With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to conserve petroleum becoming a national priority – and with oil prices rising on Friday – we have made a list of the most efficient cars in each segment, helping you choose the right car across price points. We’ve driven all these cars and tested their actual fuel efficiency to arrive at the right choice. Text and photos by Vikram Chaudhary.
Entry segment (Rs 5 lakh): Maruti Suzuki Alto K10
Efficiency: 24.9 km/litre (petrol), 33.4 km/kg (CNG)
The Alto K10 is the undisputed champion in this price bracket, with its 1.0-litre K-Series engine delivering almost 20 km/litre in actual driving conditions. Petrol variants are priced Rs 3.7-5.45 lakh, ex-showroom, and CNG from Rs 4.82-5.32 lakh. Slightly pricier choices are Maruti Suzuki’s Celerio (Rs 4.7-6.73 lakh for petrol, Rs 5.98 lakh for CNG) and Wagon R (Rs 4.99-6.95 lakh for petrol, Rs 5.89-6.42 lakh for CNG).
In all these cars, CNG cylinder takes up a lot of boot space and isn’t a practical option.
Value segment (Rs 5-10 lakh): Maruti Suzuki Dzire CNG
Efficiency: 24.79 km/litre (petrol), 33.73 km/kg (CNG)
While the petrol variant is frugal, the S-CNG technology offers a running cost almost matching that of a scooter. Unlike hatchbacks, the dickey of the Dzire CNG has some luggage room even after the cylinder. Petrol variants are priced Rs 6.26-9.31 lakh, and CNG from Rs 8.03-9.04 lakh. In our tests, the petrol Dzire returned actual fuel efficiency of 18-20 km/litre. And it has a 5-star GNCAP safety rating.
Other cars you can choose are Tata Nexon CNG (Rs 9.15-10 lakh) and Hyundai Aura CNG (Rs 6.9-8.54 lakh) – both come with dual-cylinder CNG tech, maximising boot space.
Executive segment (Rs 10-20 lakh): Toyota Hyryder Hybrid
Efficiency: 21.11 km/litre (petrol), 26.6 km/kg (CNG), 27.97 km/litre (hybrid)
Although the Hyryder is available in petrol (Rs 10.99-18.92 lakh) and CNG (Rs 13.38-15.34 lakh), the Strong Hybrid is the most efficient option, though pricier (Rs 16.77-20.19 lakh). It gives you an almost electric car feel, and in our tests driving in Delhi, it returned close to 25 km/litre, but on highways it dropped a bit.
Other cars in this segment are Maruti Suzuki’s Grand Vitara Hybrid (Rs 16.63-19.72 lakh) and Victoris Hybrid (Rs 16.38-19.99 lakh).
This segment is ruled by Hyundai Creta, powered by punchy petrol and diesel engines, but not as efficient. While a diesel turbo has highway muscle, its 10-year registration limit in NCR and DPF (diesel particulate filter) issues in city traffic are major hurdles.
This segment has numerous EV options, such as Tata Harrier EV, Creta Electric, Kia Carens Clavis EV, MG Windsor, Maruti Suzuki eVitara, etc.
Premium segment (Rs 20-40 lakh): Toyota Innova Hycross Hybrid
Efficiency: 16.13 km/litre (petrol), 22.16 km/litre (hybrid)
The Hycross shatters the myth that a large 7-seater MPV has to be a fuel guzzler. The Strong Hybrid variants priced Rs 26.76-32.95 lakh return a fuel efficiency of 21-22 km/litre in actual city driving conditions. Petrol-only variants are affordable (Rs 18.7-20.12 lakh), but not as efficient. This segment has options like Toyota Fortuner, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Meridian, but none matches the comfort of the Hycross and the efficiency of the hybrid. Best car in India for upper middle class joint families. Period.
Luxury segment (Rs 40 lakh and above): BMW iX1 LWB
Efficiency: Zero petroleum, 450 km range, Rs 51.4 lakh
It’s rare for an EV to be your best-selling car when you’ve a century’s history of making the most powerful ICE engines, but the iX1 Long Wheelbase ticks all the right boxes – price, comfort, range, space, design, and low running costs. Cars in the luxury segment are big, powerful, and fuel guzzlers, and EVs in this segment have a really long range, and therefore the luxury segment should ideally go electric at the speed of light. Luxury buyer is wealthy, has choice, and must be a leader in national conservation efforts.
Other lovely luxury EVs are Hyundai Ioniq 5 (Rs 55.7 lakh), Volvo EC40 (Rs 59 lakh), Tesla Model Y L (Rs 61.99 lakh), Kia EV6 (Rs 65.97 lakh), MG M9 (Rs 75.9 lakh), Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric (Rs 55 lakh and above), EQS (Rs 1.3 crore), and EQS SUV (Rs 1.33 crore), and BMW i5 (Rs 1.19 crore) and i7 (Rs 2.05 crore).
Dual-cylinder CNG
Pioneered by Tata Motors, this tech splits a single bulky CNG tank into two smaller cylinders tucked beneath the luggage floor. By reclaiming the boot space traditional CNG cars sacrifice, it transforms a small CNG car into a family mover. Hyundai also has this technology now.
