[TheManualGear]

Since you will have to deal with some cumbersome grounds in village I will suggest some suvs


1.Honda Elevate
>Mastery in the field of SPACE
>Mileage might be repulsive
>Priced in a good territory (11 to 16.5L EX-showroom)

2.Suzuki Grand Vitara
>Comes with AWD (for tackling the bad roads)
>Gets a claimed mileage of 19.5 kmpl in AWD variant
> Build quality (which might not be expected from a Maruti) is pretty good as its built by
Toyota in its Bidadi plant
>Good service network and reliability of Suzuki

3.You may wait for the THAR 5-door

[jjp@chn]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

There have been detailed discussions elsewhere on the forum about canine friendly car options for touring, and the consensus has been that MG Hector is the best of the lot.

Originally Posted by 07CR

4. Hector/Hector + are other good options

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Hector Plus will be also good if OK with diesel manual.

Originally Posted by sjain2054

3. MG Hector 5 seater or the Hector plus (5+2 seater)

I do not have first hand experience with this car. But I have read wonderful things online. Such as -

a. It is genuinely spacious and comfortable for a family + pet
b. MG's after sales service is really good
c. The engines (petrol & diesel) and the transmission are decent (not great)

Please do check it out and read about it online.

There are already several recomendations for MG Hector/Hector Plus in this thread - which I also feel will fit your requirement aptly as it is one of the best value-for-money car in this price segment, in terms of spaciousness, premium feel, creature comforts and a decent road presence. The only downside is the unavailability of an automatic variant with the diesel motor.

However, I would recommend you to take an extensive test drive with your entire family, in different seating positions, to see if they are comfortable during the drive. Hector has considerable body roll (compared to sedans) and for folks transitioning from sedan to SUV, it might induce motion sickness especially when travelling on bad stretches of roads (which is everywhere in our part of the world).

This is based on my in-laws' experience - after they bought a 2022 MG Hector Diesel/manual, my mother-in-law gets motion sickness within just 20-30 kms of travel in rural, winding or bad roads. It is so bad for her to the extent that she still prefers to travel in their 14 yr old Skoda Octavia instead of the Hector. While the Hector was purchased to repalce the aging Octavia, due to this conundrum, they are yet to dispose it off.

[VSEV85]

Originally Posted by skrao

The irrevocable logic of a new car or a preloved newer vehicle makes eminent sense.

There is a three way debate currently on

1. Petrol Vs Electric
2. Car Vs SUV
3. New Vs less than 3 year old pre owned
….
All help is greatly appreciated

I would recommend you to for a petrol vehicle or a hybrid only. Your running is not that high where the extra initial cost of a EV would be set off by higher kms. Only if your running is above 2000kms a month or if you are are a go green person, go for an EV. I have an Mg ZS EV which has clocked 105000 2years an 6 months. I'm happy with it for local use and intercity use upto 200kms. Anything more, it's a headache considering the ratio of the number of Ev's to charging station available. A 6hr30mins drive to Chennai in a ICE vehicle takes a minimum 8 hrs in my ZS EV. If I have to travel during long weekends I have to set aside another 1hr30min min due to waiting. I usually use my Jetta which has done 240000 to travel during long weekends and holidays. I'm considering an EV which can do a min of 430-450km in real world conditions to replace my Jetta in a year. If you are bent upon an EV go for BYD e6(36 lakhs) or Hyundai Ioniq 5(48 lakhs) as they can do min 400kms in a single charge. My recommendation considering your running is to for a Toyota hyryder hybrid as it would be within your budget.

[Voodooblaster]

For seating 5 and a pet, in the budget mentioned , Scorpio seems a good choice. Diesel AT will be available in the budget, and it should be able to cover semi rough roads in Coorg DT reasonably well even without 4WD. Of course , it may not be as reliable as the Toyota, but Mahindra has improved a lot. Yearly running of 20000 kms does warrant a diesel / Hybrid. Unfortunately hybrid options in your budget are only 5 seaters

If possible get car registered in Mercara , to deal with any restrictions in future on Diesel Engines in Metro Cities

As mentioned by others in previous posts , do take a TD with full family before finalising.

As Scorpio and Altis are more or less of same length , Altis can’t be expected to be better than Scorpio to use in crazy city traffic. Altis might have slightly lower turning radius


Link to TBhp discussion on Scorpio N8 select variant which should suit your budget. (Mahindra Scorpio-N Z8 Select variant launched at Rs 16.99 lakh)

If you want a city beater car, sell off the corolla (1.5 lacs could be expected ) and buy a barebones Comet/Tiago EV or the other small ICE offerings.

Not recommending used cars as valuations are a bit too high to make economical sense

[abaliga]

Originally Posted by skrao

The Options

1. One of the VW/Skoda twin sedans - 1.0 or 1.5 ? DSG or MT?
2. An Indian SUV Mahindra or Tata? Safari or Harrier or Scorpio or XUV?
3. A Nexon electric? or stretch a bit and look at MS ZS EV?
3. Not really my option but wife is not averse to an Innova Hycross
4. A pre owned and loved car/SUV from any of the above

Given your high mileage, following are the options I would recommend

- Honda City Hybrid - Spacious car with amazing fuel economy, smaller boot capacity may be a concern though!
- Honda Elevate/City petrol - Nice value for money options with most necessary features, fuel bills may be higher, but lesser initial investment can offset this
- Toyota Hycross - Very spacious van that is a bigger car than most need, you may need to increase your budget to buy this one though, also, interiors in general are budget grade and not commensurate to the car price

[samitjain]

Once you are used to Toyota, any other brand would seem a downgrade.

Hycross only option

[prajnya]

you dont need to scrap the corolla if the vehicles in decent condition.
i dont understand why people say that vehicles needd to scrapped once its 15yrs old.
Your location says bangalore, i can put you across to people who can get it done for you.

Please dont consider scrapping because the space and comfort the corolla offers is very difficult for the new age psuedo SUV's in the 20-24L segment. Even the sedans that are available dont come close.

DM me if you need help with the fitness.

PS- im not discouraging you to not go for a new car.

[Amrit@wheels]

I'd suggest you go with a strong hybrid with space for four people. The Hycross is definitely a great car but it is out of your budget and the waiting periods are high. My suggestion would be to go with the Grand Vitara/Hyryder strong hybrid versions. They fit in your budget and you'll have a well-rounded car for your needs. The only major issue I found was the engine refinement but that goes away as soon as you start listening to some music or strike up a conversation. It ticks all your boxes quite well.
P.S. Do NOT scrap your Corolla. Run her for as long as you can.

[abhiroopmn]

I have been trying to replace my secondary car and making a decision on which car is more appropriate has made me go bonkers. Too many pros and cons to evaluate and more days I spend on research I only am finding myself in a deeper pit than I started with, hence decided to post here to receive some expert advices and suggestions from current owners of those cars.

A little background of myself:
I live in Bangalore and currently own two cars - Hector Diesel and Tiago XZA. Hector used to be primary car before my left leg started showing signs (my left calf muscle is like 3 inches more than my right). So, I converted my Hector Diesel to a weekend and outstation car and bought a Tiago for office commute car in Bangalore traffic. I'm happy to say that I picked up a pre-owned Tiago since it helped he understand the issues of owning a Tata and a good feel of how AMT automatics are. So, after 3 yrs I have decided to replace it with a superior automatic. EVs seem to be superior automatics but they come with their baggage of issues though. Else, would have to look at more reliable and smooth automatics.

• Daily to & fro commute to office is about 50km
• I'm living in a rental house temporarily and setting up a charging point is not feasible for the next 1.5 yrs
• My office has EV charging points which I plan to use as the primary source
• Don't plan to spend lavishly on the second car. Last car hunt made me realise that more I see a higher segment EV my FOMO just increases
• I do not have a parking temporarily and park on the road (within a gated community). Not sure if I should be worried of rodents.
• Occasionally drive to Hassan and I foresee that these trips could become more frequent.

Some of the cars I test drove so far:

• Hyundai i20 CVT: The drive was smooth but I did not find it real fun. Probably addicted to the Turbo on my Hector.
• Hyundai Aura AMT: I was skeptical of picking up an AMT again, but the SA insisted that I drive it once before I decide. To my surprise, I actually liked the way Aura responded compared to i20. The braking on Aura was not smooth though and felt the bite was real hard (probably that's something I can get adjusted to over time)
• Honda Amaze: I had this on my list but could not test drive until now

I observed that my budget to buy an automatic was reaching around 14L, so decided to look at EVs. Sadly there are only 5 EVs - Comet, Tiago, Punch, Nexon, XUV400 (removed Tigor since it's similar to Tiago, and other cars since they are over 20L which I feel is too much for my secondary run).

• Don't plan to spend lavishly on the second car. Last car hunt made me realise that more I see a higher segment car my FOMO just increases
• I do not have a parking temporarily and park on the road (within a gated community). Not sure if I should be worried of rodents causing major damages to battery modules.
• Occasionally drive to Hassan and I foresee that these trips could become more frequent in the future.

Driving experience offered by EV cars looks enticing to me compared to Tiago AMT. Some suggestions that I received so far have been that EVs that although you save on fuel, it would all just accumulate at the end when you need replace the batteries.
I think my yearly usage on this car would be around 13 - 20k depending on whether it can do short trips as well. So, I'm open to suggestions on whether EV makes sense or if there are other better cars that I need to consider.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by abhiroopmn

Some of the cars I test drove so far:

You seem to have forgotten to add the Fronx 1.0 turbo with its competent torque converter gearbox. Also if you have tried a used car before, why not add a used automatic Brio to your search?

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by abhiroopmn

Driving experience offered by EV cars looks enticing to me compared to Tiago AMT. Some suggestions that I received so far have been that EVs that although you save on fuel, it would all just accumulate at the end when you need replace the batteries.
I think my yearly usage on this car would be around 13 - 20k depending on whether it can do short trips as well. So, I'm open to suggestions on whether EV makes sense or if there are other better cars that I need to consider.

With 13-20 K worth of driving an year, office charging option and mostly city drives EVs are a no brainer. Just one question; is home charging option available? If that too is yes then fear not just go for it. All this FUD about battery life is nonsense.

[abhiroopmn]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

You seem to have forgotten to add the Fronx 1.0 turbo with its competent torque converter gearbox. Also if you have tried a used car before, why not add a used automatic Brio to your search?

Currently have a used Tiago and this is the first used car I bought. Seeing the issues that cropped up after driving the car for long I'm little skeptical to buy another used car. I shall go drive the Fronx today and check but 16L for the car feels little expensive IMO.

Originally Posted by electric_eel

With 13-20 K worth of driving an year, office charging option and mostly city drives EVs are a no brainer. Just one question; is home charging option available? If that too is yes then fear not just go for it. All this FUD about battery life is nonsense.

My house is under construction, so I do not have a charging option at home until another 16months.

[nova.19_exe]

Originally Posted by abhiroopmn

Currently have a used Tiago and this is the first used car I bought. Seeing the issues that cropped up after driving the car for long I'm little skeptical to buy another used car. I shall go drive the Fronx today and check but 16L for the car feels little expensive IMO.

Check out the i20 N-Line. Comes with a DCT option. Better than the i20 CVT in every way possible

Just out of curiosity, what is your actual budget and till what can you stretch till? Knowing that, folks can get an idea and help you based on that.

[abhiroopmn]

Originally Posted by nova.19_exe

Check out the i20 N-Line. Comes with a DCT option. Better than the i20 CVT in every way possible

Just out of curiosity, what is your actual budget and till what can you stretch till? Knowing that, folks can get an idea and help you based on that.

I'm looking for a car within 15L preferably. But, I'm willing to stretch until 18L if it's really a sweet deal.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by abhiroopmn

My house is under construction, so I do not have a charging option at home until another 16months.

Make sure to have a 16 amps plug in your garage any way, EV or no EV. We planned it when we were planning out home and there was no EV on the horizon at that time. It turned out to be the best decision.