Maruti Suzuki S-Presso AGS Is the Cheapest Automatic Car on Sale at ₹4.77 Lakh
Five automatic models cost under ₹6 lakh, all of them AMTs, while four diesel models from Mahindra and Toyota are still sold only with a manual gearbox.
The Maruti Suzuki S-Presso is the cheapest automatic car on sale in India, with its VXi (O) AGS version priced at ₹4,77,400 ex-showroom in Delhi. The Renault Kwid Evolution AMT follows at ₹4,89,900 and the Alto K10 AGS at ₹4,97,400, the carmakers' price lists showed on 11 November.
Only four models in DynoBHP's catalogue are sold without an automatic. They are the Mahindra Bolero, Bolero Neo and Scorpio Classic, and the Toyota Innova Crysta, which Toyota described on 5 November as "paired with a manual transmission".
Five Automatics Under ₹6 Lakh
The Celerio at ₹5,63,400 and the WagonR at ₹5,99,400 take the number of automatic models below ₹6 lakh to five. All five use an automated manual transmission (AMT), a manual gearbox whose clutch and gear changes are worked by electronic actuators. AGS is Maruti Suzuki's name for its AMT.
Every petrol automatic priced below ₹7,79,800 uses an AMT. Maruti Suzuki charges ₹45,000 for it over the equivalent VXi manual on the S-Presso, Alto K10, Celerio, WagonR, Swift and Dzire. Renault asks ₹37,000 on the Kwid Evolution and ₹46,000 on the Climber, and Tata ₹53,000 on the Tiago Pure.
The Cheapest Car With Each Type of Automatic
| Gearbox type | Model | Version | Ex-showroom price |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMT | Maruti Suzuki S-Presso | VXi (O) AGS | ₹4,77,400 |
| Electric motor | Tata Tiago.ev | Smart | ₹6,99,000 |
| CVT | Honda Amaze (second generation) | S CVT | ₹7,79,800 |
| Torque converter | Skoda Kylaq | Classic+ 1.0 TSI AT | ₹9,29,000 |
| Dual clutch | Tata Altroz | Creative S DCA | ₹9,64,990 |
| Strong hybrid (e-CVT) | Maruti Suzuki Victoris | VXi Strong Hybrid | ₹16,42,900 |
A continuously variable transmission (CVT) uses a belt and pulleys in place of fixed gears. A torque converter automatic shifts conventional gears through a fluid coupling, and a dual clutch gearbox runs odd and even gears on separate clutches. Electric cars have no gears to change, so all of them are sold as automatics.
Honda charges ₹82,100 for the CVT on the older Amaze S, ₹37,100 more than Maruti Suzuki's AMT premium. The Altroz shows how the cost rises with each type. Its Creative S costs ₹8,44,990 as a manual, ₹9,01,990 with an AMT and ₹9,64,990 with Tata's dual clutch automatic, which Tata calls DCA.
Skoda lists the Kylaq automatic as a six-speed torque converter, and it is the cheapest car with one. The next cheapest, the Citroën C3 Turbo Shine AT, costs ₹9,68,000.
Four Models Still Manual Only
Mahindra's booking site shows a manual as the only gearbox on three of its SUVs, all of them diesel only. The Bolero range starts at ₹8,57,000, the Bolero Neo at ₹9,06,000 and the Scorpio Classic at ₹13,43,200. Mahindra's XUV 3XO, by contrast, comes with a choice of two automatic gearboxes.
Toyota's October brochure lists a five-speed manual for every grade of the Innova Crysta, from the GX at ₹19,95,000 to the ZX at ₹26,96,000. The Crysta LIMO for fleet buyers that Toyota introduced on 5 November uses the same 2.4-litre diesel. Toyota's other Innova, the HyCross, is sold only as an automatic, from ₹18,70,000.
Maruti Suzuki's Eeco van, which is not in DynoBHP's catalogue, is also offered only with a five-speed manual, from ₹5,28,400.
Nearly Half Are Automatic Only
At the other end, 69 models in the catalogue come only with an automatic. Electric cars account for 32 of them. Among the rest, only the HyCross and the Duster E-Tech hybrid at ₹16,99,000 start below ₹25 lakh.