Is ground clearance the only factor while buying a car?

From my posts, One would assume that I am and Anti-Honda City guy, but here I would like change my stance. Even with the low GC and soft suspensions, I think you should get over small bumps without much of a trouble. In this case, I think it must have been the driving rather than the car's fault.

P.S. my SX4 would have still not scraped though

GC cannot be the only factor for how a car will go over a bump, or if it  will touch the ground. The suspension setup and the underbody design would play an important factor here.

A Car like a Fabia -having a gc of only 135 mm does go through potholes and speedbreaker without trouble.  Whereas a Civic (GC-170 mm) with 3 people at the backseat regularly touches the speedbreaker even at low speeds, compare that to an i20 (GC-165 mm) you will not face the same problem with 3 people at the back.

GC comes into play for me only while driving over the mountain sized speedbreakers.this happens only when the back seat is full with 3 members.otherwise i feel low GC can be an advantage.You can actually turn the car at a comparitively higher speed than those with high GC.being in mumbai low GC can be a pain during monsoon water clogging too.you dont want your car getting washed down or the water entering in to your car through the doors.

I suppose the thread topic have very limited discussion scope

-is the GC the 'only' factor - no.

-is GC one of the factors - yes.

Hi ALL and Bharadwaj,

                               It is true the lower the ground clearance in high ways or sports cars the better the speed, grip and balancing. free form getting toppled. No doubt about this.

I am sorry i shd not comment here in india  even 180 may not be enough what ever be the car make it is.   I used a car with lower GC of 165, at speeds of a manual rickshaw. But it happened  there was  creeeeeek noise at the bottom and in a few days later ( 3 days or a week  i dont remmber) the oil sleek was observed on the floor of the parking room.  It shelled me about 2k for welding n other related costs.      

SO WE HAVE TO EITHER FIGHT for a scientifically acceptable SPEED BREAKERS in all roads so that SPEED ALONE IS BROKEN AND NOT NOT THE VEHICLE BE BROKEN. Its worth lakhs of rupees  hard earned money of individuals. 

I am sorry if hurt any in this forum.

MOGILI  

GC is not the only factor but higher the GC the more the car will move freely without scraping the bottom.

Whether you drive at a snail speed, it going to happen here.  This is INDIA