Why do some segments lack cars offering a combination of safety & good automatics?

hamhaj16 · 28th February 2021, 17:06

Making safer vehicles is not that easy, it needs lots research, correct size and combinations of materials. Top brands with decent kerb weight will do better. I personally prefer Toyota or ford over safety. I personally feels dry DCTs are the future of ATs because they have the combination of fuel efficiency and convenient. Ford has a better DCT but they have to redesign the release bearing in their powershift transmission, otherwise it's a good one, although it can be replaced easily. I prefer ford ecosport with DCT.

jeetumg27 · 1st March 2021, 07:48

I opted for the Toyota Urban Cruiser - High variant - Automatic (4-speed TC) - will be sharing my first detailed post soon on why I zeroed in on this.

Through the process I realised, there is no perfect car, and if there is one, it is always out of your budget. The Korean duos (Sonet, Venue) try to woo you with their features list and with due respect, they are accomplished products. In fact its the Kia Sonet that got me interested the most and even the test drives proved it was a fantastic product.

The 4-speed TC auto on the Toyota UC / Suzuki Brezza was one of the reasons I did not even shortlist these 2 models for a test drive.

However, after owning & recently selling a Skoda Rapid 1.6 diesel manual (8 years, 1.18 lakh kms) , I realised ownership costs & the resale value do matter in the long run.

My points of opting for the Toyota UC (I also know it got a lot of critical feedback on this forum)

- Most of the CSUV's make you feel a bit "hemmed in" - the Urban Cruiser didn't feel so - it felt spacious, had proper space for seating 3 at the back and ingress/egress was much easier, especially from the rear.

- Brezza's 4-star crash-test rating inspired confidence & it does feel quite sturdy in daily driving

- The 4-speed torque converter slushbox maybe boring/unexciting - but its super-smooth and the 1.5L engine is eerily silent. Also, some TBHPians had shared their reviews of the gearbox and found it to be very reliable & maintenance free.

The Kia Sonet 7-speed DCT was very refined too, but I found a noticeable delay in responsiveness ; and the 6-speed diesel TC was by far the one of the best I have driven.. always felt like an abundance of power on tap! However, I felt post the BS6 era, the future of diesels especially in city-driven cars does not look too promising. The DPF clogging can become a pain & if you are not driving your car on the highway for a while, there is no way to clean it up. AFAIK Innova Crysta is the only car to have a proper system to unclog the DPF manually.

View Poll Results: If in search for an automatic car in a specific budget, which of the options would you chose?
I would go for the best automatic gearbox tech knowing that I have to forego safety	6	13.64%
I will compromise on the best auto gearbox knowing that I have to fit in safety in my budget	6	13.64%
I need both, the best gearbox/safety options and will downgrade to a segment below (as my budget is fixed)	32	72.73%
Voters: 44. You may not vote on this poll

28th February 2021, 17:06	#16
hamhaj16 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2020 Location: Tirunelveli Posts: 26 Thanked: 9 Times	Re: Why do some segments lack cars offering a combination of safety & good automatics? Making safer vehicles is not that easy, it needs lots research, correct size and combinations of materials. Top brands with decent kerb weight will do better. I personally prefer Toyota or ford over safety. I personally feels dry DCTs are the future of ATs because they have the combination of fuel efficiency and convenient. Ford has a better DCT but they have to redesign the release bearing in their powershift transmission, otherwise it's a good one, although it can be replaced easily. I prefer ford ecosport with DCT.
	() Thanks

1st March 2021, 07:48	#17
jeetumg27 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Mumbai Posts: 49 Thanked: 104 Times	Re: Why do some segments lack cars offering a combination of safety & good automatics? I opted for the Toyota Urban Cruiser - High variant - Automatic (4-speed TC) - will be sharing my first detailed post soon on why I zeroed in on this. Through the process I realised, there is no perfect car, and if there is one, it is always out of your budget. The Korean duos (Sonet, Venue) try to woo you with their features list and with due respect, they are accomplished products. In fact its the Kia Sonet that got me interested the most and even the test drives proved it was a fantastic product. The 4-speed TC auto on the Toyota UC / Suzuki Brezza was one of the reasons I did not even shortlist these 2 models for a test drive. However, after owning & recently selling a Skoda Rapid 1.6 diesel manual (8 years, 1.18 lakh kms) , I realised ownership costs & the resale value do matter in the long run. My points of opting for the Toyota UC (I also know it got a lot of critical feedback on this forum) - Most of the CSUV's make you feel a bit "hemmed in" - the Urban Cruiser didn't feel so - it felt spacious, had proper space for seating 3 at the back and ingress/egress was much easier, especially from the rear. - Brezza's 4-star crash-test rating inspired confidence & it does feel quite sturdy in daily driving - The 4-speed torque converter slushbox maybe boring/unexciting - but its super-smooth and the 1.5L engine is eerily silent. Also, some TBHPians had shared their reviews of the gearbox and found it to be very reliable & maintenance free. The Kia Sonet 7-speed DCT was very refined too, but I found a noticeable delay in responsiveness ; and the 6-speed diesel TC was by far the one of the best I have driven.. always felt like an abundance of power on tap! However, I felt post the BS6 era, the future of diesels especially in city-driven cars does not look too promising. The DPF clogging can become a pain & if you are not driving your car on the highway for a while, there is no way to clean it up. AFAIK Innova Crysta is the only car to have a proper system to unclog the DPF manually.
	() Thanks