[shibujp]

Originally Posted by aniyo

I wold slightly disagree.

At the end of the day millions who bought the Brezza did not think so. Emotional responses do not sell at the showroom. Cold hard facts do. I used the words "mix of qualities". What you said was correct, all of them may be brilliant in certain aspects but unfortunately that is not what potentially drives a product to success in this segment. To put down the success of the Brezza down to the number of their showrooms is to do Maruti's genius a serious disservice.

As you may be aware Ford and arguably Tata have humongous financial reserves that could be brought to address the lack of showrooms. But to hang on to a 50% marketshare takes something more than luck etc. Look at Hyundai. They came in and aped the market leader in terms of services, coverage etc and reaped the benefits. Ford and the rest of the European players came in thinking that Maruti was an easy kill and boy were they wrong!! They were reduced to cars that satisfied enthusiast pockets and never ever brought their brilliant engines or best packages into India. That, my friend is something I will never forgive them for and that is why India never rewarded them with marketshare. They thought of us as not deserving the good stuff while Suzuki always gave us it's best.

The Venue is a brilliant product delivering where the Ecosport and Nexon failed miserably. Now can it translate that into consistent sales is the question. Bookings look great but sustaining that is key.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Sebring]

There is a saying in Hindi - 'Jo dikta hai, woh bikta hai' (If it's seen, it's sold)! Maruti and Hyundai market their 'products like anything!!!', given the large scale of their operations. They leave no stone unturned. Ford and Tata Motors do not have the kind of marketing muscle or the 'positioning and advertising acumen' of these giants. Hyundai actually created a unique 'venue' in the middle of the sea for its launch, if Mars was available they would take it. Tata Motors is getting closer to their Nexon customers, getting to know them better - organising regular meets and Anniversary bashes etc. and there lies their edge. There is a strong 'word of mouth'. Hope they realise this!

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by hydraulicsteer

During rainy highway runs the poor sweep area provided by these tiny rubbers call for manually wiping the rear wind shield for a safer drive. Thats why it is just good to have a rear wipe and it is not effectively a deal breaker. 2 cents from my experience rest to each his own.

We have passive safety features that are put to use in the event of an accident (airbags, crumple zones etc) and active safety features (ORVMs, wipers, ESP, EBD etc) that actually help prevent an accident. For a hatchback or SUV with a flat vertical back, a rear wash-wipe ends up as an active safety feature, however small the sweep area is. It shows you if there's some vehicle barreling at you after losing control or whether you can brake in an emergency without having someone ram into you from the back. During rains, your outer wing mirrors are mostly useless and it is the IRVM and the rear wiper that can provide you that wee bit of more information.

I believe that the rear wash-wipe should be made mandatory for all hatchbacks and SUVs, more than parking sensors.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

.
I have to say that in five years, I have never used the rear wiper even once when the car is moving, (I do not remember whether to twist forward or backwards on the stalk!!). Even on a long trip I make sure to go out and wipe the glass with a microfiber towel whenever I stop for a break.

It's an inconvenience for sure but certainly can do without it.

I would suggest you start using your wiper and forget the inconvenience of having to learn which way the stalk moves. You would realise what you have been missing all along.

When you are out on the road in the monsoon season, every bit of safety and precaution matters. For a place like Kerala or the coastal regions of Karnataka or the winding roads of the Western Ghats, it will be a matter of life and death.

I would also recommend cleaning the windshield during every stop-over. This comes from 28 years of driving around 12 lakh kms, over all kinds of surfaces except snow and sand dunes.

No offense intended to anyone. Just trying to make a point on safety.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by shibujp

At the end of the day millions who bought the Brezza did not think so. Emotional responses do not sell at the showroom. Cold hard facts do. I used the words "mix of qualities". What you said was correct, all of them may be brilliant in certain aspects but unfortunately that is not what potentially drives a product to success in this segment. To put down the success of the Brezza down to the number of their showrooms is to do Maruti's genius a serious disservice.

IMO, Maruti Suzuki sells mainly because of
* its large sales/service network,
* its dedication to customer satisfaction,
* making their cars "seem" VFM having all the latest gimmicks that customers want,
* notion among people that Maruti's service is cheap (though that may not be true anymore),
* its resale value
* being FNG friendly

Due to above factors, there's a long build-up trust among people for Maruti Suzuki cars that they're easy to buy and easy to maintain and people buy it in droves. And then there are others, with limited knowledge of cars, who buy them because "millions" around them have bought it, so it must be good!

Also most of Maruti Suzuki cars have a middle-of-the-road balanced approach with style and performance, which offends none. And their strong focus on fuel efficiency which again everyone loves. Kudos to Maruti for all this and therein lies their "genius"!
So the Brezza sells not because its a superior product than its competitors, but mostly because its from Maruti Suzuki

Originally Posted by shibujp

Look at Hyundai. They came in and aped the market leader in terms of services, coverage etc and reaped the benefits.

+1. I really admire Hyundai because of this and it seems that Kia motors too seems to have done their homework.

Originally Posted by shibujp

They were reduced to cars that satisfied enthusiast pockets and never ever brought their brilliant engines or best packages into India. That, my friend is something I will never forgive them for and that is why India never rewarded them with marketshare.

I am confused by your statement here as "enthusiast" and "huge market share" usually don't go hand in hand. IMO, Ford and other European cars failed in India due to their product and marketing strategy, or lack thereof and their lack of understanding of the Indian market wrt customer satisfaction. Their products satisfied enthusiasts but were never watered down sufficiently to entice the mass market. Heavy, solidly built cars with more focus on safety and performance rather than fuel efficiency! What were they smoking!

Originally Posted by shibujp

They thought of us as not deserving the good stuff while Suzuki always gave us it's best.

Please do elaborate how Suzuki "brought their brilliant engines or best packages into India" and has always given us the "good stuff" that we deserve, because several threads and posts on Team BHP point to the contrary.

[Sebring]

I'm not a fan but can you name one car manufacturer who has brought their full range of cars to India other than Suzuki? Except for Jimny, which may not have any takers here, we see that their full line-up is present!

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Please do elaborate how Suzuki "brought their brilliant engines or best packages into India" and has always given us the "good stuff"

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by Sebring

I'm not a fan but can you name one car manufacturer who has brought their full range of cars to India other than Suzuki? Except for Jimny, which may not have any takers here, we see that their full line-up is present!

I didn't mean about their product lineup. I meant how Suzuki never launches its more performance oriented engines here in India. Most of their "Sports" edition are a joke with mere sticker jobs, like the recent one for Brezza. And all their cars have stripped down safety features for the made-for-India products, which ofcourse what all manufacturers do for the Indian market. So my point was along that line of thought, that Suzuki hasn't always given us its best purely in terms of products, and their success has more to do with other factors that I mentioned in my previous post

Anyways, this discussion has gone very off-topic, so I'll stop here

[anthusiast]

Had a TD of 1.0 GDI Manual. Here are my impressions. I was looking for a city car.
1. The 1.0 GDI is dead below 1000 RPM. Scenario usually encountered when crossing large speed breakers in 2nd gear; while moving in slow traffic in 3rd gear.
2. The suspension is stiff at low speeds. Not a typical Hyundai ride.
3. Didn't find ingress-egress to backseat easy. The door sill is around 5 inch high.
4. A 3rd person would struggle in the middle of backseat due to narrow and protruding armrest fold.
5. Exterior/interior door handles, are disproportionately large. Suits MPVs instead of a compact SUV.

Points 1-4 were the deal-breakers.

[Vacuum]

Any idea if the 8 inch touchscreen system can be added to the S DCT model? I don't really see any point paying 2L+ for the other extras.

[simeonovitch]

Originally Posted by anthusiast

Had a TD of 1.0 GDI Manual. Here are my impressions. I was looking for a city car.
1. The 1.0 GDI is dead below 1000 RPM. Scenario usually encountered when crossing large speed breakers in 2nd gear; while moving in slow traffic in 3rd gear.

1000 RPM is an insanely low RPM to drive on. Its very close to engine idle, and I'm pretty sure one is lugging the engine at that point.

[GTO]

Mod Note: No more off-topic posts please. Guys, let's only discuss the Venue here. Thanks!

[ameyadchule]

Hello team!

From past few months I am doing alot of reading and test-driving of automatic cars in compact-SUV segment as I am planning to buy one.
So deciding which car to buy is an ongoing process and TeamBHP plays a big part to shape that decision. My initial flexible budget is 12lac on road.

But few factors that I have decided are :
-Must be an automatic (Bangalore traffic)
-Must be safe and strong build.
-Good ride quality and road presence.
-Should support occasional weekend rides.
-Should be Compact-SUV (Sorry I just love them personally)
-Petrol of course keeping in mind my limited use.


So keeping in mind all of these factors, I had only a few worthy choices :
-Tata Nexon AMT
-Ford Ecosport Trend+ / Titanium+
-Hyundai Venue S/SX+


ECOSPORT Automatic :


So till last few days, I was really settled on buying the Ford Ecosport Trend+ as it offered an excellent package for the price (@FRODOoftheshire 's ownership review really had me cheered https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...shadowfax.html (Ford EcoSport Trend Plus AT (Facelift) - Ownership experience of my ShadowFax) ) but Ford surprisingly discontinued that model in June 2019, forcing me to either choose other brand or Increase budget and go for Titanium+ variant.




NEXON AMT:


Test drive for this vehicle was okey(ish) as I felt it was not as refined as Ecosport and a slightly less fun to drive! But offered a good package for a low price. Plus felt AMT was a bit downside if compared with competitors. Plus some reviews on Youtube shows the petrol mileage in city is really less( around 9 with eco mode and a light foot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLvlV3UcRvE

)


HYUNDAI VENUE DCT :


Now Venue was an interesting option for me after Ford shut down Trend+ for me. I test drove the vehicle and found it decent. DCT was a plus point. Other features were okeyish but S variant missed out on ALOT of useful features.



But to be honest nothing quite ring bells for me as Ecosport does. Driving an Ecosport was the best experience for me among all of these. Plus I believe it offers the best package in the segment.

Should I increase and budget and go for Titanium+ ?
Should I stick to my budget and go for Nexon/Venue automatics? Considering there are no more upcoming SUVs for 2019 or even rumors I will have to decide between these.

Thoughts?

[KL01toKA03]

I think you should go for the Titanium+ Ecosport since you like the way it drives. The TC gearbox should be more reliable than the AMT or DCT.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by ameyadchule

Should I increase and budget and go for Titanium+ ?
Should I stick to my budget and go for Nexon/Venue automatics? Considering there are no more upcoming SUVs for 2019 or even rumors I will have to decide between these.

The Venue has a DCT while the EcoSport is a TC; both better than the AMT on the Nexon. The biggest differences being: the Venue has a 1l engine (EcoSport has 1.5), although, both 3-pot and similar output, and two airbags (EcoSport has six in this variant).

[porsche_guy]

Originally Posted by ameyadchule

Should I increase and budget and go for Titanium+ ?
Should I stick to my budget and go for Nexon/Venue automatics?

Since you clearly have your heart set on the EcoSport, go for it. It's better to pay more for something you might enjoy rather than regretting the purchase a few years down the line.

Also you can check with the dealers if they have any old stock of Trend+ AT left. You never know you might get lucky since it's a low selling variant

Cheers!

[saisrujan]

I am exactly in the same boat as you are, but I was shooting for titanium+ AT. But Ford’s announcement to drop features caught me off-guard and I lost confidence in Ford. Also there’s uncertainty about Mahindra taking over Ford’s assets and how it affects service and spare part availability. I may sound paranoid to some, but I don’t want to gamble with 13 lacs of my hard-earned money.

Venue DCT felt silly easy to drive in extreme traffic conditions and gear shifts were quick (except when you want immediate throttle response at crawling speeds - even Ecosport AT suffers in this aspect - Nixon’s AMT can’t compete with either). The road presence isn’t the best but not bad at all. It’s got almost as much interior space as the Ecosport.

Considering Ford’s predicament, I think Venue maybe a better choice.

Advices and opinions are given free here and they aren’t ot much help. At the end of the day, you must be happy with your car. Go with the car that brings a smile on your face and when you step in and most importantly after you step out after a drive!