The quest for a car began sometime in August 2009. I always wanted a Honda CRV – its got a really stylish, sleaky, smooth and sexy look and is a beauty to watch on the road. However, right now we decided to settle for a hatchback, which Smriti will also be able to drive easily.
The major criterias we were looking at were -
a) Really good legroom. I hate cars which dont allow me to sit comfortably either in the front or rear seats. I suffer from Chondro-malecia-patella (phew!! sounds serious) – its also called the classic cinema hall syndrome, which explains the need for the legroom.
b) The mileage of the car should be good.
Smriti was always on for diesel vehicle. However, I was not very keen on getting a diesel vehicle. Couple of reasons -
a) No one in our family so far has had a diesel vehicle.
b) I thought that it makes too much of a noise and emits a hell lot of pollution (i want to go green! Really!). AND
c) According to my calculation: Assume the average of the petrol and diesel vehicle is same (~14 kmpl, for ease of calculation). Diesel is cheaper than petrol by ~Rs 14. Hence every 1 Km I save Re 1. The diesel vehicle is ~80K more costly than the petrol version. Hence to cover-up the cost, I need to travel ~80000 Km. On an average even if I travel 2000 KM per month, it will take me ~4-5 years to cover that extra cost up. Till that time, it will really not matter which vehicle I take now, as the life of the car will be nearly 4-5 years. Hence it wont make a difference really.
However, later I found out that -
a) Diesel vehicle has a higher re-sale value than the petrol version. Simply because the demand for 2nd hand vehicles in the rentals segment is much higher for diesel vehicles.
b) Also, diesel vehicles give a much better mileage than their petrol counterparts.
c) Also, the new technologies that have come keeps the engine noise under control and are much smoother to drive.
So finally I got convinced that getting a diesel vehicle is not as bad as it looks. Hence we decided to go for the diesel one.
