Quote Originally Posted by jut703 View Post
I was in a similar situation a few months back, and ended up with an Altis G MT.

My thoughts on your choices:

Vios G - at 880k (840k net of discounts), it's not really good value for money, especially if you consider that the City VX is priced the same but is a much better car. If you want a Vios, the 1.3E is the best value variant as it has almost everything the G has at just a little over 700k for the MT (after discounts). I did 7.5-10 km/L in city driving for my Vios E AT, and the manual should fare better.

City VX - at 890k (with occasional discounts of up to 30k), it's an expensive subcompact, but definitely the best all-rounder among all subcompacts. It's got impressive space - legroom is as good as the Altis, but elbow room is still lacking. It also has fancy features like push-button ignition, bluetooth connectivity, touch screen HU, an abundance of 12V sockets front and back, etc. But of course, at the end of the day, it's still a subcompact, and I'd rather get a compact for the same price.

Elantra E MT - gone are the days when Hyundais were good value for money. At 888k, the Elantra E is so bare - no foglamps, 15" rims, no aux/USB/iPod connectivity, no steering wheel controls, just 1 airbag, no ABS/EBD, manual airconditioning, no telescopic steering adjustment, no keyless entry, no 60/40 split rear seats, and so on. Heck, the base Altis E has more features. It's got a good engine, but a good engine alone isn't enough to make the Elantra E a good buy.

Altis G MT - gone are the days when the Altis was merely a safe and boring choice. It's actually really good value for money, and for most people, it's quite a looker. It has all the basic features that the Elantra doesn't have, though the City still has more fancy toys. However, what the City doesn't have is a larger cabin and a better ride. And of course, the Altis looks classier and is a notch above, as it's a compact vs the subcompact City. Maintenance is very cheap, as with most Toyotas. The Dual VVTi engine is quite a surprise too - good fuel economy but at the same time can get to 200 kph and has great power delivery throughout the rev range. The suspension is the same as before, but has been retuned to have less understeer and body roll.

Other cars I considered were the ff:

Mz3 1.5V - objectively, this is actually a great car. It looks wonderful, and has all the features of the Altis 1.6V at 50k less (Bluetooth, push-button, etc). Then there's free maintenance too. Handling and steering was great and this is really a fun car to drive. However, I really wasn't impressed with the power from the 1.5 Skyactiv. It's got good top-end power, but at under 4000 rpm it's pretty ho-hum, much like the older Hondas. Also, the 16" rims are too tiny for the body, and you'll really need to upgrade to the 18" OEM 2.0 rims to look decent, which adds to the cost. And though it seems really minor, I hate the digital tachometer. Digital speedos are fine, but I want my tach to have a needle instead of bars. Overall, the 1.5V feels like a shortchanged version of the 2.0, unlike in the Altis which feels like it was first designed as a 1.6, and the 2.0 was just added to have a big-engined range-topper. The Mz3 was at 965k, while the Altis was just 840k after discounts. I couldn't justify spending over 120k for the Mz3 when I could just get an Altis and spend a little for mods to make mine stand out.

Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost - it's got the best engine for any car under 1M (as good as the 2.0 compacts), and great handling to match. Has all the features that the City has too (push-button, Bluetooth, etc) plus voice control. This for me is the best subcompact actually. But at the end of the day, still a subcompact priced more expensive than a compact. If you're really after a small car, get this, but if you just want the best all-rounder sedan for your money, there are other options.
Well explained. Might remove the Vios G AT in my list. For the City VX, it looks respectable to me plus as you've mentioned, lot's of other advanced features. For the space, I don't have passengers in my daily trip so not a big issue at all.
The Elantra, I liked it before, looks sporty and decent to me but when I've read about the expensive PMS, might remove this as well.
With the Altis, i liked the FC figures posted plus I'm sure that the maintenance cost wouldn't be a burden. So it might be between the Altis and City. Are there other factors to consider? I don't drive fast and maybe I would also like to hear on the comfort side between the two. Appreciate your response.