Unpopular Variants Of Popular Cars

The Indian car buying masses are a hard lot to please for the manufacturers. Get the formula right, and you are handsomely rewarded with ridiculous sales numbers, recognition and most importantly unfazed brand loyalty. Get it wrong, however, and you get nothing short of a royal snub. A logical thing to do then is to build on the popularity of an existing model. But what if we told you there have been times where the siblings of popular vehicles have been ignored as badly as the amber light on the traffic signal? In no particular order, here we go: 

1. Chevrolet SR-V 

If you ever spot an Optra that looks slightly weird at first glance, congratulations! You have managed to spot a Chevrolet SR-V. Marketed as 'India's first premium sportsback car', the SR-V was a well thought out package, which was sadly ahead of its time. It packed a raspy 1.6-litre petrol motor that dished out 100 horses and loved to be revved. 

2. Suzuki Baleno Altura

Riding on the success of the Baleno sedan, Maruti Suzuki introduced the station wagon version, dubbed the 'Altura'. It borrowed practically everything from its sibling, including the enthusiast-approved 1.6-litre petrol motor. However, high running costs and long waiting periods for spare parts made sure the Altura never clicked with the masses. 

3. Tata Indigo Marina

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Here's another example of estates sinking without a trace. Tata's 'Indica' hatchback sent shockwaves through the Indian motoring industry, proving that a car could very well be developed indigenously entirely in the country. It sold by the dozen, so it was only natural for Tata to encash on the Indian masses' love for extra space by offering a larger loading area. Clearly, the buyers weren't impressed and the automaker had to pull it out of the market very soon. Here's a fun fact: Mr Ratan Tata owns one! 

4. Skoda Octavia Combi vRS

Okay, I promise - this is the last station wagon on the list. But this particular one is extra special. Skoda briefly introduced the full-fat vRS version of the practical Octavia combi. While the vRS was a raging success in the saloon form, the estate is a rare breed. I have to admit this one is a bit of a personal favourite for I love the concept of a station wagon shaming powerful sedans. The 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol motor put out over 150PS of power and could do speeds in excess of 200kmph. See why I like this one? 

5. Toyota Liva TRD Sportivo

Yet another victim of the 'Kitna deti hai' brigade. The Liva TRD Sportivo followed a near-perfect hot hatch recipe. Big engine, big power, small car. What the usually sane folks at Toyota did, was plonk in the bigger 1.5-litre petrol engine from the Etios, into its hatchback avatar - the Liva. The result was a hatchback that had a power-to-weight ratio of close to 100PS/ton. Toyota also slapped on an interesting bodykit and a super cool set of OZ Racing alloy wheels, which sadly couldn't pique the interest of buyers. 

6. Volkswagen Cross Polo 

Volkswagen's bread and butter car for India, the Polo has done phenomenally well for the German brand. In fact, the automaker's sub-Rs 10 lakh lineup is based on this hatchback alone (including the Ameo and the Vento). Cashing in on the crossover trend, Volkswagen introduced the Cross Polo, which was nothing but the usual sober Polo with lots of body cladding, a raised ground clearance, different wheels and an all-black interior theme. While this particular model does pretty well abroad, people seem to prefer the bog-standard Polo over the Cross back home in India. Also, it is priced close to the GT twins, which sort of explains why it doesn't sell too well, doesn't it? 

7. Maruti Suzuki WagonR Stingray

Who would have thought the WagonR would make an appearance on this list? The Stingray was the automaker's attempt to portray the humble hatchback in a trendy, youthful avatar. The projector headlamps, gunmetal alloy wheels and the unique paint shades (the Navy Blue shade is to die for) does make the Stingray stand out. Sadly, the buyer is the 45-year-old parent and not the 18-year-old teen. Variant to variant, it costs close to Rs 25,000 over the standard WagonR, which makes it phenomenal value for money in our books. 

8. Maruti Suzuki Zen Diesel / Classic 

Enthusiasts will lunge at the thought of a well-maintained 'jellybean' Zen. Give them a free hand and a sizeable budget, you will find them drenched in grease and with a wide grin on their faces having pulled off an engine swap with an Esteem 1.3 or better, a Baleno 1.6. The Zen is a cult classic for a reason. It was god damn likeable! Super compact proportions, a talkative steering and a design that refuses to age. While not many know (and a few refuse to acknowledge) the Zen was offered with a Peugeot-sourced TUD5 diesel motor that was the antithesis of what the car stood for. Naturally, then, it didn't find any takers. Maruti also thought of going retro with the Zen and introduced the Classic, but thinking about it gives me nightmares - it looked, erm, let'say confused. 

9. Mahindra Scorpio Petrol

You've read about a diesel variant that tanked, here's the polar opposite. Mahindra is looking at offering a petrol motor for the Scorpio now, but it did feature one back in the days. Called the 'Rev116', it featured a 2.1-litre petrol motor sourced from Renault. It produced - surprise, surprise - 116 horses and 184Nm of torque, and was best known for its drinking habits. Most owners that bought one reported single-digit fuel economy figures, which eventually led to Mahindra pulling the plug on the petrol-powered Scorpio. 

10. Skoda Superb V6 4x4

A 4x4 executive saloon? Don't get your hopes up, it just means all-wheel-drive in Skoda speak. The absolute definition of a sleeper car, the Superb V6 housed a 3.6-litre petrol motor that was good for 263PS of power and had a peak torque of 350Nm! This meant that the big barge clocked 0-100kmph in just 6.6 seconds, and had a top speed of 250kmph! GULP! While the second generation of the Superb practically rebuilt the Skoda brand in India, this wolf in sheep's clothing wasn't given the due credit it deserved. But then, not everyone needs to win traffic light drags on the way to a super important board meeting, no?