The best family car

I drive a Maruti 800 but am planning to upgrade to a higher model within a Rs 7—8 lakh budget.

I drive a Maruti 800 but am planning to upgrade to a higher model within a 7—8 lakh budget. While I prefer Maruti Suzuki due to easy availability of spares and maintenance, I also like Honda's refined engines, mileage and features. Please recommend a car that has enough space for a family, decent resale value, and is easy to maintain. It would be used mostly in the city with an occasional long drive. The annual mileage would be around 10,000 km.
J K Basumatary

Honda engines are indeed refined and fuel efficient. However, the City is out of your budget and even the Jazz hatchback is a bit too steep. If you don't mind paying a premium, the Jazz is a terrific car to own and drive.

However, since you have been a Maruti loyalist, we suggest you buy the Swift Dzire, which has recently been upgraded with the new 1.2 K-series engine. In fact, the K-series motor is known for its astonishing refinement and is very fuel efficient too. The easy maintenance and service that Maruti cars offer is definitely an added bonus.

I have recently bought a used 2005 model Maruti Baleno VXi, which has clocked around 28,000 km. The car is in a fairly good condition and is a pleasure to drive. Considering it is a 1600 cc car, what kind of fuel efficiency can I expect from it in city/ highway?
Ashutosh Bhatt

The Baleno is quite a fuel-efficient car for its size and weight, but fuel efficiency depends on a number of factors such as road, traffic conditions and your driving style.

However, we estimate that if your average speed in the city is around 20 kph, then you can expect around 8-9 kpl. If traffic is light and your average speed is around 25 kph, then a figure of 10-11 kpl is also possible. On the highway, the fuel efficiency can range between 13-16 kpl. In all these scenarios, we're assuming that the air-conditioner is on continuously.

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I'm looking for a car in the range of 10-12 lakh (on-road). My annual mileage will be 15,000-20,000 km, which will include a couple of long-distance trips. I need a car which has good mileage, reliable and affordable service, good resale value and features like automatic climatic control and alloys.
Jiten Bellani

There are quite a few good cars within your budget, but since your annual mileage is not very high and you will hardly be going on long-distance trips, a car that performs well in an urban environment would be the best bet. We recommend the Honda City as it is easy to drive, quite fuel efficient, very reliable and has good resale value too.

If you don't mind compromising on fuel efficiency, you could even consider the City automatic which makes city driving effortless.
Alloy wheels are available only on the City's V variant.

First Published Date: 14 Apr 2010, 13:48 PM IST
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