Is ground clearance the only factor while buying a car?

Is ground clearance the only factor while buying a car?

Most of say so and so has this much ground clerance so this is the vechile we have to buy.

Is it the only factor we have to consider?

How important is ground clearance?

I would like ur opnions on this issue.

Sorry if i have offende any one

Mod Please move this to appropiate thread

Hi Bhardwaj,

What an awesome topic to discuss. Lots of our friends across lots of threads have raised this issue of Ground Clearance being a critical factor.

My individual opinion is that though GC is not the only criteria, but it is a critical criteria while buying a car. Reason being, the condition of roads in India is such that you need to consider it while buying a car. Some where or the other you do tend to come across a nice heighted speed breaker of a deep broad pot hole / patch on the road. 

Would love to hear from other friends, what are their thoughts on this.

Hi Bhardwaj,

Nice topic. Currently I am stuck between choosing a Fiat linea 1.4 pk and Chevrolet Aveo 2009 1.4 LT ABS.

One critical factor i found was that linea had a ground clearance of only 165mm and Aveo has 180 mm.Price wise not much difference in them, fuel economy almost same, lookwise both look good, so only deciding factors in them are the ground clearance and safety features.

My personal preferrence of driving is that I don't want to be concerned abt bad roads, bumps etc while driving..the car should be sturdy enough to deal with it ..

So this ground clearance thing is pulling me more towards Aveo.

Please advice.

Thanks and Regards,

Jay.

Maruti gypsy has much more ground clearance so would everyone buy that car? No. no matter what car you drive (Not suv) it will get hit once in a while mostly the bumper. Manufacturers have desinged their cars adequate enough for indian roads. and perhaps if the driver makes sure to go slow over big breakers then i doubt there'd be any issue.  

Edit: Also the more GC the less it will be planted on high speed.

yea..ur post does ring a bell..i faintly remember studyin in collg days..the lower the center of gravity, more the stability (i m not a mech guy)

hence keepin a lower ground clearance must b for stability, but the question is, is 165 mm ground clearance offered by linea good enough for indian roads without doing much damage to the bottom part of the vehicle..

I cannot imagine drivin bothered by the this issue all the time, takes out the drivin pleasure and also it can cost significantly to fix any damage due to this.

Unnecessary High Ground Clearance might also mean a bumpy ride for the back seaters.

An unneccessary high ground clearance makes the vehicle bumpy.

I am of the opinion that on ideal roads, if the vehicle is to be driven fast, it should have a low ground clearance and should be high if u want to go offroad at a considerable speed.

In fact the Lexus LD470 SUV has three levels of automatic adjustment for the ground clearance.The lowest one is used while cruising the highways at higher speed, the medium is used in general conditions and the highest GC setting is used while offroading.

In India particularly in the metros, in my opinion, cars with a considerable GC of 165mm above is fine. Every now and then one might find an unnegotiable speed breaker. Thas fine. No point complaining.

A fact is that a there are less chances of a vehicle with low ground clearance going out of control while negotiating a curve etc. 

Regards,

Vinay Pillai

While it is true that GC is a critical factor, I would put it in a different way: It should not be the criteria for selecting a car, but yes, for rejecting a car. In India, you do need a high GC: period.

Yes, higher GC means higher centre of gravity and therefore higher chances of toppling over. But the case of toppling would come if you are driving on a "Maut ka Kuan" or something. Under normal conditions, if you drive sensibly, you would not topple.

Lower GC is not bad only in case of poorly designed bumpers, but also on bad roads. My SX4 for e.g. has hit just one bumper thus far, and I have driven through every hook and corner of Delhi NCR. There are few bumpers where I have seen bumpers that even big cars like civic getting hit every time. One literally has to bring the car to zero and then slowly crawl over them to avoid scratching the underbody. I on the other hand, cross it safely at 10 - 15 kms on second or at times even on third gear at 20+, still don't hit the bumper (though it is the only bumper I have hit, but that was at 30+). So high GC helps.

However, as I said earlier do not buy a car that has anything less than 165. if the car is heavy then even 165 can be less. But it should not be the sole criteria to chose a car.

Guys

When we talk about GC - what the car product info gives is the GC without load. Always remember as to how many passengers are with you inside your car when cruising over abnormal humps. We tend to forget the load/passengers in the car when cruising on roads which we use daily driving alone.

GC should be taken care as it can damaged the under body and even great damage to AXLE.

Low GC is not good as per Indian Road conditions as we are not having as smooth and good roads in Europe