One of the things that a rookie driver is often afraid of is stalling the vehicle on an incline. To counter it, carmakers have been offering hill-hold assist, which holds the brake for a couple of seconds even if you move the foot to accelerate the car. This feature has now gotten so democratised that it has trickled down to even entry-level cars. Here’s a list of the 5 most affordable cars in India with the hill-hold feature:
5. Maruti Suzuki Wagon R
From Rs 5.97 lakh, ex-showroom
The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R is the most expensive car in this list, priced just under Rs 6 lakh, to get hill-hold assist. The feature is available from its one-over-base VXi trim with an automated manual transmission (AMT), priced at Rs 5.97 lakh ex-showroom. The ZXi and ZXi+ trims with the same gearbox are also offered with it. The manual variants, on the other hand, do not get this feature. The Wagon R is powered by a 69hp 1.0-litre petrol engine or a 91hp 1.2-litre petrol mill.
4. Tata Tiago
From Rs 5.81 lakh, ex-showroom
Tata’s most affordable offering in India, the Tiago hatchback, gets the hill-hold feature from its mid-spec XT trim priced at Rs 5.81 lakh, ex-showroom. However, unlike the other models in this list, it gets hill-hold with both its manual (including CNG trims) and AMT options. The Tiago is powered by a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that puts out 86hp and 113Nm.
3. Maruti Suzuki Celerio
From Rs 5.61 lakh, ex-showroom
The Celerio, like the Wagon R, gets hill-hold assist only in variants with an AMT gearbox, but it is offered from the higher-spec VXi AMT that costs Rs 5.61 lakh, ex-showroom. The Celerio comes with a 1-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 69hp and 91Nm.
2. Renault Kwid
From Rs 5 lakh, ex-showroom
The Renault Kwid is the carmaker’s most affordable offering in India. Its one-above-base Evolution trim with an AMT option gets the hill-hold feature. It is priced at Rs 5 lakh, ex-showroom. The Renault hatchback is offered with a 69hp 1-litre 3-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine with both manual and AMT options. However, as mentioned before, the manual options do not offer hill-hold assist.
1. Maruti Suzuki S-Presso
From Rs 4.75 lakh, ex-showroom
With a starting price of Rs 3.50 lakh (ex-showroom), the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso is the most affordable car in India. Maruti Suzuki offers the hill-hold assist with the top-spec VXi(O) AMT variant priced at Rs 4.75 lakh. The S-Presso is powered by the same 69hp 1-litre petrol engine as the Celerio.
Uday Singh
Glenn Noronha
