Buying a Car in Rs 10 Lakhs Budget - Compare Honda City Fiesta Indigo Logan Optra Octavia SX4 Cars

One of my relatives is looking to buy a car within a budget of rupees 10 lakhs. They have shortlisted Honda City and Maruti SX4, my personal choice is new Honda City as I do own one. We have test driven both cars and found Honda City to be a much better car for some obvious reasons. The car will be driven by my relative’s wife, keep in mind she does have some problems of the back, so she wants something with good height (naturally Maruti SX4 in this case). Also, she is not a real fast driver so power really is not an issue. Car will be mostly used in the city with occasional highway driving. Bad roads are not an issue there. Which other cars would you suggest?

In the price range are other cars like:

1. Ford Fiesta.
2. Mahindra Logan.
3. Tata Indigo XL, Manza, etc.
4. Chevrolet Optra 1.6L, is it still available?
5. Skoda Octavia, sometimes the dealers are giving amazing discounts.

So please compare the above cars.

This is really a nice question. I am always glad to compare cars. Below is my personal comparison of all these cars.

Ford Fiesta: Fiesta is a great driver’s car and is the only machine which can give competition to Honda City but as you said, performance is not the criteria so it also gets out of the picture due to cramped interiors and though Ford is improving still has a poor service support and customer service network.

Tata Indigo: Neither it falls in this class of cars, be it price or performance, nor it has the quality, service and sense of premium product compared to Honda City. Honda is Honda In Fact, except for space and purchase price, it does not tick any right box, so out of contention.

Mahindra Logan: This car already has a fair share of problems as Renault has stepped out of the collaboration with Mahindra and again, except for space, it also lacks seriously in all other parameters.

Chevrolet Optra 1.6: Though I am not sure if its still in production or not, but again it does not match Honda City on Performance, fit and finish, resale value and brand image either. It sure has the same interior space, in fact a few mm more but I have test driven and ridden this car and I dint find it comfortable enough for the class it falls in.

Skoda Octavia: It sure makes a strong alternative, in fact a better one as far as build, fit and finish quality is concerned but the petrol without the RS badge is not a strong performer and it also lacks enough rear knee room. It makes great sense if you go for the diesel version, where you are unlikely to get a steal deal but still, it is the closest and the best alternative for Honda City.

Maruti SX4: Though good in ingress and egress height, it does not make a strong case for it in any other department against Honda City or Skoda Octavia. Power is good but it sips fuel like a 1.8 engine. Interior quality and feel is not up there as it should feel in a rupees 8 to 9 lakh car. It makes a contention only because it offers more features at lesser price.

The person who is going to purchase a car should go and test drive all cars in this bracket in a span of an hour one after other to compare best. Then compare the VALUE FOR MONEY. He should take the car which he likes the most after spending the time of test drive. You like Fiesta but it is not necessary that it is a favorite of everyone. All I can say that whatever I have written is 100% true at this moment. Decision should b made by the purchaser after spending time with cars in this bracket.

So for me, it should be Honda City or Skoda Octavia. That were my three cents. Hope I am able to answer your question.