[RJK]

Bigger car from Mainstream brand. Putting the money where the mouth is.
However, I don't really consider Camry as a luxury car, its a comfortable no-nonsense car with good technology. Luxury, not by a long shot! Toyota hardly evokes same emotion as a BMW, aspirationally, atleast for me.

[livetodrive]

After purchasing Jeep Compass, many asked me if I checked out BMW for this price !! While I was considering Compass to be a luxury brand compared to Duster, Thar, Creta and Seltos which I was considering during buying phase.

So, at least for my recent purchase I am not sure which league it belongs to

[SaiSW]

Voted for bigger car from mainstream brand, but it depends to be honest. For the first example, I am definitely taking the endeavour over the X1 but might not always be the case.

[Arun_S]

As on today, I would vote for bigger car from mainstream brand. But priorities might change down the line.

[kamilharis]

Voted Bigger car from a mainstream brand.

But that is when I am putting my money for the only one car in the house.

If in case, for example now I have a CHANGAN EADO with me for all my usage, and if I get enough money to pick up a luxury car I will surely pick it up and keep it as a second but special car.

So for me, it is like -

• If shopping for the only car in the house - Choose A bigger car from a mainstream brand, read Kodiaq.
• If shopping for a second car - Definitely A smaller car from a luxury brand. And it will be a 3 pointed star.

[aayusht]

Couple of months back my father in law picked up the CRV. At around the same time, his colleague picked up the X1 at a slightly higher purchase price (though the difference was only about INR 2L). Recently they both travelled in the X1 and my father in law called out that CRV is a much better buy hands down. His primary criteria: CRV has more space and he heard about the average maintenance costs of X1 from other people.

The poll indicates that majority of the people would prefer car from the mainstream brand.

Of course the decision is very subjective. There would be cases (life stage, affordability and available parking spaces) where people will prefer taking the badge over VFM option for their 2nd / 3rd car meant for occasional drives.

[dicor]

Voted for bigger car from mainstream brands.

If I have 30 lakhs at disposal and I have to own one car at a time, I would rather buy an entry level Ford Endeavor rather than buying a "A class" Mercedes.

Anything less than GLS or Q5 doesn't fascinate me. Entry level premium cars do not gain masses respect and sometimes that's the purpose of buying a badge.

Of course the priority will change, if I have countless money to own several cars in my garage then I can buy a mini cooper or super impractical Lamborghini too.

[_lewie_]

An American Youtuber once said "Being a fanboy doesn't hurt but be a fanboy of the product itself, not the brand". I think I'll take that.

[Mechanto]

The poll results and the monthly sales figure tell the same story. While the Endeavour + Fortuner hovered around the 3000 mark in Feb 2021, all Luxury cars put together retailed at around 1700 units, and this includes more expensive models as well. Considering a majority of this number could be the affordable models, anywhere between 1000 to 1500 units would be a reasonable assumption. This is roughly less than 50% of what the bigger cars from a mainstream brand manages to sell.

[BikeDevil44]

Unfortunately I cannot cast my vote on this poll. But if I could I would have surely voted for Bigger cars from a mainstream brand. I guess that is clearly evident with the way we Team-BHP members have single handedly bought off the stocks of Tiguan All Space! And secondly as GTO had mentioned the Skoda Kodiaq is a car that would be priced at almost 60-70L if only came with some other badge.

[sgm]

There is no perfect single car which can cater to all the needs.
Yes, entry level luxury cars offer “less car” per car but the driving pleasure they offer is “more car” per car as long as they run fine. The situations (read as multiple cars vs single, chauffer driven vs self drive, family car vs self use etc) and the family requirements play a big role. If you are looking at two adults and two kids, entry level cars can manage your highway trips with “limited” carefully packed luggage.

Originally Posted by sidharth_j

This is an easy choice really. plump for the bigger car from an established mainstream maker.
Mainstream brands simply don't have that 'luxury' hangups and usually provide much better bang for the buck at that price point.

Here in India, we have a shortage of such cars. A Mazda 3 top end can offer premium interiors which can match the levels of a German. We don’t get those Camry V6 or Accord 2.0T which can match the “straight line” performance of a C300/330i or A4 2.0 TSI, so we are short of choices.

Originally Posted by gkveda

For me, value for money is more important than the premium paid for that small piece of metal called logo.

There are certain things, which the luxury cars do better, like offer better NVH levels and handling. Whether you enjoy and appreciate those, it is a personal choice.

[Vasanth]

I have voted for smaller car from a luxury brand.
Because we own a CLA.
That poll is hard to choose and priorities matter.
We don’t like to be chauffeur driven.
We like to drive on our own.
Agreed , The rear seat space in the CLA is very limited. But in our home we all are 5-6” to 5’8”. So it is comfortable enough
It was my dad’s dream to own a Luxury car for a long time. Driving a Three pointed star and driving a high end model of a VW or Skoda makes a difference.
Why was the VW Phaeton a huge flop though it was bonkers ?
The only alternative we had seen was Audi A3 and Audi A4 (previous gen)
The Skoda Superb or Toyota Camry wasn’t even considered.
But I wouldn’t regret buying the Skoda
Neither do I regret not buying the Skoda
We are very satisfied with what we purchased.

When it comes to SUV the Toyota Fortuner is the only car we would consider at that price. We wouldn’t go for the GLC. It’s more a of a soft off roader.
So we don’t want to compromise on off roading capability with luxury.

[kadanaJ]

It totally depends on what the car would be used for.

If purchasing a car for family use, that would be primarily chauffeur driven, I would choose a Toyota Innova or Camry.

If the car will mainly be driven by me, I'd spend the extra for a BMW 3 series just for the driving pleasure.

If I need an all rounder, it would be a Camry. Not as excited as a BMW, but still a nice drive, and a comfortable back seat experience with huge boot (plus proper spare tyre).

Badge value and snob appeal mean nothing to me.

[motorotor]

I did not vote on this since I think it depends totally on the actual use that the vehicle is going to be put to. A big car regardless of the brand has a different utility than a small car.
Personally, I have never bought into the premium brand perception thing. For me, the decisions are made on the basis of the individual merits of the car in question and my use for it, and the budget of course.

[shreevishnu]

My 2 cents, along with rationale for why:
1. Service/maintenance of "luxury" is a pain - both costs and part availability. [Lexus - where art thou? Will you be like you are in all other markets?]
2. "Premium" - the actual gap between mainstream and luxury is now reducing quite a bit - no more lovely 3.0 V6 petrol and diesels in Audi - same 2.0 tdi or 2.0 TSI everywhere - A class limousine with a version of the "new" duster engine.
3. Resale values are a mixed bag, but mainstream brand cars hold values better with lesser depreciation in the real world.
4. Value - mainstream brands premium offerings actual provide a lot more goods at a good price. Yes, a Camry is overpriced - but a hybrid with killer space, features and peace of mind - is still much cheaper than an A4 or C class (how?).