Team-BHP - New Auto Show by CNBC-TV18 & Overdrive

Somebody on this thread mentioned Shirish having a very biased view towards the Skoda Laura. Yes, it does look biased on first view. But when someone asks him on AutoSelector about a diesel car in the 15 lac bracket, how many options can we think of. The Laura indeed is a good car and the number of Lauras on the road is testimony to this fact.

I would think it would be appropriate if Shirish compares the Laura with its competition, weigh the pros and cons and then give the verdict. That would be a more appropriate way and he would not come across as being an ardent Skoda fan and biased towards the Laura.

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Originally Posted by himanshugoswami (Post 783579)

also, you guys need to improve your driving skills- seriously, the drifts in the 5 series were quite amateurish and one could easily make out when you stopped having fun and lost control of the cars.

please dont mind these comments- this is meant to be constructive criticism :)

You're right, the drifts were somewhat amature but I wouldn't expect a lot more from a 525d. You cannot powerslide such a heavy car with such a little engine, there just isn't enough power not to mention the lack of a limited slip diff.

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I watched an episode of this yesterday (or maybe day before yesterday which was Saturday), where Mr Sirish Chandran fielded viewers' questions. The very first question was from a person who was a nature-lover and wanted to know which 4x4 vehicle he could go for. The requirements were it had to be a petrol vehicle and it could not be the Gypsy.

With all due respect the answer by Mr Sirish failed to impress me. First of all, he kept praising the Gypsy for some time, when the viewer had clearly said No Gypsy. Then he went on talking of Grand Vitara which is way above the price limit of 10 lakhs mentioned by the viewer. Needless to say the question was not answered at all. He kept discussing vehicles such as the 4x4 Xylo which is not a petrol vehicle, then the Scorpio which again is neither a petrol vehicle nor within the price bracket, and then he said the Safari would be underpowered (again a diesel vehicle).

I guess when the viewer has identified his requirements clearly, why waste time discussing all the options which don't fit the requirements? A better answer would have been to ask the viewer to change the requirements as there was no vehicle other than the Gypsy to meet his requirements. Plain and simple.

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Originally Posted by honeybee (Post 1925425)

The very first question was from a person who was a nature-lover and wanted to know which 4x4 vehicle he could go for.

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A better answer would have been to ask the viewer to change the requirements as there was no vehicle other than the Gypsy to meet his requirements.

Actually, there is an option : A used Subaru Forester. Believe you me, it can handle 99% of any nature lovers offroading requirements. As long as you don't want to go rock climbing, the Forester is suited to the job. It can handle slush, muck and uneven tarmac surprisingly well.

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Originally Posted by GTO (Post 1926844)

I was thinking along the lines of a petrol Safari, but then I am not really an expert on this!

I don't think the auto shows would dare recommend a used vehicle on TV, but the point is these guys should not try beating around the bush if they don't have an answer, just for the sake of appearing knowledgeable.

Btw, Subaru Forester? You mean the Chevy Forester?

Risking another warning, let me ask here one more question: Who the hell decides the weird angles in which the vehicles are photographed on these shows? All the shows that I have watched and all the episodes I have watched, none of them show any vehicle as a normal person would see, i.e. standing perpendicular to the ground, without bending his/her neck in a 68 degree angle. What's the obsession with the weird camera angles and those extremely fast zoom ins and zoom outs? Are we supposed to watch the cameraman's antics here or the vehicles?