Cars

Most overrated and underrated luxury cars in India

Every time sees some great, some average and some below average cars. As this era is affected most by perceptions, I may not be wrong to point out that there are perceptions at work in automobile industries big time. There are always some vehicles that are preferred by people no matter what their shortcomings are and there are those who despite processing great value for money quality fail to cause a stir among the masses.

Overrated:

Honda City OHC Vtec – Brilliant engine. Rest of the car is so so. Mediocre interiors, expensive spares, pathetic seats, no height adjustable steering, handling that could kill people if you did speeds above 140kmph. And people bought it at a ridiculous price tag. 

Honda Civic – Over priced, overrated engine, mediocre handling, pathetic GC (ground clearance) with luggage and 4 people in the car. 

Maruti Suzuki Swift – No safety features, skinny tyres, no OE audio either on the top end version. 

Mitsubishi Cedia – Dud of an engine, suspension definitely not suited for spirited driving, kind of a drab compared to the Old Lancer handling. 

Mahindra Scorpio – Handling is a life killer, specially given the powerful engine, legroom ain’t that great either, and horrendous braking.

NHC – Was exorbitantly expensive without any safety features until they had to face stiff competition from the SX4. And had some really underpowered engines.

Underrated : 

Hyundai Elantra CRDi – No clue why this car bombed with the enthusiastic crowd. Killer engine, suspension is suited for spirited driving, had all the bells and whistles and backed up by Hyundai ASS. And on the highways, it could keep up with most petrol cars upto 20L and still be light on your pocket.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno – If not for the skinny tyres that came on the LXi, one VFM car. A good powerful engine with tons of usable torque that helped good FE figures, but when given the stick was extremely quick. Handled & braked better than the OHC too, had brilliant AC. 

Ford Mondeo – Another drivers delight this car was. Never clicked. 

Optra Magnum – Well, I guess this was the most underrated car in the segment. I wonder despite everything sound, it didn’t click .

Palio 1.6 GTX – Nice torque engine, good handling, only drawback was the availability of parts and horrendous flat rear. 

Ford Ikon 1.6 – Brilliant engine, excellent handling characteristics, excellent steering feedback. Poor braking could have been dealt with a tyre upgrade, have no clue why this car didn’t sell as much as the OHC Vtec, Lancer, Baleno, Esteem.

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Last modified: May 20, 2014
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