[born.4thnov]

Yes. I have also spent a major part of my life in Western Tamilnadu. This fondness for German engineered vehicles extends to Tirupur and Erode as well. The people of Coimbatore seem to appreciate precise engineering of the Europeans and emphasis is given to body weight and rigidity of the vehicle rather than fuel economy. Also changing vehicles often (though many retain their older ones in the garage) stems from the fact that there are so many export houses and people are widely travelled across the globe. My mother has moved to Nana nani (one of the premium retirement communities) in Coimbatore. One trend I noticed there is that most houses still have a car and many still drive. It is here that you will see a lot of Suzukis, a sight common across India but what I was intrigued is the number of number of Polos, i20's, Hondas (city and jazz) and Toyotas (hyryder, glanza). This shows that as people age, their love for engineering does not decline but adopt a pocket friendly and more reliable vehicle to meet their needs.

[kongunadan]

I could recall seeing an Octavia in front of a house in the race course on the way to my office. After that, I continued to walk on the same streets every day to look at those cars. Every house on those streets will have Skoda, Audi & Mercedes. Mostly, a combination of these cars is in every home. It was nearly 17 years ago.

Apart from Coimbatore, I spend a significant amount of time in only Chennai. In my observation, Coimbatore has a unique taste for cars. Considering other places, even Volvo cars are easier to notice than in other cities. Just on my observation of uniqueness, I noticed a significant number of XUV300s on the roads of Coimbatore compared to any other city / town I have been in recent times.

[hrk997]

Because money.

There is a high concentration on rich industrialists and students in this city. Moreover, 30 mins in any direction will take you to a nice highway and getting driver focused cars makes sense. I've been in Chennai for a while now and I've lost all interest in cars. I just want something utilitarian, reliable and comfortable and daily driving a kushaq feels unnecessary. I should have bought a cheaper car with a softer suspension.

In coimbatore, I make use of my cars as they were intended to be and enjoy having them. The rich population in coimbatore combined with the excellent highways and roads compel you to buy German luxury cars and drive them the way they were intended to be. While in Chennai, my dream car quickly went from m340i to a hycross with a chauffeur.

[zeus18]

One anecdotal thing I have observed in Coimbatore which may be the same in other cities as well is that most of the Honda Jazzes on road were driven by women. Same with Brio, though it's not as widely seen on road as Jazz!

[Freespirit27]

Interesting topic

Back in 2000 Indica was very common in Mumbai and Kerala, but when I visited Delhi, I suddenly found it to be a rarity. I guess the coil heating diesels were not really a great option in belts with severe cold weather, other than for commercial vehicles.

Similarly Kerala had a big Maruti market - 800 and Wagon R making the majority. When Polo was launched and now when Tier 1 city, PUC requirements have become stringent there is a fair number of Polo,s here. Off late I find Kia to be real popular in fact, I randomly counted nearly 1-2 Kia out of every 10 cars recently, meaning people are weaning off from the Maruti loyalities! Catching a high end car on the road soon after its launch was also quite frequent in Kochi. Also, Kerala households (especially suburbs and rural) take great pride in parking a car in their courtyard/car shed without really using it much. Status symbols!

Also reaching Mumbai after a nearly 12 yrs haitus, I find all cabs either Santro,s or Maruti,s. Indica has all but disappeared in private ownership as well as cabs. Diverse car types are seen, but mostly chauffeur driven (absolutely pathetic road sense in local roads but quite disciplined on highways and freeways). And digressing a little but, the traffic police are more interested in catching victims than regulating traffic. So opting for a chauffeur driven car in these cities or a cab, makes more sense because, one definitely cannot take any pleasure in driving in this maddening traffic. I do dread my soon to be daily drive requirements.

I guess owning good driveable cars makes sense only in a tier 2 and 3 cities or if you are living in places with close access to highways. A decent small car if self drive or one with a good suspension and back seat comfort car with a driver, makes more sense in bigger cities. Or resort to cabs if your routes and office times are not regular.

[funnysaltbrick]

I'm from Salem, my parent works in the Coimbatore airport customs and they back up this statement. I think there's a few perspectives here.

Coimbatore (apart from Chennai) is one of the most affluent regions in TN. It's at the centre of an industrial hub for central-south Tamil Nadu. So, money comes in and goes out. More money means an extended focus on social status. It's visible in the way houses and infrastructure is built in Coimbatore as well.

Another is that the TN-KL border is not that far off so there's a cultural exchange in that sense. Plus with the MVD in Kerala getting ever so strict with regards to modifications and changes to vehicles, Tamil Nadu seems like a good get-away point.

A final point is that Coimbatore is one of 3 places in India with a race track. Plus, Coimbatore is home to Narain Karthikeyan and Coimbatore has always had a healthy racing culture in that sense. So, there is an exposure to a higher grade of vehicular hardware in that way.

Hope this offers some context.

[Sandy2345]

The city had this Go-Kart place at Chinniyampalayam from more than 20 years ago, if I remember correctly. And it is still functioning to this date. One of the best kart attack places I've ever visited. (Haven't visited the new CoASTT track yet. People say it's so damn nice!)

Originally Posted by funnysaltbrick

A final point is that Coimbatore is one of 3 places in India with a race track. Plus, Coimbatore is home to Narain Karthikeyan and Coimbatore has always had a healthy racing culture in that sense. So, there is an exposure to a higher grade of vehicular hardware in that way.

Hope this offers some context.

To top it off, there's this new race track named CoASTT High Performance Centre which is now open at Karumathapatti, Coimbatore making it the second race track of the city. Probably, CBE is the only city in the country with 2 race tracks, I guess.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Csnq3btdVmdw6MKM9

[₹itzylove]

Originally Posted by ₹itzylove

I’d love to hear if others have noticed similar trends in their cities or if there are any other unique automotive behaviors in Coimbatore that I might have missed. Let’s see what other interesting city-specific car trends we can uncover!

When I started this thread, my intention was to see if other BHPians from Coimbatore shared my observations and to learn about car ownership trends in other cities. It seems the discussion has been somewhat one-sided so far (perhaps the subject was misleading; it might have been better titled "Cities and Car Ownership Trends"). Nevertheless, I’m glad to see that many people share my views. I’m also equally interested in hearing about car ownership trends in other cities, like Mumbai and it's love for WagonR.

Off the topic, given the number of BHPians from Coimbatore, don’t you think it’s time for a local meet (BHPians meet with or without family) and drive?