Fuel conscious

I am planning to buy a new car. I have shortlisted the Hyundai i20, Maruti Suzuki Swift, Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Micra and Toyota Etios Liva.I am going in for a petrol variant as my daily travel will be around 16 km. Moreover, long trips are rare. My priority is fuel efficiency. I can’t compromise on that since petrol prices are always increasing. I am very much satisfied with the i20 because of its style, comfort and ride quality. But I have heard that it delivers very low mileage — is this true? This has led me to consider other cars such as the Etios Liva, though I haven’t read many reviews on it. What about the Polo and Micra? I am interested in the Polo because of the brand. Doe s the car have the expected quality? Or should I consider the Swift? Which car should I go for as I am considering factors such as fuel efficiency, comfort, ride quality, perfomance and style.

Sreenath Narayanan, Kerala

For fuel efficiency, comfort, ride quality, performance and style — you can choose between the Volkswagen Polo and the Maruti Suzuki Swift. Both these cars meet with your requirements, with the Swift having the edge in terms of performance. Do test drive both cars and arrive at the decision that satisfies you best.

Practical class

I want to purchase a sedan between Rs 6 to 7.5 lakh. Should I go for the Mahindra Verito, Tata Manza or the Toyota Etios? I am only interested in the diesel variant as my annual running will be in the range of 28,000-33,000 km. Please advise.

Anil Jindal, via email

The Verito is a good overall car — it is spacious, frugal, reliable and comfortable. It can handle bad roads very well. The Manza gives you lots of car for your money — you feel like you have bought a bigger car for the kind of features it has on offer. The Etios is also frugal and is spacious and comfortable for the rear seat passengers, but interior plastic quality is not that good. So it really depends on what you expect from your car — go for the Verito, as it is the best overall.

Van Halen

At the outset I must mention that I have, for long, been a keen follower of this Motoring page and more so the Which Car section. I was just about to book an Innova when I saw the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga being showcased in the recent Delhi Auto Expo. I have therefore put my Innova plans on hold. But apart from seeing the Ertiga on the auto show podium via TV coverage and listening in to a brief talk by Maruti’s CGM (marketing) Shashank Srivastava, there is nothing at all that we know about this new kid on the block! Can you please enlighten us on the salient features of the Ertiga? I recall Srivastava mentioning that the Ertiga would be powered by a 1.4 litre engine. Is that correct ? If so, would the MPV not be underpowered ? Would it be a good alternative to the Innova (not entirely but at least to a good extent) — both from the features as well as the price points of view?

Shankar Poti, Bengaluru

You are right when you say that the Ertiga cannot completely compete with the Innova. The Ertiga and the Innova fall in two separate categories, as the Ertiga is smaller than the Innova. But if your objective is to carry five to six people, the Ertiga should satisfy your requirements. The 1.4 petrol will be more than adequate to power it, and so will be the diesel engine. As we have not evaluated it yet (we shall do so over the next two months), we cannot tell you more than what we have already said on www.bsmotoring.com However considering Maruti Suzuki’s track record, we can expect the Ertiga to be a good MPV. And yes, it will be priced lower than the Innova for sure.

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