Short and sweet

I intend to buy a petrol driven premium hatch and I have shortlisted the Maruti Suzuki Ritz VXi, Hyundai i20 Magna and the Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 Dynamic. Please advise which one of these I should go for considering among other things driving comfort, after-sales service and resale potential.

Sandhya Sathe, via e-mail

The Suzuki Ritz is a modern car with a modern powerplant, the Hyundai i20 is a talented B-segment car in the traditional mould while the Fiat Grade Punto is a good looking car with a slightly underpowered engine. If you have to have the best all rounder, the Hyundai i20 should win. It looks good, is spacious, has thoughtful features, while it is easy to drive. Hyundai’s after-sales service apart, it will offer you a good resale value too.

Comfort quotient

I wish to buy a luxury car and have narrowed down my choices to the Honda Accord and the Mercedes-Benz C 200K. I want a manual transmission car that is good for city driving and the occasional highway ride. It should be comfortable and easy to drive too. Please suggest which of the two is best suited for my needs.

Anil Singh, via e-mail

If your car will be primarily chauffeur-driven, we suggest the Accord should fit your requirements to the T. It’s large, comfortable and easy to drive and maintain. However, if you will do more personal driving, then the C200K is the better option. It’s more involving to drive, has more compact dimensions suitable for city driving and is comfortable too at the same time, thanks to a very good suspension setup.

Segment-ation

Which of the following cars do you think make for a good all-round D-segmenter. The cars include: Volkswagen Jetta and Passat, Skoda Superb, Mercedes-Benz C200K and the BMW 320d. I want a car that’s less of a hassle to maintain as well as has a comfortable rear seat. Kindly advise.

Aniruddh, Mumbai

While the Skoda Superb does tick all the right boxes, Skoda have still some way to go before their after-sales setup ranks among the best. The next best option for you is the Passat. It’s comfortable both at the front at the rear, has a good diesel engine that is powerful, yet frugal and Volkswagen’s after-sales service is improving. The C-Class Mercedes is a comfortable car across all aspects while the BMW is cumbersome in the city to drive, but is a brilliant driver’s car. Among these, if you want an all-rounder, check out the Passat.

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