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Old 12th March 2010, 18:36   #16
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Some stupid questions I have seen on other car forums go like this ->

*Swift MJD Vs Punto MJD - which one will win the drag?

Counter question I put - Both are city cars, why do you want to race with them?

* Accord V6 is the quickest car in India - I just smirk at such ill informed people.
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Old 12th March 2010, 18:37   #17
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It is a good question, what is so sporty of these cars ?
i always had this question in mind, thanks Berry for starting a thread to discuss this.

In my view, being sports car mean couple of things viz.

* more stamina, does not get tired easily
* agile, quick
* a remarkably more performance in a defined subject area
* a better suited body for a particular purpose.

This definition has been derived comparing a Normal man Vs a Sportsman

Insurance Companies define Sports cars in thier own way. They also charge higher premium on the insurance of sports cars in western countries.

Indian Automobile Marketeers define sports cars in their own way. They add SPORTS CAR PACKAGE to the normal car and call it a Sports Car
Sports package might include some rear spoilers, front body kit etc. It is like a person who has never done gymnastics in his life wearing gymnast's suits.

The Indian Automobile Enthusiats (or call them T-Bhpians) have their own definition of a Sports Car. may be some time in future, this thread will show the minimum criterions needed for calling a car sports car.

Does the car models mentioned fulfill the above criterions ?

Last edited by StarVegabond : 12th March 2010 at 18:50.
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Old 12th March 2010, 18:44   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilead View Post
The Fiesta 1.6S has a stiff sports suspension. I know 'cos I drive one. The exhaust and the ECU settings are different too. It also runs on 15 inch low profile tires. Since the vRS is not available any more, this is the only true sports variant offered in any of the regular cars.

There is a Corolla sports too which is purely cosmetic. But at least it's got a good looking body kit.

The Cedia sports is purely cosmetic too I guess.

Dont agree with this...Cedia has OZ racing alloys, Ralliart leater seats, Momo sports steering etc so I think it is justified to differentiate the model with spirit model which is without these.
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Old 12th March 2010, 18:47   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rishi_kapoor View Post
Dont agree with this...Cedia has OZ racing alloys, Ralliart leater seats, Momo sports steering etc so I think it is justified to differentiate the model with spirit model which is without these.
There you said dude, it is cosmetic. Wheels,Steering and Ralli Art , only good thing is that these are known brands internationally.
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Old 12th March 2010, 18:58   #20
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Putting a Sports Suffix is just a good way of extracting 5-7 % more money from the customer for the same car by putting things that cost just a little more and look a tad more nicer.

No wonder that the sports models of most cars have the Maximum discount on their Ex Showroom prices.

I feel that our Indian Market yet ( leave Bhpians aside ) isnt ready for truly sports variants of cars . Nobody understands them nor anyone will pay a hefty premium . It would cost a manufacturer a lot more to support those kind of cars when there wouldnt be a volume for the same.
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:02   #21
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What about the FIAT Palio 1.6 Sports (non-Stile`) ? Purely cosmetic with alloy wheels, rear spoiler?
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:08   #22
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^^ What about the Palio GTX!?

That was a mean machine!
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:08   #23
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there are people who want to own a different looking car and want it to look sporty and want to be seen driving a 'different' car than normal ones.

thats how OEMs come out with limited numbers to sell their cars to these people who buy them.

its not in india, it happens in many countries. Toyota sold limited number of cars in the UAE with 'sports' tag and there was nothing sports about these vehicles.

people buy stock cars and put alloys, body kits, graphics to make it look different, so whats worng in OEMs selling factory fitted vehicles as sports!

they never say its a Sports Car, it just looks sporty!
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:10   #24
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I am lost for words here. Sure enough a lot of cars come out with the so called "sports/z" version which are purely cosmetic. In the foreign market, alloys are standard on certain cars like Civics, Corollas etc. In India, we fall for such traps as driving a car with alloys is, well - sporty! However, one car I feel which deserved that tag was the Skoda vRS when it was launched a few years ago. It was a much more powerful engine and I think it was India's first turbo-charged sedan (correct me if wrong). So yes, the Skoda RS deserves the Sport in it!
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:11   #25
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I was just about to mention the 1.6 palio, guess PLANET_ROCKER got here a couple f minutes before me.

Palio, I would say, definitely deserved the 'S' tag as the changes were mostly performance based. I agree that it was only a bigger engine, but it was waaaaay better than the regular 1.2L. It could go straight faster than many bigger more 'sport'y sedan. I don't know much about its handling characteristics but from what I have heard, it was no push-over.
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:16   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Berry View Post

Hyundai i10 Kappa Sportz
Old Ford Ikon Rally Sport
OHC 1.5 EXi S
Ford Fiesta 1.6 S
Civic Sports with ugly white alloys

etc are few examples and I know there are lot many.

You forgot the not so sport SWIFT SPORTS so called limited edition with horrible graphics
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:20   #27
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@ Berry

Thanks for making this topic. I always used to think as to why they were named sports! I don't have any problems if they add 50+ BHP to the car and then call it as sports. What they do is adding 5-10 BHP, some foglamps and a new model is created.

The true cars that deserve a sports model are Cedia, Octavia RS and Verna. These are the only performance cars <15l.

I find it amusing when they add body kits and put it as sportz! Haha! They don't understand that we need under the hood changes and not cosmetic ones. But people still buy it!!!
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:22   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rjalihal View Post
I am lost for words here. Sure enough a lot of cars come out with the so called "sports/z" version which are purely cosmetic. In the foreign market, alloys are standard on certain cars like Civics, Corollas etc. In India, we fall for such traps as driving a car with alloys is, well - sporty! However, one car I feel which deserved that tag was the Skoda vRS when it was launched a few years ago. It was a much more powerful engine and I think it was India's first turbo-charged sedan (correct me if wrong). So yes, the Skoda RS deserves the Sport in it!
I read on TBHP that India's first turbo-charged sedan was Rover Montego. Correct me too if I am wrong.
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:27   #29
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Toyota used to do this (in fact still does) in the US too. They happily kept selling the Corolla S which had nothing more than some ugly bulges added here and there. It is only now that they have come up with a XRS which actually has a new engine etc. But they still keep selling the S.
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Old 12th March 2010, 19:34   #30
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The Palio 1.6 GTX was actually a sporty variant. Apart from that cannot think of many cars which were really the sports/z editions
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