Best automatic car with ADAS under 20 lakh in India

My friend did check out the Mahindra XUV700 but was put off by the Rs 32 lakh price tag.

BHPian gischethans recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My friend came back from his maiden work trip to the United States and is spoilt by what cars there offer, particularly automatic transmissions and ADAS. Soon after landing here, he went to a Mahindra showroom and checked out the XUV 700 but was put off by the 32 lakh price tag.

While he is not much into driving, he is now sure that he wants a good automatic with ADAS features. He has set the budget at ~₹20 lakhs. Currently, he owns a Fiat Avventura Emotion Multijet 1.3, 2019 make and is hoping to sell it for ~₹4 lakhs. Interestingly, being a discontinued model, providers like Spinny are not even taking online requests to check it out.

My knowledge of ADAS is limited and I have asked him to test drive cars from multiple brands, starting with Honda Elevate.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say about the matter:

Ask your friend to take off his apple pie-tinted glasses and take an extensive test drive of any ADAS-equipped car in India.

I strongly believe that ADAS is not suited to Indian roads and conditions. Things here are simply too unpredictable. There have been far too many cases of false alarm interventions and braking by ADAS systems across cars, resulting in close calls as well as unnecessary and avoidable crashes. The system is just not reliable enough.

ADAS availability should not be the decision-making factor in a car purchase in India. Period.

Here's what BHPian Lobogris had to say about the matter:

Completely disagree with Shreyans_Jain. I have been driving my MG ZS EV and MG Astor, both equipped with ADAS, for over 2 years in India. ADAS is extremely useful and is an absolutely must-have feature. I would never ever buy a vehicle without it. I haven't had a single instance of false activation. If you are a sensible driver who keeps a safe distance, the chances of false activation are negligible. These issues only happen when people tailgate or do not slow down for pedestrians or other vehicles. If I see a pedestrian on or even near the road, I would be slowing down long before ADAS has a chance to do emergency braking.

Here's what BHPian bijims had to say about the matter:

I agree with Shreyans_Jain here, but if your friend desperately needs a car with ADAS under 20 lakhs, better get one with Level 2 ADAS, the options available are:

Honda Elevate ZX CVT

The Honda Elevate ZX CVT comes with a smooth and reliable 1.5L iVTEC CVT producing 119 bhp of power and 145 nm of torque along with ADAS and costs exactly 20 lakhs OTR Bangalore, and is an excellent buy. If you are looking for a no-nonsense, reliable petrol SUV under 20 lakhs with ADAS, the Elevate is the one to go for.

Honda City ZX CVT

The City costs almost the same as the Elevate but feels more premium, and is an excellent choice if you want to go for a sedan.

MG Astor Savvy

The Astor is available in two petrol engines (both with automatic), a 1498cc N.A. Petrol mated to a CVT producing 108 bhp of power and 144 nm of torque and a 1349cc 3-cylinder Turbo Petrol mated to a 6-speed AT producing 138 bhp of power and 220 nm of torque, the car is loaded with features and has good quality and fit and finish too, the 1.5L CVT Savvy variant costs 21 lakhs OTR in Bangalore, but with over 1.25 lakh cash discount and 50k exchange bonus, it easily falls below 20 lakhs, the 1.3L Turbo AT Savvy variant costs 23 lakhs OTR with similar discounts as well, but crosses the 20 lakh barrier regardless. Both of these are worthy contenders, but the fuel efficiency of both these engine-transmission combos is nothing to write home about.

Hyundai Verna SX(O)

The Verna too, is available in two engine and gearbox combos, a 1497 cc MPi N.A. IVT produces 113 bhp of power and 144 nm of torque and a 1482 cc Turbo GDi 7-speed DCT produces 158 bhp of power and 253 nm of torque, both of these in their SX(O) trim come with an extensive ADAS suite, the 1.5 IVT costs 20 lakhs OTR Bangalore, whereas the 1.5 Turbo DCT costs 21.67 lakhs OTR Bangalore, however, both of these variants come with year-end discounts to the tune of 45k. The IVT is definitely within budget, but you may have to stretch a bit for the DCT.

These are your best options for cars with Level 2 ADAS in and around 20 lakhs OTR Bangalore. If Level 1 ADAS is fine, then the Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet (facelift) can also be considered.

Hope it Helps! and do reach out if you seek any further advice.

Here's what BHPian 07CR had to say about the matter:

I recently purchased a Kia Seltos GT Line which gets level 2 ADAS. I felt Hyundai-Kia cars provide the best ADAS setup which has been tuned more with Indian conditions in mind. While Seltos with ADAS should set him back by around 23.3L (OTR Pune Price), he can go with the Verna, which encompasses many of the Seltos ADAS 2 features. It would also be priced lower at around 19.xxL.

I would strongly suggest against Elevate, as the ADAS in it is considered to be highly suspect as per multiple reviews at night, foggy and rainy conditions. This could be also because it is only equipped with camera-based ADAS, without any Radars (neither front nor rear).

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