[AspiringIndian]

It's an effective tool to let the hot air out as easily and as fast as possible and I make that utilitarian use of it. I didn't go looking for the sunroof but it was always there by default.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Why should safety be dependent on luxury?.

Why indeed? It is stupid for any manufacturer to assume that only a buyer of a more expensive car or even variant, will appreciate safety features.

Moving to sunroofs as a topic. I have driven and enjoyed a number of cars with sun roofs and convertible tops over the years. Always abroad (Western, Northwestern and Southern / South Eastern Hemispheres only) and only on the motorways, freeways, autoroutes and country roads, A roads, B roads and the like.

Absolutely never inside the cities on account of noise and pollution and smells.

In India, while I would dearly love a convertible and/ or a vehicle with a sunroof or panoramic sunroof, it just isnt a practical option at all.

Because our cities where most of us live on account of our work demands, are smelly, smoky and polluted and as far as possible one ought to drive around completely insulated from the atmosphere outside.

Possibly the ONLY places in India where one can enjoy a convertible and/ or sunroof are in select,clean beach locations, country roads and hill stations, weather of course, permitting.

But even then, one is more than likely to be the victim of much black belching smoke from the various heavy vehicles that one will invariably encounter.

[Cessna182]

Please delete if this is not appropriate for the forum. I received this picture on WhatsApp from someone who got it from a social media site (reddit) and thought of sharing it here to understand if this can happen in Indian cars equipped with this feature as well. Apparently, this is hail damage to the moon roof which is quite shocking. Imagine if something like a coconut falls on the roof- replacements will be very expensive. Also, if a roof can cave in under the impact of inclement weather, is it really safe in a roll over? I have no idea and would like to learn more.
Also, this being a reddit picture, most comments there are useless and it is best to avoid visiting that site.

[Turbohead]

This thread is turning 1 year old day after tomorrow but opinions about sunroof have changed dramatically among Team-BHPians! From 26% respondents claiming to use it regularly, it's almost a must-have feature among new car buyers when I go through various threads today! Cars like the Kia Sonet have skipped alloy wheels in certain trims to accommodate a sunroof( if what I read is correct)! Even the preview of the new Nissan Magnite isn't spared either, the cons listed by members include the lack of a sunroof!

I don't understand, why is it a must-have feature now? It's not a safety feature nor is it going to be used everyday with the pollution we have in our cities. I understand it's the family who wants it but what's the argument? For long term ownership, it's one more expensive item that can fail and something which will require maintenance at some point.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I would really like some answers!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

This thread is turning 1 year old day after tomorrow but opinions about sunroof have changed dramatically among Team-BHPians! ....

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I would really like some answers!

It just feels great.

There's been a natural evolution among Indian consumers, as it naturally happens in other walks of life. Maslow called it the hierarchy of needs (yawn).

In simple terms, there are so many features that were once only the domain of much more expensive cars. Sunroofs were one of them. To have it available as an option now in cars that more often than not cost a quarter of the price of those cars, or less, massages the ego massively.

Plus, baby and baba love to pop their head out of it and be taken from a drive. How can mummy papa say no?

I read once that the features you see as commonplace in an S class today will percolate down to more humble cars in 10 years. And so it has been with sunroofs, self parking, large screens, digital dashboards and so on. These are small creature comforts of life that just feel good. And how can one deny enjoying them feels?

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

I would really like some answers!

Today sunroof is a sought after feature because earlier only premium cars offered them and common people would really want the same experience. Opening it for ventilation is the main purpose of the sunroof but then allowing kids to pop out their heads is where it gets on one’s nerves. I have seen 3 kids popping their heads out of a XUV500’s sunroof once and I was like .

Today I feel sunroof has more aspirational value than say a 360 camera, you can show off your sunroof to others whereas you can’t show-off a 360 degree camera! While it’s the 360 deg camera that has more value than a sunroof. On one side almost every manufacturer is saying we have the largest and widest panoramic sunroof in the segment, 5-7 years back people would be like what the hell who advertises the class leading specs of a sunroof?? And I thank Toyota for not offering a sunroof in the Innova and Fortuner; I can’t explain what all we’ll see coming out of them!

Another example is the recent Nissan Magnite! It’s gets a very useful feature ie. a 360 deg camera which no car offers in the segment! But people are complaining about the lack of a sunroof. This just goes over my head!

[McLaren Rulez]

I still wish there were more options in the 20L plus range where you can get a car without a sunroof. For instance, if you want a Mercedes or BMW in India, the sunroof is a compulsory add on!

I am definitely in the minority but in a hot country like ours, I find that it's main effect is to make your AC work doubly hard. There are nice days when it's good to have but the trade off doesn't make sense for me. Even good quality blinds do not cut out the heat from the baking sun as well as a solid roof does. Plus, there's the extra weight, loss of structural rigidity and one more item that can go wrong.

[luvDriving]

I agree with the opinions here which say that the sunroof is a gimmick at best. In cities where these vehicles will spend most of their useful life, the sunroof is not even a nice to have feature.

The average family with a sunroofed car (sorry) will go for vacations / drives far less frequently than the small number of enthusiasts. If opened it will allow all the dust / dirt / insects / smoke / heat to come in. And god forbid if someone on a higher position decides to spit without checking the surroundings ! Children popping out is more of a hazard than a pleasure ride.

Add to this that it is indeed another point of failure to be looked after and cared for. Unfortunately it is a compulsory add on nowadays. Hence might as well enjoy it - as the legend Pu La Deshpande said - if I cannot control the neighbor's loud radio then I might as well enjoy it.

[xtremeshock]

I use the Sunroof very regularly. My Son now 5 years old loves to stand out from the Sunroof and look outside. This is what excites him most about the car journey and can't imagine not having a sunroof.

Only one of my cars have a Sunroof and we end up using that car only when my son comes with us.

Yes he may outgrow it but I guess when we are in the market for a new car we can make that decision then, for now a BIG YES!

[skanchan95]

When I see stunts like these being performed by irresponsible parents(and drivers), I wish for sunroofs to get banned in India!!!




On our roads, we have flying debris like rock and sand from vehicles (trucks mainly) in front and/or need to brake or swerve to avoid someone or something.Many of us have heard of instances where people joyriding on sunroofs, got hit by flying debris and even the infamous paan spit pichkaari. To even let small kids to literally sit on the roof in dense traffic is beyond belief!!!

To add to that terrible mistake, not only the kids, even the occupants in the car were without masks, with all windows open. I wish there was a way to complain to the authorities about this.

[manishk123]

Originally Posted by rutwij

Absolutely agreed!
Would like to know more on this point - "Someone intentionally spitting on it" Any first hand experiences?

In my over 15 years experience of having had cars with sunroofs, I have had one such bad incident at the Kemps corner signal, where someone spat pan from a bus parked right next to me. Don't know if it was intentional, but I couldn't see anyone at the window of the bus when I stepped out to check, so I guess it probably was.

Thankfully it fell on the centre console and missed me. Had the car interiors throughly cleaned after that.

However, I like the love the fact that I have a sunroof on my car and use it quite often. If the weather in Mumbai was better then I would use it all the time.

[adneo]

I feel that manufacturers should look at better alternatives like putting in high resolution displays which could show the exterior to passengers seated inside like a virtual sunroof and that could also be a pluggable solution as it would just require a few high res cameras and a good display in the roof! This also prevents them from performing stupid stunts like kids/adults sticking their heads out with the car on the move!

Saves occupants from those paan and sputum spits, discarded garbage from public buses landing inside the car as well.

I really don't see sunroofs useful in the Indian context since our environment is too dusty to keep it open and we have too much of sunlight through out the year to crave for daylight inside the car.

I find it weird that one hand people search for ways to put on 3M sun films on their cars to cut down the radiation and on the other hand need a huge opening in the roof!

Not to mention I am yet to see how much of the core structural strength of a car can be maintained even with the best of design after scooping out 70% of the roof. I am sure global manufacturers would struggle to achieve the best results but at the same time, I am sure it also does drive up the costs quite a bit to compensate for all the missing metal in the center of the roof.

I would rather buy a car which has better and more valuable components like an Independent rear multilink suspension over this marketing gimmick which has caught people's fancy.

Give me car with VFM internals and one which can keep me safe over such gimmicks and I will buy it.

Classic example is the Karoq which was supposedly the replacement for the Yeti.

Yeti - 4x4 Haldex, 2.0 TDI, Solid all-wheel independent suspension.

Karoq - 1.5 TSI, FWD, Rear Torsion beam + Sunroof! = Luxurious vehicle.

I had Zack even counter me saying Karoq is very Luxurious. How does that matter if I really don't have a capable vehicle?!

It's disheartening to see Indians being so gullible to marketing gimmicks and it has become a trend now that we keep losing great cars with each iteration of their respective generations.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by xtremeshock

I use the Sunroof very regularly. My Son now 5 years old loves to stand out from the Sunroof and look outside. This is what excites him most about the car journey and can't imagine not having a sunroof.

Only one of my cars have a Sunroof and we end up using that car only when my son comes with us.

Yes he may outgrow it but I guess when we are in the market for a new car we can make that decision then, for now a BIG YES!

I sincerely hope that when you say "stands out", its not when the car is in motion. If no, then please stop immediately. You have been very lucky. If yes, then accept my apologies for the unnecessary post

[KMT]

I have had a few cars with sunroofs in the past and a few convertibles so consider myself knowledgeable in this area.

Sunroofs are lovely when you live in a clean, cool dustfree environment with smooth roads.

The moment a guy in the bus ahead of you spits paan out of the window, the novelty of the sunroof will wear off quicksmart.

Other disadvantages of cars with glass sunroofs are-
1) they do get warmer in summer and need to be parked under cover as
2)the rubber beading around it is constantly exposed to heat and sun and if you dont have undercover parking the drain pipes around the sunroof gets blocked and the beading begins to perish.
3) Over bad roads a rattle creeps in over time and as it is near your year it becomes a real pain.
4) From a monocoque perspective, it is slightly less safe than a solid roof in the event of a rollover.

In India it is a current must-have novelty item and in a few years I am sure the craze will reduce.

[adi.mariner]

Voted Yes. I bought a pre-owned X3 in August which came with a Panaromic Sunroof. The Sunroof was not at all part of the buying decision. But have used it extensively during the rainy season drives and my kids loved it a lot. Only the sliding cover is opened to be able to see the sky. The glass isn't opened and they have been told it doesn't open (both are under 5 and so they believed it ). So poking their heads out is out of the question for now.