[Thilak29]

1. Those who believe EVs are for cities alone haven't experienced them or lack ability to do basic trip planning.
2. Formula 1 and the car craze are two different things.
3. Suspension setup is the most ignored element during car purchase decision.
4. This forum has strongly biased members, so is the general society. Learn to accept comments/inputs based on their true merit.
5. Car is a utility tool, period. Naming it, caressing it is weird lechery.
6. City based drivers are good highway drivers and poor drivers in hilly regions, in most cases.
   

[hisham2k9]

1. People tend to say how a VAG drives and how it can never be matched by a Japanese, Indian or Korean. I used to believe them until I owned a preworshiped Polo DSG. For comparison, I felt a manual honda city gave as much fun as the Polo. And that is without all the reliability issues that came with european cars.
2. Evs (cars) are impractical for most average indians. Owning one comes with so many contradiction:
i. To break-even, compared to an ICE car, you need to drive it a lot, but when you drive a lot, battery wears down sooner. And the single most expensive part on an EV is the battery.
ii. To make sense, you need to have home charger, but it is almost impossibly difficult to anyone living in apartment building to have one of their own charging point.
iii. EVs, are great city cars, they say. But most urban indians live in apartment buildings, where installing charging points to your basement parking lot is impractical and some times impossible (owing to the safety reasons, resisitance from associations, construction limitations etc.)
So for now, even a commuter spec EV would make financial/practical sense to only someone who lives in the city with land of their own who has other cars that can take highway duties.

Even if all the infrastructure were to be developed, and cars with huge ranges(say 700 to 800 kms) were to come to mass markets, it will still never replace a good old ICE cars. The fill it, shut it, forget it nature of a reliable Petrol/Diesal cars is just too good to be ignored/replaced by range anxiety. EVs are only good as fun/city second cars. But I don't think many people have the luxury of two car garages, especially in cities.



3. As you would have already guessed, I love petrol and diesal cars. I dont care so much about the affect it has on planet. I only tend to think one form of energy is getting replaced with another. Both leaves residues that damage the planet in long term. ( think of paper/wood being replaced by plastic because Amazon trees were being cut excessively in the late 1900s. This is now again being replaced by paper owing to the plastic waste. It has come a full circle.) etc.
4. AMTs are under appreciated. Most new AMTs are great, drives better than CVT. Pros far outweigh cons over other automatics. Eg: an Igins amt is just 0.8 seconds slower than their manual counter part in a 0 to 100. That is while being great in city and returning same fuel efficiency or even better. An AMT is a great gearbox when paired with a good engine. My preference for automatic goes like this: TC>AMT>CVT>DCT>MT.
5. I believe a road trips on 2 small (sedans/hatches) cars are much safer than on 1 large MUVs. In case of break down of one of the cars, the other can act as a backup/support cars.
6. NA engines are still better than turbos that it replaces in the market in the sub 4m segments. I would anyday prefer the Maruti's K12 over hyudai/Kia's 1.0 litre turbo. These turbos feel strained and overworked after an enthusiastic run or even a routine city run. You can even feel the heat so much when you go near the engine bay after the run on these turbos. The wear and tear are also going to be so much more on these turbos over the years. Linear power delivery > mid range punch.

[Cresterk]

Many people in India who complain of turbo-lag are actually confusing driving below the RPM where the turbo makes any boost. Turbo lag is only applicable at higher rpms when you lift off the accelerator and press it again.

Most mass market diesel engines in India have just a split second of turbo lag. Many people are just lugging the engine. Ofc the car will take time to start moving if you floor it at 1200 rpm in 4th gear.

A small turbo-charged engine is only more fuel and pollution efficient while it is driven below the turbo RPM. Once the turbo starts making boost, it consumes the same or even greater amount of fuel than a large N/A engine since a turbo is effectively increasing the displacement.

[androdev]

State of Indian car market:

[CentreOfGravity]

My two cents:

- I love sunroofs.

- Sedan over SUV. ANYDAY.

- As much as I appreciate the novelty and perks of EVs, I can never warm up to the idea of owning one. Exception = scooters.

- I understand the benefits of automatic cars. But for me, its manual for life.

- iMT technology is extremely underrated for what it offers, i.e city driving. The Koreans' blunder IMO was pairing it with enthusiastic powertrains. (1.0 L turbo petrol)

- Many think Ambys and Padminis revolutionised cars in India. I believe the Maruti 800 deserves that crown.

- I would pick a car that is well rounded over one that sets the roads on fire, but is mediocre on other fronts. And I call myself an enthusiast.

- I love the MG Comet and I find it well priced.

- The Elevate was bashed more than it deserved to be. I'm not defending the Elevate; it definitely deserved criticism, but not as much as it received. OTOH, the Jimny is overrated. Sales show the opposite though.

- Good design is one of the most important factors in a car purchase decision.

- The Hyundai Verna is the most near-perfect car to be launched in India. Be it features, performance, comfort, perceived reliability, service experience, safety, or value-for-money factor, it excels in all departments. Handling is also expected to be better with the upcoming N Line version. Mind you, this is coming from a diehard Virtus fan.

- As an extension of the above two points, I would never buy the Verna. Reason? Design.

- Before the Harrier and Safari facelifts, I preferred the Harrier over Safari. Post facelift, it's the opposite. The Safari looks more expensive, while the Harrier looks cheaper that they originally did. Overall, they both look subdued now, looking more elegant and less butch. And don't get me started on that yellow colour (this is coming from someone who loves the yellow colour on the Virtus and Jimny, and the green colour on the Comet).

- VW didn't deserve the flak it received for the 2.0 products.

- I've never felt attached to any car person. Exceptions = Zac Hollis and Anand Mahindra.

- No compact SUV appeals to my heart. If I had to pick one, it would be the Seltos.

- 3 stars in any NCAP is my cutoff while buying a car.

- Car makers don't innovate nowadays. The last innovation I can remember is the iMT by Hyundai.

Peace ✌️

[kavensri]

I do not know the percentage, but in majority of the cases, what members from this forum think about cars is quite contradictory to what people outside this forum (who owns/drives car) think about cars.
For majority of the people who drives/owns cars (outside this forum):
1) time to 0-100kmph, whether it is a turbo or NA engine, BHP of engine hardly matters.
2) do not have even a basic knwoledge about different filters that exists in a car.
3) look and feel, color, gizmos of a car matters a lot compared to even basic functionalities of a car.

[Motorhead007]

Great initiative. Here is what I feel about cars and the existing situation surrounding it :
1. Car manufacturers have learnt to create an artificial scarcity of vehicles to extract maximum from hapless buyers. The long waiting periods are reminiscent of the license quota period
2. Govt or authorities are interested in maximizing their profits ( taxes) from car sales. What otherwise explains such high tax rates on everything related to cars. Car ownership is expensive and the Govt has a good role to play in this
3. 10/15 year ban rule in Delhi NCR is not a well though out one. Certainly not suitable for a country like India which has scarce resources and large population to take care of. It encourages wastage and scrapping much before the car life is over. However Govt has to gain from higher sale of vehicles so it does not oppose it. Also govts keep on charging 15 year road tax in NCR ( WHAT A PITY)
4. While a lot of us judge a car by its build quality ( door thuds etc.) what really impacts car safety is the platform strength. Also car reliability is a less appreciated factor on most platforms
5. Don't appreciate the use of too much touch based controls in cars these days. These create distractions and not at all user friendly for the driver. The passengers of course can love them
6. Sun-roofs are overrated

[aniyo]

Originally Posted by skarthiksr

I have many such views not agreeable to many. Let me list the same.

1. I don't see a significant difference between a sub-4m SUV(Tax friendly) and a Creta Segment SUV to pay the significant premium. The rear leg room and bigger boot benefits are not significant in my opinion to pay such a high premium over sub-4m cars.

I completely agree to this one. When i was car shopping in 2019, I test drove Ford ecosport, Nexon, Duster, Creta and XUV300. Honestly both me and wife could not see why paying 4L extra for Creta was justified. Duster had a lot of pull with AWD variant but wife did not like it one bit. So we finally settled for Nexon as we flet it was an acceptable compromise for the budget.

[M@y@vi]

Adding another controversy!

How ugly are Hyundai and Kia cars?

To me only i20 end sonet are borderline ok. Rest are from alien world where having lights even inside their eyes is normal.

[shresan23]

1. Paddle shifters are unnecessary in a car that takes a lot of time to reach a hundred

2. This has been thrown around a lot probably, but here goes. EVs do not "save the world from pollution"

3. A "sport" variant of a family car or a city car, is not worth it, especially when it has ~ the same engine. Same goes for a different colour version. Yes, you Venue, I20 and Nexon. OGs might remember the beast Volkswagen produces.

4. On the topic of colour, Dual tone is not really necessary unless it is paired with unbreakable combos.

5. Oh for the love of God, there is a difference between SUVs and suvs. If you know, you know. Dont slap an SUV badge on everything.

6. We give the Japanese too much credit. For all their genius, they have some dumb moments too.

7. The Indian market is definitely not what it was 10 years ago.

8. Adaptive Beams must be made mandatory across.

9. Slapping a turbocharger does not mean the car is F-A-S-T.

10. I just realised i listed all my trigger points.

[Burgman_tales]

Parking on public roads should be only at designated places if the municipality allows it. No board means no parking, period. If one can't afford private parking inside their house/society, they shouldn't buy cars. Public roads is for public, not for anyone to park their cars. Most roads in India are narrow already, this menace of public parking adds to the nuisance

[Nikhil0812]

Ok, so here goes:

1) 2 & 3 wheelers are an absolute menace to society. The roads should only belong to vehicles having 4 wheels and more.

2) 4th Gen Honda City > 5th Gen Honda City

3) In the current state, I'd never recommend VAG 2.0, Tata & Mahindra cars to anybody. I find them totally half baked. There are more things to get right other than just driving dynamics and safety.

4) Virtus or Slavia? Verna any day with my eyes closed. Taigun or Kushaq? The Seltos, obviously.

5) I don't get the flack surrounding small capacity turbocharged petrol engines. The performance they offer is fun. Sure, there's some turbo lag. But compared to the 1.2L N/A engines on offer from Maruti, Hyundai, Tata, etc in the price rage, these 1.0L turbo-petrols punch way above their weight class. Just be prepared to content with that hint of lag from time to time.

6) There are plenty of other ways to save the planet and plenty of other public transport vehicles than can be electrified and made "cleaner". Leave cars and there engines alone. ICE for life!

7) Top speed > outright acceleration. I understand there's pretty much no road in India where you can test top speeds, but just knowing that you're car can hit tremendous numbers if the opportunity ever presents itself is a different feeling altogether

As always, no disrespect/hate towards anyone.

[Biraj]

The obsession with big SUVs in India is baffling and utterly impractical. People are stretching their finances to absurd lengths, with car loans spiraling out of control, just to own a car that's too big for our roads, too bulky for our parking spaces, and too heavy on our wallets. It's a vicious cycle – buy a big car to feel safe from other big cars.

[V.Narayan]

A lot has been written on this very apt and much needed thread. I will try and avoid repeating points already made. I'll also avoid going into existential questions of whether cars are needed or not and where they fit into the overall road transport and instead stick to cars themselves.

So here goes.....

The Myth of Aerodynamics: Why do car designers keep lowering the height of sedans making it increasingly more difficult for passengers to get in and get out. The talk of aerodynamic streamlining has some merit if the car is to be driven 66% of the time at speeds north of ~120 kmph. It is at roughly this speed that the car starts to expend over 50% of its motive energy pushing against the wind. In India at least the majority of us do not spend even 20% of our car time at over 100 kmph while we spend 100% of our time in the car struggling to cope with low slung cabins.


Twist those rear passengers: In a similar vein for ingress and egress into the rear seat doors hinged at the rear are ideal. Doors hinged at the front still work if they open to 90 degrees. But for reasons I do not know designers make the rear doors open only 70 degrees or at the very best 80 degrees in some lucky cases. European designers assume the rear seat is irrelevant which is simply not the case in most of Asia. One benefit is improved suppleness of muscles, back and joints of rear seat passengers.


The B-I-G touchscreen: This IMHO is the single most useless irrelevant force fitted tool in a car's cockpit forced to perform less effectively simple functions that knobs and switches have delivered on for a century without needing to take our eyes off the road. These screens are a risk to safe driving. The car makers I'm sure know it but...alas crackpot design quirks cling on.


Virtue signaling of safety ratings: In the last few years it has become fashionable to virtue signal high safety ratings and sneer at 0-rated cars. A 5-star won't keep you alive. Not getting into that spot will. Driving safety is 99.99% not getting into a dangerous spot. Many say, 'Oh but how can you stop the other from doing something stupid'. Yes, we can't but we can help our case by maintaining a safe distance, a slightly slower speed, a slightly longer range at which we are tracking morons etc. At least my four and a half decades of driving indicates one can, touchwood. I would opt for a 0-rated car on any day over a two-wheeler. Seat belts put on is more safety than all the other features combined. I'm not saying don't go for 5-star rated cars but do not assume a 0-star is unsafe - the body, the roof, the seatbelts are the first and most critical line of defense.


The sub 4-metre policy: One of the most sensible policies brought in by the Govt. I wish we had a sub-3.6 metre policy too with further concessions. That is what the nation and the mass market needs given our limited buying power and narrow city roads which in many cases cannot be widened now. As a nation we need small cars that sip fuel and occupy the least real estate on the road.

[shankar.balan]

More fuel to the fire anyone?

Here goes; I believe that the below are despicable;

1. All the Premium and Luxury Marques on this Lemming-like rush towards SUV’s. Porsche Cayenne, Ferrari FF, Maserati Levante, Lamborghini URUS, Rolls Royce Cullinan, Bentley Bentayga. Etc.
2. Useless VIP Culture on Indian Roads. Why should
Some ‘Elected Representative’ get preferential treatment when compared with the Tax Paying Public?
3. VIP’s Exempt from Tolls. Why?
4. Those who do not keep their fastags properly topped up.
5. Queue Jumpers of all kinds and ‘Entitled Behaviour’ of any kind.
6. The horribly ‘parochial’ attitude towards ‘immigrants’ and those of a ‘non-local’ origin and towards vehicles with ‘out-of-state’ registrations.
7. Linguistic Chauvinism and those who espouse it.
9. Tight squeeze narrow mall Parking lots and the two post pallets, where one cannot even open the vehicle doors properly to get in and out. (And when one does wriggle out, one might very well trip on the metal barrier between pallets.)

Ah I must say it is nice to be able to rant plainly and openly without the accompanying risk of receiving multiple infractions and being judged, condemned and banned without any ado.

(Hope Im not rejoicing too soon though!)