Budget Cars of 2014: Maruti Celerio AMT, Datsun GO and Others

When you are seeking comfort within a tight budget to buy your dream car, its price and fuel efficiency are at the top  of your mind.

But with so many new models from leading automakers trying to lure you with tempting discounts and impressive features, it can be a trifle confusing to decide. So, here we are, offering you some insights on some of the thrifty cars that are good buys but won't make a dent in your pockets.

Datsun Go

Datsun, known as the low cost brand of Nissan, set foot in the lucrative Indian car market in 2014 with its small car Go.

The car was designed to rivals like Maruti Alto, Ford Figo, Maruti Wagon R and Hyundai i10 in the entry level segment; it comes with a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine, which can churn out a power of 68bhp and a peak torque of 110Nm.

As for features, there is digital tachometer, follow-me-home headlamps, speed sensitive wipers, silver finish front radiator grille and engine immobilizer. It offers a fuel efficiency of 20.6kmpl and the engine can accelerate 0-100 km/h in 13.3 seconds.

Priced at ₹3.12 lakh, Datsun Go hatchback measures 3785mm in length, 1635mm in width, 1485mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2450mm.

However, Dastun Go has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons, be it for the increasing safety concerns or for the terrible failure in the NCAP crash test.

Maruti Celerio

Maruti Suzuki Celerio AMT, a radical offering by the country's largest car maker, is the first car in India to come with Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). Under the hood, Celerio packs a 998cc, 3-cylinder, K10B engine, which can churn out a power of 67 bhp at 6,000 rpm and a torque of 9.1 kgm at 3,500 rpm. It comes in six variants in India - two with automatic transmission and four with manual transmission, and claims a fuel efficiency of 23.1 kilometers for both versions. Like the features offered in Celerio, Maruti's small car is also attractive in terms of pricing. The car that was originally launched at a starting price of ₹3.90 lakh but is now available at ₹3.76 lakh.

Alto K10 AMT

Alto K10 facelift, the second AMT offering from Maruti's stable after Celerio, is now also crowned as the most affordable automatic offering in India. It rivals Hyundai Eon 1.0 and Datsun Go in the small car market; Maruti Alto K10 AMT wears a new look with changes both inside and outside.

Alto K10 flaunts a new front grille with reworked headlamps and the car also gets new tail lamps and bumpers. Under the hood, Alto K10 facelift packs the same 1.0-liter three-cylinder K-Series engine, which is tuned to churn out 1.0-liter three-cylinder K-series engine with a better fuel efficiency. The new Alto model promises to deliver 24.07 kmpl fuel efficiency, which is almost 15% higher than the standard model.

Hyundai Eon

Hyundai Eon, a stylish small car offering in the domestic market, competes with Maruti's entry level cars Alto and Alto 800. The new avatar of Eon with 1.0 litre Kappa engine is available only in Magna+ variant. Powered by the advanced 1.0 litre three-cylinder engine, the latest Eon is expected to churn out a power of 69PS@6,200 rpm and peak torque at 9.6 kgm at 3500 rpm. The car promises to deliver a fuel efficiency of 20.3 Kmpl (ARAI Certified).

Note:
Prices to be revised from January 2015.