[Mortis]

I'm stepping into the danger zone here but :

Most of the current car and bike owners in India (from all stratas of society), do not deserve to own a vehicle or should not be allowed to own a vehicle. Don't care why they need to own a vehicle, they should not be operating one. Period.

Car loans shouldn't exist. You can buy a new or used vehicle at a reasonable price, if you can't then you will not be able to afford the maintenance on it anyways. Bad for you, bad for the car and bad for those around you. It doesn't make financial sense to buy a depreciating asset with money that you don't have.
As a bonus, it will bring down car prices to reasonable levels or atleast slow down the obnoxious price increases of cars that we have seen over the last 5 years

[Hayek]

1. Body on Frame (BoF) Vehicles are overrated - There is no application for which a modern monocoque cannot be developed which is superior to a BoF in all aspects. The only advantage BoF brings is low cost. Those who buy high priced BoF vehicles clearly have not experienced modern monocoques
2) Naturally Aspirated Engines are the bullock carts of our age. Fail to deliver power or drivability or fuel economy (except because they lend themselves to being driven slowly)
3) Hybrids make no sense - They are overly complex, superior to ICE cars only in cities where EVs outclass them, and as bad as an ICE a car on an inter city trip when driven as hard as the ICE car (see Clarkson and the Stig test the Prius and the M3).
4) EVs are the future - with a 400 km real world range and the ability to top up during a lunch break, they let you do any road trip you want in India with a marginal loss of time more than made up by running costs of ₹1.5 / km.
5) Diesels should be banned in All 1 mm+ cities - India’s biggest problem is air quality and particulate emission. Diesels kill!
6) The Japanese Auto Industry is a Dinosaur and going the way of their Electronics Industry - People of my generation remember the days when Sony made the most happening products, National Panasonic dominated electronics and Sharp was going to use its Core Competence in LCDs to dominate the world. Instead, Japanese failed in interface design, stuck to outdated technologies when the mobile phone world moved to touch screens and lost an entire industry. The Auto Industry is making the same mistakes - making outdated cars with poor technology and safety. Unless they change NOW, in 2 decades, Toyota and Honda will be relics like Sony and Panasonic.

[Pyrotek]

Thanks Omkar for creating a safe space to voice out!☺️ Here goes:

1. Tata and Mahindra need to be avoided like the bubonic plague. They offer the worst ownership experience and the poorest quality. I hold a similar sentiment for Jeep/Fiat, VW, and Skoda. While their perceived quality is a bit better, the ownership experience is still not worth the trouble.

2. Any car buyer in India should stick with Maruti, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, and Toyota for their mental sanity and wellbeing.

3. Go for naturally aspirated petrol engines with torque converter transmissions. You may not reach your destination as quickly as others but you're more likely to be on the road rather than being stuck in a garage somewhere.

4. At least 50% of us will be driving BYDs in 10 years from now. This manufacturer is an unstoppable force and it's only a matter of time before the Indian Government relents. If the metro trains can be Chinese, so can our cars. Everything else is optics. Economics will eventually trounce it all.

5. I would much rather drive a Lexus than a Mercedes if both are available at a similar price. I wish we get Acura, Infiniti, and Genesis soon.

6. Mercedes-Benz India are hoodwinking Indian customers with absurd prices and poor features. No rear AC climate control on all their models up to 1 cr!

Phew! I am so glad I got that off my chest. This was like online therapy.

[PRO77]

Hi So this is my opinion
1. Jimny has been trolled a lot after its release in the Indian market which is really unfair because we are getting a real SUV here not some hatchback with bug suspensions here .
Its high price is worth it and stop comparing it to the thar its way more impractical than the jimny .
2. Suzuki should disown maruti as they have never followed their international legacy . They have treated Indians like how Britishers treated us
Just loot stuff
Let me explain
Maruti will sell some poor build quality cars in India because they know people will buy it and they will use that profit to give better cars to their home market ✌️

[Flanker99]

Hello all. My 2 paise worth of opinions:

(1) Honda Jazz (P MT) VX, the facelift launched in 2015, was an extremely value for money car. I bought it soon after launch. The Magic Seats are especially worth every extra ₹ compared to the V variant. I say that after having moved house twice within Bombay and having twice transported a humongous quantity of personal belongings between Bombay and Bangalore.

(2) The Toyota Etios (D) VX was one of the best and most underrated budget diesel sedans that deserved much more than what it got. Buying it was the best car related decision made by my Dad in 2013. I tried my best that time to make him not to go ahead. But having driven it extensively over the years, I realised what a gem it is, especially that torqey engine.

[SaiSW]

I already gave my two cents before but I'd just like to post again here to congratulate @Omkar for a brilliant thread idea. This is similar to the tweets I see on football Twitter that go like "what's one football opinion that makes everyone around you go like-"

And then this picture is posted.

Great to see a variant of that for car enthusiasts but with the added advantage of not fearing rebuttals and getting into arguments etc.

[M@y@vi]

Great thread! A safe and one stop thread for all the differences we have on automobiles.

1. All the cars and bikes must be automatics.
Yes! If a car can manage its power delivery, re-centre the steering, dim irvms, manage its vipers and lights automatically, then why not gears? Cars are to primarily transport us safely and conveniently. When the technology has evolved gears should be automatic by default and importantly without much increase in the cost.

2. PPF is overrated. If a scratch is too much of an eye sore get it repainted. PPF sellers and market is trying to push themselves as a must have these days.

[Rakeshmbalaji]

What a brilliant thread to kick off the long weekend!

1. Sedans, ground clearance and hence craze for hatchbacks with heels is a true myth. If you can’t clear a normal sedan without scraping a speed breaker, re-evaluate your driving skill worthiness for 120kmph expressways.

2. Despite all the bashing they may deserve, Maruti’s NA engines with manual gearboxes make for a really good driving experience in 20-70 city speeds. Quick overtakes and pliant rides for most part, with decent fuel economy. Even a 2013 WagonR hits 60 in second when I recently tried one

3. AMT gearbox bashing is unnecessary, unless it is from Tata Punch! Maruti and Hyundai is more than decent for a point A-B commute peacefully. Just don’t buy Tata Punch.

4. Tata and Mahindra is being worshipped astronomically despite the most pathetic pre-sales, post-sales and lowest QC procedures.

5. Ford is definitely not my cup of tea. I was misguided by the forum’s bias and did 4 Ecosport test drives only to realise how bad the ride quality and claustrophobic interior is, except for that good engine grunt.

6. I found Kushaq to be very decent, unsure why there is so much anti sentiments about them. In fact loved the Taigun’s styling compared to any other Csuv out there.

7. The most unpopular opinion for me even within my family - I am in love with the BOLERO 😊

[NikSin26]

What an amazing read this thread is! I resonated with quite a few responses here and was also surprised to find people who have views quite similar to mine.
Recently a friend asked me what my favourite car is, and my answer to that question has always been "Any and every car!" I'll happily drive an Alto, or a Safari or a Ciaz. Every car has something different to offer and you just can't compare one to another. One of my hot takes is -
"If you are in market for a car or bike, never go on and on watching reviews on YouTube. Firstly, make a list of your priorities and then go for the car that meets them best."
There's no point watching drag races to decide the car you want. 99% of the time, you won't be doing it, better get a car that can be fun on daily basis rather than being a extremely good car that you can't drive regularly. Similar to what people have mentioned above, that a 150 bhp car makes more sense than a 600 bhp one despite being inferior to it for the most parts.

[ram1980]

My 2 cents

1. Dash-cam is a must have feature and not just an accessory
2. 4m tax rule must be abolished. It has created enough ugly cars
3. Fabric upholstery is better than leather. Top variant should not be leather only
4. Bigger in car entertainment screens are a major distraction to driver
5. Bikes should get automatic option
6. Present model EVs are still waiting for their iPhone moment to overtake ICE
7. Coupe styling is the next big thing after the pseudo suv craze ends

[VALLURIS]

Nice Thread.

1) Safety in cars is kind of overrated.

2) We must stop comparing cars sold in India with their International Versions.

[dazdandconfuzd]

1. A VAG car is what it is: Just another car. It is not a performance car. This is not as apparent on TBHP, but on social media, people treat their Polos like it's the endgame performance car.

2. Straightline speed is pointless: I hate to pin this again on VAG cars but unfortunately some young VAG owners like to flex the straightline speeds (~200kmph) their cars can cruise at. Just because your car can maintain crazy high speeds does not make your car special. Most cars with a decent engine, and a straight enough road can touch those speeds. There's more to performance than that. You might be surprised to find out that a decade old Fiesta 1.6s won't be that far behind on a TRACK because of its handling.

[Gansan]

The one thing that causes mirth in me is the term "pre-worshipped car" when the owner simply means he bought a second hand car! A used car maintained well, but still a used car. Why the hyperbole?! It denotes some kind of complex in the person!

[pradeep_mvpa]

A 5 star safety rating alone does not make a car safe. It has to be reliable too.

What is the point of owning a car with high safety rating, but can potentially strand you and your family during mid night at a strange place?

[gauravanekar]

I find compact SUVs pointless, mostly I see people buying compact SUVs because of herd mentality. Exceptions are those people who live or drive near mountains, slushy areas etc.

Most people really dont know how to ride a motorcycle, irrespective of what bike they are currently owning.

Diesel engined vehicles are not going away anytime soon.