5 lacs is a narrow budget if one is looking for a car that ticks all boxes like quality, cheap service, safety, cheap spare parts and resale.

You have to give up one or more factors depending upon your preferences.

Luckily, in India we have many car manufacturers that offers cars within this budget with various qualities but missing out on other.

I personally have stressed Quality & Safety should be the top most priorities while choosing a car within this budget too because eventually, Car is a people’s mover that ensures safety. Quality is an important factor for durability, withstanding tough conditions on Indian roads and good quality helps in lesser cost in maintenance in the long run.

Here are my choices and ranking in this budget:

#1: Tata Tiago: It has 1200 CC, 85 BHP Engine, 2 Airbags, ABS, EBD and 4 stars in GNCAP safety ratings. It has Kerb Weight of 935 kgs which makes it the heaviest and safest car in this segment. Tata is successfully selling this car for last 4 years now and there will be no problem regarding its servicing or spare parts.

#2: Maruti Ignis: A spacious and practical car. Not safe like Tiago as it’s weight is 830 kgs only & build on heartech platform, it is the same platform where Swift is made but it scored just 2 stars in GNCAP safety. Ignis is a fine car if you are looking for a city car with cheap service cost and mileage.

#3: Hyundai Santro: A fine car which offers 4 cylinder engine in this segment but it disappoints on safety. Scored just 2 stars out of 5 in GNCAP and it offers only 1 airbag in the base variant which is under 5 lacs.

#4: Maruti Wagon R: Wagon R is the highest selling car in India, comes with a peppy engine, best suited for city drives. But it scored only 2 stars in safety GNCAP ratings so Maruti needs to be improve it’s build quality to ensure safety for its buyers. I prefer Wagon R to only those who want to drive within the city and at lower speeds.

If you have any doubts or suggestions, please comment and let me know.