I’m planning to upgrade to a sedan with a good seating height and without a clutch. My monthly usage is about 500 km in the city, which has heavy traffic and many potholes. My priorities are mileage and driving comfort. I’m not sure if an EV would be a good choice. I considered the Tata Harrier EV, but dropped the idea after learning about multiple issues. My budget is around ₹25 lakh.

Autocar India

•23h

Consider the Hyundai Creta Electric 51.4kWh. Your 35 km daily city run is a breeze - one home charge can cover most of your week - and it has enough real highway range to handle your 500 km a month with one quick DC stop on longer trips.Coming from a City ZX, you will like the smooth, quiet drive and strong low-speed pull in traffic. Cabin space is good, features are plenty, and the Hyundai service network si wide spread.If you want a second option in the same price band, the Mahindra XEV 9e is a good choice, though your budget will only get you the smaller 59kWh battery pack.Overall, the Creta Electric is the sensible option for your budget and a good upgrade over your City.

Hyundai Creta Electric

Honda City

Mahindra XEV 9e

Autocar India

•1d

Go for the Honda City (petrol, manual) because it fits your 70% city use best and still feels calm on highways. The engine is smooth, the controls are light, and the rear seat and boot are a clear upgrade from your WR-V for family and luggage. With your low yearly running, petrol makes total sense, and the City’s easy manners in traffic will matter more than outright power or diesel savings.Budget-wise, the lower trims of the manual should fit within Rs. 15 lakh on-road but if you want an automatic you will need to stretch to about Rs 17 lakh. It is also an easy brand switch for you, with familiar Honda service and good long-term reliability.One thing to keep in mind coming from a WR-V: the City sits lower, so you will need a bit more care on tall speed breakers and broken roads.If you absolutely need an automatic under Rs. 15 lakh on-road, look at the Honda Amaze automatic. It is the smoothest budget automatic for city crawls and will keep costs in check, but it is smaller and feels simpler than your WR-V or the City.

Honda City

Honda Amaze

Autocar India

•2d

Go for the Maruti Suzuki Victoris strong hybrid. It keeps the SUV ground clearance that's beneficial on hill trips, yet gives real 20-plus-kpl economy and an smooth, refined automatic driving experience. As retirees you will like the relaxed drive, light controls and the long features list - ventilated seats, 360 camera, EPB with auto hold, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay - so you still get your bells and whistles without the size and thirst of your XUV700. And though the Victoris gets ADAS features, they aren't offered on the strong hybrid, but you do get cruise control, which should be helpful on long drives.While the Honda City Hybrid is an excellent option, and possibly more fuel efficient than even the Maruti Suzuki car, but its sedan shape works against it. Ground clearance is nowhere near as good, and ingress and egress could be an issue. Plus, as its hybrid system isn't localised like Maruti and Toyota's, the City Hybrid is very expensive. While the electric assist helps, as you've noted, hybrids in general are not as quick as a powerful turbocharged car like your XUV700, and the engine can sound strained when wrung out, such as on steep climbs. Also, the hybrid variant does not get AWD or hill descent. If you truly need extra grip in slush, the AWD mild-hybrid manual exists, but you will lose the auto hold feature.

Maruti Suzuki Victoris

Honda City