I came across Scotty's channel and felt his content to be genuine and honest.
Can anyone here recommend a new SUV for indian roads under $20k (15 lakhs). The roads where i stay is not smooth and has lot of potholes and speed brakers and its near the beach so rust is also another concern.
I will test them if I can get some good options and opinions.
The Toyota Yaris Cross is great, as good as small SUVs get. I herd they're much cheaper than $20k there and you can get it with a reliable 6 speed manual instead of the complex launch gear CVT. (I would NOT get a CVT for harsh roads, it could wear out fast!)
I'm not sure if it's available in India, for if they're also cheap there, But the Suzuki Vitara AllGrip (non-hybrid), that was available on European markets was an insanely good cheap-ish SUV with good acceleration, ground clearance and very good off-road-ability. And the SX4 S-Corss is not bad at all (non-Hybrid)
But they're good only with 1.0 Turbo / 1.4 Boosterjet / 1.6 M16A engines and a manual / 6 speed Aisin automatics - other configurations are weak.
I'm not sure if it's available in India: Personally, The tiny SUV I ordered and like the most is the Kia Stonic (I know many people hate Kia, but their smaller engines and conventional transmissions are good) because it handled great and I ordered mine for 25% less than a Yaris Cross and it has the old proven 1.4L Kappa MPi and proven A6 automatic. BUT, it's a bit low and it's not much better than a Baleno. (No idea if it's available in India)
In unsure if this fits in the budget but: Hyundai Creta with a conventional automatic and an MPi engine (if available) can be good. and the Mazda CX-30 is probably the best sporty SUV out there but they can get expensive so I'm really unsure about it.
They'll probably be reliable cars, but I recommend asking local mechanics also because of local conditions like bad fuel that might ruin fuel injectors or things like that...
