After closing down for almost 2 months due to lockdown imposed to contain coronavirus pandemic, auto dealerships have started to operate again and people are now looking to go out in the market to buy new and used vehicles. What has changed however, is that the desire to buy a personal vehicle has intensified as not many people want to travel in public transport.
In a massive online survey done by Network18 in 13 languages and across all our digital and social news platforms, with close to 50 thousand responses, it was found that a lot of respondents won’t prefer public transport once the lockdown is over. Instead, they will prefer using their own vehicles to travel.
The poll which ran for a week from May 21 to May 28 found that almost 70% of respondents on an average across the languages said they will prefer own vehicles to travel for work. This study is synonymous with our interactions with industry leaders who echo the same thought on increasing use of small cars for travelling.
When asked, Kia Motors India Marketing and Sales Vice President and Head, Manohar Bhat said ‘the use of public transport will decline in coming days and people will prefer smaller cars’. Automakers like Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Toyota and Tata Motors expect demand for personal vehicles to go up in the country as social distancing and fear associated with COVID-19 veer people away from public transport.
Since the demand for new vehicles will go up, a lot of first time buyers will be out in the market looking for cars and a huge segment catering to first time buyers is the cars under Rs 5 Lakh. We have compiled a list of top 5 cars to buy under Rs 5 Lakh in India-
1) Datsun redi-GO
Price – Rs 2.83 Lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
Datsun has recently announced the launch of the new redi-GO in India at a starting price tag of Rs 2.83 lakh (ex-showroom, pan-India). The new redi-GO brings a heavy update to the exterior styling and adds new features to bring it up to date in terms of design and features. It now comes with things like L-shaped Daytime Running Lights (DRL), sleek headlamps with silver accents, LED fog lamps, 14-inch wheels with a dual-tone wheel cover, LED tail-lamps, and updated door trim with fabric. It now is the most affordable hatchback in India, and probably the best looking too.
2) Renault Kwid
Price – Rs 2.92 Lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
The new Renault Kwid gets a larger 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system featuring Android Auto and Apple CarPlay that it shares with the Tribler MPV. The instrument cluster too is derived from the Triber with a digital cluster that includes a tachometer. It is powered by an 800-cc unit that delivers 54hp and 72Nm of torque and a 1.0-litre block that churns out 68hp and 91 Nm of torque. The facelift comes at Rs 2.92 lakh (ex-showroom).
3) Maruti Suki Alto
Price – Rs 2.95 Lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
The 800cc Maruti Suzuki Alto and the 1.0-litre Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 have been company’s best-selling models for some time now. The 800cc model produces 48hp and is paired to a 5-speed manual only, while the K10 is now replaced by S-Presso. At the start of this year, the 800cc Alto underwent a facelift; received a cosmetic makeover, the engine was upgraded to meet BS6 emission standards, and it meets upcoming crash- and pedestrian safety regulations. Price for the car starts at Rs 2.95 lakh (ex-showroom).
4) Maruti Suzuki S-Presso
Price – Rs 3.71 Lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
In an attempt to make the SUV segment more accessible among the masses, the company launched the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso, which is essentially a tall boy hatchback inspired from SUV design at Rs 3.71 lakh (ex-showroom). It gets features such as an infotainment system derived from WagonR that comes with Maruti’s Smartplay 2.0 featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The car also gets steering mounted controls and power windows at the rear as standard. The S-Presso is powered by the same K10 engine that powered the Alto K10. The engine comes with BS-VI compliance and produces 64 bhp and 90Nm of torque through a 5-speed manual transmission.
5) Hyundai Santro
Price – Rs 4.57 Lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
The new Hyundai Santro comes packed with new age technology including segment-first like 17.64 cm (6.94-inch) touchscreen audio-video system. The multi-media system has Android Auto, Apple Carplay and Mirror Link along with supporting Voice Recognition Function & Rear Parking Camera display on the screen. It is powered by a 1.0-litre petrol engine which produces 69ps at 5,500 rpm. Prices for the new Santro starts at Rs 4.57 lakh (ex-showroom).
Alternatively, once can also look at Tata Tiago and Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, both of which are priced similar to Hyundai Santro and gets almost the similar set of features. While the Wagon R offers more space than any of the three cars, Tata Tiago offers the best design.
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