Vitara GLX vs Kona vs Civic 1.8E CVT

[jut703]

Sa mga experts natin diyan, pahingi ng payo - between the Vitara GLX and Kona, which is better since their prices are similar?

Better in terms of after-sales service, availability of parts, fuel consumption and over-all impact. If you had a budget ceiling of no more than 1.1M, which car would you buy? Or is there another car under the same category that you would rather purchase with the aforementioned budget in mind for a family of four?

Use: short trips from house to office daily as well as trips from Los Baños, Laguna to Caloocan twice a month

Thank you

Between the two, I'd get the Vitara. It's pretty feature-packed for its price, and owners' reports have shown that it's a very fuel-efficient crossover.

The fact that it is selling well compared to the Kona which you can't even see on the roads yet means that parts availability and resale will be easier down the road.

The boxy styling of the Vitara is pretty nice too, unlike the awkward proportions of the Ecosport or the soft feminine lines of the Juke and Kona.

The biggest drawback of the Vitara is that it feels cheap. If you're a first-time car owner I doubt you'll notice it, but for me it feels so low-quality compared to the interior of the other sedans I've owned that are within the same price range (Civic, Altis).

Thanks for the input Egan101 although I was thinking more on the lines of a crossover or a similarly built unit as the Vitara and Kona as I mentioned on my post. I really am not into sedans.

I appreciate your suggestions though.

While I chose the Vitara over the Kona, if I had a 1.1M budget I would definitely go for the Civic. So I ask - why don't you like sedans?

Is it the ride height? We have an ASX which has about the same ride height as the Vitara and honestly I don't feel that it's much higher than my Civic. In comparison, we have a CRV also and that has the high-riding SUV feeling that most people expect from a crossover. So between an awkward subcompact crossover and a sedan, I'd prefer the sedan.

Is it flood fording ability? Let me tell you straight that the Vitara can't ford floods any better than an ordinary sedan. Maybe an additional inch or two, but still not something you'd bravely cross knee-high floods with. The only subcompact crossover with flood fording credentials is the Ecosport with its 550mm wading depth. Other crossovers don't have their intakes placed up high so they will easily ingest water just as sedans do.

Is it space? A compact sedan like the Civic or Altis certainly has more passenger space and a bigger trunk than a Vitara. The only advantage of the Vitara is that it has a wagon body so you can drop the rear seats to load tall cargo. But then again a hatchback like the Jazz or Mazda 3 can do that too.

Is it ride quality? A true compact crossover like the CRV rides better than a sedan. But a budget subcompact crossover like the Vitara has a bumpier ride because its underpinnings are more similar to a subcompact like the Ciaz. It also has small tires (roughly the same size as a sedan's) so it doesn't have the additional cushioning that bigger crossovers have.

On the flipside, sedans (the Civic in particular) feel much more premium inside, look better from the outside, and have better ride and handling. And while the Vitara may have more features on the spec sheet, the execution feels much more low-rent compared to the Civic.

I'm not dissuading you from getting a Vitara, and chances are, you will. Most people especially first time car buyers will fall for the false sense of security that the slightly higher ride height offers. The sales numbers show it too - the Vitara has finally outsold the Civic (1,700 vs 1,100 units for H1 of 2018). I'm just presenting a different perspective.

The Vitara is a good car with awesome value for money and it somewhat looks like a real SUV. But if I were to do it all over again, I'd still get the Civic. If I really wanted an SUV, I'd save up a little more and consider the discounted outgoing Forester (1.3M) instead.

Whatever you decide on, as long as you objectively weighed the pros and cons and ultimately went for what your heart longs for and your wallet allows, then that's a good choice. Good luck and enjoy car shopping!

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