[drmohitg]

Absolutely. But I can attribute this to a lot of things:
1. The ever increasing traffic.
2. Increasing fuel prices.
3. Tight parking spots.
4. Increasing base prices of cars where hatchbacks and sub 4m crossovers cost 12-13L OTR now.
5. Rules like the 10 year diesel ban.
6. Increased safety, comfort features and choices in the hatchback and crossover segment.

None of this means that the aspirational value of a luxury car is any less today. But all the features above combined, the balance gradually turns out in favour of the hatchbacks and crossovers.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Best of both worlds ain't it?

I see 3 deciding factors:

1) Vitamin M to buy and maintain the 2nd vehicle.
2) Usage
And the big one 3) Parking - As a TeamBHP signature read 'Car is no longer a luxury, parking space is'

More often than not, 2 and 3 are much bigger factors than they seem.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Personally, I have never found the need of a big car.

Of course, my dad drives a Ciaz. We had a Manza before the Ciaz. By the Indian mentality, my mom wanted something in the Jetta Corolla range.

We looked at stuff right from Baleno, Jazz right upto the Octavia including the SUVs XUV, Safari, duster.

Eventually we sat down and had a hard look at our requirement and settled on the Ciaz. My dad was sold on the Baleno, however mom refused to call it our car if we went ahead with it.

[am1m]

I would LOVE to have smaller (but fully-loaded) options to choose from.

Heck, we're ready for a 2-seater!

90% of the time our car is single-person driven in the city; my wife takes it to work, while I prefer the bike. Occasionally, we take some highway trips, and even then it's just the 2 of us with minimum luggage. We rarely have a friend/family member or two as passengers; less than 1% of the time, I'd guesstimate. And that's the way things are going to be for the foreseeable future. So I'd love to have a smaller option with all safety features to choose from.

But yeah, market trends, growing families, the status associated with a 'big car' in our society will not make it a profitable option for any manufacturer. And even if they do come out with a model or two, they will certainly be overpriced because they will be sold as novelties.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Ditto here. Civic to BR-V/A-star and no regrets.

Really? The Civic was the first car that came to my mind when replying on this thread. It would be very hard for me to move from my Civic to a lower segment car. That car had amazing quality - the Honda of yesterday. Excellent build, superbly put together interiors.

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Yes. The Polo GTI - the car that you can have the most fun on Indian roads.

Hahaha! Well caught. But I was talking more in terms of the mass market - like 10 - 12 lakhs or so. The Polo GTI was priced comparably to the larger cars coming with 1.8 TSIs.

Originally Posted by am1m

Heck, we're ready for a 2-seater!

Time to start saving for that Mini Cooper S you've been dreaming about .

[locusjag]

Having voted for 'No - Size does matter', I feel queasy about it.

My extended family has only grown in size and yesterday's kids are adults today. We can no longer squeeze ourselves into hatchbacks when making trips to amusement parks or to the beach within the city.

Having said that, there is simply no more space in my city (and in any tier 1 city in India, it's safe to add). In a recent weekend trip with the family to a beach in South Chennai, I remember a traffic pile-up from which even two-wheelers couldn't extricate themselves for an hour.

Hence, my current choice of a sub-4m vehicle which is also an occasional 7 seater - the TUV 3OO. It has the same footprint as a Honda Jazz, nearly the same turning radius of a Honda Jazz and a short-range carrying capacity of an Innova (with no claims being made of the two being the same, not at all). This is a vehicle which will hold good for few more years by when owning any vehicle in the city looks set to become a bane.

The poll could have had a choice for 'Yes and No - size matters but it's also a curse in the city', and that's what I should have voted for!

[vb-saan]

Downsizing due to the increasing traffic, lack of parking space, fuel efficiency is one part; the other aspect I can see is cars are growing by each generation update. One of my friends who used to drive a Civic for close to 10 years decided not to go for the latest Civic – it got too big. She eventually went for a Mazda 3 which according to her is the right size and also provides the driving experience and agility which her old Civic used to provide.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Ditto here. Civic to BR-V/A-star and no regrets.

Originally Posted by GTO

Really? The Civic was the first car that came to my mind when replying on this thread. It would be very hard for me to move from my Civic to a lower segment car. That car had amazing quality - the Honda of yesterday. Excellent build, superbly put together interiors.

I downgraded from Civic to Ecosport because of Bangalore traffic. It did help a bit, and helped my ailing back too. I never thought I'd be able to live inside a cabin without that high-mounted digital speedo, but I did move on.

Now, I no longer live in Bangalore and has upgraded to a Compass, But I still miss the Civic. Easily, the best car I have owned.

I don't think I'd be able to handle another downgrade, but then who knows.

[aviral2122]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hahaha! Well caught. But I was talking more in terms of the mass market - like 10 - 12 lakhs or so. The Polo GTI was priced comparably to the larger cars coming with 1.8 TSIs.

By downsizing we don't necessarily mean less money or less expensive. As the incomes increase there sure is the propensity to spend more one way or the other.

Also a few years ago the trend was to score biggest car possible, now it doesn't hold true to that weightage anymore. We can see numerous counts of people downsized to smaller cars (mostly because of practicality??)

I am not sure if the poll has even been held before for such a topic but if it had been held say even 7-8 years back the votes for bigger car would have been substantially more.

I for one am not against anyone who chooses to buy big/small car but yes sometimes when people do tend to get big cars in wrong places like narrow roads, market areas, i do tend to frustrate a bit because these large SUVs do not tend to maneuver easily sometimes causing unnecessary chaos and jams.

I bought the topic up for discussion because it surely did "feel' like that there was a shift in tendency.

Off topic: Unlike other forums (auto/non-auto) where the simplest of contradictions flare into ego wars, we bhpians are always ready to learn, don't mind being corrected, and despite getting envious at some of the ownership's, always wish well of everyone.

[Dani7766]

I'm not sure how the industry would react. But personally I've started liking hatchbacks more. I own Jetta and S cross. I feel even Jetta to be big in the city. I wish the turning radius of S cross to be slightly more, otherwise it's easier to drive given the dimensions. If I had to upgrade, I would do a lateral upgrade to say a mini cooper. It's small, suits my requirement. I mostly drive alone, sometimes with my wife. Also me, my wife, my dad work at different places, so have to take different cars. Very rarely we get to go in the same car. A mini would be fast and easy to handle.

[bansal.sushant]

We only have sedans in my garage. I love them.
But 85% of the time they are driven alone, 10% with 2 and only 5% with 4 people. I don't think I have ever fully used the boot space they provide. Add to this the ever increasing traffic and troubles of finding parking in markets, I have decided that our next car will either be a hatchback or a sub-4m sedan.

[heydj]

For city driving we should downsize as its better for parking, maneuverability etc.

For highways rent a SUV, instead of suffering with the big car in city.

My idle small city car - Diesel hatchback with DSG and German build quality under 7L OTR.

Unfortunately these expectations are not met hence when people have to spend lots of money then the thinking starts why not get bigger car in same budget.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by GTO

Really? The Civic was the first car that came to my mind when replying on this thread. It would be very hard for me to move from my Civic to a lower segment car. That car had amazing quality - the Honda of yesterday. Excellent build, superbly put together interiors.

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I downgraded from Civic to Ecosport because of Bangalore traffic. It did help a bit, and helped my ailing back too.

OK perhaps there are some regrets, but advantages of down-grading/sizing outweigh disadvantages.

Advantage Civic (over BRV AT):

- Build quality inside and out & interior quality
- Steering feel, feedback and weight.
- Ride quality
- Refinement (road noise, tyre noise, engine noise etc)

Neutral characteristics (where BRV AT is indistinguishable from Civic):

- Steering sharpness
- Acceleration, overtaking & overall sprightliness (On paper, there is a 2 or 3 second difference in 0 to 100 kph sprint but automatic transmission in BRV changes "gears" at the right time. Civic MT acceleration mostly depends on how good I am at that time)
- Handling and ability to change direction quickly (Sure, BRV understeers early - but I no longer drive at the edge, thanks to kids or elders on board)

Advantage BRV AT (over Civic MT):

- City driving a breeze. Highway drives are less tiring.
- Better safety with respect to kids when 4 adults are travelling. Also, Civic had airbag inflator issues. Although it was changed at the dealership, I no longer had confidence in it.
- Much better seating position. No backaches (as Civic-sense mentioned) on long drives.
- Suspension does not bottom out on bad roads. No scraping either.
- Sheer practicality of (3 row seating + large boot) for transporting goods (occasionally) and passengers
- More features.

However, I have to admit that I down-graded/sized only because of TINA factor. Hexa/Innova/XUV500 AT were not available yet.

[noopster]

I voted Yes. Given that our urban sprawls ain't gonna decongest themselves overnight, there need to be smarter options of getting to work in comfort. While we hope and pray that the metro hits our city, the next best option would logically be to opt for a fully loaded compact car that doesn't need to be babied through monster traffic jams.

I've been out of touch with the hatchback market of late but it would be interesting if there was an agile little car with all the creature comforts that cars 2-3 segments above it offer. If it weathers dings and scratches fairly easily and has a decent automatic transmission, I would go flying to the showroom to add it to my garage.

It turns the concept of a second car on its head, neatly. Daily driver is the compact hatch and weekend/holiday car is the luxo-barge or 4x4.

[AMG Power]

There is a natural ending to Upsizing - a thread is not required to find that out.

Most folks on team BHP are just moving from C to D segment which is the last level for enthusiasts.

The next larger size is the E segment which are not drivers cars. (Minor exceptions apart)

So after buying a D segment car you have to stick to the same segment or go one level lower or give up on driving pleasure.

That will force the limit on the upsizing decision on you.

Unless... you fancy going to office in an excavator.