[vasanthn21]

For the time being Japanes - reasons being - prefer higher FE, not much highway drives, want reliability, absolutely do not want to go to service center other than periodic services.

May be later (let me explain - when I have made enough money, when I have free time or driver to run around, when I go frequently on highway drives) I would want a European car!

[Tats07]

Well, I voted for European. However, I must mention that I have preference for petrol in the segment that I can afford now (i.e. C2); so going by that, I'd still prefer a Honda City over a Vento/Rapid. If I move up a segment or two, it will be European, i.e. Laura TSI over Civic, or Passat over Accord.

[Omtoatom]

The Euros all the way! Highlights being:

1. Cutting-edge technology and exceptional engineering that the Europeans bring to their car-making
2. Generally superior driving dynamics over the Japanese
2. Better overall build quality with an almost uncompromising approach and attitude to safety
2. Generally speaking, an understated elegance in the way they go about styling their cars. I'm not a big fan of 'quirkiness' in design that the Japanese/Koreans frequently tend to demonstrate.

This is not to say that the Japs (or the others) disregard all the above, its just they've traditionally been more reliability/efficiency driven. That is their focus area - get the most out of that gallon of gasoline.

[acurafan]

I picked Japanese cars over European cars but not based on Indian market but due to my decade long overseas experience. In India Japs fight a losing battle vs VW, MB and BMW. The most luxorious/technological advanced car from the Jap fleet is Honda Accord or Toyota Camry which are utility vehicle else where. What chance do they have compared to say Merc C Class or BMW 3 Series lite or Skoda Superb ? Yes they are reliable but they are boring too. Unless we see the entry level Acura, Lexus or Infiniti Japanese will always have the reliability and FE to play for.
Japs fight quite a mean battle in North America with their Luxury lines. Honda with Acura, Toyota with Lexus and Nissan with Infiniti. All three bring quite a lot of fire power in every segment with their refined dynamics, electronics gizmos and stellar reliability. I used to drive Acura TSX, it used to handle like a dream, had all the bells and whistles and never failed me. When I sold my car at 130K miles, it had its original front break, clutch was as good as new and the major expense I suffered in six years was to replace my tires after 50k and 100K miles. These are height of engineering excellence that can't be overlooked. Compare that with my friend's VW Passat that had electrical problems from second year on, BMW convertible whose plastic parts were flaky and super expensive and a dud i-Drive system controller vs Acura's/Lexus' voice recognition based system control. They were so pissed with their cars that inspite of being major European car fanboy they advised people to buy Japanese.
Also during my test drives I found Infiniti G37 as good or better handler than 328i or Audi A4. After driving more than 100K miles on a monster of a road called Hwy 17 in California for six years everyday, I somewhat can appreciate the driving capabilities of the cars. I remember the two cars that regularly used to fly past me during my evening drive back to the mountain was a Tesla and a Lotus :-)
So at least one European car I used to envy !!

[Equus]

Originally Posted by Tats07

Well, I voted for European. However, I must mention that I have preference for petrol in the segment that I can afford now (i.e. C2); so going by that, I'd still prefer a Honda City over a Vento/Rapid. If I move up a segment or two, it will be European, i.e. Laura TSI over Civic, or Passat over Accord.

Ditto for me! Plus 2 segments higher as well would be Japanese. High end would certainly be European.

Japanese for < 25L and Tata/Audi/Volvo for > 25L
Read Tata as JLR. Offcourse you knew that!

[nilambuj]

Originally Posted by Equus

Ditto for me! Plus 2 segments higher as well would be Japanese. High end would certainly be European.

Japanese for < 25L and Tata/Audi/Volvo for > 25L
Read Tata as JLR. Offcourse you knew that!

Make that three!!! I chose Japanese because of the fuss free ownership.

I will break it up further to put this way:

>8L: Maruti, Toyota, Honda
8-25: Honda, Toyota
25+: BMW, Audi, Merc.

[nkg77]

My vote goes for European. They are much better built, better engineered and safe. For long distance they give the best ride, now that the Diesel technology has improved the fuel efficiency is also at par with the Japanese counterparts.

[S2!!!]

I'd pick a Japanese car any day.

Apart from the reliability factor, I would like to add that the Japanese cars are generally lighter and thus have a better power-to-weight ratio while being more fuel efficient than its European counter-parts.

Secondly, the indicator and wiper controls are focussed for a right hand drive car in the Jap vehicles which is an irritant if otherwise.

Thirdly, the Jap cars are way more spacious and have either a small or no transmission tunnel and thus are more accommodating for a fifth passenger.

Lastly, the Japs provide more features/ equipment for your money whereas the Germans focus more on safety than features.

[noopster]

I have one of each: a 2006 Swift and a 2011 Vento. The Euro has done well so far- time for it's 2nd service coming up & by and large both cars have been trouble-free.

But when I graduate to the luxe segment, am pretty sure it would in a Japanese car (Honda/Toyota) since the peace of mind element becomes very important. Can't say any of the Europeans inspire confidence with their reliability records!

[Meer]

I voted for Japanese and that is my choice both in Indian as well as global context. The global context is very well highlighted by acurafan in his earlier post. In Indian context, even though the European cars are aspirational to own, no doubt, the after sales costs makes me wonder whether it is all worth it (its my personal view only). As of now, I would prefer a hassle free Fortuner over any other Euro sedan / SUV around that price point.

[bullet-tooth]

I would any day pick European Cars. Because for me a great car is how it appeals to my heart. The European cars have always been the pioneers in safety and luxury. Even though the Japanese cars are known for their reliability, the European cars have a character. It will turn into a member of your family rather than a big size toy. Even to look at the European cars are the most appealing. In India Japanese cars may be the favourite due to the "Mileage" factor but European cars are the overall winners.

[vb-saan]

For a small car my pick will be European. When I say small car it covers from hatchbacks to the upper layer of C+ segment.
The main reason is that I keep safety / build quality as the top parameter in my VFM consideration.
When it comes to the luxury segment, I will think Japanese may make more sense – comparable on safety and equipment and easy on wallet when it comes to maintenance. For e.g.; given a choice, I will choose a Lexus over a Mercedes.

[sourabhzen]

it is a very interesting poll. We have almost equal number of supporters fro Japanese and European Cars.

Does this suggest that choices are being made due to availability of service centres in your locality?

[nurni76]

I have so far stuck with Japanese purely from efficiency, reliability and price perspectives. But my next car is definitely going to be from the European stable

[gemithomas]

I think majority of us correlate the Japanese to the old Maruti 800 and Alto and that gives us a feeling of reliability and low maintenance cost. Well those were stripped down versions of cars and had very little technology / equipment that could go wrong or cost a lot to repair.
Just to bust the cost / reliability factor here are a few of my personal examples.

• My Cousin changed the timing belt of his santro and the labour cost was Rs.900. The same thing cost him Rs.1600 for his M 800!!
• My Ford Figo gets a service [till now 60K] at around Rs.3.5K. Almost all swift owners report close to 5K for each service.
• I personally know of a M 800 with a broken timing belt at 40K and 4 years.
• Have seen a few die hard Jap fans going gaga over euro counterparts after they have owned one for real.

Here is what i think.

• Jap cars do the job.
• Euro cars do it neatly.
• And nothing comes for free.

There will always be takers for both since humans have unique needs.

I love to drive. I somehow never liked the Jap cars i drove.