Hi,
Just to give a brief review on what it took us to come to terms with a middle class couple’s requirement.
We are going thru a patch where investing a apartment is a major concern .Car has been not a priority, but was a feel of independence to travel as and when you want . There was also a another aspect, we were sitting with 4 lakhs to spare wondering should we go in for investment options and so forth, ( being eldest and the only family member its quite a hard choice .)
I have been on quite different parts of the world and had a quite good amount of opportunity to drives the best cars in the market, being a long distance drive from one corner to the another in a Honda Civic / Ford in Saudi Arabia, or trying the Merc / Volvo in Norway .Driving a sedan is quite pleasure abroad, but being just a few minutes in a Mumbai traffic is a nightmare . The comfort in American or German or for that matter Japanese cars are really good .One needs to understand India, economics is all that matters .
Roads are a disaster in India, but it does connect to the destination .
My wife had a simple logic, I spend 4 months in a year in India and it would be worth a secondhand car like Alto, some how Maruti is a household name . But then arise question like, what if it gives away or some thing breaks down . So the option left was ideal, 4 lakhs take it or leave it anything that suit’s our Budget . Wagon R was all around us , every apartment in our lane housed at least one .
Hyundai I 10!, I actually work in Korea and do drive Korean cars like KIA Carnival and Hyundai, but i 20 and I 30 are quite popular, so is Click or say Getz .
Budget constraint took us straight Wagon R .Lxi 376000, Inclusive of basic Audio player JVC brand and tube less tyre’s . We have driven within the city and its one hell of car for 4 people its just comfortable in all aspect and easy to handle in traffic, power steering .
We decided to drive down to Lonavala thru Mumbai Pune Express rd at a speed ranging from 65 to 80, some times 100 km / hr ( feels a bit unstable on high speeds) .Fuel economics was about roughly around 19 km on a long run( Ac switched off, we just purchased this car in Nov 2009) . The gear from fourth to fifth needs some effort and technique, but I am sure after a couple to times it gets easy . In all we find this a very economical, comfortable and enjoyable