[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by tachobells

There are two points in your post. There is nothing wrong in asking more for the buck. Indian customer is very demanding. We want an SUV that has ticks against all features, a diesel engine with maximum possible fuel efficiency, about 140 bhp of power, quality interiors and all this around 11-12 Lakhs ex-showroom. This is *okay*. This is Indian market. This is the customer requirement here.

The first company understands this properly and makes a product like this will get people camping outside their showrooms. So far no one has done it. But someday some smart company will do it for sure.

The next point is size = money. Which is true at the moment. IMHO the reason for that is the need for differentiation. The customer who pays more than 15 Lakh on road for a car needs some exclusivity. And one of the way he sees exclusivity is by having it big. Which is stupid as you said.

But, IMHO this is part of the evolution of the market here. Once you own a BIG SUV, you might probably understand the practical issues with it and will want something smaller, but classy as a next buy. (There is already a thread running about downgrading from Sedan to Hatch in this forum).

For me the ideal size of an SUV for an Indian city is that of the CR-V. But then, that's just my opinion.

You've made some interesting points, mate.

'Bang-for-buck' is completely justified, whatever the market, whatever the situation. It's perfectly alright. In fact, anyone on a tight or a decent budget would expect and want more for what he is ready to pay. It goes without saying.

My next point: size = money, is something I fail to understand.

As I've said before, people equate the size of the car proportionally to the amount of money that they've spent on it. For example, the Toyota Fortuner, or a Ford Endeavour.

Now picture this. A young executive, who is probably married with a few kids on the way, would be ready to spend 20 lakhs on a huge SUV, because he wants that large sum of 20 lakhs to be translated into large-surface area of metal, leather and gadgets. Hence, he plonks all that money onto a SUV, even though it doesn't make any sense. He would never take it out of town, or he probably does once a year. he never goes off-roading, and doesn't need that kind of space in the cabin either.

He would have, honestly, been better off owning a large hatch like the Punto or even a smaller sedan like the Cruze. They're not only more efficient, and occupy a smaller foot-print on the road, they're cheaper to run and make more sense. But, he wouldn't be happy with that. He wants a large SUV.

This is precisely why premium hatchbacks like the VW Golf would bomb badly here in our market. No one will be ready to spend 15 lakhs on a hatchback, even though it would make so much more sense, in our cramped cities and traffic-congested roads. Because 15 lakhs is a price tag that a hatch cannot justify, according to the 90% of the Indian car-buying public.

At the end of the day, it boils down to the maturity of the market. The Indian market hasn't quite reached that level of maturity, yet. But it's happening.

[sridhar-v]

Autocar is indicating that the Ford Ecosport will be launched in Jan.2012. Claimed price is 6-7 L. I am attaching 2 photos of the 2012 Ecosport taken from a chinese website.(w-w-w.carnewschina.com) Lots of Kuga cues. But I donot see haw they can manage the price unless it is completely stripped of features.

Also the website mentioned that the global launch was at the 2012 Bejing Auto show. So is the Indian launch only a paper launch?

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

Autocar is indicating that the Ford Ecosport will be launched in Jan.2012. Claimed price is 6-7 L. I am attaching 2 photos of the 2012 Ecosport taken from a chinese website.(w-w-w.carnewschina.com) Lots of Kuga cues. But I donot see haw they can manage the price unless it is completely stripped of features.

Also the website mentioned that the global launch was at the 2012 Bejing Auto show. So is the Indian launch only a paper launch?

The Beijing AutoShow is sometime in April. I hope they launch it in India before that. I am really keen on replacing my Ford Petrol Figo with a Diesel Ford, not that 13L Fiesta.
If the length is below 4m, Im sure the pricing will be aggressive. The current EcoSport/Kuga Length is around 4.3/4.4m.

[sridhar-v]

Found another superb crossover- Nissan Juke!

Well I love its looks & it is ideal for my requirement- 2 seater SUV (badroader actually)

[sachinayak]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

small as a super mini car, will have a FE of a Super mini car, have the suspections/GC/transmission of a SUV and seat 4 or max 5 people.........but all these existing options are not very refined or having the latest technology especially in the engine department.

Now didn't the Ford Fusion TDCi bit the above description perfectly? Just that the market wasn't ready for it and it bombed badly.

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

Found another superb crossover- Nissan Juke!

Well I love its looks & it is ideal for my requirement- 2 seater SUV (badroader actually)

Looks like, blinded by the vertical positioning of door handles for the 2nd/middle door. Its not a 2 door SUV as far as I see the pics.

Prem.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Looks like, blinded by the vertical positioning of door handles for the 2nd/middle door. Its not a 2 door SUV as far as I see the pics.

Prem.

It is a 4 door 4 seater, but from reviews the rear seats are for kids only. Also is short & wide- 4125 mm L x 1765mm W.
Also front &rear overhangs are minimal - good for clearing our large potholes.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

Autocar is indicating that the Ford Ecosport will be launched in Jan.2012. Claimed price is 6-7 L. I am attaching 2 photos of the 2012 Ecosport taken from a chinese website.(w-w-w.carnewschina.com) Lots of Kuga cues. But I donot see haw they can manage the price unless it is completely stripped of features.

Also the website mentioned that the global launch was at the 2012 Bejing Auto show. So is the Indian launch only a paper launch?

WOW! The car does look stunning But ACI always have the habit of giving us unrealistic time lines for launches. The EcoSport will not be launched during Jan 2012 for sure! Come on guys, there are no spy pictures of this car on our roads even! It is just not going to happen. But I am saving up to buy this little beauty whenever it is launched. ACI get pretty accurate about the pricing of the cars though, so it will be less than 9L on road for the diesel version top end hopefully!

[shankar.balan]

well the Ford EcoSport's coming in around early 2012 is going to answer these prayers!!

[C300]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

Autocar is indicating that the Ford Ecosport will be launched in Jan.2012. Claimed price is 6-7 L. I am attaching 2 photos of the 2012 Ecosport taken from a chinese website.(w-w-w.carnewschina.com) Lots of Kuga cues. But I donot see haw they can manage the price unless it is completely stripped of features.

Also the website mentioned that the global launch was at the 2012 Bejing Auto show. So is the Indian launch only a paper launch?

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

well the Ford EcoSport's coming in around early 2012 is going to answer these prayers!!

Wow. Its surely looks awesome. They will find many takers at 6-7L.
Another vehicle that fits the bill is the Nissan Dualis. They advertise it as the Big Hatch. I think its perfect for our city roads.

[mxx]

Smart utility vehicle you mentioned can be either small suv(s) or utility hatches.
Small suvs:
Already a lot of them mentioned here: juke, ecosport, yeti, duster.
Utility hatches:
Cross Polo or even Cross Up! does the same things much cheaper. There is even fabia scout caught testing here.

What we already had:
fiat adventure, ford fusion - both I think failed because they were too ahead of their time, as far as Indian market at that time was concerned.

For the sake of voting in the poll, can anyone tell me are we discussing small suv or utility hatches?

[Ragul]

I think what will work in terms of pricing is a MM340 type vehicle with better quieter vibration free engine and a much smoother gear shift and clutch play. Small town India may thrive on it.

--Ragul

[sridhar-v]

From all indications the Ecosport looks likely for a May/June launch & not earlier.

As far as I can guess only the Ford Ecosport will be a credible competitor to the Mini- Xylo, alibet at a much higher price. I would not mind this, as the idea of a 3 cylinder diesel engine rumored for the Mini-Xylo makes me shudder.

Only hope ford also brings in a top end variant with 4x4 & AT gearbox. Could we start a online petition to Ford specifying our requirements?