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-   -   What makes you zero upon the variant choice for your new car? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/257274-what-makes-you-zero-upon-variant-choice-your-new-car-3.html)

Variant features differ greatly by manufacturer and that plays a large role in what we end up choosing. Let me illustrate using two sedans -

Honda City offers features such as cruise control, auto climate control, a decent IFE (in fact the same as the top spec), push button start etc from their base V.

Volkswagen Virtus on the other hand differentiates their variants by the presence of these across variants and we would have to choose high line or top line (mid/top) to get coverage of the same.

I usually see a variant less to top which usually gets everything one wants with safety features plus blings that are required in day to day usage, as how we see companies placing top ends .Unless its extremely necessity for the features of top end mostly a variant less to top sufices.

I have bought two cars till date, where I was the only decision maker:

1 - Swift: Bought the top end model because it came with ABS

2- S-Cross: Chose one below the top model because the top model didn't offer any critical (to me) features for the premium it commanded. There were no additional safety features, IIRC. Only headlamps, leather seats etc.

For me, VFM is the key factor in decision making. If the top-end variant is significantly better than mid/next lower variant, i'd prefer it. I place more importance on engine, gearbox, ride & handling, comfort and of-course safety; features/gimmicks/gizmos are of lower importance to me.

Not sure whether it's true for all brands, but the difference in Safety aspect between the top and next lower variants is mostly the number of Airbags - 6 v/s 4 or 2. Other safety features are mostly same across variants...

I'm waiting for the day when safety is standard across all variants for any brand - it'll then mostly be a choice between features, thereby simplifying decision making process.

We've traditionally bought cars one step below our pay grade, so we get the fully loaded variant since it fits the bill anyway.

Like V.Narayan said, better a fully loaded C than a D that misses out on kit.

Sadly for certain cars with low sales volumes, the top/optional kit like 4x4 is available after booking and huge wait times.

My choice is a balance of safety features and bells and whistles. I chose the top variant with all the safety features.

I'd stick to this choice as I realized that blunder in my 1st EcoSport where I could manage to retrofit almost every feature except additional airbags and ESP(I'm working on this though).

The 2nd time I went for a car, I made sure that I went for the top most variant ONLY. I wasn't keen on a sunroof so I went ahead with the Titanium+ only.

Car is a long term asset and it's better to get the top most variant to later avoid buyers remorse and then think oh I could have bought the higher/highest variant.

I do understand that the price spectrum across variants is huge, but as Narayan sir mentioned, it's better to go with the top variant of the C segment than the base variant of D segment.

Some features like Head unit and cruise control cannot be installed in base variants as the ECU and BCM(Body control module) programming varies greatly from base variant to top variant.

Eg: Cruise control retrofit is possible in Titanium/Trend variant of EcoSport but not in Ambient (base) variant

I can't vote on this but my vote will go for top variant for all the safety feature inbuilt whatever company has to offer in that particular model. Nobody mind getting all other comfort features as well. I have fear of missing out (FOMO) when it comes to my cars. Don't want to sit in the same car with more features than mine. I also feel bad if some feature is being added after i bought the car. ( i know that will always happen and it is good for the customer and the company to update the product with latest safety and comfort features)

I typically buy the mid level variant which has all the safety features. In 2016, I bought the Honda City SV variant because it was the mid variant which came with 2 airbags. Nowadays, I believe the times have changed with more manufacturers providing safety features on all variants.

I prefer top variant no matter what because :
1) I keep my cars for long so happy to stretch my budget or get a loan if I cannot afford top model and a safe car.
2) Factory finish is best. Period
3) Do not want to have a "Kaash" moment in my life 2 years down the line. Learned it hard way on my Polo in 2011 when bought Comfortline model assuming fog lights can be added on later only to find fog lights were only 4000 rupees but associated wiring change and switch change were another 15000 rupees. Moreover, change of full wiring was making me nervous. Earlier in my Accent it was so easy to install fog lights but things have changed now across manufacturers. So better to go with top model upfront with everything available and not repent later.
4) Warranties and wirings are getting too complicated to install accessories later.
5) Somehow car looks the best in top model as well.

Top model for me, for all its bells and whistles. The best a car maker has to offer at that point. I went for mid variant with my first new car - Spark. I wanted to keep in budget back then and also didn't understand cars or their features that much. I was just too happy to be buying my first new car. Then when buying my current ride Aspire, I went for top that Ford had to offer in automatic. It was one trim below the top which was only in manual. Now, for my next car, I am going to get top of the top variant of whatever car I choose. I prefer accessories out of the box, not much of a fiddler when it comes to mods.

I can't vote, but even if I could I am quite confused about this. I keep my cars for a long time, 10 to 14 years, have two cars so I buy one every 5 to 7 years. So far it has been top end or top - 1.

With the increasing number of options, it has become much more difficult to decide. There is always the base variant of the next segment in the price of the top variant you are looking at. So you consider it, soon you are looking at it's mid or top variant and the cycle continues. That's how you can start with a budget of 10 to 12 Lakhs and end up test driving cars in 15 to 17 Lakhs.

In a way I feel happy about the options, but it also frustrating to decide. I am now in a nicely confused state, waiting for clarity to emerge somehow.

There is just no one correct answer for me for this poll (voted for the top variant with bells and whistles option based on latest purchase)

When we purchased the Baleno in 2017, my focus was to get the best value for money variant which came with all the essential features we needed (considering we were upgrading from a 2008 Alto LXI the list was not that long lol: ). We went for the Delta variant which came with a music system and electronically folding ORVM which came with integrated indicator lights. Got fog lights and Arm rest installed from the dealership.

I feel I would be comfortable getting a mid variant of a Suzuki or Hyundai 7-8 lac car as there are a lot of customisation options available in aftermarket and people are much more familiar with these cars. Also, most of these cars won’t be very complex electronically.

When purchasing the City, I was happy with the mid-variant VX but really had my eyes set on the ZX LED headlights setup. That and the leather seats were the 2 main factors in favour of ZX. With the car coming with Seat airbags, aftermarket seat covers was never an option and getting ZX headlights in VX would be a highly complex job.

Today safety features has been into basic variant of most of the cars.
Hence voted for mid variant. And gizmos from outside.

Agreed. But if they can't offer more airbags, they could at-least offer a good safety rating. Mahindra and Tata offer that on all their cars.

Voted for the top variant but safety or convenience features cannot be stated in isolation, in India they go together (need to put up with that sunroof to get maximum airbags)

In mature markets, one can get a high spec in sport trim or luxury trim (even in hatchbacks) and there are features which really influence the driving experience (eg: sports suspension and exhaust). That makes for a tougher choice whereas in our market the features largely fall under 'comfort and convenience' category and it's a no brainer to pick the top trim (which invariably has the most powerful engine too)