I owned a superb Maruti800 (63K done) and no issues at all . Just to get additional comfort, I decided to buy a better car. I initially thought of buying a used car but cud not find a car with true value for money. Finally decided to go for a new one . Following are the choices I had .
Chevy spark, Estilo, wagonr, Santro, i10, A star: As I had very narrow parking space, other options are totally unconsidered.
Spark - Spark is very spacious I would say, it just looks small from the outside. Excellent interirors/AC. The one that comes in maroon is a showstopper for everyone. Took the drive, was bit disappointed as I first found that I don’t have clear visibility due to high mounting of dashboard. I am 6 foot tall, but stil I am not happy. Then the gear shift was very difficult . So felt uncomfortable.
Estilo - Estilo does not have the best looks, but the PS it has is the best I have ever driven. Feather touch steering, nice sitting position , ultra cool ac and good drive overall, But the rear seats are cramped for 3. Hence this is also out of my list. Its a good 4 seater.
Wagon R Blue eyed boy - Again looks are bad, but once u sit in drivers seat, u feel like sitting in a luxury car....superb dash, gear shift is ok, good ac, drive is also good..rear seats are v good ....3 adults can go for a comfotable journey for about 200kms ......vxi has good features and I have almost finalized this. I dont see any fault other than external looks..on road price in chennai -4.3 VXI
Santro - its a good car .i like the black santro...but since its old and going to be stopped, its out of contention.
A star - Its a 4 seater. rear leg room is poor/ rear windows are horrible, high dash boards. Looks is good, good AC, good pick-up for a people of 2. You can go for it. Not worthy.
6.i10 - I was not sure if this would fit into my parking area, still checked the next gen i10 and I have nothing to say about looks, its best. Good ac, not great. PS as in estilo, but ok, .as my budget was 3.7 - 4.3, ERA just fitted into it. Was confused about ERA or wagonr vxi. No freebies for wagon r, but Hyundai gave good freebies and I felt this as a better package..parked by cousins i10 successfully in my flat. Got carbon grey ERA. Delivered in just 4 days. I have driven for 1200K. So far, the FE is city is poor.may be 8 kms with AC, but in highway it is 18km (driven for 300 kms with 50 % AC). Hope the mileage improves in future. The 1-2 gears are not gr8, but u get total comfort in 3-4-5. Its a true 5 seater. Space/comfort/looks are more priority than mileage for me, hence I just decided for ERA .
Here is the conclusion, go for either wagon R or i10 , they are good in space for 5 and performance in 4-4.3 price range (not sure how much ritz lxi would cost, but its too big to park in my flat )
Have a safe drive.