[srishiva]

[quote=VahanPujari;1388804
Even if Bravo comes in, I would think many a times before choosing it over Linea. Could happen only if it has to offer something 100-times better[/QUOTE]

So for you its always a Sedan. If budget is not a constraint, one would have a premium hatch (like Jazz or Bravo not Punto like you mentioned) and a sedan like Civic or Accord and not City.

[loving_alaap]

I'll go for a sedan, for a simple fact that, its more roomy & it still has a so called status associated with it.

I heard, people are saying about even Jazz that, Honda's small car is highly priced. after all its a small car.

[jassi]

i chose premium hatch - easy to drive and park, and with most of the premium hatches now at par or better than sedans with respect to safety features, its all good. Not to mention power to weight ratio :-)
Having said the above, I am yet to see a true premium hatch launched in india - something which has oodles of power and premium feature options and can give sedans a run for their money!

[amanmalhotra]

My vote is for a sedan. Since it is not mentioned whether it is an individual's first car or second, I am presuming the poll is for the first car.
Reasons:
- More space
- Feels better to drive on the highway (I feel)
- It is a "big" car
My vote would have to changed to a premium hatch, if I was looking for a second car.

[kiren]

Though I love to have a premuim Hatch but if given a choice between a premium hatch & a fully loaded Sedan then it will always be a sedan.

Sedan is a family car and the bootspace is always welcome.

[anachronix]

Sedan... any day! I simply hate hatchbacks

[VahanPujari]

Indian mentality of owning a bigger car will never go away until 2020 lolz. we are still a developing country and people have aspirations of getting a big car. i personally don't care but people it seems have an image prob in our country. no offense sedan owners!! but that's how it is.

OT: When someone says something to me on similar to the above lines or a particular badge for status, I invariably remember 1 of my old time favourite sentences which my father once told me when I was very young. It was some discussion on feeling shy because of some get-up or clothes (do not remember exactly). The sentence was

If you're with the people who know you, then you don't need to worry about it as those people know what you are & would understand there could be some impending reason.
If you're with the people who do not know you, then also, why to worry? They do not know you, so how does it matter.

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

I prefer not to vote for one of the given two options. the reason is i would prefer different cars for different needs.

You actually gave thorough details. But the idea is different. You can definitely choose an option if you go from a typical buyer perspective with those 2 assumptions - 1) you do not already have a sedan & 2) you do not have budget constraints i.e. you can easily spend 1-2 lacs extra which a fully-loaded sedan costs over a fully-loaded hatch.
Now what would you choose?

Originally Posted by amit

Better premium hatcbacks are on their way, it's just a matter of time. Let's remember that this is a new segment for India and manufacturer's (Fiat, Hyundai and Honda) are rightly playing safe right now. As the buyer's mature and start seeing the benefits of hatchbacks over sedan's, we will see more powerful hatchback's with class leading safety features that will equal sedans.

I have a feeling that premium hatchbacks are the future in India.

Agreed. Premium Hatches are going to stay & in fact would grow exponentially. The question is right now which segments will it impact more in India?

Thanks to congested cities more and more people are going to buy premium hatchbacks over sedans. India seems to be moving in the Euro way

I've my doubts on these reasons for impending popularity of Premium Hatches. Will share when we've more views on this thread.

Originally Posted by confusedguy

I think the question should really be "fully loaded hatch or entry level sedan for around the same price?"

No the question is not "fully loaded hatch or entry level sedan for around the same price?" for specific purpose. That is the most obvious question.

Assume that - 1) you do not have any budget constraint of that extra 1-2 lacs that a fully-loaded Sedan commands over a fully-loaded hatch & 2) that you do not already have a sedan.

Then try to answer the question & choose.

[theEnd]

If you're spending the same amount of money, you're bound to get a better quality car with more features if you buy a hatch compared to a sedan. (e.g. Swift v/s Indigo, i20 v/s Logan)

If both cars have the same engine, the hatch will give you a better power to weight ratio. (e.g. Swift v/s Dzire)

Since I live in a crowded city, rarely go out on long drives (although I think that a hatchback is just as good on the highway as a sedan), and only have backseat passengers about once a week, I'll vote for the hatch.

[neotraveller]

Exactly my line of thinking too.

For my budget, If a sedan = premium-hatch, I would go for a sedan any day.

If you have parking constraints/crowded roads etc .. you'd rather buy smaller hatches like Alto/Santro/i10/A-star.

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

My choice is Sedan over Premium Hatch. Reasons being, I'm quite confident that I can drive a Sedan as easily as & with almost same manueverability as that of a Hatch. I also am quite confident on my parking & reversing ability. I also feel that 90 out of 100 times if you can park a Hatch in a particular space, you can park a sedan there also.

What always tilted my choice towards a Sedan is the Safety. Thats the biggest point for me because of Highway stability, More Weight, Likely less impact on passengers in accidents, better Ride & Handling etc etc

[narayan]

Originally Posted by amit

I have a feeling that premium hatchbacks are the future in India. Thanks to congested cities more and more people are going to buy premium hatchbacks over sedans. India seems to be moving in the Euro way.

they definetly have a future in India becos for this segment the only way to go is GROWTH.

But in a vast country like India where inter-city infrastructure is growing at a serious pace more and more people would want to travel long distanes in their cars.

more importantly the "snob" value of a sedan over a similarly priced hatch will always keep Indians going for sedans. we are an extremely habitual lot and dont change easily !

btw - i voted for premium hatch

[amit]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

Assume that - 1) you do not have any budget constraint of that extra 1-2 lacs that a fully-loaded Sedan commands over a fully-loaded hatch & 2) that you do not already have a sedan.

Then try to answer the question & choose.

In that case, I would look at two cars today: Ford Fiesta 1.6S and Fiat Grande Punto Multijet Emotion pack. Punto scores in looks and features, Fiesta scores in performance. Honda City is 8.68Lakhs. Even with no budget constraint, people still consider 3Lakhs more a huge amount. That's almost 6K on EMI's. Add money I would spend on Petrol for the City and the car goes out of consideration swiftly.

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.

[Abes]

If money is no concern, and it's my primary/only car, I would go in for a sedan, as it commands a premium in Indian mind. Second car would be a hatchback.

[Turbo Head]

If budget is constrain (which usually does for 90% janta) then I would definitely vote for sedan, for more space/better boot and for overall premium image of the car. Hatchbacks are still considered as small cars here.

[highsteem]

Somehow it is not very clear to me the intention of this thread. If given a choice, will I chose a premium hatch or a fully loaded sedan? If it is a day to day city commute and if I am the only one in the car most of the time, why should I chose a big car? Here my assumption is sedan is a big car dimension wise. Mind you the premium hatches provide similar wheel base to sedans and hence drivability, safety, comfort are almost same! And if I have to carry lot of luggage and more than 2 people then sedan is supposed to provide me more boot space than a hatch. Hence I would go for a sedan. But being a city guy, I prefer a small (smaller than sedan in dimension wise) , powerful premium hatch with safety features [no .. not the base model pls]

[aaggoswami]

I have voted for a three box sedan.
There are many advantages of this specially in ride department. Also the boot is very useful when we have to go around with family. None of the premium hatch affords so much space. The boot space in case of premium hatch might look good, but once loading is done, the shortage will be apparent. Of course much depends on family and no. of members, but here I am talking about luggage of three adults.

Another thing is usage. If my primary usage is within city, I would rethink about the decision of buying a sedan, but again the premium hatches are getting quite long and very near to that 4.0m mark.