Which segment hold the boyracers dream?

[devarshi84]

Difference people have a different dream of performance street car.

It can be a hatch
It can be a compact family sedan
It can be a executive sedan

But there has to be a winner. which segment makes it to the dreams of most boyracers?????

[islero]

The compact sedan. The right balance of price, fun and practicality.

[gary_yuen42]

I got for hatch or small sedan. As because usually they are lower range car, cheaper maintainence + parts. I prefer hatch for their usual quicker steering response, I prefer the saloon for the extra chassis rigitity.... so it is a hard choice

[kpzen]

Its got to be a small sedan for me.......better overall package

[ac 427]

ill add another segment. . . which is non existent in india PERFECT for the boy racer. . .
the HOT HATCH segment.
- renault clio sport
- vw golf gti
- alfa romeo (dont remember the model name)
- ford focus RS

these would be on my list for boy racers. ...

[zaphod]

ill add another segment. . . which is non existent in india PERFECT for the boy racer. . .
the HOT HATCH segment

We do have the hot hatch - the palio 1.6 GTX which lives on even now (though it's no longer called a GTX)

Cars like the Focus RS/SVT and the Golf GTi/R32 might be among the best hot hatches but they won't sell here - they are simply too large and expensive for the image they provide.

IMHO a Swift with a Baleno engine would be the best hot hatch for us and a good match for the Palio 1.6 - I'd have bought a 1.6 Swift over my baleno anyday.

zaphod.

[nitrous]

The boy racer's perfect car should have minimum space, maximum hood-space, compatible structure which only the small sedan can offer.

The hatchbacks come next.

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by zaphod

We do have the hot hatch - the palio 1.6 GTX which lives on even now (though it's no longer called a GTX)

Cars like the Focus RS/SVT and the Golf GTi/R32 might be among the best hot hatches but they won't sell here - they are simply too large and expensive for the image they provide.

IMHO a Swift with a Baleno engine would be the best hot hatch for us and a good match for the Palio 1.6 - I'd have bought a 1.6 Swift over my baleno anyday.

zaphod.

well the palio 1.6 or a swift is a hatch n better than the ones we've had, but no ways they come close to being called a HOT HATCH, well yes you are right about the cost part of it, but i dont mind paying around 10 lacs for a hot hatch. . . if i m getttin a nice 2 litre or a 2.5 litre which gives me more than 200 horses. . . .wht do you say ????
and going by our motoring trend and culture wont be long bfore the focues and the clios start hitting our indian roads. . . but we still have a long way to go.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by zaphod

IMHO a Swift with a Baleno engine would be the best hot hatch for us and a good match for the Palio 1.6 - I'd have bought a 1.6 Swift over my baleno anyday.

zaphod.

Naah .. The swift (vxi & zxi) being heavier still wouldnt outperform the baleno (vxi) with the 1.6L mill too by a huge margin .. Moreover sedans are much safer than hatches .. I would stick to the baleno anyday ..

[zaphod]

Naah .. The swift (vxi & zxi) being heavier still wouldnt outperform the baleno (vxi) with the 1.6L mill too by a huge margin .. Moreover sedans are much safer than hatches .. I would stick to the baleno anyday ..

True - but perhaps only in straight line performance - I've heard a lot of wonderful things about the swift's handling - (haven't driven one myself though so it's hearsay) and driving isn't just about stop light drags. How a car handles the curves is very important to me.

As for safety, I'd bet my money on the swift being a safer car than the baleno, with ABS, airbags and a bodyshell designed recently, not back in the early nineties.

well the palio 1.6 or a swift is a hatch n better than the ones we've had, but no ways they come close to being called a HOT HATCH, well yes you are right about the cost part of it, but i dont mind paying around 10 lacs for a hot hatch. . . if i m getttin a nice 2 litre or a 2.5 litre which gives me more than 200 horses. . . .wht do you say ????

By our standards , the GTX is a hot hatch - over here , a Corolla is a premiuim car, the Accord is a high end luxury car - but in most countries the corolla is a compact and cheap sedan with the accord as a family or executive car owned by the middle classes. So a 1.6 certainly fits teh bill for a hot hatch. And do you seriously think that you'd get a 2/2.5l engine with 200 bhp on tap within 10 Lakhs ? It'd cost you double or triple that , at the least considering the current high taxes on cars. (excise/customs.....)

Our market won't be mature enough for true hot hatches for another 5 years at the least. Remember that us Team BHP members do not accurately represent the vast majority of car buyers - we go on performance as our main criteria - very few people do so otherwise. I'd like the idea of owning a Golf Gti but my parents ? They would rather buy a Accord ...

Anyway, I'd take an Impreza or Evo (sedan) over the Golf anyday....

cheers

zaphod

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by zaphod

True - but perhaps only in straight line performance - I've heard a lot of wonderful things about the swift's handling - (haven't driven one myself though so it's hearsay) and driving isn't just about stop light drags. How a car handles the curves is very important to me.

As for safety, I'd bet my money on the swift being a safer car than the baleno, with ABS, airbags and a bodyshell designed recently, not back in the early nineties.



By our standards , the GTX is a hot hatch - over here , a Corolla is a premiuim car, the Accord is a high end luxury car - but in most countries the corolla is a compact and cheap sedan with the accord as a family or executive car owned by the middle classes. So a 1.6 certainly fits teh bill for a hot hatch. And do you seriously think that you'd get a 2/2.5l engine with 200 bhp on tap within 10 Lakhs ? It'd cost you double or triple that , at the least considering the current high taxes on cars. (excise/customs.....)

Our market won't be mature enough for true hot hatches for another 5 years at the least. Remember that us Team BHP members do not accurately represent the vast majority of car buyers - we go on performance as our main criteria - very few people do so otherwise. I'd like the idea of owning a Golf Gti but my parents ? They would rather buy a Accord ...

Anyway, I'd take an Impreza or Evo (sedan) over the Golf anyday....

cheers

zaphod

but still which segment / or car would be a dream for a boy racer ?????

[goldie_malhotra]

for most "boy"-racers, i think affordability is also an issue.. - it certainly was for me - how i wished i could afford that VTEC or even an ikon - the zen used to be max i could hope for :(

more preferred would be a hot-hatch like the palio 1.6 - or maybe something like the baleno or zen or esteem which can be easily modified to give better performance

[BuRnT RuBbEr]

[SIZE=2]i am not one of the people who would mod the machine. i happen to like a car in the very form it was sold to me, filters apart. that takes all scope on getting a high performance from the machine. thus, i prefer machines with 100 bhp+ motor in stock condition. results in switchign to the so-called executive sedan. subtle mods on these machines provide good performance and a neat image. on the lower side of budget, i would choose a baleno.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]if future brings some hot-hatch' to indian roads, i am game for them too. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]but as of now, the exec-sedans are my thing, being safe, neat and powerfull yet subtle too. [/SIZE]

[zaphod]

but still which segment / or car would be a dream for a boy racer ?????

I made my choice last January - a Baleno Lxi :-) .

goldie_malhotra is right, affordability is the main point, followed by the ease of modifications.

I'd say that the OHC, Baleno, Esteem or the Palio 1.6 would be the best for a 'boy racer' (of course, true boy racers drive Ford Escort Cosworths- with racing stripes :-) )

[amit]

I voted for the hatch. India doesn't have a small sports sedan. I would say it's only the Baleno, Ikon 1.6 (discontinued now?) and Petra 1.6 that remotely resemble a sports or performance sedan and all of them are outsold by boring all rounders like Indigo, Accents, NHC. I don't think Indians have a liking for performance cars, hatch or sedans. In the hatch segment, people want FE and in sedans they look for size, back seat comfort etc.

I own India's first and till now only true hot hatch the Palio 1.6 and I'd say it rides, handles and performs better then many sedans. 100bhp is more then enough for India. Anyway, hot hatches even abroad are a niche segment. Golf GTI doesn't sell as much as the Golf 1.9 TDi but atleast GTI buyers don't cry foul when their cars don't give them 'good' fuel efficiency.