I am on verge of booking a civic . my r&d and personal exp (owned a accord95 and corolla97 in sher khan) for its 2 paisa.
Altis - solid vehicle, high ground clearance, stiff suspension homologated for indic roads, can take bumps well, higher seating position than
civic, good engine - said to be better at low rpm city driving than civic. looks are subjective _ I like it, wife hates it. slightly better official fuel eco than civic but not noteable. Cons are - pretty dull and outdated looking interior which no brat/fanboy would want - cheesy fake wood trim (late 90s style). its the kind of car a middle aged guy with a driver would buy in theory. it does provide some extras like headlight washer, driving wheel audio controls and power driver seat that civic doesnt. I liked the altis but with wife 100% against, dropped it.
driving has a floaty feel to it (typical toyota style) rather than a sharp steering and feedback (more honda/vwish)
Civic - solid engine but bit weak at city driving low rpm, lower ground clearance - can scrape the BLR style Mt. Meru speedbreakers if you are
not careful with people sitting in the back. low seating position. a self-drivers car - I hardly see any civic with a hired driver. stylish looks with flowing lines and "cat eye" headlights. superb MKI style instrument panel that raised the bar, a three-spoke steering wheel that appeared
later in City and copied by Hyundai. back is capacious enough for 3 adults and floor is flat. I test drove it and the quality of the plastics
and finish was good and noticeably better than the City (esp the dashboard and audio system area). the center console area provides
good storage. Doesnt feature some of the extras I mentioned for Altis. around 40K costlier for the same trim levels. honda manuals are
said to be slick and smooth (I am going for the at). I was test driving in stop-go traffic and there was a second of lag between pressing the
accelerator gently and the torque building up to move the car. it has nice indic features like power folding for external mirrors and since
january features Michelin tyres as OEM. (for some reason BHP fratboys didnt like the bridgestone).
Cruze - unknown quantity. more specced up that altis/civic. doesnt seem to be selling in any huge number. the exterior fitting of plastics
around the doors doesnt seem at the japanese/VW level of smoothness. I havent sat in the interior or test driven it so cannot comment on
that. being a GM, resale value will surely be lower.
if you are willing to stretch a bit more, VW Jetta is also available and proving quite popular with the itvity "senior manager" type crowd.
very nice fit n finish interior and exterior and their diesel engines and trans are said to be top notch. interior is likely to be wee bit smaller
than altis and civic but could my mis-impression due to higher waistline. only complaint I heard was the dashboard was a bit "dull" looking albeit of nice materials and specs. the engine is a bit underpowered in india for size of car.
since you mentioned going for one to "scorch the road" , my suggestion would be evaluate civic seriously and keep aside around 40K to fit new "ricer"
alloy wheels and better tyres from michelin or yokohama over the stock tyres if you want to go all the way. some people who buy in white also get the red colour H logo which I think comes with the type-R and fit black background HID lights, underskirts and a more aggressive spoiler. even the base civic is the most racy looking and MKish of the four.
for me , I am pondering over silver or green colour - the choice of dealer is also made (magnum honda in blr).
p.s. if you are willing to wait one year , the next-gen civic is expected in 3Q 2011. it will likely feature a more accord like front look
and a more fuel efficient and low emission engine. for my family addition leaves me no option but to upgrade and accomodate the
(upcoming) little new passenger too, I am going in. I did upg my santrosaurus with new tires and battery recently. its 5+ now and
I intend to keep it as a Tejas for 5 more yrs to get in and out of crowded hellish places like commercial street or the odd trip to
national market/railway station/groceries.
another option is Innova - reasonably quiet @100kmph, but buzzy engine at 120 as the lack of power shows. but roomy
and strongly built with solid rear axle. it will take roads which would kill a civic like the famous gudalur route to Ooty.
and indeed it does daily as taxis. folks like stanley leather here can do a mean job upholstering it with your choice of
leather. every "manager" I know has one innova and any other car as the 2nd.
. ..no wonder Maruti is laughing all the way to the bank.
