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View Poll Results: Would you buy a 3 Door Hatch or a 5 Door?
3 Door 70 45.45%
5 Door 84 54.55%
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Old 1st June 2009, 12:29   #31
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Problem is people will expect 3 door hatches to be cheaper then 5 doors since they have 2 door's less!
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Old 1st June 2009, 13:20   #32
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Well there are three reasons for this,

1) Three doors cannot be used as chauffer driven cars.

2) Except for the limited edition Zen, we really have not seen any three doors in the so called affordable price range

3) Also of what I have observed is that any family buying a hatchback looks for as much space in that car as possible. I mean it is very common to see Santro's, Zen's, etc loaded with people and luggage... I don't think the three doors can handle that.

Notwithstanding the above, I really hope to see some cool looking and affordable three doors on the Indian roads.

Cheers!
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Old 1st June 2009, 14:03   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amit View Post
Problem is people will expect 3 door hatches to be cheaper then 5 doors since they have 2 door's less!
I thought that is how they are priced elsewhere in the world as well, i.e Similar spec 3 Door hatch is cheaper that a 5 Door roughly by 10 - 15 K INR

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ankoor View Post
1) Three doors cannot be used as chauffer driven cars.
The target age group IMO would be 18 -30 yrs & How many people in that age group are chauffer driven in India?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ankoor View Post
2) Except for the limited edition Zen, we really have not seen any three doors in the so called affordable price range
True. But that was a decade ago and Indian market has progressed by leaps & bounds in the last decade.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ankoor View Post
3) Also of what I have observed is that any family buying a hatchback looks for as much space in that car as possible. I mean it is very common to see Santro's, Zen's, etc loaded with people and luggage... I don't think the three doors can handle that.
If you have a family then by all means 5 door is the way to go. But if you are single or a couple who have not started a family, 3 door would definately be attractive option that would be considered.

Last edited by malgudi : 1st June 2009 at 14:09.
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Old 1st June 2009, 14:13   #34
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Zen 3 door hatches were sold in india because they were surplus left over stock from europe and other places!

3 door car doesnt work and will not be popular here in india cause the hatches bought in india are family oriented cars unlike europe.

even a small car like Nano is 5 door hatch, tough the access to the boot is through the rear doors!
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Old 1st June 2009, 14:27   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amit View Post
Problem is people will expect 3 door hatches to be cheaper then 5 doors since they have 2 door's less!
+ 1


The best 3 door thing that is popular in India is Bajaj RE

I would love to buy a 'real' 3 door one day though. M3,its you.
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Old 1st June 2009, 14:31   #36
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I had started a mini research topic, which incidentally met the same fate as the cars in question, it died after a few posts. May be it was too boring to discuss then.
Its not only the 3 door cars, but a whole lot of designs & types that have failed to work in India. Check this for some more info...
Link --> http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-research.html
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Old 1st June 2009, 16:43   #37
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Another issue with three door hatches: In a tight parking spot (very common in Delhi, atleast) a longer front door of a 3-door model will open at a smaller angle than a shorter front door and is generally more difficult to get out, particularly for the rear seat passenger. Can't explain via text, can demonstrate practically.

And yes, I prefer a rear door that opens to dump and retrieve my stuff. And on the rare occassions when I have back seat passengers, I prefer them to have comfortable ingress / egress, especialy when I am already occupying the same square metreage on the roads.

Last edited by architect : 1st June 2009 at 16:45.
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Old 1st June 2009, 18:09   #38
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As far as i remember Maruti promoted the Zen Steel & Carbon as "announce your Single status in style" or something like that..

So thats about it, unless you are single, a 3 door hatch, akin to a coupe is of no practical use. If fact Maruti introduced it only to clear off excess stock that was meant for exports (the Zen a.k.a Alto in Europe came in this version only)
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Old 2nd June 2009, 23:41   #39
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I would buy a 3-door hatchback, simply because it would look better than a 5-door (cleaner lines, less clutter). I'm really hoping VW launches a 3-door version of its Polo here in India.

I rarely have passengers riding in the back-seat of my Swift.. Perhaps once every two weeks or so, and if there were no rear doors those people wouldn't mind squeezing in from behind the front seats. Besides, it would be my car, so they better deal with it or take the bus!

At the end of the day, I think its all about choice. Those who say that "3-door is not practical" or "what sort of fool would want a hatchback that costs more than a saloon" are the people who follow the herd, and never expect anything more than what is given to them.

Those of us who want more choices should never stop demanding, or else car manufacturers will forever continue to treat Indian buyers as compromising customers who prefer cheap products over quality products.
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Old 2nd June 2009, 23:49   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amit View Post
Problem is people will expect 3 door hatches to be cheaper then 5 doors since they have 2 door's less!
Well as a matter of fact 3 door hatches are cheaper in Europe by a few hundred euros than the five door version.

I guess they don't work in India as whatever car it be, it used as a 5 seater. 3 door hatches have ingress /egress issues as well as slightly lesser rear seat space.

Used to hate having to seat in the rear in my friend's Honda Prelude
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Old 3rd June 2009, 00:22   #41
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When Zen carbon and steel were launched, it was my fascination to owe one.
But I was just a student that time. I would love to possess one for sure.
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Old 3rd June 2009, 09:27   #42
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I think Autopsyche has done a conversion of a Swift into a 3 door.
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Old 19th July 2010, 16:17   #43
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Why don't we have two door hatches?

Simple question. Most European markets get small two door hatches but in India, we don't. Apart from Maruti which made a limited edition Zen Carbon two door a few years back, I don't think we've ever had any two door hatches.

These cars are obviously cool. The two door look was good enough for Chevrolet to actually try and hide the Beat's rear door handles. The cool image would certainly go down very well with the younger car buyers. Just imagine a two door Swift and how fantastic it would be!



Sure, no one in their right mind would buy it as their first family car, especially if the rear seats are used often. But as a second car, a fun alternative, two door hatches make a lot of sense. They are cheap but they're also cool. And that's a combination that is very rare indeed.

With all this in favour of the two door, why don't we have more of these?


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Old 19th July 2010, 16:29   #44
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You have replied your question in your post itself, maximum of these hatches are used as family cars in India, so i think it wont justify the figures for production. Though i would also like to try my hands on a 2 door hatch but definetly not with the same BHP engine. If 2 door hatch it should have more power.
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Old 19th July 2010, 16:44   #45
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Just thinking loud

What are the benefits of two door over four ?
Other than looks
any help from folks out there in TBhp

cheers
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