I am a fast motorbike person and was never much
into cars leave alone relatively slow moving SUVs. My tryst with cars started
when I learnt to drive one on my dad's maruti 800 ("mere dad ki maruti
:P") which was more a formality so that if needed I could drive one. Later
I got a chance to drive my brother's Maruti Zen (old one). This is when things
started to pick up for the better. I enjoyed driving it. Then came my friend
Mithun's Toyota Corolla when I started feeling the need for higher capacity
engines. Still I never felt like owning a car and used to drive occasionally. In 2007 I thought of buying a 4 wheeler and since I had been to Ladakh on my bike was looking for a vehicle which could reach there hence took a test drive of the tata safari but unfortunately I had to travel overseas for my job and that plan just went down the drain.
I returned after a while and on the suggestion from a friend attended a one day dirt rally training on an Esteem and an SX4 where I learnt the art of drifting which hooked on to me. I wanted to buys an SX4 and I booked one but had to cancel the booking as there were other pressing financial needs (buying a house). I finally decided to buy a pre-owned Maruti Baleno in 2009 and own it till now. It is a gem of a machine and I have been relishing driving it around.
2009 also saw the launch of the toyota fortuner. I loved the vehicle back then but it was beyond my budget. Later around 2012 I was thinking about getting a new car and thought of looking at the fortuner which had become even more expensive and I was dejected. Then the Renault Duster was launched and I liked it as a crossover especially the fact that it has more space for stuff but is not all that bulky and is easier on the pocket too. My wife also wanted to go for something other than a car. I arranged for a test drive and liked the car like maneuverability. However, the seating in the rear felt cramped and the smaller engine, suddenly it did not make sense as a 13 L vehicle.
We started looking for a car now. I increased my budget to 16L and was considering cars like the elantra petrol, skoda octavia, VW Jetta and zeroed in on the Elantra SX. Again I had to go to the US for work and decided that I will book the car on return. When I came back, my wife again suggested me to reconsider going in for a car and look at other options in SUV/crossover category. Nissan Terrano was about to be launched. But the same issues with the duster were here too. I looked the XUV as the next step but was not convinced with it. It is a good car but somehow does not come across as a tough SUV. After a lot of thought and my love for fortuner, I thought about going for a pre-owned fortuner as I am already aware of the benefits of pre-owned vehicles like not getting the initial depreciation hit and not bothering about the vehicle getting scratches etc along with the lesser price tag and lower insurance premium. I did find couple of option but again was not convinced about going for a pre-owned vehicle from someone I did not know.
Nissan Terrano launched and I thought lets close the chapter and book the Terrano. It will be lighter on my pocket and will look for an upgrade 2-3 yrs later. We went to the showroom to book the terrano, looked at it one more time at the showroom and somehow could not give the booking amount at that time. We decided to book it later after some thought. We discussed this with some friends and again the confusion began. I was back again looking for a pre-owned fortuner. Alternately, I started my calculations of what if I decide to go for a new fortuner. Booked a test drive and loved the vehicle. Then all the research on SUVs started.
I started comparing the Fortuner, Sante Fe, Captiva, Pajero, Koleos and Outlander. More on the comparison later on. After all the comparisons it turned out that the Fortuner is the best one for us but I was not able to find a good deal for a pre-owned one. Tried buying it from a army major but he back tracked. We went to Toyota Utrust who were selling a 2010 model for 17 L which had an insurance value of 12 L so decided against it. Finally, we took the plunge and decided to go for a new one and I started doing my calculations to get the adequate funds.
I thought about looking at the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 as well just to check if I am not missing anything in the near range which is better. Both of them felt more like a car than an SUV, did not have traditional 4x4 with lock differentials and were small in size hence we decided and booked the Toyota Fortuner 4x4 super white. Thus ending our roller coaster journey of deciding our next vehicle after owning a pre-owned Maruti Baleno for 5 years. Got it delivered yesterday. Thanks to everyone who aided in the decision making and to my wife for the support in going through with the decision.
By the way I never had a problem in deciding my bike upgrade in 2010 when I went for a Kawasaki Ninja 250R from a Bajaj Pulsar 180 classic. As I told you I am a motorbike enthusiast :)
I returned after a while and on the suggestion from a friend attended a one day dirt rally training on an Esteem and an SX4 where I learnt the art of drifting which hooked on to me. I wanted to buys an SX4 and I booked one but had to cancel the booking as there were other pressing financial needs (buying a house). I finally decided to buy a pre-owned Maruti Baleno in 2009 and own it till now. It is a gem of a machine and I have been relishing driving it around.
2009 also saw the launch of the toyota fortuner. I loved the vehicle back then but it was beyond my budget. Later around 2012 I was thinking about getting a new car and thought of looking at the fortuner which had become even more expensive and I was dejected. Then the Renault Duster was launched and I liked it as a crossover especially the fact that it has more space for stuff but is not all that bulky and is easier on the pocket too. My wife also wanted to go for something other than a car. I arranged for a test drive and liked the car like maneuverability. However, the seating in the rear felt cramped and the smaller engine, suddenly it did not make sense as a 13 L vehicle.
We started looking for a car now. I increased my budget to 16L and was considering cars like the elantra petrol, skoda octavia, VW Jetta and zeroed in on the Elantra SX. Again I had to go to the US for work and decided that I will book the car on return. When I came back, my wife again suggested me to reconsider going in for a car and look at other options in SUV/crossover category. Nissan Terrano was about to be launched. But the same issues with the duster were here too. I looked the XUV as the next step but was not convinced with it. It is a good car but somehow does not come across as a tough SUV. After a lot of thought and my love for fortuner, I thought about going for a pre-owned fortuner as I am already aware of the benefits of pre-owned vehicles like not getting the initial depreciation hit and not bothering about the vehicle getting scratches etc along with the lesser price tag and lower insurance premium. I did find couple of option but again was not convinced about going for a pre-owned vehicle from someone I did not know.
Nissan Terrano launched and I thought lets close the chapter and book the Terrano. It will be lighter on my pocket and will look for an upgrade 2-3 yrs later. We went to the showroom to book the terrano, looked at it one more time at the showroom and somehow could not give the booking amount at that time. We decided to book it later after some thought. We discussed this with some friends and again the confusion began. I was back again looking for a pre-owned fortuner. Alternately, I started my calculations of what if I decide to go for a new fortuner. Booked a test drive and loved the vehicle. Then all the research on SUVs started.
I started comparing the Fortuner, Sante Fe, Captiva, Pajero, Koleos and Outlander. More on the comparison later on. After all the comparisons it turned out that the Fortuner is the best one for us but I was not able to find a good deal for a pre-owned one. Tried buying it from a army major but he back tracked. We went to Toyota Utrust who were selling a 2010 model for 17 L which had an insurance value of 12 L so decided against it. Finally, we took the plunge and decided to go for a new one and I started doing my calculations to get the adequate funds.
I thought about looking at the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 as well just to check if I am not missing anything in the near range which is better. Both of them felt more like a car than an SUV, did not have traditional 4x4 with lock differentials and were small in size hence we decided and booked the Toyota Fortuner 4x4 super white. Thus ending our roller coaster journey of deciding our next vehicle after owning a pre-owned Maruti Baleno for 5 years. Got it delivered yesterday. Thanks to everyone who aided in the decision making and to my wife for the support in going through with the decision.
By the way I never had a problem in deciding my bike upgrade in 2010 when I went for a Kawasaki Ninja 250R from a Bajaj Pulsar 180 classic. As I told you I am a motorbike enthusiast :)
