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SUVs are getting more and more popular in the Indian market. There are quite a few models which were however not that popular when they came out. The reason for this was mostly the price that these cars were released at.
The issue was also the perception of these vehicles. They were not loved for what they were, most of them being overshadowed by more brutish-looking boxy SUVs. Some were also way ahead of their time which was what led them to become pretty misunderstood.
We got two generations of the Hyundai Santa Fe. The first one was a proper ladder on frame vehicle and it had a lot of power as well from its 2.2L diesel engine. The Santa Fe was also offered with 4wd and was quite capable as well. The later model was a monocoque chassis and it had even more features and was a very comfortable cruiser. The Santa Fe, since it was equipped with so many features, was sold at a premium than its counterparts. It was also not the off-road beast which had a very dominating road presence which a lot of SUV buyers went after at the time.
The Renault Koleos was another brilliant SUV which was offered with a lot of features. It was modern, drove well, had a very capable AWD system, and even came with a Bose sound system. The Koleos was pretty expensive for what it was but it also offered quite a lot for that money. Again, the vehicle was more of a crossover than a big brutish SUV that Indians were in love at the time. We do believe that if it was launched in modern times, it would do much better in the Indian context.
The Chevrolet Forester was essentially a rebadged Subaru Forester. It was one of the very initial Chevrolet cars which were sold in India. The boxer engine car was incredibly rare and had a lot of things going for it. It had a symmetrical all wheel drive system as well but not a lot of them were sold here due to high price and people not knowing what the Forester was. Many considered it to be station wagon and station wagons never hit off in India.
The original Grand Vitara is not what we get now. It was a proper ladder on frame 4x4 SUV which was highly capable and dominated the motorsport scene in India. The Grand Vitara came with either a 2.0L NA petrol or a 2.4L NA petrol later. The Grand Vitara came with a proper 4x4 with low range as well and it was a truly premium vehicle. The price was also very premium and nobody was ready to spend that much on a Grand Vitara.
The Chevrolet Trailblazer was too little and too late. It came to the market at a time when Chevrolet had already started struggling. It could have been a hit with SUV buyers since it was big and also capable. There was no 4x4 option on offer and the Trailblazer could not live up to its own name. The Trailblaze sold in very little numbers but it was mostly due to it being a disaster from GM’s side.
With inputs from Tauseef Zia
