20 lakh SUV

[Insane Devil]

Shatrughna: The Captiva will come with 5-speed Auto box with Tiptronics.

To All:
GM Launched the Captiva recently in India, but such shame it is that they launch a dated model!
Australia has got the New Captiva too now under the "Captiva MAXX" name. Lot more luxuries which the Captiva doesnt have, and improvement in all areas of the current Captiva! We indians are really a bunch of jokers for them! ITs now clear that with the recent launch of Captiva, next 3-4 years we will not see it change! thats life in india!

[Sahil]

since the captiva is a CBU, we can expect the new version to be here much sooner. Although it might be priced at a premium alongside the current one.

[Insane Devil]

Sahil, that has never happened in the Indian Automobile history till now, but if Chevy wants to make a record, It would be just great.

I am anyway waiting for the Automatic to come out, so lets see if we get anything new that time!

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Insane Devil

Sahil, that has never happened in the Indian Automobile history till now, but if Chevy wants to make a record, It would be just great.

It has and is currently happening with the Laura and Octavia.

[Insane Devil]

Originally Posted by Sahil

It has and is currently happening with the Laura and Octavia.

Mate, frankly, what happend with the Laura in India was a sheer mockery at Indians! A car they sell for 5-6 years unchanged, then they dont even feel to upgrade it to the new models launched outside. but, An year late, they bring out that car as an even more premium car! what worse could it get now, than being treated actually as a second grade country where you sell what u want, not what the people want.

[shatrughna]

Originally Posted by Insane Devil

Mate, frankly, what happend with the Laura in India was a sheer mockery at Indians! A car they sell for 5-6 years unchanged, then they dont even feel to upgrade it to the new models launched outside. but, An year late, they bring out that car as an even more premium car! what worse could it get now, than being treated actually as a second grade country where you sell what u want, not what the people want.

They are selling because we are buying. Skoda cars have pretty good resale value because, they have some of the features that all of us wish our cars had which is often ignored by other manufacturers e.g. take the standard fitments available in Skoda Octavia range and no. of variants it has and how frequently they have been changing the options available. Cars are over priced no doubts but customer doesnt get cheated by too much fluctuations in the prices and too poor resale value.

Safety ( perceived) is also very good in this car as well as durability and best part is that it has very good FE. Please, tell me do you have an alternative to Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI - L&K available in the market which is better VFM. Optra Magnum TCDi doesn't come close to it in perceived value except for those who know and care much for technical aspects like torque , bhp and acceleration figures but does it have fully adjustable steering or sun roof and then DSG ( in Laura) with host of features and above all the image? No wonder it sells.

I have not bought Skoda / Optra either nor intend to but I would like buy a skoda with Optra spec engine but not an Optra with Skoda/ engine or features. IMHO

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by Insane Devil

Mate, frankly, what happend with the Laura in India was a sheer mockery at Indians! A car they sell for 5-6 years unchanged, then they dont even feel to upgrade it to the new models launched outside. but, An year late, they bring out that car as an even more premium car! what worse could it get now, than being treated actually as a second grade country where you sell what u want, not what the people want.

That is indeed the irony of it. Its is because of peculiar nature of Indian buyer, that companies resort to this tactic. In india volume is the name of the game. Look at Maruti (Alto, Wagon R, Estilo), Hyundai (Santro, i10), Skoda (Octavia, Laura), M&M (Scorpio Crde, mHawk) etc. All have resorted to this tactic. Indians do not yet understand the concept of model updates, segments etc.

ALso while you are right about companies taking time to upgrade thier existing models, Sahil was correct in asuming that since Captiva is a CBU, its chances of being updated are more

Elito

[shankar.balan]

I also would sincerely wish that Tatas bring the Land Rover Defender 90 (WOLF) as used by the British Army to India at a reasonable price.
I would be happy to sell both the cars we have and some other bits and pieces and buy the Landrover! That is the ultimate cult vehicle as far as Iam concerned!

Originally Posted by HappyGoLucky

With your wishlist you are gunning for the new landcruiser (amazon in the Uk) or the land rover discovery. you have to wait for some year before you can pick them up in the second hand market at price lower than 25 lakhs.. Just kidding

On a serious note you have really summed up most people's aspirational SUV. I really hope Tata's bring the Discovery to india at that price. For me the Defender at the price of Pajero will do.

[Beemer]

Originally Posted by Insane Devil

A car they sell for 5-6 years unchanged, then they dont even feel to upgrade it

I asked this question from one of the skoda India officials few months ago and he relpied 'we cant do any changes here in India until and unless we get the permission from the parent company VAG' ...

Then i asked him the reason why Skoda India was not using local parts to reduce the cost of the spare parts (like Honda ,Toyota and others) , he then told me 'we 've sent samples of many local parts at Volkswagwen but most of the times they reject it saying its not upto VAG quality levels' ..

I dont know how true,honest he was but after this conversation ,it clearly shows that Skoda India role is to sell cars only ,they dont 've enough powers here to change things or do things that they should ..

[AbhiJ]

Hi v10

I test drove the Captiva but found it too crude/noisy for a 18 lac car! The rear seat are not too comfy, and the car is an average drive, at best!

All in all, its not a bad car at all, but its way too expensive as far as I am concerned.

[McLaren Rulez]

Hello everyone. An uncle of mine wants to buy an SUV and his budget is around 20 lakh (flexible so give or take a few lakhs). His priorities are good on-road manners (especially high speed stability on less than perfect roads), comfy interiors for five people and solid reliability (no niggling issues or big problems, just a completely solid and reliable vehicle that he can take to remote places without worry and one that feels like new after many many kilometers). He is considering the Captiva, new Grand Vitara, CRV and Endeavour. Any suggestions, especially on reliability issues, as this is one thing he cannot check on a test drive?

P.S. He wants to buy soon so if the Fortuner is launched within a few weeks that is an option too.

[D.V.R]

Its either Captiva or Pajero,people here have been waiting for the fortuner since three years.

[raj_5004]

CRV if he does not mind the petrol engine. else the captiva.
pajero, though a good SUV, does not have as good manners as the CRV or captiva, which is your uncle's priority.

[Nitronium]

You have not specified your uncle's engine preferences.

The CRV though a great car will not fit into your uncle's budget. It just about grazes 27L on road.

If he is hell bent on a diesel, then the Captiva should suffice (unless he wants an off roader- in that case it would be the Pajero). The reason being that the Captiva is a more refined vehicle with more pleasing interiors and good road manners. The Pajero is only if he were to mud plug a fair bit. It's design inside and outside is very dated.

If he doesn't mind the escalating petrol prices, an amazing buy would be the Outlander. The only drawbacks are a poor service network and expensive spares. It really is a lovely car though

[McLaren Rulez]

Thank you for the replies. He didn't tell me much about engine preference so I assume he's ok with both. Since he is considering the CRV and Grand Vitara, I guess he is open to it.