S. Muralidhar

Commands a relatively good resale price

I plan to buy a pre-owned Toyota Qualis. Is it a prudent decision as Toyota has discontinued production of this vehicle following the launch of the Innova? Will spares availability and after-sales service be an issue? Which will be a better choice in respect of fuel efficiency and maintenance cost — the Qualis, the Chevrolet Tavera or the Mahindra Scorpio?

Nilesh Kumar Dubey

The Toyota Qualis would be a good alternative to consider in the used-car market. This multi-utility vehicle was withdrawn from the market when it was still selling the most in the segment. Despite its relatively bland styling, the Qualis was extremely popular both in the family van and taxi segments. It used to be preferred for its passenger carrying capacity and class-leading refinement vis-à-vis its competitors at that time.

Since its withdrawal, the residual value of the Qualis in the used-car market has dipped. This is the inevitable fallout for any vehicle that is pulled out of the market. But with Toyota Kirloskar Motor still fully supporting the Qualis in terms of spares and after-sales support, it still commands a relatively good resale price when even compared to cars that are still being manufactured but less popular in the new car market.

The support from Toyota for the Qualis is unlikely to drop dramatically in the near term, as most manufacturers have a market dynamics driven logic of supporting withdrawn models for at least a decade after their exit from the market. Avoid, however, the first generation Qualis that was launched in the Indian market, as spares for it is most likely to dry up earlier. The remodelled variants that made it to the market later would be the better bet and the spares for these models are probably available in other Asian markets even now.

The other option could be the Mahindra Scorpio, the residual value for which would have dropped in the used-car market now that a new restyled version of this vehicle has been launched. The new Scorpio, which was rolled out earlier this month, replaces the old model and, hence, a used Scorpio should be relatively cheaper now than it was a couple of months ago, though prices for this vehicle in the used-vehicle mart will still be higher than that of the Qualis.

What mileage does the Hyundai Santro Automatic offer in city driving and on highways?

Prashant S. Panjwani

All cars that feature automatic transmission tend to be less fuel efficient compared to their manual transmission counterparts.

Santro automatic.automatically priced

This is partly because there is no clutch, and to enable better driveability and easier automatic shifting, their powertrains are rated higher and the engine mapping is different from that of the manual transmission variants. Some high-end cars do have hi-tech, highly efficient auto transmissions that are loaded with electronics and refined injection technology to be able to offer as much mileage as a perfectly driven manual transmission car.

The Hyundai Santro AT features a four-speed automatic gearbox. The automatic transmission of the Santro is likely to be 10-15 per cent less fuel efficient than the manual transmission variant. This would mean a mileage of 7-10 kmpl in city driving and 12-15 kmpl on the highway, depending on driving conditions and driving style.

At about Rs 4.1 lakh (ex-showroom), the Santro AT is an attractively priced automatic in the small-car segment.

But the lower fuel efficiency and the price differential (though smaller than other automatics in the same segment) will have to be considered before the convenience of the automatic is chosen over the same model's manual transmission variant.

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