[ssh1979]

Originally Posted by Jeeper1941

@Anarchy83, sorry that I misunderstood your post. Yes, I agree with your reasoning that sedan minded people will not be happy with a SUV. But, that said, people have switched over quite well, especially with the newer fuel-efficient SUVs, (like the Ford Escape Hybrid for example).

Thank you! It is my dream car too, I am loving every second of it! I hope it launches in India too, it will be a big hit, and it is not that expensive anyway (if you convert it, it will be around Rs 12 lakhs).

I'm booking one straightaway if the price becomes that. Even if that means selling off my properties! Tax, luxury tax and blah tax and the price is sure to touch upward 35 lac

[rm_arjuna]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

How did you cope with the increased car dimensions? Do you use your Scorpio for your daily commute, when you are alone in the car?

couple of days was little uneasy ,however high seating position , excellent visbility , easy turning radius made me adapt pretty quick & easy. 2 days in a week i drive to office , returns 10kmpl in city am fine with it .Also scorpio is nimble which makes it easy to park compared safari / innova .

[shankar.balan]

my folks have used Mahindra Jeeps and Amby's/ Fiats for most of their lives.
now they are rather pleased everytime they go out in my Scorpio - the front seats that is, not the back.
They find the higher stance much easier than a normal car which is lower slung.
I also find the higher seating position and commanding view infinitely better than the lower position in any of the cars around.

However, that said, the Scorp can never be as comfy on a long drive as say, a Toyota Corolla or something of that kind.

To me, as of this moment, the Yeti is probably the best compromise between the higher stance and seating position of an SUV and the comfort and handling of a car. A little compromise here and there and one can easily learn to live with the lesser space it has, in comparison to a Scorpio. Hence it is a serious contender for my next vehicle.

cheers

Originally Posted by condor

But a SUV is still a little too high for older people.

[drchernish]

The amount of road presence and respect you will get in a top end XUV5oo will be more than in starting model JETTA(which is spartan in equipment list) i think(being equally priced).Plus will be cheaper to maintain n service.The condition of roads that we travel in,a crossover is a better choice.We should think like this-if getting free one of these vehicles what will we choose?

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by drchernish

The amount of road presence and respect you will get in a top end XUV5oo will be more than in starting model JETTA(which is spartan in equipment list) i think(being equally priced).Plus will be cheaper to maintain n service.The condition of roads that we travel in,a crossover is a better choice.We should think like this-if getting free one of these vehicles what will we choose?

I would choose neither Would go with Laura. It has better interiors, more comfortable, faster, more stable, FTD and much better FE. Unless someone needs 6/7 seating or travels on really bad roads, I don't see the sense of an SUV.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by drchernish

The condition of roads that we travel in,a crossover is a better choice.We should think like this-if getting free one of these vehicles what will we choose?

Which is the best advantage of SUVs/Crossovers. There is no guarantee of the kind of roads that we travel on, in India and having a vehicle which is made to deal with bad roads gives you that additional sense of confidence.

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

I would choose neither Would go with Laura. It has better interiors, more comfortable, faster, more stable, FTD and much better FE. Unless someone needs 6/7 seating or travels on really bad roads, I don't see the sense of an SUV.

If I know the roads I travel in(expressways and reasonably maintained) and the number of passengers I would ferry(4), I too would settle for the Laura DSG anyday.

Cars handle most bad roads but at the cost of increased wear and tear to their underpinnings and other components while SUV handle bad roads without much wear and tear to their components.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Which is the best advantage of SUVs/Crossovers. There is no guarantee of the kind of roads that we travel on, in India and having a vehicle which is made to deal with bad roads gives you that additional sense of confidence.

If I know the roads I travel in(expressways and reasonably maintained) and the number of passengers I would ferry(4), I too would settle for the Laura DSG anyday.

Cars handle most bad roads but at the cost of increased wear and tear to their underpinnings and other components while SUV handle bad roads without much wear and tear to their components.

I have been driving around on the awesome maintained roads of Karnataka for over 50k kms on my Cedia without any damage to my suspension, engine or any other stuff. People have taken Linea's to Leh, Laura to Arunachal and Cruze to interior MP without any issues, I wonder where you will find worse roads on a regular basis unless your daily commute is through a forest hill trail or something.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

I have been driving around on the awesome maintained roads of Karnataka for over 50k kms on my Cedia without any damage to my suspension, engine or any other stuff. People have taken Linea's to Leh, Laura to Arunachal and Cruze to interior MP without any issues, I wonder where you will find worse roads on a regular basis unless your daily commute is through a forest hill trail or something.

I completely agree with you Ethan and know that most cars with GC more than, say, 160 mm can traverse most roads. What differs however is the wear and tear of components which cannot be examined or justified in 50k kms or one trip to Leh. Also, if a sedan is used on roads where an SUV/Crossover is used, you will very easily see damages and dents to some underbody components. Whether they result in any impact to the automobile per se is a different thing altogether.

Which is why long distance adventurers, expedition travellers and explorers worldwide prefer SUVs to sedans.

OT: On a lighter note, the speed breakers at B'lore and the craters in Bombay are worse than jungle trails.

[Vibhanshu]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

I wonder where you will find worse roads on a regular basis unless your daily commute is through a forest hill trail or something.

Let's go for a drive in Hyderabad or even Kolkata.

But seriously, the good roads in cities/towns are a very small chunk of %age of the overall infrastructure (atleast in Cities).

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Cars handle most bad roads but at the cost of increased wear and tear to their underpinnings and other components while SUV handle bad roads without much wear and tear to their components.

I do not agree with you on this.
The wear and tear as well as maintenance of an SUV is much more than that for a car primarily because of weight and more friction. This is only considering we are going to travel on the roads in india and not do regular Ladakh trips say like TSK. The suspension problems and all you get only if you are really travelling on bad roads day in and day out which is not the case for 90% of people atleast.

However in sedans you can reach silly speeds easily and you need to break that much harder. So the breaks may wear out much faster.

I have used both a corolla and a Safari and if I consider just maintenance costs, (Not considering the fuel costs), the safari is more expensive to maintain than the Corolla.

Simple example being considering 60k kms life of tyres for both SUV and a sedan, the cost of replacing the tyre for SUV is much more. Also the wear and tear part, big size tyres are worn out at 60k kms but a small size tyres on sedan are also worn out at 60k which implies more wear and tear on an SUV.

[needforspeed88]

Although i live in Bangalore , i basically hail from North Karnataka . Anybody from North Karnataka would know how unscientific/tall the speed breakers are . Well paved Single lane roads have really deep ditches on either side . Now in this scenario when a trucker comes from the opposite direction , you have no choice but to get off the tarmac portion in to the deep ditches on either side . Imagine doing this at speed and you will understand the abuse suspension/under-body takes . Vehicles like Bolero Scorpio ,Temp Trax , Judo , Toofan , Safari and Sumo are seen plying in most parts of Semi Urban/Rural parts of North Karnataka .

The major issues which undermine the Sedans in Semi Urban/Rural areas

1] Ground Clearance . This is a single most important factor in India . Imagine tackling those Great wall of China like speed breakers which are custom built by villagers for the purpose of slowing down the buses so that they can hop in to them . People Hailing from north Karnataka can relate to this . They know what i am talking about .

2] Ability of Suspension components to take abuse . Hitting unmarked speed breakers at speed , ability to get two wheels off the tarmac when needed . Any Vehicle can take this abuse on on occasional basis but to deal with it everyday is a different cup of tea altogether . SUV's have robustly built suspension components which can take much more abuse on a daily basis . The wear and tear of Under-body/ suspension components is far higher in a sedan when used in bad roads .

3] Road presence . Vehicles coming from opposite side show some respect on single lane Roads. They give you some room at-least if u are in a SUV , but if you are in a sedan you are literally shoved off the road.

4] People/two wheelers / Rickshaws simply do not get out of the way in crowded streets/roads if u are in a Sedan while you do not even have to honk if you are in a MUV/SUV

4]Driving Position . The view in a SUV is commanding while in a sedan you are seated quiet low .

5] Option to carry luggage over roof carrier . This is India and we know how much we love our baggage .

I know Sedans have many positives over SUV's but my whole point was to suggest that if u travel to Rural areas or based there A SUV/MUV is a far better provided you can afford it .

One Vehicle which can do both is SX4 . I mean its sad this car has not done better than it has actually fared . It is tough , robustly ,has a diesel engine and has more ground clearance than even some SUV's .

[shashank.nk]

I don't agree that with SUV's, the average speed is higher, may be only if the roads are very bad then yes. But on reasonably well maintained and good roads sedans will have a higher avg speed than a similarly priced SUV.

I've been driving around a Octavia(only 135mm ground clearance+long wheelbase=recipe for disaster!) for the last 4 years over some not so good roads in Karnataka. In all these 4 years of driving, i never really felt the need for an SUV.

With SUV's i noticed that on bad roads the high GC really was an advantage, but its at the cost of dynamics and stability at high-speed driving.

[nilanjanray]

I have driven a hatchback, SX4 and now a SUV on long roadtrips. For any long drive on unknown roads, I prefer the SUV anyday.

After the rains new potholes have come up on roads I am familiar with - one can't rely on 'knowing the road' anymore. Very difficult to maintain decent speeds when one doesn't know what is awaiting in front while taking a corner or following another vehicle.

[cediafan]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

With SUV's i noticed that on bad roads the high GC really was an advantage, but its at the cost of dynamics and stability at high-speed driving.

I think the crossover segment - XUV, Aria, Yeti etc. - give you the best of both worlds (or worst of both worlds if you are the glass half empty type )

[S5157]

I have been on trip to Meghamalai (TN) from cochin through Munnar. I followed the routes provided by google maps. There was few occasions i have to change the route because the sedan I was travelling cannot make it without underbody damage but an SUV could.

I think until roads in india improves SUV is a good choice while travelling on unfamilier routes .