[shankar.balan]

My personal grouse and related rant is this.

After the Gypsy, there has never really been a decent 4WD off-road capable SUV/Crossover, with some decent creature comforts, compact size, lightness of build, agility in handling and dynamics, capable of almost anything, powerful enough to go most places combined with the frugality and efficiency of a Diesel motor. 4-7 lacs range/ price on road.

Why cant all the zillion car makers think of people for whom such a vehicle would be a perfect dream come true?

Lots and lots of families and single people will automatically choose such a vehicle over all the existing options!

Guys - do come up with some possibilities for such a vehicle - it will be fun to see the response (if any) from you all.

Thanks

[pranava999]

Completely agree! There's such a huge opportunity for this segment. A compact,light and comfortable 5 seater diesel SUV,primarily designed for urban use,with decent GC (to take on the monsoon ravaged highways and national parks) and 4wd as an option under 6-6.50 lakhs would be great. Maybe suzuki should look at this opton and launch gypsy version 2.0.

An SUV/Xo smaller than the Scorpio by about 15% would be the ideal size for a family of 5 or a gang of 5

Having said all that would definitely love a Jeep Wrangler

[narayan]

I think Bolero comes in that price range. Unless you feel its not "SUV ENOUGH" for you !

[pranava999]

narayan, i guess shankar has in mind a more modern looking , compact, urban suv. Bolero is not bad at all but I guess lacks a sense of refinement and compactness to be an Urban SUV. Anyways to each his own. but it's a definite opportunity segment

[greenhorn]

all urban SUV's are either castrated or too expensive. I guess one cant have his cake and eat it too

PS: why not the sumo /sumo grande/scorpio base versions

[nvldvr]

i guess shankar is talking small not only in terms of price, but also size. Sumo, Bolero, Grande etc dont fit the bill here as they are again large, 7-8 seater people movers. A compact SUV, just like the gypsy was, much smaller than this lot would be ideal. Considering the number of people who buy safari/scorpio and the like despite the fact that they dont need all the 8-9 seats on offer, this smallish SUV surely will do well.

[shankar.balan]

what about the following possibilities: Baby Mitsubishi Outlander Diesel or Mitsubishi Galloper, Toyota Fortuner (small), Vitara, Samurai, Jimmy, Jimny, Skoda Yeti (less expensive version), Chevrolet Forester with an ISUZU Diesel motor(less expensive version), Heightened and raised up Fusion Diesel, Jeep Wrangler (small size), Suzuki SX4 (actual Crossover) with Diesel motor, Fiat Adventure heightened and raised up plus 1.3 Quadrajet engine, Mahindra Classic or MM540/550 with a modernized hardtop, PS, AC, Bolero XD3PU engine, 4WD, jazzed up suspension and some other bells and whistles.
Wont these possibilities be fun?

[sukiwa]

Well, Ford Fusion has some of elements that have been listed. But, Ford India does not want to sell this vehicle.

[nvldvr]

Its not that ford doesnt want to sell fusion in india, its just that the concept didnt work here. And fusion is more of a car.

[ACM]

Frankly the bolero could easily be modified for the Jeep look, but the refinement?

Yet considering the Scorpio effort it should be easily doable by M&M to get either of the two looks in the opening of this thread.

Tata too could do it but the looks would differ i guess.

What would ditter M&M and any other manufacturer is that this would end up being a lifestyle vehicle and would not sell in numbers. An open loading / sitting bay at the rear is not in the buying list for most customers.

[shankar.balan]

loading bay is not the point at all. my desire is for a simple 4WD, Diesel Driven, Compact SUV with as many creature comforts as possible, plus reasonable passenger plus luggage carrying space, high ground clearance for go anywhere capability etc. Check the first post, before the one with pictures of jeep wrangler.
think of a sort of baby scorpio and maybe we are getting there. actually the Suzuki Vitara, Jimmy, Samurai, SX4 Crossover, Skoda Yeti, Mitsubishi Galloper etc are the best examples of such a concept. However none of these will be able to meet the price requirement.

Originally Posted by ACM

Frankly the bolero could easily be modified for the Jeep look, but the refinement?

Yet considering the Scorpio effort it should be easily doable by M&M to get either of the two looks in the opening of this thread.

Tata too could do it but the looks would differ i guess.

What would ditter M&M and any other manufacturer is that this would end up being a lifestyle vehicle and would not sell in numbers. An open loading / sitting bay at the rear is not in the buying list for most customers.

[Comrade]

suzuki jimny. I'm head over heels for the car. sad maruti is not interested


new daihatsu/toyota terios. is toyota atleast interested in India, before we consider such niche products.


old daihatsu terios. Toyota, please just dump the dies and price it ultra cheap.


renault sandero SUV. pinned my hopes on this and only this, until this recession whatever hit the world.


Skoda Yeti. May come, but should I care?

[shankar.balan]

good show
also the Toyota RAV4 would have been an interesting option

Originally Posted by Comrade

suzuki jimny. I'm head over heels for the car. sad maruti is not interested
Attachment 132669

new daihatsu/toyota terios. is toyota atleast interested in India, before we consider such niche products.
Attachment 132670

old daihatsu terios. Toyota, please just dump the dies and price it ultra cheap.
Attachment 132671

renault sandero SUV. pinned my hopes on this and only this, until this recession whatever hit the world.
Attachment 132680

Skoda Yeti. May come, but should I care?
Attachment 132681

[arin_12]

Originally Posted by nvldvr

Its not that ford doesnt want to sell fusion in india, its just that the concept didnt work here. And fusion is more of a car.

Some body just start the thread I too wish why there is no car in this catagory. Presently I own a Ford fusion... And I feel that becos of its expensive people try to avoid and again we Indian always look for a sedan while u pay more than 7 Laks.
Even there we have few more to add Toyota Avanza...
Basically we need some thing like 5 seater SUV kind of thing...
FIAT Adventure we had earlier. Just check FIAT locker too.

[abhik]

The best bet would have been a MS Gypsy with the 1.3 MJD VGT(90BHP which does duty on the Fiat Linea). Should have fit the 4-7Lacs bracket very well.

Or a MM540/550 in SWB format with the 2.2 mHawk engine from the Scorpio. with upgraded interiors and all, more like a desi Jeep Wrangler SWB.

Of all the current vehicles available now the Force Gurkha is a very good on/off roader and can be very well modified to look like the Merc G-Wagon.

The only problem is:-
1. Modifying a Gypsy with a 1.3L MJD is not legally possible(atleast in Delhi) as conversion of a petrol vehicle to diesel is not allowed.
2.Swapping a MM550/540 XDP/XD3P engine with a mHAWK engine plus doing up the interiors and exteriors to look like a Wrangler would be time comsuming and expensive and most of all the swap has to be reliable, availability of suspension components and other parts of the Jeep will be a question mark.
3. Trax Gurkha to Mecr G-Wagon will again be a little expensive as everything would be custom made(mostly interiors)as the Gurkha would not be widely available in the used market.

If the Jeep brand is brought to India then in most probability it be brought in CBUs and that will result in the price braket for the Wrangler touching D-Segment cars.

I dont know why Maruti Suzuki has still not thought about a diesel Gypsy when they do have the engine now and they very well know how popular Gypsy has been and still is in the Indian market.

Mahindra, well we can forgive them for not continuing the MM550/540s as these vehicles are only demanded by a particular niche of enthusiats in the market and they probably would'nt less in mass numbers but i maybe wrong here.