[charthom]

Pals,

In my opinion too,the colour theme should add character to the car.

I, personally like light colours-beige adds the feeling of roominess,lighten the driver's moods.How about the sand colour in Yeti?Another good colour.Dark colour, IMO,will psychologically affect the occupants of a car.It also may impart more heat load during hot days.

Chrome,if aesthetically done,why not?I have liked the chrome jobs on the Etios boot.But chrome everywhere,will produce tha pseudo vintage looks which is objectionable.

Again tastes are different-everyone wants to relax and have a nice time in his/her car-even while driving spiritedly.Light colours seem to add lightness to the ambience. some light colours lack class-hence beige is a safe bet.

I can tell you from my personal experience-my ANHC, with beige interiors and the beige 3D mats, is a very cosy place where I am always at home.I feel absolutely relaxed even in the worst traffic.

This said,I am also sure that there are people who love the all black interiors of the Cruze, and are equally relaxed in it.

Cheers,charthom.

[figo_mba]

I guess in India the chrome has always been associated with richness and snob value.
Even the marketing has been provided to say that "hey chrome is premium, you do not get it with lower versions". So people either settle for the lower version and adorn all the chrome or go for the chrome laden top version.

There is a huge demand for these chrome garnishing. In fact I found there is OEM part for that chrome 'patti' around the tail lamp and head lamps for Micra. It costs 4K and is imported from Japan. Now take that.

In Delhi you get after market chrome fittings for almost everything externally visible on the car.

As for beige, I like being in a beige interior car IF it is not my car. Feels roomier. The problem I experience with black interior is that they heat up fast. I feel beige is better in this regard. And when cleaning a black interior car gives me shivers beige is a strict no-no.

Overall it is a personal choice but chrome and beige are here to stay.

[rajeev k]

This makes me think about the chrome garnishing of the wheel arch flairings for Ambassadors available some time back. This resulted in water getting in between and the wheel arches getting rusted.

Still this chrome was appreciated by many then.

[ACM]

Chrome when done must be done tastefully and most importantly be of good quality, many times the exterior chrome on cars fades (it is anyways done up on plastic/ABS) and the car looks aged in just 3-4 years.

Beige in interiors are just the opposite of what Indian car market requires. It is quite absurd how we all (in India) have gone head over heals on the beige concept. It gets really dirty and is hard to clean.

Feel that if a lighter shade (than back) is required to give the cabin an airy feel then medium brown like on the Audi, and BMW should be used. But even for premium cars 90% of the inteiror colour options available exstock unless on is prepared to wait for an import is Beige.

Am tired of cleaning the beige leather and even carpets (Just step in from the black muck in the rains in mumbai right onto beige carpets) in the Laura and was very much delighted to see that the Top spec Aria offered only Black and Black or Black and Plum interiors while Beige was restricted for the lower spec variants. It used to be the other way round earlier, hope this is addoped by other manufacturers as well.

As mentioned earlier Beige just does not work with the dusty Indian scene and if indeed a ligher colour is desired (which can be good) then shades of Brown rather than cream must be used.

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by ACM

...Am tired of cleaning the beige leather and even carpets...

As mentioned earlier Beige just does not work with the dusty Indian scene and if indeed a ligher colour is desired (which can be good) then shades of Brown rather than cream must be used.

I have beige interiors in the Bolero. I do not understand why it is difficult to keep them clean. The carpets I can understand. Change them to a darker shade. Or do what I did. Place a transparent mat over the carpets in monsoons.

My car is almost 2 years old now. The interiors are still respectably clean. Only recently I changed the beige seat covers to black but that was because I got bored of the same colour not because they got dirty. My car has been through hell and high water. Literally. Yet the interiors are clean. My trick to keep them clean? Never run the car without the aircon on. With the windows rolled up, very little dust gets in. The interiors stay clean.

PS: I can understand if one has issues with a particular colour. But saying that it is difficult to maintain a certain colour is something I will not agree with. All it takes is a little care. We love our cars. We live our cars. Show a little compassion. Wipe off your soles when getting into your car during monsoons, do not eat inside your car, get the interiors cleaned weekly, etc. These little things will keep your car interiors fresh and clean.

[mi2n]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

My trick to keep them clean? Never run the car without the aircon on. With the windows rolled up, very little dust gets in. The interiors stay clean.

That reflects the most practical scenarios in which Beige was actually intended to be used : In luxurious sedans, whose elite owners, who cares not about his fuel bills and is too consumed to enjoy a drive with wind in his face. Beige does go well with these types of vehicles kept pristine (by using the air-con always and windows rolled up) and more importantly, used sparsely. Heck even faux wood sometimes looks in place in vehicles of the intended segment. As already mentioned earlier, the quality of plastic and fabric used makes a huge difference, but such quality can only be expected from the mid/high end segment against a hefty premium.

However, its the mis-application of Beige which earns it all the criticism. Beige interiors in any entry level hatch is unacceptable.(spark comes to mind immediately). The new gen i10 looks so much sporty (from the inside) just by getting rid of some of it.
Similarly, Beige interiors in entry level SUVs and vehicles intended to be commercially used is Blasphemy to put it mildly. I get to avail the services of these Innova taxis for official use(mind you the ones of the highest variant with all bells and whistles) and yet the glaring signs of use and abuse in the beige upholstery makes my journey nasty and uncomfortable and seemingly very unhygienic.

I will still pick Beige over the Gray which some Tatas and Marutis provide. Black though, still remains the favorite, even better with a slight sprinkle of matte silver applied miserly (ac vents, door handles, etc).

[ACM]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

The carpets I can understand. Change them to a darker shade. Or do what I did. Place a transparent mat over the carpets in monsoons.

My car is almost 2 years old now. The interiors are still respectably clean. Only recently I changed the beige seat covers to black but that was because I got bored of the same colour not because they got dirty. My car has been through hell and high water. Literally. Yet the interiors are clean. My trick to keep them clean? Never run the car without the aircon on. With the windows rolled up, very little dust gets in. The interiors stay clean.

PS: I can understand if one has issues with a particular colour. But saying that it is difficult to maintain a certain colour is something I will not agree with. All it takes is a little care. We love our cars. We live our cars. Show a little compassion. Wipe off your soles when getting into your car during monsoons, do not eat inside your car, get the interiors cleaned weekly, etc. These little things will keep your car interiors fresh and clean.

Disagree but then we all are entitled to our views. Yep I always drive with the AC on and yep have the original OEM transparent mats for the Laura (Infact the transparent mats are now quite yellow with all the dirt that gets in during the mumbai monsoons and extended highway drives). The mats cannot be just changed since they have that slit in them and fixes it to the base though the turnable plastic knob like thing. The Laura infact has back dash and top half of the door trim but beige on all the lower areas and the leather seats. Basically beige in all the areas likely to pick dirt faster.

Do keep doing a total interior job regularly on the beige and the amount of dirt that comes off is evident from how much lighter the the interiors becomes after an interior treatment.

We always wear darker clothes when we know we are going to get dirty and this kind off applies to SUV's where beige interiors are criminal.

Yes we all are free to go for the colour of our choice but we do need to realize that some colours are more resistant to dirt that others.

[vinya_jag]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

What is with the 'coral' color of Figo? That is the worst dashboard color I have seen in any car in India

You can never second guess the Indian car buyer mentality. We have 3 white Figos in our area (Including ours), and two of them have the coral coloured interior dash. So I am the odd man out I guess

Not sure the Chrome overkill is going to help any manufacturer. No buyer is even going to notice the chrome. The Etios probably has it to mask some of the empty spaces. Nothing much I can think of, and this would simply go unnoticed because the buyer would have bought the Etios even otherwise. These manufacturers could probably try a mattier finish to the chrome insets. [When was the last time you got your photo printed in Gloss?]

And beige! Personally I don't like beige interiors. But yes, it makes the cabin look airier [Read Dirtier]. But somehow beige has gotten associated with Luxury. People somehow tend to go with the trend. More demand --> more supply --> Lot of supply --> Excess supply --> Dealers trying to push it in the name of luxury.

The first thing my FIL did on buying the new Dezire was to get the beige leather interiors on it. A white dezire with non-tinted glasses and beige interiors is kind of *Yuck#, but it works for him. You see? A car with a boot and leather beige interiors, a sign of plenty

[prateikparija]

This thread so closely speaks my heart out. I remember when we bought the i20 last February, I had no complaints with the car in the looks department, infact I was bowled over by the neat design the Hyundai guys have come up with lately. Also the new gen i20s (post 2010 editions) were even better with Blue Illumination on the Console and Instruments (vis-a-vis the tad-bit-too-bright-red/orange illumination in the prior models) as well as the ORVM integrated Blinkers, all for the best; except for that horrendous and ugly Chrome Lip on the front grille. I am so disappointed with it that I dont take any frontal snaps of the car any-more. On my first service, I pushed the Service Manager to get that Ugly thing replaced with the usual white one (infact white was the preferred colour because the chrome lip looks the least obvious on white) and the reply is got was "Saaar, why do you want a Latest Model Part replaced with an old model part". Will probably get the replacement done during my second service.
Its a pain to watch all manufacturers going the chrome way (the likes of ANHC Exclusive Edition, Cruze's so-called classy chrome surrounds for the Tail-lamps, Safari's Front Grille and on and on).

As far as beige is concerned, its a matter of personal taste. I, for one, prefer beige in smaller cars since they make the cabin look airier and less claustrophobic and a strict NO on SUVs because beige tends to take away take away their Macho and Bite-me character.

But then again, the Indian market has lately started taking chrome and beige as signs of luxury and hence, the overdose by manufacturers (reminds me of those i10s and Xylos shodded with chrome all over, and those Octavias with Beige Seats).

I guess we have to wait till the common man gets sick of chrome and all other things flashy and goes back to the era of subtle and clean styling for their vehicles.

[deetjohn]

Let me reiterate the thoughts from the opening post. Beige is okay when the interiors are made of higher quality materials. Sadly, this is not often the case with most Indian cars. Let me give an example: Anyone who has put Artificial Leather will agree with me in that Art. Leather is very difficult to maintain when compared to the natural hide. The latter is much easier to clean and they age really well. All you need is a good detailing job to roll back age with leather interiors.

Likewise, the case with interior plastics. The hard low quality plastics that we get look even worse in lighter shades. They show up the scars quite evidently and dirt and grime gets deposited in the cuts which is very difficult to clean in the long run. And not to mention the glare that lighter dashboards make in hot sun. At least, one can wear Polaroid shades to overcome the reflection. It will even help to fight the chrome on other cars around you.

And now days, even the floor is not spared from beige. I absolutely hate the idea of putting a piece of paper or a transparent plastic sheet over a floor mat to protect it from elements. It is just ridiculous. That is the primary objective of having a floor mat, to protect the carpeting and to aid in cleaning. It has to withstand the soiled soles and should be back to their former glory after a wash. In our country, we cannot expect to step into our cars from a carpet, or grass, or paved roads, a tree or even tarmac all the time.

So what were they thinking?


Not fit for a MPV



Will that look good in 3 years?




Nothing boring here, but just an understated quality interior

Sadly, Hyundai used this quality material only at the top part of the dash


Pictures courtesy: T-BHP, juspictures.blogspot.com, respective manufacturer websites.

[harishpr]

My 2 Cents - Beige is what most owners prefer (we are just a subset of those owner community) and thats what manufacturers are giving them. Im sure that most of the manufactures rope in the Market Surveyors/Specialists to understand what Consumers want (not just in Metros but across major cities) and thats precisely what they provide. I'm not a big fan of Chrome but hey no one seems to be complaining in a big way !!! i'M sure that this is a temporary trend and maybe in 3-4 years, we may move away from excessive beige/chrome.
Another view - Beige interiors looks great for Photography and most of the brochers carry beige interior picture to make them look classy and It Sells !!!!

[sidindica]

I seriously hate that chromification that tata has done in the manza elan.

[Revention]

This thread holds true even today !!!

Few examples :
1) The Honda City top end model still has chrome handles, beige interiors
2) The SXO turbo Verna luckily has black interiors but satin door handles !. The dual tone with black handles would have looked very good.
3) No blacked version in XUV700 which might look very cool (Silver with black alloys and black interiors)


Only Tata has opted for black versions , which is great !

[nomad47]

I don't like beige as it is difficult to maintain. I like the red and black interior of Seltos GTX line, but the beige in the my Seltos is growing on me. Hard to maintain, but definitely gives a roomier feel. In the end, it boils down to personal taste and as someone said above, if we could choose the interior theme just like we choose the exterior colour it would be great.
Nicely done chrome gives the car a premium feel. But when one crams all nooks and corner with chrome (I am looking at you chrome covered taillights where all individual light gets the chrome treatment) it looks hideous.

[lionheart_mm]

I went to the Toyota showroom last year to check out Fortuner, and in the price details they had something called TGA kit ( not sure about the name) for around 20K.

I asked the sales advisor what's it and he told "oh sir it's the chrome detailing it will give your car a premium look, every customer opts for that with their Fortuner".

I laughed and told him that the first thing I'm going to do when I get the car is to dechrome the factory fitted chrome parts, and I'm no way going to add anymore chrome to it.