[Ad_J]

Greetings BHPians.

Today, I've come here seeking the counsel of fellow members on which car to buy for my mother.

My mother is 54 years old and all her life she has been putting her desire to drive in the back seat owing to professional and personal commitments.

For the last month, we were living in pain and agony because she was misdiagnosed for a life threatening disease by a private hospital. We then went to a tertiary care hospital to double check. After a lot of tests and expert consultations all came out to be okay.

(Now I am thinking of suing that private hospital for all the suffering we have been through. Any suggestions?)

This experience made a shift in her that it's okay to live a little sometimes. Not to take life too seriously as there will always be something 'too important' which needs her time and resources.

Now she is ready to drive and enjoy life a little

Requirements :

A <4m vehicle with an automatic transmission.

Preferably having the SUV/Crossoverish stance. (Her words)

High GC and easy ingress and egress.

Budget ~10L +/- 1L OTR

Priority order :

Reliability>Safety>Comfort>Driving Dynamics>Fuel Efficiency

No pre-owned route.

[GTO]

You will have to settle for one of the lower variants of the below cars, or go for a slight budget increase. But either ways, your Mum will be happy.

Tata Punch EV: Unbeatable city car IMHO. Feels like a premium package. Superb drivetrain. Refinement that no ICE car can match. Main apprehension = Tata niggles which you will have to sort out for your Mom.

XUV3XO AT. Great looks, build, suspension & quality.

Brezza VXi AT. Can't go wrong with a Maruti. Got one for my bhabhi and she is super happy. Will likely be the most fuss-free of any crossover to own.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Why don't you think of MG Comet EV? Compact and cute. Economical to run.

Agreed, she is asking for SUVish car but no harm in taking a test drive of MG Comet.

[DCEite]

In your budget I could have recommended the Brezza VXi AT, but its too bad of Maruti to be not providing 6 airbags in this version, even in this day and age when every manufacturer is moving towards 6 airbags as standard.

The AT variants of Venue and Sonet are also > 10 lacs, so these are also striked out.

So as GTO recommended, Punch EV would tick most boxes.

But its a TATA so the reliability and after sales experience may not be good, so do make due diligence regarding the service network and feedback in your area.

Otherwise, you can also consider Hyundai Exter AMT.

The AMT on the Exter is easy to live with, and when driven sedately, should be very much ok for your mother.

Exter comes with 6 airbags as standard. Although it has not been tested for safety, I personally would expect it to score atleast 3 stars in BNCAP. The build quality also seems to be decent.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Maruti Brezza is the first car that comes to mind for these requirements. Although, I will suggest that your mother takes an extended test drive of the MG Comet as well. Your mum may not be as inclined to drive as she is right now once the new car itch is scratched and the realities of driving in today’s mad traffic take over. As such, a smaller size, a lower initial outlay and assured buy back after 3 years that MG offers make a lot of sense for her use case.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by Ad_J

Requirements :

A <4m vehicle with an automatic transmission.

Preferably having the SUV/Crossoverish stance. (Her words)

High GC and easy ingress and egress.

Budget ~10L +/- 1L OTR

Priority order :

Reliability>Safety>Comfort>Driving Dynamics>Fuel Efficiency

No pre-owned route.

For a first time buyer without any driving history, you can look at Exter AMT. 3XO is good, just check whether it is too powerful and automatic will be costlier. Easy ingress/egress = Ignis automatic too.

[Turbanator]

You should look at Citroen, C3 as well as C3 SUV. They are running some large discounts on outgoing versions which are missing a few features only.

https://www.citroen.in

[Ad_J]

Thank you everyone for their time and advice.

I would like to start by apologizing because I forgot to mention that no EVs are in consideration because of the non-availability of public chargers in my area. Also, we don't have in-house parking. If anybody is from (or has been to) Shimla, he/she knows what I am talking about.

I did some of the research and would like to give my views on the suggestions made by the members in this post.

XUV 3XO: A bit powerful for her. Also have 2019 XUV300 Diesel W8 in house so not looking to buy it over again.

C3: Uncertainty regarding Citroen India and no service centers nearby.

Brezza: Under Consideration

Exter: Under Consideration. However, I am not sure about how AMT. I have never driven one. Moreover, I have a silly doubt as I saw a YT video where the guy said his i10 Nios AMT struggles on steep inclines and gets very confused between 1st and 2nd gear, thus loses the momentum and then starts to roll back. Since Exter is i10 Nios in disguise I am apprehensive about it. Someone please shed some light on it.

Ignis: Mum doesn't like the looks but is open to it.

Nexon: Under Consideration. But not on the top of list as it is a TATA. I have had my few shares of niggles with Tiago (although nothing major).

Venue/Sonet: Out of budget. Also, DCT gearbox. Have read enough stories DCT GB failure.

Punch: Doesn't have hill-hold. And a TATA.

We will also check out Honda Amaze, Swift Dzire, i20.

Till then open to suggestions.

[G13BB]

If your mom is fine with sedans, I would suggest waiting for the next gen Dzire. It looks really premium from the spy shots. It might be slightly over budget, but what you get is a good looking sedan with a lot of space and features which is very comfortable and easy to drive along with the peace of mind that it is MS. But you need to keep in mind that it is highly likely to get the AMT gearbox and not a TC or a CVT.

However, if the gearbox is the concern, then the Brezza is the safest bet. High seating position means easy ingress and egress, 6 speed TC, great reliability and since it is based on the global C platform, it is one of the safer Suzukis

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Why don't you think of MG Comet EV? Compact and cute. Economical to run.
.

One problem with the Comet could be it doesn't hold on inclines and tends to rollback. This would be a problem for new drivers.
Other issue with EVs in general is, they are quiet which means the new drivers will have to be extra careful about the pedestrians who are caught unaware that a vehicle is approaching.

[venukrithish]

OP has reliability on top of his list and people here are recommending a Tata °-°
Keeping in mind your priorities, exter is the best choice. You can get the SX amt under 11 OTR. It will be reliable and the soft suspension will be comfortable on broken city roads. Safety though untested is decent with 6 airbags. Fronx amt is also another option. Easy ingress -egress and the suspension is setup very well. I'd still pick the exter. It's simply the most vfm around 10L even though I wish it looked bit better.
Please avoid Tata and MM if you want a fuss free ownership. If it's for mom, it's not worth going with these manufacturers who will keep giving you niggles. We don't want to cause more stress to our elders.

[chiefpk]

Originally Posted by Ad_J

Greetings BHPians.

Today, I've come here seeking the counsel of fellow members on which car to buy for my mother.

My mother is 54 years old and all her life she has been putting her desire to drive in the back seat owing to professional and personal commitments.

Now she is ready to drive and enjoy life a little

Priority order :

Reliability>Safety>Comfort>Driving Dynamics>Fuel Efficiency

Hi OP, glad that you could convince your mother to drive a set of 4 wheels now. I for one have been unsuccessful in the escapade of mine and my mother's a bit hesitant to shift to a car but I guess I'll be able to convince her soon.

I would like to pitch in with the following recommendations though. Get a TD for all the vehicles that people are suggesting and then make a decision.

1. Hyundai i20 Sportz IVT- I know she is preferring the SUV stance but perhaps she will change her mind with a TD. She will probably be appreciating the premiumness and sophistication of the i20 plus with that comes the reliability and economical service of Hyundai.
2. Maruti Brezza VXi AT- Again, it's a Maruti so no issues with reliability. Big Car for the price but I feel the interiors are a bit dull.
3. Tata Punch/Tiago EV- They are great standalone cars honestly but I would take Tata's reliability with a pinch of salt. This is when I own a Tata ICE Tigor which has been fuss-free but the service experience and questions regarding the reliability of the EV's might put you off.
4. Hyundai Exter AMT- It's the last because it is an AMT but honestly Hyundai's AMT's are very much better calibrated with respect to what other manufacturers offer. The interiors are also very upmarket.

Originally Posted by GTO

Tata Punch EV: Unbeatable city car IMHO. Feels like a premium package. Superb drivetrain. Refinement that no ICE car can match. Main apprehension = Tata niggles which you will have to sort out for your Mom.

XUV3XO AT. Great looks, build, suspension & quality.

Brezza VXi AT. Can't go wrong with a Maruti. Got one for my bhabhi and she is super happy. Will likely be the most fuss-free of any crossover to own.

It won't be easy to get a lower variant of the 3XO in this day and age. There are people who have booked the lower variants and still haven't gotten the dates for delivery. But yes please have a look at the nearest dealerships and see if the car is available with them. Also Tata's reliability with EV's is still patchy.

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Why don't you think of MG Comet EV? Compact and cute. Economical to run.

Agreed, she is asking for SUVish car but no harm in taking a test drive of MG Comet.

+1 to this as well. MG Comet is a great city car. Economical and given the history of EV's with MG it will most certainly be reliable as well.