[greenhorn]

A bunch of relatives came to visit us today. They were an aged couple and came chaffeur driven in a swift ZXI with ABS.

I was thinking aloud - why pay so much, and wait so long for a swift zxi with abs, when they are going to sit in the cramped swift rear seat?
The driver gets the seatbelt warning, they, sitting at the rear had hidden the rear seatbelts.
The driver & the passenger seat gets climate control
And worst of all, in the event of a crash, the airbags would save the driver's life, but not theirs.


So many cars come with all the goodies up front, and worse, so many people end up buying them for exclusively chaffeur driven use ?

[MX6]

First thing. A driver's life is no way lesser than the people who are chauffered. So a person buying a car thinking that it's just a driver. Why bother in case of a crash would be a really sick person.
Rear seat belts are not a law yet. They'd have hidden the seatbelts below the seat so as to sit comfortably without having to sit on the seatbelt clamping part.
Regarding exclusively chauffer driven vehicles, very few people don't drive the car they buy even once. Some time or other, either they or some relative tries their hand.

[Iluvcars]

@green_horn: True! Another instance that makes me wonder is being chauffeur driven in the Palio 1.6 GTX! However, the features such as ABS, TCS etc are beneficial to all the occupants of the car.
@MX6, May I share my thought? I don't think the point is whose life is more important; I think it's the very person and perhaps his / her spouse who take a backseat ride will never get to enjoy the luxury and some of the safety features that you put in the extra money for.

[Ranjan Sharma]

@Grennhorn - Be ready for the bashings and gyaan over Driver's life Importance

BTW, I agree with you except for the ABS. The climate control thing is 1 of the most Irritating thing. I don't sit in Chaffeur driven cars, neither have sat on the rear seat of any car. This is from the experience of my friends who sit in the rear seat of my car, complaining the whole trip

[greenhorn]

Of course, the driver's life is important, but isnt it foolish not to care for one's own?

[rohan_iitr]

A senior officer in my company also owns a Swift Zxi and is chauffeur driven. Even I feel the same way whenever I see him being chauffeured.

While airbags and ABS are nice to have even for chauffeur driven vehicles, I find it really awkward that the driver gets to enjoy the AC and the owner has to sweat it out in the rear seats.

Some manufacturers have started offering rear AC vents (Linea, Xylo), which is a welcome move. I feel this is a must-have feature in any 5L plus car. IIRC, Tata has missed this feature in Manza, which is one of the best chauffeur driven cars at a reasonable price.

Rohan

[aargee]

@greenhorn - the implications of not wearing seatbelts have been discussed to death here, so let me skip that part. If I'd a chauffeur driven (which I pray shouldn't happen) & met with an accident, just think about the poor family that the driver is supporting. How painful is to watch that entire family come rushing up to the hospital & standing besides him? The most painful part is to sit & watch the driver's family suffer & me being answerable to them. I'd rather let these disasters happen to me rather than to anyone else. So to me, even if you call me selfish, I would consider the driver's life more important than mine when he's driving.

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Of course, the driver's life is important, but isnt it foolish not to care for one's own?

Did you mean that the aged couple not wearing the seat belts? Well it takes time for them to understand these. Best way to make them learn is educate your younger ones, they'll take care of the grand parents

[thedreamcatcher]

I dont quite get the point in what some of you guys are saying. Driver enjoying the ac and rear passenger not!!!. I dont know about the cars you have seen, but in all the ones I have been in there is more than sufficient cooling even in the back. The bigger the cars, there are rear vents as well.

Just because people are chauffeur driven does not mean that they need to compromise on features. ABS etc is very vital whether is is driven by anyone, even airbags upfront can save rear passengers from injury from being thrown from the back on the front windshield (I have seen an Esteem crash once in Gurgaaon, where a lady from the back seat was thrown all the way to the front and the seat in front of her broke in the impact as well, had there been an airbag, it would have reduced her injury).

So people want to spend on features and not go in for a car that lacks it, better to have than to not have.

But on another note, if a person says I have to have 4x4, but has never seen any road apart from the regualr tarmac, then that is unwanted.

[bbkp]

Well - It depends on the demographics of the potential market of a car - In case of a Swift, it is more driver centric and hence most of the nice to have features and the safety features are in the front. The potential market for a car under 8 lakhs has 95 to 99 percent of people who drive their own car.

If you look at cars above 8 lakhs, that is when things start to be consistent between the front passengers and the rear passengers. This market segment has close to 30 percent of people who would have a driver on their car.

And then you have people like by Boss who has a driver and travels in the front passenger seat.

[ikoneer]

I think greenhorn's point is that these features are more enjoyed by the driver than the owner.

I believe every car owner will have a vested interest in the safety of the driver, only if the driver is safe then the passengers can be safe.

Come to think about it, even the 35 Lac+ cars are also being chaffeur driven. The driver gets to enjoy the 8 way seat adjustment with heater facilites and all other loads of luxuries that are attached.

Guess certain luxuries are not to be felt and experienced by the owners.

[raj_5004]

i feel what greenhorn meant here was the goodies/luxuries of the car for which the elderly couple has paid are not being enjoyed by them, but by their driver.

here, i agree about the cramped rear seat & auto climate control, but not about the airbags. why is the driver's life any less important than ours? if its your car, you should be the only one in safe hands, is it?

but i am sure you dint mean it in that way... (and i wont say "Jeez, you are so ch**p" for that because i understand that a single post does not convey your true nature in any way!")

regards.

[sbraj]

To me, this looks like the case of wrong choice while purchasing. If the car is going to be chauffeur driven, then the correct car needs to be purchased.

Every model has certain characteristics which make it either good for owner driven or chauffeur driven. Like the case of Civic vs Altis.

I agree with greenhorn's points made:
- cramped rear seat
- no rear ac vents
- no rear seat belt warning
- inaccessible rear seat belts
- no rear airbags

Since they have gone for ZXi, probably, safety was a concern. In that case, the choice of car should have been different.

I am in no way suggesting to remove the driver seat air bags or driver seat belt warning. Don't get me wrong.

[MX6]

Originally Posted by bbkp

Well - It depends on the demographics of the potential market of a car - In case of a Swift, it is more driver centric and hence most of the nice to have features and the safety features are in the front. The potential market for a car under 8 lakhs has 95 to 99 percent of people who drive their own car.

If you look at cars above 8 lakhs, that is when things start to be consistent between the front passengers and the rear passengers. This market segment has close to 30 percent of people who would have a driver on their car.

And then you have people like by Boss who has a driver and travels in the front passenger seat.

True. Forget about the safety features and climate control. During my last visit to Sringeri, I saw an Audi parked. It belonged to the person who runs Amalgamations group of companies.
I was wondering, here's a person who's bought an expensive car, but might never enjoy driving it at all!
Features are secondary. Driving pleasure is primary to me. When I was young (19 years), many a times, I'd ask my father's chauffer to sit on the front passenger seat and drive the car myself!
And your boss is one of a kind, but not my kind.

Coming to Greenhorn's point, ABS applies to all in car. So a driver alone doesn't enjoy it. Front airbag is not a luxury. it's a necessity. So should remove that from who enjoys it list. No one enjoys an airbag.
Regarding climate control, well, the market in India is driven by cost. Sometime back in some other thread I read a comment by a fellow bhpian. Front power windows. The driver stylishly uses a button where in the owner of the car has to crank up and down his windows!
These are price you pay for not going for higher versions.
There's never a question of who's life is important. it's a life. Put that statement because of the fact that why front airbag when people behind don't use that.

[Shan2nu]

I was thinking aloud - why pay so much, and wait so long for a swift zxi with abs, when they are going to sit in the cramped swift rear seat?

Bcoz ABS helps steer the whole car away from danger and not just the front section. LOL

Shan2nu

[bbkp]

Originally Posted by MX6

I was wondering, here's a person who's bought an expensive car, but might never enjoy driving it at all!

Well - we never know - He might be also be taking it for a spin - Such high end luxury cars are used more as a status symbol in India more than anything else - Cannot even imagine unleashing the full potential of an Audi on Indian roads.

Coming back to the car in question, I think it is a wrong choice made - If the car was supposed to be chauffer driven, then the basic version of Indigo Manza would have been the best deal instead of a Swift ZXi.

The comfort and safety of the driver is the most important deal and contributes the most. Yes, the rear seat comfort also important, but the most occupied seat of any car is that of the driver.

Other than that, price range of the car is the most important aspect that comes to effect. Interestingly enough, no one mentioned about the bumpy ride that we get in the rear seats when compared to the front.