Every year almost 15 lac new drivers are added on the roads of India. If you have decided to buy yourself your first car, I would like to congratulate you on your achievement.
Important considerations for first time buyers are as follows:
- Under 10 lac: this is going to be the car on which you will master your driving skills, so it does not make sense to waste more than 10 lac on a new car
- Automatic transmission: Traffic in most of the Indian Cities is increasing, the car will be used to commute to office or to your college, under 10 lac budget most of the cars will come with automated manual transmission
- Dimensions: The smaller the better, ideally you need a tall boy design with good seat height and outside visibility
- Hill-start assist: This feature prevents your car from rolling over from slopes. All the cars suggested in this article have hill-start assist feature
Maruti S-Presso
Variant: VXI(O) AGS
Engine: 1.0L 3 cylinder K10C
Engine Specs: power (67ps) / torque(89nm)
Dimensions: L W H / 3565mm 1520mm 1567mm
Turing Radius: 4.5m
Ex showroom Price: ₹5,70,000

Maruti WagonR
Variant: VXI AGS
Engine: 1.0L 3 cylinder K10C
Engine Specs: power (67ps) / torque(89nm)
Dimensions: L W H / 3655mm 1620mm 1675mm
Turing Radius: 4.7m
Ex showroom Price: ₹6,70,000

Tata Punch
Variant: Adventure AMT
Engine: 1.2L 3 cylinder Revotron
Engine Specs: power (88ps) / torque(115nm)
Dimensions: L W H / 3827mm 1742mm 1615mm
Turing Radius: 4.9m
Ex showroom Price: ₹7,80,000

Hyundai Grand I10
Variant: Magna AMT
Engine: 1.2L 4 cylinder Kappa
Engine Specs: power (83ps) / torque(114nm)
Dimensions: L W H / 3815mm 1680mm 1520mm
Turing Radius: 4.7m
Ex showroom Price: ₹7,50,000

Hyundai Exter
Variant: S
Engine: 1.2L 4 cylinder Kappa
Engine Specs: power (83ps) / torque(114nm)
Dimensions: L W H / 3815mm 1710mm 1631mm
Turing Radius: 5.0m
Ex showroom Price: ₹7,70,000

Verdict: As a first time buyer my personal priority would be a compact car that is inexpensive to maintain, which can become my shitbox when I upgrade to a much better car in the future. My pick amongst the 5 is Maruti S-Presso for its beautiful K10C engine, its compact dimension and attractive price tag.
