[malgudi]

I have always longed to own a 3 door hatch here in India. But except for the Zen Carbon & Steel models, none of the manufacturers have shown any interest in launching them. Even the Hot hatch like Palio S10 which was targeted mainly at the enthusiast market was a 5 door hatch.

Now that we have B+ hatches being launched in India & the customers moving from value for money mindset to Luxury & lifestyle mindset, I still dont find any manufacturer going for this. Most of these premium B/B+ hatches would be driven by young Guys/Girls & would rarely see entire family being driven in them.

Would like to know from team-bhp family, if presented an option of 3 Door vs the conventional 5 Door Hatch, what would be their choice.

[vinaydas]

hatch basically in india has the image of practicality so anything sporty related and impractical for the masses ,it wont sell so manufacturers dont bother bringing them.

[aerohit]

Since India has the highest population reproduction rate (higher than China) for reasons i dont know, there will always be a requirement for a "family" car.

If someone only had a 2 door car, sooner or later he/she would eventually require the necessity and practicality of a 4 door.

You would probably use 2 door to pimp around in the town, which really serves no good purpose to the economy. May be you watched fast&furious and became a victim of movie influence. (not your fault)

Even a Nano will always be a 4 door.

[sohail99]

But take me for instance!
I travel to college and back alone! and i never ever felt the need of other seats!
also I'm sure i would never ever require anything more than a 2 seater!

one seat for me and the other for my bag.

Currently, I commute in a M800 and sometimes in my mom's U-VA.
At every point of time its just me in the car.

So, I personally feel that manufacturers should at least try to introduce such 2 seater hatches(even Maruti experimented and released limited edition Zen 2-seater) first as a limited edition and look for customer response.

I'm sure there are many people like me, who'd like to buy a 3-door hatchback instead of the 5-door variant.

[SLK]

The only purpose I use my car's rear seat for is putting my laptop in!

And I still prefer a rear door to do that! rather than twisting all the parts of my body.

[sohail99]

But as the car would have only 3 doors! body length would be less.
That will make the car more maneuverable in traffic, while still enjoying all the features of a luxurious hatchback.

And i guess performance would increase too, as the total weight of the car would be reduced.

[d3mon]

Shouldn't 3-door cars be cheaper to manufacture?

I'm sure a lot of guys fresh out of college needing a set of wheels would look kindly upon a three door car. Great street presence and great value for money.

Also, it would work well as a second / third family car!

Talk about having your cake and eating it too!

[SLK]

Originally Posted by sohail99

But as the car would have only 3 doors! body length would be less.

Nope!! the car remains same size, the front doors just become longer to allow access to rear passengers too!

The performance doesn't increase, just that the body shell would be more sturdy.

Originally Posted by d3mon

Also, it would work well as a second / third family car!

What % uses a third family car in India anyways. Its a commercially un-economical project.

I travelled in a few 2 door cars when in UK. I'd say impractical for India.

Double-decker cars would work in India though.

[sohail99]

Originally Posted by SLK

Nope!! the car remains same size, the front doors just become longer to allow access to rear passengers too!

The performance doesn't increase, just that the body shell would be more sturdy.

Double-decker cars would work in India though.

Ha ha! I'd agree to that!

but at least manufacturers can try experimenting by releasing 3-door hatches here.

First a few models only and then more, based on consumer response!
That way I'd get to buy one too.

[greenhorn]

same reason there are no coupes.
the A star should have been released as a 3 door. the rear seats are so useless

[pedrolourenco]

Manufacturers like Maruti & Hyundai produce 3 door models for the export market. So releasing them in the Indian market will not cost them anything. Even if the sales are less, it's not a problem because they're not producing it specially. It's already in production for export. I was expecting a limited edition Alto 3 door in India when the Alto was replaced by the A-Star (New Alto) in Europe. The Zen Carbon & Steel were released when the Alto replaced the Zen in Europe.

[malgudi]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

hatch basically in india has the image of practicality so anything sporty related and impractical for the masses ,it wont sell so manufacturers dont bother bringing them.

Vinaydas, that may have been the case earlier. Like I said, if manufacturers can look at offering B+ Premium hatches in India, why not a 3 door Hatch. A 3 door Grand Punto, A Star, Swift, i20 would look hot & appeal more to the younger generation.

Originally Posted by aerohit

Since India has the highest population reproduction rate (higher than China) for reasons i dont know, there will always be a requirement for a "family" car.

Family car yes. But how many of us drive around in the car which is always packed with 4-5 people? I guess not more than once or twice a month.

Originally Posted by aerohit

If someone only had a 2 door car, sooner or later he/she would eventually require the necessity and practicality of a 4 door.

The average ownership period of a car has gone down to 4-5 years from 8-10 yrs earlier. Most of these 3 door hatches would find favourites with people from 18-30 age group. So before they eventually need a family car, the 3 door car would have run through its life.

Originally Posted by aerohit

You would probably use 2 door to pimp around in the town, which really serves no good purpose to the economy. May be you watched fast&furious and became a victim of movie influence. (not your fault)

No Sir, I am not influenced to pimp my ride. As a matter of fact, there is not a single sticker on my cars & they are as clean on the exterior as the day they rolled out of the showroom
Regarding economy, I havent spoken about introducing any bigger engines in the existing cars. All I am saying is to introduce one more variant in the existing hatches which is a 3 door.

Originally Posted by aerohit

Even a Nano will always be a 4 door.

But if you look at the bookings nano got, approx 50% are for the 3rd and the highest variant. I am sure given an option, 15% out of this 50% would have opted for a 3 door top end variant. Also 3 doors(rather 2, They already have fixed boot door to reduce cost ) would have reduced the cost on nano further.

Originally Posted by sohail99

But as the car would have only 3 doors! body length would be less.

Sohail, as SLK said, the length of the car would not reduce. Only the front doors would be a bit larger.

Originally Posted by SLK

What % uses a third family car in India anyways. Its a commercially un-economical project.

May not be the third car, but out of the total cars sold in metro cities, there are atleast a good 10-15% young guys(who drive without families or atleast only husband & wife) who buy the cars.

Originally Posted by SLK

I travelled in a few 2 door cars when in UK. I'd say impractical for India.

Again a matter of preferance. I have travelled extensively in 3 door hatches/2 door coupes in Canada and I simply love them.

Originally Posted by SLK

Double-decker cars would work in India though.

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Manufacturers like Maruti & Hyundai produce 3 door models for the export market. So releasing them in the Indian market will not cost them anything. Even if the sales are less, it's not a problem because they're not producing it specially. It's already in production for export. I was expecting a limited edition Alto 3 door in India when the Alto was replaced by the A-Star (New Alto) in Europe. The Zen Carbon & Steel were released when the Alto replaced the Zen in Europe.

Pedrolourenco, Zen carbon & steel were released in India only because maruti had surplus from the export market. Else they also would not have been available. But as you said, 3 Doors are already manufactured for export market and it would not take manufacturers much cost impact to release the same in Indian market.

[aaggoswami]

I would prefer a 5 door hatch rather than a 3 door one.
The main reason is practicality. If you have rear doors then access to rear, whether to place objects or people, becomes quite natural and easy. Moreover, odd shaped objects can be stuffed in too if hatch is a 5 door hatch.

For those who are lucky enough not to have started family, i.e. singles, 3 door hatch would be nice enough as the rear seat will be used sparingly, there wont be lot of objects to be transported, etc.

But I would still prefer a 5 door hatch over 3 door one unless I get a good engine option in 3 door version.

[sohail99]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Manufacturers like Maruti & Hyundai produce 3 door models for the export market. So releasing them in the Indian market will not cost them anything. Even if the sales are less, it's not a problem because they're not producing it specially. It's already in production for export. I was expecting a limited edition Alto 3 door in India when the Alto was replaced by the A-Star (New Alto) in Europe. The Zen Carbon & Steel were released when the Alto replaced the Zen in Europe.

Wow! they're making such awesome stuff here for export!?

They'd get better sales in their home country.
And is it possible to buy a car meant for export?

[theMAG]

How many people are going to buy a 3-door car in India? Assuming all us enthusiasts buy one, thats still a very insignificant number to a manufacturer.

Forget a 3-door hatch, the Sierra also suffered for being 3-doored inspite of being a capable vehicle.

The Zen Carbon/Steel were never originally meant for India, but left-over export stock that Maruti was stuck with. That they launched a brilliant campaign to sell this stock, is a different matter altogether.