SX4/New City/Verna SX - Sedan under 9 lacs

Thanks for the quick reply.

So what do you recommend?? I am totally confused now. Should I just ignore what Nipun Bharti said?

Should I go for Honda city or Verna CRDi SX or SX4? Or is there any other car that you recommend.

What I basically want from a car is decent mileage (with a run of 600KM/month and 100% A/C ON), decent maintenance cost …. Decent interiors ….. Good power …. Durable parts and good after sales service. I am not looking for a car that should be A++ in everything as a premium car can only satisfy all that … so in a budget of not more then 8-9 Lacs please suggest a few options that you think will be the best.

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When Nipun said that Verna's turbocharger kicks-in at around 2000 rpm, he was quite right. But when he said you will struggle for power in city, he wasn't quite right. When Verna's turbo comes to life, the car is a different animal altogether. Even without the turbo i.e. low RPMs, it's a pretty good city commuter.

Since you are checking out City, try test driving Verna too and decide yourself. None of the two cars in the question is a bad bet anyway. You can't go wrong with either one. Don't worry!

Thanks a lot … feeling much better now… I took a test drive of Verna CRDI last week … it was amazing …. As you said pickup is like a beast ….. It feels great after you accelerate on a red light that turned green for you. The interiors are decent in wood panels and the driving position is very comfortable and the road view was perfect and was comfortable as my am 6.1 feet tall. The 2 DIN music player was decent but don’t have an AUX or USB input … but that can be changed after an year or so with a SONY or PIONEER. I was very much satisfied my verna but was only confused about diesel engine because people have different opinions about diesel engine.

I am going for a Honda city test drive on coming Sunday. Will share the experience with you…. Just got a call from Honda showroom few minutes ago and was informed that Honda is changing the interiors of Honda City and might have wooden finishing as-well but they are not sure about wooden finishing or I should say that they don’t want to confirm anything right now and Honda might cost Rs 15000 more than the current price.

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Yep, Honda has plans to facelift current City. Features like alloy wheels will be on offer. Of course it will come at higher price. Same is the story with Civic as well. It's called corrective action. They made a mistake by overpricing the Jazz. Now they are correcting everything else to justify it.

My advice would be

1) Your distance covered is  very small and it does not justify diesel engine version so prefer SX4 or City,But City has less ground clearance.

2) If for some reason you do decide in favour of diesel version,go for Fiesta Diesel as its turbo spoolls up at a reasonably low 1200 rpm,this will be of immense help as most of your driving is in city where Verna diesel will run like Indica D as its turbo spools up at a high 2000 rpm.

The maintenance and the spare parts cost of ford cars are high.

And What should be the ideal run per month for opting a diesel car?

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A monthly run of more than 1500km will need considering diesel ,less than this diesel does not make sense.Verna Diesel service and spares cost is higher than Verna P and both diesel versions ie Fiesta and Verna will be close to each other.

Parameters                                         Honda City        Hyundai Verna CRDi SX ABS

Cost of Fuel For 500 KM per month          2500                             1550
Mileage in city with 100% A.C ON              10                                 13
Price of car                                          8,80,000                      8,20,000


I am saving Rs 950 every month (can be ignored) and saving Rs 60,000 on purchase if I buy Verna.

So the question here is not about how much i save and nullify the question of "expensive diesel engine"

What I consider is value for money and time in term that which car makes more sense. If people recommend diesel engine just for cost saving per KM then that’s not what I am looking for ... I am looking for better performance car in term of maintenance cost , decent average , good after sales service and reliable and no frequent workshop visits and a car that I can keep for 5-6 years and wont regret even a single day.

I am not a speed racer but don’t want a car that will make me feel weak on the roads. And that’s the reason I was looking for Verna... Let’s see how Honda is after the test drive and if the power is decent enough and I might go for Honda

Writing this suggestion in the middle of some die hard diesel fans, my views differ quite a bit. Along with all the above factors do tke in another one as to how long u would wanna keep the vehicle and its longevity. Ur monthly run is pretty low so a petrol obviously makes more sense. My personal advice would be to go for the city. A very powerful 1.5L motor and fuel efficint as well. Gives arnd 12 in city with 100% AC. The car if driven well does not run up high maintenance bills (unless u run out of luck!!!). Its a long lasting car and from a personal experience it still feels damn good to drive even after 5 yrs and 70000 km running. The interiors of the new one pretty sleek... plus it also stands good ground on the safety front with ABS & Airbags as std fitment. The maintenace cost of a diesel engine nowdays might not be high as compared to a petrol engine initially but the cost does go up after 3-4 yrs of ownership whereas the petrol does not post such a steep rise... All the best... Hope u make the right decision...

So u own a honda city ?? whats the average service bill and how frequent is the service required ? are the parts costly ?? you are in which city ?? any hting that i shld focus on while taking a test drive ??