Latest Auto Reviews

I had reviewed the VW Vento right after taking the test drive when it was launched in India, but I could check out only the petrol top-end trim, and I was least bit impressed by it.

Now, as the cost of petrol has been increasing like crazy in India, and diesel works out to be considerably cheaper, pretty soon I figured out that a diesel car would make a smarter choice. Unfortunately, there was hardly a direct competitor to the Vento at that time, which I could consider, and I decided to stretch my budget, and took a Mitsubishi Cedia… And, boy I must say I’m quite happy with my decision, but when I started researching a diesel automatic car for my wife over last few weeks, Skoda Rapid, and Nissan Sunny got me interested.

Nissan Sunny – Do You Really Want a Caaaaaar?

One thing that I must admit is that the annoying adverts of Nissan Sunny that call it a caaaar would make me think as many times the “a”s they’ve added to the spelling of car to make it a “caaaaaaaaar”, despite the fact that it looks pretty good, and the features aren’t bad for its segment.

The top end XV version comes with an ex-showroom price of Rs 7,78,240, while the base XE version starts at just Rs 5,85,707… Some say that the styling cues of the Sunny aren’t that great, but I tend to disagree on this – when you look at its competitors like Skoda Rapid, VW Vento, Toyota Etios, and Maruti SX4, I don’t see anything better as such, though City is by far the best-looking sedan in this segment, but at the same time it costs considerably higher too.

New Honda City


While there’s no diesel version in City, and its top end trim costs close to Rs 11.5lakhs on-road in Bangalore and other metro cities, VW Vento’s top end diesel trim costs less than 10lakhs on road, and top end petrol version of Nissan Sunny costs about 7.8lakhs on-road.

Skoda Rapid

I had a lot of expectations from the Skoda Rapid, but it didn’t turn out to be Skoda’s trump card by any means… In fact, I’d prefer Chevy Aveo or Nissan Sunny over Rapid any time, but then none of them are currently available in diesel version in Indian markets at the moment; and that’s where Volkswagen Vento shines!

Skoda Rapid diesel version costs significantly higher for the top end trim at about Rs 9.3lakhs ex-showroom, though the entry level model is reasonably priced at Rs. 6,82,350 (ex-showroom). On the other hand, you can take home the fully loaded top end Vento diesel at just 9.9lakhs.

Maruti Suzuki


At under 10lakhs mark, the fully loaded top end diesel trim of VW Vento makes a great choice, and since I hate the looks of Maruti Suzuki SX4, I’m not even including it in this comparison!

Fiat Linea


Linea is another worthy contender, which has a base price tag of Rs 6,59,325 (ex-showroom Bangalore) and the Linea T-jet diesel is also a handy choice just in excess of Rs10lakhs on-road. It also gives better fuel mileage than City, Vento and Rapid, and doesn’t look bad at all.

Fiat Linea Emotion Pk 1.3 MJD with 1248cc diesel engine achieves 14 kpl, and comes at ex-showroom price of Rs. 8,90,111, which is quite promising, but it lacks the power in comparison to its rivals.

Ford Fiesta


The entry level version of new Fiesta comes under 10lakh budget, but you hardly get anything in it – forget about ABS, cruise control and stuff, you don’t even get bare basic music system, let alone the possibility of extra airbags etc.
Ford Fiesta Classic almost makes a nice bet, but with the launch of new Fiesta, not too many people want to invest on outdated stuff. The top end version of new Fiesta 2011 goes over 12lakh budget, and I don’t find it reasonable at all.

VW Vento

Volkswagen has been famous as a premium brand in India, (though so is Nissan) and that’s a big positive consideration in Vento’s favor, but more than that, I love its looks and handling over the other two.

So, if you’re looking for a diesel car under 10lakhs, my recommendation would be the new VW Vento, and if you don’t mind stretching a bit, my next recommendation of course would be Mitsubishi Cedia that comes with a 2.0L engine, and all the features that you need in a mid-end luxury sedan in India, not to mention its sporty looks and superb handling!