It was started by the Premier Rio, followed by the Mahindra Quanto
and now the Ford EcoSport, I am increasingly growing fond of the sub 4 metre
SUV’s not because they are value for money, not because they offer the
practicality of an SUV at the price of a hatch and not because I am a
Duster/Scorpio/Safari troll.
I like them simply because, they are playing a big role in bringing
back the trend that has for ages defined SUV’s and given them their character—the
tailgate mounted spare wheel!
I know that manufacturers have been forced to take this
route due to the length constraints but I am not complaining.
And the launch of EcoSport has made me more ecstatic because
for me it is the first proper mini SUV in India unlike the Rio which is a ‘vintage’
product and looks its age or even the Quanto, which has the genes of the ugly
Xylo.
The EcoSport’s looks and design has already become the talk
of the town and as it goes on to becomes a huge success, other automakers will notice
and scrutinize each and every aspect of its success.
And with Indians love for SUV’s only headed north, more and
more manufacturers like Honda, Hyundai, Suzuki have pulled up their socks to
exploit this niche segment and their mini SUV’s will be having the rear mounted
spare wheel too.
However, it’s the category above that which is not bound by
this rule that I hope gets influenced by the EcoSport’s success. Maybe the next
generation Scorpios/Safaris/Dusters/Terranos and even the Fortuners would be
more brute looking.
And it’s not just about the looks, the rear mounted tyres also
help in breaking the mass of a SUV’s which tend to have longand flat rear doors.
For example take the Quanto and the Xylo and compare their rears, you will get
my point.
In fact I have seen some modified Scorpio’s with rear
mounted wheels and they looked AWESOME!
I've heard arguments that the wheels make the rear doors
heavy but seriously how many of use our rear doors daily? Moreover, it isn't
that the tyre weighs a 100 pounds and makes to door unable to operate.
Since childhood, the definition of an SUV for many of us was
the good old Maruti Suzuki Gypsy, Mahindra Jeep, Armada, Bolero, Tata Sierra,
Sumo, Safari and even the Willy's Jeep with rear mounted wheel always being there
hallmark. Though, the Tata Estate was an exception.
Among the premium SUV’s, the Mitsubishi Pajero and Ford
Endeavour sported the spare wheel and thankfully continue to do so.
But sadly, after the launch of the hugely popular Mahindra
Scorpio, I feel this trend changed somewhat.
Maybe, its success affected the thinking
of the people at not only Mahindra whose future models like the
Xylo and XUV
5OO had plain rears but also Tata as it removed the tail mounted spares from
their Sumo and Safari range.
I mean it is okay for MUV’s like Qualis, Ertiga, Innova,
Enjoy to have clean backs. In fact they would look silly with a rear mounted
spare. But not SUV’s. After all they should have a distinct character.
