Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   The Indian Car Scene (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/)

-   -   Car or the Engine? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/56604-car-engine.html)

Hi Guys,
Lot of car manufacturers are now a days putting us in a spot by giving us either:
1)A brilliant car with an underpowered engine e.g. i20, Palio 1.1, Getz 1.1, Vista saffire
2)A brilliant engine but not an equally deserving car e.g. Getz CRDI, Verna CRDI, Palio MJD, Palio 1.6, IKon D,

Don't bash me for putting the Getz CRDI, Palio MJD, IKon D and Palio 1.6 in the "Not so great cars" category. Its just an indicative list. What I meant here is people would have normally not bought these cars if it were not for their engines. Its purely the engine that has caused them to buy these cars.

My question is if you had to choose between the 2 categories above which would you choose?

You very seldom get the best of both

I would go with no.1 since I prefer sedate driving

If I am going to spend a decent amount of time driving, I want it to happen in a safe and comfortable environment. I am not a racer and I do not think Indian roads offer us the luxury of pushing our powerful cars to the limit.

If I were in US or Europe, then the story would be different

How can the Getz be listed in both categories, once as a 'deserving car' and once as an 'undeserving car'? What differs between the Getz 1.1 petrol and CRDI diesel other than the engines?

Edit: Same applies to the Palios...

For the 1.1 ltr engine the Getz is too much, for 1.1 ltr santro is the right car.
Whereas for the CRDI mill the getz is not really deserving, especially with its price tag and lack of other features for that price and hence people buy it only for the engine. Thats my point.
Please don't take the cars mentioned in the list too seriously, My question is what would you give more weightage if you had to make a choice.

Cheers,
Nitin

indica dle/dls belongs to the 1st section.weak engine.but the space is what attracts people to buy this car.

Engine baby! Always the engine. NVH, ride comfort, interiors thunk, plastic quality, colour of door pocket inserts...all that is for people who are less interested in driving.
PS handling is a close second.

I voted for great car & underpowered engine but I am a happy owner of a Palio MJD. Why this voting anomaly? Because the Linea is supposedly underpowered and so will be the 1.3 MJD GP.

Hee hee! Poor Getzie.

I'd go with the engine over the luxury features. Petrol over diesel, that sort of thing :D acceleration is my favourite part of driving!

The engine wins over minor luxuries. The road I drive has a lot of MadMax commercial drivers in their SUVs and Indicas, and I would NEVER wring the neck of my own car's engine to avoid being squeezed off the road by them.

An engine that's more powerful than the average SUV's, reliable and easily serviced, and not very thirsty. Attach that to good tyres and brakes (ABS preferred), a smooth gearshift and good supportive seats.

Luxuries? AC (can do without climate control), PS, PW, rear wash-wipe (I don't buy cars without RWW), average ICE, remote central locking.

I'm set for 24-hour stints behind the wheel...

I would always prefer a car with a good engine and compromise on a few other features.
About the aesthetics there are after factory items which should be fine with me. :)

Always the engine in such a comparo. Heck, I've put my money where my mouth is : The delicious '03 OHC Vtec in my garage :D. 70,000 clicks yet the engine feels like a virgin!

I drive a brilliant NH Pajero with a not so brilliant 3Ltr V6 motor. It hasn’t failed me as yet but I believe it has valve recession issues especially on gas, it also lacks power but has plenty of grunt which is exactly what I want to move this 2.5 ton beast.
I was thinking of a diesel conversion but thats too much effort, it’ll be easier to buy another diesel Pajero and transfer the accessories to that car.
Anyway, no more bagging this car. I’m leaving on a 4WDing trip in 15min – lets see how she does!

Voted for Engine.
Engine is heart of the car. The physical appearance wont last long in case of humans and what will matter is how good a person is at heart. Similarly for cars, what will really matter is how good the heart is. Nothing can replace the feeling of having a good heart in the engine bay.
The cars with real hearts are now unfortunately non existent. The older cars were : Zen, G1HC, Baleno, Ikon 1.6, Esteem ( upto some extent even Swift ). These cars were enjoyable due to just one factor : Engine.

Above is just my opinion.

Engine, Features and Handling.

Engine 1st, since it's what drives the car and it's engine which contributes to more than 50% of a car's feel. Engine with good power will help me get out of sticky situations on our highways.

Features 2nd, since i like essential accessories to be factory fitted; features provides feel good factor and makes life easier. Factory fitted is better integrated.

Handling 3rd, not because handling is not important, but since it can be improved over stock to an extent by adding better tyres and wheels and a lot by using aftermarket suspension components tailored for the car. These mods usually don't affect the general reliability of the car, hence it's the third in my preference list.