The Indian automobile industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing car markets in the world. There are always new customers who are buying cars for the first time. This is primarily because the standard of living of the population is increasing with each passing year and the economic prosperity is making sure that personal mobility is taken care of. Similarly, a large chunk of the population who already have a car want to upgrade to the next big segment and so on. Therefore, the compact SUV segment has become the fastest-growing segment in the country. This segment has cars pricing around Rs 10 lakh mark. The expectations of customers from their cars have gone way up than just a tool for mobility. Therefore, we have prepared a list of features that a car in this segment must come with.
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Connected Car Tech – Embedded SIM
Almost every major player in the automobile industry has invested in developing its own application and software to support the modern connected car tech. Customers have come to expect such features as default in, at least, the top-end trims of cars. This includes in-car features that allow the owners to keep track of every little detail about their vehicle. This consists of information like trip info, geo and time fencing, remote ignition start/stop, keyless entry and go and much more. The software is installed in smartphones and all these functions are operated via the smartphone/smartwatch itself.
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Bluetooth and Infotainment Connectivity
All the modern cars do come with Bluetooth connectivity for their smartphones. There are also wireless connectivity features to connect to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to facilitate music and navigation services. This essentially transforms the Infotainment System into the display of your smartphone since all the apps you need are in your phone. Additionally, one must be able to access all these features through Voice Commands as well. To add to the convenience aspect even further, there is wireless charging as well where you don’t have to go through the hassle of cables. Another typical requirement of the buyers is a sunroof. It gives a premium feel and airiness to the cabin.
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Safety Features
As more and more are buying cars, they are getting involved with the safety that a car provides. Tata and Mahindra have been huge contributors to bringing awareness among the buyers about the relevance of safety features in a car. Both these homegrown brands have manufactured 5-star rated products with plenty of safety kit. For example, multiple Airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC, Front and Rear Parking Sensors with Reverse or 360-degree parking Camera, Cruise Control, Hill-Hold Assist and ISOFIX Child Seat mounts have become the norm today.
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Powerful Engine
After the arrival of BS6 emission norms in India, a lot of diesel powertrains were discontinued by a lot of car manufacturers. This meant that the requirement for torquey and punchy engines have to be met by introducing turbo petrol powertrains. Almost all the cars, apart from the entry-level hatchbacks, have started offering a turbo variant in the lineup. This has resulted in people getting used to powerful engines with turbos and people demand and buy the powerful variants of cars regularly. This will continue because people will not be able to go back to the regular naturally aspirated powertrains once they’ve tasted the fun of a turbo engine. Therefore, we have decided to include his aspect in the list as well.
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With the increase in car buyers in India and even globally, the technology eventually starts trickling down the segments and price points. That is the reason we continuously keep getting newer technology in cars of every segment and this will keep happening for times to come.
