I have a budget of around ₹15 lakh and am looking to buy my first car. I need a feature-rich 5-seater compact or mid-size SUV that prioritizes fuel efficiency. My expected usage is approximately 1,500 km per month (1,000 km in the city and 500 km on the highway). What would you suggest?

Autocar India

•3h

With your daily running of around 50-60 km, your monthly usage will easily cross 1,500 km, so choosing a fuel with low running costs makes sense. In this case, CNG is generally a better fit than diesel, especially since most of your driving is in the city.One of the better options to consider is the Tata Nexon CNG. Unlike most CNG cars, the Nexon uses a turbo-petrol engine, which means it still feels reasonably strong and comfortable even on the highway. The turbo engine produces good torque, which helps maintain performance despite running on CNG. This makes the Nexon CNG a good balance between low running costs for the city and decent highway performance for weekend drives.Another practical option is the Maruti Suzuki Brezza CNG, particularly the LXi or VXi variants. The Brezza uses a 1.5-litre engine with factory-fitted CNG. It is known for being smooth and reliable while still offering good mileage and reasonable performance.

Tata Nexon

Maruti Suzuki Brezza

Autocar India

•4h

We would recommend you look at the new upcoming Skoda Kushaq. It sits above the compact SUV segment but is still not too large and is among the smaller of the mid-size SUVs, thus it remains quite easy and manageable in the city. The Kushaq is well equipped with many standard safety features and has scored a 5-star crash rating in the GNCAP tests, thus it meets your priority of safety too. Since you are driving in the city and looking for fuel efficiency too, we would suggest the 1.0 litre engine, which will launch with an 8-speed torque convertor automatic transmission. Torque convertors are the smoothest type of automatic transmission around, which you will appreciate in the city stop-and-go traffic. Being an 8-speed (earlier was a 6-speed unit), mileage should also improve over the previous car. It returned a figure of 8.5kpl in the city, 12.4 kpl on the highway, in our standard test cycle. Stay tuned to our channel as we will be driving the car shortly.

Skoda Kushaq facelift

Autocar India

•19h

The Kia Carens Clavis would be a good option for you. The insides and comfy, and the third row is spacious for two adults and has AC vents as well as type C ports for charging. With three rows up, there's also a fairly useable 216-litres of boot space, and there is some more space under the boot floor too.Kia cars have proven to be quite reliable, and this would serve you well since you plan to keep it for a long time. The car is well-equipped with a host of safety features that are standard, and since mileage is also your priority, we would suggest you opt for the diesel or the naturally aspirated (non-turbo) 1.5-litre petrol engine.

Kia Carens Clavis