Which new car for in the 15L price range for me

His budget is 14 lakhs for now. The car won’t be driven much. 70% city and will see 30% highway runs.

BHPian adigup recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hey everyone,

My brother is in need of a new car.

To give some background, the car will be used for 4 adults and my nephew who is 2 years old. (A second car is planned early next year).

He sold his loved Hyundai Verna SX 1.6 Petrol Manual 2011 in 2019 and then the pandemic struck. According to him, it was his best purchase. He got it for under 9/10 lakhs then.

He also has a Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 Manual Petrol 2013 J (Base spec) (He got it for 12.5 lakhs) which is completely raw and just has 66,000kms on the ODO. Even though he agrees that the Corolla is a gem to drive, but since it is the base spec, it doesn’t even get a reverse parking camera and steering mounted controls (the basics), and so now he regrets the purchase. Also, the place where the car used to get parked until 2 years back, some goons/people (am I using the right word?) just used to randomly take/cut the side mirrors/grills and even the logos and wheel covers. He got it fixed like A LOT of times but after a point he gave up. and now he doesn’t wanna spend a penny on his car. (but again, he loves the way it drives). Here’s how it looks:

He thinks that getting it repaired and keeping it for another 2-3 years won’t be feasible. And as everything has started opening up, he will be requiring two cars from early next year.

If I could get some suggestions:

• Sell the Corolla, and get both new cars. (One ~15 lakhs and other ~7-8 lakhs)

• Keep the corolla, get it fixed and get only one car(~15 lakhs – main topic of this thread) (and later plan for a good upgrade)

Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

His budget is 14 lakhs for now. The car won’t be driven much. 70% city and will see 30% highway runs. The car should be safe and ‘Value-for-Money’. It should have all the necessary features (eg. alloy wheels, steering mounted controls, decent stereo, automatic climate control). The service costs shouldn’t be a pain. Plus, the car is to be used for <8,000 kms every year.

Options considered:

• Hyundai Creta 1.5 S Petrol (Steel wheels designed like alloys aren’t bad)

• Honda City 1.5 4th Gen V MT Petrol

• Honda City 1.5 5th Gen V MT Petrol

• Kia Seltos 1.5 HTK Plus Petrol (He prefers Creta over this)

Any other options/suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Aditya

Here’s what GTO had to say on the matter:

Definitely keep the Corolla and load it up with some accessories to make up for all the missing features. Have your brother read this article of mine (Want to sell your car because of repairs? Think again!).

For the 15-lakh car, you really cannot go wrong with the 5th-gen City, Creta or Seltos (updated version coming soon with a softened suspension, apparently). Also check out the new Skoda Slavia which is a fun-to-drive car, Kushaq and the very urban-friendly MG Astor. Take all for the longest possible test-drives & go with whichever he loves the most.

Here’s what BHPian Shreyans_jain had to say on the matter:

14L and urban driving screams Honda City. With the City, it has to be Gen5. Don’t even consider the Gen4, cost cutting is pathetic. Go for the base V model of the Gen5, it has all the essential equipment a car of today should have. I will strongly suggest that you ditch the manual and go for the CVT automatic.

Here’s what BHPian Eddy had to say on the matter:

I would add the S-Cross to the list. IMO, there is no better sub 15 lakh car that fits his requirements. Even if it does not “look” good or does not have the wow factor, please request him to reject it only after a test drive. It is a car that can surprise you with its practicality.

Keyword: Which new car for in the 15L price range for me