Top 10 Flop Cars Of India

There are a lot of best-selling cars which enjoy long-standing popularity with various generations and updates; on the other hand, there are also cars whose prices go down dramatically in a short period of time and they soon turn into dust. IndianAuto will introduce 10 out of many flop cars in India in the list below.

1. Ford Fusion Diesel

During the time of Ford Fusion, it was recognized as one of the most unique cars. Here are some good qualities of the compact SUV:

• Solid build quality

• Many compartments for the storage of miscellaneous items

• Ford brand image

• Big 15" wheels which weren't available on most cars in this segment at that time.

Because of poor performance. the Ford Fusion Diesel was cancelled

However, despite its SUV looks, Ford Fusion couldn’t do much for the automobile manufacturer. Indian customers labelled the car as Ford “conFUSION” because it wasn’t worth the price of 7 lakh.

• The car was considered underpowered as its diesel engine offered lower performance as compared to other models in the price range

• The diesel engine made too much noise while the petrol engine was a guzzler

• Lack of features such as a sunroof and parking sensor

2. Mitsubishi Cedia

Mitsubishi Cedia was one of the best driver's car in the D segment, but the low fuel economy and costly spares kept customers away.  As a foreseeable result, the company decided to stop producing it in 2013. Here are some cons of the Mitsubishi Cedia:

• The car was powered by a 2.0L engine, but the output was just 115bhp, which is too small for such a big engine.

• Sitting position was too low, causing uncomfortable experience for both drivers and passenger

• The tyres looked disproportionately small

Bad fuel economy and costly spares made the Mitsubishi Cedia a flop car

3. Mahindra Verito Vibe

Mahindra Verito Vibe was a lite version of the sedan Verito and slot into the segment of sub-4-meter cars.  Even though the Verito Vibe has an incredibly spacious space with a high score on practicality, the look of the car failed to catch the attention of customers. Its styling did not seem to appeal to anyone except the designers who came up with it.

Mahindra Verito Vibe's outlook betrayed it

4. Maruti Suzuki Kizashi

Maruti Suzuki Kizashi failed to crave the way for the leading car company in India into the luxury sedan segment. The main reason for its failure was the high price of Maruti Kizashi. To be specific, because of taxes, the price of the cheapest model rose up from 10 lakh to 12-14 lakh, and the average price ranged from 12-13 lakh to 17-18 lakh. As a result, the customers put it into the D-segment class and started comparing it to other models which have the same price but more useful features. Obviously, the failure of the Maruti Suzuki Kizashi was predictable.

Maruti Suzuki Kizashi is one of the flop luxury sedans in India car market

5. Chevrolet Sail U-VA

The Chevrolet Sail U-VA was sold at a higher price compared to its competitors. Besides, the car had not-so-good interiors that made it hard to maintain in the Indian competitive car market. Following are the cons of the Chevrolet Sail U-VA:

• Bad fuel economy of 8 kmpl in real life compared to the promised 18.8kmpl

• Heavy noise like a roller coaster (However, it appeared to be on just some models)

• Some customers experienced clutch while changing between the 1st and 2nd gear

• Not comfortable for a long drive

The Chevrolet Sail U-VA's price was too high compared to its performance

However, there were some good points that attract Indian customers

• Impressive looks

• Good handling

• Smooth

• nice driving control

• suitable for city and highway drive

Sadly, these strengths could not outweigh its downside and fail to catch the interest of Indian customers.

6. Mahindra Quanto

Once again in this list, poor appearance is somewhat a fatal strike to the compact crossover Mahindra Quanto. To be specific, the car’s disproportionate design and the unattractive look of the rear made it flop. To be more specific, take a look at the cons below:

• Extremely tall body with a short base design did not  fit well with engineering dynamics

• Poor suspension setup.

• Rear seats recline (to accommodate extra 2 people, the company had ruined the comfort of 3 people on the middle seats which were not a good design intent)

The ugly outlook made Mahindra Quanto a flop car

Nevertheless, there were some pros of the car we need to consider:

• Good price.

• Good underpinnings

• Good fuel efficient engine with good NVH and driveability

• Real SUV stuff

7. Sipani Dolphin

Sipani Dolphin was sold in India between 1982 and 1990. Sipani was a small automobile manufacturer having a headquarter in Karnataka. The Dolphin “swam” very well with a rear-wheel drive, a 4-cylinder, 848cc engine, and a 4-speed manual transmission; customers reported that it was a fun driving experience on-road with the car. However, things changed in 1983 when Maruti launched the 800 and the Sipani could not win against its rival. Consequently, Sipani had to leave the Indian car market in 1990.

Because of failing to compete with its rival, the Sipani Dolphin had to stop racing

8. Rover Montego

The Sipani Dolphin case was not the only tragedy that Sipani had to suffer. The manufacturer tried their best to launch the first luxury car in India, the Rover Montego which had two different models: a station wagon and a sedan. It was first introduced with power windows, a power steering, an air-conditioning system, and a powertrain made of a 2-litre diesel engine and a 5-speed manual transmission. Remarkably, It delivered comfortable features which were comparable within every car these days. Nevertheless, people at that time seemed to hesitate when making a decision to buy the 11 lakh car. Struggling for years, at the age of 7, Rover Montego’s production was stopped in 1995.

High price is a fatal strike to cars like the Rover Montego

9. Chennai’s Standard 2000

The Standard 2000 seemed to be one of the most short-lived cars in India since it only sustained in the market only 3 years. Launched in 1985, it was once considered as one of the most affordable luxury automobiles at that time with the price of Rs 2.2 lakh. What made it a flop is the underpowered powertrain which included 4-cylinder and 2-litre petrol engine paired with a 4-speed manual transmission.

The Chennai’s Standard 2000 only lived for 3 years

10. Peugeot 309

Besides the Standard 2000, Peugeot 209 also lived only 3 years, from 1994 to 1997. Its specs were quite good. However, because the joint-venture Premier Automobiles Limited (PAL) faced dramatic financial and labour problems, Peugeot 209 after sales service was not quite good and there were not enough of spares for the car in Indian automobile market at that time. Although the car came with good quality, it could not compete with Maruti or Hyundai. In the end, PAL couldn’t stand still in the market any longer, they stopped the  Peugeot 209 production.

The failure of Peugeot 306 was quite ironic

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