From a time when even two airbags were considered a luxury, you have to say India has come a long way on the passenger vehicle safety front. Today, several mass-market cars have a minimum of six airbags, along with three-point seatbelts for all passengers, anti-lock braking systems (ABS), rear parking sensors and more, as standard equipment. However, as times evolve, there is a need for more mature safety kit onboard passenger cars, and one key addition in recent years has been that of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
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These, with the help of cameras, radar, or both, can enable functions such as adaptive cruise control, lane change assist, autonomous emergency braking and more, adding a much-needed layer of active safety. An increasing number of mass-market cars and SUVs are now available with ADAS, and in this piece, we’re looking at seven of the most affordable passenger vehicles fitted with this safety suite.
At present, there is just one model on this list that retails for less than Rs 10 lakh (ex-showroom). Prices of all cars included in this list are ex-showroom, Delhi.
Kicking things off on this list is Honda’s compact SUV, the Elevate, which features the company’s ‘Honda Sensing’ ADAS suite. Functions such as adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lead car departure notification, autonomous emergency braking and auto high beam are part of the package. The ZX variant of the Elevate, with the manual transmission, is the most affordable Elevate trim with ADAS, priced at Rs 14.88 lakh.
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The just -launched second-generation Venue as upgraded from a basic Level 1 ADAS suite to the more comprehensive Level 2 ADAS. The standard Venue has a total of 16 ADAS functions, including adaptive cruise control with stop and go, forward collision avoidance assist – car, pedestrian, cycle and a few others. The Venue N Line, meanwhile, benefits from an additional rear radar, which unlocks a further five functions, primarily to prevent collisions while reversing. For now, ADAS on the new Venue is only available on the range-topping HX10 variant, which, when paired with the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, is priced at Rs 14.56 lakh.
One of the Venue’s main rivals, the hot-selling Tata Nexon only recently gained ADAS. However, unlike the new Venue, the Nexon has Level 1 ADAS, which brings functions such as forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition and more. For now, ADAS is available only on the Fearless Plus variant of the subcompact SUV, when paired with the dual-clutch automatic transmission, with this variant priced at Rs 13.53 lakh.
Just like the similarly priced Nexon, the popular Kia Sonet also has Level 1 ADAS, and not Level 2 like its new Hyundai sibling. The L1 ADAS suite brings functions such as front collision warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, hi beam assist and front collision avoidance assist, to name a few. ADAS on the Sonet is available on the GTX+ variant, which, when paired with the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol and dual-clutch automatic combination, costs Rs 13.51 lakh.
In the top three most affordable cars with ADAS is a name that will surprise many – the evergreen Honda City, which is equipped with the camera-based ‘Honda Sensing’ ADAS suite. This includes functions such as forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lead car departure notification, lane keep assist and more. The most affordable variant of the sedan that can be had with ADAS is the V trim with the manual transmission, priced at Rs 12.79 lakh.
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The second most affordable option on this list is, unsurprisingly, a subcompact SUV. The loaded Mahindra XUV 3XO is the other sub-4m SUV, aside from the new Venue, to pack Level 2 ADAS, with functions such as forward collision avoidance assist (cycle, pedestrian, vehicle), adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, high beam assist and more. ADAS is available from the AX5 Luxury variant onwards, and it’s offered on the manual variant as well, which is priced at Rs 11.50 lakh. However, do note the manual AX5 Luxury variant misses out on adaptive cruise control.
The most affordable ADAS-equipped car in India comes from Honda. The latest generation of the Amaze subcompact sedan holds the distinction of being India’s most affordable ADAS car, as it has camera-based Level 1 ADAS that unlocks features such as adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and auto high beam, to name a few. With ADAS available on the ZX variant with the manual transmission, you can have an ADAS-equipped car for as low as Rs 9.23 lakh.
