[stormerider]

Originally Posted by pahwa

A very tough poll. Well - its all about budget to me.Duster 110 PS is dangerously close to a better contender - XUV500.

Agreed, and that is what I also thought when I was looking out for my next buy before settling for storme.

Originally Posted by pahwa

Tata Safari is a no because of prevailing Tata service, taxi image, in-city drivability, mileage and its niggles.

I would differ with you strongly here. I don't see a valid point in your comment, and would say they are not based on facts. And I am not saying this because I own one, lets go point by point.

1. Tata service- they have improved a lot since the days of indica which I had in 2005. They listen, resolve escalate all your problems. And you find service stations in farthest corners unlike Nissan/Renault. They are as good as any other manufacturer, experience it and you'll not say this again.

2. Storme/ safari- taxi image? Have you totally lost it? And by this logic innova and ertiga should not at all sell!

3. In city drivability- go test drive a storme! The engine and gear box are nice, clutch is light, it pulls cleanly without any turbo burst/lag. Doesn't jerk in low speeds, is amazing cruiser for highways also. Turning radius is very small and is a boon.

4. Mileage- agreed it gives a standard 12 in city 13.5 on highway, which is lesser than the competition but respectable.

5. Niggles- what niggles? No major fault, no pattern of problems since last year Diwali launch. Do you see a niggles thread on our forum? I see a long one for xuv! No offence. It's a pretty sorted vehicle. Bare mechanicals, no fancy gadgetry which could go wrong.

The interior quality, plastic quality and minimalist design is far better than the competition listed here, not to mention abs and all disc brakes as standard, amazing ride over any kind of surface. And all this at a reasonable price, dusters abs equipped 110 ps variant costs more than a storme lx! Terrano will be even more pricier.

And on top of everything, a body on frame SUV against the monocoques!

[Superleggera]

I voted for XUV500.

I may sound stupid, It is possible to work on the interiors and make Terrano a 7 seater? - The third row seat can be best suited for kids, but that option should be there. Nissan may have an edger over Renault if this is done.

if Terrano can seat 7, I will buy Terrano, else my default choice would be XUV500.

Duster - Looks are not of my choice
Safari - Outdated looks

[TheARUN]

I voted for the Storme. The Duster is over-priced, the Terrano looks too much like the Duster and they both are only slightly bigger than hatchbacks like the i20. The XUV is a beautiful vehicle, but its electronics are a nightmare. The Storme in LX trim gives the most bang for the buck, and with the way Tata is doing now, you stand the best chance of getting a sweet deal while purchasing the Storme

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by HillMan

In my opinion we should consider where the manufacturer has positioned their products. Thats why I feel this poll is valid.
EcoSport and Duster dont make sense for a poll, simply because both target a different market segment altogether.

I must say that you’re in a state of denial to say that the Ecosport and Duster are positioned differently or in a different segment altogether. It’s not really a coincidence that Duster’s sales numbers went on a decline after the launch of Ecosport. Terrano was just a name floating around couple of months back, and I don’t see it creating a huge pre-launch anticipation to actually create a lull in Duster’s numbers (atleast for now).

Originally Posted by HillMan

Just because EcoSport and Duster compete in another country doesn't mean they are natural competitors in India as well. EcoSport is priced higher than Duster in other markets. Not the case in India. Here base EcoSport is priced along side premium hatch while Duster is marketed as a crossover and priced along with SUVs. The base petrol Duster is priced along with Sedans, the sales of which are unknown volumes, while the base EcoSport starts along side a premium hatch.
Here the EcoSport is eating into Ford Figo's market share (read hatch), Terrano launch has caused a lull for Duster. The low on XUV and Storme sales in August cannot be dismissed either.

Why are we going into other markets’ statistics? I don’t believe in doing a comparison based on how these cars are performing in Brazil or some other markets. For example, the 3 cyl Polo TDI costs more than the Duster in the UK. Will that make any difference in the way these cars are positioned in India? By your logic of grouping cars, if tomorrow Renault increase the price of Duster by another 5-6 lakhs, you may start a poll of Duster v/s Yeti v/s Q3 S (or the likes).

Don’t get me wrong. Duster is a very capable car, but Renault really got caught by the pricing strategy from Ford. Irrespective of the pricing, IMO these are the only two cars currently we have in the small crossover segment, and I believe both have its own set of merits to co-exist.

[pmbabu]

Was EcoSport left out so that Duster could emerge winner of this poll? Sorry seems even that isn't working

[HillMan]

Interesting.

If the manufacturer is pricing their product high they must equally equip them to justify the price rise. If not then it is slotted in the segment at that price range. And this is why the four are here.

[eq24]

Another day, another poll, but this one sorry to say is quite pointless.

If the only semblance this poll has to is price point and SUV'ish shape then why have you excluded the Scorpio, Xylo and the Quanto, they all have SUV shapes and are in almost the same price points. And since you are including ladder on Chassis based Storme, heck even the Bolero should find a mention.
And if we are at the Bolero then why leave out the Gurkha.

Pricing alone does not justify anything. Exclusion of Ecosport is also beyond me. Also how you can compare two full blown 7 seaters to pseudo hatch based cars is also baffling.

Ecosport is not priced with hatches, it is VALUED correctly. The Duster is way overvalued and that is why the sales numbers are falling. Us Indians are very smart at picking the bargains and kicking out the over priced stuff. You can almost see a trend, every car or any product for that matter, when it was correctly values it saw great numbers, the moment this value was eroded the product fell on its bottom.

Originally Posted by HillMan

In my opinion we should consider where the manufacturer has positioned their products. Thats why I feel this poll is valid.

EcoSport and Duster dont make sense for a poll, simply because both target a different market segment altogether. Just because EcoSport and Duster compete in another country doesn't mean they are natural competitors in India as well. EcoSport is priced higher than Duster in other markets. Not the case in India. Here base EcoSport is priced along side premium hatch while Duster is marketed as a crossover and priced along with SUVs. The base petrol Duster is priced along with Sedans, the sales of which are unknown volumes, while the base EcoSport starts along side a premium hatch.

Here the EcoSport is eating into Ford Figo's market share (read hatch), Terrano launch has caused a lull for Duster. The low on XUV and Storme sales in August cannot be dismissed either.

The buying decisions in India depends on many factors, Affordability, Economy, Family size and status being the major components.

Easy car loans and higher income has bridged the affordability gap to a large extent. Now the 25-35 youngsters are open to loans for a comfortable/dream ride. Thats a paradigm shift from the previous generation which looked at their savings for personal spending.

[rkbharat]

My vote goes to Storme

Originally Posted by pahwa

Tata Safari is a no because of prevailing Tata service, taxi image, in-city drivability, mileage and its niggles.

I haven't seen Storme or even older Safari as Taxi yet

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

My vote goes to Storme


I haven't seen Storme or even older Safari as Taxi yet

Agree. The only places I have seen Safari as taxi is Leh and Guwahati - that too just a few (<10).


Voted for Storme.
With the current improvements TML is doing, it's only going to get better.

If in the coming months, Maruti/Hyundai etc land up in the crossover space with similar pricing as EcoSport, it will be interesting to see how Renault will react.

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by stormerider

I would differ with you strongly here. I don't see a valid point in your comment, and would say they are not based on facts. And I am not saying this because I own one, lets go point by point.

1. Tata service- they have improved a lot since the days of indica which I had in 2005. They listen, resolve escalate all your problems. And you find service stations in farthest corners unlike Nissan/Renault. They are as good as any other manufacturer, experience it and you'll not say this again.

I've experienced the Tata service with my Fiat for one year and I can say that the mechanics are quite good and knowledgeable. At the same time you need to be present there at the time of servicing, atleast initially.

[sunit5]

My personal choice is Storme over duster or XUV...

Storme ride quality, cabin comfort - seats, cooling, commandable seating position and gr8 improvements in gears throw, braking and what I liked it during test drive is that it is as easy to drive like car. Tata service has improved a lot, my cousion & two in my office can vouch for that. any niggles in part are promptly attended to and part is changed without any hassles. Only minus i feel is that people who are looking for features like xuv (automatic cllimate control, traction control, fancy systems etc)will not find storme lucrative.

Duster I didn't liked it when I test drove it, also it is over priced, when I can get more spacious and more powerful car like storme in similar price.

XUV - its good vehicle with tons of features and I almost went for it but then 5 ppl owning XUV in my office gave their feedback - almost all of them have face major issues with XUV and their car spent more then a week in service center.

Rest, everyone have their personal choice....but just drive storme once and you will come to know what I am talking about.

[lovethyrev]

Well, for me its going to be
1)XUV - ride quality coupled with all the bells and whistles. Priced just about right(wont mind a price drop). I believe that Mahindra people are making a conscious effort to rectify and eliminate the niggles. Can take mild off-roading.
2)Storme - for the riding comfort and the road presence. On a personal level i wish that tata should have kept the spare tyre on its old place. And again it delivers as much as it costs.
3)duster- should have been the no. 1 if Renault knew how to price the "only" healthy horse in the stable.

[pahwa]

Originally Posted by stormerider

Agreed, and that is what I also thought when I was looking out for my next buy before settling for storme.

I would differ with you strongly here. I don't see a valid point in your comment, and would say they are not based on facts. And I am not saying this because I own one, lets go point by point.
2. Storme/ safari- taxi image? Have you totally lost it?

The choices are very subjective and based on individual experiences. Not here to argue or be impolite. The sales number say it all. To me, Safari times got over about 5 years back and it nowhere competes with the modern, more urban SUVs like XUV, Scorpio, Duster etc

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by pahwa

The choices are very subjective and based on individual experiences. Not here to argue or be impolite. The sales number say it all. To me, Safari times got over about 5 years back and it nowhere competes with the modern, more urban SUVs like XUV, Scorpio, Duster etc

Everyone has his own opinion and that also applies to people who want to turn a blind eye towards facts!

Just go through the poll which was merged with this thread, you will have your answer, still you can play blind.

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by stormerider

Everyone has his own opinion and that also applies to people who want to turn a blind eye towards facts!

Just go through the poll which was merged with this thread, you will have your answer, still you can play blind.

Where can I see the poll now after its merged with old thread? I could see something new on the poll with Storme getting a good lead