Variant-wise feature-list in cars: Best way to showcase differences

It is very easy when the features are listed and there is a lateral "tick mark" showing what variants carry those.

BHPian shresan23 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hey all. This has always been a big brain itch of mine. Given the fact that I am hunting for a new car, I have been going through multiple car brochures.

I have found two types of brochures when it comes to specification listing.

1. Ones where all the features are listed and the variants in which they are actually available are ticked or marked
2. Ones where the standard features are listed and then for every increase in variant, subsequent additions alone or listed.

I hope the explanation is clear.

Which ones do you guys prefer? The first one or the second one.

I personally prefer the first one because comparison is a whole lot easier and there is minimal chance of overlooking or masking.

Type 1

Type 2

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

I personally prefer the Plus (+) display, which is option 2 on your list. In a second, I can see what the higher variants are offering me. We usually go for the top variant only...or in very few cases, the 2nd from top. This makes the comparison easy to see.

Here's what BHPian AYP had to say on the matter:

I prefer the type 2.

While type 1 may be easy to read, type 2 is cleaner and clearer and makes it easy to figure out the differences between the variants. Sadly, more and more manufacturers are shifting to type 1 due to the bazillion variants on offer (looking at you Tata Motors). While this may not be the case with every manufacturer, I have seen that the type 1 format often misses out on the smaller features (or the lack of it) in a particular variant.

To the best of my knowledge, it is Jeep that started the type 1 type of brochure in India, at least among the mass market cars.

Here's what BHPian ghodlur had to say on the matter:

Can I suggest Option 3? I have seen this in the Harrier Brochure and immensely helped me decide quickly amongst the variants. It's very simple to understand as well.

Here's what BHPian Vkap257 had to say on the matter:

I always prefer the type 1.

We usually have a list of "must have" and "good to have" features in mind when we are shopping for a car. It is very easy when the features are listed and categorized and then there is a lateral "tick mark" showing what variants carry those. The 2nd type of brochure makes it very difficult to find specific features in a Sea of words.

Besides, in case the car has engine-specific features such as a Sonet, the automaker resorts to "(automatic only), (iMT only)" markings which confuse things further.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.