10 Best Cars Under 5 Lakhs In India To Buy In 2021

Entry-level car segment within the Rs 5 lakh range is the most popular one in India as these are the only ones affordable by the masses. However, it’s not easy to choose the best cars under 5 lakhs in India as there are plenty of options in the market. Cars in this category offer the perfect mix of affordability and peppy performance.

Additionally, there are a lot of other benefits of buying a car under 5 lakhs in India. They are cheaper to insure, maintain, and run daily. It is, therefore, no wonder why most common cars in India fall below this price point. Please note that the list is in no particular order and the prices indicated are ex-showroom prices.

10 Best Cars Under 5 Lakhs In India (2021)

S.no.	Car Name	Price
1	Tata Tiago	Rs 4.99- 7.09 lakh
2	Maruti Suzuki Wagon R	Rs 4.80- 6.33 lakh
3	Maruti Suzuki Ignis	Rs 4.95- 7.36 lakh
4	Hyundai Santro	Rs 4.76- 6.44 lakh
5	Maruti Suzuki Celerio	Rs 4.65 – 5.90
6	Renault Kwid Facelift	Rs 3.32-5.48 lakh
7	Alto 800	Rs 2.99- 4.60 lakh
8	Maruti Suzuki S-Presso	Rs 3.78- 5.26 lakh
9	Renault Triber (if willing to spend a bit more)	Rs 5.30- 7.82 lakh
10	Datsun Redigo	Rs 3.83- 4.95 lakh

1. Tata Tiago – Best Car Under 5 Lakhs In Terms of Safety

Tata Tiago	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 4.99- 7.09 lakh
Engine Options	1.2-liter 3-Cyl Revotron BS6 Petrol (AMT and Manual Transmission)
Engine Specs	84.4 BHP and 113 Nm Torque
Fuel Economy	21 km/l

Tata Tiago is the safest and best-handling car you can buy for under Rs 5 lakh budget in India. EURO NCAP awarded the facelift version of Tata Tiago a 4-star safety rating. It has a good road presence and an appealing design.

Additionally, you should consider buying Tata Tiago because of its reliable build quality, powerful engine, and comfortable ride quality. Tata Tiago also offers a fully digital instrument console, with two front airbags along with EBD and Corner stability control as standard.

Furthermore, the automaker recently introduced a new automatic variant as well to offer more options.

2. Maruti Suzuki Wagon R

Maruti Suzuki Wagon R	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 4.80- 6.33 lakh
Engine Options	1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual and AMT) 1.2-liter 4-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual and AMT) 1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol + CNG  (Manual)
Engine Specs	1.0-liter – 67 BHP and 90 Nm Torque 1.2-liter – 82 BHP and 113 Nm Torque
Fuel Economy	20.52 km/l in petrol 33 km/kg in CNG

Wagon R is great for long, comfortable rides and luggage hauling. The suspension settings in this car are quite soft and tuned mainly for comfort. Both engine options for Wagon R deliver an engaging driving experience and punchy performance.

Wagon R is bigger than all of its competitors and offers class-leading space for its passengers and in its boot. Getting in and out of this car is a comfort that outperforms even the class-leading sedans.

Plus, it’s one of the very few cars with a factory-fitted CNG kit and offers amazing fuel economy.

Some of the cons of Wagon R include less cabin insulation, less stability at high speeds due to soft suspension settings, and average build quality.

3. Maruti Suzuki Ignis – Best Premium Car Under 5 Lakh

Maruti Suzuki Ignis	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 4.95- 7.36 lakh
Engine Options	1.2-liter 4-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual and AMT)
Engine Specs	82 BHP and 113 Nm Torque
Fuel Economy	21 km/l on petrol

Ignis is the most budget-friendly premium car in India under Rs. 5 lakh budget that also comes with a powerful engine. The design of Maruti Ignis is quirky, and some users adore it while others hate it. The interior cabin of this car feels well insulated as almost no engine noise penetrates inside.

Ignis is a compact SUV, so the driver seat offers good visibility. Due to its compactness and responsive steering, Ignis is easy to maneuver around the city.

Ignis’s main problem is less cabin space for rear passengers and its polarizing exterior design.

4. Hyundai Santro

Hyundai Santro	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 4.76- 6.44 lakh
Engine Options	1.1-liter 4-Cy BS6 Petrol (Manual and AMT) 1.1-liter 4-Cyl BS6 Petrol + CNG (Manual)
Engine Specs	68 BHP and 99 Nm Torque
Fuel Economy	20 km/l on petrol 30.48 km/kg on CNG

Hyundai Santro is the most affordable car in Hyundai’s lineup and one of the cheapest 4-cylinder cars in India. It offers several features in its class, which other cars do not like, passenger side AC vents, and a reverse parking camera.

Santro is based on the same platform as Hyundai’s best-selling car Grand i10. In terms of driving, it offers a smooth gearbox with short throws, which makes your city drive comfortable. The engine in Santro is very refined and performs very well at the low and mid-range but struggles a bit at the top end. Overall, Santro is a great city car under Rs. 5 lakh budget.

One of the main cons of the Hyundai Santro is its lightweight body structure, due to which it has a low safety rating.

5. Maruti Suzuki Celerio

Maruti Suzuki Celerio	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 4.65 – 5.90 lakh for Celerio Rs 5.11 – 5.91 lakh for Celerio X
Engine Options	1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual and AMT) 1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol + CNG (Manual)
Engine Specs	67 BHP and 90 Nm Torque
Fuel Economy	23 km/l in petrol 32 km/kg in CNG

Stance-wise, unlike the Wagon R, Celerio is wider than it is tall, which makes it very stable at high speeds. Celerio’s suspension setup is neither stiff nor too soft. It can easily soak road bumps while lending the car a planted feel at above 100 km/h driving speed.

Celerio’s peppy engine and its responsive handling instantly make it one of the best entry-level performance cars. Celerio is a bit more expensive as it only offers a smaller 1.0-liter, despite being similar in pricing to WagonR. But it makes up for it in terms of ride stability and handling performance.

But despite being a relatively premium product in its segment, Celerio lacks features like a digital instrument console and LED/projector headlights.

Maruti Suzuki Celerio X – Crossover Variant Of Celerio

It is the sister of Maruti Celrio but has more sporty features like a redesigned front and rear bumper along with black alloy wheels. One more difference in Celerio X over its normal variant is a heavy steering wheel. It is responsive nonetheless, and more weight only makes it easy for new drivers to handle this car at high speed.

However, it’s a bit expensive compared to its sibling due to its makeup. The main con of Celerio X is that it is just like Celerio with a cosmetic overhaul.

The rugged rear and front bumper, in addition to an all-black interior, only gives it a different look and not much in terms of functionality.

6. Renault Kwid Facelift

Renault Kwid Facelift	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 3.32-5.48 lakh
Engine Options	0.8-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual) 1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual and AMT)
Engine Specs	0.8-litre – 53.2 BHP and 72 Nm Torque 1.0-liter – 67 BHP and 91 Nm Torque
Fuel Economy	25.17 km/l for 0.8-liter engine. 23.01 km/l for 1.0-liter engine.

The 2021 Renault Kwid facelift is one of India’s best cars in terms of design and visual appeal available under Rs 5 lakh. The updated Renault Kwid features a redesigned front and rear end along with an increase in weight and 14-inch wheels.

The highlight of Renault Kwid is its ride quality and a list of features like a touch screen, reverse parking camera, and a digital console.

Unlike its competitors, both engine options in Renault Kwid do not offer a punchy performance.

7. Alto 800

Alto 800	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 2.99- 4.60 lakh
Engine Options	0.8-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual) 0.8-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol + CNG (Manual)
Engine Specs	40.3 BHP and 60 Nm Torque on CNG 47.3 BHP and 69 Nm Torque on Petrol
Fuel Economy	25 km/l in petrol 33 km/kg in CNG

It is India’s best-selling car and sells in millions of units per year. Alto 800 is a city car with great fuel efficiency and easy driveability. Alto 800 is very basic in terms of features, but higher trims do offer touch screen functionality. The engine performance of this car is also very mediocre, as Alto 800 is only meant to be driven at slow speed.

The Alto 800 is a very basic car with a below-average interior and ride quality. The interior cabin space in Alto 800 is much smaller, and a lot of engine sound infiltrates inside, making it very noisy at high speeds.

8. Maruti Suzuki S-Presso

Maruti Suzuki S-Presso	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 3.78- 5.26 lakh
Engine Options	1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual and AMT) 1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol + CNG (Manual)
Engine Specs	60.7 BHP and 90 Nm Torque
Fuel Economy	22 km/l in petrol 30 km/kg in CNG

S-Presso is a mini-SUV from Maruti Suzuki, which looks like a hybrid between Alto K10 and Wagon R. S-Presso is lightweight and uses the same engine as its other Maruti cousins. Therefore, it delivers quick acceleration and peppy performance throughout the rev range.

The handling of S-Presso is similar to last-gen Wagon R. Meaning, S-Presso may suffer from a little bit of body roll while turning at high speeds. The Maruti S-Presso’s interior quality and cabin space are similar to other Maruti cars in its segment, like the Celerio.

S-Presso’s instrument cluster isn’t present in front of the driver. Instead, it is integrated into the center console. It can be a problem if you want to read information like fuel level, distance traveled, while driving the car.

9. Renault Triber (Consider It If Willing To Spend A Bit More)

Renault Triber	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 5.30- 7.82 lakh
Engine Options	1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual AMT)
Engine Specs	1.0-liter 72 BHP and 96 Nm of Torque
Fuel Economy	20 km/l

Renault Triber is famous for two things: space and affordability. Powered by a 1-liter 3-Cylinder engine, Renault Triber is a 7-seater subcompact MUV. It has no direct competition in its segment but it rivals Maruti Ertiga, which belongs to a higher segment.

The handling and ride comfort of the Renault Triber is top-notch. The base model of the Triber, which costs Rs. 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom), comes with skinny 15-inch tires. The wheel setup is enough for city driving but beyond 120 km/h, the driver will start to feel less confident while making lane changes. Renault Triber feels underpowered due to low engine output, and its small motor becomes noisy at high revs during highway driving.

Although the Renault Triber is a 7-seater, its last row is suitable only for children. The instrument cluster in the car is digital in all variants, which is a nice touch.

10. Datsun Redigo

Datsun Redigo	Specifications
Price (ex-showroom)	Rs 3.83- 4.95 lakh
Engine Options	0.8-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual) 1.0-liter 3-Cyl BS6 Petrol (Manual and AMT)
Engine Specs	0.8-liter – 53.2 BHP and 72 Nm Torque 1.0-liter – 67.05 BHP and 91 Nm Torque
Fuel Economy	21 km/l for 0.8-liter engine 22 km/l for 1.0-liter engine

The new generation Datsun Redigo brings with it a host of interior and exterior changes. However, it retains the engine and the chassis from the previous generation so there’s not much improvement in that.

In terms of features, the Datsun Redigo offers the highest ground clearance of 184 mm in its class, a touch screen infotainment system with a reverse parking sensor, and LED DRLs at the front end. Datsun Redigo is available with two engine options, a 0.8-liter, and a 1.0-liter motor. Both of these motors are 3-Cylinder units, with only the 1.0-liter variant having the AMT option.

Just like the Renault Kwid, Datsun Redigo looks bold and sleek compared to the other cars in this segment. Datsun Redigo rivals the popular Maruti Suzuki Alto and defeats it in terms of looks and features. However, Alto trumps Redigo in terms of engine performance and refinement. The steering response of Datsun Redigo is adequate, the car responds to the steering input but it definitely has dead spots. Also, the small engine does become noisy at high revs. The 0.8-liter engine is good enough to cruise at 80 km/h. If you wish to go beyond that, it’s better to go for the 1.0-liter unit.

Which Is The Best Car Under 5 Lakhs?

We have discussed most of the important highlights of all the aforementioned cars. Now it depends on the budget and your personal choice and based on that you can choose anyone.

Nevertheless, in our opinion, Maruti Suzuki Ignis and Tata Tiago are two cars that stand out from the rest of the products. Both offer a good blend of performance, safety, and affordability. However, every car on this list has its own quirks and features. If your budget is Rs 5 lakh, then these are your best options in the market.

So, according to you, which one is the best car under 5 lakhs in India?