[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by GTO

But of course! A majority of Team-BHP is comprised of driving enthusiasts who will obviously desire a better powertrain. That isn't representative of the average car buying population of India which has no problem with commuter engines, as long as they are "adequate" and deliver good FE.....

Exactly my point as well. We are not a representative of the market and OEM's will make what the market wants. We don't have the luxury where catering to the enthusiast market also makes business sense. For instance I don't think it'll make business sense for Tata to even consider a Turbo Punch because the existing offering is doing so well and incremental sales vs the engineering + new variant related costs is not attractive enough.

Originally Posted by Sheel

That has always been the case. Here, you might find more owners of a S-Cross 1.6 than 1.3, more owners of 530d than 520d or 525d, more 4WD / AWD owners than their 4X2 counterparts, more vRS & L&K owners than the regular Octavia. And these are 20% or lesser volume of sales than the regular variant.
...

Again true, but see the fate of most of the cars you mentioned, especially the mainstream ones. The 1.6 Scross, the Duster AWD, the Tata JTP's, etc. My point was that we are so niche that the OEM's have no incentive or interest to try something different or bring more 'enthusiast' offerings to the Indian market.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Again true, but see the fate of most of the cars you mentioned, especially the mainstream ones. The 1.6 Scross, the Duster AWD, the Tata JTP's, etc.

I do get your point Tarun . Manufacturers do bring products for general masses, but also bring products for us and will continue to do so for the ones who wishes to buy the 4xplore variant of ScorpioN, the AWD variant of Tucson / Meridian, precisely why, Legender came up with a 4WD option too, I can cite many more examples, but the point is, even manufacturers know, this niche variant won’t sell in numbers but still do come up and I hope they will continue to do so, hence a bit long waiting than normal for the variant of your choice.

[ashutoshb]

The only addition I would like to see in the Punch, will be the DCA transmission.

I have seen several instances where the Punch was immensely liked but was only rejected because of its AMT and the typical jerks associated with an AMT.

If I go by Altroz's DCA variant pricing (XMA - XM = 1.1 lakhs) and Punch's AMT pricing (Adventure AMT - Adventure = 60k), the difference between the AMT and DCA is an additional 50k.

Tata can give introducing DCA alongside the AMT a thought. I am sure it will pull in customers from other manufacturers and other segments too.

[UD2021]

Great to see the Punch doing so well. It's a well rounded package and with the 5 star safety assurance, it is no surprise that it is selling so well. Though one would hope otherwise, it seems that TATA Motors competency lies in the small/compact segment. Compared to the numerous issues that we hear about the Safari/Harrier, the smaller cars from TATA (Nexon/Punch/Altroz etc) seem to be pretty much sorted.
Incidentally, I own a Hexa (2018 model) and so far it has been a great ownership experience. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[SinghBHP]

Even if TaTa is reading the feedback in this thread I doubt that they will ever come up with Turbo petrol or AT or Diesel Models- It’s selling like hot cake and earning them profits.

Did Maruti or Hyundai ever try to make real safe cars - I’m sure their people read the feedback and reviews in forums like Tbhp. They still sell high numbers and are on Top of the market earnings.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by SinghBHP

Even if TaTa is reading the feedback in this thread I doubt that they will ever come up with Turbo petrol or AT or Diesel Models- It’s selling like hot cake and earning them profits.

Did Maruti or Hyundai ever try to make real safe cars - I’m sure their people read the feedback and reviews in forums like Tbhp. They still sell high numbers and are on Top of the market earnings.

Cost associated with building a structurally safe car is much much more than slapping an engine which you or your engine supplier (Fiat) might have.

Having more engine option will broaden the portfolio and can pull buyers from Nissan / Renault too as well as some other manufacturers, not the case with safe structure (should be mandatory IMHO) till Govt. mandates it and car buying populace do demand it.

Manufacturers do go through the forum, but reading doesn’t mean it will be implied even if it makes sense as you know how corporates function. Plus, ROI should be favourable.

[vivekgk]

I love the looks, but the test drive left me disappointed with its lack of power and refinement. The AMT is okay, but for the same price, you can get the CVT+Turbo equipped Magnite or Kiger. But they don't have the Punch's character and appeal. It's a pity that Tata seems to always take the safe steps every time. No AT on the Altroz at launch, no Turbo, and then finally when they do launch them, it either AT or Turbo but not both.

It's good to see Tata doing well though. Hope some of that money goes towards more enthusiastic oriented cars. However, it does seem that of late, Tata is turning into Suzuki + Safety in terms of their products. I feel more and more confident to recommend them.

[PhoenixInRising]

Kudos to TML for achieving this feat. This should make us feel proud for our home grown OEMs.
We see quite a few of PUNCH(es) in the Garden city. It looks a very Compact small SUV with the intended ground clearance.
I hope we see the below options to let it achieve even newer heights.
1. AMT option.
2. A turbo option for petrol
3. A diesel version.

Originally Posted by abhi_krao

Investing on safe car with weak engine is wiser than investing on a feature rich/ fuel efficient / unsafe car with good engine. It's a good sign and feel happy about it.

Completely agree. I personally feel instead of those not so nice sounding features, safely features are the ones which should be considered. Others are merely good to have features.

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Just goes to prove how disconnected T-Bhp is from the actual car buying population.

Without any offence I humbly disagree here. The number of average car sales per month is almost double the number of the BHPians at present. We make up a minuscule of the car buying people. But we try to go through the details cutting across all those fancy marketing words and try to assess how each feature/option is beneficial against the price which is being charged. We are not disconnected from the actual scenario but the points which are relevant to us might not be considered important by others. We basically try to take all the points with a real big pinch of salt. We are more informed and we try to spread the awareness.
Again no offence meant. These are just my views.

Originally Posted by GTO

But of course! A majority of Team-BHP is comprised of driving enthusiasts who will obviously desire a better powertrain. That isn't representative of the average car buying population of India which has no problem with commuter engines, as long as they are "adequate" and deliver good FE.

Originally Posted by Sheel

But disconnected…buying outright does not implement that all the buyers are happy or unhappy, we can never come to know that, can we? And the sore point was / is lack out outright power is as it is. It can have a say or not on one’s individual preferences.

Completely agree here. Internally we have difference of opinions. Let us scale it to that with our car buying population (current and potential) we will see a huge difference. So being informed and critical does not mean that we are disconnected. We no way represent the entire market.

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Exactly my point as well. We are not a representative of the market and OEM's will make what the market wants. We don't have the luxury where catering to the enthusiast market also makes business sense. For instance I don't think it'll make business sense for Tata to even consider a Turbo Punch because the existing offering is doing so well and incremental sales vs the engineering + new variant related costs is not attractive enough.

Exactly the point. OEMs have to consider the market to make real life business case.

What we try to do here is to spread the information so that it helps us and others to make informed decisions.

[hanzt]

Hi Everyone, here are my 2 cents on this Car.

This car was on my shortlist as it seemed good VFM. However when I did the test drive (twice), my wife started feeling motion-sick due to the jerky nature of its AMT., so we had to eventually drop it.
But interesting part is when I asked for the waiting period, I was told it is 5-6months for the lowest Pure variant, and the waiting period reduced as we went up to the top variant.

So what this tells me is that -
1. Punch is very attractive for someone who is looking for their first car, wants a no-frills but safe car, and the SUVish stance is a bonus
2. The highest selling variants are the lower base variants, and that make up most of its numbers every month (correlating from its waiting period by variant)
3. HENCE It is most likely pulling away customers who would have otherwise bought an Alto, WagonR, etc as their 1st car.

Thus when we compare it against other SUVs, CSUVs, its monthly sales look great, but that is the fallacy here.
The true comparison is to compare it against sales of Alto, WagonR, etc and see if selling 10K cars per month is really outstanding, or at par for cars of this category.

[SaiSW]

Continuing on my previous post and after reading through the posts of various BHPians here, i can now perhaps understand why Tata is not interested in launching a turbo petrol or diesel version of the Punch. Doing that might push the on road pricing dangerously close to the Altroz or Nexon, both of which are superior products to the Punch. They tried their hand at a fun to drive small car with sorted dynamics a while back, and it wasn't a success in terms of sales, maybe that was the final nail in the coffin as far as turbo petrols+entry level Tatas are considered.

[tdcarlover]

The Punch with an hybrid motor may sell well, given the cost of diesel and the lack of engine punch being a non issue
A small electric motor which can do 30km on its own may be a perfect solution

[red_nemesis]

Originally Posted by hanzt

But interesting part is when I asked for the waiting period, I was told it is 5-6months for the lowest Pure variant, and the waiting period reduced as we went up to the top variant.

So what this tells me is that -
1. Punch is very attractive for someone who is looking for their first car, wants a no-frills but safe car, and the SUVish stance is a bonus
2. The highest selling variants are the lower base variants, and that make up most of its numbers every month (correlating from its waiting period by variant)
3. HENCE It is most likely pulling away customers who would have otherwise bought an Alto, WagonR, etc as their 1st car.

Thus when we compare it against other SUVs, CSUVs, its monthly sales look great, but that is the fallacy here.
The true comparison is to compare it against sales of Alto, WagonR, etc and see if selling 10K cars per month is really outstanding, or at par for cars of this category.

I beg to differ on your conclusion here. The whole inference you have drawn is based on Point 2 about highest selling variants being lower variants. (which is nothing more than a guess)
Waiting periods can never be a true indicator of what variants sell. For all we know, higher variants might be Made to Stock due to high demand and lower variants are only Made to Order. My point being, either way is very much likely. Hence, it would be premature to make any such conclusion.

The good thing is, monthly numbers for Punch have stabilized fairly around 10k range which is great for Tata. Whereas, Tiago and Altroz numbers have remained more or less stable showing little cannibalization across products.

[ashutoshb]

Really wish that, with the facelift, they launch the DCA as well.

Just the way they did with the Nexon, AMT and DCA can coexist.

My 2019 Tigor AMT will be turning five next year. Mainly used within city, its power is more than enough for my wife.

A Punch with a DCA will be an ideal upgrade.

If only, Tata realises that there is indeed a market for it out there.