A few years ago, on an average, an automotive manufacturer in India had at least one or two cars that were just generally below average as compared to the rest of the competition. They either drove badly, had horrible quality issues, looked rubbish or sometimes, all of the above. And then there were some automakers in general who just made cars across the board that did nothing to move the soul of the Indian car buyer and in return, did not sell. But today, the Indian car manufacturing industry has seen a huge change for the better. And that makes us wonder, is there a thing like a bad car anymore?
Also Read: Top Automatic Cars In India For a Tight Budget!
(The new Ertiga makes MPVs desirable)
The thought came along when I went and drove the all-new Maruti Suzuki Ertiga last week. The MPV is the least glamorous body style and even though there were things that could make it a better package, the Ertiga was nearly faultless. It is supposed to be a people mover that can move .... well.... people, and maybe sometimes luggage or pets, and it does it brilliantly. In fact, one wonders if you ever need anything else if you are looking for a Rs. 10 lakh-ish car and want something practical. It even looks great and slap on a set of 17-inch wheels and black out some trip and you could be the most gangsta dad in your child's school. But that's not the point of course. The point is that if the likes of the Ertiga can make you take a step back and say 'wow, they have done a damn good job with this', that really means the Indian auto industry has matured. And the proof of the pudding is automakers like Jeep making cars in India for the rest of the world!
(New Santro packs in a whole bunch of tech)
Just look at the Santro. Small, compact and packed with features. Even the updated Datsun and the Datsun Go+ now come jam packed with features that make them a billion times better! But what about the usual suspects - Tata Motors and Mahindra? You only need to step into one of their new cars to see how far those two have come - and in some cases exceeded their competition. While it was a tough thing to make a great car even a decade ago, today the Indian scene seems to be quite the opposite. Sure, there are some cars (especially that have been around for a while) that aren't nearly as good as they can be but in 9 out of 10 cases, they are there to serve a purpose and nothing else even remotely serves that particular purpose that well. And yes, with every passing day, I bet my fortune that we will see a huge improvement when we see their next generation.
(New Datsun Go and Go+ facelift are a huge step up from predecessors)
So, to answer my question that I started off with, no, I don't think the concept of a bad car exists today. You as a person might have biases, we all do, but when you look at almost every car available in the Indian market today, with the exception of a few that are at the very end of their life cycle, I don't think the concept exists anymore. So what do you think?? Head to our social media pages and let us know if you think there are still cars in India that are outright horrible and should not exist in the first place.
