Replacing my Indica: What are my used BS4 diesel options under 10 lakh

I'm sure I will need a diesel. This is my last chance to grab the best of the BS4 diesels in still newish shape.

BHPian greenhorn recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Now that my Indica is going to reach the age of consent, I have decided to retire it from daily use (what to do with is still to be decided)

Now The search for a replacement starts.

Usage - mostly city, hilly roads with steep and tight turns. After driving around in the Etios, I have realized that it is woefully underpowered for this sort of usage. It is one thing to drive it around without any passengers, but with a full load of adults, It's hard to handle hill starts and stops without a lot of clutch burning and handbraking (PS: running on brand new clutch) While the Indica keeps chugging along just fine.

So I'm sure I will need a diesel. This is my last chance to grab the best of the BS4 diesels in still newish shape.

My other criteria are:

Must have:

• Reliable
• Aftermarket parts support
• Sold in decent quantities
• Low down torque
• Stable bodyshell (earlier was 4+ Star rating, but NCAP has put so much weightage on active safety which I don't agree with)

Nice to have:

• Ground clearance
• Compact dimensions
• Low slung seating position
• Should handle curved hill roads with confidence

My shortlist:

• Honda City Diesel - Perfect except for length as a concern and parts availability in aftermarket
• Amaze Diesel - Yet to TD one, but finding it hard to justify getting a 2019 amaze for the same price as a 2016 City
• Maruti S Cross - Perfect all rounder - have heard space is limited inside
• First Gen Brezza - even less space on the inside than the etios, upright seating ? (yet to TD)
• Jazz - Ideal candidate, but didn't like seating position during TD - (was too upright and felt like a wagon R)
• Etios/Etios Liva/Cross Diesel - Perfect Candidate, but examples are WAY overpriced in KL (Probably due to taxi market demand) - most are priced more than a mid tier honda city of the same year!
• Etios Cross petrol 1.5 - Outlier candidate, but rare to find
• Figo/Aspire/Ecosport - Good candidate but worries about parts availability
• Duster/Terrano - Was on top of list until I saw the crash test reports
• Hyundai Diesels - Rare and Pricey service/Parts

I am not planning to get a car soon, but have started stalking classifieds to get a baseline idea of pricing and start test driving the top ones. Please do share your inputs on anything else I need to look at/reprioritization options.

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

Some of the options that come to mind:

• Tata Altroz - would be a great upgrade from the same stable. The initial lots were BS4
• Suzuki Jimny - with all the discounts going on, it would make good sense, provided used & diesel aren't criteria written in stone.
• Mahindra Scorpio - I'm sure you'll be able to find 2014-15 models for your budget. Has oodles of torque, and can carry 5 people + all their luggage easily.

Here's what BHPian ashis89 had to say on the matter:

You mentioned hill starts so do factor in the turbo lag. Do TD the MJD cars and TDCi ones to see how they perform on the roads you frequent. Honda 1.5, Hyundai 1.4 and Renault 1.5 might be better than the MJD 1.3.

How about a diesel Polo 1.5 or i20 1.4? Could be a little pricey but good long term options.

Here's what BHPian Petrolhead2272 had to say on the matter:

If you manage to get hold of a 1.6D S-Cross, that would be the best option for you. That diesel engine is a gem producing plenty of torque. Space isn’t too much of an issue in the S-Cross imo. The backseat is comfortable unless passengers sitting behind are 6 feet and above. Adding to the comfort however is one of the best suspensions i’ve ever come across. Ride quality is amazing, and should you come across a bad patch of road you’ll know just what I mean.

P.S - The iconic 1.3D isn’t sluggish either.

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

From my own experience, Honda's iDTEC is really good for this kind of usage. Offers oodles of torque from the get-go. In comparison, the 1.3 MJD struggles to pull outside of the turbo zone. This lag is more noticeable in heavier cars like S-Cross and Brezza than others. So the new Amaze diesel manual is what I'd suggest. Meets all your requirements apart from ground clearance, and is arguably the most desirable car of the lot.

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