Citroen Cars Under 15 Lakh in India (4)

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Considering your usage, we would recommend the Toyota Uran Cruiser Hyryder S Petrol over the Citroen Basalt X Turbo Max, even with the attractive discount on the Citroen.Your daily running of around 30km in bumper-to-bumper traffic and a 300km highway trip once a month doesn't justify a turbo-petrol purely from an efficiency standpoint. Since you're already finding your Taigun 1.0 TSI thirsty, the Basalt's 1.2-litre turbo-petrol is unlikely to deliver the kind of fuel economy improvement you're looking for, even though it offers a comfortable ride and excellent value at the discounted price.The Hyryder S Petrol with its 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine and mild-hybrid system is likely to be more fuel efficient in your usage, while also offering Toyota's reputation for reliability and low maintenance. It may not feel as punchy as the Citroen Basalt Turbo, but it is smoother and should prove to be the more economical long-term ownership proposition.

Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder

Citroen Basalt

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Since your priority is a good ride for your EV, pick the Hyundai Creta Electric. The suspension is stiffer than the ICE version’s to support the extra weight, but remarkably, it doesn’t translate into a crashy or uncomfortable ride experience. You can feel some firmness at low speeds, but road shocks are still well in check, and what’s nice is that the stiffness has eliminated unnecessary (secondary) body movements, and even at highway speeds, the Creta Electric doesn’t lose its composure. If a pure cushy feel is your only goal, then the Citroen eC3 rides even softer, but it’s smaller, slower and not as settled at higher speeds as the Creta. As for your ICE vehicle, we would recommend you look at the Mahindra XUV 3XO, which offers very good damping, so it stays composed on craters and doesn’t float when you’re quick over bad patches. Steering and stability inspire more confidence than most small SUVs in this price. The trade-off is size - cabin and boot are smaller than your Creta.

Hyundai Creta Electric

Citroen eC3X

Mahindra XUV 3XO

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The logical spiritual successor to the Volkswagen Polo for many owners has been the Skoda Kylaq, and we think it meets your needs as well. It retains that solidly built, fun-to-drive nature and also comes with a punchy 1.0-litre TSI turbo-petrol engine and has received a 5-star Bharat NCAP crash test rating. In your Rs 13 lakh budget, you'll get a mid-spec Signature+ variant, which gets you all the essentials and not too many gimmick features.Another often-overlooked option is the Citroen Basalt X, which offers a similarly punchy engine, fun chassis and European solidity as the Skoda and Volkswagen, but is a size up and much more spacious. However, it also costs more, and in your budget, you'll get a lower variant with fewer features than the Kylaq.If you want to skip fuel-blend questions entirely and your driving is mostly city, look at the Tata Punch EV. It’s quiet, quick off the line, and fits the budget. Just remember, highway trips need a bit of charging planning.

Skoda Kylaq

Citroen Basalt

Tata Punch EV

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The Citroen C3 fits your requirement of comfort and no nonsense features very well. Space inside this automatic car is good and the suspension is tuned to provide excellent ride comfort even over bad and broken city roads. The C3 is also not loaded with features but its covers all of todays essential requirements very well and will come in under your budget. The C3 also has a torque convertor automatic gearbox which is the smoothest type of autobox to have, so given that nearly all you driving is within the city, this is something you will appreciate. The only issue with Citroen is the dealer network is very sparse, so only go ahead if you have a reputed dealer in your area. An alternative would be the Skoda Kylaq, at your budget you would get the lower trims but since you are not chasing fancy features this should do well. Like the C3, the Kylaq too has a torque convertor gearbox so it will be smooth and easy in city traffic. About the Jazz CVT - there’s no official plan to bring it back to India. If they do a new small Honda car, it is not around the corner, so don’t wait.

Citroen C3

Skoda Kylaq

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Given your comfort with the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, we'd advise you against a conventional hatchback and recommend you look at a sub-compact SUV. The high seating is a boon and will put you at immediate ease in the car. Options that meet your requirements within a Rs 10 lakh budget include the Hyundai Exter, Tata Punch and Citroen C3. The Tata Punch offers more of what you need. It's got the widest cabin (though it's still not ideal as a 5-seater) and packs in all the features that you need, and then a whole lot more. The Citroen C3 makes a compelling case for itself with the best engines, well-sorted ride and handling, and the cabin experience is also vastly improved with the recent feature update. However, it's not quite as roomy as the Punch, and Citroen's service network is also not as widespread as Tata or Hyundai's.The Hyundai Exter is an easy-going option that's also worth a look.

Maruti Suzuki Wagon R

Hyundai Exter

Tata Punch

Citroen C3