[anjan_c2007]

I was a jeep man and in the late 1980's got myself a Maruti 800 (SB 308). It was frail and having been used to driving jeeps, I had to groom myself to own and drive the 800cc microcar, with lots of precautions and TLC. The rough road and pothole negotiation, moving to the right of the road under compulsion and shooing the oncoming traffic with the tough jeep could no longer be done with the Maruti 800. Even auto rickshaws dared to shoo me away to the left and extreme left at times. With me behind the wheels of the tiny M 800, worries were that even a small touch could leave a bad imprint on the body shell of the then most sought after car.

I still own the M 800 and also still use it as a daily driver. In the meantime, I bought a Mahindra Scorpio, which is also used as a daily driver. The SUV is quite agressive looking, with the jeep DNA and I have again got back to my old brute ways of driving. But while changing over to the Maruti 800 as my daily driver, I have got to remember that I am behind the wheel of a frail car, that is almost smaller than every other car (but for the Tata Nano) on the road. But with my old Jeep- Maruti 800 association, the frequent changeovers are not unusual to me now. Yes, I know that the centre of gravity of the SUV is placed higher and I cannot be at liberty, taking twists and swerving it unpredictably on the road.

My question to other friends is "how do you cope up with such a changeover from a mighty to a less mighty daily driver ?"

[lamborghini]

I personally love it! It's obviously not as quick, comfortable or intimidating - but that all makes a small difference in mumbai traffic where the ability to squeeze into a gap / parking spot is more crucial.
Heck part of me wants a small car as my daily driver just for this ease of commuting.

[shankar.balan]

To some extent this eternal question has been answered in the SUV vs Hatch debate thread.

Me, I ve always been an advocate and proponent of the larger, fully function driven, more spacious, higher ground clearance, relatively powerful/torquey, diesel driven, Jeep/ SUV type of vehicle more or less for most of my driving years. Mostly this choice was dictated by utilitarian needs, the need to handle poor roads and infra, a need to “hold one’s own” in the chaotic traffic, along with the so called ‘active” and “outdoor”, ‘highway” lifestyle.

Most definitely if one looks back to around 15-20 years ago, another consideration was what is today classified as “commanding view” and ‘road presence” etc.

So much so that a hatch, as in our case, was a second vehicle and which indeed, was even dispensed with 10 years ago, in favour of just one vehicle of the SUV type.

Incidentally even then, circa 2008-2010, in the weekday commute of approx 9-10 kms within the city of Bangalore - suburban area to near-CBD, believe me, I would actually SAVE a clean 15 minutes of time in the commute, if I used my hatchback (Swift) rather than my SUV (Scorpio). But different considerations prevailed and the SUV was still preferred.

In these very same 15-20 years time frame that we are overall talking about, our urban areas and our highways have become increasingly choked and packed 20 deep, with frightful traffic, and so has the infra become steadily worse and hence over a period, one has evolved towards more compact “small SUV’s” and “Crossover” type vehicles so as to enjoy all the functional aspects while yet retaining a smaller size and footprint.

This has still, in my case at least, despite the horrible infrastructure and bad roads, where an SUV or Crossover actually makes some amount of sense, made me evolve even further and move towards an even smaller size, from a sheer “practical” daily use standpoint, by way of a small 2 seater AT hatch as the primary daily driver rather than an “all round” vehicle. And of course to keep a pure “ute” around as a “beater”.

I think more and more people are going to move this way, if not “OUT” of car ownership altogether because of the sheer mounting impossibility of managing our roads and the traffic on a daily basis.

[HillyThar]

In the hills, I switched between the Thar and a 2001 Vintage Zen, the Thar was the load and people carrier, and Zen was the short distance or easy parking king. Sometimes, I forgot the lower ground clearance I have with the Zen, and once managed to hit the under carriage requiring immediate repairs hah, thankfully its the Zen so it wasn't much of a damage!


I also have to tame the overtakes with the Zen, overtaking almost no buses, and drive at much sedate speeds, sometimes I get similar slow pokes on the road like old Santros and Maruti Esteems, which I easily overtake! I really like the Zen for what it is, 2 lac kms plus, demands little attention and everything electrical and mechanical still works and starts up in -8 deg without a hitch!

[dhanushs]

I have a fast hatch, which is supposedly city friendly and a longish SUV. Except for parking in tight spots, I’ve always found it easier to drive the longish SUV in town. People just push around the small hatch so badly, and not so great visibility when compared to a high seating SUV only makes things worse.

So, if the city if really crowded, I’d prefer an SUV, if it’s not crowded, like Bangalore on a long weekend, I’d prefer the Hatch. On highways, I’d prefer a fast sedan.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

I have a fast hatch, which is supposedly city friendly and a longish SUV. Except for parking in tight spots, I’ve always found it easier to drive the longish SUV in town. People just push around the small hatch so badly, and not so great visibility when compared to a high seating SUV only makes things worse.

+1. I prefer driving my SUV over the hatch. The only advantage my NA petrol hatch is maneuverability and that, it warms up quickly in comparison to the diesel SUV.

Else, the more crowded, I prefer the SUV, not even a scratch in 82,xxx kms, but tons of scratches in 10,xxx kms on the hatch.

[suneel]

I have a long sedan and a 4x4 SUV. They're both a pleasure to drive in completely different ways, within the city.

When I take out the sedan, it's a very luxurious, planted and responsive experience. Especially on good roads. It moves fast, has such a low center of gravity and turns on a dime. It's such a great cruiser and is truly relaxing to drive.

But it's just as fun every time I take out the SUV in a very different way. Suddenly every bad section of road is a blast to tear through. You get a great view of everything around you and below you. People move out of the way more, and you have a feeling of invincibility, knowing that nothing can stop you from getting to where you need to be. You can handle ditches, roads under construction, trails, even dividers if you need to. But it definitely isn't as planted or comfy on flat open roads.

At the end of the day it's great to have the choice and take a call before heading out. You never know what you'll be in the mood for.

[condor]

I normally drive the Storme, but sometimes switch over to the A-Star AT. While the A-Star is convenient in the city, both for driving and parking, I miss the comfort and handling of the Storme. The Storme has such a smoother ride, that I sometimes just want to get home and park the A-Star.

This is in spite of switching over to 175's on the A-Star, from the stock 155's. Tyre pressures are not a factor but the car being lighter, it bounces a bit on our silky BLR roads.

[Samir Taheer]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

I have a fast hatch, which is supposedly city friendly and a longish SUV. Except for parking in tight spots, I’ve always found it easier to drive the longish SUV in town. People just push around the small hatch so badly, and not so great visibility when compared to a high seating SUV only makes things worse.

So, if the city if really crowded, I’d prefer an SUV, if it’s not crowded, like Bangalore on a long weekend, I’d prefer the Hatch. On highways, I’d prefer a fast sedan.

Originally Posted by Sheel

+1. I prefer driving my SUV over the hatch. The only advantage my NA petrol hatch is maneuverability and that, it warms up quickly in comparison to the diesel SUV.

Else, the more crowded, I prefer the SUV, not even a scratch in 82,xxx kms, but tons of scratches in 10,xxx kms on the hatch.

Quite the opposite for me - During the week I use a 2003/4 Santro Automatic (Fast hatch?) and on the weekends an LX470.

Whilst yes the Santro is all banged up, its still lovely to drive around, park anywhere and squeeze into gaps. Uber and Ola drivers generally worry about an old Santro.

[GTO]

Although I prefer large cars (bigger the better for me), small cars absolutely rock . The last 3 small cars I drove in Bombay + highway are the S-Presso, Triber & Venue and absolutely loved their compactness & chuckability in the city. The way you can dart in & out of gaps is awesome.

Because of all the test-drive cars coming my way, I am driving a different kind & size of car every week. Best way to handle the changeover is to give yourself a handful of km to familiarise yourself.

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Even auto rickshaws dared to shoo me away to the left and extreme left at times.

That happens to me all the time when I drive a Grand i10.

I am not used to it and I absolutely hate it. Many times I want to change the Grand i10 primarily for this reason (I bought it pre-owned for school pick-up/drop so will not loose much money).

It does not happen when I drive a Honda City. It didn't happen when I used to drive a humble Swift till March'19.

[Kosfactor]

The City : Bangalore
Commute: Jayanagar 4th Block to Manyata tech park.
Via : Bengaluru rounds - Lalbagh, Cubbon Park, Vidhanasoudha , Palace grounds, Hebbal .

There has been two such changeover for me and my wife. It involves all the vehicles mentioned in OPs post.

While I had mastered the route I travel to work with the same precision as an airport Volvo bus ( my previous daily ride), as I'm driving my tiny hatch and I thought to myself that its impossible to do this route any faster without being a maniac.

I was wrong, the few days I took my wife's larger and taller vehicle it was significantly faster , effortless and peaceful. Needless to say the changeover wasn't as pleasant on the other side.

[nikhilthegunner]

This is where one starts to realise the benefits of Compact SUVs. They're not so big that manoeuvring is difficult but not too small that you get bullied by other motorists. If there is a damn good engine in the car (any 1.5l diesels), then there's enough torque on tap to enjoy good road stretches and exploit gaps quickly.

Also, when coming back to hatchbacks, because they're smaller, its easier to manoeuvre them. So dealing with traffic mostly depends on how well you position the car. Do it right and theoretically, you could pretend to be king of the road and laugh at SUVs struggling while you zip through wide enough gaps.

[girishglg]

This topic makes perfect sense to me as I own a Alto 800 (4 year old) and Ecosport Diesel (4 year old). Though both are rides do fall under sub 4 meter, the EcoSport is really twice as powerful as the little one hence believe would qualify for this topic.

The usage pattern is strictly bifurcated as the Alto is used mainly as a daily city commuter for all odd errands mostly less than 5 kms in range, and EcoSport is mainly the weekend commute for social visits or longer runs and always the highway car which has run about 90% of its miles clocked till date on the highways.

Coming to the changeover part, there is not a big difference literally in the city bumper to bumper traffic, yes you read it right even with twice the power etc, the puny motor in the Alto is quite a pocket rocket in the city roads and can take on any of those bigger mills on a short burst right from the second the traffic light goes green and here the EcoSport with turbo motor feels similar given the pickup characteristics and the overall weight of the vehicle.

However on the highways the brilliant TDCi motor is on its own and given the superb vehicle characteristics of the EcoSport is a great highway mile muncher, feels solid like a rock, good handling and smoother suspension at higher speeds. Even a 500 km run at one go has been fatigue free and simply the king of the highways.

Have not taken the Alto anywhere near the highway so cannot speak of its abilities but then can compare it with my previous baby which was very similar, the M800 and given that both have the same motors albeit with a higher tune in the current Alto800, it was still street (highway) legal which I have driven in and around 300 kms drives on so many occasions. However it had its limitations given the frail and light body, it was no way a safe car or even felt safe beyond 80 kmph speed but then it was still fun to drive.

Seems like the changeovers are not such a big deal given the conditions in which we drive our big or small cars

[TejasKinger]

I can definitely resonate with the OP's intention of starting this thread. We currently have a Creta AT and a Grand i10 MT as a part of the garage, and prior to acquiring the Creta, we used to have a Mahindra Scorpio MT.

We currently use the Grand i10 for daily office commutes and errands because it is much easier to park and squeeze through narrow gaps. Also, dings and scratches hurt a lot lesser in this car. The Creta, on the other hand, is used on weekends for outings when the traffic is a lot lesser and for highway road trips. The difference between the two cars is more to do with the difference between driving an MT and an AT. The car-like underpinnings and the average-sized footprint actually makes it fairly easy to drive the Creta.

On the other hand, switching between the Grand i10 and the Creta was quite a task. The Scorpio was gargantuan and had much heavier controls in comparison. The ride and handling too were very different. The only advantage was that no one would dare to cut in front of you.

On that note, I had recently borrowed a friend's Maruti Alto. It was so chuckable and easy to live with it, I started to find my Grand i10 bulbous and boring.