Tata Nexon

For around 1,000km of monthly running, a petrol SUV would suit your needs well. Since nearly 80% of your driving is within the city, an automatic will be far more convenient than a manual.

The Kia Seltos is the largest and most spacious SUV in this comparison, while the Nexon and Venue are both sub-four-metre SUVs. The Seltos HTK (O) variant is a tempting option, but it misses out on a few features you might expect at this price point. Automatic climate control, a 360-degree camera and ventilated seats are not offered. Also, the 1.5-litre petrol engine feels a bit underpowered compared to the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol available on the Venue HX 8, which fits within the same budget.

The Venue also offers a stronger feature set overall and if value for money is important to you, it is the better buy.

The Nexon CNG fits within the budget and will be the cheapest to run. However, you will have to deal with long waiting times at CNG stations, especially in the city where most of your driving will be.

If you want a spacious SUV with a smooth driving experience, the Kia Seltos HTK (O) with the CVT gearbox is a good choice. But if you want the maximum number of features and are willing to compromise slightly on rear seat space, the Venue is the one to go for. The Nexon is worth considering only if fuel efficiency is your top priority.

With your driving style, which is largely highway, Tata Nexon Diesel AMT makes better sense. It delivers good mileage, the engine performance is impressive and the ride quality on highway speeds is among the best in the segment. In our real world mileage test, the manual returned an efficiency of over 19 kpl on highway, and with AMT, you can expect a figure close to that. 

The Nexon is also well-equipped, featuring a 10-inch infotainment screen, voice commands, wireless phone charging, a sunroof, and more, giving you a feature-rich package. However you must know, the Nexon AMT is not the smoothest and and NVH levels in the diesel Nexon are on the higher side.

Since most of your running is on the highways, a diesel SUV would be a good choice. Also, a manual gearbox will be good enough for the highways and will offer a better driving experience and efficiency. 

The Tata Nexon with the 1.5-litre diesel engine offers strong performance and good efficiency. It is also quite practical with a large boot and a fantastic ride quality that is segment-best. In your budget, you can get the top-spec Fearless+ trim that gets a well-packed cabin with a lot of features. 

Since you are a new driver, we would recommend you look at a compact SUV. The sub 4-meter length will be easy to manage initially, and in our crowded streets. Since you drive a lot we would recommend a diesel. The diesel Tata Nexon is very fuel efficient in the city and on the highway too, it delivered 16.5kpl in the city and 19.4kpl on the highway in our standard test cycle. The Nexon is also a safe car with many active and passive safety features and has secured a 5-star rating in both the GNCAP and BNCAP safety tests. 

If you would prefer something newer, then consider the Hyundai Venue. We are yet to put the car through our standard fuel efficiency testing and it is yet to go through an NCAP test. However in both cases it should perform quite well.