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S. Muralidhar

I WANT to buy the new generation CRDi (common rail direct injected) diesel cars for my companies. When can I expect popular cars such as the Tata Indigo, Tata Indica and Hyundai Santro to switch to this type of engines?

Siva

The new, more stringent Bharat Stage III (based on the Euro III) emission norms have been notified and will come into force from April 1. This means that all new vehicle registrations from that date at the six metros will have to mandatorily meet the new lower emission norms.

The new emission norms have been notified for both diesel and petrol passenger vehicles. And so all the automobile companies in the market will have to upgrade the technology in their products to meet the tighter emission requirements.

It is widely believed that upgrading the current crop of indirect injected diesel burners to ones that feature the CRDi technology will be inevitable to meet the new emission standards. There are ways by which companies may be able to meet the new norms, by adopting smaller, more peripheral technologies such as re-treating exhaust gases.

But the more prudent and responsible approach would be to upgrade the engine technology and the engine management systems to eventually make an impact on the emission level.

The Hyundai Santro is not currently being offered with a diesel engine; so the possibility of a change to a CRDi engine does not arise, though the Korean company may eventually also look at the possibility of shoehorning a small diesel under the bonnet of this small car.

But, for now, it will continue to come only with a petrol engine. The Tatas are believed to be in the final stages of testing and tying up the logistics for the manufacture of the CRDi versions of the Indigo and the Indica. Expect the launch to happen anytime within the next eight weeks.

My budget for upgrading to a sedan is Rs 5 lakh. My usage is generally within the city and the average monthly distance clocked is about 400 km. The options I am considering are the Fiat Petra, the Hyundai Accent, the Ford Ikon and the Tata Indigo. I am tempted by the Fiat Petra, but the lack of market penetration of this model is worrying.

J. N. Vivek Miranda

The choice is fairly obvious, if you consider the parameters individually. Your budget constraint of Rs 5 lakh will eject the Hyundai Accent from the list. After this, the Ford Ikon, if you want a petrol-driven vehicle, and the Tata Indigo, if you are particular about a diesel car, are the only two options.

The petrol-driven Indigo may not be the better choice and the diesel-engined Ikon, though more refined than the Indigo, is not within the budget you have mentioned. The Fiat Petra is a much more attractive looking car. With levels of refinement that are class leading, the Petra also offers equally good value as any of the other two cars.

However, the Petra's sales are being affected because of the woes of the Italian parent company's image rubbing off on the Indian subsidiary. That is reason for the poor market penetration of an otherwise genuinely good car.

The Petra's resale value will also tend to be lower as a result. But if that is not of much of a concern for you, the Petra will be the ideal choice.

I own a Maruti 800 which I have used for the last five years. A couple of months back, I started a search for a new car. I am looking for a three-box sedan and can rustle up Rs 6-7 lakh. I have admired the sleek, classy looks of the Maruti Esteem for long. So, that was initially my first choice, but the car's design just seems a little jaded now. The Hyundai Accent and Ford Ikon also look a little old. So, I started looking for a used Honda City and/or Mitsubishi Lancer. But the used-car dealers seem to have obscene margins padded on to the price. Added to this, the huge difference in the interest rates on loans between new and used cars is the other big deterrent.

I am right now looking at a new Honda City 1.5 Exi, though the pricing (Rs 6.7 lakh in Bangalore) is really pushing me to the extreme end of my budget. The key parameters for me are driving comfort (mostly on city roads), high mileage, low maintenance costs, back-seat comfort and, most important, ease of driving a big car (since I am upgrading from a Maruti 800).

Ram Prasad

The new Honda City will be the most suitable car given your list of key considerations. The new City is compact from the outside, but probably has the most spacious interiors from amongst the cars in its class. Yes, it does not look as universally acceptable in terms of design as the previous version of the City, but that is a compromise that is perfectly justified given its extremely practical design outside and in.

The new City has one of the most apt suspension set-ups amongst the sedans currently available in the country, with the rear seat ride being especially comfortable. The car's cab-forward design and short bonnet length give the driver excellent visibility, lessens the blind spots and makes driving easy both in the city and on the highway.

The new City's design has also enabled the company to give the car a spacious passenger cabin and an extra-large boot. The City will also be able to offer class-leading mileage, thanks to its 1.5 litre i-DSi engine. Mileage in city could range from 11 to 14 kmpl, and, on the highway, that litre of fuel could be stretched up to 14-17 km.

At Rs 6.7 lakh, the new City will seem to stretch your budget initially, but savings on running costs could eventually prove to be a better bargain. We would also recommend that you wait for the Euro III version to be launched. That way you would have done your bit for the environment and the City's resale value would also improve.

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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