Your best Indian cars for intercity driving

[Arjun_M 11]

Let's make a top ten (or so) list, shall we? You want to drive across the country, maybe on holiday, maybe for a reason, maybe the reason being to explore the country, and you don't want to spend money on flying or be inconvenienced by bus/train travel. Some bought cars such as the Maruti SX4 purely to save themselves from the headaches of travel booking. What, in your opinion, are the best cars you can buy and use for intercity travel? Let's look at different factors such as comfort, ride quality, reliability, performance, maintenance, mileage (and work-arounds to increase it) and support.

[sham 1]

I would break this into 2 parts.

part 1: (Good roads)

      Pockets are not deep:

                1-> Punto 90HP

       Pockets are deep:

                 1-> BMW 5s

Part 2: (More craters than road)

        Pockets are not deep

                  1-> XUV-500

         Pockets are deep

                   1->RR, Evoque

[creativebala 178]

Let's make a top ten (or so) list' date=' shall we?

[/quote']

Do we really have 10 good cars for intercity travel? am talking about sub 10L budget.

Here Driver Ergo, Ride quality, Handling to an extent, Good GC and FE(may be) are very important.

So, here is my list

1. Safari, for its excellent ride and GC

2. Swift MJD for awesome driver ergo, FE, Handling, OKish GC

Other cars with better ride sans poor GC

Figo, so it can be a intercity car IF the roads are good

Punto, some says its ergo is bad, but it has got excellent in-gear acc, superb ride & handling an FE.

[vignesh 0]

Honda City..and the Chevy Cruze..

[Arjun_M 11]

Long intercity travel. You don't have a Rajdhani/Shatabdi express to take you across. You can't afford a plane ticket. Bus and train travel isn't convenient. What's your ride?

Power Hatch- We'll settle with the Ford Figo, Maruti Swift and Fiat Grande Punto (90bhp). Honda Brio may also have a shout, at 88bhp. VW Polo? Not looked that up yet. I haven't taken this option too seriously, so far.

Budget Sedan- The best value for money may come from the Maruti SX4 and Ford Fiesta Classic. If we can stretch our budget a little, the option of VW Vento and Mitsubishi Lancer is available. Support for the Lancer is a bit suspect, and later variants are not as solid as the older ones. I'm not too sure about the VW service/spares network, though it's supposed to be much better than sister concern Skoda's. I haven't read much about Hyundai, Fiat and Chevrolet in this segment, though all appear expensive for a performance bracket. I don't know which sedan in this segment is best equipped to handle bad roads- the SX4, with its SUV-ish build is supposed to, but some complain of poor ride quality.

Taking it above ten lakhs- we can consider the Honda Civic, Renault Fluence, Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Cruze, among the more VFM options. I haven't read up enough on this segment yet, and these four appear the best VFM options. A stretched budget will give you more (and more powerful) cars.

SUV's? The XUV5OO and Safari are good choices, but at a lower budget, you get the not-so-powerful but still acceptable Scorpio. Can't say if the Captiva stands a chance here. These can take on any road, but which ones can also make good use of nice, flat roads?

[sb-alto 21]

Ok, I find this issue interesting. Trying to make an unbiased list here.The reason for choice is given in brackets beside every car

Fuel option :

Most preferred : Diesel

Second option: Petrol.

Hatch :

1. Ritz (Excellent headlamps, reliable, Maruti on road service, decent boot,GC is fair, fairly spacious as a tourer,diesel option, FE)

2. Tata Indica Vista ( Awesome headlamps, Good diesel engine, FE, Service network not bad, space is good, good ride quality)

Sedan:

1. Swift Dzire ( Good headlamp, Fairly big boot, diesel option, fair GC, FE, Maruti on road service, )

2. Indigo Manza ( Awesome headlamp, Good diesel engine, FE, Service network not bad, space is good, good ride quality, big boot)

3. Ford Fiesta Classic ( Good handling, good headlight, spacious boot, cruising ability, Diesel option, FE)

4. SX4 (High GC, big boot, Maruti on road service, diesel option, spacious)

SUV/MUV

1. Xylo  (Good space, mahindra uv reliable, service network is fair, comfortable, diesel and FE decent)

2. Scorpio (Good space, mahindra uv reliable, service network is fair, comfortable, diesel and FE decent, good view of road)

3. Innova ( Relaible, diesel, space, Headlamp, ride and comfort, )

Things to consider when selecting such a tourer in India

1. You might get a stretch of even 500-600km without a petrol bunk. Diesel is the best option for such a tourer.

2. Cars that are fairly old in the market is a sensible choice. That road side mechanic does not know how to open your Renault Fluence headlamp in case you have one gone kaput.

3. Costlier cars means more trouble. Reasons are many, like complex repairs, unwanted attraction, costly spares(if that ORVM breaks), below average on road service and many more.

4. More performance is more risky, pushes your inner spirit to make the car go fast and you dont know who is waiting for you in that blind corner, or that sudden cow on road, or the up-down blind trucker. So be satisfied with that enough-is-enough car.

[yipeng024 0]

Post Deleted: Member Banned.

BornFree2011-12-12 04:47:59

[ishanb1 2]

Beat diesel all the way. I am getting approx average running of 560-580 kms in full tank(31-32 lts) which mostly consists of commuting between delhi-gurgaon in peak hours. Pickup is awesome for a 1ltr car, plus you can also take it on highways.

[rameshbabu.n 6]

For me (and all my family members), the best has been

our ever-dependable and very spacious Xylo E8.

It is evident from the fact that almost 90% of the

Xylo's total mileage was INTER-city driving.

We never used our three previous cars this way for

undertaking really long drives. They were neither

comfortable (Esteem, because our two sons are very tall),

nor dependable (Premier Padmini) nor safe (Omni).

So, till Xylo came along, we avoided Inter-City drives.

But, with Xylo, the long drives were a pleasure.

Very comfortable captain seats, plenty of leg space,

huge head and shoulder room, chilling AC, good music

system, two power points (for charging our laptops,

cameras, PMPs, Mobiles and PSP), plenty of in-cabin

floor space to dump all our junkfood and drinks,

plenty of space for all the shopping we do on the way,

and excellent mileage of about 17 to 18 kmpl on highways.

A sturdy and dependable, it NEVER gave us any trouble

in the last 35 months or so. Above all, the high stance

of the vehicle is a big plus point while driving on

highways. One gets a very clear view of the road for a

longer distance, thus, resulting in better safety.

What else we want from a inter-city drive-able car ?

We were so happy with our Xylo that when we went to

Delhi-Agra-Mussorie-Delhi trip in an Innova, all of us

were unhappy because it was not spacious (especially for

our two sons), not comfortable (the seats were so small),

and the AC was not sufficient.

So, for us, it is only Xylo all the way.

The other options for me could be :

Fortuner and Honda City (in the sedan category).

And, a big NO for any hatch on Inter-city drives.

[dr_nishu 198]

Previous Wagon-R(1.1) is the most easy to drive hatchback for City use. I has got Ample power, flat torque curve ideally needed & suited for city usage.

Its suits to almost every heighted drivers & to both males as well as females.

Then comes the other cars.

Previous Swift is also a very good to Drive car, due to its Ideal driving position(at least for me).

It simply urges you to drive, drive & even more to drive.

[Sstar 77]

Beat diesel all the way. I am getting approx average running of 560-580 kms in full tank(31-32 lts) which mostly consists of commuting between delhi-gurgaon in peak hours. Pickup is awesome for a 1ltr car' date=' plus you can also take it on highways.
[/quote']

 

Dont you feel that inside cabin noise is too much??

[Arjun_M 11]

How about the Vento diesel? It's a diesel, yet has performance figures equivalent to a petrol engine, and is under ten lakhs. I'm not sure about ease of fitting an alternative fuel system in a Volkswagen, but otherwise, it appears to be a serious contender, fitting in the middle of everything- Cruze for extreme power, Scorpio for power and uneven terrain capability, Fiesta Classic CLXi in value for money and is slightly more powerful than the SX4 diesel, though not backed up by superior service. Good ratings on power and mileage should take it ahead fairly.

Can't say much about the Manza, but while the power is reduced, you still get an affordable top-end model.

[rameshbabu.n 6]

Completed a TIRUPATI to HYDERABAD and back trip

last week. A total of 1,247 km in under 4 days.

Tirupati to Kadapa, Kadapa to Kurnool and Kurnool

to Hyderabad one way and back on the same route.

Very comfortable trip for four of us in our onward

journey and equally comfortable trip for three of us

in the return journey.

Thanks to our Xylo, we had a memorable trip.

[ishanb1 2]

At high speed, yes, but I would say it's a pretty peppy car.