Best small car between 2M - 2.5M

[Spock]

Hey Guys,

Please let me know the best small cars available for 2-2.5M range. Requirements are below.

1. Should not be older than 9 years (2011 onwards)
2. Easy maintenance - cheaper parts availability
3. Will not be driving daily hence I assume that wagon R with the hybrid battery would be a bad idea
4. Should be a hatchback
5. Should be an automatic

Please let me know your thoughts.

[kush]

  On 12/15/2019 at 12:06 PM, Spock said:

Hey Guys,

Please let me know the best small cars available for 2-2.5M range. Requirements are below.

1. Should not be older than 9 years (2011 onwards)
2. Easy maintenance - cheaper parts availability
3. Will not be driving daily hence I assume that wagon R with the hybrid battery would be a bad idea
4. Should be a hatchback
5. Should be an automatic

Please let me know your thoughts.

Expand  

Kia Picanto

Kia Rio (if you can find a good one)

Suzuki Swift

Mazda Demio

 

[Spock]

Thanks Kush.

What would be the better option between Mazda Demio 2010 and Viva Elite 2013. Please let me know the pros and cons of each. Frankly speaking, I have no idea of hatchbacks.

[DJR]

you can find an early perodua axia for your budget. 

it fits your requirements  

[kush]

  On 12/16/2019 at 3:10 PM, Spock said:

Thanks Kush.

What would be the better option between Mazda Demio 2010 and Viva Elite 2013. Please let me know the pros and cons of each. Frankly speaking, I have no idea of hatchbacks.

Expand  

I think used Viva Elite are ridiculously expensive and most of them are molested by people who know nothing about maintaining a vehicle.

Demio on the other hand were bought by people who wanted some thing better and fun than the Vitz and are likely to be maintained better.

Demio is better in every aspect

[iRage]

Perodua Viva : No nonsense, sensible mini-hatchback.  In SL they are all (at least 99% of them) brand new imports by the agent who used to be pretty decent back in the day. If you are patient and look hard enough you MIGHT find a car or two that has been well taken care of with a good service history at the agent.  Interior is basic but feels well put together. Ride is..well..as good as any mini hatchback. Driving it...well feels nice..kind of like the simple cars of the 80s and early 90s.

Demio: No non-sense, sensible average sized hatchback. Interior feels pretty plush compared to the other hatchbacks of the era (especially the Viva Elite)...feels like the car is hugging/covering you when you are inside. Feels quite engaging to drive. Comes with a lot more creature comforts than the Viva.

Now here is the kicker...the Viva is actually based on a kei car (Daihatsu Mira). The Demio is an actual full sized hatchback. So one one hand you get much more car for your money with the Demio. Also, being a full sized hatch, it looks, feels and performs a lot better than a kei car.

So..I too would suggest you look at the Demio.

Granted both of these cars will not have easy to accessible parts like a Vitz. Face it...you get fake, 3rd party and original parts for common Toyota cars all over the place. Cost of parts wise...a Mazda parts are not more expensive than original Toyota parts (you will hear may stories about Mazda parts being expensive..it is just that the cheap Toyota parts are not Toyota parts) 

[AVANTE]

  On 12/16/2019 at 3:45 AM, kush said:

Kia Picanto

Kia Rio (if you can find a good one)

Suzuki Swift

Mazda Demio

 

Expand  

Kia soul? 1.6 engine but still, it's a fine mode of transportation as far as I know.

[Spock]

Thank you very much guys for ur generous feedback.

I have reconsidered the options given and narrowed my search down to following.

Perodua Axia 2015-2016

Kia Picanto 2015-2016

Wagon R (Can't get my mind out of it)

Doing a bit of research, found that some mention about a gearbox issue with Axia 15 &16. I suspect this is mainly to do with manual transmissions, however would like to know if any Axia automatic owners came across this.

Didn't hear any popular issues with Picanto yet.

Wagon R is the one I like the most due to the Japanese manufacturer and better consumption. However, I would not be driving the vehicle daily hence would it be a bad idea as the battery life would fade off due to less usage? Also, what are the drawbacks of Wagon R? Heard that parts are super expensive and the car is prone to frequent break downs than other Japanese units.

[iRage]

  On 12/22/2019 at 2:12 PM, Spock said:

Thank you very much guys for ur generous feedback.

I have reconsidered the options given and narrowed my search down to following.

Perodua Axia 2015-2016

Kia Picanto 2015-2016

Wagon R (Can't get my mind out of it)

Doing a bit of research, found that some mention about a gearbox issue with Axia 15 &16. I suspect this is mainly to do with manual transmissions, however would like to know if any Axia automatic owners came across this.

Didn't hear any popular issues with Picanto yet.

Wagon R is the one I like the most due to the Japanese manufacturer and better consumption. However, I would not be driving the vehicle daily hence would it be a bad idea as the battery life would fade off due to less usage? Also, what are the drawbacks of Wagon R? Heard that parts are super expensive and the car is prone to frequent break downs than other Japanese units.

Expand  

Do not be stuck and hung up on this whole Japanese made label. It is not MADE in Japan...it is assembled in Japan. The parts are made all over the planet for pretty much all Japanese cars and are shared between models that are assembled all over the planet (eg. Axia has a variant of a 1KR engine which is a Daihatsu/Toyota engine....so the base component of the engine comes from the same manufacturing bases). Vehicles made in Thailand (by Japanese manufacturers) and Koreans and Malaysians are equally good.

There is nothing "wrong" with the Wagon R. Just like there is nothing wrong with the Grace or the Vezel. The issue is these cars are not suited for Sri Lankan driving conditions. We Sri lankans have a bad habit of buying inappropriate vehicles because they are cheap or shiny.

Better Fuel consumption does not mean cheaper to own. When you own a car you have to consider the total cost of ownership. So what ever you save in fuel will be spent on maintenance and depreciation. Cost of maintenance and depreciation increases the longer you keep the car. So before saying you like a car for better fuel economy..think about what your actual savings are.

[Spock]

That's an eye opener iRage. Thanks so much.

Consumption is anyway not my first priority as the car will not be driven regularly. Its mostly the build quality, safety and relatively cheaper parts availability and less running repairs.

I have called up a few Axia and Picanto owners and I was shocked to hear some of them saying that the car is not quipped with ABS in these models. I mean seriously!! That's like riding a motor bike without a helmet.? But to my relief, some Axia owners mentioned that the car comes with ABS. Did a little bit of online research but cannot clearly identify which models of these 2 actually have ABS. Can anyone with the knowledge shed some light please.

[iRage]

  On 12/24/2019 at 3:24 AM, Spock said:

That's an eye opener iRage. Thanks so much.

Consumption is anyway not my first priority as the car will not be driven regularly. Its mostly the build quality, safety and relatively cheaper parts availability and less running repairs.

I have called up a few Axia and Picanto owners and I was shocked to hear some of them saying that the car is not quipped with ABS in these models. I mean seriously!! That's like riding a motor bike without a helmet.? But to my relief, some Axia owners mentioned that the car comes with ABS. Did a little bit of online research but cannot clearly identify which models of these 2 actually have ABS. Can anyone with the knowledge shed some light please.

Expand  

Sorry I do not know about the PIcanto and Axia spec variations....but that is an issue with a lot of cars that come (and have come) to Sri Lanka. To keep the price down the agents bring down the lowest possible grade/spec'd variants of the model. These usually do not have ABS and barely have a driver and passenger side airbags.

But the higher grades do have ABS and Airbags as standard...it is just that not many Lankans bought them (typically they went for the affordability factor and these people unfortunately give safety a low priority). The Japanese cars commonly available here tend to have these as standard because they are Japanese spec models.In Japan these things have been compulsory for quite sometime (now all Japanese cars need to have traction and stability control and in the next few years auto braking and lane assist and other autonomous driver equipment is going to be compulsory). 

[kmeeg]

Though I haven't had experience with Perodua Axia, with the great experience I had with the  Perodua Viva (5spd manual) I would not hesitant to buy another similar product from Perodua.