hatchback – Zimbly Cars

Test Drive: Etios Liva GD SP Diesel

April 9, 2012 admin

LIV TMRRW 2DAY is the tag line Toyota is using for its entry level Hatch – pitched at the millennial generation looking for a high quality brand name car – easy to drive and maintain. Suddenly after a long time feeling the need to do a TD – I requested for a test drive through the Toyota website on a whim on a Thursday afternoon scheduling a time for the next day 5 PM. No call no email till Friday morning when a person called to confirm the test drive request and mentioned the sales person would call and confirm the time for the TD. This happened like clockwork within a few minutes. There was a change in plan from my side and requested the timing to be between 1:30 to 2 PM instead. This was agreed to. I gave my office address as the location for them.

At 1:28 PM I get a call from the sales person that he was outside our gate ! Wow – for the first time the TD vehicle has shown up at the time specified. The sales guy made sure the vehicle was turned around and made easy to drive out for me (from a service lane still under construction that had open manhole covers) . That was a nice touch.

Test drive car was in Ultramarine Blue and was of GD SP (Safety Pack) trim. The color reminded me a lot of my Getz Electric Blue :-). The test drive car came with a body kit that was an add on accessory – not part of the standard – but it definitely made the car look interesting and a bit sportier. The car without the under body skirts and spoiler looks very plain and unappealing.

There were stickers on the car to indicate it was a test drive /demo vehicle. Great – good to know am not driving a customer car. Digital odometer had around a bit over 9K Kms. Interior of the vehicle was spic and span and clean.

Steering wheel was nice and chunky and of the right size to hold with a thicker portion at 10 and 2. Steering wheel had height adjust but the seat did not. Seat felt a bit lower than needed but I was comfortable within a minute of sitting in it with just adjustment for leg room.

For my height (5’7″) there was decent leg space in the driver seat and my left leg didn’t foul with the dashboard like it did in the Figo. No dead pedal available.

1st gear slotted in nicely and surely and starting off was a piece of cake with the clutch being light and easy to operate even for a first time user of the car. No heavy diesel car clutch issues I was expecting.

Pickup from stop was decent enough – didn’t push it but when moved into second the vehicle seemed a bit slow to respond. Unfortunately the lack of the tachometer meant I had no assistance to tell if I was shifting too early etc.

Drive in 3rd and 4th were decent – again within city roads the ride was smooth and minor bumps etc were not noticed. Even on a badly paved road at slow speed the ride was comfortable. Only one sharp bump made the suspension make an awkward sound and the vehicle sprung up a bit.

The center mounted speedo is easy to read and I got used to it in no time.

Air-conditioning seemed adequate at fan speed #2 in the afternoon Chennai heat – but again the sales guys had the Ac running before the TD itself. Over #2 the noise was a bit much.

Doors felt a bit thin and didn’t have a solid feel on closing.

Rear hatch has to be opened via central locking and the hand grip of the opening was a bit awkward.

Positives:

GD trim comes with ABS. Need to go to GD SP for Airbags
Comfortable front seats – adjustable headrest can be lived with
Amazing space at the rear seat – 3 people in comfort with around 4 inches to spare of legroom till the front seat (set for my driving position).
Flat rear floor makes middle passenger comfortable
Fairly decent and usable bootspace of around 251L. When folded it goes to around 500L.
Service interval of 10K after initial service at 1K. Also option of Smile service packages for lower costs.
3 years 1Lakh Km warranty
ARAI claimed mileage of 23.59 (Not able to test mileage in the short drive I did)

Negatives:

Noise from the engine sounded like a share auto. This was heard over the AC. I guess one will get used to it over time- but for the entire duration of the test drive – this bothered me. The Figo in comparison had a muted thrum and the Maruti diesels had a similar muted thrum that was not annoying.
Horn sounded adequate but was only a single one.

Missing features (that would make this a truly great car):

Tachometer
Split folding rear seat
Seat height adjust
Music system (strangely they have speakers installed for the GD SP trim but no music system)
Fog lamps
Alloys
Climate control / switch for fresh air/recirculation – the slider is from 1980s !!!

Availability at this time is around 30-45 days. Price for top end GD SP Diesel trim on road Chennai is 7.14L.

Overall:

You get a Toyota badge on your vehicle for the price. Ride and handling are decent enough. Feature list is a bit short and makes the Figo seem like a major value for money deal.

Also points to think about – do you really need a diesel – if not then can you spend a bit more for the Etios sedan (in petrol) ? The pricing for the top end Etios Sedan diesel on road I felt was a bit too much coming at around 9.46 on road.

Other Notes:

PS: Images are from www.toyotabharat.com & toyotaetiosliva.in

I just noticed – almost every image of the Liva on the Toyota websites – are with the body kit and spoiler and with alloys (found only on the VX petrol trim) !!!! One has to pay extra for the body kit to be added to the diesels.

<- What it looks like without the body kit (see circled areas). Couldn’t find any other image without the body kit on the site :-).

<- Looks much more improved with body kit, spoiler and alloys(see circled areas). Fog lamps as well.(Click on image to view larger size)

Ford Figo Titanium (Diesel) Short Test Drive

April 2, 2012 admin

I test drove a Ford Figo Diesel in Titanium trim after a long time of not having done any test drives. It was a fairly short one for around 2 kms over bad roads and for around 2 kms on good roads. The car had four guys (myself, a colleague of mine and two salesmen from Ford). I drove mostly on the bad roads and my colleague on the better roads. Done after lunch near office.

Positives:

Good leg room in the back and can seat 3 on the rear seats (its got a larger wheelbase than the Swift, Ritz, Indica,I10 , Beat) – in close contact
Ride fairly good over bad roads and vehicle felt pretty stable
Good sized rear view mirrors and rear and all around visibility
Seat material seemed pretty rugged and could live up to some wear and tear – no choice on seat colors though.
Adequate looking boot space (284 they claim)
Afternoon sun with red dashboard didn’t cause any reflections on windshield
The demo car brought for the TD had a “demo car” sticker at the back and had around 25K kms on the odometer. Didn’t notice any rattles during our TD – but also one of the two salesmen was on the phone for a good duration trying to get a good deal on life insurance J.
AC was felt in the rear even at speed 2 on the blower – however we didn’t get to check how soon it chilled the interiors since the AC was on even before we got in the vehicle. More than 2 the noise of the blower begins to be loud.
Only Titanium trim comes with ABS & Airbags (not available on lower trims as an option even)
Defogger shows up from ZXI(mid trim) trim onward – this is a good point – Maruti provides this only on their Top end ZXI trims only.

Negatives:

2nd gear seemed to be a bit sluggish – I have only my recent 1.3 petrol Swift to compare with – and in comparison this felt slower to respond – however in 3rd things seemed a bit livelier. Noticed by my colleague as well.
Turn indicators on the left hand side of steering wheel. Not a deal breaker but annoying as hell if you have/drive other brand vehicles as well. I kept switching on the wipers multiple times during my TD.
Driver seat position was not comfortable for me with my left knee hitting the dashboard console. Colleague was ok.
Adjusting the seats couple of times didn’t help get me any more comfortable than when I started.
Door pockets useful only for papers/magazines etc.
The plastic on the B-pillars outside had faded to a dull grey like old Maruti 800 bumpers. On pointing this to the sales guy he mentioned it needs polish periodically to look ok.
The sound of the diesel engine is apparent when pushed in 2nd and 3rd. Got used to it by the end of the TD
No power windows for rear doors, climate control, fog lamps, steering controls , alloy wheels even on Titanium (highest) trim
Single folding rear seats (isn’t it time split folding rear seats become the norm ?)
Rear Wash and wipe only on Titanium

Odd:

Boot release button on the dashboard – I kept searching on the floor near the driver’s seat and found only petrol tank release.
Gear lever seems a bit too long (would have felt better if it was shorter maybe by an inch or so)
Seat belts are in a fixed position on the B-pillars. If you are not comfortable with the seat-belts – you may find the driving position with seat-belts irritating.
Odd colored dashboard option 🙂
Even odder combination when paired with the wild green colored exterior (The color is called “Squeeze”)
Forgot to check the glove box space and for the bonnet release which I didn’t see near the driver’s seat – turns out its on the passenger side.

Cool and interesting features of the Figo (Didn’t get to test these):

Rapid Deceleration Warning
Distance to Empty Meter
6 Speed Smart Wipers
Lane Change Indication
Bluetooth Phone Connectivity

Overall:

I didn’t get to take it on one of our “highways” – but I guess OMR can be called a highway of sorts. Ford did a price reduction recently in 2012 and this is after a price increase with some additional features in 2011.
Would I buy this car ? Yes – only if I couldn’t afford to wait for something with more bells and whistles for the price and with a more responsive engine. If you are in a hurry and want a diesel engine hatchback with a minimal waiting period – this vehicle does most things well and can be a worthy choice among other options available. Also check the options from this list: http://cars.zimbly.com/2009/07/diesel-hatchbacks-comparison-chart-updated-with-hyundai-i20-crdi/

Only other point to remember is this car has not had any exterior updates since the time of launch – now over 2 years without it means it could happen anytime within the next 6 months to a year. Changes may not be very major but still …worth a thought.

Automatic Cars in India costing less than 16Lakhs (Updated 2012, March)

March 27, 2012 admin

I finally updated the list of automatic cars currently available in India today after close to a year.

Now the list has 12 vehicles with the Dzire, Rapid and Fiesta petrols being added newly. Verna details are updated with the new Fluidic which comes both in petrol and diesel. Civic , Cruze and Corolla have been moved out as they do not come under 16L.

Here is the complete list of automatic vehicles costing under 16 lakhs (on road-Chennai):

Reva Maini (CVT)(Electric)
Maruti Suzuki A-Star VXI AT(4 speed)(Petrol)
Hyundai I10 1.2 Kappa Sportz (4 speed)(Petrol)
Maruti Suzuki Dzire 1.2 (AT) (4 speed)(Petrol)
Hyundai I20 1.4 Gamma – Sportz AT (4 speed)(Petrol)
Hyundai Verna Fluidic 1.6 – Petrol and Diesel Automatic (4 speed)
Maruti Suzuki SX4 ZXI AT( 4 speed)(Petrol)
Honda City(4 speed with paddle shift)(Petrol)
Ford Fiesta Powershift ( 6 speed, Dual Clutch)(Petrol)
Skoda Rapid AT (6 Speed)(Petrol)
Volkswagen Vento Highline 1.6 (6 speed)(Petrol)
Scorpio VLX AT(6 speed) (Diesel)

Only the Verna comes with a petrol and a diesel automatic. Most of the vehicles on the list are petrols and it seems very obvious that Indian Manufacturers expect the automatics to be primarily used for shorter distances where the diesel advantage of mileage is not required. The Ford fiesta alone stands out as a petrol with 6 speeds, dual clutch system and very decent ride and handling.

Also the automatic versions typically higher in price than their equivalent manual siblings. Add a diesel engine to the mix and the pricing may very well come from one segment higher. So usually the automatic comes only with a petrol.

The post I had shared in 2011 March about Automatic transmission vehicles is here with the original list and some myths about automatics. With the traffic one has to face in Indian cities – the automatic will become a definite must have for some reduced stress.

Some vehicles being talked about that may come out later this year with Automatic Transmissions are the Nissan Sunny and the Tata Aria. The Reva NXR that has been talked about for years will also have a CVT – whenever it gets launched.

Wishlist:

Now that Maruti has the 4 speed auto on the DZire – when can we see it on the Swift ?

How about an automatic Figo and Ecosport ?

Automatic Jazz / Brio anyone ?

Automatic Fabia / Polo ?

Tata is conspicuous by its absence in this list – they need to get something done regarding this soon.

Swift and Fabia separated at birth (I mean design) ?

September 25, 2009 admin

Were the Swift and Fabia – separated at birth or whatever back of envelope drawing that first conceived their deisgn ? I have always felt there are way too many similarities in the design of the Swift and the Fabia. Have not had a chance to drive the Fabia but got a chance to park next to one and sneak a few photos off my mobile :-).

(Please click on the thumbnails for larger versions)

Design Similarities:

Overall silhouette with tapering roof
Glass house area tapering towards C-pillar
Blacked out A pillar
Bonnet line joining base of A pillar
Other than the front grilles the bonnet outline is very similar

Design Differences:

The Fabia is narrower by a little bit but longer than the Swift resulting in a longer rear door that doesnt taper as much.
The Swift is a bit taller and wider while the Fabia seems lower and flatter.
The Swift has better curves 😉
Headlamps, Grille, fog lamps are the key differences up front.
The rear is different enough – the Swift shows its width with a portly rear.

Related External Link: Also A bit dated comparison between the Getz, Swift and Fabia by BS Motoring.com.

Question: Are there other cars on the road that you think have such visual similarities ? Do let me know. I will do a series of such posts.

Diesel Hatchbacks Comparison Chart Updated with Hyundai I20 CRDI

July 9, 2009 admin

The diesel hatchback comparison chart is now updated to include the Hyundai I20 CRDI Diesel. The comparison is for the highest end trims for all models. Why ? Because only then can we compare features to features. the lower end trims are basically diesel engine and chassis.

The list now contains the following:

Ford Fusion Plus TDCi
Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI Elegance
Getz Prime 1.5 CRDI GVS
Suzuki Swift VDI ABS
Suzuki Ritz VDI ABS
Grande Punto Emotion Pack Multijet
Hyundai I20 Asta (O) CRDI
Palio Stile 1.3 SDX
Indica Vista Aura Quadrajet
Indica Vista Aqua TDI
Tata Indica V2 DLS BS III

The specifications are now color coded to indicate the largest dimension/best value/cheapest cost(green) and lowest dimension/value /highest cost(red). Hope this sheet is easier to read now.

The costliest is still the Skoda Fabia and the cheapest still remains the Indica V2.

The I20 is the second costliest in this comparison but also comes with a long list of features even longer than the Fabia.

Middle of the list with medium features and middle of road price is the Swift and the Ritz.

Here is the list : Diesel Hatchbacks Comparison Chart. Here was my original post on the diesel hatchbacks with more analysis on the data: Are you looking for a Diesel Hatchback ?

Thanks: A lot of feedback, errata identification and great suggestions from Jacob, Manoj and Vasu were used to update the older sheet – Thank you for reading through in detail and giving valuable feedback and pointing out the many errors !

Some items still pending such as mileage data for the latest updated cars and the performance figures for acceleration and braking. This will be done in the next update.

The I20 & I: I tried checking with the Hyundai dealership I bought my Getz from but they still do not have a registered Diesel or Automatic available for TD. They have promised to get me a TD as soon as their vehicles get registered.

Are you looking for a Diesel Hatchback ?

June 14, 2009 admin

If you are looking for a Diesel Hatchback and need an easy reference comparison sheet for all the new vehicle models available in India – you have come to the right post. If you have reached here in error and Petrol Hatchbacks are what you want take a look at Petrol Super Hatchbacks Comparison.

The vehicles I have compiled the technical specifications and key features for include the Ford Fusion Plus TDCi, Skoda Fabia TDI Elegance, Hyundai Getz Prime CDRI GVS, Maruti Suzuki Swift VDI ABS, Maruti Suzuki Ritz VDI ABS, Tata Indica Vista Aura Quadrajet, Fiat Palio Stile Multijet SDX and the long running Tata Indica V2 DLS. The maximum price of the vehicles I have listed is under 9 Lakhs (on road). Frankly – if you are spending more than 6.5 lakhs for a hatchback – you better have some really good reasons not to go in for a sedan.

Indian Diesel Hatchback Trivia:
Shortest:Tata Indica V2 DLS
Longest Hatchback & Longest Wheel Base: Ford Fusion Plus
Widest: Ford Fusion Plus
Largest Fuel Tank:Fiat Palio Stile
Tallest:Maruti Suzuki Ritz VDI
Most Fuel Efficient:Maruti Suzuki Ritz VDI/ Runner Up: Maruti Suzuki Swift VDI
Most Powerful Engine, Highest Top Speed and Fastest in 0-100 time:Hyundai Getz Prime CRDI
Smallest Turning Radius:Maruti Suzuki Swift & Ritz
Lightest Weight:Tata Indica V2

**Best Ground Clearance: Ford Fusion Plus (The number needs to be checked – I got it from the Ford website – but it puts offroaders to shame)

Here is the data sheet: Diesel Hatchbacks Comparison to help you choose the car for you. If you need help deciding or have questions please feel free to ask through the comments or through the contact form.

PS: Please let me know if you have any additional data that can be added to the sheet to improve it.

Updated: June 18th to add details of the Fiat Grande Punto to the comparison.

I20’s Jazz-Fusion Getz Fabialous & U/VA’s Swift move to Ritzy Vistas!

June 12, 2009 admin

After the Honda Jazz release on June 10th, I updated my Super Hatch (Petrol) Comparison chart. I will do a Diesel sheet soon.

While doing the updates I realized if the Jazz can touch 8 lakhs+ on road and still be in the sheet – then it was inexcusable on my part to omit the Ford Fusion which I had earlier left out because I was wanting to keep the list under 7 lakhs. It is a bit of a misfit since it has a 1.6L engine while the others are 1.3L at most.

Here is the data sheet for you to draw your own conclusions: Super Hatch Comparison Chart.

My Thoughts: Overall the Hyundai I20 seems to be spacious and feature loaded at a decent price when compared to the Fabia and the Jazz. It tops in safety features as well. Compared to the Jazz, now even the Fabia seems like a value for money car !

PS: Hope the post title made some sense :-). Have a Happy Weekend !

Which car is better – the Ritz or the Swift ?

June 4, 2009 admin

I test drove the Maruti Suzuki Ritz ZXI (Petrol) last weekend. I am comparing it to the Swift as I think customers will find it tough to decide between these two cars from Maruti.

Exteriors:

I like the front and the front 3 quarter view. Looks like a mature grown up Swift !
To get used to the rear I may have to start drinking something stronger than non-alcoholic beverages and quite a bit of it as well till my vision blurs. The rear doesn’t look too bad when the car has wider tires (like on the ZXI) and also when it is on the move. When stopped and up close it does look a oddish nice kind of strange.
The side view is interesting till the C pillar – then almost like the designers ran out of paper/screen space while making the drawing they stopped with a vertical line and ended the rear !
You will tire of hearing about the “boomerang” shaped tail lights from the dealer sales person very quickly. You would wish you had a real boomerang to fling at the sales guy. The tail lamps are pulled inwards and a strange window lineof the side windows is seen when viewed from the full straight rear position.
The exterior door handles, ORVMS are the same/very similar as the Swift. Rear bumper fog lamp looks similar.
The bonnet seems higher than the Swift. Good for gently tapping errant pedestrians and accounts for better pedestrian safety for sure.

Here is a side by side comparison of the Swift (my own car) and the Ritz exteriors.

Interiors:

The seating position is a bit higher than in the Swift and seats feel the same. Almost like sitting on a cushion and driving the Swift.

The front quarter glass was a nice touch and helps a bit with visibility up front but there is still a huge blind spot at the A-pillar. Otherwise front visibility is good.

Visibility from the back will take some getting used to as the rear glass seems a bit small.

Rear wash/wipe & defogger only on the ZXI (just like the Swift).

The space saved by moving the gear lever in front isn’t used for anything.

The outside rear view mirrors are well placed, right sized and useful.

Lot of the interior is borrowed/shared with the Swift but still some cost cutting seems to have been there. Indicator/Wiper stalks, steering wheel, door locks & power window switches are all the same. Ashtray is the same. Gear lever knob is almost the same. Interior roof light seems the same.

The open glove box in addition to the closed one on the ZXI with the airbags is very useful – something the Swift ZXI doesn’t have and wastes space because of the airbags. The coin holder and storage space on the top of the dashboard is also good. Glove box seems similar in size to the Swift.

The front door pockets have storage space for bottles. There is only one central console mounted cup holder.

The steering mounted stereo controls are good but a bit annoying till u get used to them since they are in the spot the horn is on my car. Instead of honking I found myself increasing the stereo volume or muting the stereo without wanting to. The buttons seem a bit delicate and fiddly. More video game like than car like.

The increased head room allows 3 people to sit a lot more comfortably at the back than in a Swift. Legroom in the back was more than adequate. Feels more spacious than the Swift.

Luggage space was almost the same as the swift. If you want to carry a lot of luggage you should look at other vehicles possibly sedans. The 60:40 split is possibly the only saving grace of this car – I really wish the Swift had this.

The two tone dashboard was of a slightly vague light blue-grey color. I didn’t care for it too much. Matching colors to the exterior would have made sense but someone at Suzuki likes that weird color of blue.

The front under seat storage is a joke. Very small and without a lock. A newspaper and a magazine may just fit into it. If it were metal it could have been used to bake brownies – it was shaped like that.

Air conditioning seemed just about adequate (maybe the larger glass areas and lack of tints on the Demo car and the hot summer sun was a factor). I may have been spoilt by driving around with climate control and dark tinted small windows in the Swift. Blower fan gets noisy at “3” position. The side vents close fully and are a design different from the Swift. The climate control is the only key feature missing on the Ritz that the Swift has.

Drive & Handling:

It took some time to get used to the gear shifter because it is positioned almost a half a foot ahead of the gear shifter in the Swift/most cars. The gear shifter felt really good and the shifts were very precise – even better than the Swift. For people with multiple cars this gear shift will be a difficult to get used to, especially when you have to switch cars daily. On the move the car is very silent and the engine barely lets you know it is on and running and at idle it was very silent. It did make some minimal noise when pushed but for it to move you have to push it past 3000 RPM. The older Swift engine would be screaming a nice song at 3K RPM.

Clutch, brake & accelerator pedals are the same as the Swift. Clutch is light and easy to use.

First gear seemed ok enough but the 2nd gear seemed a bit lethargic and the 3rd gear seemed pretty decent. I barely managed to get to 4th before I had to shift down because of traffic. By then the TD was over and we were back at the dealership.

The separate tachometer was a bit distracting in my view. Maybe since I am used to a tachometer next to the speedometer.

The ride was smooth and handled rough patches of road without too much noise and without losing balance. It didn’t feel top heavy like the Wagon-R does when taking turns at speed. The wider stance has to be thanked for it.

Visibility out front is very good and maneuvering the car in traffic is easy. Of course it is not an 800 but easy enough to drive.

Dealership/OEM Updates:

There seems to be sufficient interest in the car at the dealership and there was a steady stream of people coming to do test drives. Was almost knocked down by an 80 year old man and his wife who were rushing to TD the Ritz. This couple was doing the TD after finalizing the deal for buying the car !!!!! The people coming to TD the Ritz seem to primarily be ones who are married and have a family.

The dealer also mentioned that Maruti is forecasting long delays on all other vehicles other than the A-Star, Ritz and SX4 to make sure the sales of these continues. They are also trying as much as possible to not take bookings of any vehicle other than the above mentioned 3 cars. Even test drives of other vehicles are not being done ! I think this may backfire and cause people to defect to Hyundai , Tata and other manufacturers. Need to wait and see how well the Ritz is received and also if Hyundai and Tata sales go up because of Maruti.

Which one is better ?
There is no binary answer to this question. The Ritz is better than the Swift because of its fuel efficient, lighter, newer engine, interior space, features. The Swift is better than the Ritz for its looks, sporty responsive drive, slightly better trim level and features. Both seem to have their good features.

If you want a new car that does everything well, has seating space for 5 and will offend no one – take the Ritz.
If you have dreams of up-sized/wide alloys rims, low profile tires, spoilers, body kits, vinyl stickering and sports tuning then go for the Swift.

Test drive both and then just flip a coin and choose whichever one. You win with either of the two !

PS: Thanks to Senthil for the photos !

Indian Super Hatches Comparison

May 16, 2009 admin

The market segment of feature filled large size hatchbacks in India is becoming very exciting with several new model launches planned for the next few months starting with the just launched Ritz in May, Jazz in June and the Punto and Polo soon after. If you were looking at purchasing a large sized Hatchback and puzzled with the options before you, you must have realised the need to do a lot of research to narrow down what fits your budget and your needs.

: Image via Wikipedia

: Image via Wikipedia

“Don’t Panic” – help is at hand. I have done the research on the key features, dimensions and specifications of the large hatchbacks available in the Indian market today for you. The focus of my comparison is primarily space,safety and features.

Vehicles compared:

Skoda Fabia 1.2 Ambiente
Hyundai I20 Asta(O)
Chevrolet Aveo U-VA 1.2 LT
Hyundai Getz Prime 1.3 GLX
Indica Vista Saffire Aura
Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXI
Maruti Suzuki Ritz ZXI

These are all petrols only to keep the total on road cost under 7 lakhs. Indian Manufacturers have the highest trim levels with safety features only on their petrol models. The Fabia, Getz Prime, Swift & Ritz come in diesel versions as well but are usually not as well equipped (only exception being the Fabia) as the petrol equivalents.These vehicles have a good mix of space, are fairly new on the market and come with basic safety features. (**I have included the Indica Vista in the list only because it was similar in size to the other but feature wise it doesn’t come close).

The attached PDF file has this in an easy to compare format. Do take a look and let me know if you need any additional information. Click here for the PDF file. (I am not affiliated to any of the manufacturers other than through ownership of a Getz and a Swift.)

Do also take a look at these older posts of mine to help you

Updated June 14th:

Do also take a look at the following:

How to select your first car ?

February 25, 2009 admin

You have never owned a car in your life and are now at a point where you are considering the purchase of your first car. This is a big step for most people in India an aspiration that probably is a close second to owning a house. Most times people first buy a car and then go on to owning a house.

You need to/want to buy your first car for one of the following top 10 reasons:

You are beginning your work life and there is pressure from family to avoid buying/riding a two wheeler
You were taking public transport but for some health reasons cannot continue using it or the routes have changed
Your Company has cut back on pick-up/drop
Your home/workplace has changed and it is too far for a two wheeler and public transport is not feasible
You are getting married
You are expecting a baby
It has become affordable for you
You will be Getting/Got a promotion
You are now getting a vehicle purchase/lease/maintenance allowance with tax benefits
You have aged/ailing parents/in-laws who will be staying with you and cannot take them around by other means of transport

You have your reasons for purchasing a vehicle. What should you buy is determined mainly by your finances and by your requirements. If you are not clear on your requirements this post will help you clarify your requirements. This post will not pick the vehicle for you as that is something you will have to do based on your specific situation.

If you have little or no prior car driving experience (days in driving school don’t count) and live in a crowded city and with a limited budget you are better off going in for a good used car to learn your driving in. If you are particular about reliability go for a certified used car. If your budget allows it you should go in for a new car but here again I would suggest a compact hatchback to start. Upgrade whenever you are comfortable with driving and do so in a time frame that you don’t lose money on the sale.

If you have sufficient driving experience and your budget permits you should go in for the vehicle that best matches your requirements.

What you should consider while making the decision:

· What is your budget for purchase and what is your annual budget for maintenance & insurance?

· Do you need to take a loan? If so how much money do you need to keep ready from your side and how much will the loan cover?

· Do you mind buying a used car or do you prefer a new one? (Check: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying-car/17751-article-buying-new-car-vs-used-car.html)

· Will you drive or have a driver? (If you plan to keep a driver you would be looking for good front passenger side comfort and rear seat comfort and space, rugged build and good mileage while if you would be driving it yourself driving comfort would be of first importance)

· Do you have any special requirements or needs (very tall or short driver or a physical disability requiring a hand controlled vehicle)? (Some manufacturers build custom hand controlled vehicles with automatic gear shifters that allow people with disabilities to drive a car easily.

· How many passengers would you need to carry frequently? For example if you may be the primary driver during the week but on weekends you would like to ferry along the entire family of 5/6/7 people on outings. If you have a small number you may be able to do with a hatchback or a entry level compact sedan but if you have a large family you may need to look at SUVs/MUVs.

· How much and where will you be driving? (If you will be driving a lot then it may make sense to look for a vehicle that runs on diesel or is a petrol car allowing the use of petrol and LPG or CNG or a petrol electric hybrid. If your travel is limited then a petrol would do just as well since the vehicle would be cheaper and wouldn’t warrant the higher initial purchase price)

· Do you have space to park the vehicle of your choice easily and safely? (you may need to choose a smaller vehicle if your parking spot doesn’t allow a large vehicle)

· How important is looks, colors, features, safety, performance, ease of driving, space, payload, mileage, maintenance cost, ASS (After Sales Service) to you?

· Do you have a preferred brand you want to buy? If you like a certain brand you may have a more positive view of vehicles of that brand – it also makes sense to test drive vehicles from their competitors as well for you may be pleasantly surprised.

· What features are must haves for you and what are nice to have?

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