Need for an affordable SUV

Am I asking for too much with my title-hogging plea? I am sure that I speak for very many of us enthusiasts out there who would desire a compact, well-built SUV to use as the single vehicle of choice in our daily motoring, both for work and play.

Sadly in certain circles, the SUV is a much maligned animal but then that may be because of its bulk and the might is just not right theory. However no one gives a damn when they look at a Honda CR-V doing the business, rather let me rephrase this and state no one pre-judges or discriminates against the Honda CR-V because it comes across as a refined, easy going vehicle, just about the right proportions and nifty enough to spread the smiles on users and other road goers. Sadly very few other SUVs in this country are blessed with such a reputation but this is the direction I would love to see affordable SUVs head into, without the CR-V’s price tag though!

I do remember that when Telco, as Tata Motors was named then, launched its Sumo, I was one of the first to buy this vehicle. I do remember shelling out the grand sum of Rs. 3,11,400/00, for the Sumo. I bought it because it was correctly priced and was just right for me with room for my son’s bikes, a diesel mill and a structure and build better than even some of the other MUVs on sale then. To put things in even sharper perspective, the best selling Maruti Suzuki Zen had an on-road sticker price of Rs. 3,30,000 and the more car per car mantra was already present in a rapidly evolving market place.

The Sumo went on to become an instant success. It was ideal for families especially as its price – space – operating proposition was way superior to small and large hatchbacks and also saloons back then. For three to four years the Sumo proved the ideal family vehicle before the taxi trade took over and Telco also started catering to it with gross LCV-motors which while fuel efficient went against the grain of refinement and pleasure for personal use. 

I think this started the slide for affordable personal SUVs and here was the opportunity which Mahindra & Mahindra grabbed with both hands. Its Armada was a step in the right direction and slowly but surely the company began to get its motoring act together. The Bolero followed as did the Invader and then came the Scorpio. All of them were steps up the refinement chain but still the true smile inducer has yet to emerge in the market priced at or around the Rs 10 lakh mark.

What India needs would be a Skoda Yeti kind of affordable vehicle with its SUV-ish looks and front wheel drive. It has to be modern, compact, refined, luxurious, flexible and versatile with a small modern diesel or petrol motor and priced around the Rs 10-11 lakh mark. Toyota had the chance to usher in the Fortuner at the same time as it introduced the Innova and there could have been an affordable SUV then. Sadly when the Fortuner does hit our roads this August, it wouldn’t be the affordable type of SUV which I speak about even though it would be hard to resist in its segment.

So if anyone can do such an SUV I can think of two or three car makers who could incorporate all the attributes in such a vehicle and price it on the positive side of Rs 10 lakhs. So will Maruti-Suzuki, Hyundai and maybe Tata Motors rise to the occasion? Or thinking aloud will Mahindra & Mahindra spring a welcome surprise? We will wait for action to unfold on this front.