Benchmarking

Hi colleagues,

in this challenge I have to give some sugestions about a car for a 5 members family.Sometimes they are making a 500km distance trip from Bangaloore till Madurai.The car will be used for a trip on that distance and a drive to a job office regularly.Budget is between 8 lakh to 10lakh.Mr.Pughazhyendhii that buys a car is a fan of Big cars.

I have to do Benchmarking of four cars - that means comparison of properties of the cars as engine variants and agility of it,transmission and driving experience,exterior and interior appearance,comfort and availability of space in cars (Mr.Pughazhyendhii is a tall guy and there have to be place for a legs and head also).Milleage also should be considered (vehicle consumption per miles/kms) and costs of cars.Reliability,service support and safety are also important stages in the cars benchmarking.

So,I will now start with the description of various cars,its properties and compare them,I will benchmark the cars.

TATA NEXON

As it can be seen this is very well designed car,with superb appearance.Exterior looks splendid with mixture of painted colour,black plastic parts and metalic also.Interior is good designed,plastic needs a little improvement and some more space for a head on a rear seats.

There are specification of the cars regarding costs,milleage,variants etc.

Powertrain options on the Tata Nexon Jet Edition include the same 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine and 1.5-litre diesel engine as the regular Nexon. These motors are paired with six-speed manual and automatic units. The Nexon EV, on the other hand, produces 127bhp and 245Nm in the Prime trim and 141bhp and 250Nm in the Max trim.

HYUNDAI VENUE

Specification of selected SUV are given bellow as it is shown.

Exterior is very well and detailed designed.It is looks very practical and detailed designed.

In interior is also all very practical and on the hand reach-out,driver has a very good overview on instrument panel and road.It has enough space in front and at rear seats for a tall passengers also.

Key specifications of the vehicle are given bellow.

In city driving conditions, all you have to do is slot it in first and ease off the brake, and the car will start to roll on its own. As we said in our first-drive review of the iMT last year, you don’t even need to press the brake to move from first gear, but given the levels of discipline on our roads, it’s better to have a foot hovering over the brake pedal. You don’t get hill-hold, but there’s hill start assist which holds the car in place briefly on an incline allowing you the required time to switch between the brake and the throttle. The engine revs freely on the highway, allowing you to quickly get up to highway speeds. Once you have hit sixth gear, you can drive it like a regular automatic and, due to its design, will not stall, leaving you with one less thing to deal with out on the open roads. Finally, the shifts become much smoother if you take your foot off the gas pedal when changing gears.

MARUTI BALENO

Exterior of Maruti looks good but in many details that on Tata Nexon and Hyundai Venue looks much better.Regarding interior everything looks like practical and so good,maybe the best when we look at the console and space for a driver.There is also quite enough space for a passengers at front and on a rear seats.Material used in interior could be of better quality.

Brief overview of key specifications are given bellow.

The new Baleno gets just one engine option. It is powered by a high tech 1.2 litre naturally aspirated petrol motor with dual injectors and variable valve timing, producing 90PS and 113Nm, and is paired to either a 5-speed manual or an AMT gearbox.

This motor still sets a benchmark when it comes to drivability and refinement. The response from this engine is so good that you can cruise at low speeds in third or even fourth gear and even when you want quick acceleration the motor responds without any hesitation. As a result, its performance is effortless as gear shifts are kept to a minimum. The gear shifts too are slick and the light and progressive clutch makes driving in the city a comfortable affair.

If the Baleno is the first automatic car you are going to experience then it will feel good enough but if you have driven more advanced gearboxes like CVT, DCT or torque converter then you will feel its basic nature. For a basic AMT transmission it works really well, with quick enough downshifts for overtaking and it stays smooth for most part. But it's at crawling speed where the gear shifts feel slow and a bit jerky.

MAHINDRA XUV300

As it can be seen vehicle with a splendid design,many esthetic details from paint,plastic and metalic parts.Very detailed designed.

And in interior,personaly my favourite.It is designed with so many taste and passion for colours,very good combined with excellent materials and much space on driver seat,at front and on a rear bank.Drivers instrument panel and console are astonishing.

I have selected possibly best cars in the SUV class in midle segment.It was hard to decide which car should have priority but I have decide myself for Mahindra XUV300 because it is designed with so much passion and offers best value for money.Hyundai Venue offers very good driving experience and have more place inside for passengers in comparison with other types.Tata Nexon has best milleage and price but there is some place for improving driving exeperince and interior plastic. Maruti Baleno has a very good motor and transmission unit,much space for passengers but it is a little more expensive in comparison to other two compared vehicles.All four types fullfils highest NCAP security standards (5 stars).

I have rated Mahindra XUV300 with 5 stars and Tata Nexon,Hyundai Venue and Maruti Baleno with 4 stars.I have chosen SUV because Mr.Pughazhyendhii is a fan of big cars and apart of driving to office he has a 5 members family and sometimes has to drive on 500km distance from Bangalore to Maduira.

Best regards,

Ivan Tole