Autocar India
6w

For a daily city commute of around 50 km, would you recommend an EV or a petrol car?

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6w

We'd recommend an electric car for a daily city commute of around 50 km, as your usage perfectly suits an electric vehicle's strengths and you'll benefit from significantly lower running costs. City traffic is where EVs shine, instant go, smooth crawl, and they recover energy when you slow down, so you waste less in jams. With most EVs now giving real 250-400 km between charges, you’d plug in at home or office roughly twice a week, and routine upkeep is lighter than a petrol.

 

The catch is charging. If you don’t have a dependable parking spot with a socket or wallbox, living with an EV can get annoying. In that case, a simple petrol automatic is easier and cheaper to buy upfront, and it’s also better if you often do long highway trips.

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6d

Is the Maruti Suzuki Baleno AGS a Good Buy for Long Trips and City Use?

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6d

Given your usage pattern of 40% city and 60% long trips, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno AGS is actually a sensible upgrade from your 2015 Celerio AGS. The Baleno offers a more comfortable cabin, better highway stability and a more refined driving experience, which will make those long trips far more enjoyable. The AGS gearbox is also well suited to your occasional city use, keeping things simple and efficient.On the E20 front, there is no reason to worry. The Baleno is E20 compliant, and modern engines are engineered to handle this blend without any long-term reliability concerns. Maruti has also stated that their E20 engines are built for a material tolerance of slightly more than E20, so on the material front the car should be good for something like E22 for example. The main impact of a higher blend would be a reduction in fuel efficiency.The only thing to consider is whether you want to stick with AGS or move to a more conventional automatic. If you are happy with how AGS behaves, the Baleno is a solid choice. If you want a smoother and more premium automatic experience, you could look at something like the Hyundai i20 IVT or the Honda Amaze CVT instead. Both offer a more refined automatic gearbox, which can make a difference on long highway drives.Overall, the Baleno AGS is a good fit for your usage and there is no E20-related reason to avoid it. The decision really comes down to whether you are happy with AGS or want to move to a more conventional automatic.

VehicleMaruti Suzuki Baleno
VehicleHyundai i20
VehicleHonda Amaze

Posted on: 3 Jul 2026