[raptor_diwan]

One reason is the road condition. Many people believe that sedans might get underbody touch multiple times, whereas SUVs provide a better driving experience. Additionally, SUVs give them a VIP feel as most VIPs and politicians prefer to use SUVs. Another reason is the "bigger the car, safer the car" mentality. I have heard many people say this, and even my friend's mother shared that she wants her son to buy an SUV rather than a sedan or a hatchback to be safe.

Moreover, crossover SUVs with bigger bodies can be purchased at a cheaper price compared to a decent sedan like the Honda City, which costs more. This thinking may not be enthusiastic, but it is prevalent.

Lastly, SUVs are more spacious, making them helpful during family get-togethers or any function days.

Overall, great report. I appreciate your effort on this.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by mygodbole

And yes, I have been told that a Duster is an SUV in 'Hamara Bharat Mahaan'. So, used the phrase Indian-SUV.

If you DO NOT seek capabilities, stop looking at four wheelers as 'sedan' or 'suv'.

I would go so far to say that the Duster is the only "SUV" amongst the high ground clearance cross overs going all the way up to almost 30 lac, because of its excellent, robust suspension and ample clearance across most parts of its underbody. And it is indeed called an SUV in other markets too.

[sushan]

To say the least, India was a hot market for sedans until early 2010s when compact “SUVs” started making an appearance and actually made a killing. There was an interim when compact sedans were the rage — owing to tax benefits in the sub-4 metre space as shown by the chartbusting sales of Dzire and respectable sales of Amaze.

While premium sedans enjoyed relative success in the 2010s, their downfall was brought on by various factors. We could attribute the poor sales to practicality considerations, but a premium car buyer looks more at the prestige and identity the car brings much more than its utility. A premium car is not a tool, but a fashion statement.

The market trending towards SUVs across the board prompted car manufacturers to innovate in the mid-size segment at the expense of the premium segment. Many of us will remember a time when sedans were the cool toy to have — Ford Ikon (the josh machine) & Ford Fiesta 1.6 come to mind. The managerial and business failures of Chevrolet, Ford, and Renault-Nissan also contributed to kill the excitement in the sedan space.

In the present market situation, it will be difficult for manufacturers to package a great sedan that can bring in the big bucks as the segment volumes are low.

[lemedico]

GTO once posted, "unncchi is the new lambi", or something similar.
I clearly remember this statement from a few years ago but I cannot pinpoint where exactly on this forum was this written.

That statement clearly sums up the title of this thread.

[vijaysrk]

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

One reason is the road condition. Many people believe that sedans might get underbody touch multiple times, whereas SUVs provide a better driving experience. Additionally, SUVs give them a VIP feel as most VIPs and politicians prefer to use SUVs. Another reason is the "bigger the car, safer the car" mentality. I have heard many people say this, and even my friend's mother shared that she wants her son to buy an SUV rather than a sedan or a hatchback to be safe.

Moreover, crossover SUVs with bigger bodies can be purchased at a cheaper price compared to a decent sedan like the Honda City, which costs more. This thinking may not be enthusiastic, but it is prevalent.

Lastly, SUVs are more spacious, making them helpful during family get-togethers or any function days.

Overall, great report. I appreciate your effort on this.

There's actually some truth to the "bigger the car, safer the car" mentality.
Purely from a transfer of momentum perspective, it's safer to be in a heavier vehicle if you're involved in a crash with another vehicle.

From a body shape perspective as well, SUVs being taller, are less likely to dive and get lodged under a heavy vehicle like a truck.

Of course SUVs have a higher center of gravity and are more likely to roll over, but that's at least somewhat in our control and can be mitigated by driving sensibly, adhering to speed limits, being careful around turns etc.

All in all considering the road and traffic situation in most parts of India, I would prefer a heavy SUV over a hatchback or sedan any day.

[AROO7]

Awesome analysis and great write-up @pqr. SUVs and pickup trucks are the new definition of freedom for the West and they have the infrastructure and space to support that. Thus it won't hurt them much. But for us Indians to blindly follow the trend when we lack both infrastructure and space is like asking for more trouble. Add to that this race of launching pseudo SUVs and with Maruti Suzuki jumping on the SUV bandwagon I believe the small cars will be the next ones on the anvil. Further forcing people to buy SUV even if it's just a jacked up hatchback (yes Fronx I am looking at you).

[neerajku]

What a detailed analysis, thank you. Many of us may believe that, as I could see it here, people dont know what is good or useful for them, and just go by the trend or the advertisements. I am sure that is what the marketers of all these car makers believed. Look where they are now!!
Fact remains that there is a wisdom in the choice of masses. Durability, utility, price value equation, keeping up with the joneses, a combination of all these.
Experts may like to believe that they dont know the "fantastic"" engineering that has been done and cant appreciate the good things in life, the masses always win and make a good useful, product successful, year after year, over the considered opinion of "experts." Any product segment with a long history of success, always true.

[Formula1]

Premium sedans will make a comeback. It's a matter of when.

Even today, KIA could launch an odd looking sedan covered in tubelights and manage to outsell most crossovers. This is the herd mentality.

But it'd be unwise to ignore the practicality of a boxy design. In the 90s, this was considered working class. This was a good reason for the premiumness of a sedan in those days, starting from the M1000. Even a more fluidic Sierra would be well accepted only among kids and enthusiasts. Most adults took a long while to figure out what the kids knew from the beginning, for alas, kids don't need to impress the neighbour. Is there any other reason why estates kept failing miserably, despite being more practical than sedans?

The future of cars in an EV world (if it happens and doesn't fizzle out in 20 years), in my opinion, are sedans and vans.

[rajshenoy]

Amazing analysis. While our roads are improving by the day and some stretches even world class, we seem to be going for wrong category of cars with high ground clearance and bouncy suspensions(suitable for bad roads). It is the bitter truth !!

Like some have already pointed out, people are going for these pseudo SUV purely out of herd mentality (just like how everyone wanted a pint sized diesel engine back in those days). These pseudo SUVs often come as a compromise yet disguised as world conquering machines.

I don't remember having to struggle with my sedan in last few years and have seen the owners of Creta/seltos struggle on bad roads or hump while I zip past them failing to understand what purpose did their SUV serve ?

Enough of ranting, I guess I am unable to think of the replacement for my 8 year old corolla and will continue to drive my sedan as long as I can.

[ManualMaestro]

I think there is still a demand for sedans, but this seems like one of those MakeInIndia promotion tactics to me. These companies are having good times in developed countries and they don't seem to wanna put development cost for tantrums of a developing country.
Similar tactics was done in Telecom industry (those who know, know...) and this will ruin the innovation due to lack of competition which is always bad for us, the customers 😕

[SwiftJad]

I think this picture perfectly illustrates why modern sedans are getting unpopular with time. Notice the ground clearance. And I think the major reason for this is the automobile reviewers who slowly built more close relationship with manufacturers with the information age. The extremely overused "understeer and oversteer" applied to every review and describing any normal car as "floaty" resulted in bad publicity. Automotive manufacturers resorted to building every car as a quasy race cars with super low ground clearance to please these reviewers. The so called "non-enthusiasts" moved to SUVs to be able to use their cars as a practical means of transportation. Without having to worry about scraping their "superior handling" car on the way to commute.