Hyundai tucson

A fine balance between butch and beautiful, chunky and chic ? that?s the SUV for you. While SUVs were an almost alien concept in India a few years ago, the motoring world has now undergone a sea change. Today, the SUV market in India is pretty strong and this is borne out by the fact that there are seven different models available in the D segment, with price tags ranging between Rs 13 lakh and Rs 20 lakh. This is in comparison to just four or five models in the under-Rs 10-lakh segment. The magnificent seven are the Chevrolet Forester, the Ford Endeavour, the Honda CR-V, the Hyundai Tucson and Hyundai Terracan, the Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 and the X-Trail from the recently launched Nissan.

The D-segment SUVs that fit in the Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh bracket actually form two price bands. Around the Rs 14-lakh mark, there is the Forester, the Endeavour, the CR-V and the Tucson while the Nissan X-Trail, Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 and the Hyundai Terracan will have your bank balance dipping by a good Rs 17 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. With such competitive pricing, one is spoilt for choice and selecting your SUV could become a chore. Which is why it?s important to realise that even though cars may be priced the same, there are certain features that make them stand out in the crowd. The fact of the matter is that at this price level, all the cars come loaded with features galore. So while choosing between them, it?s more like six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Honda CRV

Among these SUVs, the Chevrolet Forester seems to be the odd one out. That could be partly because it is based on the platform of Subaru?s Impreza car. As far as pricing is concerned, the Forester is the cheapest of the lot at Rs 13.54 lakh. It also has the narrowest body as well as the lowest height. The 2.0-litre engine makes 120bhp but just about 18.15kgm of torque, which makes the Forester?s engine the least ?torquey?. Yet its car-ancestry makes it a pleasure to drive and handle, and when coupled with the practicality of the luggage space, it comes off as a good buy indeed.

Then there?s the Ford Endeavour, which is ideally suited to the person who likes his SUV to not only look like one but have the presence of one too. In the Rs 14-lakh group as well as overall, the Endeavour is the longest, tallest and heaviest vehicle, and second-heaviest overall. That?s largely due to the fact that the Endeavour and the Everest (the Thai original) are based on Ford?s Ranger pick-up platform. The paradox is that its 2.5-litre engine develops a mere 111bhp, which makes it the least powerful SUV in the group. So, although it looks tough and has road presence, the Endeavour is a let-down in the engine department.

Coming up next is the Honda CR-V which retails for a cool Rs 14.82 lakh ? that?s for the manual transmission version. An average car that?s been improved with the installation of a better 2.4litre engine, the CR-V has the Honda brand going for it. Basically a crossover vehicle, the CR-V is not the cheapest or more expensive, longest or shortest among the cars here, nor is it the tallest or lowest or even the heaviest. Yet it still manages to score brownie points. Crash testing has shown that the CR-V has a stable performance as far as safety goes. So perhaps that?s one reason to fork out big bucks for it, though most Indians would prefer going for the marque.

Rounding off the last of the Rs14-lakh SUVs is the Hyundai Tucson. It has the smallest engine at 1,991cc but it?s a diesel and a common-rail one at that. In fact, this is the same engine that already goes into the Elantra diesel. It develops just 112bhp of power but the torque figure is one of the highest at 25kgm. The Tucson is the shortest of the SUVs being considered here, yet it?s also one of the nicer looking cars. In the Tucson, Korean styling has been retained. This basically means that at first, one either loves it or hates it. And even if you figure among the latter group, slowly but surely, the Tucson begins to grow on you.

One of the Tucson?s interesting features is the automatic switchover between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive ? due to the Borg Warner gearbox?s interactive ?torque management?. Another highlight is that the Tucson is not a body-on-chassis design like the Terracan but a monocoque. This means the body is the chassis as well as the mounting point for the aggregates. What it also means is that the body is subjected to a lot of road shocks, but then that?s the way crossover SUVs are being made nowadays.

Ford Everest

As mentioned earlier, there are three SUVs that come in the Rs 17 lakh to Rs 20 lakh bracket ? the Terracan, the X-Trail and the Suzuki Grand Vitara. Of these, only the Terracan is a real SUV, as it?s based on an earlier version of the Mitsubishi Pajero. The Terracan comes equipped with the largest engine in this category at 2,902cc and it develops 34kgm of torque ? much needed as this is the widest and heaviest vehicle among all the others here. The Terracan also has a tougher body-on-chassis type of construction. Technically speaking, the X-Trail should not be subject to this discussion as it is Rs 60,000 over the Rs 20-lakh threshold. Nonetheless, it?s a competent vehicle. But the ?real? SUV out of the lot is the Terracan. It?s big and heavy but comes with a large engine and a very ?torquey? one too as is an inherent characteristic of diesel engines.

Most of these SUVs will never be taken out of town or have their off-roading abilities tested. That?s because they are more for posing in rather than doing some serious off-road work. Yes, when called upon, these vehicles, especially the Terracan, will perform but truly, they are more to pamper one?s ego with. Even so, if one was forced to make a choice out of these seven cars, one would have to opt for the Tucson ? it?s the most appealing of the lot, at least for in-city use.

My first car

Sharmila Biswas,
dancer

The first time when I truly felt a sense of ownership about a car, was after marriage, when my husband and I had a turquoise Maruti 800. It was the car he had come to meet me in for the first time, so that held some special memories for me.

But a time came, when we needed more than one car for our individual careers, and my husband presented me a Maruti van. That was my first car in the true sense of the term, and also the one car that truly met my demands as a dancer. I need a whole lot of room to carry sets and costumes for my shows and the Maruti van fit the bill perfectly.

We had some great times in the van — picnics, long drives, and going for shows, with all my troupe members almost spilling out. I changed the car later as it grew old — but my vehicle of choice remained the same. Currently, I’m on my fourth Maruti van and am as satisfied with it as the very first one I owned.