Back me up

I am 6’ 2" and come from a family where everyone is rather tall and broad. Our daily commute is 70 km within Mumbai city, with a once a month trip to Nashik. I have a bad back and am looking for an automatic car that is fuel efficient as well. My current car — a Tata Indica Vista diesel — has kept me happy so far due to its excellent cabin space. Which car would you recommend?

Akshay, Mumbai

The Hyundai Verna CRDi automatic is the only car in that segment, unless you want to upgrade to a higher segment — in that case there is the Chevrolet Cruze and the upcoming Hyundai Elantra. In the petrol segment, there are the Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Rapid automatics, but in the diesel segment, only the Verna automatic, as Mahindra too has stopped making the Scorpio automatic. The Verna is a loaded car with lots of features and the diesel motor is strong. The suspension has also been improved in the recent bunch of cars, making it less bouncy than before. It’s probably your best bet, given your budget.

Rare runabout

I plan to buy a Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire. I don’t intend to use the car for my daily commute. However, my family insists I buy a Honda City. Which would be a better buy?

Sikander, via email

If you don’t want to spend extra money, there is no reason for you to go for the City. The City is one segment above the Dzire and it is a good car, for sure. Compared to the Dzire, it offers better legroom for rear passengers and has a bigger boot too. The Dzire is also a very good car across all aspects, except for the way it looks at the back! But the Dzire is more fuel efficient as well. So, if you don’t need the additional elements that the City offers, including the brand value of a Honda, you can go for the Dzire.

Diesel query

I want to buy a diesel car, but I am confused between the Maruti Suzuki Swift VDi, Tata Indigo eCS and Ford Figo diesel. Which one should I opt for?

Mohit Yadav, via email

Since you haven’t told us what you require from your car, we’re just going to recommend the car that we think is the best of the lot. Go for the Maruti Suzuki Swift, it is a great car across all aspects — fuel efficiency, driveability, maintenance, service and spares too. And if you don’t really need boot space, you don’t need to think twice. As an all-round package it’s hard to beat!

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