[GeeTee TSI]

I have been sceptical of claims that a black coloured car gets hotter and struggles to cool the cabin than an equivalent white (light) coloured one. Has this been proven with a temperature gauge or is it still an old wife's tale still going around?

On maintenance, dust shows up in any light coloured car unless the shade is something like the metallic bronze of Ford Freestyle. That said, the lightest scratch shows up in black whereas a grey car is quite the colour of the scratch itself!

[ChetanM6]

What a time for this thread! I am confused between a white vs a black Tiguan. Friends and family comment that the black looks good only for the first year and then it loses it charm. Personally black on SUV looks damn good. White looks a safe color and shows off the cuts and contours of the vehicle better.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by TheGearBox

Has anyone noticed how many manufacturers have stopped offering black shades on their cars? Maruti, VW, Honda come to mind. Now, if someone wants a black car, they have to either look at the used market or go right to the premium brands.

Is there a particular reason why black is being shunned by these brands?

Simple reason, low sales. My Amaze was one of the last units sold in black back in ‘13, after which they stopped offering black on all models upto the Accord. India has always had very low sales volume for black cars, be it superstition or perceived maintenance difficulty I don’t know.

In fact try playing this game with non enthusiast friends, ask them to name a car sub 10L that’s currently available in the market in black, except base model Vernas I don’t think you’ll find any.

Originally Posted by ellip5i5

Elders in my family used to advise against choosing black as it would reduce vehicle visibility in the dark.

Would like hear from the members on their views on this.

It’s a myth, when driving in pitch black conditions the first thing you notice are the lights, colour comes much later on.

Originally Posted by ChetanM6

What a time for this thread! I am confused between a white vs a black Tiguan. Friends and family comment that the black looks good only for the first year and then it loses it charm. Personally black on SUV looks damn good. White looks a safe color and shows off the cuts and contours of the vehicle better.

Black no question about it, check both out in person you’ll see what I’m saying. Black, like any other colour will look good as long as you take care of it, my car is nearing 10 years of age, looks as good as day 1 (better in fact, new cars come with fine swirls).

Go through this thread for education on proper maintenance, be it any colour not just black.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post5401885 (A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide)

[AtulC]

Originally Posted by TheGearBox

Has anyone noticed how many manufacturers have stopped offering black shades on their cars? Maruti, VW, Honda come to mind. Now, if someone wants a black car, they have to either look at the used market or go right to the premium brands.

Is there a particular reason why black is being shunned by these brands?

You are right about Maruti. I have SX4 in black color bought in 2008. After that I have not noticed any black color product from in Maruti once SX4 was discontinued.

Originally Posted by ChetanM6

What a time for this thread! I am confused between a white vs a black Tiguan. Friends and family comment that the black looks good only for the first year and then it loses it charm. Personally black on SUV looks damn good. White looks a safe color and shows off the cuts and contours of the vehicle better.

I loved black color on my car always. My first one 2008 SX4 still looks as good as new. So black color turning dull might be a myth. My upcoming ScorpioN is black too.

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

I am not sure about these statistics because here in Hyderabad I honestly can't say that I see more green cars than brown. Infact I feel brown seems to be more popular than green. Although I really do wish we had more cars in green.

That chart shows blue is more popular than red but I've seen more red cars than blue.

[aim120]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

I have been sceptical of claims that a black coloured car gets hotter and struggles to cool the cabin than an equivalent white (light) coloured one. Has this been proven with a temperature gauge or is it still an old wife's tale still going around?

Yes various articles/ videos have done this tests with thermometer.

https://youtu.be/W_2lsMXR_wo

[Gummybear]

Wow..77% Shades of Gray. I personally prefer last 3 colors of Brown, Beige and some shades of Gold. I used to own Champagne gold Hyundai Getz, but not many options in these colors now.

Our's is price sensetive market, specially in mass market car segment, so auto makers do want to reduce cost by giving limited and fast moving colour options only. They don't even give option of more colors as custom orders.

[pavi]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

I have been sceptical of claims that a black coloured car gets hotter and struggles to cool the cabin than an equivalent white (light) coloured one. Has this been proven with a temperature gauge or is it still an old wife's tale still going around?

I own a Black 4th gen Honda City and a white 2020 Skoda Rapid Monte Carlo. Although the roof is painted black in the Skoda Rapid, the cabin feels much cooler when compared to the Honda City under direct sunlight (without AC ofcourse). Although black colour would result in higher cabin temperatures, a much better insulated cabin would make a great difference.

[Maverick_4662]

Very interesting analysis. I think the preference for white also has superstitious reasons behind it. For me though, Black all the way! Attaching pictures of my Classic 500 stealth black, BMW 3GT and beloved Cruze LTZ in black which I still regret letting go of. ;_;

[AROO7]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

I have been sceptical of claims that a black coloured car gets hotter and struggles to cool the cabin than an equivalent white (light) coloured one. Has this been proven with a temperature gauge or is it still an old wife's tale still going around?

Here is a quote from BMW's press release of their color-changing car BMW iX Flow showcased recently, hope it answers your question-

A variable exterior colour can also contribute to wellness in the interior and to the efficiency of the vehicle. This is done by taking account of the different abilities of light and dark colours when it comes to reflecting sunlight and the associated absorption of thermal energy. A white surface reflects a lot more sunlight than a black one. By implication, heating of the vehicle and passenger compartment as a result of strong sunlight and high outside temperatures can be reduced by changing the exterior to a light colour. In cooler weather, a dark outer skin will help the vehicle to absorb noticeably more warmth from the sun.

In both cases, selective colour changes can help to cut the amount of cooling and heating required from the vehicle's air conditioning. This reduces the amount of energy the vehicle electrical system needs and with it also the vehicle's fuel or electricity consumption. In an all-electric car, changing the colour in line with the weather can therefore also help to increase the range. In the interior, the technology could, for example, prevent the dashboard from heating up too much.

For those interested in reading the entire release here in the link to it-

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/globa...nk?language=en

And finally some pics of the car in question in action-






(pic credits- BMW Group)

[HammerHead]

Since we are talking about car colours here, does astronomy play a role in deciding the car colour?

Reference:
https://www.cartrade.com/blog/2010/a...pective-8.html

As far as I'm concerned, I always liked Red cars or cars which look great in red or its closer shades. One day I happen to check 'favourable colour' for myself based on my zodiac and it turned out to be Red, Yellow or Safron!!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

Since we are talking about car colours here, does astronomy play a role in deciding the car colour?

Didn’t you mean Astrology and not Astronomy?

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Didn’t you mean Astrology and not Astronomy?

My bad. I mean Astrology.

[vedirah]

I have always wondered, why do we not have any car with mixed colour options? For example, the VW Polo Harlequin edition:



What would be the implications of such a product on the RC? Is this even permitted in India?

[Black_Star]

Originally Posted by vedirah

I have always wondered, why do we not have any car with mixed colour options? For example, the VW Polo Harlequin edition:

Attachment 2361838

What would be the implications of such a product on the RC? Is this even permitted in India?

The closest thing we have is this

https://ydnews.in/ambassador-car-dec...t-finally-won/

The Punjab & Haryana High Court came down heavily on a Punjab RTO inspector who refused to register a multi-coloured Hindustan Ambassador in Chandigarh because it was well, ‘multi-coloured’ while its original colour was white. The high court judge ruled that cars that are multi-coloured are legal and can be registered in by the RTO so long as the base colour of the car remains the same.