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I may have a similar dilemma myself. I went to see all these vehicles and test drove as well except for the Venue. Venue is out of the question for me and I have already ruled it out. All the other vehicles you have mentioned are better than the Venue in my opinion. MG ZS has gained so much popularity over the past 2 years, people who own the vehicle are hell bent on defending and praising it but you need to keep in mind that it has been in Sri Lanka for only about 2 years, so you never know of its durability. Although, they do offer a 5 year warranty, which is a good thing. When it comes to interior space, none of the others come close to ZS. Since you have kids, you may need to consider that. As cons, it does not have some useful features like automatic climate control, power folding mirrors, Android Auto(if you have an iPhone, then fine). Also a friend who owns an ZS told me that it only does about 6-8 kmpl in city. Kia Stonic has almost everything ZS has, except for the sun roof, driving modes and some other minor features. In addition, the Stonic has power folding mirrors, automatic climate control, Android Auto and Apple Carplay, rain sensing wipers, bi-projection headlamps, which in my opinion are pretty handy during an urban commute and pretty much all the other times as well. My only problem with it was that it does not have much leg room for the rear passengers. It's not horrible, but it's not ideal either. If you are someone who pushes the driver's seat to the back as much as possible, then don't go for this one at all, as people in the back are going to be seriously cramped for space, especially if they are going to be adult passengers. But it would be okay for short commutes. Also the Stonic has a DCT gear box, which are known to have caused so much trouble in some vehicles in creeping traffic conditions. So you would wanna think about that as well. On the other hand, Kia offers a 5 year/150000 km warranty that covers the engine, gearbox, battery etc. so you would probably be okay. Toyota Raize has the smallest dimensions out of the 3, yet surprisingly, it has more room for the rear passenger than the Stonic! It is also taller than the Stonic. If you go for the Raize, then it would be better to go for the Z grade in my opinion. As others have mentioned in this thread, Raize seems to be way overrated. Most of the features they advertised back in November like Display Audio, Navi Ready, Panoramic View, Panoramic Parking are in fact manufacturer options, which means you need to pay extra to have them fitted. If you get the Z grade without any options, you don't even get a display! If you really want a Toyota, then buy the Z grade with Navi Ready package or the Panoramic View package so that you can retrofit a player/display later from Sri Lanka. Even so, it would cost you over 6 million, and in my opinion, it is such a rip off! And being a grey import and all, it's just not worth it. I guess my point is, you cannot have "everything" you are looking for in one vehicle. You would have to make some compromises and you would have to decide which of those compromises would affect you the least.

Thank you! This is actually what I am interested in too. Having said that, there has been a recent(as recent as 2020 January) recall of Kia Seltos 2020 due to some issues(overheating and skipping odd gears) in its 7 speed DCT gear box. https://www.thequint.com/tech-and-auto/car-and-bike/kia-seltos-recall-for-dct-automatic-transmission-issues Kia seems to have fixed the gear skipping issue with a software update. Wonder if the same issues have made it to other models as well.

As I have heard, one of the good things about DCTs is that they have better fuel consumption.

Got the specs of Kia Stonic offerred by Kia Motors, so thought I would publish the details here for anyone interested. I would also like to know your opinion regarding how it compares to other popular small SUVs in Sri Lanka in the same price range such as MG ZS and Hyundai Venue.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience! I guess getting the correct support is bit of a problem when there's only a handful or reliable places for service and maintenance. I have heard good things about Vishwa Motors prior to this as well.

Thank you very much for your input! Did not know about this.

Dear Experts, Recently I saw a very nice looking VW Polo ad published by a certain popular car dealership in Duplication road and started doing some research on the vehicle. It looked like a really good vehicle(to me), but the only problem is that it is not a Japanese vehicle. My knowledge about vehicles is not that great, but as I understand, there are certain disadvantages/hardships in owning a non-Japanese vehicle in Sri Lanka. I have a few questions that I would like to pick your brains on. 1. One of my main concerns is that there does not seem to be a VW agent in Sri Lanka. Is that correct? I know Drive One is now the sole agent for Audi, but do they also do VW? There is a facebook page with a shocking 34 million+ likes(even lot more than the population in Sri Lanka ? ) and the website URL as www.volkswagensl.com, but the last post on the page is in 2016 December and the website is dead. 2. How difficult would it be to maintain a VW in Sri Lanka? Are there any reliable places for maintenance and repairs? 3. Is it total stupidity to even consider buying a VW, given all of the above I have mentioned? Thank you very much in advance for your valuable input!

Thank you for the advise! I liked the Ford Focus as well, but apparently there has been a mass recall of its 1.0 engine cars due to engine overheating and bursting into flames! Vitara seems like a good choice, but need to save a couple hundred thousand more for that, I guess. I like the Raize very much and I researched it as well. One problem I have with it is that everything will be in Japanese since it's only being manufactured for the domestic market(as far as I know). One of the car importers mentioned that to me saying adding the display audio package would be pointless since it cannot be converted to English. I've come to realize over the past few months, that the hardest part in buying a car in Sri Lanka is choosing one due to various reasons like tax policies, resale value etc.! ?

Hey, thank you very much for the comment! I checked the Focus and there seem to be only a 1.6L engine offered by Ford Sri Lanka. http://www.fordsrilanka.com/products-2a-5.html There's a hatch and a sedan. I will give them a call and inquire. Eco Sport is 5.995Mill.

Something I have heard so often and an interesting point! That is one reason I am leaning towards a Japanese vehicle since Sri Lankans seem to have a preference towards them. Thank you for your detailed comment!

Thank you, I will research these as well!

This explains one of the MG accidents I saw. If I remember correct, it hit a bus near Pannipitiya and its A-pillar and the roof was crushed!

Hey, it seems you skipped over the very first sentence on my post where I mentioned "I am an absolute newbie". I wasn't trying to be modest by saying that, I really am a newbie. ☺️ The reason I want to by a new one is due to the same reason; since I don't have much knowledge about cars, I am a little hesitant about going though the process of buying a used car and the problems that I would encounter during the time I own the car. Also I think it would be easier to drive a smaller car rather than a comparatively larger one(again for the same reason). For someone who knows their way around a car, the options you mention would be great, I presume, because I have heard the same argument prior to this as well. I will take it under advisement as you make a valid point. Thank you very much for the valuable response!

@iRage Thank you very much for your valuable input! Could you please tell me why it would be a strain to drive on long distances and highways? According to the brochure published by Toyota, Raize's highest grade comes with Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist. I thought that would make it easier to drive on highways. I don't have anything against sedans, it's just that as I said, I am a newbie, so I think a smaller car would suit me right now since they are usually easier to drive. I will research about the Yaris too. Thank you again!

Thank you very much! Stonic was something I hadn't even heard of. I will read the reviews as well.