[androdev]

I sometimes wonder about the lack of high end feature in budget cars. I was hopeful that a lot of these features would trickle down to Honda City level cars by 2017. Other than some DRL nonsense I hardly notice much improvement in the creature comforts.

Some features I can think of:
Good quality Android/iOS based head unit
Heads up display
360-degree camera
Fancy ambient lighting
Ventilated seats
Panoramic sun roof

I am referring to creature comforts which:
Are relatively cheap and progressed from R&D to made-in-china category
Do not depend on local regulations or traffic/road conditions

Is it an issue of cost or is it a deliberate effort to limit these features to their expensive models?

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by androdev

I sometimes wonder about the lack of high end feature in budget cars.
Some features I can think of:
Good quality Android/iOS based head unit
Heads up display
360-degree camera
Fancy ambient lighting
Ventilated seats
Panoramic sun roof

Is it an issue of cost or is it a deliberate effort to limit these features to their expensive models?

Thought provoking question.

It is I think a mix of cost + keep some thing for the high end buyer and the, presumably, wider margins on those cars + unwillingness of budget car customer to pay for the maintenance of these extra features. On the other hand in all fairness to the car manufacturers the quality of cars, materials and features have all improved significantly in 20 years while price in inflation adjusted terms has declined. It is an industry with rather tight margins after all not in line (in India at least) with the business risks.

The features in a Cielo or Astra of 1996 when they were introduced can be found in one and a half segments lower today. The Cielo & Astra were the top end of the Indian market then.

[hserus]

Smaller bells and whistles like keyless entry and push button start have made their way into the cheaper cars as well. Kwid for example has a touchscreen HU as do some others. It’s a small trickle now but got to see over the next few years.

[Turbanator]

Good Queries will try to answer

quality Android/iOS based head unit

You may be surprised but I can think of many budget cars ( comparable or less than City) from Maruti equipped with Carplay as against limited Luxury cars, none from BMW, only a few from MB.

Heads up display

Too expensive, even the windshield glass has to be different and only a few models from luxury makers come equipped. Again, none of flagship 7 series or S class CKD range comes equipped with HUD. Some of other model series from M variants are equipped though.

360-degree camera

Mostly due to costs but I think front and rear cameras are standard on many.

Fancy ambient lighting

Again, present on many, new Verna is an example and if I am not mistaken even Baleno and new Dezire.

Ventilated seats

Well, even S class CKD range does not come equipped nor does anything apart from M+ or Signature 7 from BMW but surprisingly Verna has on higher variants.

Panoramic sunroof.

Perhaps due to the size of the small cars, costs and restrictions due to the overall rigidity of chassis but again, we have started seeing Sun/Moonroof like. in WRV and it's one of the reasons for its success.

So yes, some of the features do make a compelling point but sadly not even standard even on most of the luxury cars we get in India. But I a sure we will start seeing these features faster in small- medium segment faster given the competition and India as a manufacturing hub for these cars. So you can surely expect better days ahead.

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by androdev

Is it an issue of cost or is it a deliberate effort to limit these features to their expensive models?

Thinking back to the 1985 Maruti 800, which didn't have stereo, radio or AC to a 2013 Alto K10 which had CD player, USB player, AC, driver side airbag etc.

Or even paddle shifters which was once found only in F1/performance cars are now available in ~10 lakh INR cars.

The trickle of features to lower segment cars always happens. It is just a question of adoption as and when the technology becomes affordable.

PS: Your handle suggests you are an android developer. Possibly a blue ocean market for affordable android based head units exists?

[GTO]

Jeremy Clarkson had once said "What you see in the S-Class today is what you'll get in cheap cars tomorrow". That's certainly true to an extent.

Airbags, ABS, Touchscreen head-units, sunroofs, reversing cameras etc. all made their debut on super expensive cars, but are now available on 10 lakh cars (and below). But then, that's the same for any piece of technology, isn't it? Cellphones were once the toys of only Wall Street CEOs & millionaires. Today, even your carpenter has one.

Android Auto & Apple CarPlay: It's amazing how many mass market cars offer this incredibly useful integration (e.g. Baleno), but so many 50-lakh cars don't.

With reference to some features never making it, well, there's not enough demand to justify the cost. E.g. ventilated seats - nice to have, but a powerful air-con will suffice for 99% of the car owners out there.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by GTO

With reference to some features never making it, well, there's not enough demand to justify the cost. E.g. ventilated seats - nice to have, but a powerful air-con will suffice for 99% of the car owners out there.

So which of the addons make sense in an Indian context?

eg: Ventilated seats would be nice - a chiller aircon would be even better.

But a Sunroof? In 45 degree Delhi summer weather or a Mumbai monsoon? Who wants that sort of thing, except some people who will make their kids stand on the back seat and stick their head out of the roof?

Similarly - what other accessories make best sense in an Indian context?

Absolutely no one will make any fuss if they get a nicer HU with more features (at least bluetooth, touch screen if not android auto / carplay) - anything is better than the bare bones 1 or 2 DIN HUs that entry level cars get fitted with, that only have USB and AUX inputs.

Or a better grade of plastics.

Or a small lidded compartment where you can put toll receipts and loose change without having it blow out when you open a window.

Or rear demisters - always useful even in sunny cities when there's light rain or early morning dew.

Alloys as default? Again nice to have, but expensive.

A spare tyre that is the same size as the standard tyres fitted on the car? My car has a 175x65r14 spare on a steel rim, while the stock tyres are 195x55r15 with alloys. And once I traded the spare in for a 195x55r15 tyre and an alloy, I found that the wheel well in the boot was 175 tyre sized :( I wonder why they didn't make the well as big as the larger tyre, seeing that if I deployed the spare, I'd still have to put the old tyre back in its place. What a strange way to pinch pennies.

What else?

[petroguzzler]

Originally Posted by GTO

With reference to some features never making it, well, there's not enough demand to justify the cost.

Like the heads up display. While it's fine in an M5 that's tearing down an autobahn, it makes little or no sense in an economic hatch/suv/sedan that mostly does 5kmph in traffic.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by androdev

Some features I can think of:

For luxury car features to trickle down to mass market cars, it needs to be

1) Not very expensive
2) Visible and marketable
3) Practical


Good quality Android/iOS based head unit: Very likely to be standard is most cars above Rs. 8 Lakhs in 1-2 years time

Heads up display: Not marketable to a non-enthusiast.

360-degree camera: Needs expensive cameras, but I'd give it 3 years to trickle into most cars.

Fancy ambient lighting: Already there in Innova Crysta, XUV500 etc.

Ventilated seats: Not very marketable.

Panoramic sun roof: Big hole on the roof means the car's roof structure needs to be made strong and rigid, and hence expensive.

[abhishek46]

Rather than these fancy features, I would like budget cars to be better build, so that they fare better in accidents.
I would prefer Traction Control, Electronic Stability Programs, Collision avoidance etc over Sunroofs & ventilated seats.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Rather than these fancy features, I would like budget cars to be better build, so that they fare better in accidents.
I would prefer Traction Control, Electronic Stability Programs, Collision avoidance etc over Sunroofs & ventilated seats.

Airbags and ABS are mandatory from 10/2018 so hopefully some of the other things like Traction Control will also be bundled.

[Motard_Blr]

While the obvious features discussed so far have indeed trickled down to cheaper cars, many unseen features and characteristics have also trickled down, thereby contributing to greatly improved cars. Here is what I can think of, off the top of my head:

- Improved NVH
- Power assisted steering
- Disc brakes
- Booster-assisted brakes
- Power windows
- Automatic transmissions
- Better paint finish and quality
- Better corrosion protection
- Radial tyres!
- Synthetic engine oil
- Longer engine life
- Timing chains instead of timing belts
- HID and LED headlamps
- Collision avoidance devices (not yet in India but common in Europe)
- Collision safety (protection during a crash)

[ashis89]

I have a different take on this situation.

A lot of luxury features are slowing trickling down to regular cars. I can remember touchscreen HUs, KESS systems, sunroofs, LED lighting and a lot more. This makes our regular cars very attractive and also makes them obsolete as soon as the next model is launched (the premium car OEMs have been doing since a long time).

Advancement in technology and economies of scale have brought down the cost of such features. But they are not at all as cheap as the features they are replacing in our regular cars. For example: a single halogen headlamp vs. a projector vs. LED headlamp or, a regular single din HU with good performance vs. an Android touch HU. And mind you, these newer features are complex and difficult to repair, better to replace systems.

So what happens when such features trickle into our regular cars? A Honda City which used to cost 10L earlier, is priced at 15L or more. And to keep the prices from touching 17L, Honda has to cut down on quality (interior plastic, sheet metal, etc) and on basic features (wheel liners, boot damping material, etc).

As long as we have warranty, we are good. How cheap would it be to replace the LED headlight of a City ZX, once the warranty is over? Or SmartPlay unit of a Maruti? Or the HK HU unit in a Hexa?

Also more of these electronics make your car more vulnerable or less serviceable? What happens when water enters your top end Baleno or i20 vs. your 10 yr old Swift/Alto? The electronics exposed to water might render the Baleno useless while your Swift might recover on its own after left standing in the sun for a couple of days.
On a long trip, the bulb of your old City is fused, you buy a spare bulb, replace and continue with the journey. What happens if the LEDs of your new City malfunction?

My major complain is the lack of customization options (which, I know, is near impossible to implement in mass market cars). I would like to buy the top end Nexon but I don't want the KESS system or touchscreen HU or even the projector headlamps.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

As mentioned by few members, many features, which were earlier offered only in high end cars have trickled down to the budget cars. This was due to competition to attract / retain buyers.

Some features are not provided on budget cars for cost, for product differentiation and as V.Narayan has said, for expensive maintenance / replacement that can hurt the owner's mind.

Even in the luxury cars, I have seen the owners avoiding / postponing replacement of faulty expensive features. The corporate cars generally get the repairs / replacements in time but that is not the case with all individually owned cars of non-salaried buyers.

What amuses me is the effect of product differentiation on the the lower end models of few luxury brands (e.g. Merc A class). These models are denied few features that are present in cars one or two segments below.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by androdev

I sometimes wonder about the lack of high end feature in budget cars. I was hopeful that a lot of these features would trickle down to Honda City level cars by 2017. ?

Isn't also a case of a contradiction in terms. By definition I would think a 'budget' car would have fewer features then a luxury or a high end car.

But as several members point out, it's just a matter of town for most features to end up in just about any car.

We have owned, over the years, every version of the Ford Fiesta. If you compare the original Fiesta with the current model on sale you would be surprised what is kitted out as standard these days. Still, it did take several decades!

Jeroen