India's predilection for sedans is no secret really. The other thing we love is fuel efficiency. Bring these two together and viola! Despite the Indian consumer's penchant for these two, not a lot of manufacturers seem to be able to get this combination right, while some nail it like there's no tomorrow. So we did our bit of research, and came up with a list of the three most fuel efficient sedans sold in the price bracket of 8-12 lakh.
1. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz SHVS
After the Maruti Suzuki SX4 failed to garner numbers in the mid-sized sedan segment for India's biggest automobile manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki decided to enter a new contestant in the race, i.e., the all-new Ciaz. Replacing SX4, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is offered with both, petrol and diesel, motors and now a diesel hybrid.
Called the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) hybrid, the sedan - powered by a 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engine - comes with an integrated starter generator, a larger capacity battery, and start-stop technology that help the vehicle return better mileage. In comparison to the Maruti Ciaz diesel's ARAI certified mileage of 26.21Km/l, the Ciaz SHVS returns an outstanding 28.09Km/l, with the engine producing 89 bhp of power and 200 Nm of torque. This effectively makes the Ciaz SHVS hybrid India's most fuel-efficient car.
2. Honda City
Considering that we love sedans and fuel efficiency when it comes to cars, it took Honda quite some time to get here. Even though the Honda City has been sold in the country since 1998, it took the company 16 years and three generations to offer a diesel engine on this sought-after sedan.
Well, better late than never, as they say! Its 1,498 cc, 4-cylinder, double overhead camshaft 16-valve diesel motor delivers 99bhp and 200Nm, and claims a mileage of 26Km/l.
3. Ford Figo Aspire
The diesel engine on the Ford Figo Aspire has received a lot of rave reviews and is no slouch when it comes to fuel efficiency as well. The sedan is powered by a 1.5-litre TDCi unit with an 8-valve SOHC (single overhead camshaft) valvetrain, which develops 98bhp and 215Nm of torque.
Ford claims that the Aspire's diesel motor offers a fuel efficiency of 25.83Km/l, which makes it the third-most fuel efficient car in its league.
A mention also has to be made about the Honda Amaze, which just about misses the cut because of a few decimal points. Honda claims that the diesel variant of the sedan - powered by a 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine (99bhp of power and 200Nm of torque) - returns mileage figures of 25.8Km/l, which is almost as good as the Ford Figo Aspire.
However, the above are not the only fuel efficient sedans in that range. The list comprises of 10 cars and goes on to include Hyundai Verna, Nissan Sunny, Renault Scala, Volkswagen Vento, Skoda Rapid, and Fiat Linea, in addition to the ones listed above.
Out of the four engine options offered on the Hyundai Verna, the 1.4-litre diesel motor takes the cake for being the most fuel efficient of the lot with a manufacturer-claimed mileage of 23.5Km/l. The siblings - Nissan Sunny and Renault Scala - are mechanically identical and are powered by a 1.5-litre K9K turbocharged diesel mill that delivers a mileage of 21.64Km/l. Number 5 on the list is also a pair of siblings, the Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid. Both these cars house the same 1.6-litre TDI unit under the hood and hence, the same mileage figure, i.e., 20.5Km/l. That leads us to the last car on our list of the most frugal cars in this segment, the Fiat Linea. With the very capable 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel motor doing duty on the Linea, the car fares decently in terms of mileage with a figure of 20.4Km/l.
