Upgrading from my Tiago AMT: Get the Tiago EV or something else?

I'm living in a rental house temporarily and setting up a charging point is not feasible for the next 1.5 yrs

BHPian abhiroopmn recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have been trying to replace my secondary car and making a decision on which car is more appropriate has made me go bonkers. Too many pros and cons to evaluate and more days I spend on research I only am finding myself in a deeper pit than I started with, hence decided to post here to receive some expert advices and suggestions from current owners of those cars.

A little background of myself:

• I live in Bangalore and currently own two cars - Hector Diesel and Tiago XZA. Hector used to be primary car before my left leg started showing signs (my left calf muscle is like 3 inches more than my right). So, I converted my Hector Diesel to a weekend and outstation car and bought a Tiago for office commute car in Bangalore traffic. I'm happy to say that I picked up a pre-owned Tiago since it helped he understand the issues of owning a Tata and a good feel of how AMT automatics are. So, after 3 yrs I have decided to replace it with a superior automatic. EVs seem to be superior automatics but they come with their baggage of issues though. Else, would have to look at more reliable and smooth automatics.
• Daily to & fro commute to office is about 50km
• I'm living in a rental house temporarily and setting up a charging point is not feasible for the next 1.5 yrs
• My office has EV charging points which I plan to use as the primary source
• Don't plan to spend lavishly on the second car. Last car hunt made me realise that more I see a higher segment EV my FOMO just increases
• I do not have a parking temporarily and park on the road (within a gated community). Not sure if I should be worried of rodents.
• Occasionally drive to Hassan and I foresee that these trips could become more frequent.

Some of the cars I test drove so far:

• Hyundai i20 CVT: The drive was smooth but I did not find it real fun. Probably addicted to the Turbo on my Hector.
• Hyundai Aura AMT: I was skeptical of picking up an AMT again, but the SA insisted that I drive it once before I decide. To my surprise, I actually liked the way Aura responded compared to i20. The braking on Aura was not smooth though and felt the bite was real hard (probably that's something I can get adjusted to over time)
• Honda Amaze: I had this on my list but could not test drive until now

I observed that my budget to buy an automatic was reaching around 14L, so decided to look at EVs. Sadly there are only 5 EVs - Comet, Tiago, Punch, Nexon, XUV400 (removed Tigor since it's similar to Tiago, and other cars since they are over 20L which I feel is too much for my secondary run).

Don't plan to spend lavishly on the second car. Last car hunt made me realise that more I see a higher segment car my FOMO just increases

I do not have a parking temporarily and park on the road (within a gated community). Not sure if I should be worried of rodents causing major damages to battery modules.

Occasionally drive to Hassan and I foresee that these trips could become more frequent in the future.

Driving experience offered by EV cars looks enticing to me compared to Tiago AMT. Some suggestions that I received so far have been that EVs that although you save on fuel, it would all just accumulate at the end when you need replace the batteries.

I think my yearly usage on this car would be around 13 - 20k depending on whether it can do short trips as well. So, I'm open to suggestions on whether EV makes sense or if there are other better cars that I need to consider.

Here's what BHPian IshaanIan had to say on the matter:

You seem to have forgotten to add the Fronx 1.0 turbo with its competent torque converter gearbox. Also if you have tried a used car before, why not add a used automatic Brio to your search?

Here's what BHPian electric_eel had to say on the matter:

With 13-20 K worth of driving an year, office charging option and mostly city drives EVs are a no brainer. Just one question; is home charging option available? If that too is yes then fear not just go for it. All this FUD about battery life is nonsense.

Here's what BHPian nova.19_exe had to say on the matter:

Check out the i20 N-Line. Comes with a DCT option. Better than the i20 CVT in every way possible

Just out of curiosity, what is your actual budget and till what can you stretch till? Knowing that, folks can get an idea and help you based on that.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.