[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by reddevilgautam

Another point, which might seem trivial but is crucial for office goers like me, is that the boot of a sedan is much better to keep a laptop. Its not visible as in the case of a hatchback / SUV, and that's important when you are going for a movie / dinner / just stopping by for groceries and can't / don't want to carry your laptop alongwith you. A laptop which can be seen through the window is much more inviting. I don't imagine a burglar taking the effort and risk of breaking the window to open the trunk of a sedan when he is not sure that it has a laptop or not.

I dont agree with you. If you step out of your sedan with your laptop in plain view, unlock your car boot, place the laptop in there, again in plain view and then head to shop for groceries or watch a movie, you are advertising, hey I just placed a valuable in my car trunk and left. How safe is that?
Instead if you slip in your laptop below your floor mat or under your SUV seat, no one will know u just left a laptop locked in your car.
OT: One must never leave valuables locked in a parked car. Using this as a justification to buy a sedan over something else IMO is lame.

Originally Posted by johy

Going by this logic, the bigger SUV will bully the smaller SUV, as in the Endeavor should bully the Duster, and so on and so forth. In the end, most people will end up buying huge trucks instead! And subsequently bigger trucks. I hate this "bullying" mentality. When any joker in an SUV tries to bully me in a sedan, I just convert him to a tiny spot in the rear view mirror - that is right place for him.

On the other hand, in smaller towns like where I live, both in and around town, over the years (and here I am looking at the last 10-15 years), the roads have improved, become wider, and it is more pleasurable to drive a sedan. The SUV will just take you from point A to B in relative comfort, but with no driving pleasure (or a minimum of it). I think sedans will continue as long as people love to drive.

I dont advocate bullying. But yes thats what is happening. Most complaints in this forum from sedan drivers are how they have to be careful to avoid scratches from everyone, in crowded roads, versus how everyone makes way literally when they drive a SUV. From personal experience I am more at peace in my SUV on crowded city roads when compared to my hatchback, and parking spaces donot bother me since I always pay and park. Regarding the OT on converting SUVs into tiny spot in the RVM good for you, however mordern SUVS have power which can surprise, much to the discomfort of a Ford Fiesta who was converted into one such tiny spot in the RVM on the pune expressway

[reddevilgautam]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

I dont agree with you. If you step out of your sedan with your laptop in plain view, unlock your car boot, place the laptop in there, again in plain view and then head to shop for groceries or watch a movie, you are advertising, hey I just placed a valuable in my car trunk and left. How safe is that?
Instead if you slip in your laptop below your floor mat or under your SUV seat, no one will know u just left a laptop locked in your car.
OT: One must never leave valuables locked in a parked car. Using this as a justification to buy a sedan over something else IMO is lame.

No you don't get out and place the laptop in the boot, you make a habit of putting a laptop in the boot of your sedan every day, or doing it on that evening earlier when you know you have to stop. Thats what I have done and many people I know. So I can without any bother step out for a bite or grocery without worrying about my laptop.

And I never suggested this being the only reason - this is just an added advantage of a sedan, something which is very important for a lot of people. To assume that this shall be the only reason of buying a sedan is lame IMO.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by johy

The SUV will just take you from point A to B in relative comfort, but with no driving pleasure (or a minimum of it).

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

however mordern SUVS have power which can surprise

I haven't owned an SUV yet, but even with my limited SUV experience - i have to disagree when you say SUVs offer no driving pleasure at all. I have taken a Scorpio (old 2.6 CRDe with not so great handling) for a long drive- and I had more fun than i expected. The turbo coming alive was such a turn-on and you do tend to overtake more vehicles than you intially intended to.

If handling is everything, yes - SUVs might not give any driving pleasure. But there is more to driving pleasure than just handling corners, right?

(OT - By the same logic of handling corners - some people say that cars are boring compared to bikes. And we disagree with them, don't we? )

[johy]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I haven't owned an SUV yet, but even with my limited SUV experience - i have to disagree when you say SUVs offer no driving pleasure at all. I have taken a Scorpio (old 2.6 CRDe with not so great handling) for a long drive- and I had more fun than i expected. The turbo coming alive was such a turn-on and you do tend to overtake more vehicles than you intially intended to.

If handling is everything, yes - SUVs might not give any driving pleasure. But there is more to driving pleasure than just handling corners, right?

(OT - By the same logic of handling corners - some people say that cars are boring compared to bikes. And we disagree with them, don't we? )

I meant to say they give little driving pleasure in terms of handing, dynamics, overtaking (Just think about how a SUV would handle while overtaking at speeds and then having to return to your lane - a very common situation in the majority of Indian highways).

A person taking his 4x4 SUV on a rough road or no road also would derive immense pleasure from this maneuvers, I am sure. :-)

[raj_5004]

Some are talking about how SUVs are not a pleasure to drive.

I beg to disagree. I used to drive a Scorpio. Then I bought a Punto, which is known for it's handling and dynamics. While I dont disagree that the Punto is a good car, if you ask me which one is more fun to drive - I would say it's the Scorpio.

Sedan owners/lovers would think I am nuts! But then handling corners at high speeds is not the only factor attributing to driving pleasure. I love the high stance, excellent visibility and the mile munching capablities of an SUV. The way it dismisses bad roads. The way I can go over bad roads without fearing to scrape the bottom.

I have been driving SUVs since 7 years (that's not much), but I know it's limitations and I drive it accordingly. And I have had loads of fun driving it. I have never felt it is cumbersome to drive in the city or on the highways. I have never had an issue with parking either.

Yes, those migrating from a sedan may have some issues as they are used to corner at 3 digit speeds. But I have noticed that someone who is totally accustomed to an SUV rarely shifts back to a sedan.

About bullying, even I dont practice that nor do I encourage that. I read some comments about how fast sedans are and how it can smoke SUVs. Surprisingly, why isnt that considered as rash driving? Why only bullying by SUVs are being discussed? I have been cut across by many Swifts and Citys who think they are on some race track... however I dont intend to rant over it now.

Finally, my next car would be an SUV and not a sedan. To our advantage, we have excellent crossovers these days like the Captiva, XUV, etc. which gives us the pleasure of both the SUV as well as the sedan... well almost!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I have taken a Scorpio (old 2.6 CRDe with not so great handling) for a long drive- and I had more fun than i expected. The turbo coming alive was such a turn-on and you do tend to overtake more vehicles than you intially intended to.

If handling is everything, yes - SUVs might not give any driving pleasure. But there is more to driving pleasure than just handling corners, right?

I completely agree to your view. I too drive an SUV on all my highway drives and while it certainly is fun to drive a sedan on twisties, I prefer an SUV and especially the Scorpio for its peppy engine, airy interiors (compared to any sedan) and amazing cabin insulation at all speeds. Also, the handling, though not "on rails" like a sedan, is certainly fun at Indian highway speeds of 100-110kmph.

[himanshugoswami]

One thing that I fail to understand is why people say that sedans are more comfortable than SUVs. As a general rule (there may be the odd exception here or there), SUVs have easier ingress and egress, better seating position, more airy, have better leg, head and shoulder room and are more comfortable over bad roads. the one area where sedans outshine SUVs is body roll and pitching movement, which can get uncomfortable in SUVs, especially the Scorpio. Other than that, SUVs trounce sedans on passender comfort any day.

at the end of the day, the fact that SUV sales are eclipsing c and D segment sedan sales should be a testimony to the fact that SUVs, esp the new gen crossovers, offer the best of both worlds.

[johy]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

About bullying, even I dont practice that nor do I encourage that. I read some comments about how fast sedans are and how it can smoke SUVs. Surprisingly, why isnt that considered as rash driving? Why only bullying by SUVs are being discussed? I have been cut across by many Swifts and Citys who think they are on some race track... however I dont intend to rant over it now.

Well Raj, I don't and am not promoting rash driving, but it is more than often I see a Sumo trying to get past me based on his car's size alone. At least in my experience, the SUV driver feels.."Give me way, I am big; let me pass." That is fine, as long as there is a way to pass and I am driving slow (er) than him.

In the congested city, they will cut you across from both left and right, and presume you will give way to his bulk! So to counter him, should I place some tyre-cutting contraption on my chariot (like in Qua Vadis)? I don't get it. Allow me to quote from the first post by GTO..

Originally Posted by GTO

Lets get one thing straight : A sedan is infinitely more pleasurable to drive. Whether its a straight expressway, especially on a typically Indian highway and even more so on a fast ghat section. The sheer handling & dynamics of a sedan are simply unmatched by SUVs. Take a Linea T-Jet out cornering, then attempt the same in a Scorpio or even a 20 lakh Fortuner and you'll know what I'm talking about. Thanks to their massive body roll, an SUV is hardly a vehicle you'd equate with the fun-to-drive factor. Most 100+ BHP sedans, due to lower center of gravity & higher power-to-weight ratios, remain an absolute blast to drive.

To add to it my present sedan is a Baleno. My next one (in a few days) is a Linea T-Jet. Sedans such as these have superior handling compared to any SUV. And can go fast when you need them to. Very fast.

[werfish]

How many people here have moved from a SUV to a sedan ?

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by johy

To add to it my present sedan is a Baleno. My next one (in a few days) is a Linea T-Jet. Sedans such as these have superior handling compared to any SUV. And can go fast when you need them to. Very fast.

That's what has been posted in a couple of post above.

All sedan owners are raving since the beginning of this thread is about high speed poise and cornering ability. But SUVs are not meant to do that... and neither are SUV drivers craving to do that.

So what if we cant take corners at 120? Does that make an SUV dull to drive? I find that amusing.

Originally Posted by werfish

How many people here have moved from a SUV to a sedan ?

I have moved to a hatch. And I wish to get into an SUV back.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by werfish

How many people here have moved from a SUV to a sedan ?

Royal Enfield MotorcyclesHarleys & SUV's. A genre I can't relate myself too.

A d0g darting across suddenly and I can't even brake in a SUV, forget about steering left or right.

There was some gent questioning Anshuman as to why should one swerve? Well, no one wishes to test its power steering capabilities or rear tire's traction at the limit.

At the end, I think SUV drivers are pretty happy with their choices, so let them be that.

There was some retired gentleman who did a record run in a Swift ZDi. It was at the HVK group and I can't Google it at the moment.

[ijeet]

I just came from a 2300Kms trip from Delhi to Bangalore via some of the worst roads in this country, actually calling that marsian land road will be disrespect to good roads . Paths full of foot deep craters filled with rain water, skiding, roaming cattle, you name it and it was there.

I am now a firm SUV convert, no sedan in the world coud endure what my Safari faced. I have been to uneven roads in our corolla and other sedans and its not pretty. I did the trip with my parents and everybody was in praise of how SUV handled the so called roads and this coming from a die hard hatchback fan, my dad. We did not feel any fatigue after the trip and I was in office the next day after reaching Bangalore at 11:00PM.

If you wanna see what I am talking about just see below video. This is just a very small snippet of what we faced.

One of the bridges in MP - YouTube

I think if you think of travelling on good roads like NH7 (Barring some places) and Yamuna Expresesway then Sedans is the answer but anything else warrants a SUV. No question about that.

-Ijeet

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Royal Enfield MotorcyclesHarleys & SUV's. A genre I can't relate myself too.

A d0g darting across suddenly and I can't even brake in a SUV, forget about steering left or right.

There was some gent questioning Anshuman as to why should one swerve? Well, no one wishes to test its power steering capabilities or rear tire's traction at the limit.

.

I find comments like this quite amusing. If i were to think on these lines, my retort would be, why swerve? In all likelihood the SUV will just go over the dog with its massive GC.

But we are missing the point. SUVs are not meant to be corner carvers like a sedan and if one were to try that, one has a death wish. similarly, sedans are not meant to traverse broken landscapes at speed or go through slush, over rockes etc.

both are designed for a specific purpose, with crossovers attempting to straddle both gneres.

driving pleassure is not about taking sweepers at 140 kph only. Ask an offroader who crawls over a rock or down a slushy hillside at 10 KPH, with a wide grin plastered on his face!

I own a sedan and two SUVs, and 9 times out of 10, i take my SUVs for any kind of travel that I do.

[apachelongbow]

with my daily office transport being either a sedan or sometimes a Xylo, I find I look forward to being driven by the Xylo (amusing is it not, considering the Xylo? ). Thats the point, even for a regular 20km commute from home to work, I find a SUV/MUV is more comfortable than any sedan. My whole issue with being a passenger in a sedan stems from the point of sitting low, almost on my *** and watching everyone towering over me, and truck/bus exhaust spewing into my face should I choose to keep my window rolled down.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

But we are missing the point. SUVs are not meant to be corner carvers like a sedan and if one were to try that, one has a death wish.

For arguments sake let me try to see which Indian sedan is a 'corner carver'
Desire, SX4.. haha.. Surely not. Verna? if it keeps straight line at 80kmph on a bumpy road I would thank my lucky stars. Feista? The old one, yes, the new one? just maybe. Linea? ok, but definitely not over 100kmph. Honda City? the fish shape? lol. The ANHC? maybe....

D segment upwards? Most of the sedans are decent in terms of performance.

So me thinks, if you do not buy a D+ segment sedan, and try to corner carve in a lower spec, most of the corners would be cement scraping off the retaining walls