[SSD2122]

I voted for Mahindra Bolero.

A huge chunk of our population lives in rural India and given the dismal road conditions, rugged terrain, I feel that Bolero has been one of the most durable of vehicles primarily driven on these kind of roads and terrain and also has survived for so long. Even now it sells in respectable numbers and that is a testimony to its durability and tough character.

[anjan_c2007]

I believe that the multiple factors that go in tandem to facilitate the durability of any motor vehicle are its factory build quality, sustained and uninterrupted availability of spares and service facilities and lastly the respective owners will, grit and determination to involve himself too see that his machine survives despite the odds. Priority and importance of each of these factors is interchangeable and some factor that was not important yesterday could attain importance the next day onwards and so on. The owner plays a pivotal role however and needs to have the inclination to allow his machine to lug on and on, despite the many odds that each individual case of ownership faces over the years or decades.

To cite an example, around five to six years after the turn of the millennium, Autocar featured the snapshot of the speedo of a Skoda Octavia taxi that it's editor had boarded in Cairo. It showed 625,000 kms! And the taxi driver when questioned told the editor that the engine is still intact with no major overhaul job of any kind done till that date. Now if an Octavia has almost flawlessly run for 625,000 kms in Egypt has this car been able to attain such a feat in India? Not ruling out a few cases in India though. I last heard two days ago that a 2003 Octavia was sold to a scrap dealer in my native city for Rs 40,000/- due to major repairs that the owner was not willing to spend for.

The Toyota Qualis and Innova are flawlessly engineered machines that have recorded 600,000 kms very commonly without any major engine or other works. Those living near the sea coast are also happy with its metal showing no signs of rusting. But a moot question arises. Will Toyota be liberal in manufacturing and selling spares and undertaking repairs for these machines during the future decades? If so, it will be proud, future moments for their owners who have the will, determination and grit to maintain these magnificent machines.

Back to the classics of our licence raj era listed above, many of these have sustained the numerous storms over the past up to nearly seven decades and the machine's resilience shows when we see these decked up for photo shoot sessions or for vintage and classic rallies and display events. Their repairability, availability of spares till date though with some efforts and the simple engineering of the machines are points to note. Many of these machines have been the best teachers for DIY guys like me. No doubt these are poorly built and shake, rattle and roll with age catching up. These also rust with the slightest provocation. Breakage of components and wear and tear are too common. But these are very repair friendly and we have seen the whole base or platform and body panels of these cars getting fabricated even locally. This can always happen in a ladder and frame chassis.

Our Opel Astras/Corsas, Peugeot 309/GLD, Ford Escort, Rover Montego, Daewoo Cielo/ Matiz, Fiat Uno/Sienna/Palio populations are on the verge of extinction in India. But when these newbies were launched, the Contessa, Ambassador, Fiat 1100/Premier Padmini/ 137 D and Premier 118 NE/1.38 D/Viceroy were considered old fashioned. Today, Contessas command very good resale prices and Ambassadors and Fiat 1100/Premier Padminis are getting costlier by the day.

Hence, multiple factors play major roles for a machine's survival and durability.

[jbpanda]

Voted for the Toyota Innova, which according to me will last a lifetime if maintained well in spite of the extreme weather conditions that we have in most part of India. From the earlier generations, it has to be Premier Padmini, Ambassador and Maruti 800, but that is more to do with lack of able substitutes and they were inherently mechanically easy (lack of complex technology) and options in the market which could actually give them an able competition.

[Siddarth_Ramani]

I can't vote yet. I'd have gone with Innova too. Or even fortuner for that matter. The one in my family hast done 4,00,000 KMs.
Since we are discussing about reliability, I'd like to ask the Gods of this forum a few questions about euro diesels. There are quite a few engines which are expected to do 5,00,000 in Europe. Like the Mercedes OM651, Renault 1.5 K9K and some VW TDis. But in India Germans with over 100,000 are seen as a nightmare. So what's the deal? Do the companies dilute the quality for India or our conditions are so bad?

Attaching an E Class with OM 651

[mrdollarbills]

Would have voted for Toyota Innova if I could because i vaguely remember the original 2005 Innova that we brought home and which served us multiple trips from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad and Hill Stations all around Hyderabad and also know that it was sold to a cab company after we bought the 2015 model which has continued to serve us and had its 1 lakh kilometre anniversary just recently when we started talking road trips because of covid. Both the models have lasted extremely well and also brushed off scrapes and dinges like it was nobody's business

[condor]

The poll has missed some models, while other models which have been used more as personal cars are listed. Some examples of missed cars which have run quite a bit are the Indica and Sumo. Not that I am focussing on Tata. Force Cruisers, Chevy Tavera are others. All these available as white boards, and many an example of correctly maintained vehicles which have crossed the 2L mark.

Even Toyota Etios/Liva's are doing cab duty and would have easily gone into the 6 figure mark. Our old 2000 model Indica, our old Sumo Victa, and my cousin's Tavera - all crossed the 2L mark. The Tavera is currently at 3.3L.

The winner in the poll list is definitely the Innova. Lot depends on the user - the usage and the maintenance

[amol4184]

Voted for Bolero, a car that is a relic in today's times and yet clocks same sales as Innova/month sometimes more.
If we had enough urban, upmarket buyers for Bolero, it would be neck to neck with Innova in this poll. Or alternatively if we had more folks from villages and remote hilly areas on tbhp.

This forum is heavily urban, a demographic that will never consider Bolero (but will buy Innova) while rural, semi-urban folks who do purchase Bolero have minority representation here.