[ajayc123]

Many of you would have seen this news about Maruti Suzuki's commitment to focus on environment friendly technologies. As per Mr C V Raman, CTO, "that there will be no pure petrol powertrain across its range". We can expect other manufacturers to follow suite.

https://www.team-bhp.com/news/maruti...oss-all-models

Exciting times ahead. As automobile enthusiasts BHPers, have you started thinking about the powertrain for your next vehicle? Sooner than later you are going to be in the market for a new vehicle. Surely you will have lot more options to choose from, versus now.

So I thought, let's conduct a poll to understand what BHPians are thinking.

It's a simple poll: What would be your powertrain preference for your next vehicle ?

Very briefly listing down the options, please feel free to research more:

- Internal Combustion Engine ( Diesel / Petrol only) - Traditional.

- Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle (SHEV) - Atkinson cycle based petrol engine with electric generator motors accompanied by a small battery pack, that can give a pure electric range of upto 1 km, but offers upto 40-50% higher fuel efficiency (Examples Toyota HyRyder - some variants, Honda City Hybrid eHEV, Honda Camry Hybrid etc)

- Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) - Similar to strong hybrid but with larger battery pack giving upto 50 km or more pure electric range. Can be charged at home or at a commercial charging point (Examples - not aware of anything yet in India, but hopeful)

- Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) - runs entirely on battery and requires to be charged at home or a commercial electric charging point (like Tata Nexon EV, MG EV etc)

- Other - CNG, Hydrogen cell, Natural Fuels

So here you go. Poll your choice. More importantly, in the comments provide your choice, and tell us why you chose your option, and your reasons for rejecting other options.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene. Thanks for sharing!

I am very keen on adding a really fast turbo-petrol as the next car to my garage, so voted for that, although the odds are very good for an EV as well. Currently, the odds are 60:40 petrol vs electric for me.

[diwakarmuthu]

I have voted for Diesel. However I may tilt over for a good EV. I know the charging infrastructure and other related aspects haven't matured yet. But, if we get a good range (say 400km) with a competent charging infrastructure, I may just switch over to EV.

One catch though, I have not seen a good 7 seater EV (not counting the BYD 6) yet for the Indian market and I believe it would take some time as well. Maybe the OEMs are still maturing their 5 seater options!

[Nilesh5417]

My next vehicle maybe in a couple of years max so voted for Diesel. Might be able to get it for one last time before switching to EVs.

With the recession hitting hard, i think the switch to EVs is going to take longer. I know some may think otherwise but investments in Infra and tech are going to slow down and people will hold on to their existing cars longer.

[Rahul Rao]

I'm sure that ICE's will be out of the mainstream before I stop driving, I will turn 48 next month and expect to drive at least another 30 or so years.
My dad still drives regularly at 78, and we had to force my late grandfather to stop driving when he was in his early 90's.

Over the years I have driven a number of vehicles, and I prefer the front engine rear wheel drive longitudinal layouts to the transverse ones we have to make do with due to lack of enough choice in my budget. We usually need 3 cars at home, and buy a new car every 4-5 years and keep them for full 15 years, often 3+ lakh on the ODO though we currently have only two.
Before pure ICE cars go out of the mainstream, I want to buy a longitudinally mounted inline 6. Does not matter if it is a pre worshiped one. This will mostly be used for my business trips from Pune to Mumbai / Kolhapur / Aurangabad / Belgaum / Nashik, etc. These trips average about 50 every year.
Second will be a pure electric which I will use for my visits to industries around Pune and cities within 100 km of Pune. This daily runabout car ( currently my Terrano ) does just about 1000 km a week or a little under 50,000 km in a year.
I will retain my Ecosport which has already given 8 years of totally troublefree service.

I am not totally averse to Hybrid's, but unless a plug in Hybrid with a longitudnal layout is launched by some one I will not consider it.

Rahul

[Eddy]

- Being in NCR, diesel is unviable although it remains my favourite option.

- EV - I am not too keen on being an early adopter and will wait for a couple of years before buying an EV car. Also, the EV market does not have enough cars and hence enough competition to benefit the customers yet.

- Petrol and Hybrid are both on the table, although I would prefer a petrol.

[Jeroen]

I voted petrol. As long as I can buy and drive petrol cars I would like to make the most of it!

Jeroen

[Kosfactor]

Voted for Diesel.

For our use case we need Diesel. It is also more reliable source of power when driving through the hinterlands and kinder on the wallet when using your vehicle like a walk-in AC etc.

Will buy diesel for as long as it is available.

[Garud]

Being a newbie, I can't vote yet, but I would love a strong hybrid, especially something a sub 4 meter. Would be ideal for the daily commute and the weekend rides across the city without sitting on the edge with range anxiety.

[sunikkat]

I would definitely want my next upgrade to be 330i, so voted for petrol.
I might stick to good ICE cars, until EVs become mainstream and infra in India is fully ready.

So my preference is Petrol > Diesel > EV > Hybrid

[Shreyans_Jain]

Preference is pure electric or strong hybrid.

My next car, which will be for city use, is going to be electric. I have two excellent highway machines - Hexa and Compass, both diesel, so that takes care of it for now.

When Hexa will be up for replacement in another 3 years, I’d like to go for a strong hybrid. Something on the lines of the upcoming next Gen Innova. All the benefits of hybrids without compromising on the pure practicality of an internal combustion engine. Don’t think EVs will be practical for long distance touring in India in the next 10 years.

I don’t see myself going for a plain petrol or diesel car again

[speed79]

Being a newbie here, I am not allowed to poll.

My next car will be a petrol, as it will be driven by my wife with running of couple of hundred kms each month. Currently Tiago and Punch are in contention.

Next car, a replacement of my totaled Storme, probably in a year, will be a highway muncher, so will be either petrol or diesel. Currently I see one of Harrier/Safari/XUV7oo to be the car.

So no EV for me as of now, as pure EV doesn't make sense for very low running small car or for highway duties. Neither does the premium for SHEV/PHEV make sense for my low runnings.

Alto - 45k kms in 10 years (2006-2016)
Vista - 40k kms in 11 years (2011-today)
Storme - 32k kms in 6.5 years (Oct 2015 - April 2022)

[Gypsian]

I opt for turbo petrol. I already own a turbo petrol ( Audi A4 2.0 TFSI ). The modern turbo petrols are not lagging behind in the torque area which was the major cache with non turbo petrols. Turbo petrol engines are the new norm with many companies putting an end to production of diesel engines.
Coming to EV vehicles, do we really have the infrastructure? Will installing charging stations throughout the length and breadth of India possible in the near future? Horror stories of EVs catching fire every now and then is a turn off.
Coming back to turbo petrols with an enthusiast perspective, turbo petrols would evolve into project cars probably after about 7-8 years of use. With classic examples such as Octavia RS, Polo GTI etc which will age gracefully and also would escape new environmental regulations such as scrappage policy when compared to diesel. Wheres all the fun in EVs and whats there to discuss about EVs? Well if EVs take over the ICE engines completely there would be nothing left to discuss and ponder about. Ultimately its the petrol and diesel engines that develop bond with the respective owners, the oil marks on the hand, occasionally rising the hood to check the fluid levels, the smell of petrol and diesel is what brought us all here.
I have nothing against the EVs but are we prepared? Are the EVs bullet proof? Are the personnel trained enough to diagnose and resolve any issues that may crop up in EVs?

[SR-71]

Voted Diesel, as I am leaning towards an 4x4 SUV. Have been a diesel sedan owner for the past 15 years. I was initially leaning towards a fast petrol sedan but the frequent flip flop by the petroleum ministry and lack of clarity on the petrol blending makes it difficult choice for me as the next purchase is something I intend to hold on to for 10 years.

[Mohitkumaar]

Plugin hybrid becuase I can run electric for daily stuff and petrol for monthly log distance runs.

Though a factory fit CNG bifuel with automatic transmission is also a good choice.

Too bad niether is selling in India right now nor looks in horizon.