Skoda cars in India (9)

Yes, you are right. The Kia Sonet’s and Honda Amaze’s 1.2 litre naturally aspirated petrol engines, although fine for city use, will feel a bit down on power for highway duties. Especially compared to your Hyundai Xcent diesel, you own currently. It has a lot more torque; these cars will feel slower in comparison and won’t really feel like an upgrade.

In your Rs 10 lakh budget, you can look at either the Mahindra XUV 3XO REVX M or the Skoda Kylaq Classic Plus. Both these cars are powered by turbo petrol engines, which give them strong performance, and both are genuinely enjoyable to drive. The Mahindra scores big on cabin space, making it one of the most comfortable cars in the segment for five adults. While the Skoda Kodiaq offers a much larger boot, which adds to its practicality.

If you are looking for better efficiency and a lighter clutch for a more effortless driving experience, you could also consider the Maruti Suzuki Brezza LXi. However, in Maruti’s case, we would recommend waiting as an update is due soon.

All three are very capable cars in their own way, but we would suggest waiting till March before making a final decision, as the Kushaq facelift and the new generation Duster will be launched then.

If you don’t want to wait, the new Kia Seltos is easy to recommend as it is practical, spacious, comfortable, and loaded with features. The Seltos is also very well appointed and finished with high-quality materials.

Our first impressions of the new Duster are very positive, and from what we understand, its pricing will be in line with the competition. The 1.3 litre turbo petrol paired with the 6-speed DCT gearbox should deliver strong and smooth performance along with an enjoyable driving experience.

If you want a sporty car, then the new 1.5-litre Kushaq is the one for you. It is quick, agile, feels rock solid at high speeds, and comes with improved braking performance thanks to the inclusion of rear disc brakes.

While you can buy both the Tata Harrier/Safari or Mahindra XUV 7XO in that budget, since your budget ceiling is higher at Rs 40 lakh, why not consider the Jeep Meridian, which is a superior vehicle overall. It is larger, has a more luxurious interior and better badge value, plus, should you ever need it, solid off-road ability too. 

Its third row is not as spacious as the Safari's, but now that it is equipped with a sliding second row, adjustments can be made. If you can somehow stretch your budget past Rs 40 lakh, an even better option is the Skoda Kodiaq. 

Hi, thank you so much for your kind words. Really glad you are enjoying our work.

Between the three cars, if you are looking for a car for city commutes and considering your budget, we would suggest the Kia Seltos. In your budget, you will get the HTE (O) powered by a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. The engine is smooth, refined and has enough power for daily usage and even for highway driving, it feels enough. The new Seltos too feels premium inside out, and even in the bottom or in this case mid variant comes very well equipped.

The Tata Sierra’s 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine feels just about enough for city driving, but out on the highway, it could have done with more power. In your budget, you will get only the base Smart + variant, or if you stretch by 50,000 over your budget, then the Pure variant will fit. But the Sierra in the lower variants is not that well equipped. In fact, the base variant does’t come with an infotainment at all.

The Skoda Kushaq facelift will be launched in March 2026, and if you are willing to wait, do glance at it. It will come with revised design and more features than the current car.

If you are looking at a car purely from the city driving perspective, the Hyundai Venue HX5+ powered by the 1.2 litre naturally aspirated engine will do. It will also prove to be more efficient than the Mahindra 3XO’s 1.2 litre turbo petrol engine. But from the performance perspective, there is a huge gap here. The Mahindra 3XO in the AX5 variant will be much nicer to drive and will feel at home, be it in the city or on the highway. It is also wider, can seat five people in decent comfort and as compared to the HX5+ variant, it has more features too.

Considering you drive 90% of the time in the city, we would also recommend you to, go for an automatic transmission. It will be a lot easier to drive and reduce fatigue by a lot. 

Another car you can consider is the Skoda Kylaq which again is a nice car to drive and is very well priced. You can get the Signature manual transmission variant in your budget or the newly launched Classic + variant if you are looking to buy an automatic.

Looking at your requirements we would recommend the Skoda Kylaq. The automatic transmission is a torque convertor unit which is smoother than a dual clutch autobox (which is what the Tata Nexon has). You will appreciate this since you drive daily in heavy stop-go traffic. The Kylaq is also very safe with many safety features and it secured a 5-star rating in the BNCAP tests. Skoda dealers do not have a legacy of great service however Skoda has made significant improvements in service standards.