Elite i20 vs Tata Zest vs 2015 Honda Jazz

[chainznanz]

I was almost about to replace my 14-year-old Indica with Elite i20 top-end petrol. I took the test drive. Under-powered petrol didn't bother me and since my running is ~ 500km per month within city, diesel didn't make sense. I loved the premium finish too. But then I heard stories about hyundai being expensive to maintain, and exorbitant spare parts cost. Is that true?

Then i took a test drive of Zest, and i was amazed at the amount of space the car had. It felt just 10 per cent less premium, but 20 per cent more space. Zest also has 3 years zero maintenance offer.

I wish Honda Jazz would have launched soon - that car seemed perfect for me. I have also heard Honda cars are less expensive to maintain. Should I wait for Jazz?

It would be great to get your perspective on this.

 

[furious_driver]

^^ I would prefer i20 over Zest(infact comparing both is not correct as they belongs to separate category). Since it is mainly city runs, hatchback is more than enough and light steering of i20, you will appreciate in heavy traffic as maneuvering is a breeze which we need in tight city traffic conditions.

Zest is good, but since it is pretty new product, it is good to wait and see if any initial batch niggles are there and may be you can buy second batch(It is huge gamble to risk you money, isn't it?). Since Elite i20 is improvement of older i20, I wouldn't say it is new launch.

And last but not least, the premiumness, trust me, i20 feels plush and rich and it is purely my opinion.

 

[Ajay Sreedhar]

Jazz anyday for me. The first impressions of this car is still knocking my head. Unforgettable.
Note: I am not taking zest for granted. Heard many good things of it. But I would prefer a Honda petrol

 

[furious_driver]

Jazz anyday for me. The first impressions of this car is still knocking my head. Unforgettable.
Note: I am not taking zest for granted. Heard many good things of it. But I would prefer a Honda petrol

When it comes to petrol, I guess Honda & Hyundai is at best(1st & 2nd). This is purely my view and yes, I drove variety of petrol cars from VW to Renault to MSIL.

 

[nishant5858]

Honda Jazz is a wonderful car and it will be "Best Hatchback" after its launched. The old Jazz weakest points were lack of diesel heart and steep price. Now those two negatives will also rectified. So what you basically have is car with no negatives at all.
It scores on every department be it Looks, Engines, Performance, Fuel Efficiency, Space, Comfort, Practicality, Versatility, Dynamics. Getting all these ticked is difficult. If Honda prices it below Elite i20, then it can be termed Value For Money. Honda have big expectation from Jazz this time. I am eagerly waiting for this car. So Jazz for me.

 

[chainznanz]

Thanks for knocking sense into me Furious, I will definitely not buy the first gen and first batch cars. You are absolutely right, it's a huge risk! [thinking]

Thanks Ajay and Nishant - i will definitely wait for March 2015. I can then compare Jazz and Elite i20 and perhaps Zest if ownership reports are good.

P.S. While I was waiting for replies, I compared the mid-variant, Tata Zest XM (5.9 lakhs on road) has more features than i20 Magna (6 lakhs on road). I don't really need it now, but thought i'll still post this for other forum members' benefit.

i20 vs Zest

Auto down power windows - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
P/W after ignition off - [✓]i20, [x]Zest
Auto-lock after 20kmph - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Speakers - [4+2]i20, [4+4]Zest
Distance to Empty - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Fuel Cons./ Avg Display - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Outside Temp Display - [✓]i20, [x]Zest
Exact Door Open Indication - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Headlight On Indicator - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Follow-me home lights - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Anti-drip wiping - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Tinted Glasses - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Projector Lights - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Fog Lamp (Rear) - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Alloys - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Turn Indicator - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Rear Seat Armrest - [✓]i20, [x]Zest

 

[MSN1]

P.S. While I was waiting for replies, I compared the mid-variant, Tata Zest XM (5.9 lakhs on road) has more features than i20 Magna (6 lakhs on road). I don't really need it now, but thought i'll still post this for other forum members' benefit.

i20 vs Zest

Auto down power windows - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
P/W after ignition off - [✓]i20, [x]Zest
Auto-lock after 20kmph - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Speakers - [4+2]i20, [4+4]Zest
Distance to Empty - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Fuel Cons./ Avg Display - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Outside Temp Display - [✓]i20, [x]Zest
Exact Door Open Indication - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Headlight On Indicator - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Follow-me home lights - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Anti-drip wiping - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Tinted Glasses - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Projector Lights - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Fog Lamp (Rear) - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Alloys - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Turn Indicator - [x]i20, [✓]Zest
Rear Seat Armrest - [✓]i20, [x]Zest

Well nice to see you are doing your home work really well,

am sure you will choose the best among the lot

as of now we have amaze, city and mobilo in market with the "H" badge, so will honda bring jazz again ? and if yes then how they price it ? because it will clash or kill mobilo market,

its like how suzuki priced their products very competitively similarly honda pricing is premium

if you are checking zest means i felt you have to checkout amaze as well

 

[chainznanz]

Thanks MSN,
I wanted a premium hatchback with creature comforts which is why I was looking at i20. But Zest is priced competitively so i was tempted. Honda Amaze will be expensive i think, and besides i don't like its dashboard.

It's confirmed that Jazz will launch in March 2015, but who knows how they price it. If they give as many features as they have given in the American Honda Jazz (Honda Fit), it will give serious competition to i20.

Although i20 is very tempting - i loved the test drive. And it looks so gorgeous in red! :)

 

[allhyundaicars]

About the service part. Check the image below. Jazz had the most expensive parts after uva. This is 2 years old so obviously i20's service and labor charges must have increased but same goes for honda.

Jazz is a great car with the best petrol engine in the lot. Interiors too will be top notch.

Imo zest will be the least costliest to maintain then i20, and then the jazz.

And since you already own a tata car why not continue with the same the feature list you mentioned , zest scores more. And i don't think the there should be any problems in city to drive any car. Both have similar lengths.

So i'll recommend zest , if you want to try a different company's product then the i20.

Ps : my experience with hyundai (santro and i10)
I always ask the local mechanics first about any problems.
Sometimes all the service center, not just hyundai, change parts unnecessarily.
Some parts cost the same at service center and local market.(santro's engine oil seal)
Sometimes parts plus labor cost the same (i10's clutch)
Sometimes parts and labor costs double the amount from the local car market. (Labor for changing santro's seal - outside (700 rupees) hyundai(1400,rupees plus tax) [i10's part -outside (2300 rupees) hyundai (6000 rupees)
Sometimes parts plus labor costs half at the service center (i10's Ac service plus cooling coil. Outside ( 3500 + 2500 rupees) hyundai (1900 + 1700 rupees)

 

[nishant5858]

No doubt Spare parts of Honda is on the expensive side, thier service cost is on lower side. In June my Brio was given for 15k service and I did not ask for estimation and after the car was serviced the final bill was Rs.25xx, in same case WagonR and brothers i20 Sportz were given for Service and they ranged in Rs.7000-8000. Isn't that too much when compared to just Rs.2500 ? All cars have covered 15000 kms. I too was really surprised that Maruti & Hyundai are so expensive to service.

And below is the article by Motorbeam which says that Honda Amaze is the "CHEAPEST CAR TO MAINTAIN" in its Class.

2014 Honda Amaze Long Term Review | MotorBeam – Indian Car Bike News & Reviews

 

[allhyundaicars]

^^I don't think he's going for the amaze , or is he ?

I'm not saying hyundai is cheap to maintain , i'm saying all the companies charge unnecessary things even maruti just like you said.

My verna's 1st free service was 1055 rupees and 2nd free service was 1255 rupees , if you add labor cost it will come to 2700 rupees.

It all depends on the work done on the car. If you have the bill please upload. I have several service bills in my thread.

 

[nishant5858]

@allhyundaicars, Agree that bill depends upon the amount of work done. But for normal service like Oil, Filter Change, Wheel Balancing and Washing the bill seems to be high. And these are Paid services not free services. Post 10k every service is paid one. Will upload once I find the bills..!

 

[allhyundaicars]

Please do. I see your's a diesel. Just a guess from my side.
Engine oil - 1500 rupees
Oil filter - 350 rupees.
Periodic maintenance - 1300
Diesel filter - can't say.
Still not near 7k. Should be less than 5k.

 

[generalmax]

No doubt Spare parts of Honda is on the expensive side, thier service cost is on lower side. In June my Brio was given for 15k service and I did not ask for estimation and after the car was serviced the final bill was Rs.25xx, in same case WagonR and brothers i20 Sportz were given for Service and they ranged in Rs.7000-8000. Isn't that too much when compared to just Rs.2500 ? All cars have covered 15000 kms. I too was really surprised that Maruti & Hyundai are so expensive to service.

And below is the article by Motorbeam which says that Honda Amaze is the "CHEAPEST CAR TO MAINTAIN" in its Class.

2014 Honda Amaze Long Term Review | MotorBeam – Indian Car Bike News & Reviews

I am no fan of MASS ,but a bill of 7K to 8K for 15 K service? . Something is really fishy .need to give that MASS some spanking. At 15 K normally there is no oil change in Wagon R too .

 

[chainznanz]

Thanks for sharing your service cost experience for allhyundaicars! It gives me a bit of idea what things i should get done from outside if I buy i20.

I really like Zest, but i have had terrible experiences with my Tata car. I'm sure Tata would have improved the reliability of Zest, but is upto the level of a Honda/Hyundai petrol car? That is my question. U don't want to burn my fingers again. Tata cars simply don't age well.

Which service station do you recommend, if i buy i20? Please share more experince