Real estate

WHICH CAR

I have been reading BSM for a few years, mostly the abridged version with the paper but the January 2006 issue took the cake. I had to buy the full magazine! Now I am planning to buy my first car ( I am 36, family of 3 with one more on the way). No, this is not about a Maruti or a Santro. Estates have always held a fascination with me, so which one is the best buy?

Baleno Altura "" God knows when they will discontinue it Corsa swing "" have been given bad reviews
Fiat Weekend "" fuel hog, bad service, but now with Tata tie-up?
Indigo Marina "" default choice?
It will have a city run of less than 10 km a day, but a weekly highway trip of 400 km. So what's the best choice?

Dr Aravind, via email

We hope you buy the full magazine only in the future and thanks for the good words.

As for your car, what you need is a reliable estate car and we think you can still get your hands on a Baleno Altura. Don't worry about MUL discontinuing it "" as long as MUL will service it and sell you parts for it you should have no problems.

It is a quirky looking car (hence it has a certain degree of character) and is as reliable if not as economical as the Baleno sedan. GMI does not produce the Swing anymore and only the Adventure version of the Fiat is on sale now, not the Weekend.

The Indigo Marina is spacious, looks good and has diesel economy. Go for it as long as you are not looking at a car that is too involving to drive. And Doc, we don't have to tell you to invest in a proper child seat for the newborn, right?

Rough Guide

I need to buy a car in a day or two and still can't decide between a Hyundai Accent GLE and a Baleno LXI. I love the drive of an Accent, but is it expensive to maintain? My usage is going to be very rough with many outstation trips. Please reply urgently.

Aman Batta, via email

A three-box sedan for a busy man. We would say go for the Baleno, and not because the Accent is high on maintenance. We would have recommended the Accent if all you needed was a city-based sedan.

Both cars are great all rounders, but it is the Baleno that has the edge when it comes to long distance driving. It rides and handles better and the suspension bits tend to last longer on our roads. Though a bit long in the tooth, the Baleno offers bulletproof reliability, spirited performance, and decent fuel efficiency to boot.

Scorpio Rising

I am based in Bangalore and wish to buy a car for my family, which includes two very young kids and occasionally grandparents. A chauffeur will do most of the driving, which will come to at least 50 km a day. Which of these two cars should I buy, the Fiat Palio Adventure or the Mahindra Scorpio? Any other car that you can recommend?

Suchinto Chatterji,Bangalore

You are looking at something with a rugged 4X4 image (hence the nod for the Fiat Adventure in the short list, we think). The Scorpio is a proven vehicle today and one that can handle traffic (tall seating position helps) and can ferry people in a comfortable fashion. It is reliable and has diesel economy going for it too.

However, you may also look at the Toyota Innova (unless you really don't want the image of a van) which is spacious, well built and reliable to a fault. Test drive both machines before you take a final call.

We will leave the Adventure aside till Fiat and Tata sort out their future plans for the Fiat brand in India. And remember, children in middle row seats!

Planning to buy a car or bike?
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