Were the Swift and Fabia – separated at birth or whatever back of envelope drawing that first conceived their deisgn ? I have always felt there are way too many similarities in the design of the Swift and the Fabia. Have not had a chance to drive the Fabia but got a chance to park next to one and sneak a few photos off my mobile .

(Please click on the thumbnails for larger versions)

Design Similarities:

• Overall silhouette with tapering roof
• Glass house area tapering towards C-pillar
• Blacked out A pillar
• Bonnet line joining base of A pillar
• Other than the front grilles the bonnet outline is very similar

Design Differences:

• The Fabia is narrower by a little bit but longer than the Swift resulting in a longer rear door that doesnt taper as much.
• The Swift is a bit taller and wider while the Fabia seems lower and flatter.
• The Swift has better curves
• Headlamps, Grille, fog lamps are the key differences up front.
• The rear is different enough – the Swift shows its width with a portly rear.

 
Related External Link: Also A bit dated comparison  between the Getz, Swift and Fabia by BS Motoring.com.

Question: Are there other cars on the road that you think have such visual similarities ? Do let me know. I will do a series of such posts.

Since I have been out of action for a while I am taking the liberty to consolidate my thoughts on the most recent launches of the past month or so here.

Toyota Fortuner (Aug 24, 2009)
This is really a new launch for India. Wheelosphere.org has details about the launch here. It took a long time to get to India. The only downer is that the interiors are too similar to the Innova. Quality is good and the vehicle is capable and comfortable – but Toyota did not plan for the demand and has closed bookings for the next 7 months – or is it just a ploy to get dealers/brokers to make some quick money through “premiums” being charged to get this popular vehicle soon. (Has Toyota been keeping a ear open to how Maruti and its dealers handle the Swift/Dzire Diesel’s popularity). (Toyota in the recent past called the refresh of the Innova the launch of an “All New” Innova – with just head& tail lamp changes, a new grille & climate control).

Maruti Suzuki Estilo (Aug 25th, 2009)
New engine and significantly face-lifted exteriors – very close to being a new car. The wheel arches look a bit funny IMHO – well actually the whole front has been a sore point even from the previous iteration. The headlamps look better than the original ones and the bonnet and grille have been re-worked to be more rounded than the older version and more like a tall hatchback than the previous version. The interior has some minor changes. The heart of the car has changed – this is a significant change in my book and will classify this as a new vehicle. Most significant change was the fact that the “Zen” name has been laid to rest instead of being slaughtered on this ugly duckling – which has tried to change its looks slightly for the better I should say.

Hyundai Santro (Sept 1, 2009):
Facelift only. This cannotbe called a new car. Beige interiors, grille & wheel cap changes do not make it a new Santro. This should have been decently called a refreshed Santro which is the only way Hyundai can try to move out existing stock till the actual new Santro is brought out.  www.motorbeam.comhad a poll on this and as of this time 57% of respondents say no. 27% say “Who cares” while a surprising 14% has said it is a new car. People who answered “Yes” – folks you really are being conned by Hyundai and you do not know it. Motorbeam has a detailed post on what is “new” here . I am finding it difficult to figure out the “new” grille – which looks exactly like the old/older/oldest Xing ones – is this a case of only the intelligent seeing the new grille ? In that case I must be the stupidest person around !

Honda Civic (Sept 8, 2009)
Facelift only. Minor changes to the tail lamps, smoking of head lamp, changing the bumpers and alloys doesn’t fool me . They also have no creativity – they introduce a new trim always called a “V” trim and the main feature is guess what – Fog Lamps and a USB capable music system ? Cruise control is added new – a feature I feel should have been there from day one – for the price charged.

Ford Endeavour (Sept 9, 2009)
This one is a bit difficult and I will call this a significant faceliftand not really a new vehicle. The front has undergone fairly significant changes all the way till the “A” pillar. But aft of that there is not much of a change my untrained eyes can detect. The engines on offer are still the same but the 4×4 now comes in Auto-trans only. The Sat-nav system is a cool feature to have. Toyota for sure will be bringing this one and an automatic in soon on the Fortuner to keep up. Our Indian customers are crazy and just run out and throw money at anything branded Toyota and Honda – so Ford has to give away extra to get and keep customers.

Soon to be inflicted on us:
Honda City (Sept 15, 2009)
Again a facelift only since this vehicle has been around for just around a year or even less. The “V” series makes its presence felt but details are scarce at this point other than new alloys (wow – Honda finally relented and are giving poor Indians alloys and fog lamps ! Thank you Honda – we are so touched !) BS Motoring has a writeup here .

Nissan Teana & X-Trail (Sept 16, 2009)
Significant facelifts of these low selling vehicles are to happen says Motorbeam.com.  These do not excite me since they are really niche vehicles which are neither VFM, neither sporty and no where worthy of their prices and they need to be built in in India rather than be imported for their sales to pick up. I am more interested in the vehicles Renault-Nissan has in the works that are focussed at the mass market rather than these .

What are your thoughts on the “all new” vehicles being brought out these days ? Please do make your voice heard.

I came across an article  in Money Today that talked about the running costs of the Tata Nano compared to the Maruti 800, the Santro and the Swift.  It was a very interesting read especially since I was wanting to put up a running cost calculator of my own on this website. I felt a better comparison would be of the Tata Nano with the Maruti Suzuki 800, the Maruti Suzuki Alto, the Maruti Suzuki Omni, the base Hyundai Santro and the Tata Indica Xeta GL. These are the 5 cheapest vehicles currently available. I feel there is no point comparing it with the Swift. The only true comparison is with the M800. The others are much costlier.

I have used Chennai prices as my reference. Insurance values come from Carwale.com. For registration and life tax have used a standard 8%. I have used a different way to calculate costs and have added some parameters as well. Of course most of the parameters may need to be tweaked for actual use but hope this gives an idea.

Please click on the below image to view the comparison chart.

For 3 years the Nano has the lowest running cost with the 800 close behind. The Alto and the Omni are very similarly priced while the Santro and Xeta are also similarly positioned.

Of course the maintenance costs of the Tata Nano still need to be seen. Hope the quality of the finished vehicle will be decent enough.

Am still working on an online running cost calculator. Will add it in when I am done with it. Till then do let me know your comments on this comparison.  If you feel like you could also play with the excel I used to create it runningcostcalculator.

 This post is not for them but for someone who has a budget limiting them and for with a lot of unclear requirements. This is for someone having to squeeze out the last bit of value from their hard earned money.

Most usually you are changing your vehicle because you need more space. Be clear if you want interior space or luggage space or space for more passengers. 

If you just need interiors that are roomy you can choose from a large tall-boy or B+ segment hatch which is still cheaper than most sedans. (  Hyundai Getz,  Hyundai I10,  Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R,  Maruti Suzuki Swift ).

If you need luggage space then a vehicle with a proper boot is required while if you need to ferry many people a mini-van /SUV is required.

Longer drives with luggage and mainly adult passengers may need a sedan or  SUV / MUV while 2 adults and 2 children a hatchback may still be fine.

Frequent Long trips/road trips for multiple days warrant a look at SUV / MUV/minivans. (  Mahindra Bolero , Mahindra Scorpio, Mahindra Xylo , Tata Sumo, Tata Sumo Grande , Tata Safari, Toyota Innova, Chevrolet Tavera )

Image by Shanghai Daddy via Flickr

 Is there a vehicle that appeals to you in the list meeting all or most of your requirements? If there is you are lucky – just take a test drive to make sure.

If you had issues/missed features in your prior vehicle try looking for options that overcome those limits. For e.g. you didn’t have power windows & central locking on your first car and got tired of rolling up the windows and checking the doors were locked each time – you should look at a car with all of these.

Choose a color that you yearned for while you were driving your previous vehicle and for better exterior finishes. Maybe try a switch from a metallic color to non metallic color or vice versa. Or try a bright/bold color after a dull one. (I have made such a switch from driving boring silver cars one after the other to bright red and bright blue -

makes finding your car in a large parking lot very easy).

Look for better quality/ looking/feeling interiors. Nowadays beige or two tone interiors are available instead of the usual dull grey. If your car will need to withstand a lot of rough use you may be better off with grey interiors since beige ones look dirty with rough use.

Other points:

• Choose better/more solid overall build quality.
• Choose more comfortable/ supportive seats.
• Choose a smoother shifter & lighter clutch
• Go in for safety options like ABS / Airbags where you previously had none.
• Look for better mileage.
• Check out diesels and LPG / CNG options.Try the pure electrics if you dare. The Hybrid Honda Civic if you have money to spend is a great choice.
• Better ASS and lower cost of spares.
• Choose brands/models that are popular to ensure best resale value.

  

  Image via Wikipedia

• Try looking at gently used vehicles if you want larger and costlier vehicles than fits in your new car budget.
• When buying new look out for periodic deals/special edition vehicles that contain key features & accessories at attractive prices.
• If your budget allows go in for the highest trim level you can afford. You get the amount back in your resale value when you sell the car years later.
• Also look at vehicles 1 lakh below and 1 lakh above your budget. Because sometimes you may ignore perfect options that are a few ten thousands over your budget or maybe just under as well.

If you have any questions or comments on this post please do comment and let me know how this can be improved.

 Updated: 19-Mar-2009

Just noticed Maruti Suzuki has a cool feature on their website which lets you see the entire spectrum of models they have by seating capacity, body style and price. Here are some screenshots:

  (You can click on them to go to the site)

 No other Indian OEM has this kind of complete view of their product range available for their customers to easily see. This is what I was searching for an upgrade path or plan. It makes it very clear to a prospective customer to determine their options from the variety that Maruti Suzuki provides.

Updated 27-Mar-09:  Tata Motors has a similar feature letting you choose from their range. You have to search to find it though: http://cars.tatamotors.com/buy-tata-car/vehicle-selector.aspx  . Small issue I noticed is they dont include the Safari or the Sumo’s in it.