Civic Hatchback, Corolla Sport or Mazda 3

[SUB-D]

Dear All

I'm looking to import a car for the 3.6 mil permit, budget between 4-6mil. Will be using it for a minimum of 2 years. I was thinking of the Honda civic 1.0L but rethinking that because of

a) Ground clearance - 135mm may not be enough as not limited to the city?
b) Have to get the Tech pack (highest grade) because others have no value for the permit.

So looked at the corolla sport (maybe better resale value, same ground clearance) and the mazda 3 (which may not have the same resale value?)

Any thoughts? Am I overlooking any other options? (not too keen on the CH-R)

Thanks in advance
 

Edited December 7, 2019 by SUB-D
incomplete question

[kush]

2 hours ago, SUB-D said:

Dear All

I'm looking to import a car for the 3.6 mil permit, budget between 4-6mil. Will be using it for a minimum of 2 years. I was thinking of the Honda civic 1.0L but rethinking that because of

a) Ground clearance - 135mm may not be enough as not limited to the city?
b) Have to get the Tech pack (highest grade) because others have no value for the permit.

So looked at the corolla sport (maybe better resale value, same ground clearance) and the mazda 3 (which may not have the same resale value?)

Any thoughts? Am I overlooking any other options? (not too keen on the CH-R)

Thanks in advance
 

You will be wasting your permit on the Civic as it is only 1.0L, and the duty will be Rs. 2.0 Mn.

Get the Mazda or the 1.5L Civic you will have to pay another Rs. 2.0 Mn. over your permit as tax, as much as you pay on a Merc C, BMW X1/X2 or CRV

Sweet spot is the Corolla Sport with 1.2L where you pay only Rs. 265K

I went through the same dilemma and decided on Corolla Sport

Good luck finding one as there are hardly any good ones in auctions, what is mostly available are 1.8L Hybrids

Don't expect huge resale as it is hatchback, people here prefer Salons and SUVs, plus rear leg room is marginal

If you are looking at resale also CHR will be the better bet as it will be only marginally expensive than the Corolla

[abiman]

5 hours ago, SUB-D said:

Dear All

I'm looking to import a car for the 3.6 mil permit, budget between 4-6mil. Will be using it for a minimum of 2 years. I was thinking of the Honda civic 1.0L but rethinking that because of

a) Ground clearance - 135mm may not be enough as not limited to the city?
b) Have to get the Tech pack (highest grade) because others have no value for the permit.

So looked at the corolla sport (maybe better resale value, same ground clearance) and the mazda 3 (which may not have the same resale value?)

Any thoughts? Am I overlooking any other options? (not too keen on the CH-R)

Thanks in advance
 

I bought Civic sedan 2 months ago. It has Ground clearance of 124mm with driver and so far had no issue. Hatch and sedan has only 1mm difference of wheelbase. However UK brochure says ground clearance of hatch is 129mm with driver. 

I used it in concrete roads and poor roads. But I was careful. 

I was also looking at 3 sedan. But agent wanted 3 months to import.

[SUB-D]

5 hours ago, kush said:

You will be wasting your permit on the Civic as it is only 1.0L, and the duty will be Rs. 2.0 Mn.

Get the Mazda or the 1.5L Civic you will have to pay another Rs. 2.0 Mn. over your permit as tax, as much as you pay on a Merc C, BMW X1/X2 or CRV

Sweet spot is the Corolla Sport with 1.2L where you pay only Rs. 265K

I went through the same dilemma and decided on Corolla Sport

Good luck finding one as there are hardly any good ones in auctions, what is mostly available are 1.8L Hybrids

Don't expect huge resale as it is hatchback, people here prefer Salons and SUVs, plus rear leg room is marginal

If you are looking at resale also CHR will be the better bet as it will be only marginally expensive than the Corolla

Thanks a lot. Hope you managed to find one. If so how was it for use on local roads? 

[SUB-D]

1 hour ago, abiman said:

I bought Civic sedan 2 months ago. It has Ground clearance of 124mm with driver and so far had no issue. Hatch and sedan has only 1mm difference of wheelbase. However UK brochure says ground clearance of hatch is 129mm with driver. 

I used it in concrete roads and poor roads. But I was careful. 

I was also looking at 3 sedan. But agent wanted 3 months to import.

Thanks bro. That sounds reassuring but it's just that I sometimes "forget" to be careful ?. I saw that they had increased the ground clearance for the Indian market so that was another reason I was concerned. In order for the hatchback to be value for the permit I have to order the Tech pack with additional luxury tax, and I'm not crazy about wireless charging or a sunroof. Maybe I should think about the sedan but it just might be over my budget ?

[abiman]

8 hours ago, SUB-D said:

Thanks bro. That sounds reassuring but it's just that I sometimes "forget" to be careful ?. I saw that they had increased the ground clearance for the Indian market so that was another reason I was concerned. In order for the hatchback to be value for the permit I have to order the Tech pack with additional luxury tax, and I'm not crazy about wireless charging or a sunroof. Maybe I should think about the sedan but it just might be over my budget ?

I sold our permit to buy this. No lux tax 2 months ago. I saw indian version too. I was planning to lift suspension ? if GC was too bad.  Not sure this is acceptable with hatch bcs it has adaptive suspension and sedan does not. However adaptive suspension system in civic seems to be pretty basic. 

 

Talk to stafford too. They told me they are going to import civics from feb 2020. That will be 1.5T version according to them at the time. However it will be missing lot related to Honda sensing package and for me that was unacceptable. 

since you are considering corolla, are u looking for stick shift? 

 

 

[iRage]

If you want an engaging drive....then the Civic is the winner....Corolla and Mazda3 are tied for second.

If you want a sensible..day to day car...then the Corolla Sport wins and Mazda 3 and Civic come in second..but Corolla IMO wins by a bit due to its conservativeness (it does not do anything really well but does everything pretty well and does not yell out saying woo hoo look at me...unless you get it in pastel blue). 

If you want a decent all rounder and old school charm...go for the Mazda 3.

Have you ever considered the Corolla Sedan or the touring wagon ?

And yes....the 1L Civic is pointless for your permit and is actually, IMO, a compromised variant in the Civic family....

[SUB-D]

3 hours ago, abiman said:

I sold our permit to buy this. No lux tax 2 months ago. I saw indian version too. I was planning to lift suspension ? if GC was too bad.  Not sure this is acceptable with hatch bcs it has adaptive suspension and sedan does not. However adaptive suspension system in civic seems to be pretty basic. 

 

Talk to stafford too. They told me they are going to import civics from feb 2020. That will be 1.5T version according to them at the time. However it will be missing lot related to Honda sensing package and for me that was unacceptable. 

since you are considering corolla, are u looking for stick shift? 

 

 

Thanks. I will talk to Stafford as well. No, not looking for a stick shift. I heard that the 1.2 corolla sedan is MT only?

[SUB-D]

3 hours ago, iRage said:

If you want an engaging drive....then the Civic is the winner....Corolla and Mazda3 are tied for second.

If you want a sensible..day to day car...then the Corolla Sport wins and Mazda 3 and Civic come in second..but Corolla IMO wins by a bit due to its conservativeness (it does not do anything really well but does everything pretty well and does not yell out saying woo hoo look at me...unless you get it in pastel blue). 

If you want a decent all rounder and old school charm...go for the Mazda 3.

Have you ever considered the Corolla Sedan or the touring wagon ?

And yes....the 1L Civic is pointless for your permit and is actually, IMO, a compromised variant in the Civic family....

Thanks, that's quite comprehensive and helpful. I checked with the agents about the Corolla sedan and their version (1.6?) is a bit above my price range (7.7+). someone told me that there is a 1.2 one which is MT only?

[matroska]

You will be wasting a permit on a 1L Civic. Ground clearance should not bee to much of an issue as I've managed quite a number of poor roads with just being extra 10% careful. 

I'd go with the Mazda... nice little regular car..looks pretty too.

 

[iRage]

8 hours ago, SUB-D said:

Thanks, that's quite comprehensive and helpful. I checked with the agents about the Corolla sedan and their version (1.6?) is a bit above my price range (7.7+). someone told me that there is a 1.2 one which is MT only?

Yes...the JDM variant comes with a 1.2L in sedan and touring form but only with a 6MT. The 1.2L Corolla Sport on the other hand comes with both CVT and 6MT

[RWD]

I would endorse what everyone has said here- go with the mazda3.

I agree with iRage that the Civic 1.0 is a compromised variant  - but then again so is the Mazda3 which we get here to a certain extent. Remember the standard car comes with the 2.0 Sky-activ and you get the Sky-active X variants. What you are getting here is the previous generation 1.5 Sky-active which powers the Mazda2. Its not the most engaging engine. Also you will be missing a few options on the 3 like the I- Activesense, leather, sunroof. push button start, Bose stereo if those are important for you.

Go check the car out the agents-I believe they have a got a new shipment recently. Saw one on the road recently and it looks stunning especially from the front.

[SUB-D]

Thanks all. Will checkout the Mazda at the dealers and update ?

[kush]

I would have chosen the Mazda over the Corolla Sport without a blink if not for the duty structure.

Paying nearly over Rs. 2.0 Mn. above the permit where as for the Toyota it was only Rs. 265K saving of nearly Rs. 1.75 Mn.

Yes managed to find one in auction in last May, got a good deal as there was restrictions in opening LCs for the permit and the car was below the radar of Sri Lankan buyers at the auction.

Mine is blackish blue with TRD body kit and part red leather interior as ample road presence at the moment due to rarity i suppose.

Engine is more willing and smoother over the Civic 3 port 1.0L although has less power.

Edited December 13, 2019 by kush

[charithtg]

On 12/12/2019 at 10:11 AM, kush said:

I would have chosen the Mazda over the Corolla Sport without a blink if not for the duty structure.

Paying nearly over Rs. 2.0 Mn. above the permit where as for the Toyota it was only Rs. 265K saving of nearly Rs. 1.75 Mn.

Yes managed to find one in auction in last May, got a good deal as there was restrictions in opening LCs for the permit and the car was below the radar of Sri Lankan buyers at the auction.

Mine is blackish blue with TRD body kit and part red leather interior as ample road presence at the moment due to rarity i suppose.

Engine is more willing and smoother over the Civic 3 port 1.0L although has less power.

Do u have any idea where the rest of the 1.xx million goes on the permit when u buy a car with the 3.6 mil permit. What im saying is if u import through an importer, his nonpermit price is 6 million and permit price is like 3.8-4.0 million. are they robbing u out of the permit as well??

[kush]

1 hour ago, charithtg said:

Do u have any idea where the rest of the 1.xx million goes on the permit when u buy a car with the 3.6 mil permit. What im saying is if u import through an importer, his nonpermit price is 6 million and permit price is like 3.8-4.0 million. are they robbing u out of the permit as well??

Well if you use your own permit and import you will get the total advantage of Rs. 3.6 Mn.

If you buy a permit say for Rs. 2.2 Mn. you will save Rs. 1.4 Mn. in tax otherwise you would have paid by utilizing someone else permit.

If you have a permit better to utilize it to maximize the benefit, if you sell the permit the buyer will get benefit of Rs. 1.4 Mn.

In the case of the Raize duty is only Rs. 2.0 Mn. if you use the permit you will forgo Rs. 1.6 Mn. you could have used on a better car for instance on a CHR