We all have nostalgic moments about our past and the sad truth about that is, it cannot be clubbed with the present or future. Same is the case with cars that were popular in their era but sadly we cannot purchase them today. From Mitsubishi Lancer to Fiat Palio to Maruti 800 to Tata Safari, we have compiled a list of 10 such popular cars of India that cannot be brought back in today's time!
Also Read: 10 Cars That We Indians Kept Waiting For: Mahindra XUV 500 Aero To Tata Racemo
Mitsubishi Lancer
Engine Options - 1.5L Petrol and 2.0L Diesel
Be it Bollywood movies or TV Soaps, this sedan was highly popular in the entertainment industry. And if you got lucky then you would see this car around your street area too since it was an expensive one. This car had an oomph factor and when the carmakers introduced a special yellow shade, that was a head-turner.
In India, Mitsubishi offered the sedan in both petrol and diesel engine. The 2.0L diesel was quite a heavy one and produced 69 bhp. The 1.5L petrol was quicker and churned 86 bhp with 132 Nm of peak torque. The Lancer was known for its comfortable ride and was a hit among enthusiasts when it came to cheap modifications.
Tata Safari
Engine Options - 2.0L Diesel, 2.1L Petrol, 3.0L Diesel, 2.2L DiCOR Diesel, 2.2L Varicor Diesel
The big daddy of the SUVs is now discontinued in the market. It served a good 20+ years in the Indian market and was the first Indian SUV to get a 4WD setup. Tata Safari was sold in four generations with every new model learning from the predecessor.
From using a 2.0L oil burner which churned out 90 PS with 183 Nm of torque to the latest 2.2L Varicor diesel engine in Strome which made 140 PS with 320 Nm of torque, Safari saw a lot. It sales first started to diminish when the first-gen Mahindra Scorpio was launched but still, this butchy SUV did not fall and survived till 2019 before it got discontinued. India's most loved SUV will definitely be missed.
Ford Ikon
Engine Options - 1.3L Petrol, 1.6L Petrol, 1.8L Diesel, 1.4L Diesel
The Ikon was introduced in 1998 and the sedan was one of the top-selling models of the Ford. It first came in with the 1.3L petrol engine which made 70 hp. Jump forward to 2003, Ford launched a powerful 1.6L petrol and a 1.8L diesel engine too. The former was famously termed as the josh machine!
The facelifted model, Flair, came with an electric power steering, power windows, central locking, tachometer and among other features. Ford also launched a new series of diesel engine, the 1.4L Duratorq unit. And this one was better than the heavy and noisy 1.8L diesel unit. It churned 68 bhp on tap and offered excellent fuel economy.
Fiat Palio
Engine Options - 1.2L Petrol, 1.6L Petrol
This is one of the forgotten hatchbacks in the history of automobiles. No, the enthusiasts still dig for it but the mainstream audience could not understand the joy of having this car. Mostly because of it's high maintenance and the lower fuel economy.
Fiat Palio was launched back in 2001 with a humble 1.2L and the powerful 1.6L petrol engine. The latter churned out 100 bhp with 140 Nm of torque thus making the hatchback's entry into the 100 bhp club. And that power was a lot in those times but sadly the low number of sales led to the discontinuation of this car after some time. You can find the well maintained Palio that goes up as Rs 2 lakh.
Daewoo Matiz
Engine Options - 0.8L Petrol
The Matiz was a cute looking hatchback which locked horns with the Maruti 800 and Hyundai Santro back in the 2000s. The hatchback came in a sole 0.8L petrol engine which churned 52 bhp on tap. For the era, it offered high levels of sophistication, excellent features and a very comfortable ride. Long term reliability too was good but unfortunately, the brand Daewoo had to exit the Indian car market.
Maruti 800
Engine Options - 0.8L Petrol
First launched in 1983, the first Maruti 800 DX hatchback was delivered to Mr Harpal Singh by the country's female Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi. Over the years, the cars saw many upgradations and improvements in technology and created a name in history. Even the great cricket player, Sachin Tendulkar owned one.
It was sold for a short while and then came in its facelift in 1986. The bottled green colour was one of its kind. The hatch used a 796 cc petrol engine which churned 37 bhp and came with 12-inch steel rims. Maruti even upgraded the 800 with the BS4 emission norms before discontinuing in 2014.
Mahindra Classic
Engine Options - 2.2L Diesel
Mahindra Classic was an advanced version of the CJ 340 that was introduced in the early 1990s. The 4x4 SUV came with wire wheels and a 2.2L diesel engine and used to come with disc brakes too. The dashboard supported so many lights that it felt like you are sitting in a mini aeroplane. It got a 4x4 setup which made conquer any surface easily. The Classic was among the most popular cars of India for urban yuppies.
Tata Indica
Engine Options - 1.4L Diesel, 1.3L Diesel, 1.2L Petrol, 1.4L Petrol
One of the popular hatches among cab aggregators and the private buyers was the Indica from Indian carmaker, Tata Motors. It came with a 1.4-litre diesel engine which was very effective because of the low running costs. However, the first generation of Indica was a failure as the buyers were facing a lot of problems based on the mechanicals.
It was after a few years that the manufacturers relaunched the hatch and named as Indica V2. It came with a similar engine but now with improved power and mileage. Visually both the Indica and Indica V2 were hard to differentiate except for the badging. There was an Indica Vista too that was launched in 2008 and later came in the Vista D90 with the Fiat's 1.3L Diesel Motor which churned out 90 bhp.
Maruti Suzuki Kizashi
Engine Options - 2.4L Petrol
Maruti was always to be known as the small carmaker until they launched the Kizashi in 2011. The car was a full CBU which attracted 100% duty fees and came with a hefty price of Rs 16-17 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi.
Yes, it was the price which led to its downfall but there were true car enthusiasts who brought this version. It came with a powerful 2.4L petrol unit which churned out 174 bhp on tap. For a car of this price and this segment, that was a lot. It came in with both manual and a CVT gearbox.
Chevrolet Cruze
Engine Options - 2.0L Diesel
After the Spark, it was the Cruze which attracted the buyers and to be honest, I am still a fan of how the first-generation Cruze looked like. The versions after that made it an upmarket and boring car. The car was launched in 2012 and saw its fair share of sales.
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It was relaunched in 2012 with mechanical upgrades and came with a 2.0-litre oil burner. The premium sedan was also called as the diesel rocket since it produced 165 bhp on tap with a peak torque of 380 Nm. And the 0-100 km/h sprint could be well achieved 10.7 seconds (Oh Boy! That is fast). It came with a 6-speed manual and an automatic transmission.
Most of the cars here are from the early 2000s which saw their fair share of luck in the Indian market. There are cars like Maruti 800 and Daewoo Matiz and Mahindra Classic 4x4 which were launched before 2000 in India but they sure were popular in the 2000s too.
Wait, you thought that was it? Oh c'mon now! We haven't included Hyundai here which made its debut with the first-gen Santro. But I am not quoting the Santro here but the forgotten Getz. Yes, the popular high mileage Getz with the 1351 cc petrol.
Hyundai Getz
It was first launched in 2004 for those wanting a premium upgrade from the Santro. It came in with a 1341 cc petrol engine which churned out 82 bhp with 115 Nm of torque. At first, it was a quick snip for Rs 4.5 lakh but later the sales got decreased and eventually lead to the downfall of the Getz. Hyundai also introduced a diesel engine but by then it was too late as there were other strong competitors in the market and Hyundai closed the production of Getz altogether.
