New car for my 70-year-old father: Replacing his VW Vento under Rs 15L

He will not buy an electric car I am trying to convince him to buy a petrol car and he seems to like the Hyryder/Vitara.

BHPian KL01toKA03 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My dad (70-year-old) is selling his Vento Diesel and is looking for a car to replace it. The Vento is getting replaced due to the high cost of maintaining the car. He was quoted a 1.5 lakh+ amount for ECU replacement, and although he managed to get it repaired outside the Volkswagen service centre, he is scared of future troubles.

His requirements are the following:

1. Budget 15 lakhs OTR in Kerala which can be stretched by a maximum of 1 lakh.
2. Should not be sluggish, and should have adequate power for quick overtakes.
3. 5-seater, preferably diesel (his running just does not justify a diesel, but he likes diesel cars)
4. No Volkswagen/Skoda cars

Unfortunately, he will not buy an electric car I am trying to convince him to buy a petrol car and he seems to like the Hyryder/Vitara. Please recommend any other cars that can be considered.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Most definitely worth waiting for the Maruti Grand Vitara & Toyota Hyryder. They are going to enter the segment with a bang and are the talk of the town right now.

For your dad, a crossover is a must (easy ingress/egress & taller driving position) and I would strongly recommend an AT too. 90% of "MT-for-life" people I've met are now happy AT lovers after they experienced good automatics. That includes yours truly. Other cars I'd recommend are the Creta, Seltos, Sonet, Hector, Astor & Carens. Show him our reviews, bring it down to 3 - 4 cars and go test-drive them all. Bring home the one that makes him smile the widest.

Keeping his troubles with the Vento in mind, be sure to get the maximum possible extended warranty.

Here's what BHPian itsmeparvathy9 had to say on the matter:

Considering your father's age, it would be better to go for an Automatic transmission car preferably SUV for the ease of ingress and egress and driving position and since he used to drive a Vento sedan, anything below it wouldn't be much of an upgrade.

If he is stubborn about getting a diesel, the best diesel automatic car under this budget would be the Kia Sonet HTX Diesel AT, other automatic cars in this range are mostly AMT and I wouldn't recommend that when you are spending 15 lakhs.

If we want a bigger car, I'd recommend the Hyundai Creta/ Kia Seltos Diesel Manual or Petrol IMT (clutch-less manual)

If a bigger car with an automatic is what you need the MG Astor CVT could do too but mileage would be on the lower side, the engine isn't the peppiest either.

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

Buy the Toyota Urban Cruiser K15B + 4-speed Torque Converter AT, if the rear passenger seat space is not a problem.

Advantages are:

• Ingress-egress are good.
• This engine+AT combination seems to be better than the new K15C+6 S AT.
• The Engine+AT combo is good for city drives in Bangalore traffic.
• UC AT costs within 12 Lakhs OTR in Gurgaon, whereas the new Brezza ZXI AT is almost 16 lakhs OTR here.
• A tension-free "sasta-sundar-tikav" compact SUV with better ground clearance and almost bulletproof reliability.

Toyota HR/ Maruti Suzuki GV have advantages of relatively better leg space and well-managed interior width for the rear passenger seat, bigger boot space, a little more premium dashboard and better ICE, and panoramic sunroof in the topmost variant and paddle shifters for AT.

For this duo:

• Ex-showroom price - unknown
• Test drive - unavailable
• YouTube expert test drive videos - unavailable
• In showroom display car - unavailable (200 people jumping into a single car when it was brought in GGN for 1-2 days, the boot was purposefully locked).
• Pre-booking - Must, INR 11,000/- to secure a lucky spot to get it delivered within the next 15 months (the new Brezza AT waiting period is 15 months in GGN).

If the primary user's height is within 5'8", Honda City's ingress-egress may not be a big problem. However, low GC will always remain a challenge.

Here's what BHPian ashivas89 had to say on the matter:

I see many suggestions pointing towards the Hyryder/Grand Vitara duo. They will be a great choice for:

1. Someone who is not used to the punch of the VAG 1.5 diesel
2. Someone who is okay to go beyond 20 big ones for the strong hybrid because the mild hybrid will likely feel very underpowered

Knowing Kerala roads, I understand why your father prefers a punchy engine (punchy engines give that extra sense of security for executing swift, clean overtakes on narrow roads).

• Manual? --> City Diesel/ Kia Sonet or Hyundai Venue
• Auto?--> Kia Sonet diesel AT hands down

Outside contenders --> Xuv 300 Diesel Manual (on the merits of the engine alone, the others mentioned above are superior in terms of what they offer as an overall package) or Nexon EV (if daily drives are well within 50% of quoted range) ask him to try one, I'm sure he will fall for the refinement and punch.

All other potential options will go beyond your budget.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.