Dilemma: Used Automatic Car for the city

This car will be seeing a usage of 7000 kms annually, with 4000 of those in city conditions. I plan to use this at least for the next 5-7 years.

BHPian CR07 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all. I am in a dilemma to purchase a reliable workhorse for primarily city usage. I will try to be as thorough as possible with my requirement set, for you to guide me in purchase of the car.

Prelude- We are a family of three (soon to be four in may 2022). Our family has always bought brand new cars, but due to my stern insistence on atleast checking out a used car, we purchased an used Ecosport S TDCI in July 2020 (23 month old car). I was lauded by my parents for saving almost 35% money as we intended to get a brand new Ecosport at that time. The car has served us extremely well till date, and apart from a small scratch on front passenger door, still looks darn new. Our annual travelling has been a consistent 10K/ annum, and I expect it to remain the same.

Need for a second car- I would soon be transitioning to married life in a few months, and with the pandemic easing up (thank heavens for that), I would be requiring a second car in the family. This car will be seeing a usage of 7000 kms annually, with 4000 of those in city conditions. I plan to use this atleast for next 5-7 years.

For the second car, I have two approaches, but confused which I should adopt-

1) Keep Ecosport as the primary drive for all highway drives. Use the second car as a city vehicle. This way I can buy a car that is a bit older, and doesn't cost much upfront.

2) Buy a second car, that is equally capable for the highway drives as well as serves the city duties. This way the initial purchase cost will increase significantly, but hopefully will be easier to maintain in longer run.

Budget- 8-8.5L. Can stretch to 9-9.5L, if the deal is worth it.

Requirements and expectations

1) Must be an automatic. Since we are looking for a used car, CVT/AT preferable, well tuned AMTs are also good enough. DSGs will be avoided.

2) Should be from a reliable brand where the car won't just be reliable, the annual service bill will also remain lower than 15-20K.

3) Me and my father (5'8 foot and 5'10 foot) are relatively taller, while my wife (5'1 foot) and mom (4'11 foot) are relatively shorter. As you can decipher, legroom/headroom isn't a huge issue for us (myself/dad would 90% be seated on front seats), but we would appreciate if car could seat 5 adults comfortably.

4) Accustomed to the tank like build of Ecosport, need a safe car (either by perceived build or a 4-5 star rated NCAP product).

5) In ride vs handling, ride quality matters more. City ride @ <40 kph speeds is more important in this regard.

6) This car won't necessarily be driven in pedal to metal style. At highway speeds too, this will spend most of it's life in 90-120 Kph range.

7) Will appreciate a quiet cabin. This not only includes engine noise, but also road and tyre noise and rattle free interiors.

Feature requirements

Must haves- Auto AC(Chiller Unit required), Cruise control, decent headlamps, Fog lamps, a decent audio/touchscreen system, Alloy wheels, rear wipers (for cars other than sedans), auto dimming IRVM.

Good to haves- Puddle lamps, Keyless entry and go, Android auto equipped touchscreen, LED/HID headlamps, remote engine start stop, TCS and ESC, dedicated cornering lamps

Not necessary- Sunroof and Connected car tech

Shortlisted cars

1) Corolla Altis 2013 (10th Gen)- This car has almost everything that I require. I will also be able to get one at around 5L; sizeable savings.

Three doubts I have with this car-

a) The annual service costs. Will they be lower than 15-20K?

b) The car is 9 years old, can I trust this to remain trouble free for next 5-7 years?

c) It's nearly 4.6 metre long. I have never driven this kind of vehicle yet, will it be really hard to drive one daily in city traffic? I stay in Viman Nagar region of Pune, which has relatively lesser traffic than Bangalore or peak Mumbai traffic.

2) Corolla Altis 2015(11th Gen)- A substantial visual upgrade (externally) to the above car. The positives remain the same. My doubts also remain the same.

3) Tata Nexon Diesel AMT (2018)- The only C-SUV styled car, that fits my budget. 5 star rated GNCAP product, strong build, plenty of GC, spacious as a 5 seater, it has a lot going for it.

Two major grouses-

a) It's a TATA. Have seen and read about many Harrier/Safari owners complaining about frequent niggles. If the flagships have so many issues, am I supposed to expect much more for Nexon? (My sister owns a 2016 Tiago (MT), which has been trouble-free for most part, therefore have included Nexon)

b) Since it's an AMT, will this be much of a bother for my cruise type of drive on highways? It also misses out on cruise control, which I have found extremely handy on Ecosport.

4) Honda Jazz V CVT (2018) and City VX CVT- Traditional Honda +ves. Also satisfies most of my criteria. I am only unsure of the NVH levels and AC performance. Also is the CVT trouble free?

5) Hyundai Verna SX(O) AT/ SX+ Diesel AT (2018)- Verna's only major weakness of limited rear seat space, is not bothersome for me. Two grouses, the petrol SX(O) is stretching my budget till 9.5L (may get it down to 9), while diesel AT misses out on Keyless entry/exit, cooled seats 6 airbags and the likes. Second- Any issues that I should be aware of with regards to 6 speed ATs? Can they last trouble-free for next 5-7 years?

I request anyone with any knowledge on the above cars, to share it with me and help me make an informed decision. You can also suggest any other car, that I might have missed out on. Thanks in advance!

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

I would suggest stretch the budget to 9.5 and look for a new Amaze. It might not meet all your criteria’s but will meet many.

I believe below 10 lakhs range (unless the car has very low resale) it’s not worth going for a used car. They are either old or you hardly save anything.

Here's what BHPian AJ56 had to say on the matter:

Get the Accord, satisfies all your requirements of safety/ride/power and has cruise control + ESP for highways, also is quite stable at high speeds, very reliable and cheap to maintain mine has given zero issues in 11 years of ownership. Look for 2012-13 2.4L models which go for 6-7L. You’ll save a significant amount here as well that you can use for new tyres/upkeep over the years. Annual service cost of oil + oil filter + air filter comes to 5-6k using oem Honda parts and oil (Idemitsu full synthetic 0W-20).

Ecosport is a sub 4m vehicle and too small to use as a highway driver. I’ve driven extensively in peak Mumbai and Gurgaon traffic for many years and vehicle length doesn’t really matter, I switch between the Amaze (3.95m) and Accord (4.95m) and it takes under 2 mins to acclimatise in either vehicle, I prefer the Accord in traffic in fact as it’s not underpowered like the Amaze and makes closing gaps easier. Cheers.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.