Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads?

vigneshjairaj · 30th September 2016, 21:47

I hope there will be a few people who'd be on the same page with me on this.
Well maintained W123/W124's definitely turn my head. And the same goes for E38 BMW's which is pretty rare I guess.
The Thar does have a cult following and turns many heads. Big, brawny SUV's too.

PrasannaDhana · 30th September 2016, 22:03

Here's a few cars that turns my head:

Well maintained Honda City (1st gen)
Chevrolet SRV
Well maintained Lancer with proper spoiler
Mahindra Classic, Thar
Fiat Punto
All Mercedes G series
Toyota Landcruiser VX
Volvo V40, S60
Mercedes A180
Tata Xenon
Honda Accord
Force Gurkha
Hyundai Creta, Sonata & Elantra
Well maintained Opel Astra
New Jetta & Octavia (in silk blue shade)
Previous generation Audi Q7
Well maintained previous gen Pajero SFX

amitjha086 · 30th September 2016, 22:51

A few weeks ago, I saw a Force Gurkha in the parking lot of my hospital. I liked its rugged looks with a snorkel. It then became an everyday sight. I was later informed that it belonged to the daughter of the managing director!

avisidhu · 30th September 2016, 23:19

In this part of the country, Germans, SUV's and anything else money can buy, are dime a dozen nowadays. Heck, the Cayenne is an almost daily sighting now! Thars were big attention magnets but now too common.

A well kept Contessa, W124 and its siblings, or anything that has some effort invested by the owner turns the maximum heads I'd say. Among stock cars, only the V Cross would turn heads.

saishivaj · 30th September 2016, 23:22

The cars I would turn my heads to are:
1. A tastefully modified Thar
2. A well maintained white Contessa in stock form
3. A yellow or Orange Palio S10
4. OHC with stock Alloys or some other tasty alloys.
5. Any beautifully maintain Zen (jellybean design)
6. Tata Sierra in white
7. Pajero SFX and the older one without the beefed up wheel arches.
8. A yellow Octavia RS
9. Yellow or Blue Laura and New Octavia
10. Optra SRV in black
11. Esteem and Lancer ( the one without the chrome grill) in stock form
12. Old Baleno in any colour.

And any 90s car which is well maintained. Even a well maintained Maruti 800 grabs my attention.

zulfi hansi · 1st October 2016, 00:19

There are many who get attention and there are some. A well turned out MB [E & S class] with that star on the hood, they get a very special kind of attention and not any kind of attention, no other luxury brand has that pull, maybe cos their hoods are bald. The kind of attention I cannot explain where men just look in a discreet awe, some steeling a glance from the corner of their eyes, some just freeze in a distance and later pray nobody had seen them that way, and some just plane give way to the sheer elegance beholding their unquestionable attention, some feel the surge of power that it oozes, many men at the gates just raise their hand to their foreheads as if that is the only thing they know to do. Many are inquisitive to see who owns the star and then many who knows who owns it, for some reason lower their tone when they speak to them, perpetually. But strangely not a single one smiles when he sees that star on the hood, and I really don't know why.

My humble tribute to my beloved silver E280 CDI.

cijo · 1st October 2016, 02:21

For me a well maintained Merc W123 and a well maintained Yamaha RD 350 . I admire the owners of these because it is not everyone's piece of cake.

gendarmee · 1st October 2016, 05:36

To choose one: A decently maintained standard 2000.

i74js · 1st October 2016, 06:06

For me

Premier 118NE - extremely rare to find on roads
Ford Escort - again a rare breed

A few days ago I saw Old 60's Fiat / Premier Padmini - with front doors opening other way round driven by an old couple. Not only me, but many people gave it 2nd, 3rd...multiple looks and how ! This was in Udaipur. The owner was a thorough gentlemen as after parking the car, he opened the door for the lady and help her alight. They must be in their 70's or so and I am sure the car must have been his first car !

It was sheer pleasure of two beauties by his side - the car and his partner !

vittalnrv · 1st October 2016, 08:50

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King_pin09 · 1st October 2016, 10:34

My list goes as follows,

The Superb 2016, A4 and the Kingsway

GKMahajan · 1st October 2016, 10:42

Very interesting thread indeed!

Whenever I turn around and look at a Fortuner 4x4 AT - my wife says "You have just married a Scorpio - stop looking at other cars!"
My daughters are crazy about Audis - all!!
My wife was all praise for a neighbor's 4x4 Thar.

In my opinion, most people cannot tell a good looking car from a normal car or even for that matter from a bad looking car!
Just look at the extreme opinions people have - they want lots of chrome / they want zero chrome!!

People can only notice a car if it is 'different'!

Just as an example, a run of the mill M800 or Indica with the bonnet cover missing will attract a lot of attention! Maybe more than a Merc standing next to it.

I noticed in a lot of posts above that people on this site have a lot of 'beauty sense'. Unfortunately, most people on the road are 'color blind'/'beauty blind'!!

Just as an example, yesterday I had gone to visit a party. Their person came to meet us as the gate and sat in my Scorpio to show me the way.
On the phone he told somebody that we are coming in a Sumo!

I have met people who cannot tell the difference between a Maruti Omni and Versa!

Once I had parked a Zoomcar XUV near a restaurant. Some guy wanted to take his car through that location. So he came in the restaurant asking for the driver of the 'Red Scorpio'!!

By the way, I see one very interesting point emerging from this thread - now I am able to add some models to the list of cars which make my head turn!

Regards,

Girish Mahajan

Mithrandir · 1st October 2016, 11:26

Old gen Honda Civic of my boss turns many heads in our campus (Can't say whether its the car or the boss sitting inside..!) Personally, tastefully designed German hatchbacks and sedans in red hue make me look back (and drool..!). Skodas (Superb, Octavia) in coffee brown hue also turn me on. For common folks color and size seems to be biggest attractions. A shiny red VW Polo turns many heads but my silver colored Polo is often mistaken for a Tata Indica!

hareesh3395 · 1st October 2016, 11:43

Very interesting thread, Jaguar is a head turner when compared with the German trios, Jaguar XF in a white shade on a sunny day, I am sure it will turn more heads than any other car apart from Super cars. In tier two cities ,Big SUVS like Audi Q7, land cruiser have quite a fan following. And how can I simply forget Mini Cooper?

vikramk · 1st October 2016, 13:32

I think heads turn based on the following

- Size - Mercedes GLE, GLS, S class, BMW 7 series, Land Rovers
- Vintage - Ambassador, Premier Padmini (rare sightings these days in Bangalore), the originial Maruti 800 (again rare)
- Color - Maruti Zen jellybean design in Yellow, Mitsubishi Lancer in Yellow, Maruti Zen Estilo in Pink

,
- Timeless or striking design - Skoda Octavia (2013+), Skoda Superb (2016+), Jaguars
- Niche - BMW i8, the European sports range (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati etc.)

30th September 2016, 21:47	#31
vigneshjairaj Newbie Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 11 Thanked: 9 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? I hope there will be a few people who'd be on the same page with me on this. Well maintained W123/W124's definitely turn my head. And the same goes for E38 BMW's which is pretty rare I guess. The Thar does have a cult following and turns many heads. Big, brawny SUV's too.
	(1) Thanks

30th September 2016, 22:03	#32
PrasannaDhana Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: TRICHY - TN Posts: 2,923 Thanked: 18,377 Times View My Garage	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? Here's a few cars that turns my head: Well maintained Honda City (1st gen) Chevrolet SRV Well maintained Lancer with proper spoiler Mahindra Classic, Thar Fiat Punto All Mercedes G series Toyota Landcruiser VX Volvo V40, S60 Mercedes A180 Tata Xenon Honda Accord Force Gurkha Hyundai Creta, Sonata & Elantra Well maintained Opel Astra New Jetta & Octavia (in silk blue shade) Previous generation Audi Q7 Well maintained previous gen Pajero SFX Last edited by noopster : 1st October 2016 at 20:37. Reason: Please use the full names of cars and not acronyms, thanks!
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30th September 2016, 22:51	#33
amitjha086 BHPian Join Date: May 2016 Location: Nepal Posts: 168 Thanked: 586 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? A few weeks ago, I saw a Force Gurkha in the parking lot of my hospital. I liked its rugged looks with a snorkel. It then became an everyday sight. I was later informed that it belonged to the daughter of the managing director!
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30th September 2016, 23:19	#34
avisidhu BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Vancouver Posts: 744 Thanked: 827 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? In this part of the country, Germans, SUV's and anything else money can buy, are dime a dozen nowadays. Heck, the Cayenne is an almost daily sighting now! Thars were big attention magnets but now too common. A well kept Contessa, W124 and its siblings, or anything that has some effort invested by the owner turns the maximum heads I'd say. Among stock cars, only the V Cross would turn heads. Last edited by avisidhu : 30th September 2016 at 23:24.
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30th September 2016, 23:22	#35
saishivaj BHPian Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Bangalore Posts: 86 Thanked: 484 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? The cars I would turn my heads to are: 1. A tastefully modified Thar 2. A well maintained white Contessa in stock form 3. A yellow or Orange Palio S10 4. OHC with stock Alloys or some other tasty alloys. 5. Any beautifully maintain Zen (jellybean design) 6. Tata Sierra in white 7. Pajero SFX and the older one without the beefed up wheel arches. 8. A yellow Octavia RS 9. Yellow or Blue Laura and New Octavia 10. Optra SRV in black 11. Esteem and Lancer ( the one without the chrome grill) in stock form 12. Old Baleno in any colour. And any 90s car which is well maintained. Even a well maintained Maruti 800 grabs my attention.
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1st October 2016, 00:19	#36
zulfi hansi BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 996 Thanked: 383 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? There are many who get attention and there are some. A well turned out MB [E & S class] with that star on the hood, they get a very special kind of attention and not any kind of attention, no other luxury brand has that pull, maybe cos their hoods are bald. The kind of attention I cannot explain where men just look in a discreet awe, some steeling a glance from the corner of their eyes, some just freeze in a distance and later pray nobody had seen them that way, and some just plane give way to the sheer elegance beholding their unquestionable attention, some feel the surge of power that it oozes, many men at the gates just raise their hand to their foreheads as if that is the only thing they know to do. Many are inquisitive to see who owns the star and then many who knows who owns it, for some reason lower their tone when they speak to them, perpetually. But strangely not a single one smiles when he sees that star on the hood, and I really don't know why. My humble tribute to my beloved silver E280 CDI.
	() Thanks

1st October 2016, 02:21	#37
cijo BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Kanjirapally/CA Posts: 39 Thanked: 22 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? For me a well maintained Merc W123 and a well maintained Yamaha RD 350 . I admire the owners of these because it is not everyone's piece of cake.
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1st October 2016, 05:36	#38
gendarmee BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: India Posts: 741 Thanked: 28 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? To choose one: A decently maintained standard 2000.
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1st October 2016, 06:06	#39
i74js Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: RJ-02,DL,MH-12 Posts: 1,331 Thanked: 2,181 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? For me Premier 118NE - extremely rare to find on roads Ford Escort - again a rare breed A few days ago I saw Old 60's Fiat / Premier Padmini - with front doors opening other way round driven by an old couple. Not only me, but many people gave it 2nd, 3rd...multiple looks and how ! This was in Udaipur. The owner was a thorough gentlemen as after parking the car, he opened the door for the lady and help her alight. They must be in their 70's or so and I am sure the car must have been his first car ! It was sheer pleasure of two beauties by his side - the car and his partner !
	() Thanks

1st October 2016, 08:50	#40
vittalnrv BANNED Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 192 Thanked: 34 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? Post deleted by the Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post messages that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the quality of this forum. Please read our rules before proceeding any further. We request you to post ONLY when you have something substantial to add to a discussion. Last edited by GTO : 3rd October 2016 at 13:40.
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1st October 2016, 10:34	#41
King_pin09 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mumbai Posts: 459 Thanked: 649 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? My list goes as follows, The Superb 2016, A4 and the Kingsway Attached Thumbnails Attached Images Last edited by King_pin09 : 1st October 2016 at 10:41.
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1st October 2016, 10:42	#42
GKMahajan BHPian Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Pune/Mumbai Posts: 609 Thanked: 874 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? Very interesting thread indeed! Whenever I turn around and look at a Fortuner 4x4 AT - my wife says "You have just married a Scorpio - stop looking at other cars!" My daughters are crazy about Audis - all!! My wife was all praise for a neighbor's 4x4 Thar. In my opinion, most people cannot tell a good looking car from a normal car or even for that matter from a bad looking car! Just look at the extreme opinions people have - they want lots of chrome / they want zero chrome!! People can only notice a car if it is 'different'! Just as an example, a run of the mill M800 or Indica with the bonnet cover missing will attract a lot of attention! Maybe more than a Merc standing next to it. I noticed in a lot of posts above that people on this site have a lot of 'beauty sense'. Unfortunately, most people on the road are 'color blind'/'beauty blind'!! Just as an example, yesterday I had gone to visit a party. Their person came to meet us as the gate and sat in my Scorpio to show me the way. On the phone he told somebody that we are coming in a Sumo! I have met people who cannot tell the difference between a Maruti Omni and Versa! Once I had parked a Zoomcar XUV near a restaurant. Some guy wanted to take his car through that location. So he came in the restaurant asking for the driver of the 'Red Scorpio'!! By the way, I see one very interesting point emerging from this thread - now I am able to add some models to the list of cars which make my head turn! Regards, Girish Mahajan
	(5) Thanks

1st October 2016, 11:26	#43
Mithrandir BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Udupi, M'lore Posts: 55 Thanked: 42 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? Old gen Honda Civic of my boss turns many heads in our campus (Can't say whether its the car or the boss sitting inside..!) Personally, tastefully designed German hatchbacks and sedans in red hue make me look back (and drool..!). Skodas (Superb, Octavia) in coffee brown hue also turn me on. For common folks color and size seems to be biggest attractions. A shiny red VW Polo turns many heads but my silver colored Polo is often mistaken for a Tata Indica!
	() Thanks

1st October 2016, 11:43	#44
hareesh3395 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Chennai/ Nellai Posts: 42 Thanked: 31 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? Very interesting thread, Jaguar is a head turner when compared with the German trios, Jaguar XF in a white shade on a sunny day, I am sure it will turn more heads than any other car apart from Super cars. In tier two cities ,Big SUVS like Audi Q7, land cruiser have quite a fan following. And how can I simply forget Mini Cooper?
	() Thanks

1st October 2016, 13:32	#45
vikramk BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 123 Thanked: 117 Times	Re: Which car is a head-turner on Indian roads? I think heads turn based on the following - Size - Mercedes GLE, GLS, S class, BMW 7 series, Land Rovers - Vintage - Ambassador, Premier Padmini (rare sightings these days in Bangalore), the originial Maruti 800 (again rare) - Color - Maruti Zen jellybean design in Yellow, Mitsubishi Lancer in Yellow, Maruti Zen Estilo in Pink , - Timeless or striking design - Skoda Octavia (2013+), Skoda Superb (2016+), Jaguars - Niche - BMW i8, the European sports range (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati etc.)
	() Thanks