[srasania]

thanks sbasak..good article on automatics.
I have a NHC CVT,and works well..no problems..plan to use it for atleast 4 years (have taken 4 years extended warranty for the car)..
Gives a decent mileage of around 11.5kms/litre in City with AC on 90% of the time.
As for the discussion,yeah,even I feel Santro is best bet for cheapest automatic.

sr

[devarshi84]

Well a word from my side.


In smal cars or new cars within 3 lacs the best bet would be a hyundai santro

But if the car is needed due to some limb handicap or problems I would recommend a special a/t car from Maruti

A used OHC A/t would be good too but santro is the best A/t car to buy in your budget.

[DDiSLover]

Reviving this thread. What is the best automatic cheap car available in the market?

Contenders are:
1. Maruti Celerio
2. Hyundai Santro
3. Renault KWID
4. Datsun Redi-GO
5. Maruti Wagon R

Anything else?

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by DDiSLover

reviving this thread, what is the best automatic cheap car available in the market?

Anything else?

Cheapest and best?
Spresso VXi AMT

Almost cheap
Celerio VXi AMT

Going by lots of reviews, I can only trust Maruti with their AMT

[TrackDay]

I think a better question would be what's the cheapest TC (Torque Converter) & CVT available right now.

[DDiSLover]

Originally Posted by RavSam

Cheapest and best?
Spresso VXi AMT

Almost cheap
Celerio VXi AMT

Going by lots of reviews, I can only trust Maruti with their AMT

Good catch. I wish Maruti still offered the Alto 800 with AMT :(

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by TrackDay

I think a better question would be what's the cheapest TC (Torque Converter) & CVT available right now.

Previously Brio (and Amaze) was kind of the cheapest TC - with more than 4 speed - gearbox.

Now we have the Datsun Go and Go+ CVT

But the current best ones are still near the 10 lakh mark: the Amaze, Kiger and Magnite

Originally Posted by DDiSLover

Good catch. I wish Maruti still offered the Alto 800 with AMT :(

Alto K10 was the one with AMT, the Alto 800 was always manual. I think that a car with lesser than 1000cc would be better off with a CVT than an AMT.

There is an upcoming hatchback which looks to be bigger than Alto but cheaper than Celerio. May be the replacement of Alto K10 for those unable to digest the S-Presso's looks and want a conventional hatchback.

[DDiSLover]

Originally Posted by RavSam

...
Alto K10 was the one with AMT, the Alto 800 was always manual. I think that a car with lesser than 1000cc would be better off with a CVT than an AMT.

There is an upcoming hatchback which looks to be bigger than Alto but cheaper than Celerio. May be the replacement of Alto K10 for those unable to digest the S-Presso's looks and want a conventional hatchback.

Correct, I meant the K10

Do you have any more info on the upcoming vehicle? I fall into the category of people who cannot digest the S-Presso - looks and everything else.

Thanks!

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by DDiSLover

Correct, I meant the K10

Do you have any more info on the upcoming vehicle? I fall into the category of people who cannot digest the S-Presso - looks and everything else.

Thanks!

This thread:
https://www.team-bhp.com/news/next-g...ed-undisguised

Says "Next Gen Celerio" but with those flap-type door handles, I'm not sure if it's Celerio or K10 or something else.

But when Maruti removed the adjustable headrests from the Wagon-R, you never know when they might downgrade few useful features for addition of some bling!

[Nimz]

Hi there. Just leveraging the same thread as am in a similar predicament. With Covid on the loose, my wife (and I agree with her) is not keen to take public transport / Ola / Uber. Since it is also not possible for me to drive her around. We have two options:
1..Hire a driver
2. Buy a second car.

Given the usage is very limited and irregular - once or twice a week it doesn't make sense for a driver (and am not too keen on letting my car being driven by someone else).

Hence we are looking at a small automatic hatchback which we could use for short runs + driven by my wife. The options available today seems like the Celerio AMT or the Spresso AMT. Anything else we could consider?

Nimz

[Aafaq]

Originally Posted by Nimz

Hi there. Just leveraging the same thread as am in a similar predicament. With Covid on the loose, my wife (and I agree with her) is not keen to take public transport / Ola / Uber. Since it is also not possible for me to drive her around. We have two options:
1..Hire a driver
2. Buy a second car.

Given the usage is very limited and irregular - once or twice a week it doesn't make sense for a driver (and am not too keen on letting my car being driven by someone else).

Hence we are looking at a small automatic hatchback which we could use for short runs + driven by my wife. The options available today seems like the Celerio AMT or the Spresso AMT. Anything else we could consider?

Nimz

Do checkout the Hyundai Santro AMT, it has nice interiors with one extra cylinder, offers good drivability and comfort.

[raksrules]

Originally Posted by Nimz

Hi there. Just leveraging the same thread as am in a similar predicament. With Covid on the loose, my wife (and I agree with her) is not keen to take public transport / Ola / Uber. Since it is also not possible for me to drive her around. We have two options:
1..Hire a driver
2. Buy a second car.

Given the usage is very limited and irregular - once or twice a week it doesn't make sense for a driver (and am not too keen on letting my car being driven by someone else).

Hence we are looking at a small automatic hatchback which we could use for short runs + driven by my wife. The options available today seems like the Celerio AMT or the Spresso AMT. Anything else we could consider?

Nimz

I am in exact same position, difference being it will be first car for us and we are non drivers. Only have driven camry in US which doesn't count as driving in India is a totally different ball game.
We want to spend as little as we can on a used car as being new drivers, chances are that the car will be abused without we intending to.

[Vishal.R]

Originally Posted by Nimz

The options available today seems like the Celerio AMT or the Spresso AMT. Anything else we could consider?

We were in similar situation. Criteria was simple, cheapest and clutchless.

Natural candidates were Spresso and Kwid. Did not consider Kwid due to lack of manual mode. I was not very keen on Spresso but still visited showroom, wife liked instantly and appeared batter in person.

I still tried to convince her to take test drive of Santro but she was not keen to spend 70k more, so finally Spresso VXI+ with all the bells and whistles () is part of our family now.

So I would suggest to visit Maruti and Hyundai show rooms and if possible (in current situations) take Test drive of both.

About Celerio, please check with dealers if any stock of outgoing model us available.

One factor which may help Santro is recent announcement by Govt to make passenger air bags mandatory, as earlier Magna AMT did not have it.

Wagon R provides highest amount of real estate in this segment but may not be a priority as it's 2nd car.

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by Aafaq

Do checkout the Hyundai Santro AMT, it has nice interiors with one extra cylinder, offers good drivability and comfort.

True but it costs a lot more compared to the Spresso.. but will check it out too.

[sodapop]

Originally Posted by Nimz

Hi there. Just leveraging the same thread as am in a similar predicament. With Covid on the loose, my wife (and I agree with her) is not keen to take public transport / Ola / Uber. Since it is also not possible for me to drive her around. We have two options:
1..Hire a driver
2. Buy a second car.

Given the usage is very limited and irregular - once or twice a week it doesn't make sense for a driver (and am not too keen on letting my car being driven by someone else).

Hence we are looking at a small automatic hatchback which we could use for short runs + driven by my wife. The options available today seems like the Celerio AMT or the Spresso AMT. Anything else we could consider?

Nimz

I would say its best if you get a quality used car which is not AMT. It is a very jugaadu technology and for around 5 lakhs all you get are poor quality automatics which you will get bored off soon enough. I would say a Brio AT or Grand i10 AT used. They are much better, nicer and safer cars in general and you won't get bored or face major issues in these(unlike AMTs)

Originally Posted by raksrules

I am in exact same position, difference being it will be first car for us and we are non drivers. Only have driven camry in US which doesn't count as driving in India is a totally different ball game.
We want to spend as little as we can on a used car as being new drivers, chances are that the car will be abused without we intending to.

Just as I told Nimz, an i10 AT or Brio AT should be a good car to start on. If you still don't want to spend about 5 lakhs on a used car which you might have to dispose off sooner than later after you're acquainted to indian roads, a late model (2012-13ish) Santro Xing AT should be an ideal car. Very practical, spacious, easy to drive, a proper TC box and easy and cheap service. It even has an absolute chiller of an AC!