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WARNING: THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY LONG. I RECOMMEND ORDERING A DOMINOES PIZZA WHICH SHALL ARRIVE BEFORE YOU FINISH READING THIS!!
Hello fellow TAIgers,
A car in my family is not just to take us from point A to point B, each and every day whenever it rolls out of the garage, it is driven with passion, love and care. This very much explains that why we have celebrated the birthday of our Daewoo Matiz all these 14 years. The Matiz has been very reliable and gotten us through pure SUV territories numerous times. On a continuous stretch, my father has driven it for 10 hours many times when we used to live in NTPC Rihand Colony in sonebhadra district and used to go to Kanpur. The roads en-route, the less spoken the better! So, now after 14 years, we needed a new vehicle as the Matiz was showing its age, problems in servicing and maintaining it as well as due to frequent small problems. Moreover, some crucial exams of my brother were coming up and so a new, bigger, reliable vehicle was necessary. We went on to look for our perfect vehicle which took almost 5 months of decision making.
The Contenders :
We had a budget maxing out at 10-10.5OTR. 10 was a stretch and 10.5 was an even higher stretch. My father loves driving but on the other hand never accepts it, but give him a good set of wheels and watch him zooming past the traffic! Thus, he said to us, the less expenditure the better which we took with a pinch of salt!
Thus the contenders were -
Well, on seeing the contenders, most of you must be thinking how can we compare cars amongst segments? Well, we being a typical Indian family wanted to explore all the options available and see which one is the most appropriate one. Before writing the requirements, I must tell that my brother wanted the terrano(way out of budget) and so Duster because they have good ground clearance and come with go anywhere assurance. My Mother has had the Honda City as her favourite while my sister also wanted a SUV but in sedans, her favourite was The Hyundai Verna. Now coming to me, I as totally fallen for the Honda City but seeing the state of roads here, thought that the Ecosport or Duster should be it. As far as my father is concerned, all the above options in contenders list are present because of him or else it would have been a straight City vs Verna vs Duster vs Ecosport. Now, without blabbering any more, the requirements were -
DECISION MAKING:
Now, the concept of Compact sedans just goes over me. I cannot bear their looks(no offense meant to owners - just personal opinion) and so was against any of the compact sedan.
In our colony, Nissan had put up its camp where the Terrano XL and Sunny XV were present for test drive. We test drove both. My mother did not like the Sunny one bit. Somehow, the headroom was not adequate and the whole time we were in the car, both me and my mother felt suffocating at the rear. Though it had almost every feature but then the grey interior theme did not give sense of luxury and the engines were nothing extraordinary. On the other hand, the Terrano won the heart of everyone. The space at the rear is top class. The rear legroom is short but once you get seated seats are comfortable and rear seat is very wide. But the Terrano was going way over our budget.
Now, we live in a sub-urban place, the nearest cities being Allahabad, Lucknow and Kanpur with allahabad the nearest. Moreover, we frequently go to Allahabad for dropping of my sister at the Railway Station. Now, our town has Ford, Maruti, Hyundai,TATA dealerships and so Ecosport was checked out first. We visited the dealer three times, once with me, seocnd time with me and sister and third time with brother. Everyone liked it. At the showroom, it looked quite big, features were awesome, good build quality and adequate ground clearance. But the dealer was trying to convince us for a diesel version(this is during May 2014) and was promising delivery within a month but was not able to provide a Petrol model. Moreover, the test drive was not pleasing. Ecosport has a harsh ride and space at rear is strictly for two adults and one child. My father, brother and mother felt very claustrophobic at the rear (infact, it felt as if they were sitting in a new Matiz!!). However, the situation at the front is completely reverse, ride quality upfront is good and space as well. the price hikes made matter worse and it could not justify its 10l+ tag to us. On the road, it looks quite small and so was ruled out.
The only other car with good ground clearance was Renault Duster. On a trip to Allahabad with me and my sister we checked the Duster. The dealership experience was fine though they took sometime to arrange a test-drive. The SA went with us in a new Duster and to show its SUV characteristics, he drove with the left side below the road. Ride quality was awesome. It was roomy and since we liked the terrano everyone liked the Duster as well except my mother. She did not like the looks. Moreover, my Sister felt as if the plastic quality everywhere was a bit cheap. It had necessary features though some like climate control were missing. On talking with the dealer, he advised us to go for the diesel and was ready to provide immediate delivery but was refraining from the petrol model. He told us it gives very poor mileage and they had sold very less petrols etc. But the deal breaker was the fact that the Petrol Rxl had no safety feature and diesel Rxl had it as an option. But the diesel was way over the budget and keeping in mind the running, it did not make any sense to go for the diesel. Though the Dealer tried to tempt us with providing free insurance on the diesel variant still it was stretch for us. Moreover, my mother was against the Duster and slowly my sister as well became neutral. For many days, the possibility of duster was discussed and eventually it was ruled out.
All the SUVs' were ruled out. The next vehicle with good GC was Linea T-jet. My father liked it very much on seeing the GC and big wheels and fat tires on the brochure and seeing many reviews. But the Linea gave very poor mileage and its service centre was only in Lucknow, there was a showroom in Kanpur but Fiat India website showed no service center there. Hence, it was ruled out mainly because of service center issue as we have faced a lot of problem servicing the Matiz and with very less holidays, it was not possible for my father to take a leave specifically for servicing the car.
Now we visited the Hyundai Dealership to test-drive the verna for a total of 3 times. Alas, there was no test drive model available. Each time the SA would say that he will come the car to our home but would never come. Still we checked out the Verna being neutral with the dealer. My sister was the happiest person in the showroom. Well, the white colour SX top model did look hot! It was the rear seat under thigh support and high window line that put us off. Moreover, when spending 10l+, it made sense to go for the City. And the SA was not knowing anything about the car. For any query, he would look in the brochure and tell, I think he learned more thing about the car by me than he did in his career. Later we came to know that he was knew to Hyundai, earlier worked in MS. Then the 4th time, when we one day were considering the Xcent, the SA called and we told him about being interested in Xcent. He brought over a red color top model. There was nothing wrong with the car and at its price point it was way cheaper than the cars we were considering. However, compact sedans just go over me and there were many heated arguments after which it was decided to rule our the Xcent.
Then, on day my father and mother along with my brother went to Lucknow for some work and test drove the Honda Amaze and City at Stallion Honda. The same thing, everyone was okay with Amaze except me. My sister said that if it was not verna then it didn't matter which car we buy. The size of Xcent and Amaze was just right and the bonnet was also about the size of our Matiz so my brother and father felt at home test-driving them but they felt City a bit too big. The feeling became more felt since they were driving it in a congested area. When my mother and father called I said a straight no for the Amaze. As a result it was decided that the City should be booked, over the phone. On my insistence, Crystal Black Pearl City V i-vtec was booked on 23rd June with Stallion Honda, Lucknow and my father told them that he needs the car on 27th July, not one day before and not one day after. It was some auspicious day.
Now, you all must be feeling that the City was booked so easily even though it has its own shortcomings. Now City ticked most of our requirements except the GC one. Moreover, when my sister saw it, she also liked it very much. It was a default choice in the family, my father too liked it from the very beginning but just wanted to explore other options. Also, the City enjoys a big fan following in India and commands a symbol of status and respect on the roads. Hence, it was decides so.
By the way, i left out Swift Dzire and Ertiga. Eritga was rejected for its MPV design immediately by my mother and sister and me as well. As far as Swift Dzire is concerned, my father found the drive seat very low even at max setting and did not feel comfortable at all and so did not even take a test-drive. In the showroom, a SX4 on display was offered by the SA for a flat 2lac discount. The high GC, big wheels and the Maruti badge immediately tempted my father (this showroom visit was done before visiting Stallion Honda on the same day) and they called me. I to save my City, told my mother that it was soon going to be discontinued and she said a straight no for the SX4 since we have already faced a lot of problems with Daewoo closing its operations.
Readers do post comments and rate the thread, also scopes for improvement!
Hello fellow TAIgers,
A car in my family is not just to take us from point A to point B, each and every day whenever it rolls out of the garage, it is driven with passion, love and care. This very much explains that why we have celebrated the birthday of our Daewoo Matiz all these 14 years. The Matiz has been very reliable and gotten us through pure SUV territories numerous times. On a continuous stretch, my father has driven it for 10 hours many times when we used to live in NTPC Rihand Colony in sonebhadra district and used to go to Kanpur. The roads en-route, the less spoken the better! So, now after 14 years, we needed a new vehicle as the Matiz was showing its age, problems in servicing and maintaining it as well as due to frequent small problems. Moreover, some crucial exams of my brother were coming up and so a new, bigger, reliable vehicle was necessary. We went on to look for our perfect vehicle which took almost 5 months of decision making.
The Contenders :
We had a budget maxing out at 10-10.5OTR. 10 was a stretch and 10.5 was an even higher stretch. My father loves driving but on the other hand never accepts it, but give him a good set of wheels and watch him zooming past the traffic! Thus, he said to us, the less expenditure the better which we took with a pinch of salt!
Thus the contenders were -
- Hyundai Verna
- Fiat Linea T-jet
- Renault Duster
- Honda Amaze
- Ford Ecosport
- 4th gen. Honda City
- Maruti Suzuki Ertiga
- Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire
- Hyundai Xcent
- Nissan Sunny/Renault Scala
Well, on seeing the contenders, most of you must be thinking how can we compare cars amongst segments? Well, we being a typical Indian family wanted to explore all the options available and see which one is the most appropriate one. Before writing the requirements, I must tell that my brother wanted the terrano(way out of budget) and so Duster because they have good ground clearance and come with go anywhere assurance. My Mother has had the Honda City as her favourite while my sister also wanted a SUV but in sedans, her favourite was The Hyundai Verna. Now coming to me, I as totally fallen for the Honda City but seeing the state of roads here, thought that the Ecosport or Duster should be it. As far as my father is concerned, all the above options in contenders list are present because of him or else it would have been a straight City vs Verna vs Duster vs Ecosport. Now, without blabbering any more, the requirements were -
- High Ground Clearance to face the pot-hole laden roads here(though work is going on to road smooth tarmac). - put forward by my brother.
- A good looking vehicle that commands respect - by my mother and me.
- Coming with all possible gizmos - by me
- Should have ABS, EBD and at least two airbags - by me though everyone else was okay without these saying that in all these years our Matiz has fared well without any safety feature and all..
![[frustration]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Frustration.gif "Frustration [frustration]")
- Should be able to seat 3 at the rear comfortably ( we are a family of 5 though it is rarely that all the 5 are present at home simultaneously)
- A Petrol engine with manual gearbox and good mileage, we did not want to spend on an auto tranny since my father was ok with manual. Our running is very less. Our 14 year old Matiz has only ran 84000 kms and now we are near to our native place so running is going to be more less.
DECISION MAKING:
Now, the concept of Compact sedans just goes over me. I cannot bear their looks(no offense meant to owners - just personal opinion) and so was against any of the compact sedan.
In our colony, Nissan had put up its camp where the Terrano XL and Sunny XV were present for test drive. We test drove both. My mother did not like the Sunny one bit. Somehow, the headroom was not adequate and the whole time we were in the car, both me and my mother felt suffocating at the rear. Though it had almost every feature but then the grey interior theme did not give sense of luxury and the engines were nothing extraordinary. On the other hand, the Terrano won the heart of everyone. The space at the rear is top class. The rear legroom is short but once you get seated seats are comfortable and rear seat is very wide. But the Terrano was going way over our budget.
Now, we live in a sub-urban place, the nearest cities being Allahabad, Lucknow and Kanpur with allahabad the nearest. Moreover, we frequently go to Allahabad for dropping of my sister at the Railway Station. Now, our town has Ford, Maruti, Hyundai,TATA dealerships and so Ecosport was checked out first. We visited the dealer three times, once with me, seocnd time with me and sister and third time with brother. Everyone liked it. At the showroom, it looked quite big, features were awesome, good build quality and adequate ground clearance. But the dealer was trying to convince us for a diesel version(this is during May 2014) and was promising delivery within a month but was not able to provide a Petrol model. Moreover, the test drive was not pleasing. Ecosport has a harsh ride and space at rear is strictly for two adults and one child. My father, brother and mother felt very claustrophobic at the rear (infact, it felt as if they were sitting in a new Matiz!!). However, the situation at the front is completely reverse, ride quality upfront is good and space as well. the price hikes made matter worse and it could not justify its 10l+ tag to us. On the road, it looks quite small and so was ruled out.
The only other car with good ground clearance was Renault Duster. On a trip to Allahabad with me and my sister we checked the Duster. The dealership experience was fine though they took sometime to arrange a test-drive. The SA went with us in a new Duster and to show its SUV characteristics, he drove with the left side below the road. Ride quality was awesome. It was roomy and since we liked the terrano everyone liked the Duster as well except my mother. She did not like the looks. Moreover, my Sister felt as if the plastic quality everywhere was a bit cheap. It had necessary features though some like climate control were missing. On talking with the dealer, he advised us to go for the diesel and was ready to provide immediate delivery but was refraining from the petrol model. He told us it gives very poor mileage and they had sold very less petrols etc. But the deal breaker was the fact that the Petrol Rxl had no safety feature and diesel Rxl had it as an option. But the diesel was way over the budget and keeping in mind the running, it did not make any sense to go for the diesel. Though the Dealer tried to tempt us with providing free insurance on the diesel variant still it was stretch for us. Moreover, my mother was against the Duster and slowly my sister as well became neutral. For many days, the possibility of duster was discussed and eventually it was ruled out.
All the SUVs' were ruled out. The next vehicle with good GC was Linea T-jet. My father liked it very much on seeing the GC and big wheels and fat tires on the brochure and seeing many reviews. But the Linea gave very poor mileage and its service centre was only in Lucknow, there was a showroom in Kanpur but Fiat India website showed no service center there. Hence, it was ruled out mainly because of service center issue as we have faced a lot of problem servicing the Matiz and with very less holidays, it was not possible for my father to take a leave specifically for servicing the car.
Now we visited the Hyundai Dealership to test-drive the verna for a total of 3 times. Alas, there was no test drive model available. Each time the SA would say that he will come the car to our home but would never come. Still we checked out the Verna being neutral with the dealer. My sister was the happiest person in the showroom. Well, the white colour SX top model did look hot! It was the rear seat under thigh support and high window line that put us off. Moreover, when spending 10l+, it made sense to go for the City. And the SA was not knowing anything about the car. For any query, he would look in the brochure and tell, I think he learned more thing about the car by me than he did in his career. Later we came to know that he was knew to Hyundai, earlier worked in MS. Then the 4th time, when we one day were considering the Xcent, the SA called and we told him about being interested in Xcent. He brought over a red color top model. There was nothing wrong with the car and at its price point it was way cheaper than the cars we were considering. However, compact sedans just go over me and there were many heated arguments after which it was decided to rule our the Xcent.
Then, on day my father and mother along with my brother went to Lucknow for some work and test drove the Honda Amaze and City at Stallion Honda. The same thing, everyone was okay with Amaze except me. My sister said that if it was not verna then it didn't matter which car we buy. The size of Xcent and Amaze was just right and the bonnet was also about the size of our Matiz so my brother and father felt at home test-driving them but they felt City a bit too big. The feeling became more felt since they were driving it in a congested area. When my mother and father called I said a straight no for the Amaze. As a result it was decided that the City should be booked, over the phone. On my insistence, Crystal Black Pearl City V i-vtec was booked on 23rd June with Stallion Honda, Lucknow and my father told them that he needs the car on 27th July, not one day before and not one day after. It was some auspicious day.
Now, you all must be feeling that the City was booked so easily even though it has its own shortcomings. Now City ticked most of our requirements except the GC one. Moreover, when my sister saw it, she also liked it very much. It was a default choice in the family, my father too liked it from the very beginning but just wanted to explore other options. Also, the City enjoys a big fan following in India and commands a symbol of status and respect on the roads. Hence, it was decides so.
By the way, i left out Swift Dzire and Ertiga. Eritga was rejected for its MPV design immediately by my mother and sister and me as well. As far as Swift Dzire is concerned, my father found the drive seat very low even at max setting and did not feel comfortable at all and so did not even take a test-drive. In the showroom, a SX4 on display was offered by the SA for a flat 2lac discount. The high GC, big wheels and the Maruti badge immediately tempted my father (this showroom visit was done before visiting Stallion Honda on the same day) and they called me. I to save my City, told my mother that it was soon going to be discontinued and she said a straight no for the SX4 since we have already faced a lot of problems with Daewoo closing its operations.
Readers do post comments and rate the thread, also scopes for improvement!
Last edited by a moderator:
![[cry]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Cry.gif "Cry [cry]")
but then was happy that at least we were buying my favourite car. in second week of July, my father called the SA to enquire about the status of our car. he said that they have a red and can deliver it to us on 27th. In the meanwhile, two Carnelian Red pearl City were brought in our colony and we did not want to bring a third one. So, we called the SA and told him to get a Taffeta White. Now, he was unsure of giving even a red one on the said date and stopped picking up our calls. On 24th some people from Stallion Honda came to tell us that they can get us Golden Brown City and we should pay the remaining amount to block it. My brother and mother were consistent on white. The guys told that they will manage and get us a white on 27th. To our dismay, even they stopped taking our calls and feeling very bad my father went to the stallion on 26th and cancelled the booking. While he was in the showroom, Pushp Honda from Kanpur called my father (we had earlier contacted Pushp Honda as well from getting some quotes) and told them him that they have a White petrol City V and can give us tomorrow. The guy who had brought the red on from Pushp Honda had told him that we were looking for a white City and as a result he called us. What a luck! My father immediately went to Kanpur after cancelling the booking and blocked the car. The next day my brother along with my mother went to take the delivery of the new Member of our family, the White Crusader!![[clap]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Clap.gif "Clap [clap]")
We were given a box of chocolates and the delivery experience was very good. By the way, I now feel that White was a better decision as City looks very classy in white and awesome from any angle especially rear!
![[cheers]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Cheers.gif "Cheers [cheers]")
![[drive]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Drive.gif "Drive [drive]")
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
.Hope for your miles and miles of safe journey.White looks really cool on city by the way what upgrade are you looking for may be art leather seat cover may inhance the looks once again congratulation.
![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
