Highway star

WHICH CAR?

I am looking for a small car between Rs 3.5 and 5 lakh for my wife. She needs a small car and she will be taking the Mumbai-Pune Expressway twice a week, mostly with a driver. We require rear seat comfort, safety, reasonable fuel economy, reliability and high speed poise.

The car should be easy for her to drive too. The choice is between the diesel Palio and the Alto VXi. Do you recommend ABS and airbags for the Palio? Are service costs for the Palio diesel reasonable? How good is the Alto VXi's rear seat?

Nikhil Kapur, via email

Between the two cars, the Palio gets the nod, while ABS and airbags are worth the expense. The rear seat of the Alto is not much to talk about.

Since you have set your eyes on a Palio, we suggest buying a decent, under 20,000 km, used 1.2 ELX it will return 12 kpl on highways and is every bit a Fiat that your Palio diesel will be. As for further economy, you'll also be saving a lot of money "� good examples sell for about Rs 2 to 3 lakh!

Xing a song

I have a 1997 Maruti 800 DX and am planning to buy a new, spacious car. The Wagon R fits, but I don't like its boxy shape. We go for drives on holidays and Sundays mostly, not so often on working days.

Twice or thrice a year, we go on long drives. I require efficient airconditioning, power windows, power steering, low maintenance and good interiors. Shortlisted are the Wagon R, the Santro Xing and the Corsa Sail 1.4. What do you suggest?

Vishwas Bhatia, via email

If you don't mind sticking to the Maruti brand, the Wagon R is an excellent car to graduate to but if you don't like its shape, you should certainly consider the Santro Xing "� it's quite spacious (rear seat ride is not very comfortable) and suits every other need of yours. It is also more or less maintenance-free in the long run.

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