[dkaile]

I prefer

Petrol to diesel
Size to small
Sedan to SUV
MT to AT
Refinement to speed
Luxury to practicality
Quality to cost
Value to brand
Hands on to appointments (DIY to How?)
Technology to crude excuse of one (Tesla S to E2O; Harley/Ninja to Bullet; LR to Mahindra Jeep)
New to Pre-owned
Clean Lines to Fluidic but Modern to Old School (except true classics like Ferrari or Concorso d'eleganza)
Beige/White/Silver to Black (Our weather/dust just doesn't go with black)
Chrome to grey (in moderation)
Climate Control to Manual AC (converted first by the Corolla; never looked back)

I hate automobiles that
- scrape on bumpers (Civic)
- are Over Designed (Verna)
- don't deliver what they promise (Bullet)

Cheers...

[Ricci]

@GTO - Someone with deep pockets may not care about fuel efficiency, but end of the day, efficiency is one of the most important performance points. If all people thought the same and could afford the fuel bills, we'd run dry oil wells sooner or later.

Another practical reason for FE is tank range. I always consider real world range from tank full till reserve. A higher fuel consumption necessitates a higher capacity fuel tank. Range is even more important when you do long deserted stretches, like say Australia's vast expanses, where fuel stations may be farther apart than you expect. Or to have sufficient capacity to sail through extended fuel station owners' strikes.

Anyway - I dislike the trend of features for the sake of features. Who really needs auto headlamps and rain sensing wipers ? I'd rather have 60:40 split and folding seats. Who needs ACC , I am happy setting the cool setting to little less if it gets too cold. And if you give alloy wheels, make the spare also an alloy with the same size tyres.

Instead of laziness-inducing auto-this and auto-that, I'd much prefer auto makers made 60:40 split/folding seats, steering adjust for reach and rake, seat adjust with height adjustment and lumbar support, ABS , both side mirrors (manual will do, though electric adjust for the passenger side mirror is nice to have). And heavy duty wiring that can handle at least 50% overload for hours together. All the burnt cars we see, usually something to do with electrical system being the cause. Maybe even steel sheaths ala steel braided brake hoses to guard against rats biting into wires.

I see too often different variants skip of split seats and seat height adjust, it can't cost much to standardize these features. And it really can't be too expensive to paint wing mirrors , can it ?

[FourWheelDrift]

I have a few unconventional features that I would like to see offered on cars ... which I don't think I've seen before :

1. A left-side (and right-side in a LHD country or for very challenged drivers in an RHD country) overtaking front facing camera : this would help a driver look around a larger vehicle in front of him, before overtaking from the wrong side. I might get flamed for asking for a feature that promotes bad overtaking behaviour, but until trucks / buses / slow moving vehicles stop sitting in the right lane and struggling along, this feature would help save lives / prevent accidents.

2. Retractable lap seat belts for middle passengers in the 2nd / 3rd row of vehicles. Presently, all the lap belts that I have seen do not retract, are pushed away from view, and hence are rarely seen / used. Better still would be 3 point seat belts for the middle passengers. But since our Indian motor vehicle regulations do not mandate the latter, then the former would be useful.

3. A roll down 3rd row window, as opposed to fixed / butterfly / sliding windows that we see on our 3 row UVs / MUVs / SUVs / MPVs / vans. This follows the logic that all passengers in a vehicle must be treated as equally as possible.

4. D pillar mounted speakers in vehicles that have D pillars (i.e. the vehicle segments mentioned in 3. above). I conjecture that they will be able to provide much better sound quality than speakers mounted in doors or in side trims.

5. An inside roof mounted luggage carrier for vehicles with excessive head room, rather than an outside roof carrier that is normal. Benefits I can see are better security and lower center of gravity. However, I can also see all kinds of issues with luggage retention in an emergency vehicle manoeuvre, but engineers could surmount this.

6. A load sensor, which tells the operator / driver of the vehicle that the Gross Vehicle Mass is nearing or has been reached / breached. In CVs, perhaps this could be linked with the engine starting circuit and brake circuit, which will prevent the vehicle from being started or even rolled forward / backward.

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[Agarwaka]

Originally Posted by GTO

Safety: If I were to put a number to it, I'd guess that less than 1% of Indian car buyers give any weightage to safety in their purchase decision. If a car doesn't offer 5 star safety, I won't buy it. It's that simple.

Great thread to put forth one's point of view on key, critical to quality preferences. I particularly like your take on safety and echo it - just this aspect prompted me to pick the XUV W8 over the W6 (as the former comes equipped with ESP and additional airbags); could not have cared lesser about the additional bells & whistles like alloys, colour display, ACC, etc. It's such a pity that in most cars, safety features like airbags, ABS, etc are offered in only their higher end versions. Wish all OEMs offered the option of a safety package irrespective of the other cosmetic trims.

[arunphilip]

A shortlist of key points that I prefer:

1. Black interiors - Love it. I like to feel cossetted by my car, black does it. I love my 2006 Getz's interiors for this, and am looking at the Ford stable for my next ride. Beige doesn't cut it, I'll rule out a car with beige/light interiors.

2. Driver-centric instrument cluster - Its disappointing I even have to list this here. I need the instruments in front of the driver. Not the centre of the dash. I'll rule out a car with a centered instrument cluster.

3. Non-peaky torque curves - Progressive acceleration. You should have seen my face driving my 1.3 Getz after using my Dad's 1.3 MJD. While I had fun exploiting the turbo surge for overtaking, I was grinning like a madman to be back in my petrol Getz.

4. Clean rear-ends - I dislike cars that adorn their rear with excessive badges: Manufacturer, model, variant, fuel type, ABS, etc. And that's before dealers go sticker crazy. I believe the only badging that's needed is the make and model. And my message to dealers - it's my car, not your billboard.

5. Dead pedal - manufacturers, learn to design this into all your cars.

[ra'ul M]

Dead Pedal: I have a size 13 foot and can't do without one.
Ashtray: I don't believe in littering the road.
Aux in: I have all my music on my iPod which I am used to playing off it.
100% roll down rear windows: Hate windows that don't roll down. No particular reason, but I just hate them
Normal Handbrake: Pressing a button for the parking brake irks me! I prefer the sweet sound and motion of the handbrake pulling up. Plus, I usually drive on twisted hilly back roads

[chinkara]

My Quirks:
1. Hatch over sedan any day
2. No chrome
3. Minimalist dash -- I don't like crowded clusters
4. Like noopster -- I would also prefer if the OEM did not put ICE etc.
5. I don't like low slung cars -- both GC and seating position.

[Sheel]

Car Design - Unconventional from the non petrol head's point of view, but may be in line of what others think over here at Team BHP.

To me, the best looking Car ever launched in India was/is The Ford Mondeo and the Skoda Octavia vRS.

Even, I seem to prefer the E 36 & E 46 lines compared to the Cars we have today.

Too much of corporate dressing to the Car has destroyed many marques clean design. While a Floral/Neon/Pink/Purple shirt may look cool once on a dude, it doesn't always. In the same way, DRL's, chrome, insignia, stickers just doesn't appeal after the Car is ~ 6 months old. No, I am not saying it necessarily has to be boxy, but would still prefer boxy over today's sharp creases & cuts.

Ford Fiesta 1.6 S over the current Fiesta.

Pajero SFX over Pajero Sports

Pre Gen Toyota Fortuner over the Current Fortuner (They have simply destroyed the appearance)

The Pre Face lift Laura over the current gen Laura.

The list is endless.

Coming to the engine, I prefer naturally aspirated engine. This is why bikes excite me, still. You ride your bike the same way as your grand dad & hopefully if your grand son would be lucky, he too would enjoy his share.

Cars? Almost everything has changed & will continue to change & maybe your grand son would have to wait for sun to come out to charge his Car or wait for electricity (we are in India) & enjoy a silent drive (Sorry Bridgestone)

And BTW, I prefer everything stock, maybe save for tires & a good 5 spoke ally wheel.

Along with that prefer black interiors with leather inserts over chrome/walnut finish. Aluminum touches are okay.

And yes, add Tata Safari (pre gen) to the list of good looking Cars over the current gen.

Somehow, the bike's designers put a lot of effort & pull out stunning designs even today.

[mksureshhere]

My preferences goes like this
- Conventional, understated exterior design (extrovert styled is just not my taste . . . At all)
- Basic functional interiors will do. Automatic climate control, rain sensing wipers, DRLs, Automatic headlamps, electrically adjustable RVMS, this and that can't be a deal breaker for me.i just don't buy it. But, would prefer electrically foldable mirrors which proved out to be necessity in Bangalore traffic for me.
- Reliable engine that can last long over a 150,000kms without any fuss
- Most important of all scope for performance mods and existence of proven performance mods in the market. This will keep the car feel young whenever a new upgrade goes into your car.

I want a car that will stay and grow with me for at least a decade. IMO, older a car becomes, more beautiful it gets (when maintained with passion).

Cheers,
mksureshhere

[Derezzed]

I will appreciate the following features in a car and will happily spend an extra couple of Lakhs for them:

1. Blind spot information system: I drove an Acura TL last year and I must say this feature will surely be helpful on the roads of India, both city and highways. http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/automo...x-galaxy-7751/

2. In dash navigation system: Without my GPS I am sure to get lost in new places. Having the navigation system integrated in the dashboard console makes it easier, no worries of charging /cables on the GPS/smartphone.

3. Hybrid Technology: A small battery that boosts the engine power would be a big boon. Nothing as technically advanced or expensive as the Prius or Insight but something within my reach.

4. Tyre air pressure monitoring system: I found this to be very useful and accurate. I would never have to use a pump /indicator to check the air pressures.

5. Ease of maintainability: Cleaning it daily should be easy with no hard to reach crevices or too many plastics that get dusty on our Indian roads. I prefer the thin front grille of my Civic to my Wagon-R's huge plastic grille.
Spare parts should be easily available and not too pricey.

[Thilak29]

Dry windshield during rains.

Yes, Its possible! Checkout this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5L_vPkorBU

[amitayu]

I like tallboy/ higher cars where one can just walk in. I know it affects ride quality as it generates greater body roll. But somehow, i do not feel comfortable crouching into a car, irrespective of the acres of leg space. I like sitting up rather than sliding down.

I love black interiors. Beige interiors look silly to me. Black, with atmost silver outlines to break the monotony. I was aghast by the initial Figo red interior and am grateful the market though as much!! I was seriously worried it might become a new trend.

I do not like smoked out headlamps. LED barrels look awesome, but panting normal headlights black somehow does not look good to me. Painting the rear lamp glass black is not only odd but also dangerous in my opinion. Tail lamps are an essential part of car safety and should be as bright and prominent as possible.

lastly, I hate flowery/ ornate car stickerss/ decals. A Car is a machine and not a piano for God's sake..dress it accordingly.

[vasanthn21]

Forgot to add this to my earlier list:

Rear window size: I do not like the window tapering off at the rear (started with Swift I guess). I prefer more or less equal sized windows in the front and rear (remember the ambassadors, the premier padmini, even the M800!). Tapering windows do make the car look good from outside, and yes, adds to safety with increased metal at the rear, but I do not like the claustrophobic feel inside the car due to this.

[9thsphinx]

I like simple, clean designs. Anything that's not too worked up works for me. Something like the OHC Type II design. There was nothing there that was out of proportion, unnecessary or something that demanded a change. Everything had a purpose, was cleanly laid out and was very ergonomic.

I think the designs should be such that the driver feels one with the car. Comfort, safety and reliability, in that order, are paramount.

I would prefer if modern cars would get air conditioned seats, side and passenger airbags, and a million mile warranty by default.

[rxpaul]

Well my choice is a mix of most of the existing posts. So here goes (in order of preferances) :
1. Adjustable steering, it should go as low as possible & also should lift automatically up (like in the mercs) on opening the door, so that i make a smooth entry !
2. The hinged to the floor / Organ type accelator pedals.
3. The Parrp european horn.
4. Twin headlights like the BMWs
5. Slightly tall profile tyres (for better comfort)
6. Notch back, Notch back, Notch back all the time
7. Steering like the Octavia for the highways, but also as light as the Honda city for the city. Need a switch to change from hard to soft. Ideal steering - the E30.
8.Reliable DSG without the horror stories.
9. Logitudinal engine with RWD.
10. Externally Box like car like the 300C and internal Audiesque looks & feel.
11. Smallest possible 4 spoke steering with thickest possible rims..like the Fords ??
12. Ideal dimensions (for India) - Vento or Rapid size, but notch back

IS ALL THIS POSSIBLE IN ONE CAR ? I THINK NOT