What Car to buy in India after R2I ?

r2i_puneite · Post by **r2i_puneite** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:33 am

Friends - we are moving to Pune in about 2 weeks time after being out of India for about 11 years. We've started thinking about what we need to do immediately after getting there, and buying a car is near the top of our list (we already have a house, kids are too small for school, etc).

Any recommendations on cars in India ? We are a family of 5 (me, wife, 2 boys and my mother) - we're planning on getting 2 cars eventually, but are somewhat confused on what our first car should be. I've never driven a car in India (used to drive a bike in the good old days !! :)) - and dont know how to drive a stick shift.

We've been looking at Honda City, or Hyundai Getz as a good mid-sized car, but there are so many makes and models nowadays that its tough to keep up.

Thoughts, recommendations, advice ?

kaiser · Post by **kaiser** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:05 pm

I say, go ahead and buy a used maruti van which is relatively comfortable than other mid sized cars. Test your driving skills on it for a few months and then go for a new one.

Chicago Desi · Post by **Chicago Desi** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:03 pm

You can always buy an automatic transmission car. Don't have to mess with stick shift anymore.

r2h_fremont · Post by **r2h_fremont** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:35 pm

Maruti Swift = 1.3L = Fully loaded 4.9 - 5 Lakhs
Driver = 5 k / month

rams · Post by **rams** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:39 am

Honda City is a good comfortable car, good resale etc...
Getz is not in the same league, it is a smaller car and definitely will be cramped for a family of 5,

city - 8/9 lakhs
getz 5 lakhs

If you can afford it, the skoda is a good one, for a 5 person family, it will cost about 13 lakhs now,

Nattusbs · Post by **Nattusbs** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 1:31 am

I would suggest a Toyota Innova. Plenty of room for kids.

Cheers

Nattusbs

sagarmail · Post by **sagarmail** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:04 am

I go with Nattusbs. If you are planning for 2 cars - Toyota Innova is recommended as 1 choice. Its a very good family car + Toyota brand. You have diesel version too!.

Nattusbs;36740I would suggest a Toyota Innova. Plenty of room for kids.

Cheers

Nattusbs[/quote]

restlessdesi · Post by **restlessdesi** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:11 am

sagarmail;36758I go with Nattusbs. If you are planning for 2 cars - Toyota Innova is recommended as 1 choice. Its a very good family car + Toyota brand. You have diesel version too!.[/quote]

This is how I would prioritize a car purchase in India:

1) Must have GOOD automatic transmission
2) Must have POWERFUL AC that can cool down the car fast
3) Brand name, fuel efficiency, value for money blah blah.

OP, I am of the firm opinion that automatic transmissions were invented for India, although unintentionally. Driving in India is negotiating one big continuous obstacle course, and being able to free one of your hands and legs is a huge blessing. And don't get fooled by arguments such as "pick up of stick shift" is better. You are not going anywhere fast. There are a million obstacles ahead of you. What use is the incremental difference in 'pick up'? Similarly there will be arguments about 'fuel efficiency'. You are paying through your nose anyways, driving in India is still a luxury and not a necessity and gas is expensive. What is another 5-10% of gas costs in the grand scheme of things?

I have driven stick shifts in US for 15 years and total of 4 years in India (1 month post r2i). Do not trivialize this suggestion. I am talking about saving you 500 gear-shifts a day for the next 5 years of your life, not to mention freeing up a hand to flip the birdie :emsmilep:

I would also have recommended Innova except it has NO automatic transmission.

The toyotas are great cars but badly priced in India. So, you buy a Corolla for the price of a Camry, and you buy a Camry for the price of a Lexus in India. So now, the choices are Honda City, (best value for money, powerful AC, excellent automatic transmission, very good fuel efficiency even with automatic transmission) or Honda Civic (I honestly do not know the difference vis a vis Honda City) or Toyota Innova (if you choose to ignore my suggestion and curse yourself everytime you shift that gear to move forward by another 6 inches). I have heard good things about Skoda Octavia but do not have any firsthand experience with it.

Nattusbs · Post by **Nattusbs** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:27 am

I agree with Restlessdesi.

I did not realize that Innova was only stick shift ( I have driven stick shift for over 20 years, but, now prefer automatic which will be true especially in India).

Cheers

Nattusbs

back_in_des · Post by **back_in_des** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:36 am

You haven't mentioned whether you will have a driver or not. I'll assume both the cars are self-driven.

I'd suggest Hyundai Santro - automatic (5L) and Honda City - automatic (10L).

If you have to drive around the city, then nothing like Santro-automatic. Honda City will be bulky. Santro is easy for 5, but not comfortable if you are spending more than an hour in the car.

But you still need "space" for full-family outings less frequently, so City fits the bill there - very comfortable for 5, great fuel economy also.

If you have some more money to spend, go with Skoda. I am not sure if that has an automatic, if it has, that's the best option in 10+ lakh range.

From my personal experience of having driven both manual and automatic, I can tell you, automatic is an unimaginable blessing in this traffic.

One added advantage in case of self-driven cars is that, if it's automatic and small car, wife can also drive it and be "independent," that takes care of one of the biggest complaints they have after R2I. :-)

Reva is automatic as well, if saving the planet is anywhere on your priority. :-)