One of my friends wants to purchase a premium SUV for less than ₹42 lakh. Which car is the best choice for daily use and long-distance family travel?

autocar.india

•1h

Unfortunately, there are presently no hybrid cars in your price range of Rs 10-15 lakh, and you'll have to stretch to at least Rs 20 lakh to get one. If you can, go for the Maruti Suzuki Victoris Strong Hybrid. In Gurgaon’s stop-go traffic, it will run on electric power a lot of the time, so it is quiet and very light on fuel, and you can expect a realistic 20-25kpl in normal driving. It also has a 5-star safety rating under Bharat NCAP and Global NCAP, with six airbags and ESP, which suits your highway runs to Jhansi.For Shimla or Manali, the electric motor helps you pull cleanly at low speeds on climbs, ground clearance is fine, and the hybrid system keeps the engine from constantly hunting gears. Some downsides to keep in mind: strong hybrids do not give a long EV-only range like plug-in hybrids, which are far more expensive. They glide on EV often in the city, but will introduce the engine under heavy loads or high speeds. Also, the hybrid’s battery eats into boot space, and on steep hills with a full load, the engine can sound busy if you push. If you truly want a long electric-only range, you are looking at very pricey plug-in hybrids.

Maruti Suzuki Victoris

autocar.india

•3h

Buy the Camry. It delivers the calm, premium sedan feel you want, and the hybrid really does lower city fuel costs. In traffic it pulls away on battery, the engine joins smoothly, and you can see around 18-22 kpl in the city if you drive gently. The back seat is properly spacious and comfy, the ride is soft enough to take bad roads in stride, and the cabin stays quiet. On highways, it cruises easily and feels upmarket without shouting about it. The honest downside is price. You pay a fair bit more upfront than some roomy SUVs.If your running is mostly city and you like relaxed driving, go for the Camry with confidence.

Toyota Camry

autocar.india

•7h

No, we wouldn't consider the Kushaq 1.0 TSI 8AT a risky purchase from a reliability standpoint. The new gearbox isn't an all-new, unproven transmission. It replaces the earlier Aisin-sourced 6-speed torque converter (AQ250) with a newer Aisin 8-speed torque converter (AQ300). So Skoda has stuck with a proven supplier and transmission type rather than moving to something more complex.In fact, the new 8-speed brings some tangible improvements. It helps improve fuel efficiency and emissions, the low-speed creep behaviour is better controlled than before and the shifts are smoother and more seamless. It is also noticeably quicker, with our testing showing a 0-100kph time of 11.57 seconds, compared to 13.16 seconds for the old 6-speed automatic. The gearbox even feels surprisingly responsive in manual mode, with quick paddle-shift responses that give it a slightly sportier character than most torque-converter automatics.

Skoda Kushaq