Community speak: A well-built petrol car below Rs. 5 lakh

With a budget of Rs. 5 lakh, the choice of cars is actually quite vast. But how do you pick a car that’s right for you? CarToq community member Satendra Kumar is faced with this issue.

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He asks: “I want to buy a petrol car below Rs. 5 lakh for weekend drives with good interiors and build quality with the option of adding a CNG kit in future. My monthly travel is around 300 kms in city. Please suggest me a value for money car.”

His primary needs are build quality, ability to fit a CNG kit later and good-looking interiors. Let’s see what cars he can choose from.

CarToq expert Babychen Mathew suggests he should pick a Honda Brio above all else in his budget. Mathew’s reasoning: “It’s an excellent car with enough power for long drives, especially on highways. It’s great to drive, even if you are a bit of an enthusiastic driver.” Mathew’s other suggestions include the Ford Figo.

Of course, a CNG kit on the Brio is something that hasn’t been tried out, though it can be done. CarToq expert Shreyans Jain says the Brio can easily take a 60 litre CNG tank in its boot. But he also suggests that Satendra take a look at the Chevrolet Beat if he wants good looks, build quality and a good list of equipment.

Aravindhan and Saasha Arora also suggest the Maruti Wagon R with CNG, while CarToq expert Roshun Povaiah suggests the Hyundai i10.

Best choice overall

Looking at the suggestions, it looks like the Honda Brio would suit Satendra’s needs just fine. Cartoq member Anupam Bhatnagar says Honda’s warranty will be void after fitting a CNG kit. However, since Satendra wants to fit a CNG kit only at a later date and his monthly running is not much, he can stick with the Brio petrol in stock form till the warranty runs out and then convert it to CNG. The Honda Brio has the most powerful engine of the lot at 87 bhp from its 1.2 litre petrol engine. It is peppy and fun to drive. Even with CNG, its power loss won’t be too much and it will still be a great car to drive.

The Brio fits his needs of good build quality and great interiors. And in the long term a CNG kit won’t affect its performance too much as well.