[agbenny]

A hatch is a small car and a Sedan is a full car, from a common man's view.

A premium hatch can only be your second car in your garage.

If you sell your SX4 and guys a Jazz, will it affect your image?
Sedan is my choice!

[ajaysurfs]

Given the pre-conditions (i already have a hatch - well not really hot hatch!), i would go for a sedan anytime. And proved it. Getting one soon.

1. First car was a Indica Diesel (Hatch)
2. Next logical upgrade was a bigger car (boot/greater legroom/spacious seating), with better comfort (handling, ride comfort) , safety (inherent for a sedan category, atleast ABS)

And of-course the oomph factor which a sedan carries.

[theEnd]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

No, its not the same amount of money. Its Premium hatch & Fully-loaded sedan (not the Indigo's, Logan's etc). the assumption is you've to think from a typical buyer perspective with 2 assumptions - 1) you do not already have a sedan & 2) you do not have budget constraints for extra 1-2 Lacs that a fully-loaded sedan costs over premium hatch.

In that case, give me the premium hatch, and the extra 1-2 lacs that I save can go into nice accessories including ICE, leather seats etc.

Note however, that I am not a 'typical buyer'. On any given day I would pick quality over quantity.

However, for either car (hatch or sedan) I would not buy it unless it had a 100bhp+ petrol engine. So that rules out any hatch available in India right now (except the Fusion perhaps?).

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by GTO

Without a doubt. If you look up the June 2009 sales analysis thread, the 4 - 6 lakh hatch segment is growing at the expense of C-segment sedans.

What is interesting to see is the response of the entry-level C-segment Sedans to this Premium Hatch onslaught.

I don't absolutely agree with the poll question. If we bring price into the picture, most premium hatches are priced on par with entry-level sedans (not fully loaded).

The comparison of Premium Hatch vs entry-level Sedan is quite obvious & is reflected in June'09 sales figures also & we've a fair idea on the impact on entry-level sedans. Thats what would be the biggest target segment for Premium Hatches which I mentioned in point 3 in my earlier post

What was intriguing is how much impact will it make on Fully-Loaded Sedan because of cross-shopping. And we would never be able to guage its impact on Fully-Loaded Sedan if we do not bind assumptions like- 1) no budget constraint for 1-2 Lacs extra for Fully-loaded Sedan & 2) not already having a Sedan. Its here that the decision making gets little tricky & wanted to know the response of this specific target customer segment.

[pachchu]

Until Swift came few years back, all hatches (from maruti, tata and hyundai) did just one thing, transport people. There was no question of an 'image' or 'standard' with a hatch owner. Sedan people had a 'standard.' I think Swift changed that. You got noticed if you had a Swift then. I think that changed the mindset of people buying a sedan for image only.

Originally Posted by theEnd

In that case, give me the premium hatch, and the extra 1-2 lacs that I save can go into nice accessories including ICE, leather seats etc.

Note however, that I am not a 'typical buyer'. On any given day I would pick quality over quantity.

However, for either car (hatch or sedan) I would not buy it unless it had a 100bhp+ petrol engine. So that rules out any hatch available in India right now (except the Fusion perhaps?).

i20 1.4L Petrol Automatic meets your requirement (hatch with 100bhp+). Can't find them in showrooms but bookings are ON! I guess you also meant to say 'manual only.'

It wouldn't save you the 1-2L money though.

[manjo]

I would pick Punto because:

- It's a new car.
- Performance can be improved with Pete's. This way I will have comparable performance with better mileage.
- The Fiesta will be replaced by the newer ugly one next year.
- Punto is not only comparable but better then many sedans in ride quality, highway performance and handling.
- Safety features are also on par with sedans. In fact, better because it has multi-stage airbags and passenger side airbag can be switched off.
- Punto is as comfortable for long distance driving as any of our sedans.
- I don't need the boot much.

I bought a GP and think that i would anyday go for a premium hatch even if i had the extra money to buy a sedan but the "sedans"; mercs and BMWs are a different league..
If wanted to transport more people or for highways i will prefer an SUV/MUV rather than a sedan because thats wats called extra space..
Else i felt the same comfort on highways in my GP as OHC though i was the driver always

[zoomzoom]

I would make the decision based upon where I was located.

In Delhi, I would go for a sedan: Better city roads, lots of scope for long road trips further up north. The added boot will be filled up for more days of the year. Far less chance of some 2 or 3 wheeler grazing past you.

In a place like Pune (or even Bangalore nowadays), where parking a sedan could be a nightmare, I would definitely pick a premium hatch. Far less chance of getting caught in a bumper to bumper situation where the fill-in-the-blank vehicles merrily scratch your rear as they try to squeeze past.

[girishglg]

A very interesting vote which went towards the Premium Hatch since it would not only offer all those extras in terms of features (think of sunroof etc), power and refinement but also the practicality such as space, manevourability and higher fuel efficiency on some models.