Budget Rs. 8.5 lakh: Petrol AT car for a first time driver

Even though I tried to convince her to check the WagonR once, she said a strict NO to Maruti.

BHPian RaghavEvoX recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am posting this on behalf of my sister who wants to buy a new Petrol automatic car under 8.5 lakhs OTR.

This is going to be her first car and she doesn't have any driving experience before.

She doesn't want to try the used market fearing high maintenance costs and also many flood affected cars comes in the Chennai used market.

Requirements:

• Budget - 8.5 lakhs OTR max hard stop.
• Petrol automatic.
• Reliable city car which is easy to drive with reasonable safety.
• Performance & mileage are not factors considered as it will be only used for a 20km city drive everyday.
• No to Maruti.

Cars considered (under 8.5 lakhs OTR Chennai):

• Renault Kiger RXT AMT - 8.5L.
• Tata Punch Adventure AMT- 8L.
• Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Magna AMT - 7.8L.
• Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Sportz AMT- 8.5L.
• Tata Tiago XZA AMT- 7.7L.
• Hyundai Santro Sportz AMT - 7L.
• Renault Kwid Climber AMT - 6.4L

Not considered:

• Hyundai Aura: Don't really require a bigger boot. OK with i10 boot space.
• Tata Tigor: Don't really require a bigger boot. OK with Tiago boot space.
• Maruti Swift / Dzire/ Ignis /Celerio / WagonR / S-Presso: No to Maruti.

Even though I tried to convince her to check the WagonR once, she said a strict NO to Maruti.

Among the cars considered, we have cherry picked the Tata Punch, Tata Tiago, Hyundai Santro & Hyundai i10 Nios (all AMTs) based on the reviews on Team BHP.

Even though Tata cars score highly in safety, their mediocre AMT gearbox gives us a reason to consider other alternatives, which leaves us with Hyundai Grand i10 Nios & Santro.

Request some suggestions from fellow BHPians.

Here's what BHPian condor had to say on the matter:

Despite all the features, I will keep out the Renaults.

Suggest your sis take at least 2 drives in the Hyundai & Tata models short listed, and then further trim the list. As important as the cars are, the driver's comfort is equally important.

Here's what BHPian shashi792 had to say on the matter:

I would suggest the Tata Punch:

• High on safety.
• SUVish seating position, visibility of bonnet ends is imp for new drivers.
• Petrol automatic: I know it's not a turbo-petrol, but based on your needs it fits the bill.
• The AMT might be an issue for someone who has already tried TC/DSG. But for a first-timer, the AMT behaves pretty well.

Renault Kwid Climber AMT - 6.4L is a big NO from my end. It's too late in its gen and not safe as such.

Here's what BHPian AjinkyaP had to say on the matter:

I would suggest to extend the budget a bit and get a CVT equipped car.

If it has to be an AMT , go with Hyundai. They have smoother automated manuals in the segment, especially Santro AMT.

Small yet significant detail:

While test driving Nios AMT I noticed - Unlike Maruti AMTs , Hyundai ones will upshift only when certain speed/RPM is reached and not when you lift-off the accelerator pedal.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.