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S. Muralidhar

I WANT to buy a bike and after a review of the choices available, I have narrowed down my options between TVS's two bikes — the Victor 110 and the Victor GLX 125.

The Victor GLX 125 is new in the market, while the 110cc version has been available for a while.

Is it advisable to buy the 125cc even if it is new, since the problems that the bike may develop are probably yet to be noticed by users? Or to be on the safer side, should I opt for the 110cc?

Raghuram

Both the TVS Victor bikes — the 110cc and the 125cc versions — have been tried and tested on the road and by the company at its facilities. So, though the Victor GLX 125 has had fewer months on road, it has had its share of burning rubber at TVS' test tracks.

Of course, real world experience tends to throw up new issues and problems, but even here the Victor GLX 125 is unlikely to score badly. This 125 cc bike has been launched a few months ago and any major technical issue would have come up by now in the form of customer feedback.

Further, the Victor GLX 125 is a slightly bigger engine. But apart from this difference, it borrows the configuration and technology from TVS' previous engines which have been used in the Victor 110 and the innovative new VT-i engine first used in the Centra. The Victor GLX 125, as a result, should be about as safe a bike to buy as the Victor 110.

But since the GLX 125 is a relatively new bike from the TVS stable, service and spare parts costs may be comparatively higher than that of the Victor 110. But, after all, the Victor GLX 125 is a much better looker than its smaller engine sibling.

Are the Maruti Esteem and Zen likely to be phased out soon? If yes, then is it prudent to buy one of these vehicles? What is the alternative to these cars?

Praveen Singh Gohil

The risk of a phase out, generally speaking, exists for any passenger car manufactured by any company. But the Maruti Suzuki Esteem and the Zen are unlikely to be phased out in the near future.

The continued existence of a car really depends on the demand for the car in the market and the health of the company. If those parameters are considered, then there is no real threat for the Esteem and the Zen, both of which have been refreshed with new looks and features.

As such both the cars represent good value and offer practical comfort in their respective price and size segments.

The Esteem continues to be a major draw for customers looking for a value for money, entry-level mid-size car. The alternative to these cars, which offer similar levels of value and comfort would be the Ford Ikon Flair 1.3, in place of the Esteem, and the Hyundai Santro Xing, instead of the Zen.

At present, I own a Maruti 800. My daily usage is about 40 km within the city and long distance drives only happen once in two months.

I want to switch over to either the Hyundai Santro Xing or the Opel Corsa Sail.

How do these two vehicles compare on parameters such as driving comfort, safety, maintenance, mileage, and resale value?

Latha Alaguvelu

The Hyundai Santro Xing would be the vehicle that we would recommend for you, particularly if issues such as resale value, running costs and maintenance charges are of concern to you. Additionally, the Santro Xing also features what Hyundai calls the "tall boy" design. This styling theme gives the Santro driver a tall seating position and a good view of the road.

The sharp sloping bonnet that reduces the blind spots while parking the vehicle also aids this feature.

The tall boy design also makes entering and exiting the car easier than would be the case with lower slung cars such as the Maruti Zen, Esteem and the Opel Corsa Sail.

Of the two cars that you are considering, the Santro has also been rated as the car with a relatively higher resale value.

The Santro's 1.1-litre engine is also more frugal than the 1.4-litre engine that is available in the Corsa Sail. Long-term mileage expectations from the Santro could be about 10-12 kmpl in city driving conditions.

Queries may be sent to: q&a@thehindu.co.in or by post to Q&A, Business Line, 859/860, Kasturi Buildings, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002.

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