - not value for money and you get a 3 cylinder engine!

[aseem23]

Originally Posted by NPV

@CJP [*]Tucson - Overpriced, but a good car, will take budget to mid 40L territory[*]Tiguan/Kodiaq cousins - great cars, only petrol engines on offer though, will take budget closer to 50L[*]X1 - not value for money and you get a 3 cylinder engine![/list]

Not sure about on road price of Tucson, and Tiguan in Bangalore, but here in Punjab I bought Tucson Diesel top model for 37.70lakhs, and while buying I checked Tiguan (facelift model) too, and it was costing around 38.50 lakhs.

[ampere]

With age post retirement, if you plan to continue to drive on your own, then without doubt an easy drivable and reliable AT box should be the first criteria for your choices.

With that in mind, I think it's just between a Tuscon (Petrol or diesel, I would say diesel) or the Hycross AT. The other option is an XUV7OO. But I would stick between the first two choices.

[Scorpion009]

When it comes to reliability, Jeep isn't the best options.
A Toyota is what l will suggest you. Fortuner , won't be the best adoption seeing your comfort requirements , Innova Hycross?

[youngmonk]

The Jeep Compass and Meridian, as well as the Tucson fit right into your garage.

However if you don't plan on going dune bashing in Leh/Rajasthan the the Tata twins are also great options. They're capable machines for our roads IMO (i recently came into possession of a Safari), can take you to some remote homestays up in the hills without any hassle.

Coming to ownership, I think no car will be as fuss free as owning a Toyota Innova. So be prepared for some service visits.

Hybrids options like Hycross/Hyryder/Grand Vitara are great for cities, and short run abouts. Not sure how they'll fare in a 15 yr period.

[Darth Sai]

Mod Note : Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by CJP

The car (rather companion) we need:
Hence a companion on our travels needs to be built to last, reasonably free of drama or need for roadside assistance - reliable as our Innova has been, simple enough to fix in most states without the need for brain surgeons or rocket scientists. Fairly cheap to run (hence the preference for Diesel), torquey enough and have basic 4x4 capability to drive on relatively bad roads without having to replace our teeth or reset our bones.

Looking for advice based on the massive experience and expertise here and also whether a used/pre-worshipped car from a higher segment would make sense.

Thank you very much for your time. Any and all help on this is much appreciated.

May I suggest the Tiguan 4Motion , there's a new one coming and it's probably going to be a hybrid, it will tick all of your boxes and then some , but may slightly exceed your budget. It will definitely last you if you take good care of it.

[CJP]

Originally Posted by Darth Sai

May I suggest the Tiguan 4Motion

Thanks, this is now on the list as well. The list keeps growing...even with a test drive a week, it will take us a long time to complete evaluation. I'll update the thread as and when we do this.

Originally Posted by Scorpion009

When it comes to reliability, Jeep isn't the best options.
A Toyota is what l will suggest you. Fortuner , won't be the best adoption seeing your comfort requirements , Innova Hycross?

And I am inclined to agree with you, Scorpion009.

What about the Fortuner with upgraded suspension (Tien, Ironman OME), would that make the cut from a comfort perspective?

Folks,

https://www.adventuresoverland.com/

Some of these trips are on our bucket list too and these are the kind of trips we would love to do. That brings us to the question again of which of our list of hopefuls would make sense to do some of these kind of trips?

The Fortuner, the Pajero, Land Rover (?) - not sure if any of the other recommendations would make the cut for longer trips out of the country.

Forgive me if I appear to be indecisive about choosing a vehicle and getting done, seeing that the conversation has kicked off a good exchange of views and even a few members thinking about their impending retirement even though that might be quite a few years away - I thought of keeping the conversation flowing.

This has also given us as a family some very interesting perspective about what the choice of a vehicles really means. The last time we made such a choice - it was upgrading to the Innova from a CRDI Accent and there were quite a few tears and fond farewells for the Accent. As a family we do love our cars, and we hope through this conversation it will help us to make a choice that we will enjoy for the years to come.

Thank you all once again.

[aseem23]

Originally Posted by CJP

Some of these trips are on our bucket list too and these are the kind of trips we would love to do. That brings us to the question again of which of our list of hopefuls would make sense to do some of these kind of trips?

The Fortuner, the Pajero, Land Rover (?) - not sure if any of the other recommendations would make the cut for longer trips out of the country.

For a longer trip outside the country, I think Range Rover Defender or a Land Cruiser would do. Maybe a Fortuner from the current list? Not sure unless I know the terrain.