February 2021

Racing is a passion and people who are passionate about racing always want to own a winning car. The car that can bring zing in life and hence car companies have started manufacturing road cars that are performance oriented.

Toyota RTD

Toyota has emerged as a global top automobile company. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) was started in 1967. TRD 3000 GT was the streetcar version of Supra. TRD Camry was the first car to get Toyota TRD Badge. TRD Badge comes in TRD Sports, TRD off-road and TRD Pro. Toyota offers Camry, Tundra and Supra under TRD Badge. TRD production has also specialization in off-road vehicles.

Skoda VRS

VRS is the fastest Skoda ever made. Skoda Octavia is an iconic car in India. Owning a VRS badge means a fine handling machine with responsive steering, no body rolls when driving through the corners and top notch performance. Performance based Skoda Octavia VRS gets a two litre turbocharged engine that generates 245 horsepower.

Renault RS Performance

Renault group’s Alpine brand which manufactures most fun and performance oriented compact sport cars. The RS Trophy from Renault sports was developed with race cars in mind.

Nissan Nismo

Nissan R32 had made Nissan Motorsports International Limited known for performance vehicles. Nissan 350Z is another car which was built on sports tuned chassis by Nismo. Nissan can tune any passenger car into Nismo performance cars. Nissan has GT-R Nismo, 370Z Nismo, Juke Nismo, March Nismo, Note Nismo, Patrol Nismo, Sentra Nismo and Sereno Nismo to offer under NISMO performance badge.

Hyundai N Line

Hyundai introduced fun to drive performance-oriented cars for the mass market under the sub brand N Line. Hyundai claimed its first victory at the world rally championship in 2014. Hyundai N line adopted motorsports technology in street cars like i30 N, Veloster N, i30 Fastback N which are available in the international market. Under N Line i10 N Line, Elantra N Line, i30 N Line, Sonata N line, Kona N Line and Tucson N Line are available. Hyundai i10 N Line is now available for sale in India.

Ford RS

Ford offers ST and RS badge performance vehicles. RS vehicles are manufactured in Germany. RS cars are more expensive than ST badges. RS vehicles are all wheel drive, have a more advanced suspension system and more power to weight ratio. RS is faster than ST whereas the fuel economy is better in ST. ST models are front wheel drive vehicles.

Volkswagen GTI

MK7 has more power than it ever had in previous generations. Car is powered by a 2 Litre turbo engine that generates massive 245 horsepower. One of the most modern hot hatches today is the Seventh Generation Volkswagen Golf GTI, widely regarded as the root of the hot hatch house. Volkswagen Golf has 40 years of GTI history. It is a heritage car which was launched in the year 1976. Since the launch of MK1, the Golf GTI has been on the wish list of nuclear families. It was a car that every family had loved in the 70s who couldn’t afford to own luxury cars. All Golf GTI have classic golf ball gear shifter, Scottish checked pattern seats and GTI badge on steering wheel.

After home, buying a car is the second most expensive purchase you are going to make. If you are looking for a new car but with abundant choices; you don’t know how to begin and what to buy. For decades drivers have had the choice of Sedan and Hatchback but now a new segment is getting popular that is sub compact SUV or Crossover SUV and this segment is giving stiff competition to both premium hatchback and compact sedans.

Last decade, 2010 to 2020, though Price of base variants of compact sedans were equal to crossover SUVs, they were sold like hot cakes and sedan sales had taken a serious dive. Thanks to its wide popularity and practicality.

Each car body style has its own pros and cons. No product is made for everybody. Let’s explore more in detail to find out which one is the best choice for you as per your needs. Here are the things you should consider.

Ride & Handling

Easy manoeuvring is the one benefit that a sedan offers is much better than any car body type. Riding dynamics, steering and handlings is better for a sedan than SUV. Car performance is lighter and more aerodynamic. 0 to 100 reach for a sedan is much easier compared to SUVs. Sedans have longer wheelbase and they are wider too that allows stable, smoother and quieter driving experience. Navigating through rough roads is pretty much simpler in SUVs, having said that crossover SUVs have marginal increase in ground clearance compared to hatchback. Crossover SUVs have more alleviated levels of view that offer potential improved visibility. Driver has good all round visibility which feels like the driver is in control of the vehicle. SUVs are agile with a smaller turning radius. SUVs have smaller wheelbase compared to compact sedans. Most crossover SUVs only feature front wheel drive like sedan and no all wheel drive options.

Driving and Comfort

Sedans have much better driving comfort. Sedan cabin design is more driver focused while Crossover SUVs give a more airy feeling. Sedans offer more legroom while SUVs offer more headroom. Crossover SUVs offer a high riding position where foots are beneath while sedan foots are stretched out in front of you.

Road Presence

SUVs are becoming Status symbol in India thanks to its muscular look. It gets respect on the road; small vehicles keep aside so that SUVs can have an easy way off because of its road presence. Though some crossover SUVs look like more hatch up vehicles than Sport Utility Vehicles.

Space

Dimensionally compact sedans have more wheelbase than crossover SUVs. Sedan wins the race for overall cargo capacity in terms of volume in litres but there is much more to it apart from numbers. Sedan boot space has certain limitations when loading bulky items due to its shape. SUVs allow much flexibility due to its two-box design; Folding seats configurations are easy to do and offer larger cargo space.

Safety

Sedans are safer as their center of gravity is lower. Sedan driving feels more under control and less tippy. In case of rear end collision, the three box design of the sedan provides better protection for second row occupants than crossover SUVs. Technology incorporated is way more advanced than that of SUVs for the same price. Sedan’s manoeuvring is easy at high speed though features like electronic stability control, traction control have made crossover SUVs more safer than before.

Not to forget, Sedan’s fuel economy ratings are better due to its aerodynamic design than compact SUV.

Crossovers SUVs are agile, peppy and fun to drive. Crossovers look attractive to the younger market while Enthusiast normally prefers the low sitting position of sedan. Sedan occupant feel lower to ground while crossover SUV features high driving position. Sedans are not as versatile as Crossover SUVs. My heart says SUVs because of road presence, passion, social status but my brain says Sedan as the driver comfort, the fuel efficiency and technology is good in a sedan. Buy a car that makes sense to you and not just emotionally excited.

Just give your comments which one you prefer?

Month: February 2021

Lesser-Known Performance Car Division of Mass Market Manufacturers