While buying a car, transmission is probably the most important thing to consider for your new car. Automatic transmission cars are advanced and have gained popularity in recent times.
Many people have started considering manual transmission as outdated and a cliche, so the younger generation is buying automatic transmission cars with enthusiasm. So, it is not surprising that the number of automatic cars you can buy today is ever increasing.Let us discuss today why you should get an automatic car for yourself and in what ways they definitely prove to be better than the traditional manual transmission cars.
Easier to Drive
This is probably the biggest advantage with automatic cars and any automatic car owner will point this out at first. Automatic cars are extremely convenient to drive in today’s ever increasing traffic. Since an automatic car doesn’t even have a clutch, your feet don’t get fatigued as before.
The repeated shifting of gears in neck to neck traffic is really frustrating. Automatic cars have really changed the world of cars in terms of ease of driving. Without the need of pressing clutch and shifting gears, they have become the first choice for customers. For new drivers this is an added advantage.
Automatic cars only have four gears. They are D, R, N and P. D is for forward driving and R for reverse. N is for neutral and P should be engaged after parking your car. This P mode automatically engages the parking brakes.
Control
During our driving lessons, we all have been told to firmly hold the steering with both hands so that we can keep our car in a straight line. In manual cars, we also need to shift gears and so we have to leave our left hand from the steering from time to time. Now I don’t know about you but whenever I used to go to shift the gear, my car moved away from going straight.
In automatic cars, this is a great help! You can keep both your hands on the steering wheel and so can control the car better.
Another perspective of control is when going up on an elevated place. All new drivers face this issue and when they try to take their car uphill, the car jerks and engine stops. But in an automatic car, this control is not difficult as clutch and gear will be automatically engaged and so no more engine stalling.
Fuel efficiency
Up until now, automatic cars were lagging in this field as they had lower fuel efficiency. But today, the gap has been bridged and now automatic cars give the same fuel economy as a manual car with the advancement of torque converter.
Moreover, since new drivers are not quite aware of driving in a way to get better mileage in manual cars, so, generally novice drivers get less fuel efficiency in manual cars. But in automatic cars, this fuel efficiency is uniform for all kinds of drivers. So, even a new driver can get better fuel efficiency in an automatic car.
The growth of automatic transmission cars in India
Automatic transmission cars have gained more popularity in the used car market as used cars come cheap. Adoption of automatic transmission cars in India has increased to 37% in 2020 from 17% in 2016 according to a survey by Droom. That;s more than two fold increase. So, let us study in detail how automatic transmission works and what is making buyers interested in it.
The sales of automatic cars accounts for 13.9% in 2019 vs the 3.9% in 2014 for Hyundai India.
For Tata Motors, automatic car sales are at 14% of total sales. This is due to the convenience in driving in heavy traffic is what their passenger advisor say and this is expected to keep increasing
At Honda Cars India, the rise in quarter sales for automatic cars in larger cars are huge, 40% for the Honda City and 30% for the Amaze. This shift to automatic cars is very impressive.
VG Ramakrishnan, the managing partner at consultancy firm Avanteum Partners, said that Introduction of automated manual transmission in the entry segment at a premium of around Rs 30,000 came when the disposable income of people was increasing and so, the growth is more due to less price gap and this is affordable for people.
Types of Automatic Transmission: Dct Vs Cvt Vs Amt
DCT
DCT stands for Dual Clutch Transmission. This is on the heavier side as it has a lot of moving parts. It has two clutches. One clutch controls the odd gears and the other one, even ones. The advantage is that it is very smooth and one cannot tell when a gear has been shifted.
When we keep the car in driver mode then the clutch will engage gear 1 and the second clutch will also engage gear 2 but the gear won’t rotate its own shaft as the second clutch is not engaged yet.
CVT
CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission. A CVT is a soulless transmission is what many experts say. It has an infinite gear ratio. It is called soulless as you won’t feel the engine revving up and making more noise. It doesn’t let the engine rev up enough at all.
AMT
Automated Manual Transmission is the most widely available transmission in India. Does it mean it is the best? Well not actually. It is so popular because it is cheaper. Pressing a clutch allows us to disconnect the engine power we know and then we shift the gear. In AMT, the clutch is automatically engaged by hydraulic systems. It is a simpler process and cheaper.
Working of Automatic Transmission Cars
Usually, automatic transmission cars use hydraulic power to shift the gears. These transmissions are fitted with a torque coupling converter and gear sets that have a range of gears for the vehicle.
The torque converter connects the engine to the transmission and uses pressurized fluid to shift gears. This setup replaces a manual friction clutch and this transmission allows the car to stop smoothly without stalling.
Enough of working physics, this blog is all about the list of best automatic cars available in India. Let’s jump into the topic.
Best Automatic Transmission Cars in India
Considering the pocket size of different customers, we have created two lists for the best transmission cars in India. One will have a maximum price limit of 10 lakhs and another will not have any price barrier.
Top Automatic Cars for Less Than Rs 10 Lakhs:
In the recent past, automatic gearbox was largely reserved for high priced cars but now automatic transmission comes in affordable packers too.
A. Renault Kwid
Renault kwid is one of the best entry level hatchbacks in the market which is great value for money. It offers a touchscreen infotainment system.
- Engine displacement- 999cc, 3 cylinder petrol
- Power- 68hp
- Torque- 91Nm
- Transmission- 5 Speed AMT
- It has a claimed ARAI mileage of 22 kmpl
The AMT options are available only on the top variants and prices range from Rs 4.72L to 5L ex-showroom, New Delhi
B. Datsun Redi Go
This car has received a new facelift variant and added some new features to stay updated. New features include daytime running lights aka DRLs and a touchscreen infotainment system
- Engine displacement- 999cc, 3 Cylinder petrol
- Power- 68hp
- Torque- 91Nm
- Gearbox- 5 Speed AMT
It has a claimed ARAI mileage of 22kmpl. AMT is provided only on the top variant.
Prices start at 4.77lakh ex-showroom, New Delhi.
C. Maruti Suzuki S-Presso
The S-Presso is a roomy car with a cabin full of features. It has a 1 liter engine and the gearbox isn’t very smooth and can be jerky at times.
- Engine displacement- 998cc, 3 Cylinder petrol
- Power- 68hp
- Torque- 90Nm
- Gearbox- 5-Speed AMT
Mileage is rated at 21.5kmpl by ARAI. Prices range from Rs 4.76L to 4.99L ex-showroom Delhi.
D. Maruti Suzuki Celerio
Coming above the entry level automatic cars, the Maruti Celerio has been in the market for quite some time now and has been the first car from Maruti to receive an automatic gearbox.
- Engine- 998cc, 3 cylinder petrol
- Power- 68hp
- Torque- 90 Nm
- Gearbox- 5 Speed AMT
It has 21.63kmpl ARAI rated mileage and prices range from 5.23L to 5.53L ex- showroom Delhi.
E. Maruti Suzuki WagonR
WagonR has been India’s largest selling car in the past. WagonR provides two engine options in the automatic transmission. One with the smaller 1 liter engine and another with a bigger 1.2 liter engine. It also has decent space and has a large touchscreen infotainment.
For the 1L engine:
- Engine- 998cc, 3 cylinder, petrol
- Power- 68hp
- Torque- 90Nm
- And a mileage of about 21.7kmpl
This variant starts from 5.31L Rs ex-showroom
For the 1.2L engine:
- Engine- 1197cc, 4 cylinder, petrol
- Power- 83hp
- Torque- 113 Nm
Mileage- 20.5kmpl. Note this is more power and torque because of a bigger engine. So, it can be considered. Prices range from 5.61L to 5.91L ex-showroom Delhi.
F. Tata Tiago
Here is a car from Tata which has a bigger engine.
- Engine- 1199cc, 3 cylinder, petrol
- Power- 86hp
- Torque- 113 Nm
- Gearbox- 5 Speed AMT
Prices range from 6.20L to 6.60L Rs. Tiago is a fresh car and doesn’t look old like the WagonR.
G. Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS
This is a very good looking car and is definitely premium than the other cars mentioned in the list. It also comes with a premium price tag and is the first car in our list to feature an AMT gearbox both in the petrol and Diesel variant.
Petrol variant:
- Engine- 1197cc, 4 cylinder, petrol
- Power- 83hp
- Torque- 114 Nm
- Gearbox- 5 Speed AMT and a mileage of 20.5kmpl
- Prices start at 6.45L
- Diesel variant:
- Engine- 1198cc, 3 cylinder, turbo diesel
- Power- 75hp
- Torque- 190 Nm
It also comes with a 5 Speed AMT gearbox with a whopping 25kmpl mileage. Prices start from 8.15L ex-showroom Delhi.
Overall Top Automatic Transmission Cars in India
This category is for people who don’t want to compromise on the performance and features of their car and have a high budget. Here we will go upto a budget of 20L because there’s no end to premiumness and we cannot cover everything. Let’s start with the list
A. Tata Harrier
Tata Harrier is a premium SUV from Tata and feels really premium in terms of designing etc. It is a 5 seater car. Although it offers automatic transmission only on the diesel variant still it is recommendable as it produces good power and torque.
- Engine- 1956cc, 4 cylinder, diesel
- Power- 167hp
- Torque- 350 Nm
- Gearbox- 6 Speed automatic
Since it is a powerful engine car, mileage is a bit less at 17kmpl.
Prices start at Rs 17.17L ex-showroom Delhi
B. MG Hector
MG Hector is also a widely selling SUV and the main attracting point of this vehicle is probably its panoramic sunroof. Almost the complete top of the car acts as its sunroof which makes you feel very airy and comfy inside the cabin. Only petrol variant is offered in automatic transmission system
- Engine- 1451cc, 4 cylinder, petrol
- Power- 141hp
- Torque- 250 Nm
- Gearbox- 8 Speed automatic
- Prices from 16.19L
To sum it up, automatic cars in India have bridged the gap of mileage with the manual counterparts and hence are being preferred now. Automatic cars are smoother and easier to drive so, you can definitely go for an automatic car. They have been in the market for quite some time now and so the technology is fully ready to use. Hope we could help you with this list.
