[vijayshouree]

For me, It is the Innova, the king of highways, the paramount for reliability. I always have a soft corner for Toyota cars and Innova is so special. Whenever I think of planning for a trip with more than 5 people, I think of a rental Innova. Innova is a household name for all those family trips even if they don't own one.

[DrCar]

If other feel that Omni is a cockroach, then what is the opinion of the members about this car?

They are running around jam packed with occupants, stop suddenly in the middle of the highway, open up the belly to swallow and vomit as many people as they want to. Their tentacles are highly developed, they can smell a passenger from kilometres away. Following them behind with your car will test your skill levels and reflexes. They are big but surprisingly fast and good enough to find gaps.

Yes, I am talking about an evolution of the beloved Omni. Few years back they were called Versa, now they lovingly call it Eeco.


Never found a stranded Eeco till date on the side of the road. Post apocalypse, this will be the car that will be used for carrying rations, medicines, patients, money, utensils, building materials and also work as a makeshift home.

[vivek95]

Cockroaches exist everywhere irrespective of urban, rural, rich or poor. Hence, the only two true cockroaches to me are - Maruti Omni and Tempo/Force trax. In any village that is remote and backward and is not marked on Google maps yet, you are still likely to spot these species - Omni and Trax. Innovas are still limited to highways and urban,semi urban parts but Omni and Trax can be seen everywhere.

Does Mahindra Scorpio also qualify ???

[ShivrajG]

Somebody said Cockroach ? did you forget me ?

Classic Maruti Zen is one car which pops up on every city road once in a while. All kinds of mods stickers and racing. This car never gives up.
In my opinion along with Santro and 800 this is the real roach.

[Herschey]

I really don't know if I should be feeling great on owning such die-hard cars or should I be feeling bad on them being classified a roach but we have owned quite a few roaches in our family.

We had the 2003 Honda City 1.5 Vtec which was primarly used by my father initially but came under my possession in '06 as a gift once I secured my management degree. To describe this car in simple words, it has been one of the most enjoyable cars that I have ever driven and I so cringed and felt sad while parting with it in '11. The thing was still all stock (except the tires) including the clutch assembly and ran just as good as when it was fresh out of the showroom.This one was my LOVE!

The second roach which we have had with us was the Innova. This was the first car which I personally got accessorized with leather cladding on the steering wheel, a DVD player with a roof mounted LCD display, side mounted foot-steps, a bass-tube, and carpet mats. It was quite an exciting affair to deck up the car to my personal liking. I had a friend during my college days who had a Safari (4x2) which I too had driven on quite a few occasions. Driving the Innova after experiencing the Safari was quite a grinning affair as the car felt miles ahead in every aspect in comparison, especially the middle row captain seats which felt supremely comfortable. We had this car with us for close to 4 years post which it was sold in '11 as well, a few months before the City. This one was my PARTY!

The third roach we've owned is the Santro. This was special for two reasons: firstly, it was meant to be a gift for my mother who still doesn't know how to drive; and secondly, it was bought out of my salary from my first full time job post my masters. I bought this in '06 and it's still doing duty with us in a completely stock condition; although sparingly used but going as strong as she was when I first brought her in. This one is my RESPECT!

The fourth roach that we own is the Swift VDi. This was bought in 2013 by my younger brother while on his first job and that's why it's really special to me. I especially like its steering, the notchy gearbox, and the Indian roads' specific suspension setup. Like the Innova, this one too is a noise racket at higher RPMs but is a great daily mover nonetheless. Just like my brother, I am not a big fan of it's build quality and find the Santro to be much better built. But this, this one is my PRIDE!

The fifth roach we've owned was the MS Zen. This was bought in '98 and was another one of those fun little cars. I somehow couldn't understand why my father preferred this over the Esteem which was a better car in all aspects. But I especially loved it's greyish silver color and upgrading from the Maruti 800, the interior quality and finish felt miles ahead. It wasn't particularly fast and lacked space especially at the back but was a great upgrade. This one was FUN!

Other than these above, we've also had the HM Ambassador (owned two of them since my childhood, one in black and another one in White), a Maruti Van (it wasn't called the Omni back then), a Maruti 800 (I learnt to drive on this thing secretly without the knowledge of my father), and a DCM Daewoo Cielo (a brief stay with us for just about a year).

I don't drive much these days and in fact, purposely avoid doing so due to Delhi's traffic. I look at the cars available today and they somehow fail to live up to my expectations in one way or another. Some are madly priced while the others are just too low quality. The Indian automobile industry hasn't really progressed in the past 15 years the way it should have and it doesn't surprise me a bit to see their dwindling sales numbers now. This was bound to happen. Look at the likes of Honda and what they have done to their quality. People simply don't find value in the new cars and are more than happy to stick to their existing possession. The used car industry too is busy hammering the falling fortunes of the Indian car companies. I just hope that the situation improves and the Indian market gets some good cars backed by good after sales at justifiable prices.

[AirbusCapt]

Originally Posted by GTO

You missed the point. A "cockroach" is basically an old / older car model that refuses to die and continues to exist on Indian roads.

In that case, look no further than the Tata Indica. Not loved by Tata, not loved by the masses and abused by their cabbie owners the omnipresent silver colored Tata Indica continues to soldier on, bruised and battered , overloaded , dented on all sides and yet ever present each time you hail an Uber go or a ola micro. A true Indian cockroach.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Suggest the mods to change the name of the thread to "Which car simply refuses to disappear from the Indian roads?" or "Which car simply refuses to extinct from the Indian roads?"

IMO, it is Wagon R. All the versions of this car have been popular amongst the private as well as the commercial users. The car is found in all the states, all the terrains and in all the climatic conditions. You will see very old models as well as the latest models on the roads.

[kavensri]

I know, others will have different opinion, but here is mine.
If I think of 'cockroach', then I would definitely think in 'negative' terms. So, for me, it means a most irritating car on the road and it is Indica (not Vista). Whenever I see an indica in front of me, especially in heavy traffic, I will gather all my energy and patience to somehow overtake it and will have a huge relief when I do that. Of course, that lasts only till I encounter next Indica in front of me

[Sandeep500]

I think the cars mentioned in the thread are great in their owns ways and the owners have immense love and respect for them in their hearts . So calling them cockroach due to their undying nature is wrong and unjustified as we all hate cockroaches. They are looked upon as disgusting creatures. So by calling your favorites rides as roaches is like demeaning them. They may be called as donkeys or mares which are equally reliable and undying in nature having great relisiance and strong immunity. They work in extreme conditions where throughbread horses can't venture. More important they are not hateful or repulsive creatures like cockroaches. So the title may be changed please if possible.

[itsashishsharma]

Maruti Baleno, the original. We had one for 11 years, ran it for 1,20,000 KMs still on the stock clutch and suspension. Had a chilling AC, and was as good as it was new to drive. Toyota like durability, just better to drive, in fact the handling was better than the Citys and Lancers of that time, just behind the Ikon. A dream to own, just fill it and forget it.

[rulerofsun]

I think the two Cockroaches on the Mumbai roads are the Qualis and the Padmini Premiere, followed by the Santro and Innova.

Other parts of indiaThe Ambassador in Calcutta. The Maruti Esteeem in Bangalore Meru cabs. Force cruiser and Bolero, in semi urban areas.

Regards
RoS

[.HEM]

Mitsubishi Lancer!!

I see this as the cockroaches on the roads, they are not going to die anytime soon. There are many still on road running in pristine state. I see many tastefully modified Lancers and some whacky mods too. But still the feel to drive a lancer is the same.

If Mitsubishi open shop again after 20 years, there may still be some Lancer running on the Indian roads

[Carpainter]

Interesting facts about cockroaches that I didn't know of.
But one car that comes to my mind apart from others mentioned before is TATA Sumo. It's been on our roads for more than 20 years now and just refuse to die. Even though there is no creature comfort of any fancy bits, people specially in rural areas still swear by this car.

[Rajeevraj]

In my view it has to be the Omni. Anywhere you go, guaranteed that you will see plenty of them doing duty. Don't think there is any replacement for the practicality and convience that the Omni offers.( Keeping aside the safety aspects). I think it will never die.

[kanna1808]

My one and only choice is Scorpio. As long as politicians are there, this car will likely to be omnipresent along with their presence.
This is applicable to Goondas as well