I’ve been driving a Hyundai Santro for the last five years and now plan to upgrade to a diesel sedan. I want a feature-packed, value for money car within a budget of Rs 7 to 8 lakh. I had shortlisted the Toyota Etios diesel and Mahindra Verito. But after reading reviews of the Etios that suggest its engine is noisy and that water and dust filter into the cabin, I am confused. Which car do I opt for?
Braj Kumar, Vadodara
Both the Verito and Etios are built to typical Indian driving and use conditions and both are built to a cost. However, the Verito feels just a little better in terms of ride quality and engine refinement while the Etios veers more towards driving pleasure. If we are to pick one, our choice would be the Verito, simply for the fact that it feels better engineered than the Etios.
Value buy
I want to buy a value-for-money hatchback within a budget of Rs 4 lakh. I drive a total of 25 km a day. Should I opt for a petrol?
Nilesh Shah,, via email
Your best bet among all the cars is the Hyundai i10. It is reasonably spacious, is easy to get in and out of and is refined, peppy and frugal for our kind of road conditions. Your kind of driving doesn’t necessarily warrant the purchase of a diesel, so a petrol i10 should be your ideal choice.
Auto love
We’re a family of four, including two six-year old children. Including our driver, we generally have a maximum of five people in the car. As we had recently been in a car accident, we’re very keen on a car that is safe. Another criterion I have is that I require the car to be an automatic as I’ve never driven a stick-shift car before. A diesel option is preferable and we will be driving mainly in the city. Budget isn’t a constraint as long as you can recommend a no-nonsense, low-maintenance car for us.
Sonia Patwardhan,, via email
You haven’t mentioned a budget cap, so we are going to try and suggest a car that is reasonably priced and satisfies most of your requirements. Your best option for a five-seat, automatic with a good safety net would be the recently-launched Hyundai Santa Fe automatic. It has the usual set of features like six airbags, ABS and a very high Euro-NCAP safety rating of four stars. The engine is powerful, reasonably frugal and the automatic gearbox should work well too. In case it's too much of a stretch consider the Chevrolet Captiva automatic as your next best option.
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