10 Flop Crossovers in India from Big Car Makers | Cross Polo to Avventura

Well, who doesn’t like to have the best of both worlds and CUVs or Crossover utility vehicles are there just for that. These are cars which have the ruggedness of an SUV with the ergonomics of a hatchback usually at a price point cheaper than a full-blown SUV.

Manufacturers usually take up the platforms of their ongoing hatchback models and beef them up with raised ground clearance, strong character lines and butcher cladding, that’s a crossover comes into existence. However, there exist examples like the Maruti S-cross which are developed from scratch as a full-blown crossover as well.

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But this formula of providing the customers with the credentials of two different types of cars in a single model isn’t always appealing for the car buyers. In India, various efforts by the celebrated car manufacturers of bringing in crossovers based on their existing car platform were not well received by the public and these cars bombed in the market in terms of sales. Today, we take a look at 10 such crossovers that Failed in the Indian car market.

1. Volkswagen Cross Polo

   

   It was one of the first hatchback oriented crossover in India. The Cross Polo was launched in the year 2013. It was a more substantial version of the Polo hatchback being wrapped around in plastic cladding on the front bumper, rear bumper and on the sides. This made the Cross Polo 17mm longer, 16mm wider and was also 21mm taller than the regular Polo due to the addition of roof rails in this variant. But the one change crucial for a crossover that is increased ground clearance was missing on the Cross Polo. It had the same ground clearance as the regular Polo and came with same 15-inch wheels else. International-spec Cross Polo had 15mm more ground clearance and 17-inch wheels.

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   The Cross Polo came with the same engine options already existing on the Polo.

   What went wrong?
   Paying the extra 60,000 bucks for the mere tougher cosmetic upgrades was simply not worth unless the Cross Polo came with some mechanical upgrades as well. Hence, this crossover didn’t fare well in the Indian market.

2. Toyota Etios Cross

   

   Another sizeable hatchback which got a crossover treatment was the Toyota Etios Liva inspired Toyota Etios Cross. The Etios Cross wore a heavy body kit, strong plastic cladding all around and bigger bumpers. This made the Etios Cross, 120mm Longer, 40mm wider and 45mm taller(again due to roof rails) than the Standard Etios. Ground clearance on the Etios Cross was also similar to the Etios Liva. The Etios Cross also shared the same powertrains with the Etios sedan and Etios Liva.

   What went wrong?
   The Etios Liva was already a conventional boxy design and its interiors, straight up dated. The Etios Cross carried the same dated attributes to which the crossover treatment was also not able to make a difference. The car was not able to sell great numbers.

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3. Fiat Avventura

   

   Now, this is one crossover which is not just a wannabe utility vehicle. Fiat ticked all the right boxes while making the Punto based Avventura a real crossover. It was longer, wider and taller but also had a substantial increase in ground clearance as well at 205mm. Another styling element which makes it look like a utility vehicle was the spare tyre mounted on the rear tailgate. The Avventura Initially came with Fiat’s 90HP diesel engine but the added 65Kgs made the car lethargic to drive and this diesel motor didn’t provide with the driving dynamic expected from the Avventura.

   So after a year, Fiat brought in the Abarth powered Avventura which got the 140HP 1.4-litre T-jet petrol engine to spice up the ride.

   What went wrong?
   The Fait Avventura (especially the Abarth variant) was a capable car. But the image of the brand in the country and poor after-sales service meant that the Avventura didn’t see too many takers.

4. Fiat Urban Cross

   

   Fiat took another shot at the crossover segment with the toned-down version of the Avventura, the Fiat Urban Cross. The Urban Cross shredded down chunky cladding and tailgate-mounted spare wheel but retained the 205mm ground clearance. The Urban Cross is a fine blend between a Punto hatchback and the Avventura as far as aesthetics are concerned. Fiat Urban Cross had two engine options, 1.3-litre Multijet diesel and the powerful 1.4-litre T-jet Petrol engine(Abarth variant).

   What went wrong?
   Like the Avventura, the Fiat Urban Cross also suffered in the Indian market due to the brand’s poor image in the country.

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5. Renault Captur

   

   Launched in 2017, Renault Captur was called by Renault India as a premium SUV with Crossover DNA. The stance of the Captur isn’t of a rugged SUV and has the European CUV appeal to it. As far as dimensions are concerned, the Captur is right there with the Mid-sized SUVs of its segment and also has a ground clearance of 210mm. The Captur’s engine options include 1.5-litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel. Both the engines produce 106HP/142Nm and 110HP/240Nm respectively.

   What went wrong?
   Despite packing decent potential, the Captur couldn’t gain popularity in India right from its debut and as a result, the sales of the Captur were very disappointing for Renault India.

6. Nissan Kicks

   

   The Kicks is the alliance sibling of the Captur and they both share Renault’s B-platform. It is longer than the Captur and has the same 210mm of ground clearance. But the best thing about the Kicks when compared to the Captur is that the Kicks looks more like a rugged Mid-size SUV, which is something the Indian buyers have always fancied. The Kicks also had comparatively tasteful interior as well. Nissan Kicks comes with the same engines options with exactly the same power figures as the Renault Captur.

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   What went wrong?
   Unlike the Captur, Nissan’s Kicks did decently for the brand in India which itself isn’t witnessing the best of the days. The Nissan Kicks is still on sale in India but is registering poor sales figures which are nowhere near its competitors.

7. Tata Aria

   

   This one is the oldest and the most unusual crossovers on this list. Tata conceptualised the Aria as a fusion of an MPV, SUV and a sedan and this made it the car like no other. It came with a 2.2-litre common-rail diesel engine making 150HP and 320Nm of torque.

   What went wrong?
   Tata Aria’s arch-rival was the highly-popular Mahindra XUV500 which simply dominated the segment in its initial days. Hence, the Aria was not able to make a mark for itself and bring glory for Tata Motors.

8. Datsun RediGo

   

   Speaking of unusual crossovers we have the Datsun Redi-go on the list as well (we’re surprised too!). The Entry-level crossover was unveiled in 2016 and the car recently got a facelift as well. Datsun Redi-go currently comes with two engine options, 799cc petrol and 1.0-litre petrol. What categorises Redi-go as a crossover is its small hatchback DNA with tall-boy stance and good ground clearance.

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   What went wrong?
   Datsun’s lineup in India is focused entirely on the entry-level segment, a space dominated by the likes of Maruti for decades in India. Hence, cars like Redi-go and its sibling Datsun Go weren’t able to make their way into the hearts of the customers. The only the brand is probably able to survive in the country is due to its popularity in the fleet cars market.

9. Tata Tiago NRG

   

   Another Tata on the list is a fairly recent one. Based on the successful Tata Tiago Hatchback, the Tiago NRG is a yet another hatchback based crossover. The Tiago NRG got 10mm more ground clearance than the Tiago and also had bigger proportions. The Tiago NRG came with a 1.2-Litre petrol engine and 1.0-litre diesel engine.

   What went wrong?
   Even though the Tiago Hatchback was an immense success for Tata, it seems like the Tiago NRG was something customer didn’t ask for. Tiago NRG didn’t do great numbers on the sales chart for Tata and hence it was discontinued.

10. Maruti Suzuki S-Cross (2015 Launch Edition)

    

    The last car on our list is surprisingly a Maruti. Maruti cars have a reputation of selling huge numbers of almost every model it puts on sale. However, this was not the case with the S-cross when it was launched in the Country back in 2015. It was the flagship offering of Maruti Suzuki in India and was priced north of Rs. 10 Lakhs in India.

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    What went wrong?
    Indians weren’t accustomed to spending over 10 Lakhs on a Maruti, So the S-cross didn’t do great numbers for Maruti initially. It was only after some time that the public started to realise it’s potential and post the facelift, the sales for the S-cross picked up quite well in India.

So here’s our list of Failed Crossover cars in India. Let us know in the comment section below if we missed out on any other car worth mentioning on the list.