The Indian Small Car

Wide small car choices for motorists

Choice galore can confuse the small car buyer, and here is our overview.

The Indian motorist has never had it better: with international choices - Volkswagen (German), Ford Figo and Chevrolet Beat (American), Fiat Punto (Italian), Skoda Fabia, Honda Jazz or Tata Nano and several others - he or she is confused and perhaps conflicted. Understandably so. Should fuel efficiency trump safety or should German reputation score over styling?

With chock-a-block traffic a daily occurrence in major cities, is owning a fancy Benz better than a cost-efficient Nano? Quite often, buying a car is an emotional decision, howsoever one tries to defend it as being practical. Should we be swayed by slick advertising, or by a satisfied user's recommendation or by a trusted mechanic?

While one's practical side(Mars) urges us to think of family first in the form of air bags and antilock braking system or the 6-year anti-corrosion warranties, the Venus in each of us (emotional) wants to play on the wild side while dreaming of a Bluetooth receiver, MP3 player, power windows, halogen headlights, electronic anti-theft immobilizer, et al.

Priced at Rs.4.34 lakhs, The New Polo offers keyless central locking and tilt-and-telescopic steering. It has trademark German looks but Ford Figo is distinctly American. New Polo is more rounded and gives the impression of being roomy. The Chevrolet Beat, at a starting price of Rs. 3.34 lakhs, looks boxy and utilitarian with high steel strength and would be a worthy foil to the old Ambassadors that never seem to give up.

Fiat India is now offering a 1.2-litre petrol option, evidently to use the excise advantage as also the 1.3-litre Multi-jet (diesel) and the 1.4-litre Fire (petrol). The Active trim model will sell at Rs. 3.99 lakhs plus and the Fire Petrol at Rs. 4.66 lakhs. However, Ford's Chennai plant offers the 1.2-litre petrol engine and the 1.4-litre diesel and prices range from Rs. 3.49 to 4.48 lakhs depending on amount of extra bells and whistles (read frills).

In spite of recent complaints about fire hazards in some Nanos, the new entrant is bound to succeed as a lower-end vehicle, price-wise specially if the aspiring first-time car owner wishes to graduate from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler or as a second car for the family.

With several modes of transport continuing to vie for attention on India's national highways and side streets, is the small car in India now the norm, specially with 70 percent of cars sold in the country being small cars? Or, are they a nuisance?

What is trickier however for the motorist in major cities is the challenge he or she faces when irresponsible drivers come straight at you: the larger the vehicle the greater the intimidation and when a small Nano challenges the Innova on a busy street it's virtually poetry in motion with its accompanying after-effects.

With so many small cars on the roads, isn't it time infrastructure improvement for arterial roads is put on the fast track with overnight shifts working to meet deadlines? Or is it too much to ask?

talktoretailplus@yahoo.com

(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and car shows, and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Korea and India.)
RAJ S. RANGARAJAN