[jigar1791@gmail]

Choosing 1 from the crowd seems very, very difficult. I have personal favourites in every segment, would pick up these in the order listed.

Bifurcating the list segment-bucket wise -

Hatches -
1. Altroz (towards the end of the decade) : flag bearer on safety standards in a hatch!
2. Polo (towards the beginning of the decade) : giving us the feel of German engineering in an affordable hatch, that too, in 2010 !

Sedans -
1. Vento : 1st sedan capable to take on the Honda City, head on, during the start of the decade !
2. Verna : redefining segment first standards/features for this group. Eg - 126 BHP Diesel in a C2 sedan
3. Aspire : Ford's brilliance (to some extent) offered in a car under million rupees
** Ciaz : My personal choice (current steed), jack of all, master of none. Excellent machine for a comfortable A-B travel

Compact SUVs -
1. Ecoport : Obviously!! First mover advantage, getting (almost) everything right
2. Duster : Setting benchmarks in terms of ride quality in a segment not known to many

MUVs -
1. Ertiga : Without doubt, gave the average Indian joint middle class family a reason to travel together
2. Innova : undisputed king of long range travels, preferred choice across multiple target markets for indestructible quality, well screwed product and long term reliability

SUVs -
1. Compass : don't know, maybe, I'm biased for this over Creta
2. Harrier : Pride of Tata's, excellent machine + everything feels nice (the current iteration). Again, personal favourite in this segment

Executive Sedans - can't imagine any other car, Passat, maybe?
1. Octavia (D1)
2. Superb (D2), only if Accord exists today !


@All - pls pitch in with your comments wherever you want to

Regards,
Jigar Shah

[Sahil]

Nice thread but I think we need to have a collaborative selection of cars and a poll to take this forward.

However, it is going to be hard to make a choice as newer cars are always fresher in your mind but a true car of the decade in my opinion would be something that now might feel dated but created a big impact or shook up the market back when it was launched.

[DicKy]

Have to go with your choice, or maybe am lazy to think

XUV500

Didn't particularly like it, even now (more of an Aria gang guy then) , and I feel Ecosport has been more successful in staying relevant in the public sphere.

But objectively.

Killing off the sedan segment - While Mahindra has been trying (atleast from their adverts) to kill off sedans with the Scorpio and Xylo, it was the XUV500 that really did it.
While the Scorpio and Xylo had proper rivals and a definite segment targeted, the XUV500 really had an open field. And the casualty? Sedans.

Ofcourse one could argue that the SUV/crossover wave was sweeping the world, but atleast for the Indian market, the XUV500 is the reason why the D segment sedan market is a shell of its former self.

Mahindra's growth as a company - The XUV500 was a huge learning curve for Mahindra. Though except for the KUV100, we are yet to see the learning applied in another model (meaning monocoque models). The XUV500 was Mahindra's Indica moment.
Though IMO, TML is superior engineering-wise, Mahindra future models/upcoming models excite me more nowadays.

Pushing the market upwards - A 15 lakh model doing healthy monthly sales might not be much of a deal nowadays, but for a market used to seeing sub 8 lakhs models as top sellers, the XUV500 was a real push upwards. Unless it was a Toyota/Honda or the germans, a 10+ lakhs purchase from any other brand was seen as risky.
Heck, anything above a Honda City was seen as ostentatious and 'evil eye' magnet.
And now?....

Still dislike the XUV500 (except for the stonker of an engine), but looking forward to the next gen XUV500 as it will be a game changer, not as much as the first gen, but in terms of democratising features.

[Nav-i-gator]

Well, if it is about changing the landscape of the Indian auto segment (and not just changing/reviving the fortunes of the manufacturer), it has to be either Ecosport or Duster.

They created a new segment, pushed sedans out of contention altogether, and led to CSUV 's complete domination in <20 Lakh price segment (that is >90% of total passenger car market in India). Every decent success story afterwards have taken a bit out of these, be it Creta/Seltos, down to the Kwid, Ignis, S-presso, HBX, are also an off-shoot of just continuing/expanding the established fact today (no matter how far off reality it is):

high ground clearance = SUV; and SUV = Success

[AZT]

Car of the decade should be one car that single handedly changed the fortune of it's company and also raised the bar for it's segment. My contenders would be

1. Kia Seltos - Raised the bar / Single handedly propelled Kia above Mahindra and Tata
2. Toyota Innova - No car has been able to beat this in reliability and is Toyotas bread and butter
3. Tata Nexon - A car that punched above it's weight when it came to price. Safe compact SUV below 10 lakhs. I think prices have increased now so not sure if it's still VFM
4. Hyundai Creta - Launched in 2015, this car took the country by storm and made a lot of traditional Sedan users move to SUV's.

Special mention: Tata Tiago - Not as cheap as the Alto but a good alternative for someone who wants safety in a budget vehicle.

[GipsyDanger]

Glad to get some answers

Lots of love for the little Tiago! Emphasizing the importance of safety in it's segment is nothing short of daring for Tata Motors. The JTP may not have caught on, but no doubt has instilled some amount of aspirational value to the normal car. Glad to see all the attention and appreciation it truly deserves. I'm hoping it gets better engines the next time around. Other than that, it's a complete package.

Then it's a dead heat between Duster and EcoSport. They're game-changers indeed, no doubt about that.

Without EcoSport, no Brezza, no Nexon, no XUV 300, etc. 7 years old, and hasn't aged one bit. Looks funky enough to entice buyers away from the Plain-Jane Brezza, and yet understated and mature enough to distance itself from the weird looking Nexon and Venue. And the crossover stature hasn't diluted Ford's DNA one bit. Yummy.
Here's to hoping the next generation, with Mahindra's tempting mStallion turbo-petrol, will be just as much a hoot to drive like the current one.

The Duster brand carries a great deal of recognition and pride over here; enough for prospective buyers to atleast consider it over Kia/Hyundai, IF they launched the new generation. Sadly that's not the case. Renault sticking with the old, outdated model instead of launching the new one is such a massive missed opportunity. Doubt whether the turbo petrol will do anything to even leave a patch on Seltos' sales.

That being said, cannot deny the impact it's had. The ride quality is yet to be beaten by any car of it's segment. The 1.5 dCI is robust, and thanks to AWD option, carries atleast some sort of offroading credentials (although not much) compared to the glorified hatchbacks it's competing with. Renault India had the time of their lives back then.

The Polo keeps springing up next. VW, like Tata should've jumped on the safety bandwagon rather than keep mum about it's great ratings. And thankfully the 1.0 MPI "malaise era" of the car is over. It took them 10 years to bring them a sweet engine to match the sweet dynamics, the top-end 1.2 TSI notwithstanding.

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

If there is one car that has stood strong unfazed from new competition, monocoque MPVs for a decade (15 years now) it has to be the Innova!

The ultimate byword for endurance, yes. Had a superb run in the 2010s that I'd think it qualifies for this, even though it was introduced in 2005.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Nice thread but I think we need to have a collaborative selection of cars and a poll to take this forward.

However, it is going to be hard to make a choice as newer cars are always fresher in your mind but a true car of the decade in my opinion would be something that now might feel dated but created a big impact or shook up the market back when it was launched.

Yes, absolutely. It's impossible to narrow down to a single car for most, I'm afraid.
Was mostly thinking of a retrospective on cars of the past 10 years that have shaped our market and it's tastes in their own ways. So "cars of the decade" might suffice.

Originally Posted by DicKy

Killing off the sedan segment - While Mahindra has been trying (atleast from their adverts) to kill off sedans with the Scorpio and Xylo, it was the XUV500 that really did it.
While the Scorpio and Xylo had proper rivals and a definite segment targeted, the XUV500 really had an open field. And the casualty? Sedans.
Ofcourse one could argue that the SUV/crossover wave was sweeping the world, but atleast for the Indian market, the XUV500 is the reason why the D segment sedan market is a shell of its former self.

Yeah. It's incredibly sad to see such a great breed of sedans falling out of favour. For me, the original Octy 1.9 TDI is the defining car of the 2000s, followed closely by the Civic. The 2.0 TDI Jetta and the 1.8 TSI Octavia have all attained cult status among enthusiasts, including this forum. Sad to see them vanish slowly from public. Thankfully, the C Segment is still thriving, and with the news of next gen Vento/Rapid coming soon, those looking for a low-slung(compared to crossovers) fun fast car won't be left in the dark.

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by TokyoDrifter

VW Polo w/o a doubt. Superb built...not sure why anyone would buy anything else (unless boot space is the constraint).

Yep! This is undoubtedly "the" car of the decade in true sense. It's here since almost a decade and I'm watching its "reviews" from the time I was in college till today when I'm in my late twenties.

That's what the "Das" (Hindi) in their tagline meant. Ten Years Auto.

[DonHyd]

There are cars that are good and then there are cars that leave an ever lasting impression. Jeep Compass is one such car which immediately connects to the heart. In fact, this car had the potential to turn FCA's fortunes if it was priced a little more aggressively. The automatic gearbox is far from perfect but diesel manual combo is supremely enjoyable by suv standards. Fiat has mismanaged a competent product.