What’s missing in the top feature-rich SUVs of India?

What you’ll miss in the top FIVE feature-rich SUVs under Rs. 30 lakh

Sport utility vehicles are all about attitude and buyers expect them to have every conceivable feature possible. This includes safety features and convenience features such as GPS navigation, sunroof and powered seats among others.

If you have a budget of Rs. 30 lakh and want an SUV with the maximum number of features, we’ve made it easier for you to pick one up – by telling you what the top five SUVs DON’T have. Here’s CarToq’s list of FIVE SUVs under Rs. 30 lakh, which offer maximum features for the price, in descending order of their feature list. (See table for comparison)

Honda CR-V 2.4 4WD

Price: Rs. 25.10 lakh

What’s missing: Separate rear AC control, 3rd row seating, off-road credentials

The Honda CR-V is surprisingly the most feature-rich SUV you can get for under Rs. 30 lakh. What the CR-V does not have is a third row. It’s only a five seater. And the rear seat passengers don’t get independent AC controls. It is a soft roader, not a hard core off-roader.

However, it has a good list of safety features, six airbags, traction control and ABS, and also has the convenience features that make it worth it such as an electric sun roof and GPS navigation, along with dual zone automatic climate control.

The CR-V is powered by a 2.4 litre petrol engine that puts out 190PS of power and 226 Nm of torque, mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifts, and on-demand all-wheel drive. The combination of features and price, makes the CR-V the pick of the lot if you want the most features.

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Hyundai Santa Fe 4WD AT

Price: Rs. 30.02 lakh

What’s missing: Sunroof, GPS navigation

The Hyundai Santa Fe is the most expensive SUV in this comparison, with a recent price hike taking the top-end model to a little over Rs. 30 lakh. At that price point you would expect everything in an SUV right? But sadly, you don’t get GPS navigation and you don’t get a sunroof – features that cheaper SUVs have.

However, it does give you a pretty long feature list that includes key safety features and convenience features. The advantage it probably has over the Honda CR-V is that it runs on diesel and it can seat seven passengers.

The Hyundai Santa Fe is powered by a 2.2 litre diesel engine that puts out 195 bhp of power and 437 Nm of torque with a six-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The Hyundai Santa Fe is the one to pick if you must have the most powerful SUV under Rs. 30 lakh.

Also see: 5 affordable SUVs we wish for in India

Toyota Fortuner 4×4 AT

Price: Rs. 26.50 lakh

What’s missing: More airbags, sunroof, push-button ignition

The Toyota Fortuner is the best-selling SUV among those priced over Rs. 20 lakh. It sells over 1,200 vehicles on average every month, nearly 1,000 more than its rivals. Amazingly, the Fortuner manages such sales number despite having far less safety kit than its rivals – it only has two airbags, while all the others have either four or six. It’s also not great on convenience features – no sunroof and no push button ignition, like the Santa Fe and CR-V have.

What it has going in its favour are aggressive looks and road presence and the reliability of the Toyota badge. It has other convenience features though such as cruise control, powered driver’s seat, automatic climate control and can seat seven.

The Fortuner is powered by a 3-litre diesel engine that puts out 169 bhp of power and 343 Nm of torque. The top-end model now comes with a five-speed automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel drive with a low-range gearbox. If you have to have a fairly feature-rich SUV that is really good off-road as well, the Toyota Fortuner is the best choice here.

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Mahindra Ssangyong Rexton RX7

Price: Rs. 23.2 lakh

What’s missing: Comprehensive MID, headlamp washers, reverse camera, push-button start

The Mahindra Ssangyong Rexton is a fairly old-school SUV, based on an old M-Class design. Although it has been updated, basic features you would expect are missing such as a comprehensive MID (the instrument panel has an old design feel to it). It also does not get some convenience features such as headlamp washers or a push-button ignition. And a reverse camera is an optional extra!

But it has all the other creature comforts you would want including a sunroof, powered driver’s seat and GPS navigation.

The Ssangyong Rexton is powered by a 2.7 litre, five-cylinder diesel engine with a five-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. It puts out 184 bhp of power and 402 Nm of torque. However, it is fairly lethargic to drive in the city and is better suited to long-distance cruising.

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Mahindra XUV500 W8 AWD

Price: Rs. 15.06 lakh

What’s missing: Automatic gearbox option, headlamp washers, push-button ignition

If you really don’t want to shell out a lot of money for a feature-rich SUV, look no further than the Mahindra XUV500. This SUV is nearly Rs. 10 lakh cheaper than the others, but packs in as much, if not more features at that price point. We’ll forgive it because it is cheaper than the rest, but the option of an automatic transmission, push-button ignition and headlamp washers would have been nice. Also the all-wheel drive variant does not come with the sunroof just yet, but the W8 Exclusive edition has a sunroof and powered driver’s seat, with a reverse camera being a dealer option across the range.

Otherwise, six airbags, climate control, cruise control and GPS navigation are part of standard equipment. The Mahindra XUV500 is powered by a 2.2 litre diesel engine that puts out 140 bhp of power and 330 Nm of torque with a six-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive in the top-end variant. An automatic gearbox may be launched in the next few months. Also see: Maruti’s 4 upcoming affordable SUVs

What about the others?

Besides these five SUVs, you also have the likes of the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport that is a rugged, yet comfortable off-roader, but loses out on a host of features. The Mahindra Scorpio is also fairly feature rich for its price point – including things such as automatic headlamps, cruise control, GPS navigation, automatic climate control and rain-sensing wipers, but it only has two airbags, no power folding mirrors and no separate rear AC controls. The other two SUVs that offer a fairly comprehensive feature list, but are only five-seaters are the Skoda Yeti and the Renault Koleos.