The best car from your list is the New City. It is reliable, fuel efficient and very future proof. Try to stretch your budget and get one. If not, I urge you to buy the Ikon 1.3 Flair - it is a value for money model, though I agree with you when it comes to its looks.  That said, it has got the best rear seat accommodation in its league and is quite fun to drive too. Also check out the Suzuki Baleno - another big bargain today. Maybe a test drive of the Baleno might swing your decision towards it.  Full Esteem ahead!  The company is giving me a car for a period of eight years. Choice is amongst the Esteem LX, the Opel Corsa 1.4 and the Tata Indigo LS Petrol.  Now, the car maintenance charges are fixed for all three cars and the company will reimburse all petrol charges. My problem is that the car should give me minimum of breakdowns and should ride comfortably too. Which car is safe bet for a trouble-free 8 years? Which has the highest mileage?

Avinash Dusseja, Indore

Since reliability and mileage seems to be the priority here, we have no option but to suggest you the Maruti-Suzuki Esteem - the Corsa has better ride quality and the Indigo has better space, but both these cars cannot give you the kind of peace of mind you get when you buy a proven Japanese sedan - which the Esteem is.  It is old, does not look very special (we hear a facelift is in the offing, so you could wait a month or two) but does the job very well.  Planning to buy a car or bike?
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First Published: Apr 17 2004 | 12:00 AM IST

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