How we did it?

Below is the detailed list of pointers that we have taken into consideration. Each car is rated individually on a scale of 10, with the winner getting maximum points and then the rest in descending order. The car with the highest score wins.

Price: We have considered the top-of-the-line versions of each of the car and the most affordable gets maximum points and vice versa.

Efficiency: The most efficient car gets maximum points followed by the second, third and so on; these are purely based on the ARAI claimed figures.

Power: The car with higher power rating wins, in case two cars have similar power rating, then the car with higher torque figure gets more points.

Utility: We cannot quantify cabin space that easily, but boot space, cup holders, bottle holders and other storage place can be listed on paper. More the boot space, more the points, these are then added together with the points on ergonomics. Every additional cup holder, bottle holder and storage place over the front door pockets gets counted in the total score.

Convenience: Every feature that is worth mentioning gets one point. So a basic music system will lose out to one with Bluetooth telephony, while a touch-screen system with navigation scores over most others. Projector headlamps, rear AC vents, parking sensors and all other features will get counted here.

Warranty: Higher the number of years, more the points. If the number of years is the same, then weightage would automatically shift to kilometres. Unlimited is better than 1,00,000km, which is then preferred over 50,000km and so on.

Safety: Basic safety like the front airbags, ABS-EBD are a must, anything less and the car loses points. If we have more safety features here, it will certainly boost the score.

Top 6 diesel sedans

We have in the fray here, the C-segment sedans fighting it out to make it to the top of the CarWale list and they include the age old Verna that underwent a plastic surgery in Europe to Maruti’s latest challenger for the Honda City, the Ciaz. While the Germans: Vento and Rapid have carved a niche for themselves, the Sunny and Scala siblings were the first ones to give us Indians a taste of a big sedan for less than 10 lakh. The Fiesta, though, is focussed on the enthusiast with its agile dynamics while having a fling with Aston Martin. The comparison on the aforementioned parameters has been done between top-of-the-line diesel manual variants to select the six best sedans on sale as of today.

1. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz (57/70) :

Maruti has finally managed to enter the C-segment and challenge the present market leader, the Honda City. It takes top honours for features with its touch-screen music system, push-button start, automatic climate control and rear AC vents. It also scores well for space with its best-in-class 510-litre boot, four bottle holders and cup holders. In terms of price though the Ciaz cannot match the Renault Scala and Sunny, it is cheaper by at least a lakh rupees than its primary competition – Hyundai Verna and Honda City – driving it up the ranks for the value-for-money tag.

2. Honda City (52/70) :

Honda cars are perceived to be classy and well-built which is why we think they are always priced at a premium. Being offered at 50 thousand more than the second most expensive car in this category has taken quite a toll on its rank for the value-for-money index. It scores well on the features with the touchscreen music system, touchscreen HVAC panel, rear AC vents et al. The City was also toppled by the Ciaz from the top of the fuel economy table and also the CarWale list of best sedans.

3. Volkswagen Vento (51/70) :

Volkswagen updated the Vento this year and though there haven’t been any drastic changes in design, it gets the new 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine which is the second most powerful engine in this class. Volkswagen also offers the best in class three years and unlimited kilometers warranty. While its 494-litre boot would take in all the luggage you are carrying, subtle but handy features like one-touch up and down for all power windows help this car fare well in the features list. The car is a jack of all trades and has managed to surprise us with a podium finish. (The Skoda Rapid can also be considered along with the Vento as both cars are more or less identical except for the fascia)

3. Hyundai Verna (51/70) :

The Fluidic Verna 4.0, as Hyundai called its facelift last year, has been around for four years with almost the same equipment and makes it to the top four by a slender margin. With a 1.6-litre engine that produces 126bhp, the Verna is the most powerful car. It also gets the top rank for safety with the best in the segment – 6-Airbags, ABS and EBD while others still offer only two airbags. Hyundai also scores well with its two years and unlimited kilometres warranty to finish as the second runner-up in its category.

5. Nissan Sunny (50/70) :

Nissan Sunny was the first car to give us Indians the taste of a big sedan for under Rs 10 lakh. With its 490-litre boot a detailed feature list after the mid-life facelift, the Sunny is good value for money. You could also have a look at the Renault Scala (we are clubbing these cars together as they are essentially the same underneath the skin) which is the cheapest in this segment and scores 50/70 points in this race for top honours.

6. Ford Fiesta (49/70) :

The Ford Fiesta is a driver’s car and we are really happy that we could extend our list to include it (Wink). At 89bhp it is not the most powerful and its 430-litre boot not as big. But apart from that, it scores pretty well on every other parameter we have set and that includes fuel economy, features, safety, price and warranty.