‘Automatics’, the word to go by in the coming years, whereas earlier only petrol was meant to be delved with but now the diesel also started rolling off with the same drivetrain. There are several of them which remarked 2014 as a year of automatic cars in India. Listed down are the best examples that not only suited the pockets of buyers, but also made them overjoyed at the fuel-station realizing expenses aren’t too big comparatively to the manual versions. However, this may not entice the manual buyers as they are always off the edge to shoot bunch of torques by them at a tap and gain the max traction to wheels at every millimeter of gearing. All of you city dwellers out there who wished to use their cars for urban living the most, and even allowing their better halves or the fairer sex to drive the same, penned down are the best examples that money can buy from the automatic portfolio of 2014 in India. Read on to find more…
- Volkswagen Vento Diesel DSG
Thorough with the petrol automatics, Volkswagen tried to go slightly off the track and bring to the table what was just desirable for Indian buyers. The equation of being a bit premium posed by the VW badge on an entry-level sedan – maligned with low running cost from the 1.5-litre diesel engine, which now get mated to the 7-speed DSG gearbox from POLO TSI, will work just fine frolicking on the urban yet crowded streets of India. ARAI had claimed it of running 21.2kmpl in their given driving conditions with 105PS of max power and 250Nm of peak torque, but certainly the other bills of service and such out of the warranty may affect the pockets a hefty chunk of money. Hence, once the drive is settled amidst the most nestled account or budget of the buyers, then spending an average over it for few years will just be fine. Anyways, how many other diesel automatics are available in India can be counted on the fingertips. So, heading to it once will not prove a bad choice. An extended warranty of 2 years/100,000 kms is advised to save from the loose strings of pockets.
- Skoda Rapid Diesel DSG
It isn’t a bit of surprise that VW and Skoda shares the same drivetrain, as both the companies are handled by the one parent company – Volkswagen Group. Under the hoods, it too holds the 1.5-litre diesel engine of 105PS and 250Nm of torque mated to 7-speed DSG gearbox. Comparatively, Skoda against the Vento stands at a premium of Rs 3,000 but it doesn’t make a lot of difference. In the guise of ARAI, this entry-level sedan claimed 21.7kmpl of fuel-efficiency. Here, the same extended warranty of 2years/100,000 is advisable after the standard service period.
- Tata Zest Diesel AMT
Apart from the international carmakers, there is an Indian too in the list – Tata Motors – standing tall with its Zest diesel AMT. This model of Tata can be touted as the cheapest automatic sedan made available to this country. The Indian carmaker had deployed the same 5-speed AMT gearbox of the Maruti Alto K10 and Celerio, but here that transmission comes maligned to the Fiat’s 1.3-litre diesel engine of 4-cylinder producing 90PS of max power and 200Nm of peak torque. However, the price is more in the value in comparison to its stock diesel counterpart. However, it must be appreciated that Tata Motors took the initiative amongst the makers of this country in diesel trim, where the rest (like Maruti) is still shying away to go a bit of free hand even on its best-selling models. ARAI claimed mileage: 23kmpl.
- Maruti Alto K10 AMT
Who could have believed it, the carmaker’s best-seller – Swift – is still vying for a better facelift version, whereas the smallest of line-up that shows up its strength in the top three slot of the world’s most selling cars has gained an automatic gearbox! Maruti Alto K10 AMT is nothing but the genuine AMT version of the stock Alto K10. Minor facelift given to differentiate it on the cosmetic front, but one has to be precarious about it rollicking in the automatic format while overtaking at highways. An engine of 998cc 3-cylinder petrol delivers 68PS of power and 90Nm of torque isn’t that sufficed to heat up the competition against the rest of rivals. Well, there aren’t huge benefits of cash between the Alto and the Celerio, which Maruti must have to think over and negotiate the better terms out of the market. Maruti Alto K10 AMT Petrol delivers fuel-efficiency of 24.07kmpl as per ARAI.
- Maruti Celerio AMT
The Celerio was first car in India to hit the nail right on its head with the automatic buyers relating it to the AMT gearbox first. It was then later where rest of automakers started flourishing with some more examples of it. Reportedly, more than half of the Celerios sold were of AMT trims being powered by the K-series engine of Maruti, but company fails to bank upon the demand of diesel buyers. It consumes single litre of fuel per 23.1 kilometers.
