[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by k_ajay

It's funny how many of us here are asking for 6 airbags, '6 airbags'. Going by how most Indians totally avoided the 6 airbags variant of i20 and bought the 1 variant cheaper, it makes no sense to Hyundai to spend money and make a variant hardly anyone is going to buy. We all know that's the reason Hyundai didn't feature 6 airbags on their top variant of i20 elite again..

I am willing to bet most of us asking for 6 airbags will not go for it, citing higher price, x y and z stories. What are we thinking, 6 airbags will come cheap? Or later, we'll claim 'oh, 6 airbags are only on the top variant'. Like we don't know now that it is how Hyundai will build their variants.

Will wait and watch on this when the creta launches..

You are both right and wrong here. While what you say is right in case of marutis, hyundais etc, you can't ignore the fact that a large number of ecosports that are being sold are from the titanium (o) variant. That reception, am sure, is what prompted them to offer 6 airbags in the figo aspire.

So you may blame a particular customer segment, not the whole car buying public.

PS: my car has 6 airbags.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

You are both right and wrong here. While what you say is right in case of marutis, hyundais etc, you can't ignore the fact that a large number of ecosports that are being sold are from the titanium (o) variant. That reception, am sure, is what prompted them to offer 6 airbags in the figo aspire.

So you may blame a particular customer segment, not the whole car buying public.

PS: my car has 6 airbags.

The truth is in fact, harsh.
I guess most of the people asking for additional safety gear is in this forum otherwise companies would not be stopping the variants with additional safety gear.

Fact is - there are very few takers for the additional safety gear like 6 airbags and ESP. Most people buying the top end variant do so for the other goodies and repent that they have to pay for unnecessary stuff like airbags.

Do you have numbers for the Ecosport titanium(O)?
And I wonder if the sales of Titanium (o) are for the additional airbags or any additional features it might have.

And what makes you think that people buying Maruti/Hyundai/Honda don't care for additional safety gear and those buying Ford care?
People buying Ford are from the same customer segment as the other manufacturers. They are definitely not some elite category auto geeks.

Of course, there are exceptions and few in this forum including you belong to that category but whatever Ajay said earlier is true, unfortunately.

[Gannu_1]

The media drives have begun. A friend forwarded me these snaps:

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Do you have numbers for the Ecosport titanium(O)?

Out of the 20 odd Ecosport ownership threads in this forum there are 9 Titanium (O) or AT. That's almost half the number. I have numbers only from this forum, but then the original question was...

I am willing to bet most of us asking for 6 airbags will not go for it

So people asking for 6 airbags in this forum are justified in doing so.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The media drives have begun. A friend forwarded me these snaps

These are from the same set of photos "leaked" 2 days earlier, Gannu. (judging from the 3rd, 4th & 5th pics)

Media Drives start from tomorrow.

The first two photos of the white Creta might be of the base petrol variant - no projectors + DRLs in headlamps, debadged rear, etc.

The tyre in the first pic looks considerably thick, which makes me wonder if 205-sections would be standard across the range. If not, 195-sections would be the minimum for the base variant.

Good to see Hyundai provide Foglamps and OVRM-mounted turn indicators on the base model as well.

Thank goodness that the rear numberplate area doesn't have that thick & gaudy chrome applique over it.

Ribbed roof and bulges on the sides of the front bonnet give it a really aggressive stance. Even the Base variant looks impressive from both angles.

Thanks for sharing!

[RavenAvi]

The Creta's Base diesel and SX petrol variants in Red shade have been snapped from up close by an IAB reader.

In continuation of Gannu's post above with snaps of the Creta Base variant in white (first 2 pictures), the Base has regular halogen headlights+foglamps, steel wheels with full wheel covers, body cladding, body-colored door handles and wing mirrors with integrated turn signals.

It misses out on a chrome grille, LED DRLs, rear wiper/washer and the chrome garnish above the number plate. The Base could be the only one with the 1.4L diesel under the hood.

BASE CRDI:








SX VTVT:

IAB


In addition, from my convo I had last night with my birdie, he has dropped this following bit of juicy info:

"Internal price discussions are still going on. You will be surprised with the pricing."

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

You are both right and wrong here. While what you say is right in case of marutis, hyundais etc, you can't ignore the fact that a large number of ecosports that are being sold are from the titanium (o) variant. That reception, am sure, is what prompted them to offer 6 airbags in the figo aspire.

So you may blame a particular customer segment, not the whole car buying public.

PS: my car has 6 airbags.

Let's not single out Ford Ecosport as a saviour auto brand. Why won't the above apply to Hyundai? They're in fact one of the early providers of 6 airbags in a premium hatch (even my premium Fabia didn't have 6 airbags as an option).

Like member Adimicra has mentioned, the Titanium (O) sales aren't happening or high, purely because of it sporting 6 airbags. The initial pricing was competitive and thus many premium hatch buyers extended and went for the top variant, is my guess. There is no doubt for the realist as to how many cars in India are being bought for 6 airbags.

Even from the manufacturer perspective, the 6 airbags are offered only on the top variant(s) because:
1: it isn't cheap to slap multiple airbags on a car.
2: they are able to see numbers of cars customers bought with and without airbags and future strategies are decided based on that.
3: they know from purchase trends that Indians view airbags as a fancy feature, not as a mandatory safety requirements.

I wish we can get our monthly sales data to include cars sold by every manufacturer in every segment, with a break-up of sales that includes with and without airbags. The reality will project itself then. About the whole car buying public.

BTW, about the Ecosport itself. I was at Elite Motors on ORR on the weekend the Ecosport launched. The showroom was packed and the Titanium (O) display car was on the first floor. One prospect had come from Cisco for a corporate purchase, willing to put down 50k as down payment to book. I exchanged with him as he seemed to know already about the Ecosport. He was more interested in the music system with Bluetooth sync capabilities, 1 ltr Ecoboost engine, keyless-go and fake leather seats on the top variant. I was raving about how Ford did well to include 6 airbags too. To that, his lackluster response was typical of most buyers of cars in India. Why do we need so many airbags boss, am I going to drive on the road or push my car off the flyover? And this wasn't coming from an uninformed buyer. You and the 8 other individuals who got the variant with 6 airbags are just the extreme minority of the car buying public in India.

There is another problem with buyers blindly asking for 6 airbags in cars. That won't help us from great danger unless the car itself is structurally sound/solid. We first need better built cars, structurally, before seeking supplementary safety systems..

[Whichcarnow]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

In addition, from my convo I had last night with my birdie, he has dropped this following bit of juicy info:

I hope that they are not actually thinking of raising the (previously decided by them?) mouth watering prices after looking at the favorable response they're getting. Hope the surprise is a pleasant one

[ethan3686]

Ok just looking at those pics of the red variant i have to say the car looks quite low. The ground clearance doesnt look too good for a vehicle put in an SUV category. Hope its much better (at least 200) and obviously pics can be a bit deceptive.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by k_ajay

Let's not single out Ford Ecosport as a saviour auto brand. Why won't the above apply to Hyundai? They're in fact one of the early providers of 6 airbags in a premium hatch (even my premium Fabia didn't have 6 airbags as an option).

You digressed a lot. The question was whether the people asking for 6 airbags in this forum would buy one or not. I say, yes. If you look at the Ecosport numbers in this forum, you would see that team bhpians are indeed interested. I can't cite other cars because there aren't any others I know, in the common man's budget, that offers 6 airbags. In the initial months of the Ecosport, I remember that the Titanium (O) variants had the maximum waiting time (if you excuse the non-existent 1.5P Ambient). Ample proof that customer demand for those variants were more than what even Ford anticipated.

I am not saying that the 6 airbag versions of the Creta would sell a lot. But customer preferences are sure changing for good. People are really getting serious about safety and it is heartening to note that some manufacturers are breaking the mould.

When manufacturers started offering ABS and 2 airbags, I am sure, a lot of people would have commented how manufacturers are wasting efforts on variants that do not sell. Well, we should actually thank them. The Palio GTX SP was the first car in the hatchback segment to offer an airbag and ABS - back in 2001. It didn't sell, yes, but at least they took the lead and made others sit up and take note.

I rest.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

...what is left is ride, ride, ride. Hyundai has traditionally got this aspect wrong making their cars simply too soft ...

Nop; their Achilles heel is the n(d)umb steering. The Elite i20 has a far better ride & is a move in the positive direction. With Hyundai launching their sports division, should be just a matter of time we may have some awesome cars from the brand.

[arvi86]

Am I the only one who prefer the black-colored slats in the front grille and the body-colored rear number plate garnish of the base variant over the chrome-overloaded SX variant? But, I'm happy that the buyers of top-end variants who don't prefer chrome atleast have an option to get them changed.

[mrbaddy]

Originally Posted by arvi86

Am I the only one who prefer the black-colored slats in the front grille and the body-colored rear number plate garnish of the base variant over the chrome-overloaded SX variant? But, I'm happy that the buyers of top-end variants who don't prefer chrome atleast have an option to get them changed.

I too liked the black-colored front grill and the non-chrome rear on the base variant compared to the chrome overdosed higher variants.

I am eagerly waiting for July 21st (pricing), test drive but more importantly Team-BHP review to make my decision. If Hyundai surprises us pleasantly with the pricing and their often complained ride quality, I might be bringing my purchase decision ahead instead of waiting till early 2016.

BTW, I'm closely watching S-Cross too.

[barcode]

The Chinese ix25 has 180mm ground clearance (4wd) and 183mm (2wd).

I fear the Indian version looks the same. In comparison Ecosport/Duster are 200/210mm.

[BNM]

Looks like a 6 speed AT comparing the current Elantra and Verna AT boxes below

Elantra
http://gtcarlot.com/data/Hyundai/Ela...-68567194.html

Verna
http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/wp-con...er-Console.jpg



Elantra AT gear box which looks similar to the one on the Creta. Button on top Says shift lock release.