[GTO]

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We've had related discussions earlier (example 1, 2 & 3), but a fresh dedicated thread is needed with so many new car options out there.

Would you sacrifice reliability for driving pleasure? Or will you forego 'driving feel' for that smile when your car performs flawlessly day after day? There's a certain charm in either situation, no doubt. Unfortunately though, whatever the segment, we have to make a conscious choice between the two. There are exceptions to the rule - S-Cross 1.6L, Liva 1.5L, Jetta 2.0 TDI or the Figo 1.5L Sports edition - but these are few & far between (or discontinued).

Think about it:

• The fast Polo GTs vs the all-rounded, fuss-free & high quality Elite i20? Or a Vento TSI / TDI vs the new Verna?
• Mahindra Thar - loads of character but niggles too, or the bullet-proof Gypsy that our Army depends on?
• The Octavia with its lusty TSI engines vs the "I will outlast you" Toyota Corolla?
• The Compass vs the Creta / Tucson? While the Jeep is fresh off the block, we can safely assume that the Hyundais will be the easier to own in the longer term.
• The Skoda Superb vs the "I will outlast your kids" Camry?
• Fiat's turbo-petrols vs Honda Citys? Would you buy an Abarth Punto, despite the flaws of the car & its maker?
• New 5-Series or the Lexus ES?
• Isn't its reputation for reliability & durability one of the (many) reasons that the Fortuner outsells the Endeavour 2 or 3 times over?
• Even if you loved the Safari, would you still buy it after hearing about all its niggles?
• Would you bring home the EcoSport for the way she drives, or prefer to stay within "Maruti's safe net" with the Vitara Brezza?
• No matter what the budget, people are having to make such choices everyday. Alto or Kwid? Ferrari or Porsche?

This discussion isn't necessarily about European vs Japanese cars either. The Tata Hexa is an awesome UV to ride in, but most people will happily pay a premium for the Innova Crysta for that peace-of-the-mind factor.

If the mass market were to vote on this poll, reliability would trump driving pleasure in a 9:1 ratio. Look at the best selling cars in their respective segments and you'll see the safe ones usually win. The market has made its choice. What about you?

My pick would be driving pleasure. As an example, I'd rather enjoy the car for 357 days of the year, having it off the road for about a week, than have a car that's with me for 363 days, but doesn't bring a grin on my face. That doesn't mean I'll touch an unreliable car - no way do I want to live with a headache!! Just that I'm willing to live with acceptable (not exceptional) levels of reliability if I get a lot of driving satisfaction in return. Both my primary rides work fine day after day, but they aren't exactly the last word in dependability. Equally, if I were buying a car for my family, reliability would be prioritised over joy behind the wheel (e.g. my Sunny - lovingly called the cockroach because it survives every kind of driver or situation).

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene!

[Reinhard]

My vote for driving pleasure. My ride in my signature may seem like a contradiction but no it isn't. The car is supremely comfortable and loaded with the bells and whistles that I wanted. As a bonus I got a superbly reliable one with 0 niggles.

As for the poll - I won't want an unreliable car at all of course. But then - I'd rather own a HEXA blindly rather than paying that joke of a premium price for an Innova for its reliability. I will mostly lose peace of mind thinking how much extra I paid for just a matter of chance of being stranded on the road or not while losing out on driving pleasure.

I'd buy the THAR any day. The Gypsy honestly in the guise that the Army is using is not suited for military use at all. It was way outdated & incompetent as the primary 4x4 vehicle for one of the world's largest standing armies. I think the government kept on buying it either blindly or for some totally different reasons.

Safari any day. I'd buy one even if N. Chandrasekharan or the great Ratan Tata himself advised me against. I'm ready to have permanent insomnia due to owning it but the moment I'm at the wheel - I'll never want to sleep at all.

But then, over an Abarth Punto - I'd buy a Honda city mostly. It gives driving pleasure in addition to good reliability. I think driving pleasure is not just speed. The Abarth Punto has some unforgivable ergonomic blunders and for me at 6'3" - ergonomic blunders are the ultimate punishment.

Octavia for its sheer looks!! drool...

I'd buy a Compass or an Endeavor over their contemporaries for their solid build. I don't mind if they breakdown a bit more over a Jap SUV.

And lastly - I'll buy a Mahindra Sarpanch tractor as my next SUV maybe but not a Brezza. A Maruti will never drive into my parking slot. Not even if they give one for free. . The cars are boring for the price + reliability is a myth.

[lamborghini]

For me - driving pleasure!

For my family - reliability and safety please!

If I can mix both - I would be more than happy (cue the S-Cross 1.6); but sadly the higher up the ladder we go, reliability takes a beating!

[Dr.Naren]

Driving pleasure vs Reliability??

It depends on how long I would keep the car. All the cars sold in India have at least 4 years warranty. If I am planning to keep the car for just 5 years.. It would be absolute driving pleasure over reliability

Also be it any car, you cannot comment on absolute reliability before you buy the car . But the driving pleasure is guaranteed : just take few test drives!!

[fiat_tarun]

While I've voted for driving pleasure, I do expect a certain level of reliability from the car I choose. For instance the Skoda DSG issues at one point of time were so bad, that it was most likely to fail on almost all cars ! I can deal with minor issues with my car and invest in spending that extra day at the service centre to sort it out, but absolute 'NO' to being stranded on the road.

Having said this, I think today's cars have achieved the minimum expected reliability levels and it's down to the niggles and smaller issues that are differentiators today.

Having 2 cars in the garage that fit into this category - Punto & Figo, I am more than satisfied with the reliability and overall ownership experience. Driving pleasure all the way

[Arjun Reddy]

Nice thread. You may want to just change the poll and remove the word absolute. There are probably no cars with absolute reliability.

I have had a 3 car garage for the last 12-13 years. So I would always want to have a Fun to drive car, a reliable car and a small car to run errands around the house. So this has been my combinations so far.

Maruti Esteem - Premier 137D

Ford Fiesta 1.6 - Swift - Premier 137D

Fluidic Elantra - Fiat Punto- Maruti 800
1.6 CRDI SX(O). 1.3 MJD Emotion.

C250d - Fiat Punto - Maruti 800

So my 2018 line up might look like,

C250d - Hyundai Tucson AWD - Maruti 800/ Kwid.

The good thing is that the Elantra and the Fiesta aren't sold but are with my brother now.

So I would want a great to drive weekend car (95% driven my me) and a reliable daily car( my diver will drive 90%) and the daily errand car that any one would use to run the errands.

If given no choice and if it had to be strictly one car, I would choose the one that would bring a smile for 11 months of the year. One month would be an Uber ��.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by GTO

My pick would be driving pleasure. As an example, I'd rather enjoy the car for 357 days of the year, having it off the road for about a week, than have a car that's with me for 363 days, but doesn't bring a grin on my face.

I believe it is not a simple choice between reliability or driving pleasure. With the cars which would remain one week off the road in a year, the problem, if I have to consider, is with service center experience. I don't mind owning a slightly unreliable car provided whenever I face an issue, the service center takes effort to identify the issue and fix the same.

The cars which are notorious, the service centers are simply there to replace all and sundry parts without even doing root cause analysis. This simply increases the costs by multiples and you are never sure if they even fixed the real problem.

My choice would be a reliable car.

[sharktale]

I would choose "Absolute reliability over driving pleasure".

Reasons :

1. I hardly venture out of the city for driving pleasure, as highways are a strict no-no in our family due to a bad accident of my relative which paralyzed him.

2. Owning a super-reliable Toyota Corolla Altis, and changing it for the Skoda Octavia TSI in 2016, I would vouch for the Corolla.

In my 7 year relationship with the Asian, the only thing that was changed were tyres and battery. In 1 year ownership of the Octavia, I have had to call roadside assistance twice for a discharged battery owning to activation of "Component Theft Protection" without anyone coming near the car (so to say...).
With the German, I sometimes dread whether the car will start or not. Plus the German cars are too-much electrically dependent, for which the only solution is to send to the ASS or use VCDS (something, I am disallowed to tweak by my father).

[romeomidhun]

Will vote for reliability over driving pleasure but that doesn't mean the latter is of no importance.

One thing is clear: a serious reliability issue in a drive can kill all the pleasures of that trip!

[Jaggu]

Having personally owned and maintained vehicles from both sides of the spectrum, i would still lean towards character over reliability. Yes it is a fact that there are reliable cars and brands out there, but very rarely they come out with models that can stir your senses. It is also another fact that if you maintain and take care of your vehicles well, they would be reasonably reliable also. Touch wood i have never faced a totally unexpected catastrophic failure from the so called unreliable models, they have always given some warning or the other to take notice off.

So in short i would say i am ok with the not so reliable ones with character, the satisfaction that you get day in day out Vs some minor niggles can be acceptable for me, especially since i love taking the issues also as challenge to fix lol Another trick is to have loads of warranty cover if you are jumping into those unreliable ones to keep the risk / expenses minimum and ideally move on once the cover is over.. no matter how reliable the vehicle has been till then.

[RAHS]

For me it depends on how much money I am spending on the car.
If it is under 20 Lakhs, I am ready to take that risk & I would choose driving pleasure over reliability. Example: Duster over Creta
If I had to spend 30+ Lakhs, I would blindly go with reliability over driving pleasure. Example: Fortuner over Endeavour.

[Eddy]

Chose reliability over driving pleasure. I drive within the city, I need my car daily (at least on weekdays) and I have only one car - this means reliability is paramount.

That said, if this was the deal -

; I'd still think about it. But the predictability of that one week downtime and the expenses to get it up and running are critical factors. Also important is technical know how to get the diagnosis and repairs right, which is not a strong point with me.

Also, non-reliability may not always result in downtime. It's damn irritating to drive around with a power window switch not working, or a headlamp conking off.

I play safe when it comes to machines - S-Cross 1.3 is testament to this fact. If given a choice, would buy Creta over Compass; Fortuner over Endeavour and City over Linea.

[M00M]

A combination of both.

Driving pleasure is a must but you cant enjoy your car if it is in the garage for half the days so thats why one has to go hand in hand with the other.

[BB311]

I would prefer a hybrid. I don't want the bulletproof reliability of a Toyota with Uncle Joe's boring driving. What I expect from my cars is a reasonable reliability, good driving pleasure, and most importantly responsive service centers. I don't want to haggle with the company over warranty claims. For me, driving pleasure has a lot to do with the build quality and safety too. I don't want to burn rubber sitting in a tin can.