[V.Narayan]

At 35 my motivators were status and style - impressing neighbours, associates and relatives was prime. Never found out if they got impressed or not!! I am not and never was a fast driver or a corner carver so speed and vroom-vroom never were a selling point. But I used to go for cars that were at the extremity of what I could afford without EMIs and what I thought were the top India made models of the day. So it was Cielo in 1996-97 and Opel Astra Super in 2000 and then a second Opel Astra in 2001 to replace the Cielo. At that time because I did not know better I didn't think twice about spending time at a service centre.

Today reliability and great ASS come first. And thanks to the growing awareness of safety in India safety has taken a position on the criterion table too. Hence my inclination towards Toyota and Volvo. Buying the best I can afford to look good and fancy took a back seat over a decade and a half ago. I've settled at a happy compromise and intend to stay there.

Next purchase will only be once we have a full suite of EVs on display in the shop window and fire safety and range requirements have matured.

[kadanaJ]

My biggest change is preference has been to ride quality and comfort.

Earlier, I used to want rock-solid handling, tight cornering ability and great high-speed stability.

These days, all I want is something soft and compliant, that can absorb all of Mumbai's uneven roads and terrible potholes.

[07CR]

Very Nice thread GTO!

Some preferences that have changed for me-

1) Full blown MT guy>AT Guy- Well, my dad has purchased all MT cars till now. Maruti 800, Aveo-UVA, Amaze and now the Ecosport S TDCI. Fortunately, all our MTs have had slick shifting gearboxes, and relatively light clutch. Therefore I never thought I would be a AT convert. However, I recently drove an AT car of the friend on a highway, and the Cruise control+ AT combination on highways is hard to beat. Similary, in the city, when I had a test ride of AT with Auto hold car, I realized how convenient it was. So definitely the next car I purchase will have to be an AT (preferably with Auto Hold). My father still doesn't like AT's, but I believe once he experiences it, he will have a change of heart.

2) Never been fan of connected car tech, to I must have it, just for that one special feature- It is the remote start-stop, which can enable me to remotely turn on the car, and along with it the AC. Many times along the highway journeys, when the car isn't parked inside a shade, it becomes a bit unbearable for the first 5 odd minutes for the AC to cool up the cabin, especially in peak summers. I really like this feature a lot, and is a must have in my next car.

3) Push button start is just a unnecessary feature, to it is a must have!
I never had looked at the aspect of the convenience the sensors on door offered, till we purchased the Ecosport. I just associated this feature like a starter button on a two wheeler. Someone who almost has their hands full with bags, or some or the other thing, Push button start is a very convenient feature.

4) I am in the similar boat about the ride quality. Amaze and Ecosport have both had a stiff suspension and I absolutely love it on the long highway rides. But I realized the flip side in the cities and rural roads, and would definitely like to have a better ride quality at low speeds. It will even better if that compromises the high speed ride quality just negligibly.

5) From a diesel head, to Can check out the petrols too- I did this sum last time around, wherein the petrol car just costs about 2-3% more than the corresponding Diesel car, for the long term maintenance. Now that we are on the lookout for a second car, and we already have frugal Ecosport S TDCI, I can definitely also look for a Petrol car, provided it outshines the diesel in its class. (XUV700 turbo petrol, I am talking about you!)

6) Safety was never a criterion, to it is one of the top most today With the bad to average build quality of all our previous, never considered what I was missing out on. The day I felt the weight of the doors of the ecosport, changed it all. Not only that, I began taking seriously different safety features too, like the 6 airbags, auto dimming IRVMs, good headlights and others.

Preferences that have remained the same-

1) Should have a punchy engine
2) Should be a feature loaded car
3) Must have good road presence
4) Must be spacious
5) Must be reliable

[yd_gli]

My mind seems to waver the most when it comes to cars.

For a month I'll be completely hooked onto the Polo TSi MT and will research the hell out of it and everything that can be modified. I will even go to the extent of working out the cost involved with remaps, suspension upgrades. All of a sudden, one fine day the Thar replaces the Polo on my list of wants. A month goes by with the Thar and then its the RS245 or the Fortuner. It is like a never ending car rolodex.

I do the Bandipur - Pune, Mangalore - Pune non stop runs quite a few times every year and hence, I do place a premium on ride comfort/height and powertrains nowadays. Having owned cars all the way from a Golf GTi, Jetta GLi to a Baleno, Polo, Creta and currently Duster and Hexa, the advantages of high seating, high ground clearance and a good powertrain clearly outweigh the overall size, need for speed, creature comfort requirements I once had. Nothing beats a high displacement engine with super ride comfort.

But, I am still eyeing that matt finish Polo due later this year. The rolodex

[svmvale]

Fantastic thread GTO.

Though i started driving in 2002 (age: 19yrs) on an ambassador diesel and then Ford Figo both were my mom's car which she used with a driver. Back then preference was lower model with a good stereo system.

Dad's car we were not allowed to drive. Only he drives it. Its the same till today and i am 37.

My personal car purchases were as follows,
In 2012 : Ford All New Fiesta (1.5, Titanium) -> for dad, but we exchanged 6 months later
In 2013 : Fiat Linea (1.3 MJD, Emotion) -> exchanged with dad's yr Ford All New Fiesta. I still retain the Linea.
In 2015 : Hyundai elite i20 (1.4 CrDI, ASTA)
In 2017 : Volkswagen Vento (1.5 TDi AL, Highline)

Manual vs Automatics : Until 2016, used to completely against Automatics. Felt manual gives you pleasure of gear changes and you had complete control of the car, i mean engine breaking etc. And of-course fuel economy. But after experiencing the Vento DSG, completely hooked onto automatics. The modern day automatics, give pretty much same fuel economy as the manuals except maybe hyundai's TC units and CVTs. Modern day Autos are 6 or 7 speed ones, compated 3/4 speed autos of the 2000s. This also helps in fuel economy and drive-ability.

Safety : From the first car is purchased for myself, always wanted 2 airbags and ABS as standard which until 2019, was available only in the top end model. Having said that, VAG & Fiat have excellent build quality. Now build quality is most important. VW Vento will change in 2024 to a VW Taigun or Tata Harrier AT.

Pertol vs Diesel : I have never driven a Petrol car. Always used Turbo diesels. Love the low end torque of these diesels and they also give excellent relaxed highway cruising. RPM hovers around 2200 at 120-130 kmph. This same feeling is shared by Dad. He replaced his 7year old Opel Corsa with a Ford Fiesta. He loved the low end torque and the excellent drivability of the modern day diesels.

Accessories :
2000s : when in college, Maruti Swift (1st Gen) was the my dream. Always wanted to buy the Vxi model so modify it with alloys, upgraded stereo, leather seats, custom head lamps etc. And this remained a dream.
2010s : I was in my late twenty's when i bought my first car. Now the strong preference is to buy only the top end model. Only accessories i add are 3D mats and better bulbs for night driving. Prefer to keep the clean stock look. When i spent 2 lakhs to rejuvenate my 8 year old Linea, went to get back the stock look.

Reliability :
Until 2017 : Used to sell our cars after 4 yrs or 80,000kms
Post 2017 : After loads of reading on Team-Bhp, have 8yrs or 2,00,000 kms are the limit before i change cars. So now reliability is very important. I will not touch one which cannot stand good upto 2,00,000 kms. On that front, D segment Japs, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are fantastic.

Value for Money :
That has remained the same from the beginning. Always waited for times when discounts were offered. Bought previous year manufactured cars for discounts.
Fiat Linea : September 2012 manufactured --> Bought in April 2013
Hyundai elite i20 : bought the same month but without discounts
VW Vento AT : September 2017 manufactured --> Bought in March 2018

Country of Origin:
Always remained Europe / US > Korean > Japanese. Now might replace Japanese over Koreans now.

Sedan vs SUV:
Have always been a fan of sedans. Lower ride height but more stretched out than the crossovers where ride height is higher but more upright seating position.

Ride vs Handling :
2000s and early 2010s : Handling over ride. Always enjoyed a spirited drive from the driver's seat. Ford All new Fiesta was a fantastic car to drive. Front seats were fabulous. But rear seat side was crap.
Late 2010s to now : Ride over handling. When it came to choice between VAG twins, chose Vento over the Rapid, because it has a softer and subtle ride. Rapid though handled better.

[Sheel]

The biggest change for me has been, in terms of getting my cars serviced. Earlier, I used to stand and oversee the service, what oil is being used, how are the brake pads, what is the general condition of other components...over time, I got lazy and handed these things over to my chauffeur.

Having a reliable chauffeur, plus a garage where almost everyone knows you has its advantage, but this time, when I sent the Swift for service, I did realize that even if I don't stand there, I need to just go, verify things and then come back. I necessarily need not stand there, but its important to know what happens to your vehicles.

Transmission - Slowly turning towards AT's, no not the lazy TC's. Hate them [for eg the AT in 3.2 Endeavour] absolutely sucks, say in comparison to Hyundai's [even] 6 speed AT in Tucson.

Body type - SUV, or a small hatch for run around.

Earlier, handling > ride quality. Now ride quality = handling. Can not compromise either.

Safer SUV than a reliable, but, why can not we have both? A reliable safe SUV? An oxymoron at 20L.

Earlier, I wanted one or two aspect to stand out [say handling or a good engine], now, prefer the entire vehicle to shine overall, in all aspects, be it A/C, ICE, braking, NVH.

[reppy]

After going through several cars, for me, the new preferences which did not exist earlier are:

1. A/T
2. High ground clearance (sedan is OK too but GC matters now)
3. OEM Branded, sweet sounding audio system
4. Ventilated seats
5. Panoramic sunroof
6. My knee should not hit the center console
7. Chilling Aircon
8. Different colored leatherette upholstery - I love nicely done tan or chocolate colored interiors in many European cars nowadays. Blacks and beiges are so yesterday
9. Soft ride quality with an underlying European firmness
10. 5 star safety with multiple airbags

[Neversaygbye]

Thank you GTO for this interesting thread.

Speaking about the evolution of my wants and needs over the years, let me break it down by decades:

90s and 00s:

When I was younger I really didn't understand much about cars and also there weren't too many options in the market then. Plus as we had limited money at our disposal, car purchases were made from a "family car within the budget" perspective, and performance, driver's comfort et al were all secondary to "budget". However, both my father and I were always ok with trying new brands and technologies, hence while our first car was a Fiat 1100D that my dad purchased second hand, a Matiz and an Indica V2 DLS joined our family thereafter despite Daewoo being pretty new as a brand and Indica being Telco's first attempt at making a proper passenger car.

2010s-now

After driving the latter two cars we became more aware of driving dynamics, ride quality, performance and reliability. We also understood the advantage of turbocharged diesels over naturally aspirated petrol engines (better torque and mileage figures)

Hence we opted for a Beat LPG and a diesel Vista to replace the Matiz and Indica V2. The Beat LPG was best in terms of cost per km run (still less than Rs5/km) plus the 3 years' free maintenance package was a clincher. And of course the Vista with Fiat's 1.3 multijet in a tune of 90 bhp is a pleasure to drive and as our earlier experience with the Indica was great, so we replaced it with another Tata. So I would say our needs evolved from "any car that fits my budget" to "a car that is cheap to run but also rides well, is spacious and reliable with something in it for the driver"

My next car purchase (whenever that is)

There are some criteria that will decide which car I buy next. To be honest, TBHP has played a huge role in increasing my knowledge of cars in general and the things that matter to me now are:

1. Performance - mileage is not that important, but a torquey engine definitely is. Hence my future car will be either a turbo petrol, a turbo-diesel or an EV. In fact it will in all likelihood be an EV since the tech will probably be more mature and the range, charging time and also number of charging points related issues should be resolved in the next three years, which is when I intend to change my current cars

2. Ride quality - this is the next most important criterion since a car that rides well also tends to tire out the passengers less, and since I am into long drives on less than ideal tarmac, this is a must have.

3. Ground clearance - Important because of the quality of our roads. In all likelihood my next car will be either a crossover or an SUV, because of this reason.

4. Safety and build quality - a better built car saves lives in a bad crash and results in lower repair costs in small incidents. I also prefer my cars to have some heft. That results in a more grounded and pliant ride as well.

5. Reliability - the car should spend as less time in the service centre as possible. This is another reason why I'm not jumping onto the EV bandwagon right now. I am skeptical of new technologies in the Indian context unless they have been there for a while.

6. Value for money - all of the above should come in a VFM package. Am not a fan of embellishments that are not really necessary but add to the cost, for example sunroofs.

Hence the thing that is not important to me is looks - while I like good looking cars as much as the next person, it will not be what drives my decision. As long as the first 6 criteria are met, I am okay with living with even an ugly looking car. Also, I am fine with both MT and ATs and that will not be a factor in my decision, and in any case if my next purchase is an EV it will be an AT by default.

[drift87]

I think most of them would have this in common-- Manual to automatic. But then, I would always prefer fast manual diesels on the highways. Apart from the transmission, my preferences have not changed.However, I have graduated from hatchback to a proper sedan with very good road manners and I am loving it. May be a crossover when I turn 40 years or so.

[INJAXN]

I currently have 2013 make Maruti Swift VXI 2013, it lacks big time in safety. So a safe car is my top most priority, whenever I am upgrading. Swift also lacks big time in boot space, so that's 2nd most in the list.

1) Safe car, at least 2 air bags and ABS, EBD.
2) Bigger boot, preferably I will go for a sedan or a cross-over vehicle.
3) A reliable car, like Swift.

Rest, I am up for new tech and gizmos, whatever fits best in the budget at that time.

[jeygani]

I was always inclined to higher power, bigger good looking vehicles.
Given a choice ($$$) I would have built a big dream garage with multiple vehicles for various occasions.

Coming back to reality, with the available choices I got a pre owned city in 2014 and still using it.
I was looking for civic at that point of time but settled for city and no regrets.

Back in those days, my preferences were

-Reliable (Must)
-Engine (100+ bhp, fuel efficient)
-Sedan (No hatchback)
-Less on maintenance
-Ride comfort + Handling (Moderate)
-No loan

Today, as of now, my preferences are

-Reliable (Good to have)
-Engine (200+ bhp, torque 400+ Nm, fuel efficient)
-Sedan/SUV (I prefer more space)
-Higher (expected) maintenance is fine but no premature failures
-Ride comfort > Handling (Preference for comfort)
-Good to have features(Sunroof, ventilated seats, android auto, adaptive suspensions etc.)
-No loan

At present the change I see is more power and comfort.
EVs are a good option in future.

[Altocumulus]

Originally Posted by GTO

They say, change is the only constant! And that's certainly the case with our attitude, approach & preferences toward cars. Many BHPians have been around on this forum since 2004; look up some of our posts from back then and you'll see how they are in stark contrast to what we post today.

Your first few paragraphs echo my thoughts to the T as well as reality

• From a proud Honda Fanboy and in love with Japanese NA engines to German mini Turbo Petrols
• To an all out MT evangelist to a full-on AT guy. Lets say my MT doesn't get the attention as it did before.
• Ride comfort being of paramount importance along with safety
• An SUV requires to be a part of the garage for those challenging destinations, snow drives and mini offroad fun

All boils down, from a significant list of Hondas and Suzukis I owned before, to my current garage consisting of a Duster 4WD and a Rapid TSI AT. A check mark against all the points mentioned above.

[Amsdoc]

Very interesting journey this has been for me.
I started having my room filled with all sorts of car poster when the only cars available in India were the ambassador and the fiat.
Then came a time when I thought the Maruti 1000 and the Contessa were the coolest things around.
I also had a dream of restoring a Standard Herald (this one still remains)
Then came a phase of aspirational upgrades and I slowly moved up the car ladder until I reached a Mercedes CLK 420. I drove multiple different brands in this period as well
I have now come to a conclusion that there is no perfect car. There are cars for specific purposes and the best car in the world is useless if it doesn't suit the primary purpose you need it for. I still thankfully haven't reached "Car is a product to take you from A to B yet!"
I now have the following requirements:
1)1 small car which I use for the small roads of Pune.
2)1 bigger car for the longer drives.
3)1 car with high ground clearance and preferably 4x4 for my frequent excursions into wilder terrain.

I don't care for things like sunroofs or ambient lighting, all cars I henceforth buy should be safe (good NCAP rating), automatic gearbox and a good music system (this can be added later)

I am hoping to change number 1 with an electric car, hopefully when they become a bit cheaper.
Ideally 2/3 need to be one car but those with 4x4 are currently out of my budget. Currently have a Creta which somewhat does the job. May get a Jimny if it becomes available to satisfy my need for number 3.

[Autocaptive]

Although I don't have multiple decades of driving under my belt (started in 2013), I have observed a couple of changes in myself throughout the years as well; like many members here was a big time Honda fanboy as we had a 2010 City and a 2015 Brio so was used to linear but rev-happy naturally aspirated engines equipped with slick manuals and light clutches but then got bored of driving manuals in heavy traffic and got a Tiago AMT to experience the bliss that is city commuting with just two pedals.

Now we've got an AMT as well as a TC in the garage and atleast in the concrete confines of these jungles we reside in, I wouldn't give them up for anything though I'll still pick a MT for long/spirited highway runs. Another point I'd like to add is since me being a VTEC kid I hated those growly and rough sounding diesels but having spent some time behind a few modern diesels I'm really starting to come around on that front though it's tragic that I've realised this at the twilight years of the diesel engine. I've also calmed down a lot when it comes to driving in traffic, earlier didn't upshift before 4k rpm just to be ahead of the pesky two wheeled riders, much more considerate towards them now.

Being a product of the internet age, I've always been strict when it comes to safety so much so that I convinced my parents to sell our Brio which had done merely 3 years/12,500kms just because I felt unsafe driving a car without ABS and airbags (not entirely the car's fault ).

[123.rishabh]

Thanks for starting this great thread GTO !

There are quite a few things which have changed since i started to drive cars

1. New Vs Used - My parents were just not ready to get me a used car, but thanks to team bhp ownership reviews & other global forums i could understand the technicalities & convince my parents to get a used car.
Ever since then i feel that if one has the technical knowhow and can do basic DIY things then a used premium car makes a lot of sense vs a New car.
I still prefer to keep new car as my daily, but this also might change in the coming time



2. Beater Car Concept - Earlier i used to have a Tata Safari as my daily driver (for 10 years) & it was used everywhere from tight traffic packed roads to wide expressways. Due to the uncertainty of the 10 year NGT diesel ban, had to sell it & went for a used 1st Gen Honda Jazz. This made life so easy & convenient & I could understand the benefit of keeping a beater in the house.