[vivekgk]

Personally, I like estates, so a mini estate/large hatch would get full marks from me. I love the Jazz (except for its price) The Figo too, has quite a large boot, and that's one of the reasons for its success (pricing being the biggest reason). I'm all for hatches getting bigger.

[pacman2881]

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

what you people are forgetting that price point is affected by car size as a car and bigger engine would automatically escalate the car cost (as per govt norms)

Yes. there seem to be a confusion on pricing. It is obvious that given the same price point Indian families will prefer a bigger car. No doubts about that. The problem is bigger the car higher is the price and tendency of looking at a sedan at the same price band comes up.

[Musicmaker23]

There definitely is a market in India for large hatches. I agree with GTO when he spoke about India's "Bigger is better" mentality. I know I'm talking about a totally different segment, but let's talk about the Fortuner. Its a huge car, VFM at approx 20 lakhs, has great features & the toyota prestige. Toyota could've easily asked for another 5 lakhs for it, but they didn't. Now, the Fortuner is developing a cult following in the Indian market.

The general mantra for a large hatch should be:

• Sedan spec'd engine, don't give us lazy engines!!
• Decent features (Dont skip on electric ORVMs, steering mounted controls, ABS etc just to save a few thousands in manufacturing. The customers don't mind shelling out a little extra for that kind of stuff)
• Good space
• Different variants
• Don't go overboard with the price a la the Jazz. A great car that got killed by its price. VFM is still a priority in the Indian market

If manufacturers are gonna ask me to spend 8-10 lakhs on a hatch that lacks any of the above, they're missing the point

[aniketi]

I guess Getz was a kind of large Hatch. But now it seems it was ahead of time. When my cousin bought it in 2005 i was amazed to see the amount of space it has. It was more spacious than many sedans. 3 adults can fit easily at back. Boot space was not very great but was ok.

Dont know why Hyundai killed that car so early. It would have been great to launch it with 1.2 Kappa engine. It could have added one more car in there portfolio. It could have been proved as a cheaper option for I20. Before discontinuing, Getz was around 4.2 Lacs on road Pune. That was i think really VFM pricing considering the amount of space it offers. It would have been a great option of Wagon R, i10 buyers at the same price but with lots of space.

Now looking forward to Ford fiesta hatch. Hopefully it will be good with price

[handsofsteel]

Originally Posted by adimicra

+1. Having bought the jazz, I am now tired of answering stupid questions like "why did you buy a small car when you can afford a large one?"

To them, a DZire is a larger car than jazz just because it has a boot and is cheaper too! So, I am a big fool. Now, how can I explain to them that Jazz is infact a much more spacious car than Dzire with much better quality,looks etc etc?

Large hatchbacks will be definitely priced similarly or more than C segment sedans, which means there will be very few takers for those! Period.

man! you said it. i am in the same situation as you as my office has 6 dzires, 2 sx4s and 1 jazz (yours truly). my boss owns a dzire. every second day i am drawn into this argument. nowadays i restrict myself by muttering,"forgive him lord for he knows not what he speaks".

[Mindgrinder]

all of this discussion is forgetting govt ruling on car size and engine Displacement limit by govt. that's why we have underpowered hatches. U cannot have bigger hatches in India at lower price point till the time govt. eases norms. We can dream whatever we can. Most of the prices are driven by Politician choice of vehicles, sedans and SUV's. Instead of buying a Bravo at 18lakh i would rather buy a Captiva or fortuner....

India has lot of market for bigger hatches as they are easy for city driving, u do not need to take care of the boot in traffic. However with rising cost of petrol and raw material market for Sedans would be easily driven with a status symbol of "Badi Gaadi" Park it in a market, you are automatically considered as a "seth" normal hatch back customers are many.....

[vineethvazhayil]

I voted don't know. For me a large hatch back example is the VW Golf. Assuming it comes at the price level of the Jetta (13 - 18 lakhs), I'm sure VW would be very lucky to sell even 10 a month. No prestige for a 13 + lakh car with no boot (although it is far more practical than the prev gen Jetta). However a GTi would be a good one 200 bhp hatch!

[SANSI]

If I keep me in that position since I am a common Indian too, finally what would matter for me is the proportion of Space, Feature, Power, Mileage and budget I have. For a given budget, regardless of a hatchback or a sedan, which one of it is proportionately better in Space+Feature+Power+Mileage I would go for that. In my opinion, if it is true that large hatchbacks are a failure so far in India, then it means that those large hatchbacks are far behind in this proportion against the sedans or it should that the product itself has some issues.

[shankar.balan]

Maruti is strong enough in this marketplace to do a little experimentation.

Why cant they come in with the SX4 Hatch with a 1.6 petrol and a 1.9 Diesel plus AWD in ZXI trim only?

Limited numbers - say 1000 cars for all India. Atleast 200 each for the high consumption Metro cities. Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Bangalore and Hyderabad, Let them try and price it competitively as much as possible since anyway for the most part this is made in India.

This could be a good test marketing strategy for them and for a few of us who may be lucky enough to get one!

Will these blighted fat cat Boardroom Jockeys and Marketing Honchos ever listen to what the consumer is saying???

[Mindgrinder]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Maruti is strong enough in this marketplace to do a little experimentation.

Why cant they come in with the SX4 Hatch with a 1.6 petrol and a 1.9 Diesel plus AWD in ZXI trim only?

Limited numbers - say 1000 cars for all India. Atleast 200 each for the high consumption Metro cities. Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Bangalore and Hyderabad, Let them try and price it competitively as much as possible since anyway for the most part this is made in India.

This could be a good test marketing strategy for them and for a few of us who may be lucky enough to get one!

Will these blighted fat cat Boardroom Jockeys and Marketing Honchos ever listen to what the consumer is saying???

1.9 diesel and 1.6 petrol is going to be really expensive hatchback. I think govt. Subsidies cars upto 1.3 ltr or something for maruti it would be huge investment, like re working on engine specs weight and gearing

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by nukeblitz

The reason CURRENTLY is in caps is that i'm referring to the next 3 to 5 years and not in long term in 10yrs.

The car i've taken as the prototype is the Lancia Delta. It measures 4520mm in length. It's around the length of a honda city.

Lancia Delta

Lancia is owned by fiat.
.

Lancia's though eccentrically awesome are potential rust magnets . Leave it in the mumbai rains for 3 months and you will see.

By the way about this car, Jeremy Clarkson said and I quote, "Now Lancia makes cars that are neither beautiful nor exciting. The delta looks like it has Rio Ferdinand's face stuck in the front."

By the way Lancia was:

1. first production car in Europe to feature a complete electrical system as standard equipment.

2. The first car with a monocoque-type body.

3. 1948 saw the first 5 speed gearbox to be fitted to a production car (Series 3 Ardea)

4. Lancia premiered the first full-production V6 engine, in the 1950 Aurelia

5. It was also the first company to produce a V4 engine

6. Also, Lancia pioneered the use of independent suspension in production cars.

Back to the topic, I would love to see large sized hatchbacks in India. We at ford are currently evaluating this issue also with mini SUVs and Mini MPVs.

[Mindgrinder]

Originally Posted by Mustang.101

Lancia's though eccentrically awesome are potential rust magnets . Leave it in the mumbai rains for 3 months and you will see.

By the way about this car, Jeremy Clarkson said and I quote, "Now Lancia makes cars that are neither beautiful nor exciting. The delta looks like it has Rio Ferdinand's face stuck in the front."

By the way Lancia was:

1. first production car in Europe to feature a complete electrical system as standard equipment.

2. The first car with a monocoque-type body.

3. 1948 saw the first 5 speed gearbox to be fitted to a production car (Series 3 Ardea)

4. Lancia premiered the first full-production V6 engine, in the 1950 Aurelia

5. It was also the first company to produce a V4 engine

6. Also, Lancia pioneered the use of independent suspension in production cars.

Back to the topic, I would love to see large sized hatchbacks in India. We at ford are currently evaluating this issue also with mini SUVs and Mini MPVs.

was last seen in Angels and Demons - movie

[shankar.balan]

As per todays TOI the Merc A and B Class can be expected around 2013 in CKD format. Apparently these are being developed in RHD form along with their world development.
Prices could be reasonably competitive on account of CKD thus attracting a younger segment of consumers.
If this is the case, then it is reasonable to assume that VW Golf and AUDI A1, A3, the various BMW Hatches etc cant be far behind.

[harishF1]

My opinion: The difference between a large hatchback and a small sized MUV (like a mini Xylo) would become narrow both in terms of cost and size. In other words we would refer the same vehicle as a MUV. Having said this, an average Indian would love to buy a mini SUV/ MUV than a large hatch, since a hatch means a small car with a small engine for a small budget family (and for those who cannot afford a car with a boot) - this impression is stengthened by governments subsidy clause. So there is a big dent on the ego of an Indian spending close to 10L for a small car even if it exceeds the 4 meter length and is given with a big engine. The SUV/ MUV offers more practality as well, like more GC, more car per car more luggage space et all. So given a choice between Honda Jazz and a future SUV/ MUV for the same price with a slightly lower fit and finish from a Mahindra or a Renault or a Tata, you know what Indians love.

Hatchbacks would rule in the sub 6L segment until the market matures for large ones with big hearts. I also find that in India, estate versions are a big flops - Indigo Marina, Opel Swing, the Baleno one (i can even forgot its name), the Sierra sold more than the estate, etc. Would big hatches which should be comparable with the above in terms of size sell well? I doubt...