Budget: 1.2 to 1.5 million - Which car would you prefer?

[sebali]

I need to drive that car in Karachi. Sometimes I would be interested travelling outside the city as well.

Here are the options:

Cultus 2016 Limited Edition
Swift
Vitz (2012)
Alto VXL
Mira, Toyota Pixis etc.

Kindly suggest that I could manage to handle in highways and in traffic within the city.

P.S. My wife wants automatic as she is comfortable driving that when she needs.

[saqibhassan95]

Swift or alto VXL

[an_average_car_user]

Here's the breakdown of the options you have mentioned:

1. Vitz - If you can find a good car, it is the best option. Comfortable modern car with good features and drive. I suggest add Passo to your search as well. But it is also risky, because JDM cars used in Pakistan are generally not well looked after and not in good condition. Maintenance is a big variable, and so is quality of petrol.

2. Alto VXL - This is the second best option, and best of you cannot find a good vitz. It is very comfortable, and AGS will give you the ease of an automatic. Not the same experience, I mean Alto and Cultus AGS both feel a bit like manual, but the driver is not operating the gears and clutch. There is also the advantage of resale value, and great mileage. The R-Series engine is very efficient.

3. Mira, Toyota Pixis etc. - Very good cars if you can find a vehicle in good condition. Same pros and cons apply as Vitz and Passo. If you choose JDM, go for a common model to avoid parts and lack of expertise of mechanics issue.

4. Cultus 2016 - A rock solid and rugged car. I will rate this after Alto VXL if you cannot find good JDM. Disadvantage is lack of power steering and automatic. I do not remember when Cultus VXL was discontinued in previous generation, but if you can find that, it will have power steering and windows. Also parts are cheap and maintenance wise its a relatively simple and easy to maintain car.

5. Swift - Fun to drive, can be maintained at Suzuki, big engine, and reasonable in comfort. But the generation of swift in Pakistan is old and not fuel efficient. Also the 1340cc engine is in the token tax bracket of 1500cc as far as I know. Resale wise if the car is kept well it should retain value but it will be slower to sell. Also finding a good swift automatic in your budget might be difficult.

This is my opinion based on my experience. Overall, you are comparing cars from 2 categories (660cc and 1000cc) and two types (PKDM and JDM) with very different set of pros and cons. So, we can only mention the pros and cons of each option, you can better judge what pros apply the best to you, and what cons you are willing to accept.

[pwuser159259702854]

IMO go with swift it’s a fun car to drive and compared to JDM 660cc cars and alto cultus it’s way better for highways and gives a proper car feeling rather then some small hatchback which is underpowered and wobbles when a bus overtakes it

[pwuser159259702854]

In general don’t buy a JDM car in this budget alto and swift at least have full service support in Pakistan so if you want to buy new then alto but if you can live with a used car my vote goes to swift it’s a fantastic car

[sebali]

Comparing Swift with Cultus Ags, what would you prefer?

And what about Wagon R VXL?

[mehran]

Wagon R VXL with AGS is a very good alternative to a Swift or Cultus AGS. You get to save some money.

[pwuser159259702854]

If you want ride comfort and better performance go with swift otherwise if you want more resale better safety better fuel economy then go with cultus ags
However avoid wagonr at all costs it’s rubbish

[pwuser159259702854]

If you specifically want a car for highways then get a swift it’s way better then the other options

[pwuser159259702854]

You can also buy a Kia picanto which I would rank better then cultus but swift has better performance

[pwuser159259702854]

The biggest drawback of swift is that it is getting discontinued this year and might get replaced soon but otherwise it’s the best option

[pwuser159259702854]

I would rank all options like this
Swift
Picanto
Cultus
Alto
WagonR

[an_average_car_user]

Swift maybe fun to drive but its cons, specially its low mileage, less desirability because it is a soon to be discontinued model, and the fact that it is not really a big car, and its yearly tax bracket, are bigger than that. It is only slightly bigger and not much more comfortable than other options, not enough to turn the buying decision considering its cons.

It is certainly a fun car to drive with big powerful engine, everyone I know who has owned/driven a swift always mentions its great drive. It is a proper highway cruiser.. But that's the only thing in its favor compared to the other options.

[sebali]

Thanks for all the support and advises.

I want to ask one more important question.

What's the preferrable budget range to go for JDM cars?

2 Million?

[pwuser159259702854]

Yes you are definitely right brother in terms of economy taxes picanto and cultus are better

[pwuser159259702854]

What sort of JDM do you want 660cc or 1000cc or hybrids

[an_average_car_user]

Others can correct me if I am wrong, in my observation, good 660cc JDMs are reaching 1.7+ million, and ones with good features are 2-2.2 million.

Vitz/Passo: 2.4-2.6 million, more if you want more features.

Nissan Note (1200cc hybrid) 2.8-3.2 million.

Aqua - 3 million plus, top end models (Aqua Crossover for example) are approaching 4 million.

These all are good cars, but are worth 25-30% less than these current prices. Current prices are unjustifiably high unfortunately. Looter mafia is on the rise.

[sebali]

1000 cc

[an_average_car_user]

1000cc JDMs are Vitz, Passo, Mirage, Suzuki XBee, some imported swift (most are 1200cc). Mentioning some that are imported here.

Passo/Vitz are the most common. Their parts are easily available, mechanics have understanding as well (but consult the manuals to ensure proper maintenance). They are non-turbo, and pretty robust. Passo has good mileage, specially the new ones, Vitz is good fun to drive.

I will recommend WagonR or Cultus or Picanto because despite being lower quality cars will be brand new, with warranty, and better overall in your case.

But do go for a good Vitz/Passo if you can find a good clean car.

[pwuser159259702854]

Yes 2 million budget is adequate for finding something decent like a 2017 passo