The Nepalese auto market has been expanding at a remarkable pace. The rise in the nation’s average per capita has helped the citizens afford private vehicles. Highways that were mostly occupied by public vehicles in the past are witnessing private cars and SUVs rolling on the roads like never before. Speculating the broader scope of the vehicle market, importers of numerous brands have introduced a diverse range of private vehicles to Nepal recently. Moreover, most of the models imported nowadays are hatchbacks, sedans, saloons, SUVs, and pick-ups.
Nepal has a rugged terrain and uneven geographical topography. Moreover, the undeveloped gravel off-roads and deteriorated highways are not easy circumstances to drive. These shortcomings of the driveways and their versatility to serve as both utility and luxury vehicles have convinced the customers to prefer SUVs over other models in Nepal.
However, there are zillions of models from multiple automakers and on top of that, their price range confuses the buyers more than the former one. We bet you will also face the same when you step forward to own an SUV and the car companies’ PR officers hypnotize you by showing a never-ending list of models and their price options. But don’t worry, you have come to a safe spot as we will make things easier for you.
In this article, we will out list the SUVs models that are the best value for money. Furthermore, we will review the vehicles on multiple price ranges which may help you clear your thoughts while buying one.
Hyundai Creta
One of the most successful SUVs in Nepal is Hyundai’s compact SUV model Creta. The public praises this vehicle for its appealing sporty looks and high-end luxurious interior. This model is supplied with multiple variants of engine capacities ranging from 1.4L Turbo Petrol to 1.6L Petrol and Diesel engines. Both the engines have been upgraded to meet the BS6 standards.
Talking about the specifications, the variant available at present comes with a manual or an automatic gearbox with 6-speed or 7-speed DCT respectively. The exact engine displacement lies around 1591cc for petrol and 1582cc for diesel engines. Among other variants, the bestselling option in our context is Creta SX 1.6L Petrol with manual transmission.
This model of petrol engine has a maximum power of 123 bhp at 6400 rpm and torque of 151Nm at 4850 rpm which pushes the vehicle up to 165 km/hr. The engine consists of 4 cylinders with a DOHC valve configuration which provides a fuel efficiency of 15.8 km per liter. The body is fairly large enough to carry 5 adult people and has a ground clearance of 190mm. It has a gigantic fuel tank of 55 Liters capacity which facilitates worries-free travel over long distances.
As per the Hyundai importers for Nepal, Laxmi Intercontinental Pvt, this variant costs Nrs 53,96,000.
Suzuki Vitara Brezza
The next public-praised compact SUV rolling on Nepalese roads is Suzuki Vitara Brezza. This vehicle came to the spotlight being a successor of the previously renowned model named Grand Vitara. People love the bold appearance fused with the classic sports finish on this vehicle. Initially, the model was released with a 1.3L diesel engine which was discontinued in 2020. After that, the Indian-based Japanese automaker started selling petrol variants with 1.5L engines with BS-VI compliance.
About the compact SUV crossover technical details, the running models have a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic gearbox transmission. The figurative capacity of the former diesel engine was 1248cc and the latter petrol engine is 1462 cc. Currently, three variants of Brezza viz. VXI, ZXI, and ZXI + Dual are imported in Nepal out of which ZXI has dominated the others.
The ZXI option has a maximum engine performance with a power of 103.26bhp at 6000rpm and a torque of 138Nm at 4400rpm. It contains a four-cylinder K15B petrol engine with a SOHC valve configuration which sets its average mileage to be 17.03 km per liter. It has a large body with 328 liters of boot space with a ground clearance of around 200mm. The body houses a large fuel tank of 48 Liters capacity.
According to the national distributor of Suzuki for Nepal, CG MotoCorp, the Suzuki Vitara Brezza is selling for Nrs 46,19,000.
Tata Nexon
The Nexon SUV is an exclusive compact SUV launched by India-based vehicle manufacturing company Tata Motors. This vehicle model became a superhit release internationally for its towering ground clearance, high-end safety, and eye-catching muscular physique. This model comes with either a Revotron petrol engine of 1.2L or a Revotorq diesel engine of 1.5L and both are turbocharged along with BS-VI standards.
The transmission provided on these models is one 6-speed manual or 6-speed Automated Manual Transmission. The petrol engines have 3 cylinders with a total displacement of 1199cc and the diesel ones contain 4 cylinders totaling 1497cc. There are several vehicles like XZ, XZ+, XZA+, and many more but among them, the option XZ+ Manual is the best value SUVs for money.
The XZ+ variant has a roaring engine with the ultimate power of 118.36 bhp at 5500 rpm and torque of 170Nm at 4000 rpm. The engine is a Revotron petrol engine with 3 cylinders and has a fuel efficiency of 20.3 km per liter on highways. Apart from other interesting features, the most significant one is its ground clearance of 209mm and it also has a huge fuel tank of 44 Liters despite being a compact SUV.
The current market price of Nexon XZ+ is Nrs 43,99,000 and it is currently being distributed by Sipradi Trading Pvt. Ltd all over Nepal.
Renault Duster
Renault is a French automaker that gained popularity all over India for its successful compact SUV Duster. In the past few years, it has been able to dominate the Nepalese auto market as well. The reasons for its success are its newly redesigned dual-tone body with split grills in the front and hawkeye cluster headlamps. Although the diesel variant was also introduced, at present, models with 1.5L and turbocharged 1.3L petrol engines are available.
Like other car giants, Renault has also delivered Duster in automatic as well as manual transmission models. The petrol engines have a displacement of 1498cc and turbocharge 1330 cc and are composed of four cylinders working in tune for the exceptional performance of the vehicles on off-roads. Among the total of three launched models, the RXS model is greatly admired by the public.
The RXS model is fitted with a 1.5L engine with a maximum output power of 104.55bhp at 5600rpm and the highest torque of 142Nm at 4000rpm. The engine consists of 16 total valves with DOHC configuration and consists of a state-of-art Multi-Point Fuel Injection System that extends the fuel efficiency up to 16.42 km per liter. It stands tall from the ground with a gap of 205mm and is best recommended for off-roading because of its enormous fuel tank with 50 Liter capacity.
At present, Renault Duster RXS has a showroom price of Nrs 43,50,000 for the base option. The national distributing rights have been acquired by ADVANCED AUTOMOBILES PVT. LTD.
Conclusion
The best options as we think are presented above, however, the right to choose is always up to you. Nevertheless, the terrain and road conditions in Nepal demand a sturdy, rugged yet sporty-looking vehicle which doesn’t compromise comfortability and luxury for performance. This is the particular category where we helped you to determine your choice while selecting an everyday SUV.
