Best Commercial Car In 2024 - Price, Specs & Features

You could either be looking to make the right choice when booking your next cab or you could be a cab aggregator looking to bolster your fleet. In both these scenarios, it is important to know which are the cars best suitable as cabs. To do so, we have created a list of 10 best cars which are great taxis in India.

Before we start off, we need to set some precedents. Maruti Suzuki sells cars for commercial use through a separate channel, and while underneath they are the cars that we know and love, they have been given a separate name to segregate them for cars sold for private use. 

In the case of other car makers, cab aggregators prefer to buy the base model as it is the cheapest variant, so we have listed the prices accordingly. Lastly, as these are fleet vehicles, we are not considering automatic transmissions. Therefore, all the information given below pertains to the base-manual variant of the listed cars.

What makes a car ideal for commercial use?

There are few basic factors that can be identified if a car is ideal for commercial use. They are:

• It should be highly reliable.
• The car should be fuel efficient.
• There should be good interior space and boot space.
• General maintenance costs should be low.

Based on these basic guidelines, we have compiled a list of 10 cars in India which are ideal for commercial applications as taxis.

List of top 10 commercial cars used as taxis in India

Toyota Innova Crysta | ₹ 19.99 lakh

The Innova Crysta is widely popular among private car buyers and fleet operators alike. It is a spacious and reliable MPV that has stood the test of time on Indian roads. The Innova Crysta is often rented by outstation travellers due to its ability to keep passengers comfortable on long journeys. The Innova Crysta is also preferred for intra-city travel as a premium cab option.

Toyota Innova Crysta Key Specifications

Toyota Innova Crysta Comfort features for driver and passenger

Mahindra Marazzo | ₹ 14.59 lakh

The Marazzo has found greater popularity among fleet buyers instead of private car buyers. It is the Marazzo’s superior ride quality that makes it comfortable for long journeys. It is often rented by outstation travellers, or by large groups of intra-city city travellers. The Marazzo is known for the comfort it offers in all its three rows of seats.

Mahindra Marazzo Key Specifications

Mahindra Marazzo Comfort features for driver and passenger

Tata Tigor EV | ₹ 12.49 lakh

The Tigor EV is a special car on this list as it is the only EV. Being a sedan, the Tigor EV offers good space inside the cabin, and it is also decently equipped. Furthermore, the Tigor EV is known for being a safer car than other small sedans and being an EV, it is quite refined as well. The Tigor EV can work for small inter-city trips, but it is primarily preferred for intra-city travel.

Tata Tigor EV Key Specifications

Tata Tigor EV Comfort features for driver and passenger

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga (Tour M) | ₹ 9.80 lakh

The Maruti Suzuki Tour M, more commonly known as the Ertiga is equally preferred by private car buyers and cab aggregators. It is known for its reliability, practicality and the loads of space on offer in the cabin. The Ertiga is also available in a CNG avatar. It is highly sought after by large groups of intra-city travellers and outstation travellers.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga (Tour M) Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga (Tour M) Comfort features for driver and passenger

Honda Amaze | ₹ 7.63 lakh

The Honda Amaze is a highly reliable sedan and more often than not, it is preferred by private car buyers. However, due to its highly reliable nature and the comfort of its second row, the Amaze is also preferred by cab aggregators who try and offer a premium experience than regular cabs. The Amaze is mostly preferred for intra-city travel, although a small family can also consider it for outstation travel. The one negative for the Amaze is that it doesn't have the option of a factory-fitted CNG kit. It needs to be retro-fitted to make the Amaze viable for commercial transport.

Honda Amaze Key Specifications

Honda Amaze Comfort features for driver and passenger

Maruti Suzuki Dzire (Tour S) | ₹ 6.56 lakh

The Maruti Suzuki Tour S, popularly called the Dzire, is one of the most popular sedans used as a taxi. The Dzire offers a mix of low running costs and high reliability. On the space front, the Dzire doesn’t set benchmarks, but is good enough for intra-city travel. It is highly used by cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber to offer intra-city rides. The Dzire can also be used by a small family for an outstation journey.

Maruti Suzuki Dzire (Tour S) Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki Dzire (Tour S) Comfort features for driver and passenger

Hyundai Aura | ₹ 6.49 lakh

The Hyundai Aura is commonly sought after by private car buyers and commercial fleet operators alike. It offers a refined driving experience, coupled with high levels of reliability. The ride quality of the Aura is quite smooth as well. The Aura is the preferred car by cab aggregators for intra-city trips due to its compact nature, while offering decent space inside the cabin at the same time. Like its competitors, the Aura can also be used for outstation journeys by small families.

Hyundai Aura Key Specifications

Hyundai Aura Comfort features for driver and passenger

Maruti Suzuki WagonR (Tour H3) | ₹ 5.52 lakh

The WagonR can be counted among the holy grail of cars when it comes to popular taxis in India. Also, it is equally preferred by private car buyers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well. The WagonR is a highly reliable, smooth-riding car which offers a highly spacious cabin. It is perfect for intra-city trips due to its compact footprints, and is a great budget option for outstation travel, especially for taller passengers.

Maruti Suzuki WagonR (Tour H3) Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki WagonR (Tour H3) Comfort features for driver and passenger

Maruti Suzuki Eeco (Tour V) | ₹ 5.29 lakh

The Maruti Suzuki Tour V, also known as the Eeco is the most utilitarian car on this list. It offers great space inside the cabin due to its design, however, the seats of the Eeco aren’t the most comfortable. It offers great levels of reliability and efficiency for transporting large groups of people from one destination to another. The Eeco is usually preferred by budget-conscious travellers for intra-city travel.

Maruti Suzuki Eeco (Tour V) Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki Eeco (Tour V) Comfort features for driver and passenger

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 (Tour H1) | ₹ 4.81 lakh

The Maruti Suzuki Tour H1, popularly called the Alto K10 and also known as ‘The Mountain Goat’, is the smallest car sold in India that is used as a taxi. However, the Alto K10 is used primarily in hilly regions due to its compact footprint. The cabin is surprisingly spacious for such a small car, and ride quality can be deemed comfortable as well. The Alto K10 is also a highly reliable car with spares that are easy to source, making it the perfect taxi for hilly regions.

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 (Tour H1) Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 (Tour H1) Comfort features for driver and passenger

Electric Vehicles (EVs) as taxis

Electric vehicles are in the limelight nowadays and they have started making their way into the taxi space as well. However, there are limited EV cars that are being used as taxis currently. Largely, the Citroen E-C3 and Tata Tigor EV are two electric taxis that run in India. The BYD e6, when it was originally launched, was meant for commercial taxi use only. However, due to its premium price, it hasn’t gained popularity among fleet operators in India.

What’s more, electric taxis are generally used only for fixed routes or for trips with fixed starting points. This is because EV taxis need to plan ahead for their charging needs. Companies like BluSmart have adopted this model. Their taxis mostly operate out of airports, where substantial charging infrastructure has been put into place. For a wide scale adoption of EVs as taxis, the battery technology still needs to improve and the charging infrastructure must grow substantially.

Government regulations and guidelines for commercial vehicles

The regulations and guidelines set down by the government for governing commercial motor vehicles are vast and can differ from one class of vehicle to another. However, there are some key points that need to be adhered to to follow the regulation.

• Commercial cars will be adorned with a yellow HSRP number plate instead of a white number plate like private cars
• The registration tax for commercial cars must be paid every two years, after a fitness inspection.
• Commercial cars are taxed on entering different states and municipality regions, which is an added cost for these vehicle owners.
• Commercial cars can’t be used for private purposes.
• Commercial taxis have a fixed top speed of 80km/h.

Conclusion

Commercial cars that are used as taxis in India are judged from a narrow lens. They need to be frugal in their consumption, spacious inside, be comfortable and should also be reliable. Anything on top of that is mostly considered extra, and that is why more mass-market brands with premium offerings don’t really enter this segment.