ANHC or Verna Diesel or SX4 or Ford Fiesta

I want to purchase mid size car. My budget is 9 lakh. My city running is 600 km and highway running  200km per month. I have identified following cars

ANHC

Varna CRDi

SX4

Ford Fiesta diesel.

I understand that Honda 1.5 E MT is phased out and not available with dealer

Sx4 Diesel may likely to get introduced

Should I would be purchasing car now or near to year end?

Pz provide me  your suggestions and views

you have a monthly run of 800 kms and a petrol version will be good. The ANHC is a good car with excellent ride quality. Honda is always known for good quality engines while have durability and longetivity. Personally I feel that the ANHC is overpriced. Veran CRDi and Fiesta TDCi are good cars but since you do not have a good amount of run you can do with a diesel car. So i would suggest not to go in for diesel cars. The SX4 is a good option. Its is powerfull, has loads of space and has the obvious advantages of better ASS and cheaper maintenance as it comes from maruti. it reportedly has problems of seating 4 people in the rear as the middle seat has a bump. SO just check that out. Apart from the SX4 you also have the linea and the fiesta petrol. Take a test drive of these 3 cars and then finally decide

I would say that as you are on good budget, Fiesta diesel will stand out (not adding Linea as it is missing).

There is also a rumour on SX4 diesel coming.

for his run(800 kms/month) a petrol car will be goo enough rather than go in for a diesel one. A diesel will be more expensive and maintenance will also be high (10-15%) when compared to petrol version which can be recovered only if the run is high.

The SX4 diesel is reportedly set to be out next month

Post edited to remove 'quote' (same as previous post; NOT required, therefore)

The diesel car was suggested here because of the better drivability. Which is a well know fact. Maintenance cost difference is negligible anyways.

With 200 kms on highway the diesel torque will be handy.

Like I always say, diesel is not all about economical benefit, there are other non-monetory aspects also to be taken care of.

There are some things that may happen like: an ADHOC long trip. Think of the fuel bills between the cars, etc etc.

The extra amount paid upfront is one time, you tend to forget about it in a while, but refuelling your car is an exercise you do daily/weekly.

Also, when you have a budget for Honda city, considering a Fiesta diesel/Linea diesel is a much wiser option.

PS: These arguments will only apply to this scenario.

I would differ on this. Just having a budget for the honda doesnt warrant to go in for diesel car. Highway run is 1/4th of the total per month. ADHOC long trips will be ADHOC and once a while paying a bit extra could be understandable. Its not only about the one time payment for the car but also the recurring maintenance which is higher than the petrol versions. So in such a scenario if you do not have a good run you will end up owning the car for a higher amount( higher initial cost, higher maintenance, lower run).

One can can consider diesel even on at 800km PM,if wants to be economical.(what  do you think centaur) but if he wants power and driving pleasure go for sx4(and its even well priced)

ANHC is over priced in my opinion.

edit: did not read the above posts

I think I would second Ami - If for the same monies of buying a petrol car, if one is getting a diesel car (maybe similar, but of different brand . model), then why not consider the diesel as well.

With the quality of diesels improving so much with each passing day, I think the deciding factor has to be more of how to offset the initial higher expense - but if the same initial higher expense is non-existant, then, why not diesel - Infact, diesel will be a better option.

Misal,

Based on the options given by you, I would suggest you to consider the Honda City, Verna Diesel, SX4 and then the Fiesta Diesel - that would be my order of preference actually.

Honad City is indeed expensive, but, the price you pay is worth it when you consider the unmatched build quality and the amazingly low cost of maintenance - the car hardly fails - so, it thus justifies the higher price tag - I have friend of mine who have picked up a 10 year old Honda city and still has a champion in his hand - That's the Honda Quality for you.

Regards,

K Prasad

I too will be glad if the initial offset between petrol and diesel would be non -existent but unfortunatley its not the same yet. Have a look at this thread for some calculations on the diesel-petrol expense

I will second Ami here, If one can get a Diesel car with almost similar featueres than Diesel is the best option. One can paid some extra money upfront one time but refulling car is an exercise we do daily/weekly. Thats why I too preferred Fiesta over Honda City and after 2 years I can say decision was too good.