Help in Choosing a Spacious Hatchback

HuntersChase · Sep 2, 2011

Friends , I'm new to this forum though i've been reading for long time. Excellent !!

Now, i am in a dilemma in chosing a hatch.

I am a family man and i need a spacious hatch with decent boot. My monthly running could be around 800-900kms. Around 400kms in highway and 600kms in daily commute. I like to keep the car for long time ( around 7-8 years)
I've zeroed down to Ford figo diesel titanium and Honda jazz Base. I like both the cars and cost almost same. Here are my priorities in order.
(1) Spacious with boot
(2) Decent mileage
(3) Reliability :- This is very important for me and i have no alternative vehicles and i dont want to go to service station for every now and then and for small niggles.

I wanted to go with Figo as it is diesel , but worried about its reliability and servicing issues. Look at the Figo facebook and see the number of complaints.
Ford Figo diesel titanium
Pros
Spacious, mileage , lots of equipments
cons
Lots of complaints, issues like engine stall scares me, AC problems,Poor headlamp, engine failure, Ground clearance and many more.., service cost

Honda Jazz
Pros
Except the mileage & petrol factor, everything else is fine i think.

Does petrol makes more sense for my kind of running ?

I am in the hunt , help me out guys.. [confused]

cooldhaya · Sep 2, 2011

Re: Help me..i20 Petrol or Figo Diesel (Bought Honda Jazz!)

I would suggest Petrol for your running. Even if you go with diesel you will be reaching the break even point since you plan to own it for a long time but spares will be costlier for diesel as the wear and tear damage increases , so i would say Petrol is good enough.

If you are okay to live without some features then Jazz is a good choice.

Any reason for not considering other petrol hatchbacks like Vista , Swift , Ritz , Punto , i20 , Micra etc

HuntersChase · Sep 2, 2011

Re: Help me..i20 Petrol or Figo Diesel (Bought Honda Jazz!)

cooldhaya said:

Thank you cooldhaya for the quick reply.
The reason why Jazz, its space, magic seats, Honda superios petrol engine with low NVH and HOnda reliability. I needed minimum boot as Figo.
I also wanted car with safety features like ABS/airbag to protect me & my family.

Budget is another factor i am not going for I20, Polo or a Sedan.

DheerajAmlani · Sep 2, 2011

At 900 kms you just about qualify for the diesel but the threshold has fallen drastically these days given the price of petrol. I own a Figo Diesel and can attest for the mileage, space and reliability. Outside of regular service, I visited to workshop when a moron rear-ended me and the tailgate alignment was a tad off. Again, the service centre got this fixed without any charge (didn’t want to spend on painting over the scratches).

Vivian · Sep 2, 2011

(Spacious boot + Decent Mileage + Reliability)/ Hatchback = Toyota Liva

Surfer · Sep 2, 2011

HuntersChase · Sep 2, 2011

Thanks Dheeraj for your feedback.
I'd TD'ed Figo and liked it in most aspects except rear power window. My worry is mostly reliability and long term service costs.
May be your Figo is fine. But statistically, there are more defective figos than any other car. Just look at Figo facebook site and see the type and number of complaints. Too scary .
I plan to keep it for 7-8 years and if i lose all the savings in fuel for the service, there is no use. Plus sleepless nights.
I've been using Alto for 5 years and it is very reliable and never let me down. I want something similar to that. I think only Japs can provide such cars.
Yes, i have concerns about fuel costs, but the other issues makes me more worried.

Thanks Vivian for the suggestion.
Etios V and Honda Jazz basic cost are in same territory... But look at the compromise in quality that Toyota did to the Liva. I agree it is reliable, but not as spacious or VFM as the Jazz..

@Surfer, thanks lot for those links..
Actually i wanted a Sedan. But due to budget constraints and city drivability issues, i am looking for only a hatch.
Swift does not have the space that i need. Its costly too
Like Polo design, but costly for me.. My budget is max. 6.5 L
I20 also costly
Micra :- A.S.S is a problem, design not to my taste, space
Fabia :- Didn't consider it...may be because i got bad image about its service
Vista :- Not spacious enough

Tomorrow i'm going to TD new Jazz. Let me see what would be the outcome..

AzAd · Sep 2, 2011

Between figo and Jazz, I will suggest jazz any-day.. The quality is of top notch and maintenance should not be an issue..

My one cent... Why not Punto??
Remember that your usage will gradually increase so a diesel would be better.. Consider Punto only if A.S.S at your place is good.

Surfer · Sep 3, 2011

Agree,Punto Emotion is below 6.5L

mitulpomal · Sep 3, 2011

@ HuntersChase I have attached XLS sheet.

Hope it help you distinguish between diesel or petrol.

Akash · Sep 3, 2011

Hi Hunterchase,

Welcome to The Automotive India.

Looking at your monthly running, i feel a Diesel car makes more sense. So, go for Ford Figo which comes with a power packed and a very fuel efficient engine.
If you are a petrol head, look no further, go for Jazz, but again i would like to mention, better to go for a diesel car since you are going to keep the car for a long time and your monthly running may increase in near future.

Vishwas · Sep 3, 2011

1000 Kms a month?? Its better to try diesel powered cars as they wont burn a hole in your pocket.If at all you want a spacious hatchback you could try the Newly released Indica Vista IMO and don't give attention to the one who says Tata cars are not good enough at maintenance because there's a huge reason behind it:
Many of the Tata cars are owned by Tourist companies so you may them how would they would handle it.They wont maintain it at regular intervals and when the car starts giving problem they blame on the company and sell it off.In fact i have seen a tourist company mixing kerosene with diesel to indicabs,So the engine life will end fast.So,if you ask any driver of a cab,he will definitely say wrong about the car, This maybe out of topic but i must say this to all of buyers who dislike Tata cars.If you maintain it at regular intervals,i bet the car will definitely reward you

So you can easily go for vista as its cheaper and far better than rivals in ample legroom as well as lot of equipment lists.The engine is the same as in swift,so it would be better and vista has airy cabin and well arranged rear seats can seat 3 people abreast,which will be comfortable in the highways too.

Finally if you stick to your options then figo is good(only considering the diesel)

Surfer · Sep 3, 2011

I agree with vishwas.Vista is total VFM car. Truly more car per car.Vista VX offers even ABS in 5.80L.No other car offer so many features in this price tag.
@HuntersChase You said earlier Vista is not specious, how? It has class leading space.

Handling and performance wise it's just below swift.

jalex · Sep 3, 2011

HuntersChase said:

Friends , I'm new to this forum though i've been reading for long time. Excellent !!

Now, i am in a dilemma in chosing a hatch.

I am a family man and i need a spacious hatch with decent boot. My monthly running could be around 800-900kms. Around 400kms in highway and 600kms in daily commute. I like to keep the car for long time ( around 7-8 years)
I've zeroed down to Ford figo diesel titanium and Honda jazz Base. I like both the cars and cost almost same. Here are my priorities in order.
(1) Spacious with boot
(2) Decent mileage
(3) Reliability :- This is very important for me and i have no alternative vehicles and i dont want to go to service station for every now and then and for small niggles.

I wanted to go with Figo as it is diesel , but worried about its reliability and servicing issues. Look at the Figo facebook and see the number of complaints.
Ford Figo diesel titanium
Pros
Spacious, mileage , lots of equipments
cons
Lots of complaints, issues like engine stall scares me, AC problems,Poor headlamp, engine failure, Ground clearance and many more.., service cost

Honda Jazz
Pros
Except the mileage & petrol factor, everything else is fine i think.

Does petrol makes more sense for my kind of running ?

I am in the hunt , help me out guys.. [confused]

The Jazz will be the best among the two you have zeroed down on.

HuntersChase · Sep 4, 2011

I couldn't TD jazz today as the SA didn't call me (she'd promised if available). May be Monday i'll do.
I am still slanted towards Figo as petrol costs are making holes in my pocket. But same time, worried about the reliabiity factor. I think i need to compromise one for the other.
If i am unlucky, i might get a bad piece of Figo. Hope i wont [thinking]

Punto was the car in my heart. On the sales chart , it's number is decimating day by day. It shows that Fiat is killing a beautiful product. I voted it off as i knew the history of fiat in India and dont want take any risk.

@Mitulpomal, Thank you for sharing the xls. It is very enlightening.

Yes, i am almost convinced that diesel makes more sense for me.
But my worry was mostly about the long term service cost of Ford diesel engines.

Any Figo/Fiesta long term owners please help !

@Akash, No i am not a petrol head. I am not a rich man !!
Despite my car being fuel efficient Alto, i sometimes feel the "richness" of petrol.

@Vishwas
Vista is surely a nice car. I didn't consider it as it does not have adequate boot space for my usage. But plenty of legroom inside. Tatas have improved a lot since the indica days.
I am not a big fan of many gadgets. I would rather prefer minimum gadgets with maximum reliability, durability and longevity ( No offence to the Tatas).

@Surfer, sorry, i missed to mention. What i meant is boot space. Vista doesn't scores much in that.

Help in Choosing a Spacious Hatchback

HuntersChase

V4

cooldhaya

V12

HuntersChase

V4

DheerajAmlani

V2

Vivian

V6

Surfer

V10

HuntersChase

V4

AzAd

V4

Surfer

V10

mitulpomal

V6

Attachments

Akash

V12

Vishwas

V10

Surfer

V10

jalex

V10

HuntersChase

V4