Ever thought of downshifting? From big car to small car?

Latheesh · 7th May 2010, 18:50

I shifted from Honda Accord to Chevy Spark

(When I shifted my base)

sumeethaldankar · 7th May 2010, 18:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by arun1100

My dad downsized from a Padmini to a Alto!

well that even we downsized from a PP to a 800

ronin · 7th May 2010, 22:35

i went from a laura to a punto. the feel good factor is awesome. a nice small city car. dont miss any of the gizmos of laura.love the peace of mind.

ahuja365 · 7th May 2010, 23:10

I shifted from Verna to Punto

sandygordon · 8th May 2010, 00:13

Waiting To Downshift From Dzire To Swift !!!
Or Waiting To Change From Mutant To The Wild...

FlyingSpur · 8th May 2010, 00:21

I see a trend here... the Punto has actually managed to get several people to shift to a smaller car !! Shows how relevant and valid the case for premium hatches is, whoever was in doubt.

gaddiwale · 8th May 2010, 00:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by sukrit7

why will it be considered a downgrade?

Good question! May be a Mercedes to Maruti 800 or a Tata Indigo to Honda Jazz.

Why we are asking this question of downgrading? Typical Indian mentality! Owner's pride, neighbour's envy

People will buy whatever suits their requirement and pocket. Some of the modern hatches are better than some of the sedans in performance and costlier too. Does size matters here?

By the way does any body came across of downgrade like BMW/Marcedes to Maruti/Hyundai hatches?

sandygordon · 8th May 2010, 06:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaddiwale

G

Why we are asking this question of downgrading? Typical Indian mentality! Owner's pride, neighbour's envy

May be you should call it class switching..
Downgrading might be felt as objectionable to egoistic people..

musicmanaman · 8th May 2010, 06:49

Driving in our congested cities with big cars definetely takes a toll on drivers, and honestly the big boot is used very rarely, hence this idea of switching to a small car has been going on in my head too.

drsnt · 8th May 2010, 13:17

+1 to trottle king, matches exactly my views planning to down grade from NHC to a small diesel hatch but with autobox

KPS · 9th May 2010, 06:17

In August 2009, I moved down from a sedan to hatch when I traded my Accent CRDi to a i20 CRDi. The primary reason for this was the Bangalore traffic and parking problems since I do not use a driver. My average utilzation is 1250 kms per month including an occassional long distant drive. Secondly very rarely is a car fully loaded since I do not have kids.

When you shift down from a Sedan to a hatch the thing you will miss the most the suspension. The drive quality in sedan as compared to a hatch is superior. One can easily say that the suspension on a Polo/Punto is excellent but compare the same with its sedan siblings ride quality you see a major difference.

My advice is move back to a hatch only if you self drive but if you have a driver remain with the sedan.

Cheers

KPS

ampere · 9th May 2010, 08:45

I drive a large hatch right now. It is almost 90% solo drive and for the rest is 50% full.
Backseat is almost always empty. So no sedan for me.

My only hope was a hatch with specs > 1.6/100BHP (petrol) or eq. diesel.
More so because, on highways, its good. Not seen anything yet. I do not mind paying.
Hatches are very good for cities. PLUS if they are powerful, you do not need another sedan
for highways, as long as you drive on 50% occupied.

Hoping that Golf will do the trick for me.

manij · 9th May 2010, 10:38

1) Ease of parking, including relief at being able to park in regressively smaller slots. Experience it everytime I switch between my bigger and smaller car.
2) Saves time. At office, everytime I enter the gate, the security guard will need to open the rear door (for a bigger car) and search inside. However in my hatch (without a parcel tray) the security guard just peers inside, is convinced that there is nothing dangerous in the boot and signals the car to go on. Similar case in malls/hotels.

sukrit7 · 9th May 2010, 12:12

[quote=gaddiwale;1875314]Good question! May be a Mercedes to Maruti 800 or a Tata Indigo to Honda jazz. unquote

lol,from a merc to a maruti,yes.

from an indigo to a jazz,price wise that would be quite an upgrade

gaddiwale · 9th May 2010, 14:00

Does anybody changed from say Tata Indigo or Hyundai Accent or any entry level sedan to VW Beetle or Fiat 500. Is that a downgrade/upgrade?

I don't understand what is downgrading if some sedanwale become a hatchwale (if become rickshaw-wale then something seriously wrong)!

Accent to i20, in what term it's a downgrading? i20 is more modern, more refined, has more features and costlier too. Only sizewise i20 is smaller than an Accent, so can we call it downsizing (as mentioned by arun1100) or class switching (as suggested by sandygordon)?

7th May 2010, 18:50	#46
Latheesh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: CNN/BLR Posts: 4,243 Thanked: 10,091 Times	I shifted from Honda Accord to Chevy Spark (When I shifted my base)
	() Thanks

7th May 2010, 22:35	#48
ronin BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Trichur Posts: 101 Thanked: 46 Times	i went from a laura to a punto. the feel good factor is awesome. a nice small city car. dont miss any of the gizmos of laura.love the peace of mind.
	() Thanks

7th May 2010, 23:10	#49
ahuja365 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jamshedpur Posts: 216 Thanked: 16 Times	I shifted from Verna to Punto
	() Thanks

8th May 2010, 00:13	#50
sandygordon BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cochin Posts: 683 Thanked: 1,950 Times View My Garage	Waiting To Downshift From Dzire To Swift !!! Or Waiting To Change From Mutant To The Wild...
	() Thanks

8th May 2010, 00:21	#51
FlyingSpur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 3,934 Thanked: 1,422 Times View My Garage	I see a trend here... the Punto has actually managed to get several people to shift to a smaller car !! Shows how relevant and valid the case for premium hatches is, whoever was in doubt.
	() Thanks

8th May 2010, 06:49	#54
musicmanaman BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: kolkata Posts: 927 Thanked: 25 Times	Driving in our congested cities with big cars definetely takes a toll on drivers, and honestly the big boot is used very rarely, hence this idea of switching to a small car has been going on in my head too.
	() Thanks

8th May 2010, 13:17	#55
drsnt BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: JH/BHARAT Posts: 383 Thanked: 451 Times	+1 to trottle king, matches exactly my views planning to down grade from NHC to a small diesel hatch but with autobox
	() Thanks

9th May 2010, 06:17	#56
KPS Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,756 Thanked: 11,503 Times View My Garage	In August 2009, I moved down from a sedan to hatch when I traded my Accent CRDi to a i20 CRDi. The primary reason for this was the Bangalore traffic and parking problems since I do not use a driver. My average utilzation is 1250 kms per month including an occassional long distant drive. Secondly very rarely is a car fully loaded since I do not have kids. When you shift down from a Sedan to a hatch the thing you will miss the most the suspension. The drive quality in sedan as compared to a hatch is superior. One can easily say that the suspension on a Polo/Punto is excellent but compare the same with its sedan siblings ride quality you see a major difference. My advice is move back to a hatch only if you self drive but if you have a driver remain with the sedan. Cheers KPS
	() Thanks

9th May 2010, 08:45	#57
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,952 Thanked: 12,943 Times View My Garage	I drive a large hatch right now. It is almost 90% solo drive and for the rest is 50% full. Backseat is almost always empty. So no sedan for me. My only hope was a hatch with specs > 1.6/100BHP (petrol) or eq. diesel. More so because, on highways, its good. Not seen anything yet. I do not mind paying. Hatches are very good for cities. PLUS if they are powerful, you do not need another sedan for highways, as long as you drive on 50% occupied. Hoping that Golf will do the trick for me. Last edited by ampere : 9th May 2010 at 08:46.
	() Thanks

9th May 2010, 10:38	#58
manij BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 104 Thanked: 102 Times	2 reasons 1) Ease of parking, including relief at being able to park in regressively smaller slots. Experience it everytime I switch between my bigger and smaller car. 2) Saves time. At office, everytime I enter the gate, the security guard will need to open the rear door (for a bigger car) and search inside. However in my hatch (without a parcel tray) the security guard just peers inside, is convinced that there is nothing dangerous in the boot and signals the car to go on. Similar case in malls/hotels.
	() Thanks

9th May 2010, 12:12	#59
sukrit7 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: delhi Posts: 722 Thanked: 185 Times	[quote=gaddiwale;1875314]Good question! May be a Mercedes to Maruti 800 or a Tata Indigo to Honda jazz. unquote lol,from a merc to a maruti,yes. from an indigo to a jazz,price wise that would be quite an upgrade
	() Thanks

9th May 2010, 14:00	#60
gaddiwale BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 399 Thanked: 77 Times	Does anybody changed from say Tata Indigo or Hyundai Accent or any entry level sedan to VW Beetle or Fiat 500. Is that a downgrade/upgrade? I don't understand what is downgrading if some sedanwale become a hatchwale (if become rickshaw-wale then something seriously wrong)! Accent to i20, in what term it's a downgrading? i20 is more modern, more refined, has more features and costlier too. Only sizewise i20 is smaller than an Accent, so can we call it downsizing (as mentioned by arun1100) or class switching (as suggested by sandygordon)?
	() Thanks