Comparison between SX4 and Aveo

I'm planning on buying a car in the 8L neighborhood and have been reading several reviews online and thought I'd contribute to the information available and invite comments on my observations.

Before I begin, I thought I'd list the key features I'm looking for in a car:

1. Must offer good safety features -  ABS and dual front airbags at least.

2. Must have very good ride quality

3. Should have comfortable seating (minimum 4 adults)

4. Should offer good fuel efficiency

5. I use the car for mainly for work (~25km/day) and ~10-15 km over the weekends, and I'm not really a speed freak, I just want a reliable, comfortable car to commute.

Observations on the SX4 (ZXI)

1. I test drove the SX4 and the first thing that you notice as soon as you buckle up is the high seat and excellent view of the road (I used to drive a Swift ZXI earlier and I'm making some comparisons)

2. Responsive steering although I'm not sure if I want to keep nipping in and out of Bangalore traffic in a sedan - I enjoyed doing this in my Swift though :-)

3. I had to negotiate a busy intersection - the one where you have to keep inching forward into fast moving traffic form the left and the right and immediately noticed that the front 'A' pillars prevented clear view of the traffic - I had to really make an effort to look between the wedges in the front to get a better look at the traffic on both sides

4. Parking and reversing seem to pose a challenge due high rear profile of the SX4 - I've read that parking sensors could make life easier here?

5. The suspensions and ride quality seemed to be good (comparable to the Swift?) although for a product where you spend almost all the time inside while you are using it, I really did expect Maruti to have better interiors - the exteriors looks, design et. al are all good, but I care more for the interiors as I'm driving the car, not outside looking at it most of the time.

Observations on the Aveo (I'm comparing the 1.6 LT (option pack) but they only had the 1.4 available to test drive)

1. As soon as you get into the Aveo and buckle up the interiors take you back - you take a bit to soak it all in. I was saying to myself  "nice... very nice" very pleasing to the eye.

2. As I begin to move into the Bangalore traffic and feel a distinct sluggishness in the steering, also, the engine could have been a bit more responsive to the tap on the accelerator pedal

3. I've read so much about the gear box being notchy - I did fidget around with it and got the feeling that I needed to change gears frequently - not sure if was just the busy traffic all around or I was wanting more out of the car, however the car keeps moving forward and you kind of let the gear stay engaged and press on...

4. Excellent ride quality, and seating space - found it better then the SX4

5. The only features that I found missing from the Aveo was EBD and anti theft system when comparing to the SX4 ZXI.

At the end of the day I'm bit confused as to what car to buy as both seem to be somewhat equally matched - I get the impression that the SX4 would be better enjoyed by a someone who likes a bit of a race once in a way, while the Aveo would be appreciated more by someone who is happy to move with the flow of the traffic?

Good looks, good post sales service, feature loaded carUnimpressive interiors