I have a Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid, and I am extremely satisfied with its mileage (900-1000 km from 45 liters). However, I am losing the joy of driving. I migrated to this car after owning a Swift Dzire Diesel and an XL6. The mismatch between engine revs and acceleration is becoming unpleasant. Overtaking feels riskier, and even the brakes feel spongy. I have experienced a few unpleasant situations because of this. As a result, I have reduced my overall speed, making the safety of my family a bigger priority. But the driver in me is unhappy. Should I upgrade to the Duster Hybrid, the Hycross Hybrid, or the newly launched Sierra EV? Also, do diesel engines still make sense today?

autocar.india

•1d

At Rs 8-10 lakh, there are no hybrid cars available in India. The only options in this price range are mild hybrids, which offer a small efficiency boost but do not provide the fuel savings or electric-only driving of a proper strong hybrid system. If you are specifically looking for a hybrid with a sunroof, you will need to increase your budget to around Rs 20 lakh or more, where cars like the Maruti Suzuki Victoris Hybrid, Grand Vitara Hybrid and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder Hybrid become available. These are proper strong hybrids and are among the most efficient cars in India today.If your budget is fixed at Rs 8-10 lakh, the best approach is to focus on a good mild hybrid car with a sunroof, such as the Maruti Suzuki Fronx or Brezza. If space is not the highest priority, get the Fronx, as it is better value for money, giving you more features for your money. The Brezza, however, has more interior space, more powerful engines and a 5-star Bharat NCAP crash test rating, so it could be the better choice.But then your other requirement - a sunroof - will not be met by either of these, as Maruti only offers this feature in higher variants. So if that is of the highest priority, check out a petrol car like the Hyundai i20, Tata Punch or Kia Sonet. Overall, our recommendation is to go for one of the mild-hybrid Maruti models and forego the sunroof. It's the better decision in the long run.

Maruti Suzuki Victoris

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder

Maruti Suzuki Fronx

Maruti Suzuki Brezza

Hyundai i20

Tata Punch

Kia Sonet

autocar.india

•23h

With your usage of just 20-30 km a month plus a few long trips a year, an EV is actually a very sensible choice. You have home charging, which is the biggest hurdle for most buyers, and your low monthly running means you will not be burning fuel idling in the garage. The occasional long trips are manageable with planning, and modern EVs like the Sierra EV or XEV 9s offer enough range for most intercity runs with a single charging stop. The key advantage here is that you avoid the E20 question altogether. Modern petrol engines are E20 compliant, but higher ethanol blends do reduce fuel efficiency slightly, and with your low usage, the fuel savings of a petrol car are negligible anyway.If you are set on a D-segment SUV, the Mahindra XEV 9s is the most practical choice. It offers a spacious cabin, good performance and despite its size is easy to drive in the city as well.

Mahindra XEV 9S

Tata Sierra EV

autocar.india

•1d

Given your usage of less than 1,000km a month with a 60:40 city-highway mix in NCR, the Kia Seltos HTX(A) DCT is the better fit. The Seltos turbo petrol DCT is a strong performer with good mid-range torque, making it well-suited for mountain drives and highway overtakes. It also offers a more polished ownership experience with Kia’s wider service network and better dealership consistency, which is important for long-term peace of mind.The Mahindra XUV 7XO petrol automatic is a more powerful and larger SUV, but it is also heavier and less efficient, which is a concern given your low running. The Seltos strikes a better balance between performance, efficiency and ease of ownership. The new Duster is a genuinely enjoyable driver’s car, but as a package does not score well against the Seltos in terms of equipment and space.The Seltos HTX(A) DCT is the most sensible choice here.

Kia Seltos

Mahindra XUV 7XO

Renault Duster