[R2D2]

Originally Posted by KobeSmushie

There is so much ranting and disrespectful comments by many users to put down others' opinions and observations without adding much to the discussion.

Seeing you recently joined in Aug 2021 with <10 posts I thought I'd comment. Every once in a while, I come across content that is written lucidly, to the point, without the inherent bias that exists in each one of us or God forbid those over the top emotional rants that claim XYZ car company is an a*$ or similar. Your post is one of them. Thanks for sharing your PoV in such a pleasant and balanced manner.

Hope to read more such posts. And last but not the least welcome to T-BHP.

[KobeSmushie]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Seeing you recently joined in Aug 2021 with <10 posts I thought I'd comment. Every once in a while, I come across content that is written lucidly, to the point, without the inherent bias that exists in each one of us or God forbid those over the top emotional rants that claim XYZ car company is an a*$ or similar. Your post is one of them. Thanks for sharing your PoV in such a pleasant and balanced manner.

Hope to read more such posts. And last but not the least welcome to T-BHP.

Thank you very much for your appreciation. It is a rare honour to be acknowledged by such a distinguished figure as yourself. I felt that I might have gone too far with my ranting there But I do mantain that the level of insight and indulgence which Team-BHP offers to a reader does get blighted by uncritical and disrespectful commenting. Vehicle ownership and experience in a developing country with so much diversity in conditions and usage requirements is very complex and people's choices should be respected without any trolling effort to cause harm to their dignity and freedom of choice as an informed consumer. One must, with the most humane and compassionate attitude, contextualise or try to situate a user according to their socio-economic background and understand their choice and not put them down by scenarios which are irrelevant to them. This non-judgmental basic respect can only lead to a meaningful dialogue.

There are so many places in India, still, where many manufacturers do not operate or consider it worthwhile. Myriad of reasons for that be it political, social (including demographical), economic, geographical, or the most despicable of all: lack of will/interest by manufacturer. By now you would appreciate where I am going with this. Basically, the most popular/aspirational realistic cars--let's assume, as a case in point, premium hatchback segment--to own and mantain would be a Baleno or an i20 or even an Altroz owing to serviceability factor. I know those places will still not be black hole for a performance oriented VW POLO GT or an Abarth Punto, I mean I am not suggesting a zero probability for such a niche vehicle to have been registered in those RTOs but as compared to urban centres' the ownership would be very less and fraught with many hassles. Yet at the same time, in my humble opinion, though I maybe statistically incorrect to assume so, the performance versions of a Baleno (RS), i20 (Turbo), or Altroz (Turbo) will be a much more safer consumeristic choice to own and maintain. (People are much more informed of their circumstances and requirements than some judgemental folks would like to believe; even still their opinions and suggestions are welcome, although most of the times vice-versa would not be true)

Suzuki vehicle sales point towards this depth of their outreach while to some in urban centres a Suzuki vehicle might not appeal as a first choice to consider! But for some to comment and judge others for their choice of a performance Hyundai or say Suzuki or Tata JTP and stop short of calling the other person Loser is problematic, judgemental, and utterly disrespectful. Talking passionately about something you admire on its own merits and demerits is perfectly alright but alienating and demeaning others for their choice, which is not same as yours, without any attempt to reconcile and understand is uncool. Pricing can again be fiercely debated upon because in the end Indian consumers deserve the best possible value for money but trolling someone or trying to dissuade a prospective buyer with disrespectful banter translated as: 'You buy this you'll be a 'Loser' means you want to purposely affect someone's mental well being. If you love cars, and are part of a great auto enthusiast community then you know what vehicles, and the emotions they carry for owners, mean to you and similarly to your peers. It is not a random place to talk bullshit. Your words carry deep value.

Personally I situate the i20 N-line models appealing to a sizable urban, semi-urban, rural, and agrarian demographic. Pricing, design, more safety features, better tyres are all open to debate. Does this interest translate into sales and ownership stories is there to be seen, and frankly not my concern, but even still a gutsy attempt such as this is worthy of admiration and respect. From an enthusiast point of view if this move could motivate other manufacturers to come up with best they have to offer then it could translate into more niche automotive technologies enjoyed by a mass market. That could further trickle down to regular versions and a general overhaul in terms of vehicle performance and safety in India.

Mod Note: Our Hyundai i20 N Line Review has been taken live at this link. Please continue the discussion over on the new thread. Thanks!