Best fun-to-drive used diesel car under Rs 7 lakh

Have shortlisted a wide range of options including the Volkswagen Polo TDI, Maruti S-Cross 1.6, Skoda Laura and Mahindra XUV500 to name a few.

BHPian tarunkochar3 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello everyone,

I am looking for a used diesel car under Rs 7 lakhs. The main USPs should be fun-to-drive, reliable and not so costly on maintenance. Practicality, rear seat comfort and features are not all a concern. I've been confused for the past few months, so I thought I should rope in fellow enthusiasts for helping me.

So, here are some of my random (unrealistic) options:

1. Volkswagen Polo 1.5 TDI
2. Renault Duster/Nissan Terrano
3. Mahindra TUV300 (I know. I know. But it just looks fancy to me)
4. Mahindra XUV500 (Does it really make sense to go for a 7 to 8-year-old one?)
5. Volkswagen Vento/Skoda Rapid 1.5 TDI
6. Skoda Laura
7. Maruti S-Cross (Slightly inclined towards the 1.6 diesel)
8. Tata Safari
9. Ford Ecosport
10. Ford Figo / Freestyle (Would really love the Figo S).

My monthly running would be approx 1,500-2,000 kilometres since I travel a lot. I'm planning to keep it for at least 5 years. Please help me with this dilemma!

Thanks.

Here's what BHPian KK_HakunaMatata had to say on the matter:

You have included the Skoda Laura, any reason not to include the VW Jetta, you should drive the 2.0 TDi once.

By the way, the manual Laura came with a lower tune compared to the Jetta.

Out of your list, I will root for S Cross 1.6, it is all you had asked for, reliable, no-nonsense, low on maintenance.

Here's what BHPian jomson13 had to say on the matter:

From the list you have made for yourself, I see that you are not too concerned about the body type.

Having said that, I would not consider SUVs like the Safari and XUV in the 'driver-enthusiast' category. Don't get me wrong, these are both brilliant cars and I myself want to get a Safari (400 Nm variant) someday, but I don't think these are built for absolute performance.

Personally speaking, out of the list that you have put up, I would pick up the 1.6 S-Cross. I hear that these are quite rare in the used market.

Good luck with the find.

Here's what BHPian GaryTSI had to say on the matter:

Out of the list,

• VW Polo 1.5 TDI: Small dimensions, great handling, powerful and torquey engine, under the budget, significantly cheap to maintain thanks to reliable powertrain and tons of spares available thanks to a relatively new car and tons of them being manufactured. Try to go for the GT TDI because they came with a higher power tune (110 hp) whereas the regular one came with 90 hp.
• Skoda Laura: Came with 2 engines, the earlier ones with a 1.9tdi and the later ones with the 2.0tdi. With the manual transmission, I think they both only came with 105 hp and both are very reliable just watch out for the water pump because that's the only weak spot on those engines and the Laura will be well below the budget you've set.
• VW Jetta: Another BHPian above me recommended this and I second this choice. The 2.0 TDI is a workhorse and is one of the more reliable VAG engines. The Jetta is basically a nicer looking and more premium feeling Laura but it is on the higher end of your budget.
• Suzuki S-Cross 1.6 DDIS: great engine, one of the rare times where Suzuki put in some effort and gave us a good product. The S Cross is safe and reliable car but do keep in mind that the 1.6 was an imported engine hence spares will certainly be more expensive than a 1.3 DDIS. One of the BHPians, Dr. Naren is even running a Stage 3 tune on it and has had no issues. The only downside to this car would be the more budget interiors and the high resale costs of this car so you will really have to stretch your budget for this one.

Apart from these,

1. Figo Diesel: It is a pocket rocket. Great steering and amazing engine although wouldn't be my first choice for highway duties.
2. Skoda Superb 2: This can be bought with a reliable dq250 auto transmission too and will be a perfect highway cruiser.
3. Skoda Yeti and Skoda Octavia Mk3: Same reasons as the above VAG cars
4. Chevy Cruze: It is certainly harder to maintain and wouldn't be as reliable as others on the list but it does have a rocket of an engine even making those 2.0 TDI look slow when it first came out.

I hope this helped. Happy hunting.

Here's what BHPian lamborghini had to say on the matter:

If it's manual, it has the be the Jetta over the Laura. IIRC the Jetta Manual got 140 BHP tune, while the Laura manual had 110 BHP tune.

This would be followed closely by the S-Cross 1.6 with a remap, and then the Vento/Rapid/Figo/Polo GT TDi 1.5 / 1.6 which are more or less on par in terms of maintenance and fun to drive.

That being said, none of these is easy on maintenance vehicles either - parts are not cheap, and not always easily available. Some stuff like brakes etc. can be procured after-market of course.

Even the S-Cross 1.6 backed by the famed Maruti A.S.S. - I've had to order the A.C. Condensor as it was not in stock (took about 10 days to arrive) and also am currently waiting for a new clutch & plate + boot hydraulic shocks which are also not in stock.

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