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Originally Posted by S2!!! Let's keep the Swift debate for another day. ![O.T.](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Off Topic.gif) |
Ok, agreed. The reason that I brought swift into the debate is for a comparative analysis as the both cars belong to the same segment.
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Originally Posted by S2!!! I have divided your own post in two halves. Just go through the quoted text above. In each and every point stated by you, it clearly shows Bolt as more of a 'me too' product than having an absolute advantage over any other competitors. These all are your words, not mine.
I do appreciate Tata's efforts to prove its point in the market but in reality, the Bolt diesel didn't impress. Period.
The Vista did the same, so does the Liva. But both are mediocre performers when it comes to sales. My point here is that it needed a distinct USP to stand out of the crowd. Take the Elite i20 for example which is a spacious hatchback with a good engine, premium interiors, long list of equipment and arguably better exteriors too.
Also, if features and value for money alone could sell a car, our streets would have been flooded with Tata Nanos with Bluetooth, power steering + windows, etc. Hope you get my point ![Smile](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.png) |
I have got to agree and disagree with you here. Yes, bolt doesn't have absolute advantage over it's competitors in many department and so does every other cars in the segment. They are great in some aspects and are also 'me too' cars in most of the aspects.
Lets take the previous generation i20 (I believe the i20 is a segment higher than Bolt but nevertheless it would make a good case example)
In this i'm going to dissect the actual car not the variables such as service quality, Brand Image etc.
The i Gen i20 was a great looking hatchback with quality interiors (the Fabia had even better) and best in class features. In other aspects the car was good and was also mediocre( no offense please)
The diesel engine had the best outright performance then, but when it came to ease of driving it was among the worst in it's segment (just above 1.2L Polo) Does an average Joe consider about 0-100 time??
Lets not even talk about the mediocre petrol motor.(1.2 petrol)
Then the poor stability at our highways.A serious safety issue.
The ride quality was just about OK, but was the worst in its segment.
The steering, although light was a serious drawback.
The features list was expansive but it had omitted the basic things like average fuel efficiency, DTE etc.
The car was very average as far considered in motion.
In other words the Previous gen i20 can be classified as an absolute commuter like the Bolt. It did only very few things great (there were cars which were better off in those regards to) and many things just about OK, similar to 'me too' cars.
The car sold well, because of some great aspects of it. But was it the car with the least compromises?? No.
In another case example, Punto had the best Handling, ride comfort, stability, steering, Build quality and one of the best looking exteriors. How did it fail with this many USP's ??
Now coming to Bolt, it may not be brilliant as the other cars. But the outstanding comfort that it offers over other cars can't be discounted. It does most things good such as interior quality, engines adequate performance and drive ability, feature list, stability,steering, it even offers safety features in middle variants which most other cars fail to do and where it fails miserably is the boot space, storage pockets and most importantly is its the close resemblance to the Vista.The design still is clean and contemporary and in no way will offend anyone.
As I have earlier said, the bolt's compromises aren't serious and are easily manageable.
So my point is, a car with the least amount of compromises such as the bolt can be a success if marketed properly. And also a car doesn't need to be brilliant in some aspects to win over the market.