I have a budget of Rs.10 lakh and want an automatic car. My usage will be around 70-80% in the city and 20% on highways in Bangalore. I have shortlisted Hyundai i20 Asta IVT, Honda Amaze ZX CVT, Tata Nexon AMT Pure Plus and Maruti Suzuki Baleno AMT. I want a decent city fuel efficiency of around 10-12 kmpl. I also want a car that will not feel boring after 5-6 years and has a youthful appeal with a bit of style. Please help me choose the right one.

autocar.india

•10h

With an annual running of just 8,000km, mostly in the city, the Hyundai i20 simply makes more sense. It offers the same 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine as the Venue, but being lighter, it should feel a little more responsive and should also be slightly more fuel-efficient. Considering you're comparing the top-spec i20 Asta (O) with a mid-spec Venue HX6, the i20 also offers a more premium cabin, a richer feature list and, at over Rs 2 lakh less, represents significantly better value for money.The Hyundai Venue HX6 is worth considering if you specifically want the higher seating position and SUV styling. However, with the same engine, the extra weight means it is unlikely to offer any performance advantage, and you'll be paying a significant premium primarily for the SUV body style.Coming from a 2015 Wagon R, both cars will feel like a substantial upgrade in terms of refinement, comfort and features. Unless the higher driving position is a non-negotiable requirement, we'd save the money and choose the i20.

Hyundai i20

Hyundai Venue

autocar.india

•1d

Pick the Tata Altroz for your trips. It stays flatter through ghats than the Punch and feels steadier than the i20, which helps people who get sick. On winding Konkan roads, side-to-side roll and float at the back are what trigger nausea; the Altroz sits lower and has a firmer, more tied-down tune, so there’s less sway in bends and less bobbing over crests. It is calm at highway speeds, too, so your family won’t be tossed about.A few tips for travel sickness: seat the most sensitive person in front and tell them to keep looking out and at the road and horizon. Motion sickness is caused mainly due to your body receiving differing signals, so if your are reading you eyes and looking down and at something steady, but your body is sensing motion. Thus, for people who feel sick its best to look out of the windows and not at a phone, for example. Also, if required, keep the windows cracked a bit for fresh air, which helps, and take short breaks more often rather than one break after a long drive. Eat a light meal and lime and ginger if you can, as it helps reduce nausea.

Tata Altroz

Tata Punch

Hyundai i20

autocar.india

•20h

Pick the Honda City SV. With 30 km a day in Bengaluru traffic and quarterly 300 km runs, it will feel easier, smoother and cheaper to live with. Honda’s reliability and service consistency are stronger, the petrol is smoother in stop-go traffic, and you will see better mileage than the Nexon petrol. On the highway, the City sits more calmly at speed and its rear seat and ride comfort make those long trips less tiring.Safety is where the Nexon has the edge on paper, and its ground clearance and smaller footprint help over nasty speed breakers and tight parking. It also packs more features for the price. But your order of priorities puts reliability, handling, comfort and mileage before gadgets, and the City nails those every day.One honest caveat: the SV variant is light on features, and you must slow for big speed breakers with a full load. If that worries you more than fuel costs and smoothness, the Nexon Creative makes sense, but for your use, the City gives better long-term value.

Honda City

Tata Nexon