You have saved up, decided to take the plunge, and are ready to hit the showrooms with wife and kids in tow. Now the only question that remains : What small car?

You can't decide what exactly is it that you want. You ask yourself: "Do I want power, or do I want fuel-efficiency? Which car offers me the best combination of both? Is seating for five with a toothbrush tucked in enough for me, or do I need place to pack in a wardrobe for the weekend? Am I happy with the plain Jane Maruti 800, or can I and should I stretch for that sexy Palio?" Diesel or petrol? Big or small? Tough questions huh? Well, we provide the answers. In this first-of-its-kind Small Car Buyer's Guide, we took in all the cars that were comparable on essentially one thing - price. An extremely large percent of car buyers can't afford anything more than a hatchback and most of these econoboxes come within the Rs 4.00 lakh budget. So, with the notable exception of the Palio 1.6 (the 100 horse hot hatch more in the company of Ikons and Citys), we have spanned the entire range from the Maruti 800 to the latest Palio 1.2 and analyse their parameters to help you make up your mind.

Read on to know more......