[Sabrish]

That's a tricky list Nevertheless, there a quite a few good options listed. I am sure many have spoken about the popular ones. Let me add my experience on a car that's often left out due to reduced user experiences "The Kiger"

While the fascia may suggest it as a Kwid on steroids, its way more than that.

A few pointers why it’s good & practical:

1. Space: This is the most spacious in its segment - Period. You can seat 5 adults with good knee room while you may rub shoulders a bit. So, 4 adults are a breeze in a Kiger. The seating is at the right angle in the rear & the diver has a commanding view of the road ahead! I’m sure the driver will appreciate that. Spacious boot is an icing on the cake.

2. Engine: Turbo-CVT is a perfect buddy for the city and those occasional highway runs! It’s comfortable shifting seamlessly with no rubber band effects / a jerky movement forward. Kudos to Renault for this.

3. Fuel Efficiency: The Odo showed ranges from 12 in the city to 22 on the highway. This is with a combination of sedate & spirited driving. I can safely say that it returns a very decent efficiency. You can save the CNG cost 😊

4. Features: The top of line offers all that you would need except for the likes of Sunroof / ventilated seats etc. The Rear Camera does the job while not being over the top. The stock ICE set up is brilliant, unless you have an audiophile in you. The modes are cool too – The efficiency I mentioned above is with the standard mode, so you have an economy & a sports mode. The speedo is awesome as well.

5. Safety / Ratings: This meets the requirements; I am sure the NCAP ratings talk for them too. Rest assured that you are not buying a weak structure!

6. Pricing: This is where the Kiger kills it all. For a 11. something you get the top of the line Turbo CVT. This is simply put bang for the buck. I bet no other car comes even close to it in terms of practicality / sensible choice.

I have a Skoda Rapid TSI coming from a Fiat Punto & a Ford Aspire (both Diesel versions) & found Kiger to be super comfortable to drive with all boxes checked. Experienced this on multiple drives from a close friend who owns it.
P.S. Kiger wasn’t even considered when he was looking at replacing his Elite I20, this just appeared out of nowhere and its now here It just impressed me!

[Kartikaygaur]

Hi Shreyans,

I am from Faridabad too and kind of in a similar situation. I'm really looking forward to the updated Brezza, especially in CNG guise. No nonsense vehicle, easy on the pocket and the spy shots are not bad at all. Would suggest you to wait for the same. However, the factory fit CNG will most likely not have the automatic gearbox.

[RaceHorse]

Since you said beater car and assuming it will be mostly driven inside city and you are not seeking any driving thrills out of this car,
I suggest the best beater cars in current market are

Honda Amaze CVT (Soft suspension is better suited for city roads)
Brezza petrol AT (excellent for city run about, 4 speed AT is more than sufficient in daily traffic conditions)

Since a beater car is occupied by a single or max two persons at a time I suggest Polo Highline plus AT is also an excellent choice. It has fun factor as well.

[jayram.r]

You have more than enough cars in the garage. Why not use public transport, ola, uber?
Environmentalists will also be thankful.
However if a purchase is inevitable, Honda Amaze automatic is reliable and fits your budget.

[Candy$Cars]

Read the entire thread, I am surprised no one suggested the Tigor EV yet.
You already have solar panels installed, an EV makes the most sense as city car. Plus, almost all other cars in the price range have one deal breaker or the other!

Check out the Tigor EV, if you find the seats alright, you can get the top model under 15 lacs on road. If it is a beater car, I guess you can make do with losing some fancy features, TATA's have good music systems anyway. Plus, Tigor has good ground clearance and is well built. I think it ticks the most boxes, all you need is to check the seats in person.

[Rshreyansh]

After checking out the cars suggested by fellow members, do check out the Korean Twins.

Although you have said you don't have any particular need for Seltos or Creta, but I think you should not rule them out just now. The facelift version of the Creta would be coming by the time your search will gain momentum, and my guess is it would be better equipped than it already is, so have both of them in your shortlist.

Both of them are equipped with proper automatics (your main reason of ruling out many cars from your list does not apply here) be it the CVT or the conventional Torque Converter. The Seltos also ticks most of your boxes except for ride quality but I do not think it would be a deal breaker, if it turns out to be one, you have the Creta looking at you.

[stringbh]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

The Polo doesn't really have a good back seat. It's only really gonna work if it's used by one or two people, not a family of four.

This is correct. Otherwise, it would have been the first choice. You cannot go wrong with Venue or Sonet for a beater car. I know people who got either one of these just for the quick daily runs in the city.

[Kickdown]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

MG ZS EV
Feels nice and premium. Enough range, minimum running costs. Comfortable seats. Horribly bouncy rear suspension, as bad as City. Too expensive. Dropped

Really? I have driven the MG ZS and absolutely loved it. But I also agree that the rear seat is horribly bouncy. So much so that it gave me a headache merely 5 mins into the drive when I was seated in the rear (on a rough road though). But I am surprised you compared it with the Honda City. Is City's rear seat really that bad? I drove the City but haven't checked the rear seat ride. Might have to do that now.

Sorry to digress from your core point but I ask because I will be on a look out for a sedan next year and City was the prime candidate although Slavia is also in contention subject to its pricing.

[Pedalmasher_20]

Buy whatever car you want, but keep this one thing in mind... If you're planning to add-on an aftermarket CNG kit in order to lower your running costs, then would recommend you to stay away from the Turbo-Petrols. Most of the aftermarket CNG kit installers are not skilled enough to tune the kit properly with the Turbo-Petrol engine and later on, you'd have to face many issues...



My recommendation:-

• If you want to install aftermarket CNG kit later on, then buy N.A. engine cars. Have a look at Brezza/Urban Cruiser, S Cross, Baleno/Glanza CVT, Hyundai Creta/Kia Seltos IVT, MG Astor CVT, Renault Duster/Nissan Kicks CVT. Would further suggest you to go with Maruti Suzuki cars as their 1.5 K15B and 1.2 K12N are tried and tested engines with CNG kits and wouldn't throw up any headaches in the future.

• If you want to buy a petrol powered car then I'd suggest you to look at Kia Sonet/Huyndai Venue DCT, Renault Kiger/Nissan Magnite CVT, Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun.

• If you somehow manage to convince your heart to go for an AMT this time, then would highly suggest you to look at the WagonR 1.2 AMT. You could later on install an aftermarket CNG kit in it and would be easy on your pocket at the time of buying as well as in running costs.

[Torq]

I am in a similar phase, upgrading from a Tiago diesel (ran about 1.05L kms now).
Contemplating venue/sonet diesel or amaze diesel currently.

[speedracer05]

do TD S-Cross automatic, transmission does the job (especially for city), you won't find it lacking. S-Cross is really good in terms of build, suspension setup, cabin and seats. Surprisingly good VFM.

[bled_soul]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

?

The seats of the Nexon did not work for us, front or back. Else, I would have got home a Nexon EV. Seat contouring and comfort is a critical point for us as it is one of our main gripes with City. All of us are prone to getting neck pain.

Why don't you get the seats recontoured at a good interior shop? Since it doesn't have seat airbags, it's doable. Won't mess with anything else in the car and you can get it custom made to your liking. Shouldn't cost a lot either from what I believe, and would have the great advantage of an EV's running cost and the versatility of the Nexon.

[speedracer05]

Originally Posted by bled_soul

Why don't you get the seats recontoured at a good interior shop?

I dint know this was possible, do you mean change cushioning in the seat or replace with a new one?

[CArspeed]

Originally Posted by Kickdown

Sorry to digress from your core point but I ask because I will be on a look out for a sedan next year and City was the prime candidate although Slavia is also in contention subject to its pricing.

The City’s rear is extremely bouncy and will affect even a person having a healthy backbone. I had the worst nightmare of sitting in the rear when I was not driving from Pune to Chennai and vowed not to take City’s rear seat again. I was again smitten when I had to take the rear seat from Kovai to Salem in my friends City.

[Kickdown]

Originally Posted by CArspeed

The City’s rear is extremely bouncy and will affect even a person having a healthy backbone. I had the worst nightmare of sitting in the rear when I was not driving from Pune to Chennai and vowed not to take City’s rear seat again. I was again smitten when I had to take the rear seat from Kovai to Salem in my friends City.

Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely take an extended test drive on the City. Probably spend more time in the back seat.