Evolution of mid-size Indian cars...

India has pressed on the accelerator in the economic terms from last few years. Thanks to globalization, our strong determination and numerous other factors which now drives our country in race with other formidable developed countries. We can surely say India is one of the fastest growing developing countries. We have made advancements in fields ranging from agriculture to space (Chandraayan) and there seems to be no looking back.

Today, I am just going to write about the advent of low to mid-size segment car market in India and my views on some of the cars.

India's car revolution actually began with introduction of Maruti-Suzuki (MUL) in India around 1981-83. At that time, there weren't many cars and India was dependent mostly on 2 wheelers and other means of transport. The only 2 cars in India were the outdated Premier Padmini and HM Ambassadar. Then came "Maruti 800" which revolutionized the Indian car industry. Maruti 800, a light-weight compact car with a fuel-efficient 800cc engine became the dream of every middle class Indian family. With sales sky rocketing, it became a very common name in Indian households; still "Maruti" is a term commonly used for Maruti Suzuki 800. In fact, Maruti 800 (and newer alto versions) is still the most selling car in India. Along with Maruti 800, came Maruti Van (also called Omni). I still remember my Uncle had one of the only few in Kullu those days and we really roamed a lot in that.

Maruti Suzuki also launched Gypsy in 1985. The sporty Gypsy gave a small SUV look and gave solid performance. It was meant for off-road driving and was extensively used by the army, govt vehicles (especially Police). I remember driving my dad's office gypsy when I was doing my graduation. It gave a different sort of driving pleasure. It was robust, had good pick-up. It wasn't meant for luxury but for rough conditions.

Apart from these, Maruti also rolled out Zen (1st generation) in 1993 and it catered to thousands of small-luxury-car loving population. ZEN acronym for "Zero Engine Noise" lived up to its name. A noiseless car with classy styling was the 1st choice of many middle class Indians for a long time. Only downside for Zen was its low ground clearance which sometimes had to bear the brunt of bumpy Indian roads. Eventually, the 1st generation Zen's production was ended after it was replaced by the 2nd generation successor.

Maruti kept dominating the market and face-lifted the same cars until 1999 when it launched Wagon-R. But before that, Hyundai's Santro had arrived in Indian market and so had India's indigenous Tata Indica. In 1998, Santro (Or the Atos) made its world debut in India. The tall-boy design hatchback with more space, style and power than Maruti 800 turned the tide in its favor. Soon Hyundai was the 2nd most selling car company in India. On the other hand, there was a proud moment for India as Tata launched a mid-size passenger car named Indica in the end of 1998. With spacious interiors and a good home-grown diesel engine, it was calling for a change in Indian automobile industry. In 2 years, it was the highest selling car in its segment. In this combat, Maruti Wagon-R's competitive specifications could not meet the Santro's style and despite of selling numerous cars lost to Santro in sales. Both Maruti and Hyundai kept face lifting their models and kept providing more features. Indica moved along in the diesel segment.

In 2000, Maruti came up with Alto, next generation mini car that was priced between 800 and Wagon-R. Alto also made huge sales and was the lone warrior at its price tag for a long time. In 2005, Maruti also launched Zen Estillo (Generation 2) which in many respects is similar to Wagon-R.

Next, Hyundai came up with Getz and then Maruti Suzuki with Swift. Getz initially did a good business but was taken aback by Swift's dominating power, style and performance. Swift still leads the race in its segment.

More recently we saw series of new launches in Indian car market and mid segments also got the benefit. In 2007, Hyundai launched i10 and Chevrolet launched Spark. In late 2008, Hyundai launched i20 and Suzuki launched A-Star. i10 was highly acclaimed, it earned multiple awards and became the fastest growing car in its segment since its launch. Spark came in to compete with lone Maruti Alto and took a fair amount of market share since its launch.

But the biggest surprise that rocked the world was claim of producing a 2500$ (100,000 INR) car by Tata. Tata Nano which would soon be launched and seen on every road in India would bring a revolution in super-mini car segment. Whole world is eagerly waiting for a ride in tiny Tata car that will seat 4 people and provide a roof at a price of a mid level bike. Wow! What a move by an indigenous company.

Apart from the high selling cars, there were few other in the low to mid segments that came but could not shake the confidence of Marutis, Tatas or the Hyundais. To name a few were Fiat Uno, Fiat Palio, Daewoo Matiz (1st generation), Chevrolet UVA, Skoda Fabia.

With new cars lined up to hit India's booming economy, we would eventually see more companies trying their luck and eventually further improving the mid segment cars.

Of the cars described above, I (along with my family) have owned and driven Maruti Van (Omni), Tata Indica, Maruti 800, Hyundai Santro (my prized possession) and Maruti Suzuki Swift (car that my dad currently drives).

Last year, when my dad was looking on for a change, I test drove many cars in mid segment ranging in 5-6L and finally decided on Maruti Suzuki Swift Vdi. No wonder it is called Swift... with pickup that you expect in mid-high segment cars only, that had to be my choice. I was really impressed by the engine (same used in Fiat palio and Tata Indica Vista) and tuning done by Suzuki folks. Just pump on the accelerator and it would give you the thrust and the required adrenaline rush. After driving Swift, I was thinking what sort of a car Indian youth would need and I had an instant answer. Youth need a mix of power, style and masculine built. If there is a small SUV type car that can provide you luxury of a mid-segment and power similar to swift and cost no more than 6-7 lacs INR, that would be it. In my opinion, if Maruti Suzuki can come up with a small gypsy like SUV with Swift's base and engine, that would cater to most of the Indian youth's dream. I hope such a car comes up soon.