[hubolt]

Most of the 'shooters' in the car magazine shootouts don't know what an engine block is , or whether a 6 cylinder is a brake or engine description, you can make out from the episodes , that they have learnt automobiles on the job and have improved over the years, sometimes there is also a sense of bias.
So it's best you trust your own judgement and forums like this and others.
But finally, most of the people on this forum are anyway fairly auto savvy. So our approach may be quite different from people who depend on the magazine or go by the sales numbers and market demand .

And for those who do that way, it anyway doesn't matter as long as they are happy and didn't go too far off the mark.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by smartcat

After months of flip flops, my uncle finally booked a car. Now these are the cars he checked out

Interesting speculation on human behaviour! And its quite true, since I've come across quite a few people who are laid back about the type of car they want to change to - the one thing they are firm on is the budget. Thereafter they will meander around across segments till something catches their eye.

I too have the budget very firmly in sight but I know pretty well the target vehicle (in my case either a pre-owned Scorpio - my present car is a 12-yr old Scorpio - or a new TUV) that I am looking for - a body on frame SUV, which conforms to the current practices in the segment. Of course, the budget is the final arbiter!

As for the shoot-outs & comparos.......as someone has already mentioned they are basically for the birds & are usually just fillers because the publication has a content shortfall! Though I know that many folks (as I've mentioned earlier) take these more seriously & will pour over them earnestly. As for the hacks who compile these lovely confections, I'll be generous and say that they should perhaps take up another profession!

[AYP]

With the plethora of choices that we have, especially in the sub-10 lakh segment, cross-shopping between segments is almost inevitable. Someone looking to spend around Rs.5 lakhs on a car will consider the Alto k10, the Kwid 1.0 as well as the mid variants of the Tiago. Similarly, a person looking to spend around Rs. 8 lakhs can either go for the top-end B2 segment hatch or the mid-variant of premium hatches. He might even be tempted by the base variants of the C2 segment sedans. Not to forget the sub-4m SUV's.

It is only when you move up to higher segments that cross-shopping takes place less and less due to wider price difference between the segments as you move up the ladder. However, with the arrival of the cars like the Creta and the soon to be launched Tucson, the cross shopping will take place even in the D1 and the D2 segments, where people might go for an SUV from a lower segment.

When we were looking for a new car last year, our budget was a wide one at 15-18 lakh rupees and accordingly we were considering the top variants of the C2 segment cars like the Verna, the City and the Creta along with the mid variants of the D1 segment cars. The Creta being the serious candidate from its segment. This is in stark contrast to the time when we got the Fiesta petrol back in 2007. The only car we considered other than the cars in the C2 segment was the Renault Logan in the diesel avatar. The manufacturers have really flooded our market with choices since the end of the last decade.

[Swarit19]

As someone who is about to buy his first car I have so far checked out :

Baleno 1.2 Zeta
Polo 1.2 Comfortline MPi
Ciaz (Only checked out because mum liked the big car feel. No chance of buying it as my head brushes off against the ceiling in the front and the back)
Celerio ZXI AMT
Ford Figo 1.5 TDCi
Ford Figo 1.2
Elite i20 1.2 VTVT
Swift 1.2 ZXI
Honda Jazz 1.2 SV
Tata Tiago (No plan on going further with it but it seems like a decent car for the price)

Mum commented yesterday that soon all dealerships will be calling each other warning them of a guy who only comes for a test drive and leaves .

Jokes aside, buying your first car is such a hard task when so many good options are in your range so I definitely did not think twice about checking out different segment cars. Main things I was looking for were ABS & Airbags in the variant in budget. Cars without it were dropped right away and it didn't matter much which segment they were from because of that reason.

[motorworks]

Although we seem to have some exceptions in people going out and buying cars way above their initial budget, I think it's a cost slab that comes first for most. I mean the lines are blurring between segments now in terms of pricing. You will find a B+ segment hatch like i20, a CUV like Ecosport, a CS sedan and the entry level variant of a D segment sedan all at almost the same price. I have had many people close to me contemplating between a Top end hatch and a CS sedan and likewise CUV and a D segment sedan.

Unfortunately or fortunately when I was buying my car in 2012, I hardly had any options. There were no CUVs like ecosport way back then. It was a straight shoot between the D segment sedans. Sunny vs Ford fiesta (old and new) vs Verna vs Vento vs the Rapid. The rapid came out as the clear winner ( at least to me) and I ended up picking up one with no second thoughts. Even today, after experiencing the likes
of the so called CUVs and better Quality CS sedans and even other Cross overs like S cross, I can safely vouch that a proper D segment sedan is a much better all rounder for most reasons.

[Engine_Roars]

When I was looking for a new car, my first car, I started off with a budget of 5-6 lacs and a hatchback in my mind and an SUV in my dreams, after test driving number of hatchbacks, I ended up buying a compact sedan(Hyundai Xcent) overshooting my budget by 1.5 lacs. No regrets though, I am happy with this decision because family's comfort & boot capacity was a priority over driving pleasure!!

[IshaanIan]

I would generally pick the segment and then choose a car. But back in 2012, I booked a top-end Swift in Blue after testing out most of the D segment and finding nothing too impressive save for the 3 series and S60 T6 which were both too expensive and the T6 variant of the Volvo had been discontinued for a while back then with no revival in sight. Waiting period for the Swift was 6 months but then I remembered that a buddy of mine in school, owned the dealership so gave him a ring and went there to meet with the manager to get a revised date for delivery, when I saw the MD drive up to the dealership in a Kizashi. I requested a TD, they let me drive his car since there were no TD cars available. 10 minutes and a call to Dad later, I cancelled the Swift and booked the Kizashi (a friend and member had helped me hugely in the bargaining process so it was not as instant as it may seem in my post) I guess sometimes it doesn't really matter which segment it is. When a car rolls up next to you and tugs at your heart strings, you scrape up whatever cash you can, and go for it. At the end of the day they are just such captivating machines you cannot make decisions only with your head. Some cars are bought for a specific purpose and that's understandable others are bought just for the sheer pleasure in which case money is the only factor, and you don't get to call the shots, the budget is literally whatever you can afford

[glenmz]

Yes! Yes! Been there, done that. Twice.
My first car, I considered A swift petrol, Palio Multijet Diesel and eventually bought a Wagon R from true value.

For my second car, Options were Swift VDi, VW Polo TDI Trendline and Figo TDCi Titanium. Options weren't much back in 2011 (Compact SUV's hadn't arrived).
A friend of mine who just got married added Fiesta into the mix. He convinced me that the requirements would change after a status change. Yours truly was single back then.

Swift had a huge waiting time, so it was Figo and Polo. VW's service issues were a concern. So did a back to back TD of Figo and Fiesta, picked the Fiesta.
Fiesta pulled the right strings in the looks and practicality department as well.
Oh! I started with a budget of 5.5 Lac, ended up with 7.5. To offset the financial burden, went in for a 7 year SBI loan (though I closed that in about 3 years). If I set out to buy a car now, safety features would be menu.

[avisidhu]

Experience too plays a big part in such decision making. Those who have extensively driven cars across segments are inevitably oriented towards a segment and ensuring they stick to the same. Around 6-7 years back and with not much experience, the City and Innova were our final contenders for purchase. The only reason Innova got pushed out because we felt there'd be no need for a 7 seater.

But now my thought process would be different and I'd probably would have picked the City again, but the chief reason being I now know that a sedan suits my needs better. And if you throw an SUV in the mix, I know for certain I would stay away. But a lot of people with 12-13L budget go sit in an SUV, are mighty impressed by space and other things. Someone with experience and knowledge of his needs might not do so. Of course it could be the opposite scenario as well.

[PetrolRider]

In my opinion, car segmentation based choice would be more specific to people having multiple cars available to them may be through ownership or by means of extended families. But a person due to any reason who prefers to have only one car to his disposal may have a segment based choice to the bottom of the list. At least this is true to me.
For me the top of list would be what I want. And from those wants I would rather prioritize. A segment or make or model may be the last thing, once the priorities are sorted out.
When I picked up my car, I was staying away from my native and open to any location based on a better career or living, and for a family of 2 at that time, I would not want to expose all my saving to a pretty BIG car. I rather settled for a car in B segment micra petrol, which was easy to park, easy to drive in Bangalore traffic, easy on maintenance, also have enough space to carry the luggage of my parents from airport and readily available.
So when my dad replaced his wagon R, he had no budget constraints and rather interest for a C segment sedan (sunny or a city), but settled for a B segment hatch, because limited parking place available in our garage and also he thought of the number of years he could able to drive. Hence he took the largest available hatch (sail UVA) to carry all of his children’ luggage from airport which is more comfortable for his driving posture and also fit in a 3.95 fit long garage.

[Self Driven]

I have owned
Alto
i10
Ford Classic
Ford Fiesta
Ford Ecosport

Budget is the most important factor for me every time and the same question I ask those who come to me for suggestion - so cross shopping

Expectation Like Power, Fuel Efficiency, style the list goes on comes next - so cross shopping

Fuel based on the usage. I can stretch only between the two fuel types in terms of budget - NA

The above has been helping me and people around me a lot.

[Zappo]

I think this cross segment shopping happens more often when more than 1 decision maker is involved in the buying process. About a year or more back I was looking to pick up a vehicle within a fixed budget (ceiling was fixed). The stated objective of course was that the wifey will drive this one. We recently got rid of our trusted old hatch which she was driving till then. Now, since I already have an XUV I was keen on getting a nice, swanky sedan this time around. And there were quite a number of good choices available. However, as it turned out wifey had a different idea. She suddenly declared that she wont have anything but an SUV. I was flabbergasted.

In the next few days and weeks tried to explain to her that we already have one, so lets look at something different. Made her sit in an Elantra, a Fluence even a Ciaz. But no! Ma'm refused to toe the line. Her curt reply was why don't you replace your XUV with a sedan? So ultimately I ended up with a Duster AWD. So there... I started with a Sedan and ended up with another SUV... because there was 1 more decision maker involved in the process.

[GTO]

Don't blame the customer! The lines between different product segments are indeed getting blurred .

Hatchbacks now offer as much space / power / equipment as sedans, SUVs have started driving & feeling like normal cars (other than ground clearance) and MPVs can give a tough fight to 35 lakh SUVs (Innova Crysta). Why wouldn't a customer cross-shop between the Hyundai Creta & Honda City? Other than the added ground clearance, today's car-based SUVs are just like sedans, with some added style. Similarly, why must one not cross-shop between the EcoSport & Elite i20?

For 4 of the last 5 cars that I bought, I only had one model in mind. Luckily, I drive multiple new cars every month for Team-BHP and thus, it's easier to point out which cars I love and which I hate.

The single purchase that we cross-shopped across segments for was the Nissan Sunny. Hatchbacks, sedans & MPVs were all considered for the role of a family beater.

[livetodrive]

Its mainly budget which has driven me, with added concerns like requirement, mileage, size and...FUN !!

In 2005, when I bought my Santro the only contender was Zen. Being a novice and seeing the minimal requirement of reaching point B from point A, I zeroed down to Santro XP with a small budget of 3.5L.

In 2013, the budget was strict again, now Rs. 7.5 Lakhs and that easily filtered all the C2 segment cars. Test driven: Dzire, Ford Fiesta classic, Tata Manza. Settled to Dzire.

In 2016, the budget again rules the game..now 11 Lakhs, but the requirement is to drive something different, some adrenaline rush or something which gives me pleasure. So, test drove an Abarth, Scorpio and XUV 500 !! Abarth wins the race.

[samabhi]

I needed a 7 seater for the family and automatic was one of the criteria. My options were :

- Ertiga
- BR-V
- XUV500
- Innova Crysta

Havent considered other options either due to Service concerns or due to price or the quality of the product itself.

All the above cars had AT options too and zeroed in on the Innova Crysta manual variant intially and eventually picked up the GX AT variant.

If one looks at the price range of the above cars, it varied from 10L to 20L onroad, clearly cutting across multiple segments. Since my requirement is only 7 seater, I could filter down on the list very easily. But with a price range that wide, there are so many tempting options available in the market. Few cars that I did consider or took test drive included GT TSI, Ford Figo DCT, TUV 300 AMT, Baleno CVT, S-Cross, Brezza, EcoSport DCT and Creta. Had almost decided on EcoSport, but the need for 7 seater made me stick to my original decision.