While the Indian car market is massive and is growing rapidly, there are only few manufacturers that have seen success with a few products. Then there are cars that are tick the boxes they have been designed for, yet are not finding any takers. Those cars are finding it tough to survive with very few units being sold every month. Such cars have poor resale value, and in some cases, parts may also be hard to source as they age. Here are 10 cars that are on life support and 10 cars that are perfect alternatives to them:
Tata Indica : On life support
Alternate: Tata Tiago
Tata introduced the Indica way back in 1998 and since then, it has continued to stand for its core values, providing comfort and space. The company is in the process of discontinuing the Indica, as per reports.
The Tiago is the vehicle that makes complete sense, instead of the Indica. It is a lot more modern, has better features and equipment and has new engines too. While the Tiago may not be as spacious as the Indica, it will make an ideal alternative to it.
Tata Indigo e-CS: On life support
Alternate: Tata Tigor
The Indigo e-CS was the vehicle that started off the whole compact sedan segment in the country. Since then, it has been on sale without much update. The old school vehicle has been seeing less takers over the past few months which could make the company pull the plug on the model.
The Tigor, which is the company’s all-new compact sedan is the best alternative to the Indigo e-CS. The Tigor looks better, is better equipped, has newer engines and has also been well received in the Indian market. This makes it a great alternative to the e-CS. In addition to the fact that the Tigor is better, it is much cheaper as well.
Hyundai Santa Fe: On life support
Alternate: Toyota Fortuner
Hyundai launched the Santa Fe in the Indian market to take on the premium SUVs. While it has been on sale for the past 3 years, there has been no change in the vehicle since. Due to it being expensive, sales aren’t very high either. In the last 2 months, the company has sold single digit units of the vehicle. The Fortuner is the ideal alternative to the Santa Fe.
The Fortuner offers everything the Santa Fe is offering. It is well loaded, has a powerful engine, is spacious, has good interior quality and looks premium too. In addition to all this, the Fortuner has a better brand name.
Tata Nano : On life support
Alternate: Renault Kwid
Tata’s cheapest car, the Nano created waves when it was introduced. Not only in India, it garnered the attention of the international media as well, due to it being the cheapest car in the world. Since then, the company has added an AMT gearbox to the vehicle as well and this makes it an ideal city car. However, the car hasn’t been very popular and sales have been reducing month on month. There have been rumors that the company will be discontinuing the model sometime soon. The Kwid will be an ideal replacement to the Nano.
The Kwid is currently the cheapest AMT on sale, other than the Nano. In addition to that, the Kwid has a more powerful engine, looks more rugged and drives better too. The Kwid interiors are a step up as well.
VW Jetta : On life support
Alternate: Skoda Octavia
The VW Jetta has always been the choice when it came to a premium and comfortable luxury sedan. It has been tough to match. Over the past few months, there has been news that the company is going to discontinue the Jetta, due to the fact that the all-new one will not be making it to the Indian market. Also, the current vehicle has been on sale for a long time without much of an update. The Octavia then it the ideal replacement.
The Octavia was introduced just last week and it is a lot more modern, as compared to the Jetta. The best part is the wide variety of engine options on offer, like the 1.4 and 1.8 petrol, in addition to the 2.0 liter diesel. The vehicle also features a lot of high end tech, like auto park, panoramic sunroof and a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple car play and Android auto.