Invariably everyone in the family turn to me when buying a car. And it is very difficult to appease all of one’s need.

The typical Indian customer has changed from being someone who just wants a vehicle with a roof, and good mileage to a more sophisticated and demanding customer. Gone are the days when Maruti could sell its prized 800 so very easily to the customers. There are many reasons for this change in scenario. The first one being, the overall economy of the country has progressed. The number of options for customers have also increased, with more and more manufacturers stepping into India. And, the biggest change has obviously got to be the knowledge of the customer. The customer now knows what he wants, from whom he wants, and why he wants. Most of the companies are taking Quality Function Deployment very seriously in India.

For example, people in India have realized that manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, Skoda offer a excellent products. They also understand that tata cars may be rugged, but do not have the same build quality as the competition. Its a very assumable fact that, a typical Indian would spend anywhere between 3 lacs to 5 lacs to buy an entry level car, and may spend around 6 lacs to 9 lacs to buy a luxury car. This is something that the companies are cashing in on. The very fact that the swift has sold in great numbers points to the fact that, the customers are now beginning to look into the features, quality, technical specifications of the product rather than the mere “mileage” and “size” factor.

Just take a look at the automobile sector in the early 90s, the late 90s and the present day. This will show u how the market has evolved.

Early 90s

Small Cars : Maruti 800, Maruti Zen

Mid-Size Cars : Maruti 1000 / Esteem , Premier 118NE, HM Contessa, HM Ambassador

SUVs : Mahindra Jeep, Maruti Gypsy

The majority of the customers could afford only the Maruti 800, and very few opted for the Zen or the Esteem. The gypsy was primarily bought only by enthusiasts, and the Ambassador and the Contessa was the vehicle for the ‘babu’

Now, Take a look at the late 90s

Small Cars : Maruti 800, Maruti Zen, Hyundai Santro, Daewoo Matiz, Tata Indica

Mid Size Cars : Maruti Esteem, Daewoo Cielo, Ford Escort, Opel Astra, Mitsubishi Lancer, Honda City

SUVs : Mahindra Armada, Tata Safari, Maruti Gypsy, Toyota Qualis

Premium Cars : Mercedes E Class

Again the 800 was the people’s choice, but the market share was being eaten away by the likes of Santro, Matiz, and Indica. The common perception changed to, “The other cars have quality, so that is a good reason to buy them, but the dealership network is better for Maruti, so lets stick with Maruti” . The biggest change was in the Mid Size cars. The likes of Astra, Escort, Lancer and the City wooed the buyers away from the esteem, and the market share was equally distributed amongst these makes. For example, my father himself chose the Astra over the esteem, mainly because of the fame of the ‘german’ marque. And yes, the super rich in India, could finally own a mercedes.

Now, take a look at the present market

Small Cars : Maruti 800, Alto, Zen, WagonR, Swift, Chevrolet Spark, Aveo-UVA, Hyundai Santro, i10, getz, Fiat Palio, Tata Indica,

Mid Size Cars : Maruti Swift dzire, SX4, Hyundai Accent, Verna, Ford Ikon, Fiesta, Fusion, Chevrolet Aveo, Optra, Honda City, Renault Logan, Tata Indigo, Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia,

SUVs : Tata Safari, Mahindra Scorpio, Ford Endeavor, Honda CRV, Chevrolet Captiva, Mahindra Bolero, Mitsubishi Pajero, Montero, Hyundai Tuscon, Nissan Xtrail

Premium Cars : Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Skoda Octavia, Skoda Laura, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Skoda Superb, Volkswagon Passat, mercedes C,E,S class, BMW 3,5,7 series, and the so on…

Also, some exotics like the Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911, Bentleys, Rolls Royce are also available for the Indian customers.

As one can see, there is sea change in the perception with the global giants stepping into India. Also, as more indians travel overseas, they learn about the automobile sector, the quality of products sold, the reliability and the status of these cars.

Coming back to where the article started off, it has become immensely hard for a customer to choose a vehicle satisfying his/her requirements. Taking into account the common questions asked by people when it comes to buying a car, i have listed out a requirement list. It may vary from one customer to another, but then it can be taken as a general notion.

• Vehicle Engine and Power
• Fuel Efficiency
• Overall dimensions of the vehicle
• Diesel or Petrol Option
• Automatic or Manual Transmission
• Boot Size
• Long distance comfort
• Journey type (Home-office, weekend trips)
• Features List : AC, MP3 player, Seat adjustment, Power windows, rear view mirrors, Climate control, Steering adjustment, cabin storage facility etc
• Ownership Status

It is very easy for someone to buy an automobile magazine, flip back to the last few pages, look at the features list, and the vehicle specifications and then decide which car to buy. But, a word of caution here, numbers can be very deceptive, and in most cases, automobile magazines are paid by the companies to write good reviews. So, the articles can be very diplomatic.

Now, First consider the engine and performance of a vehicle. You may have two engines having the same capacity, i.e say 1400 cc producing similar power. So, how does one choose between the two. The simplest way to do this is to know the platform of the engine. For example, a volkswagon engine based skoda fabia is a better motor than a suzuki based swift motor. Companies like Volkswagon are known for their incredible reliability. And sub-brands like Skoda often use the same engines in their cars. One has to be very careful though. Sometimes big companies use this ploy to rub off certain sub-brands without the consciousness of the customer. For example, General Motors sells Chevrolet cars in India, but most of these are actually Korean cars (former Daewoo cars). It is this difference that a customer must identify or must be helped in identifying.

Another key point related to engines is the facts and figures. Companies usually advertise products based on the maximum power, engine capacity and maximum torque. These figures essentially mean nothing to the customer. Technically it is possible for an engine to develop very high power, but the the way the power is fed to the wheels can really make the difference. This change can be mainly attributed to the gearbox. A typical driver would drive the car at low rpm, and at much lower speeds. It is imperative that the engine must provide the sufficient power at low speeds as well.

Fuel consumption is one of the most important factors in the decision making process. Companies often quote figures for city driving conditions, and highway driving conditions. These are often measured in close circuit testing, and by simulating different driving conditions. Also important, is that these tests are carried out in very ideal conditions, with only the driver, minimal equipment, no luggage. So, add up passengers, baggage in the boot, the fuel efficiency typically comes down in real driving conditions. For example, if the company quotes a figure like 12 kilometers to the litre, you can safely assume that the vehicle will give you about 10 kilometers to the litre. A note of caution here….

Next up, would be the dimensions of the vehicle. A small car is usually classified as one which is less than 4000 mm in length, or less than 4 meters in length. The term hatchback is used. It essentially means that the vehicle doesn’t have a projecting boot at the back. A mid size car, is one which has a projected boot at the rear. Amongst the small cars, the ones like the santro, spark, alto, indica are the entry level models, and cars like the palio, i10, swift, getz, fabia, aveo-UVA are the premium small cars. Small cars usually have the inherent benefits like easy maneuverability which is vital in the city to enable easy parking, quick steering, and gliding thru tight spots. They are also very fuel efficient, and can be driven by almost anyone, be it a girl or a boy, tall or short persons. Small cars are good for people who just commute to work daily, go to some shopping malls during the weekend without much of highway driving. They are also good for people buying their first cars, as the costs are much lesser. And for those who want style and status, premium hatchbacks are the cars they should select. Mid size cars have more boot space, usually better road presence, better handling, and also bigger to accommodate more passengers. These cars are generally for customers who are looking at something bigger than a hatchback, and with more comfort. Again, there are both economical mid size cars, as well as premium mid size cars.

The other major requirements of a customer boil down to type of engine, diesel or petrol, and the type of transmission, manual or automatic. A petrol engine generally is more refined, much quieter, and more efficient than a diesel counterpart. The downside is obviously the running cost of petrol, which is more expensive than diesel. Diesel engines are usually not as powerful as the petrol counterparts, but do produce enormous torque. They are more costly to maintain though, albeit lower running costs. Diesel is usually for those who go on long drives regularly. For short drives the cost comparison to petrol engines is negligible. Again, a note of caution. Some diesel motors, like the ones of Skoda are very reliable, and maintenance costs are also much lesser than other diesel motors. The next important point of consideration is obviously the transmission. There aren’t many automatic transmissions available in the Indian market, especially for the low cost cars. Cars having an auto box costing below 10 lacs are, the Hyundai Santro, the Maruti WagonR, the Honda City. Not much of an option here. Automatics are a breeze to drive in cities, especially in peak hour traffic. The driver is more relaxed even in the deadly traffic snarls and lengthy traffic jams. The downside being slightly lower fuel efficiency. Personal experience shows that the automatic can be as efficient as the manual, and just by adapting the driving style, the change is observed. (More of the automatic transmission will be dealt with in upcoming posts)

Most of the other decisions revolve around the feature list. usually most of the car makers provide similar features. One must be a little careful in just ensuring that these fall under the standard options list without incurring additional costs. Magazines and car companies are usually very honest in this regard, as it is almost impossible to take the customer for a ride in these areas. The customer can focus on the ergonomics here as it plays an important role. For example, the AC knobs, the music player, must be easily accessible to the driver and the passenger. Also the positioning of the AC vents, the different switches provide a much better feel, and more convenience.

There are many more points to ponder before buying a vehicle, but then this is just a gist. It gives me great pleasure to inform all the readers that there will be further posts going into the details. Also, different cars will be dealt, and a proper review of each sector will be given.

Happy Reading !!

Cheers… !!