I am planning to buy an SUV for myself and my family. My daily driving will be around 80 km, and I plan to do occasional off-roading once a month. My average monthly driving is about 2,000 km. I am looking for a powerful, safe, and secure vehicle with 7 seats that is also economical. I am open to electric, hybrid, petrol, and diesel options, but not CNG. Since I have high running, I am also looking for low running costs. Please suggest, as I plan to make the purchase within the next 2 months.

I’m quite confused about my next car upgrade and would really appreciate some advice from people who have experience travelling with large families and pets. We are a family of six: my wife, our child, my parents, our dog and me. Until now, I’ve been using a Tata Punch, which has served us reasonably well. However, with our little baby, things have become considerably more complicated. A five-seater no longer seems practical, especially when we travel with luggage and our dog. My usage is a mix of daily commuting (around 20 km a day) and family road trips. We usually undertake 3-4 long trips a year with approx 3-4k kms round trip. I’ve been considering three options: 1. Tata Sierra The idea here is to use all five seats for the family and create a padded, bed-like platform in the boot for our dog. I could use the space underneath the platform for luggage. The ROX edition’s roof carrier is another interesting option, although I’m unsure about the legal restrictions on roof-mounted luggage carriers and whether they could attract challans in states such as Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. 2. Tata Safari The Safari offers the advantage of a third row. I’m wondering whether I could fold down half of the third row to accommodate luggage while keeping the other half for my dog. I’d probably need to install some sort of secure partition or cage to prevent luggage from shifting onto the dog or flying forward during sudden braking. However, I’m not sure how practical or safe this arrangement would be. 3. Toyota Innova Hycross (GXO) Given that my daily commute is relatively short, I’m not convinced that the hybrid’s additional cost would be justified by fuel savings alone. However, the Hycross’s cabin and luggage space are appealing. I’m wondering whether the third-row floor and boot could be configured to create a sufficiently large, flat and comfortable space for my dog while still accommodating our luggage. At this stage, these are just ideas, and I’m not sure how practical any of them would be in real-world conditions. I’d particularly appreciate advice from people who travel with their dogs, especially on long road trips. How do you manage luggage, ensure your pet’s safety and keep the cabin comfortable for everyone? Are there any other vehicles or practical modifications I should consider? One important consideration is that our baby is still very small, so we don’t have any major trips planned in the immediate future. I’m perfectly happy to postpone our next big road trip for a year or so. Consequently, I’m in no hurry to buy a car and am open to waiting for upcoming launches if something more suitable is on the horizon. I’d love to hear about your actual experiences, particularly with pet-friendly car setups, rather than just theoretical suggestions. Any advice on the choice of vehicle, safe modifications or alternative configurations would be greatly appreciated.

I read a news report that Mahindra is planning range-extender and strong-hybrid powertrains. Is there a possibility of Mahindra launching a diesel PHEV in models like the Scorpio N and Scorpio Lifestyler pickup?

vrocks

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Following my previous question about replacing my 2019 Tata Hexa, which has covered 1.30 lakh km, with a new SUV or MPV within a budget of Rs 35 lakh and for a daily commute of around 90 km, we had finalised between the Scorpio N and the XUV 7XO, and had found the Scorpio more familiar than the Hexa. Now I am confused about which variant of the Scorpio N to go for: the Z8T or Z8L. The Z8L has ADAS, which isn't much use for my family and me, so is the Z8T the right choice? Although we are not in a rush and can wait another year, are there any upcoming vehicles with the same RWD diesel-manual DNA that are worth waiting for?