I want to buy my first car under Rs 12 lakh. I will be learning to drive with it as well, so please suggest an SUV or sedan in my budget that is reliable, safe, and easy to maintain and operate for newcomers.

Autocar India

•15w

Among the sedans, you could shortlist the Maruti Suzuki Dzire Petrol AMT for its user-friendliness. It is likely to be a reliable and very fuel-efficient option - one you can't go wrong with.

An SUV alternative is the Hyundai Venue 1.2 Petrol, which is smooth, has light controls, and is backed by Hyundai's widespread support network.

Explore cars mentioned

Maruti Suzuki

Dzire

from ₹7.13 Lakh

Hyundai

Venue

from ₹9.07 Lakh

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Latest questions people are discussing

M Goutham Krishna

•1d

My office is located 10km from my house, with mixed city and highway driving. I am planning to buy a car which is automatic and fuel-efficient. Budget around ₹10 lakh. Could you please suggest a car that will be relevant for up to 15 years?

Autocar India

•1h

We would suggest you go for the Maruti Suzuki Fronx Delta+ AMT. The Fronx has a fuel-efficient 1.2-litre engine mated to an AMT gearbox that is well-tuned and smooth enough for daily driving. It is also fairly spacious, offers a large boot and a comfortable ride, which makes it an ideal companion for everyday city commutes and occasional highway drives.If you want something smaller and easier to manoeuvre, you can consider the Maruti Suzuki Swift AMT. It is a more compact car, which makes it even easier to drive and park in the city. However, the new Swift now comes with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine, which feels a bit less powerful compared to the Fronx’s four-cylinder engine. Because of this, the AMT gearbox also works better with the Fronx engine than it does with the Swift.Within your budget, you can also consider the Hyundai i20 IVT/CVT in the Magna variant. The CVT gearbox is very smooth, which elevates the overall driving experience and makes the car extremely easy to drive in traffic. The interiors of the i20 also feel quite premium. The only downside is that you will have to trade a bit of fuel efficiency for that smoothness, which is something to keep in mind since efficiency is an important factor for you.

Dipesh

Please suggest an automatic SUV within a budget of ₹20 lakh. My primary usage will be daily commuting in Mumbai, with a weekend drive of around 200 km once a month. I would prefer features like a 360-degree camera and good safety features, with ADAS being optional. My wife will also be driving the car, so it should be easy and comfortable to drive in city traffic.

Autocar India

•16h

In your budget, the Hyundai Venue and the Kia Syros are good options. Both come with the 1.0-litre engine and DCT gearbox, which should be a good fit for your usage. The engine offers good performance, and the DCT is generally quite smooth, with only occasional hesitation.In terms of safety, both come very well equipped, with six airbags as standard, and a 360-degree camera and ADAS available on the top variants. The Syros has also scored five stars in the Bharat NCAP crash tests, and while the Venue is yet to be officially tested, it is based on the same platform as the Syros.

Hyundai Venue

Kia Syros

Sunny

•1d

I am thinking of buying the Sonet HTK Optional DCT turbo petrol, which is around ₹12 lakh, and at the same time, the Venue HX5 turbo DCT petrol is coming at ₹13.5 lakh on-road in Bangalore. Which should I pick? Second, are heating issues still a thing to consider in both these DCT models?

Autocar India

•2h

Between the two, we would suggest going for the Kia Sonet HTK (O) DCT. The Sonet and the Venue share the same 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine paired with the DCT gearbox, so performance and the overall driving experience will be very similar. In terms of equipment as well, both these variants are quite similarly equipped, but the Sonet is around Rs 1.5 lakh cheaper, which makes it an excellent value for money.That said, the Hyundai Venue is the newer car and offers slightly better rear seat space. So if rear seat comfort is an important factor for you, that is something to keep in mind.On the topic of DCT overheating, it can happen in very heavy bumper-to-bumper traffic where the car is constantly crawling forward. However, this gearbox has been around for quite some time and has seen improvements over the years. In normal usage, it is not a major concern, and there are safety systems built in to alert you if the gearbox temperature rises too much.

Kia Sonet

Hyundai Venue

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