Family matters

WHICH CAR?

I want to replace my Hyundai Santro Zip Plus, which is almost four years old. Since my family is large, I want to go for a bigger car. Though most of the time, it's only my wife and I who will be travelling in it, the whole family will travel together on weekends. Which of these three options would be better "" the Mahindra Scorpio, the Chevrolet Tavera or the Toyota Innova?

Karthikeyan Alagarasamy, Hyderabad

If you can afford the Innova, it should serve your purpose very well. Despite the bulk, the Innova is easy to handle and the diesel version is particularly economical to run. The Scorpio is fun to drive and does a good job of handling bad terrain. The Tavera lacks spunk, but if all you want is a diesel people mover, then it can do the job too. Also, test drive the Maruti Versa "" it is petrol-driven and can be used like a car (without feeling guilty of lugging around a people-mover with just two people in it). And it's a practical tool inside town as well. Shh... good discounts available too!

Wedding bells

I am getting married in a few months and am planning to buy a new car. My budget is from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. Since the car would mainly be used for 150 to 250 km long weekend trips out of town, it should have SUV-like features like better ground clearance and a degree of off-roadability. It will also be used for my wife's daily commute to office (10 km away), so it should offer good mileage as well. Initially, I had shortlisted four cars, the Suzuki Wagon R, Tata Indigo Marina, Fiat Adventure and the Ford Fusion. After some consideration I have narrowed it down to the Wagon R (VXi with ABS and airbag) and the Fusion. Which one should I go for?

Sudeep Kumar Saha, via email

The bigger Fusion should win if you are comparing these cars feature-to-feature. The Wagon R is a better overall city car that is easier to park, is economical to a fault and offers peppy performance from its 1.1 litre engine. The Fusion is more fun to drive and has better ride and handling going for it. Buy the Fusion if you are not worried about residual values "" Fords lose value quicker than Marutis. And yes, here is wishing you a very happy married life.

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