[gauravanekar]

Originally Posted by ron_9191

A smaller car is the thing to have in a crowded city. It is just pointless to drive a huge SUV or an MUV in the city when the number of passengers in it is ONE.

I would say it's pointless to drive car in a city, it should either be on two wheel or metro. One person sitting on 4 wheels on a extremely busy city centre road sounds almost criminal. Air pollutants can be avoided by using a good quality N95 mask when riding two wheelers.

Being a person who commutes daily on a bus (office provided) to office and uses two wheeler exclusively in Bangalore for personal transportation, I think a hatchback or SUV won't make a big difference in traffic, it's about what mode of transport people are using that counts.

[Chillout]

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

One person sitting on 4 wheels on a extremely busy city centre road sounds almost criminal. Air pollutants can be avoided by using a good quality N95 mask when riding two wheelers.

I completely agree with you and take the Metro for my every day commute, however weekly once i take my Ecosport and I am comfortable with it as i tend to call it a mini SUV. Big cars are definitely a pain in stop go traffic and small roads. At times when roads are chocked i take gullies or by lanes which would definitely be difficult for any of those big cars. With 80% of the driving limited to city, it makes all the more sense to have a small car.

[ron_9191]

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

I would say it's pointless to drive car in a city, it should either be on two wheel or metro. One person sitting on 4 wheels on a extremely busy city centre road sounds almost criminal. Air pollutants can be avoided by using a good quality N95 mask when riding two wheelers.

Being a person who commutes daily on a bus (office provided) to office and uses two wheeler exclusively in Bangalore for personal transportation, I think a hatchback or SUV won't make a big difference in traffic, it's about what mode of transport people are using that counts.

Totally agree with your point, but I don't trust Bangalore roads on a rainy day. You'd find potholes, sewage spilling on the road, road kills, waste/waste bag that fell off a BBMP truck on its way to a landfill to name a few. I almost got myself killed on the flyover from KR Puram that leads to Hebbal. I was on my motorcycle and there is a really deep pothole at the middle of the turn and both my wheels landed on it and for a moment, it thought thats how it all ends. I was in pain for the next 2 to 3 weeks on my lower back and thats when I decided a smaller car is a better choice.

[Tapish]

I voted for a small car. I used to drive an Esteem in Gurgaon (not really a big car, but it was a mid-size sedan). I went to the US and Uber'd around and briefly drove a Mazda 3 sedan there. I really wanted to get a Mazda3 hatch at that time.

When I landed back in Ahmedabad, I had been scouring Cartrade for used Civics and V6 Accords. I was looking for a petrol sedan since my usage was going to be limited. However, a few days in the traffic changed my mind, and I used UBER for a year before my brother passed on his i20 Elite to me. For me the i20 is a perfect car. Its large enough on the inside to feel comfortable and plush and compact on the outside to park anywhere/ drive in traffic. I would have loved the 1.4 CRDi though since the smaller 1.2 petrol is weak on the highways.

The i20 also comes with keyless entry, reverse cam etc etc that are still not standard in many bigger cars making the experience better.

[thoma]

Inside the city, of course yes; at least in my own case. Downgraded from a Volkswagen Vento to a Ford Figo mostly because I do not want to drive my car with dings and dents.

Road space is getting premium in smaller towns too so it's definitely easier to drive a hatchback instead of a sedan. SUVs (even pseudo) are an exception because of better road visibility. Would have gone for such an SUV if my financials permitted.

IMO, parking is not as problematic as driving. Road visibility is paramount, even if size is big.

[Ravi Parwan]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

I honestly feel that a 4.3-4.5 meter car/crossover/SUV is ideal for our cities. If you have a tall family the sub 4 meter vehicles just do not cut it. .... .

Agreed. I believe we are moving back to the more upright sitting standards of what we used to see in the Ambis and Padminis.

Originally Posted by bikerzindia

. ...
When I tell my wife I plan to sell it and purchase a smaller car, she says "Buy it but if you sell this then I am never going to sit in the smaller one."
.

Originally Posted by 1.2TSI7DSG

....
My dad was sold on the Baleno, however mom refused to call it our car if we went ahead with it.

Dad, Mom and my wife are all hellbent on owning atleast one sedan.
We have a 2010 dzire and all my arguments leaning towards replacing it with a larger hatchback fall flat when they say "Dikki to honi hi chahiye"

Originally Posted by aniyo

How I wish our car rental scene improves we all will just need a small car and rent one big car when we need.
For that the basic thing of issuing driving license needs to change. Too many wishes

I hear you brother. But things are improving. A friend of mine came back from the US for a 2 week visit with his extended family. ended up paying 80K for 8-9 days. Just checked now and myles is giving you a fortuner for 2000 km 8 days for 51K. So things are moving in the right direction.

Originally Posted by arun687

Sure, parking space is an issue for larger cars in big cities. However, in a traffic jam, I feel a larger (or taller) car will get bullied much less.....

...If and when we have much improved and accessible rental car options, this would change and is probably the way to go looking at the crumbling infrastructure in our cities.

Bigger cars get bullied less, when on the move. But in a Jam, there are 2wheelers who will not mind "scrapping" by, since they know you will not be in a position to catch up.
Rental is improving, but till the time the market and users mature, self drive is gonna remain more expensive than chauffeured cars.

[Thermodynamics]

Trend may be true but may not be new. The disruption caused by Maruti 800, the Santro that made a company are examples that the trend started long back. Countries with space crunch usually have a higher fraction of hatchbacks and vice versa. For example, it is not usual to spot a small hatchback in the US, while in India it is the other way around.

I still voted a "NO" because that's how my heart wishes it to be. Larger feels not just spacious but safer too.

In our monthly sales thread, we would have observed the segments of premium hatchbacks, sub-compact sedans and compact sedans is increasingly encroached by small and mid-sized SUVs. Guess that reflects the desire to have a larger car within road space constraints.

[Rahul4]

My family and I prefer SUV's for these 2 main factors
1. The driver gets to see the nose of the vehicle which induces much confidence rather than driving with estimation, especially in bumper to bumper traffic and tight parking spaces in the malls or markets.
2. Ground clearance, very useful especially on a rainy day due to the condition of roads in the vicinity

[GeeTee TSI]

Voted for a 'No'.
While acknowledging the shrinking space on roads to drive and park, I feel the experience of a larger (in every respect not just size) vehicle cannot be substituted with a smaller vehicle. A model change also ends up mostly longer/wider/taller than the model being replaced.

If fortunate to have a multi car garage, then I guess downsizing can be given a good, hard look

[BayB]

Voted No. In India car purchase decision are driven more by Snob value. So, that's what i think about trend.

However, if i was to choose, i would say pick a car that serves your most prevalent need. If most of your drive is in city go for a smallest possible car which can meet your need. For rest (say highways or long journey) use rental car or taxi. Do not base your purchase decision on 10% of your need.

[maverickrider00]

I don't support downsizing as presently there is a clear choice for those who want it big and those who want just the adequate for themselves. Intact downsizing is the real cause of the increasing traffic snarls on our roads. Cars become cheap which has lead to their increase, let there be well built safe cars instead of tin cans. Cheaper cars mean irrelevant public transport not good for the common lot or the environment. Let us follow the Singapore model instead where the cars retain their length, their exclusiveness and their expensive cost which serves as a deterrent for every one and anyone to buy a car thereby increasing pollution, traffic snarls and unnecessary snob value. I believe that everyone would agree that even till the 90s public transport was much more better managed as it is today as everyone were compelled to use it and the authorities concerned had to be careful. These days from the lower middle class upwards everyone can afford a car and the state of affairs is for everyone to feel and bear. So in my opinion, no downsizing of cars should happen as this will only lead to increase in sales volumes.

[anand.shankar82]

I for one have swung in all directions

2012-2016: Mahindra Scorpio - that car had road presence and commanded all kinds of respect. However take it to a mall or a tight Street in Pune and people make a monkey of you

2016-2017: Maruti WagonR - a decision to buy based on home minister saying "how can I drive a truck get me a little cute car and I will show how I can drive" ... But damn could that car fit into the most impossible of spaces

2017- date : Hyundai Verna 1.6 ... Lots of fun on good roads but a pain parking and watching out for our other road users

Luckily after the Scorpio both are used cars so not much investment upfront

However if still given the choice will take the Scorpio anyday because

1. Can go anywhere and I mean literally anywhere
2. Road respect is something to experience to believe
3. Space and power ... Tons of both

Yes the bigger the car the harder in the city but then out on open/non-existent roads ... SUVs still rule

IMHO the sedan is not suited to our roads ... I have experienced this with the Verna till now

[anilp]

Originally Posted by aviral2122

Question
Is downsizing your car to a smaller one the new trend in Indian cities?

In my family's case, that definitely was the reason why we decided to go for a hatchback as the second/beater car some time back. A lot of the city commutes are in Mumbai's crazy traffic and cramped parking spots where fitting our sedan was a nightmare. So we froze on a couple of parameters for the hatchback.

1. Had to be as compact as possible.
2. Boot capacity was not an issue since this will be largely only for city commutes (It's a different matter that the car ended up going on multiple day highway trips including a fortnight long South India tour later). We would be retaining our sedan anyways in case heavy hauling would be required.
3. Automatic. No more battling the clutch in peak hours.
4. Considering that it'll be an automatic, it had to be at least a wee bit fun to drive.

The Honda Brio fit all these conditions. It's been over two years now, and we're yet to have any cause to complain. Our old sedan now does mostly highway duty now. Within the city, the Brio has been a great choice for running around.

[VivOverland]

I'm sorry to be the odd one out here. If the issue was just about optimum use of roadspace, we should all use bikes or cycles. Smaller cars hardly reduce the physical or carbon footprint. An SUV usually fits in 1 parking space just like another car.

A car, however, is much more than just a means of transport. It is a function of our personal and private space, ego, expectations of comfort, etc. I have a 3-4 hour total commute every day, and I just don't want to make that 50% longer (most days) by using what passes for public transport in our cities. I suspect this is why you see so many cars with just 1 person in them during rush hours. This is not unique to India. It is seen wherever public transport has failed, or is non existent.

Give people a comfortable, quick, seamless connect for the daily commute, and they will use it. A no-brainer really. Ask any proper town planner! Watch this space for when Mumbai uogrades to a modern Metro service, the majority will switch within days.

[PrasannaDhana]

Well, I am a big guy and I am expected to be in big cars. But of all my cars, the most favourite ones were the first gen Zen, Chevy Beat diesel, swift first gen diesel and currently kwid 1.0

I drive alone or +1 most of the times. Small cars are a breeze to drive within city. I just cannot make up my mind to drive a safari or a Scorpio in the city.

One factor that works against small cars is the ride quality which just cannot be matched with plush riding c2 sedans and SUVs