Whom do you hate the most. Please read before voting.

[aaggoswami]

I hate Hyundai the most. What hurts me is that they leave no stone unturned to make fool of Indian Customers.

1) The original Santro did not appear for any of the crash tests from Euro NCAP but still they claimed to have done crash tests, it is sold in Europe and is infinetely safer than Maruti Zen. The reality is that the Original Santro was no exported to developed markets. They had to bring up the Xing for this.

2) Fighting Ford Ikon with their Santro and claiming " Santro Ends Ikon's Josh ". This made me really unhappy.

3) Claiming that GETZ is European Car Of The Year ( ECOTY ) 2003. I have read this in more than one ads and also saw this on TV commercial. Actually that car i.e. ECOTY 2003 was Peugeot 307.

The way they are marketing has always been a subject of controversy. And I have noticed that those Korean Horses are weaker than Japanese specailly on the highways. I am talking about petrols now.

And the last reason is that Hyundia just keeps on borrowing the styling cues from others. Its way too much.

[clevermax]

Hyundai....! For copying and trying to get stuff on market with their marketing, for making horrible TV ads which never talks about any good virtues of their cars, for fooling most of the Indian middle class buyers to the Santro, for creating a false sense of fuel efficiency of their engines (ERLX ha ha haaa lol), and also for making their own original but very ugly designs thats makes one puke all over!! Buaaww... Look at the very first Santro which they launched in India....the ugly duckling.... yuk!

[Abhijat]

Wow a lot of you here hate Hyundai.
However i beg to differ and the reasons:
1. Along with the other cheap cars so popular in India, Hyundai gives you just that lots of cheap choices.

2. I do not think they can cheat any body without you letting them.

3. They have matured and improved their cars. The gap has come down. The quality is right up now. This i can bet upon.

4. They are customer focussed (awesome service at mathura road service station), innovative (they have tried to understand India, launched products specifically for us) and hungry for a market share, so many of the greats in that list are not even bothered about the market here. They would just re-brand old cars and choke them on our faces.

Which is why i voted for Mitsuibishi.

[raj_5004]

i hate TATA for giving me all the trouble they could and making me realize that i did a big mistake in buying their car! i short, for poor quality & unreliable products and for the worst after sales service i have ever experienced.

[rks]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

And I have noticed that those Korean Horses are weaker than Japanese specailly on the highways. I am talking about petrols now.

I haven't noticed this at all. My old Santro is nearing 75000 kms and the engine is at its peak now. True, I have pampered this car with regular services, engine flushing every 10000 kms, premium fuel (Speed 97 for the last 15000 kms), etc. But it sure does move fast on the highway; hits ~150 kmph every week, and has excellent pickup. Coupled with its superb handling and maneuverability, Santro is one tough little car to beat, as your favourite Jap cars have found out time and again on the Mumbai-Pune route.

And the last reason is that Hyundia just keeps on borrowing the styling cues from others. Its way too much.

This is true of every manufacturer. Americans borrowed from Germans, Japs borrowed from America and Europe, etc. One just cannot afford to reinvent the wheel in today's competitive world.

[flyingspur]

All the reasons that people hate Hyundai for make for a very interesting read. There better not be a MARUTI customer here that says he hates Hyundai.

And surprise surprise, I voted for, or rather against, Toyota. I refuse to come to terms with the build quality of my Corolla even after three and a half years. Why the **** should I? And the Camry M/T for 28.xx OTR Mumbai? I think they've lost it somewhere.

[raj_5004]

i agree to flyuingspur though i have voted for TATA. the build quality of my innova is pathetic. its a very reliable car but with lots of rattles and sqeaks from dash, seats, door, etc...

[rks]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Hyundai....! ... for fooling most of the Indian middle class buyers to the Santro, for creating a false sense of fuel efficiency of their engines (ERLX ha ha haaa lol), and also for making their own original but very ugly designs thats makes one puke all over!! Buaaww... Look at the very first Santro which they launched in India....the ugly duckling.... yuk!

Looks are subjective. Somehow I just love the looks of my old Santro. I would be lost if I looked out the window and didn't get to see my old reliable friend. And I would prefer this car anyday to your Palio 1.2, for various substantial reasons (including highway performance), as opposed to appearances.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

1) The original Santro did not appear for any of the crash tests from Euro NCAP but still they claimed to have done crash tests, it is sold in Europe and is infinetely safer than Maruti Zen. The reality is that the Original Santro was no exported to developed markets. They had to bring up the Xing for this.

I think the original Santro was marketed under different brand names abroad (e.g. Atos). Whenever I give my old Santro for service, the mechanics comment on the excellent condition of the car even after 8 years and 75000 kms under severe road conditions. Old is gold. I don't have any worries w.r. to highway safety. The car has a sturdy build, but is obviously not a battle tank. I prefer this design to heavier cars that may be safer in a crash, but will not even come close to the maneuverability of a Santro. I maintain that on Indian roads, you need a light, agile car that can get you out of trouble and my old Santro has never let me down in this respect.

[amit_mechengg]

i vote for hyundai too. they are making fool of indian customers. and their filmi mithun sharukh doing all stupid stunts with his hyundai car. how can they think of their car racing with a 1000 cc bike. even a hero honda cd dawn can beat it .

and i dont want to remember the old santro. it looked as if it has got screwed from behind and so that shape has become slant. and we all know the prices at what they sell.


Maruti : playing dirty games with zen. the zen classic disaster and now the mouse zen estillo.

Tata : quality reliability and after sales service. but i think after few years there will be only one brand. TATA. they will purchase all companies after jaguar & landrover

[Glass]

Originally Posted by rks

Looks are subjective. Somehow I just love the looks of my old Santro. I would be lost if I looked out the window and didn't get to see my old reliable friend. And I would prefer this car anyday to your Palio 1.2, for various substantial reasons (including highway performance), as opposed to appearances.

I think the original Santro was marketed under different brand names abroad (e.g. Atos). Whenever I give my old Santro for service, the mechanics comment on the excellent condition of the car even after 8 years and 75000 kms under severe road conditions. Old is gold. I don't have any worries w.r. to highway safety. The car has a sturdy build, but is obviously not a battle tank. I prefer this design to heavier cars that may be safer in a crash, but will not even come close to the maneuverability of a Santro. I maintain that on Indian roads, you need a light, agile car that can get you out of trouble and my old Santro has never let me down in this respect.

I agree and believe the Santro is a neat car. I have a 99 DX and I like its looks better than the newer Santro. It is reliable and has no problems or rattles. The engine is great even today and the a/c is perfect.
It does not promise any more than that and delivers what it promises. It really pains to part with it, now that I wish to upgrade.

[Car-Agey]

Originally Posted by Glass

I agree and believe the Santro is a neat car. I have a 99 DX and I like its looks better than the newer Santro. It is reliable and has no problems or rattles. The engine is great even today and the a/c is perfect.
It does not promise any more than that and delivers what it promises. It really pains to part with it, now that I wish to upgrade.

Looks are subjective. I hate Santro's looks but I hate i10 even more. Reliability depends a lot on the maintanance of the car. My Maruti 800 still runs well even after 13 years and over 2,30000 kms on the Odo. In these 13 years I never had a problem, never did it stop on the way, yes it rattles a lot but is still reliable. I am keeping it though I bought a new wagonR last month.

[DirtyDan]

I see M&M is doing just fine in this pole. It is their total lack of business sense that rankles me. Their dealers know nothing about their own products. They have to call the factory and if the factory rep talks to you, you get the chance to ask just one question. If you ask 2 questions he gets in a snit, is rude to you and hangs up on you. YOU are causing him to fall behind his quota of calls answered, you inconsiderate pig boy. Their web site stinks and is obsolete and uninformative.

For all of this, I think they make a decent product. But....what are they thinking of? How do they expect to do international business with this corporate attitude?

[rks]

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

i vote for hyundai too. they are making fool of indian customers. and their filmi mithun sharukh doing all stupid stunts with his hyundai car. how can they think of their car racing with a 1000 cc bike. even a hero honda cd dawn can beat it

I have not seen that ad, but presumably Hyundai wants to stress that the Santro is a highly agile car. The Santro is *quick* under real-life traffic conditions. Getting from point A to point B quickly on our roads is not about 0-100 timings or drag racing. This is a common misconception that many people have. You do need reasonable pickup, but even more important, you really need an agile car that can maintain its speed despite a considerable amount of traffic. Here we are entering Santro territory. My old Santro fully justifies its brand name "ZipDrive", eventhough it has a 1-lit engine, as compared to the Xing's 1.1 lit.

and i dont want to remember the old santro. it looked as if it has got screwed from behind and so that shape has become slant. and we all know the prices at what they sell.

I believe that the old Santro has a more aerodynamic shape than the Xing when it comes to 140+ speeds, but I am not sure about this. Anyway, I see that you are a 2004 Alto Lx owner. How do you think your car compares to the old Santro, which you dismiss with such contempt? In the city, Santro is obviously a better car. On the highway, the 800 cc Alto will get clobbered, there is no comparison. At least that is my impression, based on my experience. To be frank, I would not exchange my 2000 Santro for your 2004 Alto, regardless of resale values and market perceptions.

Edit: I have not voted in this poll, because I don't think I really *hate* any manufacturer to the point of justifying such a negative vote.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by rks

I haven't noticed this at all. My old Santro is nearing 75000 kms and the engine is at its peak now. True, I have pampered this car with regular services, engine flushing every 10000 kms, premium fuel (Speed 97 for the last 15000 kms), etc. But it sure does move fast on the highway; hits ~150 kmph every week, and has excellent pickup. Coupled with its superb handling and maneuverability, Santro is one tough little car to beat, as your favourite Jap cars have found out time and again on the Mumbai-Pune route.

I am not the one with a lot of driving experience, but I have driven a lot of variety of cars. Santro with four adults, A/c and luggage on highway is not good beyond 80+ (1.0) or 110-120 ( 1.1 ). Driving the original Zen with same loads gives different resutls (16v version). Hitting 150 on speedometer is not accurate. There is always some amount of speedo error.
Santro was never a tough car. Getz is one. At high speeds of around 125-130, it was apparent that the car was not tough. The chassis shows up its weakness.

Originally Posted by rks

This is true of every manufacturer. Americans borrowed from Germans, Japs borrowed from America and Europe, etc. One just cannot afford to reinvent the wheel in today's competitive world.

Almost all cars from Hyundai have taken cues from other cars. Japanese are not like that. Suzuki which is not as big as Hyundai is not having products with copied designs. Can you literally show a Suzuki sold in India whose looks are taken from others ? They are not as blunt as Hyundai.

Originally Posted by rks

I think the original Santro was marketed under different brand names abroad (e.g. Atos). Whenever I give my old Santro for service, the mechanics comment on the excellent condition of the car even after 8 years and 75000 kms under severe road conditions. Old is gold. I don't have any worries w.r. to highway safety. The car has a sturdy build, but is obviously not a battle tank. I prefer this design to heavier cars that may be safer in a crash, but will not even come close to the maneuverability of a Santro. I maintain that on Indian roads, you need a light, agile car that can get you out of trouble and my old Santro has never let me down in this respect.

I was expecting this. This is source of confusion. The first indian santro was maket to developing countries under atoz and not marketed in developed european markets. The Atoz that went to developed markets was not the indian one, but was exported from Korea. Hyundai thought that its cheaper to do this from India and so came Xing.

Originally Posted by rks

I have not seen that ad, but presumably Hyundai wants to stress that the Santro is a highly agile car. The Santro is *quick* under real-life traffic conditions. Getting from point A to point B quickly on our roads is not about 0-100 ... .

Its agile at the cost of rear ride quality. The best combination of ride and handling in case of really tall boys is WagonR. The marketing stunts from Hyundai is reason for this. Adding a power steering and calling that feature as Zipdrive is fooling indian customers. They could have simply added power steering with different and more sober badge. If Santro is Zip drive because of agility and ease of use in city, I wonder what alto is ?


The way Hyundai has been marketing since long is what comes out to be the main reason for the voting against it. Claiming 55bhp from 1.0 wont make it ultimate engine. Matiz had 52 from 0.8 and it was a breeze to drive on highways. When it came to consistent stretches of crusing, Matiz was better. Hyundai products are more often than not, a success because of marketing team and not because of the products own strength.


PS: No hard feeling for any Hundai car owner. These are just my views are not a blanket for all.

[raj_5004]

well, i would definetely add 1 thing here, what add to the hyundai's popularity is their aftersales service which is the second best in the country after maruti. i wont comment on their cars because i have not driven them extensively but i have heard of their good cutomer support.