The Hindu Business Line : Question & Auto

I want to buy a new car and have narrowed my choice to the Hyundai Santro Xing and the Chevrolet Spark. Which one should I choose if I intend keeping the car for the next five years?

Iftekhar Hussain

I plan to buy my first car. I had short-listed the Chevrolet Spark and the Maruti Suzuki WagonR. I am looking at both fuel efficiency and style.

My usage will mostly be during the weekend and once a month out of town on a long trip.

I want value for money in the long run, rather than save money at the time of purchase.

Sunil Dhawan

The Chevrolet Spark is a serious contender in the small-car segment. But it is not the best endowed in terms of interior space. The Spark, possibly along with the Suzuki Zen Estilo, best leverages its exterior dimensions to gain the most cabin space. And yet, the Chevy's rear seat is relatively cramped and it will be quite a squeeze for three passengers.

Overall, in terms of shoulder space the Fiat Palio, the Tata Indica and the Hyundai Santro Xing are leaders in the small-car segment.

These cars will probably also be joined by the Maruti Suzuki WagonR, when the legroom parameter is considered.

Clearly the Chevy Spark will still be a couple of notches lower in the interior space department. The Spark is taller than the more low-slung small cars such as the Alto and the Palio, but doesn't offer the kind of headroom that the tallboys such as the Santro, the WagonR and the Zen Estilo offer.

However, excluding the Maruti 800 and the Alto, the Spark will rate marginally better than the Santro Xing and WagonR in the fuel-efficiency parameter. The Spark's frugal 995cc engine offers a decent power of 63PS, even as it manages to generate a high peak torque of 90.3Nm. The Chevy small-car is also the lightest of the lot, which should help improve fuel-efficiency.

It is too early to comment about whether the Spark will retain value. But this is a small car that will be around for quite some time to come. A redesign or a model change for the Spark is still more than a couple of years away. GM is also going to great lengths to explain that the Spark will be easy and inexpensive to maintain in the long run and to add credence to this claim is also offering a three-year or one-lakh km warranty on the car.

The Spark could well be the car for you if you are not concerned about its relatively less spacious interior, marginally lower engine refinement and the notchy, long-throw manual gearbox.

Recently, I bought a Maruti Esteem petrol car. It is a year-1995 model with an air-conditioner. For a 12-year-old car, the engine seems to be smooth and the performance, satisfactory. The car has clocked 71,000 km. What is the life of an Esteem engine and, considering its age, how safe is it to take it for long trips, which may involve travelling 500-1,000 km at a stretch.

Jagadish Karekoppa

Globally, the average lifespan for a car is considered to be about 14 years. But, in India, we are less reluctant to part with our vehicles and are constantly trying to squeeze more out of them.

In most modern petrol cars, age starts showing on engine performance and reliability much after it has on the other parts. Of course, here the assumption is that the car has been reasonably well-maintained and all necessary precautions have been taken during the years of ownership.

The Esteem's 1.3-litre engine is a tried and tested mill that has performed efficiently for most owners. Since multi-point fuel injection was introduced only in 2000-2001, the Esteem that you own probably still features a carburettor. Excluding the possibility of any external factors affecting the life and performance of the Esteem's engine, it should very easily be able to do its job for over a lakh km before it needs any form of intervention.

As mentioned, the age of the car will probably show on its other parts and these would need to be checked and replacements made before you plan to take this 12-year old on a long drive. The components that you will need to check to reconfirm the car's roadworthiness will include:

The battery, which needs to be replaced at least every five years on average.

All the filters — air, oil and fuel.

Tyres will need to be checked for tread wear. On average the tyres need to be changed every 35,000-45,000 km based on the usage pattern and quality of roads that the car has been driven on.

All the fluids in the car, such as engine oil, radiator coolant, brake and power steering fluid (if available) and windscreen wiper fluid.

Check the carburettor and the spark plugs and ensure that they are clean and have been adjusted for optimum performance.

Check refrigerant gas in the compressor and check if the radiator fins are clean and free of debris.

Check other components that are prone to wear and tear such as the fan belt, clutch plate and brake pads.

Check whether the scheduled maintenance tasks such as oil change, wheel alignment, etc., have been performed.

Finally, check the car's chassis, under-body and body panels for cracks, leakages, weak spots or other damage that may be a threat to its performance on the road.

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