Diesel decision

I am interested in a diesel car and am contemplating the Maruti Suzuki Ritz and Swift and the Fiat Grande Punto. I drive about 50 km within the city daily, and once or twice a month to places around Mumbai (Pune, Nashik, Surat, etc). Which would be the better car to own and drive keeping in mind usually only two adults and a kid/teen travel?

Mehul M, Mumbai

All the three cars that you have shortlisted run on the same engine! For your kind of driving, we recommend the Ritz because it is a brilliant car for the city and as you have mentioned, you cover a decent amount of kilometres within Mumbai. The Ritz is a comfortable car even if you spend a lot of time in traffic jams, as it’s tall and the front seats are supportive. As for the highway runs, the engine offers enough pep and the car is well-planted too. The rear space can be termed adequate at best, but suits your purpose well.

CAPTIVE CUSTOMER
I have been driving a Toyota Innova for the last three years now. I would like to now shift from an MPV to an SUV, as I find there’s better choice now in the Rs 20 lakh range. I was thinking about getting myself the Toyota Fortuner, but then I am not sure whether I’m willing to wait. Instead, I was thinking of going for either the Chevrolet Captiva or the new Ford Endeavour. What do you recommend? I don’t do any offroad driving; the SUV will be meant primarily for driving within the city and out of town at least once a month.

Sameer Agarwal, via email

Between the Captiva and the Endeavour, the Chevrolet is the better one when it comes to city driving. It’s more car-like and the dimensions are more in line with urban driving conditions. The Captiva acquits itself well on trips out of town too. The Endeavour is a big machine, and it is a bit unwieldy for your needs. General Motors have just sweetened the deal on the Captiva recently, so all the more reason to opt for it.

AUTOMATICALLY
Would you recommend the Honda City automatic over the Maruti Suzuki SX4 automatic? I was planning to buy the City, but since Maruti Suzuki have introduced the SX4, I have been tempted by it, as it’s cheaper by over Rs 1.5 lakh! I drive a last-gen City automatic and am quite happy with the ownership experience. My driving is minimal during the week — the car is used for just the basic errands around the city, and not even for commuting. But we — my husband, I and our two daughters — go out of Bangalore during the weekends, around twice a month. The car is driven primarily by me. What do you recommend?

Rajeswari Suresh, Bangalore

Though you are a happy Honda customer, Rs 1.5 lakh is a big difference indeed. The City is an accomplished car — it looks good and has a brilliant engine, but it’s up to you whether you want to pay that hefty premium for the automatic version. As we have not tested the new SX4 automatic yet, we cannot recommend it — but going by the previous version, the car is competent and offers compelling value for money. Considering that, the SX4 should serve you well.

Any automotive questions? Ask us at bijoy.y@bsmail.in