[PrasannaDhana]

Most "enthusiast" cars are grossly overrated.

[hdburner]

My 2 cents on this:
1. simple Alloy wheels rather than out of place diamond cut. Diamond cuts does looks good on sports car and sedans, but on SUVs I will take normal 16/17 inchers above 19" alloys.

2. Auto start/stop is most useless and exasperating feature to be provided in cars nowadays.

3. Electric adjustment for seats are useless without memory function, same for steering adjustment. Electric adjustment is just too slow to be consider a convenience

4. Traction off feature in most cars is a gimmick. It doesn't allow one to completely block the tcs from interfering or sometimes turn on again after reaching a certain speed threshold.

5. waiting period in cars is an obvious lie.

[07CR]

Here goes mine-

VAG 2.0 cars are incredibly overrated. Sure they have great ride, however, that's their only pro IMO. Even the handling is boring as the steering lacks in feel. The niggles have increased manifold and the drop in quality of materials is shocking for a VAG car.

Tata cars above Altroz are shockingly inconsistent in engineering. Have seen multiple cars facing gearbox issues, cars breaking down, infotainment shutting down and what not. Despite this people are still buying Harrier's and Safari's which are now costing above 30 L!!Having owned a Ford, Chevy, Honda, Maruti and two Kia's all of this is shocking for me, as nothing has ever failed in our cars ever over a period of 23 years!

[samyD]

Nice thread! This will serve as a space for people to vent what they usually would not express.

I have so many that I can literally have a thread of my own controversial opinions

Here's a few to start with:

1. EVs, in their current state, are devil's work. They are the future of automobiles just because few people on this earth were able to lobby heavily and create a narrative in EV's favour.

2. The main factor behind the bizarre (read: borderline unethical) cost cutting practices implemented by various auto manufacturers in India is - Indian masses! We don't raise our voice enough!

3. Practices mentioned in point no 2 are not illegal because there are not enough laws/regulations to prevent those practices. In cases where laws/regulations are present, they are not implemented. Reason for both lack & implementation is again - Indian masses! We just don't care!

(This forum is full of people who are exceptions to points 2 & 3)

4. Automotive manufacturers need to wake up and acknowledge growing number of prospective buyers in India who are ready to pay more for international/export spec models.

5. Penny wise pound foolish janta is so large in number that entire market is geared towards pleasing them. This hurts who are not part of that majority group.

6. Indian automotive journalism is mostly a sham.
'Journalists' mostly create narrative to either please manufacturers or the penny wise pound foolish janta! Very few people take a stand for the greater good.

7. Monthly/yearly sales figures are not at all indicative of a car's quality/capability in our country.

(May add more in a separate post, if it is allowed)

[thisissoumya]

Excellent thread idea. There goes my 2 cents.

• Cars are getting feature rich over the years and we all have our opinion whether a feature is useful/less useful/overrated and so on. IMHO once you start using a feature which you otherwise thought is overrated suddenly becomes useful to you. Auto headlamps, auto wipers and auto dimming IRVM are just to name a few.
  
• ADAS broadly speaking doesn’t work in India - surely for now and won’t work meaningfully at least for next 5 years.
  
• High GC cars help in India irrespective of which part of the country you stay in - Period. This coming from an owner who owned all 3 body types long enough to form a strong opinion. Whenever I am behind the wheel of my duster, I am much less worried of potholes, unscientific speed breakers and all that are being thrown at me. Heck I didn’t care to understand what unscientific speed breaker is till I owned a sedan
  
• 7 out of 10 times road presence doesn’t matter at least in large cities. Often I see hatchbacks messing with Endy, Innova, Hector, XUV. It’s the driver – not the car.
  
• Ride quality triumphs over handling. Realized this over the years. As you get older and (hopefully?) wiser you would value comfort much more than what you earlier did. Firm/stiff suspension sucks in India no matter how high they score in handling. If there is nothing like a perfectly tuned suspension, I would choose a softer suspension (read Honda City) over a stiffer one (read Polo).
  
• Like many others already mentioned – Being a purist is an extreme. Unless you can afford multiple cars & parking lots (Mumbaikers would relate to this more) you won’t be able to buy a pure driver’s car. Probably that’s why a BMW 3 sells a lot more than a Mini cooper S.
  
• An average Joe shouldn’t form/make any strong opinion about how EVs will pan out. Whether we will shift directly to EV or Hybrid is the next big thing – no one really knows for now. The existing data and opinions are all over the place, technology is evolving superfast and it’s a highly dynamic environment to make any meaningful prediction. Just look at it from an end user standpoint, if the existing ecosystem comforts you to buy one – go for it, else just seat back and monitor.

[ayush18kaushik]

1. For mass market brands in big cities, Authorised Service Centres are for laymen. I am not a fan of their quality of work. In big cities, you can easily find a good/genuine mechanic for your car.

2. After the introduction of NGT's 15-year scrapping policy, I don't care much about my car since eventually you have to scrap it. Let those scratches and dents be there. I buy aftermarket non-mechanical parts.

3. Loud aftermarket exhaust on a single-cylinder engine (esp. Bullets) sounds aweful.

4. You don't need to drive with high-beams on all the time. Also, you really don't need those aftermarket HIDs. Last week, I met with a severe accident because of an on-coming car with high-beams.

5. There's a difference between being "Highly" fond of cars and being a car enthusiasts. Most people in the comments section of car-related posts on social media wouldn't even know the correct way to use the jack.

[electric_eel]

Here goes mine

1. Most "enthusiastic drivers" are neither enthusiasts nor driver of any kind. They are menace on roads.

2. People like bashing Fortuners but all the Fortuners that I have encountered in the wild were very well driven. On the other hand I dread the sight of a Thar in my RVM.

3. Often truck drivers are called all sort of names and there are indeed manics among them but overall the average truck driver is much better behaved than the average Indian driver.

4. Expressways are overrated. Good surfaced country roads or ghat sections are much more inviting than those dull straight roads. Add a bit of winding and greenery and perhaps a mild rain and I will consider it close to heaven (although I would prefer to cycle then).

5. And I have reserved the blasphemy for the last. Cars are overrated. We need to have a better system to encourage public transport and cycling (both recreational as well as for daily commutes). Will keep the environment and us healthy.

[Crazy_cars_guy]

Some of these points might raise eyebrows. Heck, so be it.

1. I live in India, where just about 8% have access to personal cars. And I am a common middle class guy. So, the whole “Tin Can” theory just doesn’t make sense. Reason being that a person in a car is safer than in a scooter/bike. We don’t risk tumbling over by an autorickshaw, heck, another car!
And when the rain gods smile, a roof on top is what matters more, compared to seeking shelter under a bridge. A so called Tin Can car is fine by me (and lakhs others).

2. Contrary to the popular opinion on this forum, ADAS is actually good even in our Indian roads. The key here is how it is implemented. To understand this difference, please first test drive a Kia (whatever model), Mahindra (whichever model), take your pick.

AND THEN test drive a Honda City. The implementation difference is key. The City is not intrusive at all, but acts at that right moment. Heck, I’m ready to give you a free test ride and show the difference in my car. Come over to Bangalore.
Enough of this ADAS hatred without knowing the difference of implementation.

3. I simply fail to understand the sudden rise in love for pseudo SUVs. They are no more than tall boy hatchbacks.

4. Mercedes Benz charging a bomb on the C class, yet giving mediocre plastic quality for the rear passengers. Even the Maruti Suzuki Swift provides similar plastics. Why pay 5 times the price, and expect such quality, is beyond me.

5. I utterly dislike 2 spoke steering wheels. What’s with it? Can’t even make out if the steering is correct position - especially in a Hyundai where the logo looks same upside down.

6. Turbo charged 1 litre engines are overrated and simply don’t solve purpose. Sure, they drive well on the highway, but the reason to buy 1 litre is to drive in the city and be efficient. What’s the point of this if the thing just jerks and acts erratic all the way in traffic?

7. I hate the air conditioner of the new VW and Škoda. They just don’t cool as good as the Japanese / Korean cars.

8. Most important -
a. I hate when people don’t make way for Ambulances.
b. I hate when people aren’t considerate, honking and driving terribly around kids standing for their school bus / when kids alighting their school bus.
c. Careless drivers honking right in front of hospitals / maternity wards.

[DriverLess]

Fantastic thread

* No dealerships. Just test drive only experience centers. Online purchase and multi brand service centers.

* Driving in India is becoming scarier everyday. We need less cars and less highways/expressways. India needs world-class public transport with last mile connectivity which every strata of society wants to happily use.

* Take driving license to same level as passport. Partially privatized with govt. oversight and near zero corruption/full transparency.

* Remove the low bit-rate broadcast communication aka HORN.

* A road without footpath should not be allowed for driving/riding. Or it should be fenced so that pedestrians do not use it.

[arpan_spark]

1. Car paints are too fragile for daily drivers. They get scratched even by tags of microfibre cloth! And is vulnerable to damage from bird droppings, tree sap. If the industry cannot figure out ways to make the paint robust enough for daily use, they should start putting harder paints without the clear coat layer. The shine is too hard to maintain, especially on dark cars
2. Detailers are looting through ceramic coating. They are selling it as if it'll make the car scratch-proof, while it is just a better version of wax/paint sealant. No way it should cost 30k for a car while a bottle of it costs ₹3-6k. And no need to polish and make the clear coat thinner everytime a new coating is applied. Minor paint correction would do too. Car owners shou6get an option to just get the coating for cheap instead of full polishing, maintenance package, this that and all, at a much more logical price.

[IamGetz]

Here goes based on my recent test drives in Bangalore

1. The Virtus 1.0L (AT and manual) ride quality and handling were a bliss when test driven on the dug up roads near Thurahalli forest (near Kanakapura Road in Bangalore)

But a complete disaster on inclines. I floored the accelerator and the turbo lag was awful. It happened with multiple test drive cars. I do hope it was due to low quality of test drive vehicles which caused this level of turbo lag.

It made me agree with other BHPians that 1.0L Virtus turbo petrols are good for highway runs but not that great for sedate drivers in bumper to bumper city traffic.

2. Honda Elevate AT top trim on the same Thurahalli forest dug up strech, rocked like a boat. My wife had to use the grab handle to steady herself as I did my round of spirited test drive (on that same strech of dug up roads)

With 220 mm ground clearance, I was prepared for a fair bit of body roll. But all the positive online and offline reviews of Elevate test drive, did not prepare me for the actual rocking experience

The vehicle ahead collision ADAS warning flashed first time correctly based on my distance from lead car ahead. But it did not flash the same warning the next time I did a near approach of lead car ahead.

I just put it down to test drive vehicle quality but it made me rethink on these parameters while selecting my vehicle.

[Vernafied]

1) For me, its S-presso. Worst looking car till date i have seen.
2) Though Tata motors come long with newer generation cars. Just ask old tata car owner if he would purchase any new gen tata car.
3)Supercars are overrated, ugly, expensive pieces of metal.

[pyrodrive]

Interesting thread. I will add a couple of mine-

1) I don't like touchscreens. You need to take eyes off the road if you want to fiddle with it. I like knobs and buttons which can be fiddled with by feel.

2) I like older models of several Indian car rather than the newer versions. I prefer the Thar crde over the new thar, old xuv/creta/ honda city/safari etc over the newer models.

3) EVs. I don't really believe that these are actually as "green" as it is touted to be, unless the electricity they run on is actually green, not to speak about the battery.

4) New breed of turbo charged 3 cylinder engines. Yes there are a few that feels refined, but I still prefer the 4 pots.

5) ADAS - already discussed a lot in this thread.

6)Putting on expensive seat covers on a new car. Well, if the car came with fabric seats, you have paid for it. Are you covering those fabric seats to preserve them for the next owner?

[Ice]

Lovely thread.

Mine:
1. Driving education was better back in the day. Hear me out. Learners were first taken to a big open field and taught to operate this complicated machine called the car, with all its gears and pedals and traction and downshifting and braking and turning radii at different speeds. Then, they were unleashed in traffic. Now, we expect our learners to somehow be better, when they are learning to operate this machine while avoiding people, trees, other vehicles, and pedestrians.

2. If you can’t parallel park or change a tyre, you don’t get a license.

[PB65]

Controversial car opinion?
Ford Freestyle has been the best hatch ever for the Indian market. Why?
- Good build quality
- Brilliant dynamics
- Strong equipment list, especially on safety front.
- Initially came with a 5 year warranty
- Sorted ride quality
- Was reliable. A friend has clocked 1.3 lakh km in his 2019 Titanium petrol variant without any issues (yes, it is 1,30,000 km).