[zipzapzoom]

great topic and content GTO
as usual a very valid discussion and point wise detailed analysis, i am too confused with such decision.
I want yeti for its stance, if required offroadability. fresh looks and gizmo's.
Whilst laura 2.0 DSG for its sheer driving dynamics, power and handling within city with auto DSG.
still confused, will have to take a call soon once i test drive yeti.
thanks

[arethusa]

Originally Posted by fine69

Why would it be bullying? Getting some protection for your car (I know it sounds funny ) doesn't quality as bullying. Till the time one's SUV doesn't kiss the other vehicles with their bull bars or tries to break in a lane just because there's enough iron/steel around the SUV you can't call it bullying.

As for choosing an SUV over a Sedan and given the inter-state road trips I've done, I'd compromise on certain features and instead go for an SUV mainly because I do 500-1000 kms of highway driving every month...need I say more?

Honestly, I myself have done a fair bit of highway driving including a road trip all the way from Mumbai to Kathmandu and back and one road trip to the Gujarat - Pakistan border in the Rann of Kutch. In the former instance it was an M800 and in the latter my ride was a Fiat Linea.

Agreed that at certain points I had to be extra cautious and really slow down and on a couple of instances I did scrape the belly of my car but no damage done.

I would definitely consider the likes of a 2WD Yeti or RAV4 or the likes over the SUVs unless I plan on a serious Offroading trip.

All said and done this is just a personal preference.

[mooza]

If India had some 6 seater sedan options, or maybe products like the 2 row MPVs on the lines of the Fiat Multipla (length under 4000mm), I think SUV sales would not have increased as much in India, at least if people moving was one of the main reasons SUVs are being sought after, as it was in my case, at least.

I had put down some thoughts in my thread below a few months ago :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...er-sedans.html

[NFS]

GC vs CG wow! Nice Thread.

I drove Old Maruti Zen (not the zen estilo) for almost 5 yrs now and the moment I see a Speed breaker, my heart pumps, scaring an under belly screech!

Seen the ANHC/Civic/Accord all having the long nose and scratching while entering or exiting a slight gradient into a ramp. My Zen cannot go up to the Nissan dealer of Velachery, Chennai. When I took the test drive of X-Trail, I parked my car by the road side.

I decided, Enough of worrying about GC and voted for Scorpio (not sure if I believe they are SUVs), for me it is a Jeep with lot of electronics and looks (my perspective).

Agree completely that Sedan are capable of higher speeds, and handling, but my thought is when the road is bad (imagine you had traveled 100s of kms of good road, but you have to negotiate 10kms of bad road to reach home), what will one do? Drive through the rough patch and scratch your vehicle and sit pretty? My heart pains.

Cannot say the Macho feel is the only reason for buying a Scorpio (may be the -ve popularity of such vehicles were gained due to they being bought by politicos or some goondas, I am not sure?) I recently saw Scorpios and Safaris driving very responsibly on highways (so let me not be part of anyone who says they are hopeless drivers driving harsh always - not everyone does that).

No offences meant, and the above note is just my opinion, Please!

[siddheshb]

I had some awesome sedans for 12 years, and finally had the bucks to go for an SUV.. as a long timer sedan lover recently converted to an SUV enthusiast, here are my thoughts

My Endy has awesome road presence, I get all the space I need because everyone else makes way. The high driving position and huge rear view mirrors gives excellent all round visibility. In the worst case, if anyone does get too close, and I do get a scratch, I think I will be a lot less upset than if someone did it to my sedan. Net net, city driving is almost stress-free, which is a HUGE plus!

Yes, parking is a little more complicated, but most malls and multi-plexes today have sufficient parking.

On the highway, I miss the zippiness of my sedan, but the Endy feels much safer and stable on any non-expressway road, the potholes and rough stretches are easy to navigate, and when you get incoming traffic on narrow roads, getting down to one side is a no brainer. In a sedan, you really are in trouble wheen faced with a truck barelling at you and a deep rut on the side of the road.

With an SUV, my family, my sister's family, and a load of shopping and baggage can get into one vehicle and have a ball. Or 12 of my nephews and nieces. Or 7 of my colleagues and friends on a picnic.

And finally, the offroading. I haven't joned any serious OTR event at TBHP yet, but climbing hills in Goa, splashing in the lagoon at Dapoli, and countless similar mini adventures has provided such awesome fun and excitement, something I could never dream of in my sedan.

Yes, I miss my sedan, but I would never be able to trade my SUV for one now!

[acidkill]

GTO,

All points agreed. Only addition to your points is that both MUVs / SUVs and Sedans are increasingly becoming more and more competent at emulating each others strengths.

While you have provided examples of the Yeti, Outlander and CRV for the SUVs/ MUV's - i think that the best example of a sedan trying to fit the SUV's shoes is the SX4. Simply brilliant for those looking for a spacious sedan with a rough road package!

Conclusion:
SUV's / MUV's are in effect only for those looking for Machismo or goods/people moving capability. Sedans are becoming more and more competent at practically everything else.

[sindabad.sailor]

An utterly intersting thread.

I have been owning Zen Estilo for over 3 years. When in dreams I see monetary inflows grow, I deliberatley stretch my sleep to fabricate dreams of buying next car. And following is what i managed to retain from such umpteen number of dream sequels.

We are a famliy of 5, for 6 months and for remaining six months THEY are a family of of four. I need a vehicle only for WE family tenures. Estilo has given immense ownership pleasures. However looking forward to my new car the conflict doesn't fit a slot for hatchback. Reason that
1.i have done with 1st leg of automotive ownership journey (bigger has naturally to follow smaller)
2.With big enough boot of estilo amongst hatchbacks that i know / driven (very few) the so called boot is appearing lil small after arrival of kid.

Would personally love AT sedan (SX4) anytime as my ever-struggling-to-drive better half can look fwd to start driving on her own. However not being able to see the bonnet is the biggest block for her as we learnt driving on mahindra soft top. She needs to see the bonnet. Moreover as parents approaching their 70s they might feel like lying down for a while if run is longer and this w'd reduce 5 seater sedan to 2 seater + 1 sleeper. Had it been an SUV/MUV third row is useful here.

We simply don't have an option of AT in SUVs barring Scorpio AT but since it takes 6-8 weeks to deliver it is as useless for me as I w'd get to see her after 6 months of paying for her as leave restricted. In these circumstances i might compromise on AT and then with space requirement, I naturally develope an inclination to SUVish MUV like say Grande mk2(goes easy on wallet) or Scorpio AT only if available with much shorter wait.

Other than above I don't really think GC to be too big issue. If I am correct The difference in GC of avg hatch(165mm?) and SUV's(180-300mm) is barely 25 mm. My estilo exclusively ran b/w kolhapur and konkan mostly thru Tavandi and then obnoxious stretch to Amboli. Never ever scraped the belly.

But all round comfort that i can manage with captains seat option say in xylo/scorp and option to let parents relax say in grande/xylo/innova 3rd row coupled to FEEL of being safe, and being SAFE (only)if i drive suv sane enough tilts my liking totally towards SUV/MUV.

Also a common indian buys the hull i mean body and is not much informed @ what's under the hood. This is one reason why some money more and many people start thinking of SUV?MUV no matter if they have safety features or not. Also 'SUV means diesel and diesel means affordability' is set too hard in majority of PUBLIC's mind hence many w'd still think that they are saving by running on diesel than on petrol no matter what is mileage of each.

WRT survivability of inmates, dynamics and impact strength i think it is a really complicated topic to generalize it by likning to weight of vehicle, height and position of seating as each real life incidence w'd have entriely different set of variables. Detail studies might turn out outof phase of what our eyes believe. To me luck is the big factor here. And sensible driving is the only defence available. Which applies equally to sedans and SUVs.

[DRC]

I liked this thread. It is most relavent to our family which is in this exact debate.
BTW, I feel this should be in advice section. Mods can move it if they share the same idea.

[benbsb29]

During the Diwali holidays, we undertook an unplanned trip to visit our long-lost relatives in Kannur. It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of decision, and therefore didnt do much to check on the road conditions. As we later realized, roads were non-existent in many places. Our car was wading in and out of potholes, and lunar craters. It took it in its stride, but not without having to take a few hits. The tough climb over hilly terrain to some of the houses we visited, only further strenghtened the thought that the next vehicle we would get would be an SUV. No second thoughts.

Also, even on the GQ roads, i've seen Safaris and Scorpios do the same kind of speeds i was doing on my sedan.

Ah, for the thrill factor, i plan on retaining the Ikon as well just for those little bursts of joy.

[joshguy]

SUV is anyday better for indian conditions but it has to be with good ride and comfort.

problem here is if its an suv it is tall and high speed cornering would be a problem.so vehicles like innova and endy ,pajero or captiva makes sense than scorpio ,qualis and xylo (no offence meant to MM)

Another major problem is COST,you can get a suv for less than 7.5L and you cannot find a neat low mileage SUV in 2nd hand market too.

If i had enough money my choice would be Endy / Captiva / Montero/ pajero

[roy_libran]

MUV/SUV is a better, safer and more flexible vehicle to own in India, considering the Bad Roads, Bad Night Lighting, Bad Driving Manners etc. that we face in India. However, the rider that people must keep in mind, especially when graduating up from Sedans, is that they nedd to drive an SUV sedately. These vehicles come with good engines, and good power delivery, and this should NOT be used to the maximum. An SUV is NOT for High Speed Cornering, or zipping and cutting in our crowded city streets.

Bad Roads: High GC, More Torque, Optional 4x4 to pull you out of Snow, Sand or Slush situations.
Bad Street Lighting: A Taller Seating Position gives a better view of the Roads and Surroundings.
Bad Driving Manners: People (Auto-rickshaws and bikes esp.) naturally give you more space and being perched higher, means that in case of an accident, you are a wee bit more safer.
Flexibility: You can carry up to 8 people, or a lot of luggage, or haul a trailer (if needed) etc...

The main point against these vehicles is COST. India, does not need the 12 Lac + SUV/MUVs. It needs a lot of decent SUV/MUV Options in the 6 - 10 Lac Space. That's where a lot of volumes should be.

[SS-Traveller]

GTO, since it's a debate on SUV vs. Sedan, why not add a poll to this thread?

[drmohitg]

Both the vehiles have there own merits n demerits. And this is where a vehicle like Scorpio/Innova(10L bracket) and Outlander/Crv(20L bracket) come in. They give you the benefits of an SUV in form of sturdiness and ability to handel bad roads, plus the benefits of a sedan in the form of easy drive-ability inside the city.

I always feel safer in our Innova rather then the NHC/Lancer on the highways.

[vb-san]

@GTO, extremely useful thread!
And this makes much more sense with the recent launch of Skoda Yeti. In the Yeti review thread by Rehaan, a lot of the responses (negative mostly) were on the small dimensions of the car - which means that for most of the SUV buyers street presence is the key criteria.

I guess, in our scenario cross-over concept make the most sense. It provides almost sedan-like comfort, and can possibly better handle our roads. Barring a few national highways, most of our roads need cars with rough road packages. In a recent travel from Thrissur (kerala) to Mangalore, I felt so sorry for my ford ikon due to the road conditions. And the Yeti is on the top of my list for an upgrade from the Ikon (more so after reading through the excellent review)

And in this thread I noticed a lot of praises for Suzuki SX4. Well, the SX4 started off a small cross-over. But Suzuki being smart, added on a boot before sending it to India.

Noticed that there were comparisons on ride quality and safety of cars from the same brand (say CRV v/s Accord). Pretty curious to know - what are your thoughts on Skoda Laura v/s Yeti? Both in the elegance trim, ignoring the DSG factor in Laura.

[SanScorpio]

Have owned a hatch, WagonR before and with 4 people seated the vehicle always seems to be scrapping the badly designed Road humps that you invariably come across on Indian roads. And everytime its a sinking feeling when you hear the scrapping noise, imagining what kind of damage it could be. Have seen the belly of the WagonR and saw that i had quite a few dents on the Catalytic converter, but thankfully no damage to it!!!
Now with the Scorp I dont have a sinking feeling when I go over a pothole/hump.