Limited Rear Seat width in modern cars!

PrideRed · 30th September 2014, 14:59

It has to do with changing trends in India as well.
Majority of the sales happen in the cities in India and most are micro families(with 3-4 members).

It has become a custom now that "why should i bear the pain of taking a large car when i most of the time travel alone or max 3-4. If needed I hill hire a Innova when needed".

The Car manufacturers have learn this and have started catering to the larger customer base.

SnakemanJohny · 2nd October 2014, 21:29

I think that we must remember, most hatchbacks would be two-door in other, wealthier countries, with the rear seat for children or the rare extra adult. Though car-makers have to redesign the latter half in India to add two more doors, they cannot change the width of the rear cabin that easily. Particularly with our narrow roads and narrower parking slots, most people are comfortable with the compromise. And with more cars becoming available per family, one can easily use more than one car if the situation demands.

The days of the Ambassadors are over -- that car was more comfortable at the back -- the door panels were flat and the back seat was comfortable for three 'ample Indians.' It was better as a chauffeur-driven car. In comparison, the front was cramped for three, even with the column-mounted gearshift, maybe because of the slightly offset steering. The Premier Padmini was better to drive, but three in-the-back was a tight fit.

But it was Maruti which brought us the concept of tiny, low powered, low fuel-consumption cars, as Suzuki was specialised in that. This was long before even giants like Mercedes and BMW started making hatchbacks to capture all sections of the market .

The TATA Sumo is a perfect example of an Indian 'family car', unfortunate that it has become slotted as an upgrade of the Trekker as a 'sardine tin'. All TATA cars are similarly 'made for Indians', and therefore slightly more roomy than their foreign cousins.

k_nitin_r · 3rd October 2014, 15:00

Toyota had their cars 'down-sized'. For example, the 2000 model year Toyota Avalon was longer and had more space for rear seat passengers compared to the present day Avalon, Camry, or Aurion. The Lexus IS and ES vehicles also have the short platform (they even shared the Camry platform at some point). For the Lexus LS vehicles, they continued to manufacture the vehicles like they did - with more space in the rear.

30th September 2014, 14:59	#31
PrideRed Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2012 Location: BLR/PTR Posts: 3,282 Thanked: 9,680 Times	Re: Limited Rear Seat width in modern cars! It has to do with changing trends in India as well. Majority of the sales happen in the cities in India and most are micro families(with 3-4 members). It has become a custom now that "why should i bear the pain of taking a large car when i most of the time travel alone or max 3-4. If needed I hill hire a Innova when needed". The Car manufacturers have learn this and have started catering to the larger customer base.
	() Thanks

2nd October 2014, 21:29	#32
SnakemanJohny BHPian Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Howrah, WB Posts: 317 Thanked: 435 Times	Re: Limited Rear Seat width in modern cars! I think that we must remember, most hatchbacks would be two-door in other, wealthier countries, with the rear seat for children or the rare extra adult. Though car-makers have to redesign the latter half in India to add two more doors, they cannot change the width of the rear cabin that easily. Particularly with our narrow roads and narrower parking slots, most people are comfortable with the compromise. And with more cars becoming available per family, one can easily use more than one car if the situation demands. The days of the Ambassadors are over -- that car was more comfortable at the back -- the door panels were flat and the back seat was comfortable for three 'ample Indians.' It was better as a chauffeur-driven car. In comparison, the front was cramped for three, even with the column-mounted gearshift, maybe because of the slightly offset steering. The Premier Padmini was better to drive, but three in-the-back was a tight fit. But it was Maruti which brought us the concept of tiny, low powered, low fuel-consumption cars, as Suzuki was specialised in that. This was long before even giants like Mercedes and BMW started making hatchbacks to capture all sections of the market . The TATA Sumo is a perfect example of an Indian 'family car', unfortunate that it has become slotted as an upgrade of the Trekker as a 'sardine tin'. All TATA cars are similarly 'made for Indians', and therefore slightly more roomy than their foreign cousins.
	() Thanks

3rd October 2014, 15:00	#33
k_nitin_r BHPian Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dubai,Hyderabad Posts: 470 Thanked: 80 Times	Re: Limited Rear Seat width in modern cars! Toyota had their cars 'down-sized'. For example, the 2000 model year Toyota Avalon was longer and had more space for rear seat passengers compared to the present day Avalon, Camry, or Aurion. The Lexus IS and ES vehicles also have the short platform (they even shared the Camry platform at some point). For the Lexus LS vehicles, they continued to manufacture the vehicles like they did - with more space in the rear.
	() Thanks