Small hatch between 2.5-3 million

[sathyajithj99]

Hey guys! Need your expert opinion on something . Since my elder son started kindergarten , I'm looking for a small hatch for my wife to take him there daily. My budget is between 2.5- 3million. She prefers automatics and easy parking. Fuel economy is not an issue

I am considering 

Perodua Kelisa

Perodua Kenari

Chevrolet Cruise

Other suggestions are also welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[matroska]

1 hour ago, sathyajithj99 said:

Hey guys! Need your expert opinion on something . Since my elder son started kindergarten , I'm looking for a small hatch for my wife to take him there daily. My budget is between 2.5- 3million. She prefers automatics and easy parking. Fuel economy is not an issue

I am considering 

Perodua Kelisa

Perodua Kenari

Chevrolet Cruise

Other suggestions are also welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Kelisa, Cruze, Kenari in that order would be my suggestion. 

Kelisa is very easy to nip in and out and parking. Simple maintenance as well. Kenari, would be the same drive train. But I don't have any experience with it. 

Cruze - again very useful if you have bad roads. Not as nimble as the perodua a little sluggish at times - would be extra useful to haul stuff if needed. 

If the need is primarily to take your son to and back from school the obvious choice would be a kelisa.

Other options in the same price range would be Suzuki Alto Japanese version of the same vintage that comes with an Auto box and a 650 CC engine. 

[Gummybr]

+1 on the Kelissa and the Alto 650.

Kenari? Have you seen the thing?

Cruze - A good vehicle with ground clearance and with the biggest engine, wont be helped by fuel economy. Also you may consider the Suzuki version of it Ignis/Swift.

[sathyajithj99]

37 minutes ago, Gummybr said:

Also you may consider the Suzuki version of it Ignis/Swift.

I would like that, but it is now above 3million

[SamN]

I am using a Picanto for the same purpose and am happy with the ride. The 1000cc engine is very responsive and easy to handle. It might be less fuel-efficient, but it's okay for me since it's a secondary ride. The 2011-12 version might fit into your budget.

[sathyajithj99]

5 hours ago, SamN said:

I am using a Picanto for the same purpose and am happy with the ride. The 1000cc engine is very responsive and easy to handle. It might be less fuel-efficient, but it's okay for me since it's a secondary ride. The 2011-12 version might fit into your budget.

Thanks for the ssuggestion. I'll consider that too

[sathyajithj99]

After searching for almost 2 months bought a Perodua Kenari 2007 specimen. Although it looks a bit odd,my wife prefers it over the other choices we had. She says it has a bit wagonRish look and she appreciates the extra head room which Kelisa doesn't have. Here are some pics guys. Thanks for the help

Edited March 5 by sathyajithj99

[harshansenadhir]

I've had a March AK12 with KE- plates for a little while recently. contrary to the popular believe, it returned 13-14 kmpl during city running. sold around 2.8mil last year. I'd say add that into your list and evaluate. 

if you can stretch the budget a bit, Viva Elite will be a good choice as well. Watch out for lemons changed hands frequently with tampered mileage though. 

[sathyajithj99]

14 minutes ago, harshansenadhir said:

I've had a March AK12 with KE- plates for a little while recently. contrary to the popular believe, it returned 13-14 kmpl during city running. sold around 2.8mil last year. I'd say add that into your list and evaluate. 

if you can stretch the budget a bit, Viva Elite will be a good choice as well. Watch out for lemons changed hands frequently with tampered mileage though. 

I checked  a few specimens since they were within my budget , but my wife was not happy with the head room. Anyway I already bought a Kenari. So 

[harshansenadhir]

3 minutes ago, sathyajithj99 said:

I checked  a few specimens since they were within my budget , but my wife was not happy with the head room. Anyway I already bought a Kenari. So 

Congrats with your purchase. As long as your better half is happy  

[matroska]

On 3/5/2024 at 12:52 PM, sathyajithj99 said:

After searching for almost 2 months bought a Perodua Kenari 2007 specimen.

On 3/6/2024 at 12:49 PM, harshansenadhir said:

f you can stretch the budget a bit, Viva Elite will be a good choice as well. Watch out for lemons changed hands frequently with tampered mileage though. 

Congrats on your purchase!!! That seems to fit your (or better-halfs) requirement well - there's ample space and the tech on these cars are simple. Actually I learnt a lot when we had a Kelisa - it is an ideal beginners car. 

RE the viva elite - prices are touching 4 Mill now  - there are a lot of manuals converted to auto - using recon gear boxes from Daihatsu Mira's these are poorly done jobs resulting in various issues and most of the swaps are done using the gearbox designed for an 800 cc version of the Mira. Of course the VIN can be used to decode if it was an original Auto or not. Due to this people who own original Auto's kept jacking up the prices until a car that launched at 1.5 M just a decade ago is now going for 4M. This is just crazy and a result of the Sri Lankan mentality. 

 

[sathyajithj99]

On 3/7/2024 at 7:39 PM, matroska said:

Congrats on your purchase!!! That seems to fit your (or better-halfs) requirement well - there's ample space and the tech on these cars are simple. Actually I learnt a lot when we had a Kelisa - it is an ideal beginners car. 

RE the viva elite - prices are touching 4 Mill now  - there are a lot of manuals converted to auto - using recon gear boxes from Daihatsu Mira's these are poorly done jobs resulting in various issues and most of the swaps are done using the gearbox designed for an 800 cc version of the Mira. Of course the VIN can be used to decode if it was an original Auto or not. Due to this people who own original Auto's kept jacking up the prices until a car that launched at 1.5 M just a decade ago is now going for 4M. This is just crazy and a result of the Sri Lankan mentality. 

 

Thanks. Actually I was looking for an Elite first when they were around 3 million . Then all of a sudden prices went over 3.5. 

Anyway I'm happy with the purchase. Drove the car and it was quite good and the pick up is better than I expected from a 1L engine. Enough leg room and head room, also there's better boot space compared to Kelisa/Viva Elite

Edited April 20 by sathyajithj99