[Honda Monk]

Germans over Japanese. They are solid built to last, high on safety and engineered to excellence with quality all over that speak about class.
Japanese are also best engineered with least maintenance cost.

[Zed]

Design \ styling

Aston martin - hands down. Understated elegance at its best.
Alfa Romeo a close second - Reliability was never its strength. But when if it broke down all you had to do was a find a bench from which you could admire its beauty. Any model. Period.

Engineering
The Germans and the Brits are responsible for anything that's considered cutting edge technology in a car \ utility vehicle. Volvo is the possible exception when it comes to safety.

Road presence
The only possible criteria on the basis of which the American muscle qualifies as #1.
Case in point - the Dodge Ram, Ford F series (think 450 super duty, prices starting at a mouth watering 30K $. Monthly fuel bills will be just as much ...). Not avbl in India, yet, though :(

VFM
Maruti
Hyundai
Toyota

Resale value is a key component for VFM and these three brands have the best resale value for products that are cheap to run and maintain.

[girishglg]

Different preferences for different body types-

Hatches: Japanese (read Maruti) for efficiency and low cost
Sedans: Korean ( read Hyundai) for unbeatable value and trim
MUVs: Indian (read M & M) for ruggedness and value
Luxury: Germans (read BMW and Audi) for quality and brand appeal
SUVs: European (read Land Rover) for superb capabilities (agreed they are now owned by Tata)

[man_and_machine]

no match in quality and reliability for the Japs! between equipment and Q I prefer Q. Its not how much there is that matters, but how much of what you have will always be there that matters! My current drive is the ANHC!

[S@ndy]

Hello all,

Yesterday, I decided to conduct a survey in my colony asking them which nation's brand do they prefer? Most of them said Germany, followed by Japanese and some also had a sweet spot for Korean ones. So, I started this thread to record the views of what others prefer.

As you can see, this thread is a poll. The option you selected should have a valid reason with it.

I prefer British luxury cars to other ones. The amount of engineering, high quality levels, focus on driver is applauded by many.

What are your views?

S@ndy

Mods: I searched and found a similar thread but with very limited options. So, I created a new thread regarding this matter. Thank You!

[arvi86]

I am one among the numerous common Indians who prefer German cars because of four brands - Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW and Audi. Its the sheer WOW factor and image associated with these brands that clinched the vote in their favour. But it has to be accepted that the reliability of these German brands are still suspects. So, if all we need is a no-nonsense car, then the Japanese and Korean cars are the best.

[sarathlal]

My vote goes for the Japanese. Sheer reliability and awesome Petrol engines!
Another reason is, the Jap cars will stay with you for a very long time. For eg, My M800 was with our family for 15 years, same goes with Honda.

[KarthikK]

At my home we have owned a Korean, a Japanese, an Indian car (M800) in the past and an Italian car at present. I chose Italian among the entire list for the reasons mentioned below:

- Brilliant, timeless designs. From a 2L Fiat Palio to a 2 crore Lamborghini/Ferrari, every Italian car is a sheer piece of automotive art genius. It is hard to find visual design flaws with them.

- Outstanding vehicle dynamics for the passionate enthusiast, owing to the rich racing pedigree of cars engineered in this region. Top notch handling, power, ride quality and equipment. Welcome to the world where every drive is a journey to automotive nirvana. I doubt there are many owners who are 'bored' of their Italian cars, ever!

- mammoth build quality of a battle tank. Safety is assured with the fantastic body strength. Not to forget, these Italian cars age gracefully and last long. Really long.

- state of the art automotive technology in all their cars. Revolutionary innovations (like the crdi tech in the Multijet national diesel engine) are usually the first to appear in these cars, and then make their way to the rest of the world. Most Italian cars launched are way ahead of their time. Examples include the Palio 1.6 GTX and Adventure Sport here in India.


Whatever I said would be applicable to German cars as well, except for the design part where the Germans are a tad bit conservative in my opinion. On the flip side of things, Italian cars may not have the same impeccable interior fit and finish of their german cousins or asian rivals, and together the european cars may not be as cheap to maintain or as reliable as the koreans or japs. But my vote goes to the Italians / Germans for sheer driving pleasure. We have just one life, lets live it!

P.S - I think you left out Koreans in the voting options. The legions of Hyundai fans will be mighty displeased. . @mods - can you add Koreans to the options list?

[abeerbagul]

The main feature of a car is to take you from point A to point B. With how much style it does this is secondary.
Japanese and Koreans are extremely reliable and have lowest TCO (total cost of ownership).
I would obviously love a car with style, luxury and a driving experience, but to qualify in the first place, it should be reliable and hassle free for 10 years.

[aaggoswami]

Voted for Japanese. Reliability is a big thing for me, and on safety front also the Japs are improving. New Swift has 5/5 rating,even Korean i20 has 5/5 rating. Handling, agility and even ride wise the Japs are now improving.

Next choice is American, but I mean real American, not renamed Korean cars. The new Fiesta is a classic example of good engineering.

Next would be German. They can build strong cars with good engineering.
Then would come Italians. Good at design, but not flexible in nature ( firms are not flexible ). French would come anywhere in between German and Italians.

Last would be Koreans. I hate as they are pure design copy stuff. Why is it that most design cues are copied only on Hyundai cars ? Also they do have many shortcuts, specially in marketing. I actually hate Korean cars, but thats more of an emotional feel rather than mechanical stuff.

BRITISH. Please remove British and add Koreans. BRITISH CAR INDUSTRY ICONS ARE NOW WITH INDIA ( TATA ). Once great, the British car industry is non existent.

[theexperthand]

+1 to what @KarthikK have said. I prefer Italian cars because of the amount of passion the car evokes - from Fiat to Pagani - and how can I ever forget the de Tomasos, Lambos and Ferraris? I see automobiles as an emotional extension of my soul, and there, things like reliability takes backseat to passion and pure driving pleasure.

Other than Italian cars, I have a soft spot for British vintage cars too.

[v.anand]

My vote is for German but heart also beats for Italian.

Why German? Majority of British luxo brands as well as some of Italian sport brands are under the umbrella of big Germans. Without doubt, Germans (all put together) simply rule the World's automotive industry which Japanese are trying hard to fight back.

[swiftdiesel]

I'm surprised to find "Korean" and "Indian" missing from the poll!

Anyway, my vote goes for the Japanese. There is something about a Japanese vehicle that a Korean or European or American vehicle cannot match, i.e. reliability! In all my buying decisions, reliability is the deciding factor followed by design. Having said that, I love European designed vehicles which the Japs are yet to match. If I'm in Europe, my choice would have been different but in a harsh environment like India, nothing comes close to Japanese vehicles. Period.

[one-77]

Voted for British.
I've always been in love with British cars, thanks in no small part to TopGear which I've been watching from my schooldays.
For me, the perfect small car is the Mini, the perfect compact SUV the Evoque, the perfect SUV the Range Rover, the perfect roadster the Lotus Elise, the perfect executive sedans the XJ and XF, the perfect supercars the Astons, the perfect luxo barges the RRs. And the specialist lightweight sports cars the Caterhams.
Waiting for the day when I can afford one!

My second vote would be for the Italians, for their sheer flair. From the humble Fiats to the mighty Ferraris and Masseratis.

My choices are all heart. No offence meant to anyone, but I prefer the heavy build, cornering ability, ride quality, classy styling, and suspect reliability of the Brits and the Italians to the the flimsy build, unsettled ride and handling, quirky (modern?) styling and boring reliability of the Japs and Koreans.

[blackfire_9]

My vote goes to the Japanese. I do not have a world of experience with cars from other parts of the world, but with my limited knowledge, I can say that they are the most reliable & they do their job without any complaints (for a really long time).

I think every manufacturer, be it Korean, or European, or Japanese, has a core value that's usually reflected in their cars. So, the decision for the most preferred brand is actually more based on what sort of core values can we relate to.