[Samurai]

As somebody who owns a petrol SUV for almost 7 years, I can state some advantages.

The reliability is high.
Maintenance is low.
Theft protection. (Nobody will steal a petrol SUV)

I didn't understand the heavy duty comment. Who does load carrying in their SUV, it is after all a family vehicle.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Theft protection. (Nobody will steal a petrol SUV)

Love your optimism - you look for the silver lining

Originally Posted by Samurai

I didn't understand the heavy duty comment. Who does load carrying in their SUV, it is after all a family vehicle.

To clarify - there are some people who use Omnis and hatchbacks like utility vehicles, loaded to the gills. These people see SUVs as evolution of Jeeps, and treat them accordingly. This very group of people would never embrace a petrol SUV.

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Only Renault has a petrol option in the sub 10Lakh rupee segment with it's Duster and Honda's CRV being another option in the segment above 20Lakh rupee.

Isn't it time the manufacturers look at introducing petrol option for the SUV segment.

What about the Ford Ecosport? It has 2 petrol options in fact (the 1.0L ecoboost and the regular 1.5L engine).

Petrol engines definitely have potential in the compact SUV segment, where they aren't needed for heavy duty applications, but are used by families who simply want a small car with large ground clearance.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by starter

Army is still buying Gypsies.
Gypsy orders are waiting for production since August.
Reason being a huge army order for about 5000 Gypsies.
Maruti has a production plan till the year end to fulfill this.

That's a news for me! So, that's the reason there is a sudden hike in Gypsy sales, and will continue to sell like that for the coming 5-6 months.

That also means that though the Army initially decided to discontinue Gypsy, now they agree that none of the new-gen SUVs can match its agility, IMO.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Theft protection. (Nobody will steal a petrol SUV)

That's epic!

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Only Renault has a petrol option in the sub 10Lakh rupee segment with it's Duster and Honda's CRV being another option in the segment above 20Lakh rupee.

Isn't it time the manufacturers look at introducing petrol option for the SUV segment.

I think there is still a space for petrol SUV/Crossover, especially in the 10-15 lakhs segment. We have Ford giving two petrol engine options with the Ecosport. If Skoda is smart enough, they would have got the Yeti with the 1.2 TSI as the starting option, and 1.8 TSI at the top end.

[narayan]

Apart from the reasons already mentioned, I don't think Tata or Mahindra ( who have entry level SUVs in their portfolio ) have petrol engines to offer in the first place even if there is a market. So if they were to source it from outside they wouldn't be able to price it competitively and who is going to buy a Safari/Scorpio/XUV is the petrol variant is priced on par or above the diesel variant ?

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by narayan

Apart from the reasons already mentioned, I don't think Tata or Mahindra ( who have entry level SUVs in their portfolio ) have petrol engines to offer in the first place even if there is a market. So if they were to source it from outside they wouldn't be able to price it competitively and who is going to buy a Safari/Scorpio/XUV is the petrol variant is priced on par or above the diesel variant ?

Tata does have the 1.2 revotron engine in the Zest. If they think there would be enough demand, I'm sure they could develop a larger version of the engine.

The question is, how large/powerful would the petrol engine have to be to do duty in a Tata Sumo or Safari?

[GTO]

Body-on-frame / large / heavy SUVs will continue to sell in diesel only. These cars need the low-end torque from a diesel engine. Plus, the fuel-economy is very poor with body-on-frame petrols. A 1,900 kilo Safari Storme petrol would give 5 - 6 kpl at best with a petrol engine.

That said, for the new breed of light, compact & monocoque SUVs, a petrol engine definitely has potential. These 1100 - 1200 kg lightweights can easily be powered by smaller petrols which deliver acceptable power & fuel economy.

Originally Posted by alpha1

SUVs are mainly bought by city dwellers for highway travel.

Not really. I'm pretty sure a majority of small SUV buyers (e.g. EcoSport, Duster) have usage similar to the typical hatchback / sedan.

Originally Posted by Equus

If you cannot recover the premium paid (upfront) for a diesel in 4-5 yrs, why would you buy a diesel?

With some cars, the diesel is simply the superior engine. E.g. the new i20.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Theft protection. (Nobody will steal a petrol SUV)

Haha! Good point. Scorpio owners at one end & Pajero owners at the other are always in fear of vehicle theft.

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

now they agree that none of the new-gen SUVs can match its agility, IMO.

True. There's no offroader out there as reliable, refined & well-built as the Gypsy. The shoddily built Thar & Gurkha aren't even close.

[sandeepmohan]

We are a market that loves and cares only about kmpl. With this in mind, I don't think a petrol powered suv will ever work.

Though not suv in class, a 2l petrol Innova manages to deliver around 6kmpl versus 10kmpl for the bigger 2.5l oil burner. Now we are okay with the 10kmpl for the diesel cause gas is cheap and it drives much better. The only bonus of the petrol Innova is the quiet and refined engine but we don't care about that do we.

[hajaar]

Well, I have been TDing SUVs with automatic option in the 25-30 lakh range and, given my parameters for selection, the CRV is on top of the list.

I think there will always be a market for petrol SUVs especially soft-roaders.

[MaheshY1]

Habout replacing the Gypsy's petrol engine with Thar's diesel? That would give us Gypsy's agility and Thar's FE and torque. I'm not sure if that's even possible.

But I think in the entry level 4X4 SUV category (and I mean a proper S-U-V, not just a tall car,) Thar and Gypsy cover the bases really well. For the FE conscious, Thar, and for refinement, agility, and reliability, there's the certified gem.

[TB16]

As rightly said by GTO, large SUVs will continue to be powered by diesel engines. Whereas the new upcoming compact SUV's will get turbo charged petrol engines which will ensure the FE is maximum. Turbo petrols are definitely the future now.

[D4D]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

The Tata Safari and Mahindra Scorpio were both introduced in the market with a petrol engine option, but they soon lost ground to their diesel powered siblings.

Only Renault has a petrol option in the sub 10Lakh rupee segment with it's Duster and Honda's CRV being another option in the segment above 20Lakh rupee.

Sorry to say, this isn't happening anytime soon.
Because- Market perception-> SUV=Diesel; Torque;

SUVs are expected to be torque monsters, so this perception won't change soon.

Safari/Scorpio/Qualis/Innova were sturdy body-on-frame SUVs which could last a long time. So having a petrol engine means a higher running cost.

But I think SUVs like Duster/Ecosport/Terrano and upcoming S-cross and iX-25 can market petrol enignes more aggressively.

[prakhar1998]

I'd say, more than the reality, it is the perception. Price difference and running costs between petrol and diesel do vary quite a bit, but the biggest contributor is the peace of mind when you are driving a Diesel. Agreed that petrol cars are cheaper to buy, and maintain, but the satisfaction garnered from a better mileage and savings everyday and over a long term is much more.

Another thing would be the quality of petrol in rural and remote places. SUVs are meant to go to such places, and a petrol engine is way more sensitive to adulteration and bad quality.

One category of cars that is definitely coming back to petrol is the C Segment sedans and the premium hatchbacks.

The Verna and the City sell a fairly large number of petrol variants, and the Polo GTi and i20 have started to gain traction for the sales of their petrol variants.

But, Diesel is about to get cheaper, as a price cut is due, due to the falling global oil prices. What happens, time will tell.

[rahul_kej]

There are talks of Diesel getting deregulated too just like petrol so the pricing will be in the hands of oil companies which is directly related to the global crude oil prices. This doesn’t mean that the price of diesel will rise for sure. In fact they price will rise and fall according to the global crude oil prices just the way it happens for petrol.

Even after deregulating diesel Government will keep a watch over it as it can lead to increased inflation.

Why Petrol SUVs won’t make a comeback?

1) Even if petrol and diesel are sold at same price, the mileage of diesel SUV will be much better.

2) If it’s a 7 seater with luggage carrier, low end torque matters for hilly roads.

3) For diesel engines we pay a lac or higher. Many include it in the fuel cost during pre purchase calculation and opt for petrol vehicle. In my personal opinion whenever we plan a trip we calculate the fuel cost only and it definitely gives us a smile when per km cost comes to Rs.4 instead of Rs.6 for a petrol vehicle. We forget about the cost incurred during the purchase and calculate trip by trip.