Wanted to buy a seaden btn- SX4,HC,Linea or Fiesta

Dear All, 

   I wanted to buy a new sedan - My choices being HC V MT,SX4 ZXi,Fiesta SXi Petrol & Fiat Linea Emotion Pk. I have TD all these vehicles but am still confused which one to finalize. First of all HC V is currently running out of my budget of around 8.5 L. But i loved the car, THe Fiesta is a good car with all around features , but looks dated and am sure ford might be comming up with a replacement in design. I liked all the features and styling of the linea, but that car seriously didnt pick up, I am currently owning a M 800 and the pickup of the car and AC was even weaker than my 800, sales assistant coudnt explain- Just said its a heavy car for pickup & hot sunny day for AC!!!!, TD it again at a diffrent dealer the same day but the result was same, so currently considering it as my last option. SX4 was the outright winner for me as it scored in performance and comfort, but again the look of the car has not changed in quite some time and also heard that MS are comming out with a new BS4 engine for the car, I am currently not in much hurry to buy and can wait for more 6 mons if other good options shall be available. My monthly running is around 1000-1500 KM and have a family of 4.

Requesting all experts & owners to share their experiences. Shall i wait for 6 Mons or book now , and which car??  Is it worth to stretch my budget for HC V MT recently launched

Pls help

Thanks

Siddhesh

as for the pick up in a LINEA,the engine frees up after some time,one will be really surprised is it,s the same car as it was last month,just like it happened with my case,yes,in the first test drive you will feel that the car is slugish,but it's not so,have test drive-a long drive again  

Thanks Bala, Yes the car did pick up good once the engine reved pass 1500-2000 rpm, but till then it was a dissapointing experience as i had TD  the HC and SX4 before Linea. I also heard that fiat might launch 1.6 Engine which is used in many countries in india as well , can any one confirm??

hi siddesh,no,i didnt mention about the RPM,its the kilometres,once the car has done more than 2500 km the engine frees up and it seems to have double the pick up and half the engine noise(the official TD drive cars might behave differently)

yes,1.6 engine is expected in next quarter,but it would be more expensive and give lesser mileage,you have another TD,you will be convinced that the power in LINEA is more than sufficient

The fiesta now is new one ,all these SXI variants etc .

There is one more vehicle which can be included here is New Aveo 2009 which is loaded with many features and is available in 1.4LS LT LT ABS and 1.6LTABS.

Linea is new in your list which got good look but low ground clearance.

SX4 Zxi a peace of maruti will be there.

Take test drive of all, compare features and on road price(considering discounts which one will come to know after personally visiting dealers).

All the best and inform us on your selection.

I am owning Linea Diesel for last few months and having moved from a peppy engine of Santro – which I was owning before - to Linea I do not feel that it is underpowered and I am very happy with the performance both in City and highway.    Yes during testdrive even I felt Linea and Honda City are not as peppy as Santro.  Once you get used to the car you do feel that it is not underpowered at all and actually speaking, though the Linea has relatively slow 0-100 kph time of 15 secs, its mid range performance is so excellent (40 to 80 and 60 to 100 kph) that it is better than any other car including City and Civic – not to mention SX4, Fiesta . Whether in City or on highway you are around that speed where you need the performance and you do not start from 0 as in a race with clear track in front of  you to zoom.

I decided in favor of Linea because 

1)      Styling, features like Blue& me, Follow me, My car, Climate control, rear AC vents, sun curtain, boot lamp, foldable key which is real convenience etc.

2)      Excellent ride and handling compared to any other car – whether City, Civic, Verna, SX4 or Fiesta. You just drive with your family in the back seat and compare by taking TDs of the cars that you want to compare – by scheduling them just one after another. (Your “feel” memory is good if you do TDs consecutively in the same day). Bad patches of roads and potholes are just absorbed.

3)      4 years and 1,50,000 KMs extended warranty.

4)      Very reasonably priced spare parts (you can compare in what car magazine or at Fiat India website)

5)      Very good mileage and above all serious attempt by Fiat this time to provide good service

After owning for few months I am very happy with its performance as well as mileage (14+ in City and 18+ on highways with AC) and service from Fiat. I have driven it above 140 often and I have even touched 180 briefly – and it feels rock solid. I have saved close to Rs15000 driving about 8000 KM on diesel with such highly FE car.

Few negatives of Linea are

- low ground clearance – same with HC

- poor plastic for fuel lid open lever and boot open lever

Honda City is not VFM and does not come with music system, climate control, alloy wheels or any extra feature.  Fiesta rear seat is cramped.

I do not think that Linea will come with 1.6 MJD within next 6 months – though it could be a long term plan like 2 years or so.

Thanks Victor & Vs, 

I ll definately also checkout the new Aveo, also victor, i know the diesel linea has gr8 FE but since my running will not be above 1000-1500 KM/Month i dont want to go for a diesel. The petrol variant for linea is not so FE and comes equal to SX4 which gives lowest FE in this segment. I had heard that SX4 is comming out with a BS4 tweaked engine, dont know anything abt its looks modification, so will that be worth a wait, i am not in a hurry to buy. 

Thanks

Hello Siddesh,

I am not sure whether you are particular about petrol or diesel engine.  If you interested in petrol engine only for any specific reason then it is fine..

Just thought of sharing with you some info

Generally we hear people saying " buying a diesel makes sense only if you driver 2000 or so KM per month" . The underlying reason for this is purely financial calculation and not any technological limitation or problems that you will come across if you run a diesel for less than 1500 KMs.  Min KMs/month logic purley comes from the how quickly yoy can recover the the extra cost of say 1 lakh or so that you put in for a diesel compared to an equivalent petrol car (say in Linea or Verna - where you have such options). If you run 2000/month probably you will recover in about 4 years.

However, it is not strict that you need to run a diesel car for a min of 3000 or so - else you will have problems.  Also that figure of 2000 or 3000 applies when you can make such choice withina model like Verna, Linea or Innova. Else you just need to compare the price of the cars - say between the price of Honda City, Fiat Linea or Verna Diesel.

If you happen to get a diesel car at the same price as petrol car, (example Linea or verna diesel at the price of petrol city or SX4), then that "financial calculation" logic needs to be discarded - unless you have any specific reason for choosing a petrol or diesel.

Let me tell you - I run hardly 1200 per month but still I went for diesel linea though I had looked at City, SX4, Verna etc.  Because at the price of City petrol I got a diesel car packed with features and I am saving lot of money now a days.

Hi

Anything above 1200 per month requires a diesel

So i suggest u go for a diesel Linea