[Tassem]

This would probably hit many nerves, so apologies in advance. But everyone just loves to sit up and complain when a model is discontinued or when a hot hatch doesn't come with all the goodies or when a company continues to produce cheaply built and specced rattlecans.

What's missing is that only a few are willing to put money where their mouth is. Almost all well built/specced cars are met with such dismal sales that companies cannot be blamed for peddling their cheaper ware here.

When Xenon was (arguably) the only lifestyle friendly pick-up truck in India, I knew people who kept ranting about how much they love the lifestyle but don't want to spend on a Tata. Now that Isuzu has a worthy pick-up in the market, the same people who moaned then, now go "If only Toyota launched the Tacoma".. I'd be willing to bet, when/if Toyota launches the Tacoma here at the usual Toyotaesque pricing, these automobile enthusiasts will have a new aspiration to complain about.

As for hot hatches. VW launched one of the hottest hatches in India. What did we do? 25L for a Polo?! Are you mad? Isme toh second hand BMW aa jayegi. RWD bhi hai. Oh and how many of them bought that second hand Bimmer?

None.

Sad but true.

[livetodrive]

It tried but could not write its name in the hall of fame. RIP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjhk...ature=youtu.be

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Tassem

As for hot hatches. VW launched one of the hottest hatches in India. What did we do? 25L for a Polo?! Are you mad? Isme toh second hand BMW aa jayegi. RWD bhi hai. Oh and how many of them bought that second hand Bimmer?

None.

Sad but true.

Agreed. Many of us are armchair critics, and pretty much everyone has been guilty of this at some or the other. Eager to criticise, but rarely putting their money where one's mouth is. That is a good example of the Polo GTI and its naysayers in India. Personally, I waited for the Swift Sport to be launched and would have definitely picked that one up, but that never did see the light of day.

[Swap_Abarth]

Abarth Punto is gone, Ecosport Ecoboost is gone, now is the turn of Baleno RS. I am not sure on fate of Tiago JTP? India doen't deserve good cars. We all are happy with fuel efficient, gizmo loaded cars with average performance.

[porsche_guy]

I was actually quite surprised that Maruti even facelifted the RS(although it was rather minor). It was high time this happened but I totally understand why it didn't work.

It just simply was a case of jack of all trades, master of none. In the quest of making it faster and yet keeping the price within tight limits, Maruti just lost the plot. The enthusiasts (which arguably were the target audience) had much better options in the same price band which were even more fun to drive. The practical, usual Maruti buyer wasn't swayed either because, lets be honest, the Baleno's K12 was a pretty nice engine to start with and with the low kerb weight, wasn't a slouch either. What you did get more was a wallet which was a lakh heavier and better realistic fuel economy. No prizes on guessing which one people chose.

The power figures certainly weren't something mind-blowing to attract customers from the likes of the Abarth or the VW GT twins. To top that up, there was just no visibility. 75% of the people who shortlisted the baleno didn't have a clue about this variant. Heck, even most SAs were unaware!

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by Swap_Abarth

India doen't deserve good cars. We all are happy with fuel efficient, gizmo loaded cars with average performance.

True, car buyers are happy with rattling tin cans and showing all the gizmos to their dear ones. See where we stand, Maruti can bring back its 800CC engine with a turbocharger in the name of BS-6 or BS-7 norms.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Tassem

This would probably hit many nerves, so apologies in advance. But everyone just loves to sit up and complain when a model is discontinued or when a hot hatch doesn't come with all the goodies or when a company continues to produce cheaply built and specced rattlecans.

Exactly my thoughts. People love to complain about something being discontinued. Something they never bought when it was available. After complaining about it being discontinued they will frantically post everywhere asking if anyone knows if any dealer has stock. By chance if someone does find them a piece with some dealer, they just go into hiding till it's sold off and then resurface to rant all over again.
Some examples of when this happened:
- Yamaha RD 350
- BMW F650
- Suzuki Shogun
- Maruti Zen
- Ford Fiesta S
- Fiat Palio GTX / S10
- Fiat Abarth Punto
- Fiat Linea T-Jet
- Skoda Octavia / Laura VRS
- VW Polo GTI
- Ford Figo S

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

lets be honest, the Baleno's K12 was a pretty nice engine to start with and with the low kerb weight, wasn't a slouch either. What you did get more was a wallet which was a lakh heavier and better realistic fuel economy. No prizes on guessing which one people chose.

True. I drove the RS and normal Baleno back to back and didn't find much difference.

[sandeepmohan]

Surprised that they did not pull the plug on this earlier.

The enthusiasts hatch back from the Suzuki stable is the Swift and nothing else. What they should have done was launch the Swift Sport with the 1.4l Booster Jet, if they really did want to give us a proper hot hatch. This car, with a manual, would have run circles around pretty much everything at its price and segment. Sadly; Suzuki tend to put this RS moniker on the Swift in International markets, with the same engine being discussed here.

[kpzen]

Difficult to connect the dots here.
RS is discontinued and Maruti is importing Boosterjet K10C, that too with an AT box.
Approximately 1000 sets are in India.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Difficult to connect the dots here.
RS is discontinued and Maruti is importing Boosterjet K10C, that too with an AT box.
Approximately 1000 sets are in India.

Export markets I believe. They might be exporting this combo somewhere. Can you check that?

Baleno RS and Ciaz S(with black interiors) are offered here just because they are making those for other markets anyway. Doesn't take any extra effort to bring such a model.

Regards,
Shashi

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Export markets I believe. They might be exporting this combo somewhere. Can you check that?

Baleno Export (Qty wise in descending order)
Australia - K14B AT
South Africa - K14B MT/AT
Chile - K14 MT
Hungary - K12C MT/AT
Germany - K10C AT (hardly any quantity)
Italy - K12C AT
France - K12C /K10C AT (~150 nos)
Japan - K10C AT (~100 nos)

I think the K10C AT is for the Indian market only.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by Swap_Abarth

Abarth Punto is gone, Ecosport Ecoboost is gone, now is the turn of Baleno RS. I am not sure on fate of Tiago JTP? India doen't deserve good cars. We all are happy with fuel efficient, gizmo loaded cars with average performance.

Now you know the fate of JTP twins. And in general sports or enthusiast driven cars in India.

We cannot blame the manufacturers. Most gave us what we wished for yet hardly few of us bought them. After all they have to make profits to keep bringing us more such cars.

As someone said, we are just arm chair critics who have not really bothered to put our money on such cars. I have and do not regret a bit. Infact mine was the among the last 2-3 Figo S available. I knew the fate of the car was over yet I went ahead with the purchase.

Baleno RS was not appreciated by us because of varied reasons. But we must appreciate Maruti to be experimental especially after the debacle of S Cross 1.6 (I so regret buying the Vento instead of this)

[Swap_Abarth]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Now you know the fate of JTP twins. And in general sports or enthusiast driven cars in India.

Same here buddy. No regrets on buying Abarth, when I knew it would be discontinued within few months. I had gone through lot of criticism from people around me while booking the car. That too the same car with different engines (diesel Punto with Abarth). Most of them appreciate the choice now.

One thing from wish list is done