[Technocrat]

@gd: I know its your opinion Btw the Steering of Amby's & Fiat's were never that hard thanks to the big steerings, you can try this even today, try to move the steering of a non PS Wagon R while standing & do the same on an Amby or Fiat & you will know the difference.

[GTO - Touring]

Whether you find the steering hard or light is totally relative. For instance, I find driving my Jeep a breeze but no one in my family would go near it. They hate the heavy steering.

Lets look at it this way : If you have power steering, both sides are happy. Without power steering, you will always find naysayers who miss it. If you can afford to stretch your budget, power steering is always well worth it.

[ritz830]

I own a maruti 800 and I dont feel difficult to maneuver without power steering.

Does the same apply to all cars? Say the spark 1.0???

[vinit.merchant]

Well. Let me summarise.
For cars to be driven by females, Power steering is a must, regardless of the size of the car.
Else, most of the males can do without it when it comes to Hatchs.

[aburagohain]

power steering is a boon in case of a high speed tire blowout, especially the ones at the front, the vehicle may swerve suddenly on a blowout at speed, easier and safer to have power steering around to counter it.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Well. Let me summarise.
For cars to be driven by females, Power steering is a must, regardless of the size of the car.
Else, most of the males can do without it when it comes to Hatchs.

Any females on this forum will label you as a MCP!

A power steering is a boon and should be now standard equipment along with power windows and power mirrors.

It's not about maneuverability, rather the easy of it!

+1 to what aburagohain said.

@Mods: please correct the spelling of "necissity" to "necessity"

[teknophobia]

Power steering makes driving a lot less stressful, whether on a 800 or a contessa. I would class it as a necessity.

[sukiwa]

Power steering used to be luxury for small cars few years back, now it has become necessity. Most of manufacturers still continue/have to continue non power steering variants mainly to keep price low.
As parking space becomes premium, it would be better if driver gets ease of power steering. It would be a lot easier & faster to ingress/egress the parking slot without hampering ongoing traffic.

@ Ritz830:
Wonder why you have posed a question for after-market power steering in another thread when you don't feel the need for it in M800.

[rjvora_2000]

I would vote for power steering in all the car and in all the models. I think this should be one of the item which is compulsory for all the car maker's.

[Maverick1977]

I also was of the same opinion & felt that a PS is absolutely not necessary in a small car (same reason why my last car was a Zen Lx). However over the years I realized that I was wrong. On several occasions, I have found PS absolutely necessary.
Eg. - Whilst returning from work, especially after a stressful day, it was really tiring to make even a 10% effort to turn the steering. This is when I felt the need for the PS the most.
I also faced a lot of hardships when I put my car for sale. Most of the people who showed interest didn’t want to buy it just because it didn’t have PS. In fact ppl on our very own forum show interest, but later turned away because there was no PS.
So after considering all of the above I feel PS is a must for almost every car now.
Also its high time that our industry matures & realizes that gone are the days when the car used to be just 4 (+1) wheels, a steering, engine, body, seats & some electronic instruments (I would dread to call them gadgets). They should make PS a standard on all their cars.
It’s great that all the models of both Swift & the Vista come equipped with PS as standard.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Any females on this forum will label you as a MCP!

What does MCP stand for? !!

This is what I consider while buying a car. if the car is going to be used by my wife, I will go for PS. If its only me who will drive the car, I am ok without PS as far as Hatchback is concerned.

Though it does not apply to all females. I have seen a few driving boleros and Jeeps.

[rrs1951]

My first car was a Premier Padmini and the second was an Indica 2000 LEi. Both did not have power steering. My present car has power steering. In my experience, power steering does not give any benefits in a small car while driving at high speeds on highways or even in normal city driving. The advantages of power steering are felt only at extremely low speeds, such as when you are parking.

Hence, in my opinion, where and how you park the car will decide whether you should go in for power steering.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

What does MCP stand for? !!

MCP means male chauvinistic pig. No offense to you though. It's a word females normally use and misuse for men who think they are superior.

I, as a guy would still prefer a power steering for the easy and convenience of it.

[Shashank.A]

Originally Posted by rrs1951

The advantages of power steering are felt only at extremely low speeds, such as when you are parking.

Hence, in my opinion, where and how you park the car will decide whether you should go in for power steering.

This is a well established fact. Infact the PS technology is designed in such a way that it is disabled after a certain speed.

[rahul18348]

Originally Posted by rks

Well, here is a link to an expert's opinion on the power steering, which should answer Mithun's question.

The Hindu Business Line : Question 'n' Auto

This expert is apparently of the view that at high speeds the power assist should be small in order to reduce the risk of an "over-reaction during a potential mishap situation". So he feels that EPS is superior to the HPS in this respect. But personally I somehow like my Santro's (Zip Drive, HPS) instant response to steering inputs at high speeds as this gives me the confidence to approach a slow vehicle ahead at high speeds and then cut lanes when I am almost at his tail. It is just a matter of getting used to the instant response and therefore knowing what steering inputs to give.

Exactly right. 02 months ago, i was driving my santro xing on highway at 90+ when a villager on his cycle suddenly came in my way from the left & a 16 wheeler was coming from the opposite side on the right. I did an S curve at 90+ to save myself from a mishap. Without HPS, i would have
1) either hit the guy on cycle (and ended up in jail)
2) or crashed head on with the 16 wheeler at 90+ speed (Ram Nam Satya Hai)