[glovins2004]

Once a VAG TDI owner, always a VAG car owner, its western of course.

[NH08]

I have purchased 3 vehicles, all of them from Honda. All of these have proved to be great companion. For me, reliability is a big factor. But I am very open to products from every manufacturer while deciding which one to choose.

So, my vote goes to 'not yet decided', although I have been so far a 'Far Eastern' boy.

[the.dogfather]

Would have been great if an option was there which said the nationality does not matter. I would never make a decision based on nationality of a brand as that is stereotyping and discriminating in my opinion. Yes, in general we do assign some qualities to some brands, but a car buying decision should be based on a particular model.
It would also be based on the quality of after sales support and quality of parts used.
It would be wrong to call all Japanese cars reliable or all Italian cars sporty and Indian cars tough. Each car should be assessed on its own merits and demerits and not on where the manufacturer's head office happens to be based on.

[GTO]

Once you live with a European car (especially German), it's very tough to move to lighter cars from Japan. You can see a lot of ex-Fiat owners who bought the Jeep Compass, BMWs etc. Many VW-Skoda owners stay within the same family or upgrade to the luxury German brands. But very rarely, will you see someone move from a German car to Japanese. Korean maybe, especially their 20-lakh and up models which are fantastic. My sister's family has owned a host of luxury cars & they just added an Ioniq 5 to the garage.

My next car will most likely be European / German. Am addicted to the solid build, dynamics, stability.

[Bhuvan]

Originally Posted by salluks

I don't really trust the "strong build" from Indian companies especially Tata.

No offence but you can't be more wrong here.

Originally Posted by salluks

Its the same as VW / Skoda / Ford etc.

Not limited to vehicles only, it is the brand ethos that are reflected in it's product. VW-Skoda Group and Ford have time and again proven themselves.

Originally Posted by tushky

Well thats not true. Tata have been crash testing their cars since Indica era. Crash test results was unheard thing in India back then. Even Indica Vista was designed as per Euro NCAP in mind hence it was heavier than its Indian rivals.

"Not many know that we were the first in India to invest in a crash test facility back in 1997, a year before the launch of the Indica — India’s first fully indigenous passenger car."

https://www.tata.com/newsroom/busine...up-tata-motors

Please ignore their famed QC and after sales for the sake of not diverting this thread from it's topic.

OP: We have owned the legendary Maruti 800 MPFi, Baleno 1.2 P and currently have Vitara Brezza 1.5 P.

Germans do know a thing or two about making cars, something that needs to be experienced. VW-Skoda products are sophisticated, understated and timeless. Indian brands Tata and Mahindra have my respect but it is their eye grabbing design that puts me off, esp Mahindra. South Koreans are good with electronics.

[raghukodali]

Voted "Far eastern".

After owning and driving two Toyotas, I am not going anywhere else.

[Exhuberance]

Voted ‘western’ ! Have been spoiled by the driving dynamics of the Rapid and now Tiguan.
Nothing against the far eastern ones but just that they have different priorities. I actually like how far the Indians have come in the last 5-7 years but having owned a Tata car (Manza) previously, I would prefer to stay away for a while. I gave the XUV700 a serious consideration before buying the Tiguan but at close to 30 lacs OTR top model, felt it had lost its VFM proposition.

[Nurav]

I have owned Korean, Indian, Japanese and German cars. I used to love my old Hyundai cars (the Accent being my favourite) to death. However, I have felt that they have become more gimmick than fun or safe now. Honda's are reliable, but not cheap to maintain; and nor are they any fun to drive.

The interior quality of most Indian car brands I feel are sub-par (at least in the segment I am interested in) till date. For the first time this year I went in for a German car. Hands down it is the most fun car I have ever had. It may not have the fancy bells and whistles that its Korean cousins come with, yet I do not regret anything.

I really wonder if BE from Mahindra might change my mind about the quality of Indian cars. Have never owned a Toyota though and would seriously consider something from the company as my next car.

[pheru8b]

I would go for any car manufactured in India, whichever country it originates from. The thing about the auto sector is that every car produced creates about 2x it's value of incremental gdp. Being at heart a nationalist, I would thus not like to buy imports or CBU kits, as they only help other countries grow, and not India. And given how well Indian cars are, it is hardly a sacrifice!

Also, being a patriot, I would not buy a Chinese vehicle, whatever the value delivered. China needs to learn to respect India's territorial integrity, if they want access to our markets. I can't digest their bullying attitude, and giving them my business just makes my skin crawl with disgust!

[sunikkat]

Undoubtedly an European, read German. After owning an European car for 8 years, I cannot even think of going for an Asian or any other. That much Octavia has spoiled me.

The feel of driving an European car itself is enough to put my money on it.

[LaRoca]

I've driven European, American, Japanese and Korean here in Australia. Out of all these cars, my heart vouches anytime for the Japanese for their stability, dynamics and most importantly- reliability.

Why? Here in Australia, reliability is a big big factor. Last thing you want in life is to get stranded in the outbacks. I've seen LRs, VW, BMW, getting towed, which is a common sight. Had it not been for our Prado here, we wouldn't have had the heart and mind to do the East West crossing by road!

[sassid]

I voted undecided.

I feel that Cars are like friends that you meet through your life.

Each comes into your life for a different reason and stays with you for a different part of your journey. The memories they leave behind have different flavours.

I believe you don't choose all your friends or cars, sometimes they too reach out and choose you and your life is richer for the experience.

Here's to all friends past, present and future - be they far eastern, western, Indian, Chinese or Alien

[androdev]

Indian companies: Very good market understanding. Adequate engineering and no R&D. Highly cost-driven purchase/procurement department. Very poor and ill-equipped to do proper vendor evaluation other than cost aspects. No clear identity other than low cost - just package a bunch of things to make a sale. Very similar to Chinese approach - 80-20 rule - you get 80% of the good stuff at 20% cost. Most people find the 80% more than adequate for their usage, but won't appeal to the discerning buyers.

Japanese companies: Good in all departments. Japanese are open to source parts from all regions but they are meticulous (often painful to suppliers) and hardworking in vendor evaluation. They have a clear identity - deliberate prioritisation of reliability and simplicity even thought they can match competition in terms of latest & greatest. As a result, their cars make a very poor first impression but those with long term ownership experience swear by them. Even though I am not their target customer, I have a lot of respect for Japanese companies and I do buy their cars for urban use - a huge fan of Camry Hybrid. I can't wait for their EVs.

European companies: Very good in engineering and R&D. Very poor in market understanding, especially outside EU. Adequate in purchase/procurement - as they prefer EU familiarity and trust-based relationships, don't believe others can do a good job and too lazy/arrogant to do hard work required for a new vendor evaluation. They too have a clear identity - deliberate prioritisation of latest&greatest over simplicity and reliability. Their cars make the best first impression - can be painful to own beyond honeymoon period. Those who love driving and passionate about innovation and cutting edge stuff swear by them and willing to pay what it takes to own them. To neutrals, they offer great safety and comfort. I am their all-season target customer and they own my bank account :-)

Korean companies: They are real challengers. They are flexible - no clear identity but capable of doing what the market needs in order to succeed. When you buy a EU car, you can take certain things for granted, same with Japanese cars. Buying a Korean car requires in-depth research to know what they prioritised and where they cut corners. I may venture into these brands if Japan doesn't come up with good EVs soon.

[G20Rider]

I currently drive a European make and next one will most definitely be a European one, but ONLY because I live in Europe.

It was eye opening to see that brands like Volkswagen, Skoda etc is seen as the reliable here in Europe. Why? Because there are in fact super reliable in those conditions. I have seen dozens of VW/Skoda taxis that has clocked 2+ lakh kilometres. Few weeks back when I took a taxi to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, an old Fabia that came to pick me had run 4+ lakh kms. And the admirable part was that there was no single squeak from anywhere in the car. My own car has covered 25k + kms in last 2 years without a single trouble.

And from a dynamics and build quality point of view there is such a wide difference between Europeans and the rest. You won’t feel it in a 20km test drive, but take a 500km road trip and all those small things adds up to make such a big difference.

But in India? I have came to accept that European cars are in fact made for European conditions. Indian conditions are far more tougher and a world apart.
Since India is a relatively small market for most European manufacturers (except Skoda maybe), they haven’t put the effort needed to tailor the car to Indian conditions unlike the Koreans.

So I won’t buy or recommend to buy European cars here unless you are ready to spend the required money to maintain them. Now a days, the Korean twins does seem like a nice balance of reliability and sophistication to me and will be my choice in India.

[acedriver_9000]

Originally Posted by GTO

My next car will most likely be European / German. Am addicted to the solid build, dynamics, stability.

Why not British, Mr. Rush? I noticed that Rovers are currently on top of your list. And, since Brexit, Britain is no longer part of the European Union. I think it's time for a new thread in "What car?" section for taking suggestions on your next car. Even if you aren't planning to change immediately, a new thread can bring lot of interesting discussions. My suggestion is, sell both thar & 530d and get Defender 90 as it can continue your Mahindra classic's legacy. Thar is getting too common man, doesn't have short wheelbase jeep's DNA .