Planning to purchase a new automatic car for my wife, who is currently learning to drive. The primary usage will be daily commuting from home to office in Bengaluru city traffic, with occasional highway drives once every couple of months. We are looking for a compact car, as we already own a Kia Seltos Diesel. We are open to considering electric or hybrid options, provided they fit within a budget of ₹14 lakhs (ex-showroom). The purchase will be made under her company’s employee car loan scheme. Her key priorities are safety, ease of driving, comfort, and reliable service support. Which models would you recommend?

Autocar India

•1h

Choose the Tata Punch EV Empowered 40. For elderly parents’ city use and occasional highway trips, it combines easy ingress, a comfortable ride and a decent real-world range.Since most drives are in the city, the 40kWh battery should deliver around 280-300km of range, which means charging once a week is feasible. Highway use will see this drop, but a 200–250km run on a single charge is still achievable. The tall seating position and wide-opening doors make ingress and egress easier for elderly occupants, while the compact footprint and good visibility make it easy to drive and park. Ride quality is also superb, and high-speed stability is reassuring.The one trade-off is rear seat space for three passengers. It is possible to sit three abreast, but the narrow width means it can feel a bit cramped. For slightly more range and a more spacious rear seat, consider the Tata Nexon EV Empowered 45.On the test drive, have your parents check ease of entry, seat height, brake feel and the regen modes. Plus, take note of battery consumption based on their driving style.

Tata Nexon EV

Tata Punch EV

Autocar India

•1h

Go for the Maruti Suzuki Dzire ZXi+ MT. It stays well within your Rs 13 lakh budget, delivers a 24.79kpl ARAI efficiency, and offers a roomy 382‑litre boot.The Dzire also offers a comfortable and spacious cabin, and it has received a 5-star crash safety rating from Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP. You also get the peace of mind associated with Maruti ownership. The one thing you give up is the high ground clearance and elevated seating position you'd get in a compact SUV.If you want SUV-like clearance and a taller driving position, consider the Kia Sonet 1.2 HTK+(O) petrol instead. It has a claimed ARAI mileage of 18.83kpl, and its 385‑litre boot can fit in more cargo than you'd think.

Maruti Suzuki Dzire

Kia Sonet

Autocar India

•2h

The DEF or DPF, diesel particulate filter issue typically arises when the car is used only for very short drives or constant slow-speed city usage. All engines equipped with a DPF undergo a DPF regeneration cycle to avoid clogging. This process happens automatically when the exhaust temperatures rise high enough, basically when the car is driven for at least 20 to 30 minutes at speeds of about 60 kph, typical a highway drive. This process generally needs to occur once every couple of weeks. So if you have this kind of driving pattern, you should be fine.If you do not end up achieving this, you will receive a prompt to run this cycle or even a parked regen cycle, where you would have to keep the car in an open space and follow the prompts on the screen, which essentially would keep the car idling at a higher speed for up to 30 minutes.