What do you look for when you go to buy a new car? In our recent research, we found out that more than 45% of Indian car buyers focus on mileage as one of the top 3 priorities while choosing a new car. This didn’t really come as a surprise! We love to extract as much efficiency as possible, be it from our cars or from our day to day lives.
And when it comes to mileage and fuel-efficiency, there is a constant debate between which fueling option to choose – Petrol or Diesel. Over the past couple of decades, diesel cars have managed to form a huge fan following in Indian car buyers. This is primarily a result of the relatively affordable per litre price of diesel and better mileage of diesel cars in India. However, the scenario has rapidly changed over the past couple of years.
Automotive technology is evolving at an extremely fast pace. Hence, engine manufacturers have managed to design petrol engines that offer fuel efficiency figures that are comparable to that of similarly-sized diesel engines. Moreover, the price gap between petrol and diesel fuel has dropped down. As a result, there is an increased interest in petrol powered cars in India.
Keeping fuel economy aside, petrol engines offer many other advantages. They are relatively easier to maintain. Pickup of a petrol vehicle is generally better than its diesel counterpart. And petrol cars are known to exhale relatively lesser pollution. Manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki and Renault have event decided to discontinue all diesel cars from their Indian lineup from April 2020. Read more about this by clicking here.
Hence, customers are now looking for petrol cars with high fuel economy. By doing so, they want to take advantage of all positives of a petrol engine, while maintaining respectable mileage figures as well. We are repeatedly asked by our readers about which is the best petrol car with the highest mileage in the country.
As a result, we have decided to list down the top 10 high mileage petrol cars in India! Please consider the fact that the mileage figures quoted below are ARAI certified. As a result, real world figures will be slightly lower.
1. Datsun redi-GO 0.8L
The Datsun redi-GO entry-level hatchback is powered by a 0.8-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine that churns out 53 bhp and 72 Nm of torque. It gets a 5-speed manual gearbox. It is currently the most fuel efficient petrol car available in the country.
Mileage – 25.17 km/l
Price Range – Rs 2.41 lakh to Rs 3.64 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
2. Renault Kwid 0.8L
The Renault Kwid is essentially a brand-reengineered version of the redi-GO. It shares the same platform and engine options. As a result, mileage figures of both cars are also identical. This makes it the petrol car with the best mileage in India.
Mileage – 25.17 km/l
Price Range – Rs 2.62 lakh to Rs 3.78 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
3. Maruti Alto K10
The Alto K10 is essentially an elder sibling of the regular Alto. It was updated in 2015 with the launch of the new-gen model. Though most of the design elements and platform components of the K10 are shared with the Alto 800, it gets a differed and much larger engine. This is a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine rated at 68 bhp.
Mileage – 23.95 km/l
Price Range – Rs 3.30 lakh to Rs 4.12 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
4. Maruti Baleno
Maruti Suzuki has recently added a mild-hybrid system (SHVS) to the Baleno petrol. Thanks to this new addition, the popular hatchback’s fuel economy has increased to 23.87 km/l. This, coupled with the extremely responsive 1.2-litre petrol engine, has made the Maruti Baleno a worthy contender for mileage-conscious buyers. It is important to note that only the smart hybrid versions get the said mileage, while the regular petrol models have a lower fuel economy figure.
Mileage: 23.87 kml
Price Range: Rs. 7.25 lakh to Rs. 7.87 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
5. Toyota Glanza
The Glanza is essentially a re-badged version of the Maruti Baleno. Toyota hasn’t fiddled with the mechanicals of the car. As a result, the Glanza comes with the same set of petrol engines as the Baleno. On the G trim, this Toyota badged hatchback gets the mild-hybrid technology, that helps in extracting exactly the same fuel economy as that of the Baleno SHVS.
Mileage: 23.87 km/l
Price Range: Rs. 7.22 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
6. Tata Tiago
The Tiago has been a car that has brought Tata Motors back in the game. And a major reason behind its success is the attractive price it offers and how easy it is to drive and maintain in the long run. This is primarily due to the lower fuel consumption of the 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine.
Mileage – 23.84 km/l
Price Range – Rs 3.21 lakh to Rs 5.36 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
7. Maruti Celerio
The Celerio has always been a very practical car to buy. However, this Maruti tallboy has faced tough competition from the Tiago in the past few months. The carmaker brought an update to the Celerio last year that gave it a mildly refreshed exterior, and more importantly, a better fuel economy figure. The Celerio’s 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine is thus capable of giving an ARAI fuel economy of 23.1 km/l.
Mileage: 23.1 km/l
Price Range: Rs. 4.31 lakh to Rs. 5.48 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
8. Maruti WagonR 1.0
Maruti Suzuki launched the new-gen WagonR in January 2019. This comprehensively updated model is available with two engine options – a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol and a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol. The former is the same engine, which has been tweaked a bit for better throttle response and efficiency. The WagonR 1.0 is thus capable of putting out a mileage figure of 22.5 km/l.
Mileage: 22.5 km/l
Price Range: Rs. 4.34 lakh to Rs. 5.33 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
9. Maruti Alto 800
The Maruti Alto is the most famous name in the Indian car industry. It is marketed mainly on its low maintenance cost and the high fuel economy figures. The Alto 800 is currently offered with a 736 cc, three-cylinder engine that develops 48 bhp of power.
Mileage – 22.05 km/l
Price Range – Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 3.31 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
10. Maruti Dzire
The Dzire is India’s most popular sedan. There are a lot of things that make it so successful in the country. However, one of the most important ones is the compact sedan’s great fuel economy figure. The current-gen Dzire petrol, which is powered by a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine, is claimed to offer a fuel economy figure of 22 km/l. This makes it the best mileage petrol compact sedan on sale in the country.
Mileage: 22 km/l
Price Range: Rs. 5.83 lakh to Rs. 8.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)