[alpha1]

Indian mentality point to the "Thud" when you slam your doors.

To hell with the reality of you car breaking down every 500 km, like a new born baby with low immunity.

Its still Solid Built.



Not for me though.

[shubhodeepdas@g]

My Observation,
Most things reliable have the 'Thud', but most things thud are not 'reliable'.
Choice is simple. The 'Thud' factor has saved my neck and family a few times.

[DKG]

Since the features of cars are always interpreted in terms of benefits to a consumer the car's build quality as a feature manifests in my opinion as supreme reliability

[civic-sense]

Should have simply asked whether you like European cars or Japanese cars. Bringing in the reliability thing into the picture actually tries to make voters lean towards Japanese cars.

Reliability is not the same as build. And however, hard we try, we cannot change the definition of reliability by doing a poll. Good build will make your car last longer, while reliability will ensure that you have little breakdowns.

I would like to have both in my car. Good build and great reliability. It is amusing why both do not come together. Actually it is tougher to make reliable cars. Japanese has excelled in that. What harm will it do to them, if they don't get too much stingy on build. Well, they have started making better built cars of late, but the Europeans are raising the bar faster.

I have owned an European car in the past, and now own a Japanese. The Civic, which costs almost thrice the price, is no match to the Palio in terms of sturdiness and highway manners. The Palio was fairly reliable, and I hope that the Civic betters the Palio.

[mustang89]

This is a difficult poll to vote on.
I feel that Build Quality simply means Build+quality.We are talking about how well the car is put together.The panels should be consistent,it shouldnt start rattling after 10kms,there should be rattling of windows when half closed.
The Japs though masters of quality of manufacturing and reliabilty still havent mastered the art of build quality.Well now I have even started having doubts about the quality of Jap cars in terms of reliabilty.

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Reliability is not the same as build. Good build will make your car last longer, while reliability will ensure that you have little breakdowns.

IMO good build = better Passive safety. Should be able to absorb impact while the car is doing an average speed say 40-60KM/Hrs. keeping the driver and passengers safe.

Maruti 800/ Esteem lasting longer does not mean the car is well build!!

I would like to have both in my car. Good build and great reliability. It is amusing why both do not come together.

IMO the only Asian car manufacturer which is very close to satisfy above is Toyota.

[gvivek75]

Going through all the responses it looks like the classical Guns vs. Bread dilemma in Economics. You can have one at the cost of the other but not both together. Surely if you have money to splurge, it's not an issue. But for tighter purse strings, it's a choice most of us need to make.

[SamtheLeo]

Any car can be or not be Thud but reliability is supreme. To work is the job of machine & the more flawless the better. Hence It has to be rlaible first Thud later.

[amoghchaphalkar]

For me :
Build Quality is defined by : If I am involved in an accident / impact, how safe will I be ?
One can have brilliantly engineering electronics, transmission etc : but if they are not going to keep me alive in case of an impact : how good are they ?
I therefore vote for the "thud"

[ImmortalZ]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

IMO the only Asian car manufacturer which is very close to satisfy above is Toyota.

Have you felt the body panels on an Innova? They go straight in if you even lean against it casually.

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I have owned an European car in the past, and now own a Japanese. The Civic, which costs almost thrice the price, is no match to the Palio in terms of sturdiness and highway manners. The Palio was fairly reliable, and I hope that the Civic betters the Palio.

The "flimsy" Swift is heavier than the Palio. Shows where the real engineering has gone. I've ridden in a Palio 1.6 once. Didn't feel anything special - not even close to being electric like the Civic.

[Pro-Idiot]

Originally Posted by theMAG

The thud. I'd rather the car stays well-heeled during its normal single-owner lifespan of 5-7 years than a dinky car whose engine keeps going till 1.5 lakh kms when the rest of the car has fallen away.

Besides most modern cars are at a very healthy baseline for reliability, that makes concentrating on the 'thud" factor important.

Agreed, baseline reliabilty is present in most cars today, So the answer should be Thud, but look at the interesting case of Punto:
Has the thud! till you look at it and sit in the cockpit and close the door..Thud
But from there on totally doesnt have the thud! the plastics around the stearing column could very well make you bleed, the glove box will most certainly fall off its hinge by the time you reach the house from the showroom, has 60:40 folding rear, but the moment you fold it once, it will be difficult to click it back in place. Pop the hood you will, but soon will be carrying the plastic lever in your hand!

I chose the swift over punto because of that, if it is not good then I would rather not have it! The swift has no real interior to work on hence you could probably make it like you wish it to be.

Although both cars are high on the reliability factor in terms of their bones, Punto: NCAP 5 , swift NCAP 4, both have a well balaced frame.

Hence will go for Reliability, from there on, it is about choosing from what is available. Sadly not much is available in our market, and that too in the highest selling niche of the market. choose the I20 you get almost everything, solid bones, decent(mark my words, only "decent") interiors, "decent" engine, but then the price is wrong.

I understand buildings and the most important thing is that the bones of the building need to sound, from there on you see how it gets finished.

Cheers!

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

The "flimsy" Swift is heavier than the Palio. Shows where the real engineering has gone.

Oh is it?
Maruti Suzuki Swift VXi Kerb Weight: 1010 Kgs
Fiat Palio 1.2 ELX: 1015 Kgs

To put it in a different perspective, after driving Swift I really wonder where all that 1010 kgs has gone?

P.S. Interestingly Maruti says Swift LXi weighs 980 Kgs and Swift VXi 1010 kgs and VXi four door Power windows and front fog lamps extra. 30 kgs, I doubt it.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

The "flimsy" Swift is heavier than the Palio.

Yea but why does it feel flimsy? It starts rattling sooner than a Palio.

I (you know how well built I am ) made a dent in my cousins Swift by leaning over its door a bit too much.

[mkh]

Toyota and Honda are surely ahead of the race when it comes to reliability. It means for me clearly how many times do i need to visit the service center for non routine services and what i end up paying. Also means the rattles and squeaks esp with our city road where one has to find the road between the potholes and not vice versa
I feel that Hyundai has proven itself in india (and now even in the US) for building reliable cars.
My santro was 7 years old and not a single squeak- it was build solid
I felt the same was in the Getz and now with the Verna.
The sub 10 lacs category, i feel they build the most reliable cars..( maybe the VW polo would change that..)

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by mkh

My santro was 7 years old and not a single squeak- it was build solid
I felt the same was in the Getz and now with the Verna.
The sub 10 lacs category, i feel they build the most reliable cars..( maybe the VW polo would change that..)

Well, that might be probably because you were using these cars extensively and not using other cars to see how they feel in terms of build quality. But yea, I agree that they have good build quality.