The Indian auto market is rapidly changing and now cars are getting increasing modern and well-equipped. Unlike before, today if you are out to buy a new car and are on a budget, it doesn't mean that you'll have to make compromises in terms of styling, features, or safety. Even manufacturers have started to understand what today's customers want and today most of the cars out in the market come with a value-for-money quotient. And we have listed down some of the best options under ₹ 8 lakh. The cars that we have listed here have most of their trims and variants falling below ₹ 8 lakh mark with a model or two going above the indicated price point. While there are some better options as well, but only their base variants fall below ₹ 8 lakh and most of higher variants, which actually hold value, are priced above. So, we have consciously tried to avoid such cars.
Here is our list of the best cars in India under ₹ 8 lakh:
1. Maruti Suzuki Swift
The new Maruti Suzuki Swift better-looking and a lot more equipped
The new-gen Maruti Swift went on sale in India only in February this year and as of June 2018, the carmaker had already sold over 1 lakh units of the car. Needless to say, priced in the range of ₹ 4.99 lakh to ₹ 8.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) it's right now one of the hottest cars you can buy under ₹ 8 lakh. Featuring a refreshing exterior design, all-new interior and a bunch of new and improved features the new Swift is truly a value-for-money car. While the engine options remain unchanged and it continues to get the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engine, Maruti has worked on the fuel efficiency of the car, so you now get a mileage of 22 kmpl in the petrol model and 28.4 kmpl in the diesel.
2. Hyundai Grand i10 Facelift:
The perfect rival to the Ignis, the Hyundai Grand i10 facelift was launched recently and gets a few revisions along with some cosmetic updates as well. The Grand i10 was always well-appointed when it came to features considering that the top trims got you a reverse parking camera, 1GB storage for music and so on. The facelift model does even better and offers you a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, LED DRLs and a new 1.2-litre diesel engine which is slightly more powerful than the 1.1-litre unit that the old model had. The Grand i10 has a spacious cabin and is super practical for daily driving. It has a claimed efficiency of 19.77 kmpl and 24.95 kmpl for the petrol and diesel models respectively. Plus, prices for the Grand i10 facelift start at ₹ 4.58 lakh and go up to ₹ 7.33 lakh. Definitely worth a consideration if ₹ 8 lakh is your budget.
3. Maruti Suzuki Ignis:
It is the car which is making all the waves right now. Maruti Suzuki was keen on having a product in its portfolio which was targeted at the young audiences and the Ignis was launched. The looks of the car are quirky and it is loaded with features, keeping it real savvy for the style conscious. The Ignis gets the tried and tested 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engines from Maruti Suzuki and also have an AMT option along with the regular 5-speed manual gearbox. The interior is well appointed and will surely cater to buyers with sophisticated sensibilities as well. The Ignis is doing rather well for Maruti Suzuki and there is quite a bit of waiting from what we hear. The Ignis boasts of a fuel efficiency of 20.89 kmpl for the petrol/AMT model and 26.8 kmpl for the diesel variant. The prices for the Ignis start at ₹ 4.59 lakh for the base petrol variant and goes up to ₹ 7.46 lakh for the fully loaded diesel variant. Right in the sweet spot, then!
4. Hyundai i20 Facelift
The Hyundai i20 received a facelift only early this year at the Auto Expo
The popular Hyundai i20 received a facelift this year and in addition to the carmaker's latest design language and styling updates, the car also came with a bunch of updated features. The i20 facelift gets the new black cascading grille, revised headlamps with new LED daytime running lamps, and a new bumper housing the new arrowhead foglamps, and an integrated spoiler. All these changes give it the new family look. Prices for the car starts at ₹ 5.34 lakh and goes up to ₹ 9.15 lakh for the top-end model. Under the hood, the Hyundai i20 facelift gets more refined engines but with the same output. It gets the 82 bhp churning 1.2-litre Kappa Dual VTVT petrol engine mated to a 5-speed manual unit, and an 89 bhp 1.4-litre U2 CRDI diesel engine paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
5. Ford Freestyle
The Ford Freestyle diesel has a claimed fuel efficiency of 24.4 kmpl
The newest member of Ford India's line-up, the all-new Freestyle is the first crossover car from the company and is based on the Figo hatchback. Priced in the range of ₹ 5.09 lakh to ₹ 7.89 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the entire range of the new Freestyle is priced under ₹ 8 lakh. The car also has good road presence and is equipped with smart features like a dash-top touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and the company's SYNC3 connectivity system on offer. The car also gets reverse parking system, dual airbags and ABS as standard. The car also comes with an all-new 1.2-litre petrol engine and the tried and tested 1.5-litre diesel motor mated to a 5-speed gearbox.
6. Honda Amaze
New Honda Amaze's entire petrol line up is priced under ₹ 8 lakh
The Honda Amaze also received a generation upgrade this year, and it's wouldn't be an overstatement to call it an all-new car. The car is based on a new-generation platform and comes with all-new design and styling in line with Honda's latest design language. Priced in the range of ₹ 5.6 lakh to ₹ 8.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the entire petrol line up is priced under ₹ 8 lakh, while the entry and mid-variant of the diesel trim are also under that price point. While the car does miss out on the likes of LED headlamps or even projector headlamps, which are pretty common even in entry-level cars, but the Amaze does come with a nice road presence and CVT automatic option for both petrol and diesel variants. The engines, however, remain unchanged as the car gets the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel and the fuel efficiency rating for the former is 19.5 kmpl (MT) and 19 kmpl (CVT), while the diesel version offers 27.4 kmpl (MT) and 23.8 kmpl (CVT).
7. Maruti Suzuki Dzire:
The new-gen Maruti Suzuki not only dropped the 'Swift' from its name but also a lot of weight making it over 100 kg lighter than the older model. This is courtesy of the new HEARTEC design platform, which also underpins the upcoming next-gen Swift hatchback. The new Dzire makes a lot of sense in this price segment considering the car comes with a host of new and premium features along with impressive design and styling. Safety features like airbags and ABS come as standard across trim levels and considering the base variant starts at ₹ 5.42 lakh (ex-showroom) there are many options to choose from the variant list. Only top-end model gets projector headlights and LED DRLs for which you'll need to cough up a couple of lakhs more. However the AMT option is available even in the mid variants - VXI an VDI, which are in fact a very decent pick. Engine options remain unchanged as you get the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engine with a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard and AMT unit as option. The new Dzire also offers the best fuel efficiency be it among petrol models or diesel, returning an ARAI claimed mileage of 22 kmpl and 28.4 kmpl respectively.
8. Hyundai Xcent Facelift:
The Xcent facelift was launched recently and like the Grand i10 got a comprehensive update to the looks and the features. The car looks much better now with a fresh front end which takes inspiration from the Elantra. Akin to the Hyundai Grand i10 facelift, the Xcent facelift too gets a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay along with a MirrorLink function as well. The Xcent facelift can be specified with either a 1.2-litre petrol or the new 1.2-litre diesel as well. The Xcent continues to be one of the most fuel efficient cars with 1.2 petrol manual returning 20.14 kmpl and the automatic version returns 17.36 kmpl. The diesel engine variant has a claimed fuel efficiency figure of 25.4 kmpl. Like the Grand i10, the Xcent facelift too offers great practicality and with a starting price of ₹ 5.38 lakh and going up to ₹ 8.13 lakh for the top diesel trim, the new Xcent facelift is good value for money.
9. Tata Tigor:
Like most other hatchback and sedan duos, the Tigor too, is essentially a compact sedan version of the Tiago. While the front end of the Tigor resembles that of the Tiago, the rear is where the style quotient comes into play. Tata managed to give the Tigor a coupe-like look from the rear, making it rather pleasing to the eye as compared to other sub 4-metre sedans which do not quite cut it as far as the rear design is considered. The Tigor too gets a host of features such as a touchscreen infotainment system with MirrorLink, climate control and colour-coded AC vents. It gets the same engine and transmission options as the Tiago, which is not a bad thing. The claimed fuel efficiency on the Tigor is 22 kmpl for the petrol variant and 26 kmpl for the diesel variant. The prices for the Tigor start from ₹ 4.70 lakh for the XE Revotron variant and goes up till ₹ 7.09 lakh for the XZ (O) variant.
10. Volkswagen Ameo:
Like all other manufacturers, Volkswagen too couldn't resist the lure of manufacturing a sub 4-metre compact sedan. The Ameo is to the Polo what the Tigor is to Tiago, the Aspire is to the Figo, and the Xcent is to the Grand i10 and so on. While the overall design might not be as pleasing as some of the others in this list, VW has done well to load the Ameo with a whole lot of features such as rain-sensing wipers, cornering lights, rear-view camera, touchscreen infotainment system with MirrorLink, climate control and even a cruise control. All variants of the Ameo get ABS and dual airbags as standard. The Polo drew a lot of flak for not getting enough features but with the Ameo, VW has rectified the same. The Ameo gets a 1.2-litre petrol engine with a 5-speed manual gearbox and a 1.5-litre diesel engine which can be specified with either a 5-speed manual or a 7-speed DSG automatic unit. The Ameo is one of the more expensive cars on our list but it is a practical subcompact sedan loaded with features and a solid engine as well. The Volkswagen Ameo 13 variants out of which 9 variants are priced below ₹ 8 lakhs while 4 variants are priced above the ₹ 8 lakh mark. The prices start from ₹ 5.45 lakh and go up all the way to ₹ 9.62 lakh.
Special Mention: While they might not be the absolute best buys under ₹ 8 lakh, we thought it would be a good idea to at least mention them here. You could also buy the base trims of the Vitara Brezza, Ciaz, EcoSport and the TUV300 as well. But we would rather not consider these as the best buys.
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