The slew of new cars hitting the Indian market has made things interesting. Allow me to let out a secret: I am on the verge of buying a new automobile. I plan to soon shift to Gurgaon, which is a suburb of Delhi. I will need to travel to Delhi University five days a week, doing about 65 km every day.
I hate to say this, but I am looking at a diesel vehicle, albeit the fact that the fuel is artificially priced lower than petrol; in the international market diesel costs more! I am, to cut a long story short, actively looking out for automobiles, and the obvious corollary, auto ads.
There is something interesting happening in the auto market these days. The horizon of middle class aspiration is getting pushed beyond just that little bit, by bit. The economic slowdown (it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets even marginally better) and auto industry blues notwithstanding, a new category of cars has come into the Indian market and made things interesting. Okay, 25 years back, the Maruti 800 was the middle class ticket to technology; the upgrade from the Amby and the Fiat (1100 cc) was remarkable. Today, even the latest 800 model is modestly parked out of view. I exemplify in a sense this transition. I graduated from the 800 to a Zen and currently drive an Esteem (Maruti Suzuki cars are low on maintenance).
I first toyed with the idea of an Indica/Indigo but was somewhat unimpressed by its build quality and paint finish. Then came along the Vista. Its ad pitch is interesting, with a punch line that sets up the theme of this piece almost — Indica Vista: ‘Changes Everything’.
A close look at the styling and finish, plus the Quadrajet (diesel; CDRI) engine actually verifies this change. The Vista does change everything for the Tata platform; it takes the brand’s technology to a level that’s almost becoming the norm. But at the back of my mind I always had been eyeing the Desire diesel VDi. Here was good technology with a great engine (the same power-train as the Vista, Fiat Palio Stile (cheapest option in this category), and even the recently launched Linea). That engine sure is running all over the place. When the Fiat Linea said ‘Admiration was guaranteed’, I again stood up to listen. Gradually my aspirations were stretching farther. I was dangerously close to the Rs 7 lakh threshold. We hard working non-investment banking type middle class folk don’t buy seven lakh cars, do we?
Well, even before I could answer the question, Mahindra launched it Xylo a couple of days back. The ad paved the way for adventurous thinking. A sedan is seen standing before a mall. It is an evening shot. A container drop squat on it and smashes it to smithereens. The container’s massive doors open and a Xylo strides out; the time for the sedan is over, we’re told. Hey, some of us have barely moved out of the two-box car. Now you tell us an MUV is a real option. The times have changed; and yes, I do have Xylo in my sights; and yes again, it’ll top Rs 7 lakh!