Tata Punch Accomplished Petrol AMT

autocar.india

•2d

For your requirements, from your shortlist, the Renault Kiger is the most sensible choice. Your usage is predominantly city driving with occasional village visits and a few trips a year, which means you need a car that is compact and easy to drive in the city, but also robust enough to handle rough roads and occasional bad patches. As you plan to travel with your family too, space is also important, as well as boot volume for luggage. The Kiger strikes that balance very well. It offers a higher ground clearance than hatchbacks like the Wagon R, which makes it more confidence-inspiring on broken village roads, and its compact dimensions make it easy to manoeuvre and park in the city. It also offers more space than most of the other options in this price range. You also get a choice of naturally aspirated and turbocharged petrol engines, and given that you travel with family and do occasional long drives, we recommend the turbo petrol, which has some additional punch, yet can be fuel efficient when driven carefully.The Wagon R, Exter and Punch are a size down on the Kiger and thus won't be as suitable for your family, while the Nexon and Fronx will require you to settle for a low variant in your budget. The Renault Kiger is the best value for money you can get at this price, and alternatively, for a similar price, you can also look at its sister car - the Nissan Magnite.

Renault Kiger

Tata Punch

Hyundai Exter

Maruti Suzuki Fronx

Tata Nexon

Nissan Magnite

Maruti Suzuki Wagon R

autocar.india

•6d

Between your picks, the Skoda Kylaq and Honda Amaze are the best bets for your needs. The Amaze CVT is smooth, the car is compact and easy to manoeuvre, and Honda’s reliability and low maintenance costs make it a stress-free ownership experience. It is also a proper automatic gearbox, unlike the AMT in the Punch, which can feel jerky at low speeds.The Kylaq is more fun to drive and has the most premium feeling of the three. The 1.0 TSI engine also offers the most performance, which will be handy on the highway, but will also consume more fuel in the city. Its torque converter automatic is very smooth shifting and makes driving in the city very easy. What also helps is that you sit higher than the Amaze, which will give you a bit more confidence in tight city traffic. The downside is that Skoda’s service network is not as widespread as Honda’s, and upkeep can cost more. As for the variant, the Signature+ AT adds a couple of useful features like a reversing camera and a larger infotainment screen, but it is not worth paying Rs 2 lakh extra over the Signature AT. Between these two, the Amaze ZX CVT is the better fit for your requirements - easy to drive, reliable, comfortable and hassle-free to own.

Skoda Kylaq

Honda Amaze

Tata Punch

autocar.india

•1w

Go for the MG Windsor Exclusive. At Rs 14 lakh, it offers the best ownership experience of the three. The Windsor is a genuinely spacious family car with a comfortable ride, a premium cabin and a strong feature set. It feels like a proper step up from your 2018 Nexon, with a more mature driving experience and a much more spacious rear seat. The Nexon Empowered 45 is a good car, but it is essentially an evolution of what you already own, and the Windsor simply feels like a bigger upgrade for the money. The Punch Empowered S40 is a solid value proposition, but it is a smaller car and does not feel as premium or as spacious as the Windsor. The only real drawback with the Windsor is that MG's service network is not as extensive as Tata's, but it is still a well-supported product in most major cities. Overall, the Windsor Exclusive is the best fit for your budget and your upgrade expectations.

MG Windsor

Tata Nexon

Tata Punch

autocar.india

•1w

We would recommend the Tata Nexon Diesel over the Punch if you regularly drive in the hills. The diesel engine's strong low end torque makes climbing steep inclines much easier, especially with a full load of passengers or luggage. It also requires fewer gear changes on winding roads and feels much more relaxed than the Punch's naturally aspirated petrol engine.The Nexon is also the better all round vehicle. It has a more planted feel at highway speeds, a larger cabin, a bigger boot and better long distance comfort. If your hill trips are frequent or you live in a hilly area, the diesel suits this usage very well. Just ensure you also undertake regular longer drives, as modern diesels are happiest when they get enough running to keep the emissions system healthy.The Punch is a good choice if your driving is almost entirely in the city and you want a smaller, easier to park SUV. However, for hill driving, especially with family or luggage, it can feel underpowered compared to the Nexon diesel.

Tata Nexon

Tata Punch

autocar.india

•3w

Pick the Tata Punch automatic petrol. It matches light, mostly city use and the odd highway run much better. The price difference between the petrol AMT and CNG AMT is around Rs. 90,000 to Rs. 1 lakh, depending on the variant. With your limited running, it will take a while to recover the extra upfront cost, which is why the petrol AMT is the smarter choice. The CNG version also brings fuel station queues, a smaller boot and lower performance. If you drive a lot or plan to keep the car for a very long time, then the CNG makes more sense.For city driving, the petrol automatic is simply easier to live with. It creeps smoothly in stop-go traffic and responds more quickly when you need to take a gap. On occasional long drives, the petrol’s mid-range performance is stronger, and CNG stations can still be patchy outside larger cities.One honest catch: the AMT can feel a bit hesitant if you floor the accelerator.

Tata Punch