LET us start with the diesels first - even if you are logging about 3000km every month, would the difference in fuel prices make the diesels somewhat of an attractive option? Neither of the two diesels here are so refined or such good cars overall that they would take the fight to the petrols if the prices of the two fuels were the same. Despite all the gearshift problems and the NVH inferiority (on my drive from Pune to Mumbai in the Indigo, the levels of refinement were such that at a number of varying speeds, the specs I was wearing were vibrating in much the same fashion as the inside rear-view mirror), the Indigo is a far superior vehicle considering its performance and its practicality. Only if someone wants to dodder around in a chauffeur driven car which is cramped for space and is sure that he will be never in a hurry, then the Esteem D is the car for him - the chauffeur will do all the hard work while our man will be happy with the couple of thousand that he will save every month. That's not for our Joe Average - remember he will be doing the driving himself, he has a growing family and a grown wife and will be making that rather quick trip to the hospital.

So let us turn our attention to the petrol-engined cars. The Esteem VXi is good for out and out performance but gets overshadowed by the competition in most other aspects. The Siena 1.2 is a good overall car and not a slouch either. It has new looks and lots of space, both in-cabin and the boot is the largest of the cars. His parents do not have to stoop too low to get in and the fuel efficiency is not a cause for concern but no power windows or central locking... hmm, Lady Average, do you mind?
But then there is the Siena 1.6 that has everything the 1.2 has without compromising too much on the fuel efficiency and after all the budget is stretchable to Rs 5.5 lakh, isn't it? And Joe does not buy a car every other year, does he? But on the flip side he has to keep in mind inconsistent build quality and some very ordinary levels of dealer service.

The Indigo petrol though has the space and the gadgetry that will keep the family happy, but neither does it have the refinement nor the performance of some of the competition. And the fuel efficiency is just as good as that of the Siena 1.6, not better. So it is still the Siena 1.6 with its decent overall ride and handling package but this is where the Ikon excels with its new and improved suspension. And though the Rocam engine is a great improvement on the earlier pushrod engine of the Ikon, it lags behind in terms of performance and the fuel efficiency also is surprisingly low. Ah, this is a difficult choice to make and even though our heart stops for a second, it is a certainty our search does not end here.

The Corsa is a very good package overall but the car itself is cramped for space, the boot is not large either and seating for three at the rear becomes a tight fit, the tightest of all the competition. And our thoughts go out to the parents...!

So in the end it will have to be a compromise, that is clear. So we heard the family out:

WIFE: I am fine with whatever makes Joe happy.
JOE: Okay, then let's buy the Ikon! (We know your heart is stuck there).
WIFE: But we have a growing family and so we should try and keep the costs down.
PARENTS: What's wrong with buying a diesel? The roads are so bad that even a petrol car starts making as much of a racket as the diesels, so why not go in for a diesel right in the beginning? (Some reasoning that, but how do you argue with the parents?)
WIFE: Since there is not one car that stands out totally and you are stuck for choice, a diesel engine car will at least save us some money.
JOE: Okay, okay, but I am not buying that dud Esteem. We won't be able to even get you to hospital in time.

So in the end, the choice was simple. When there is not an outstanding car that appeals instantly, the thing that is uppermost in an Indian family's mind is fuel efficiency and savings, and try as hard as Joe Average might, the handling or the performance of a car alone is not going to influence his wife or his aged parents.

Hey Joe, look up the Yellow Pages for the Tata Engineering showroom's numbers or wasn't there an ad in the papers yesterday?