Citroen C3 X Shine 1.2 Petrol MT

Autocar India

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There is a wide range of sub-4m cars available in your budget. We've listed the best city cars for each body style:1) Hatchbacks: Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Toyota Glanza 2) Compact sedans: Maruti Suzuki Dzire3) Crossover/compact SUV: Maruti Suzuki Fronx, Citroen C3

Maruti Suzuki Baleno

Maruti Suzuki Dzire

Maruti Suzuki Fronx

Toyota Glanza

Citroen C3

Autocar India

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There's actually quite a variety of automatic hatchbacks within your budget. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno and its twin, the Toyota Glanza, are well-rounded products. Good ride comfort and excellent fuel economy are highlights, and the AMT gearbox is good enough for average driving. However, gearshifts aren't the smoothest, and you'll feel this over a quick overtaking manoeuvre. If you are open to the Citroen brand, the C3 is a great option. Its 1.2-litre engine and torque converter auto gearbox combo is excellent, and ride comfort is also very good.You could also look at the Tata Altroz DCA in Creative S trim. The dual-clutch auto gearbox is very smooth and well-suited to city use. There's also a toughness to the package that gives great confidence at highway speeds.We are also fans of the smooth and polished Hyundai i20 CVT, but the Sportz(O) that fits your budget isn't an ideal choice as it misses out on the safety of a rear wiper. Finally, if you have the option to install an EV charger at home or office, the Tata Tiago EV is also an option to consider. Being all-electric, it's super smooth and very refined. However, it works best as a city car.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno

Toyota Glanza

Citroen C3

Tata Altroz

Hyundai i20

Tata Tiago EV

Autocar India

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A robust suspension and punchy power are elements we'd recommend you give weightage to. Our shortlist of models suited to your needs includes the following:1) Skoda Kylaq: Tough build, punchy engine, fun handling. Rear seat space isn’t ideal for three passengers.2) Mahindra XUV 3XO: Tough build, suspension comfort, strong engines, roomy interior. Boot isn't the largest.3) Tata Punch Turbo: Small dimensions make it suited to hills, and ample power from the turbo engine. Smallest for rear seat passengers4) Citroen C3 Turbo: Great engine, good ride comfort. Feels a bit basic, dealer network isn't the largest.

Mahindra XUV 3XO

Skoda Kylaq

Tata Punch

Citroen C3

Autocar India

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There are a couple of options that you can consider. We've listed the highlights for each.1) Skoda Kylaq: Punchy engine, fun handling. Rear seat space is tight, though2) Mahindra XUV 3XO petrol: Strong engine, good ride comfort. Boot space is limited3) Maruti Suzuki Fronx Turbo/ Toyota Taisor Turbo: Strong engine. Reliability and hassle-free ownership experience 4) Citroen C3: Strong engine. Feels a bit basic, and the service network isn't very large.

Skoda Kylaq

Mahindra XUV 3XO

Maruti Suzuki Fronx

Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor

Citroen C3

Autocar India

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As a first-time buyer, it’s good that you’re looking at both sides carefully.The Citroen C3 is a solid and very likeable car. Its biggest strength is ride comfort, it handles bad roads better than most cars in this segment and feels mature for its size. The 1.2-litre turbo petrol, in particular, is a gem. It’s strong, smooth and easily one of the nicest small-capacity turbo-petrol engines around today. If you enjoy driving and want something that feels a bit different from the usual crowd, the C3 stands out. For your daily run of under 50km and occasional long drives, it will be perfectly comfortable. Mileage is reasonable, especially with the naturally aspirated engine, though the turbo will be slightly lower.The Nissan Magnite has other strengths. It has better road presence with its SUV styling, a more practical cabin, a bigger boot and a feature list that feels more complete. Nissan, as a brand, has built a reputation for reliability, and its dealership and service network is currently more established than Citroen’s in most cities. That adds peace of mind, especially for a first-time buyer.So if you like to drive and value comfort and engine performance, the C3 is the more enjoyable car. But if you want a safer, more practical and lower-risk ownership experience, the Magnite is the wiser choice.

Citroen C3

Nissan Magnite

Autocar India

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Yes, the Tata Punch turbo is a good choice for you, given the nature of your usage. The advantage is that it can still be easy, and even quite fuel efficient if driven carefully, when driving around town, while also being strong enough for your occasional highway drives or hilly regions. This can not be said of the naturally aspirated engine.Perhaps the only downsides are that the 6-speed manual gearbox can feel notchy, clutch modulation is not easy to do smoothly, and it is not very refined. Also, you will not get the top-spec variant within your Rs 10 lakh budget.Keeping that in mind, you should also consider the Citroen C3 1.2 Turbo. It has a much smoother and punchier engine, and the gearbox is slicker too. It may miss out on some features that the Punch gets, but it is also more affordable overall. Its biggest advantage is that, if you are willing to spend a little more, you can get this engine with a smooth 6-speed automatic gearbox, which will be a huge boon around town.

Tata Punch

Citroen C3

Autocar India

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The Citroen C3 Turbo-AT is an excellent crossover hatchback that's compact in dimensions, packs in strong performance, and it'll easily fall within your budget. But go for it, only if there is a Citroen touchpoint near you. The Nissan Magnite Turbo-CVT/Renault Kiger Turbo-CVT are also good, value-for-money options. And even though both these are slightly larger than the Swift, they are narrower than other turbo-automatic compact SUVs available at this price. It makes them relatively easier to navigate.

Citroen C3

Nissan Magnite

Renault Kiger

Autocar India

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All three options on your shortlist are nice to drive in their own ways. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno is very comfortable at city speeds with excellent bump absorption and a peppy engine. Tata's Altroz feels the toughest of the three cars and drives with a big car feel out on the highway. The Citroen C3 has a nice engine, and it also balances ride and comfort very well. However, for reliability and ease of service, the Baleno is your best bet. The Baleno is known to be a trouble-free car, and Maruti's vast network means you are never far from a service centre. Service costs are also competitive. The Toyota Glanza is essentially a rebadged version of the Baleno, but does cost more for similarly-specced variants. We'd recommend sticking to the Baleno. Within Rs 7 lakh, you'll get the Sigma variant, though we'd recommend upping your budget a bit (and bargaining hard with your dealer!) to get the higher-spec Delta trim. It packs in extras such as a powered mirror adjust as well as a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that would add greatly to your experience.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno

Citroen C3

Toyota Glanza

Autocar India

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Check out the Citroen C3 X, which is one of the most dynamically sorted cars at its price, and quite underrated too. Typical of French cars, the suspension setup is superbly tuned for a mix of exceptional comfort and sharp handling, and it also features a communicative steering system for a car in this class. Combine that with a punchy and smooth 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine, and you have a car that's a lot of fun to drive.With the recent C3 X update, it now gets the features it was missing previously, but you can still get a fully-loaded model - with a smooth 6-speed AT gearbox, if you like - in your budget of Rs 12 lakh.You could also consider the Skoda Kylaq, which is a bit more spacious, but in your budget, you will only get a mid-spec model.

Citroen C3

Skoda Kylaq

Autocar India

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We would lean towards the Citroen C3X Shine with the 1.2 turbo engine and six-speed AT. It's a little above your budget but will suit your needs best as it is extremely comfortable, has a superb suspension and the best powertrain for the price. For highway driving, it is the best of all the options you have shortlisted because of the brilliant engine and dynamics. However, we have added that Citroen’s dealer network is not the best, and hence, after-sales service could be a worry. If you want to play safe, go for the Maruti Suzuki Fronx, it's well equipped, reliable and comes with low-cost maintenance. It’s just that for your budget, you will get the 1.2 petrol mated to an AMT, which is nowhere near as nice to drive as the C3X.

Citroen C3

Maruti Suzuki Fronx