Butch Dance

 The history of India, its destiny, has been shaped by invasions. One of the earliest and richest civilisations in the world, mystic India has always attracted unwanted attention; from the Aryans, to the Brits and everything from Alexander to the Mughals in between, India has seen races come, go and mostly settle down.

Despite the ignominy and travails of foreign rule, somewhere along the line India benefited from exposure to new ideas and alien cultures. The invaders were drawn towards India primarily because of her wealth but there was so much that even after centuries of looting we were still left with a lot and the Europeans who arrived in the 15th century also got more than they bargained for.

Fast forward to the 21st century where India again faces an invasion. In today’s age of conspicuous consumption, the demands of capitalist society call for an invasion of a totally different kind. An invasion on our spending prowess, on our IT/construction moolah.

By George, the tables have turned and how! Instead of being at the receiving end, the once pauper Indian is spoilt for choice from among the armies of invaders. Though compared to the West and neighbouring China, the Indian market still cannot boast of towering volumes, we have grown a strong affliction for SUVs or so called pseudo-SUVs; the soft-roaders.

Cold logic would suggest that these vehicles shouldn’t be doing brisk business in India. They are expensive to start with, heavy on gas, require parking space one would fit three Nanos and aren’t exactly a joy to drive given their gargantuan size. But then again these are more likely to be driven by a chauffeur in a starched white coat and prim peaked hat and so the invasion of India by the SUV brigade goes on relentless.

It came as a surprise to us even that last year we tested more SUVs than saloons - being the vehicle of choice for our road trips. And today there’s not just an SUV for the extremely well heeled, but for almost every segment of society. Choices, we’re spoilt for it and even in the hitherto optionless Rs 18-20 lakh segment the CR-V has finally got some serious competition.

The third generation Honda CR-V set the ball rolling in the Rs 20 lakh segment in India. No market research could have predicted the Honda CR-V’s overwhelming success; forgotten was the lofty price tag and single digit fuel efficiency (petrol too!), when would-be buyers experienced its immense comfort and car-like dynamics.

The CRV’s success paved the way for the Chevrolet Captiva. Sold in Australia as a Holden and designed at Daewoo in Korea, the Chevy badged SUV has got a diesel option which the CR-V lacked (and the market has been crying out for). Unlike the CR-V the Captiva makes do with only front-wheel-drive to translate into not only good fuel efficiency but save on cost as well.

To counter the Captiva threat and to address the fuel efficiency and price tag issues, Honda replaced the 2.4-litre engine with a smaller, lighter and more fuel-efficient 2-litre mill and also knocked off the four-wheel-drivetrain to save on cost, complexity and weight. Both crossovers are matched so closely in terms of pricing one simply can not ignore either while checking out the Rs 18lakh soft-roader segment.

Options in this price band aren’t limited to the soft-roaders too, there’s a third option too - the full-fat Ford Endeavour. Compared to the CR-V and Captiva, the Endeavour seems dated but Ford has kept on lending it new leases of life and this one has been given a healthy dose of Viagra. With old school SUV look to do even Uncle Sam proud, the Endeavour has proved to be a runaway success, especially after the sluggish engine was replaced by the 2.5-litre common-rail diesel. Not that performance was any issue in the 2.5 but now there’s a thunderous 3-litre engine in the Thunder +, presenting a whole new bag of tricks vis-à-vis the soft-roaders.

Three distinct vehicles, each with its own USP. The big bully, go anywhere, true blue 4x4, two soft-roaders - one banking on the diesel card, the other offering car-like (or actually car-bettering) dynamics. Let’s get started.