The Indian car market is a diesel loving space, and although various restrictions on the diesel cars are now making the consumers lean more towards the petrol cars, the mileage loving Indian audience still loves diesel cars. The primary draw factor of the diesel cars is their high fuel efficiency, and people who drive their cars a lot on a daily basis should suitably go for diesel models, despite the fact that petrol cars are more economical on the long run. Considering the restrictions that are being imposed on the large capacity diesel cars due to their polluting nature, it is advisable to go for smaller capacity diesel cars. The sub-4-meter diesel cars are very economical as well, as they are cheaper to buy, maintain and run, so their economical factor is great. There are several car manufacturers in India which offer many great affordable diesel cars like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Honda Cars India, Hyundai Motor India and Ford India.

If you are looking for an affordable diesel car that is cost and fuel efficient, then take a look at the following list of the top 5 budget diesel cars that are currently very popular in the Indian car market. Note that this list is in no particular order.

Tata Tiago (Rs. 3.95 lakh – Rs. 4.69 lakh ex-showroom, New Delhi)

The recently launched Tata Tiago compact hatchback is being highly praised for its styling, overall quality and pricing. It is also being called as the best car that Tata Motors has ever built till date in the budget segment. The new Tata Tiago diesel range starts at Rs. 3.95 lakh for the base XB model trim that goes up to Rs. 4.69 lakh for the top of the range XM variant. The base variant misses on A.C, power windows, remote central locking, power steering and the Harman infotainment system, which get loaded in the range topping model. However, there are dual tone interiors and the MID screen on the instrument cluster to offer some amount of convenience and if you have a strict budget, then this will be a great choice. The mid trim XE is priced at Rs. 4.30 lakhs, which adds the air conditioning system and some added features.

The diesel version of the Tata Tiago comes equipped with a new 1.05 liter, 3-cylinder turbocharged diesel mill that comes from the Tata’s highly refined RevoTorq family of diesel mills. This engine has the ability to pump out 70 PS of max power output at 4000 rpm and a top torque of 140 Nm at 1800 – 3000 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5 speed manual transmission and offers a superb ARAI certified fuel efficiency 27.28 km per liter.

Maruti Suzuki Celerio (Rs. 4.82 – Rs. 5.90)

The Maruti Suzuki Celerio is another great small hatch to go for. The Celerio was the most affordable diesel hatch prior to the cool Tata Tiago, starting at Rs. 4.82 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi), and it has all the basic luxury like air-conditioner and body hued bumpers. The top of the line ZDI (O) variant is priced Rs. 5.90 lakh and comes with a number of good features that make it a highly desirable car in this price range. The Celerio is a smart global compact hatchback that is not only smart looking, but also highly capable and efficient.

The Maruti Suzuki Celerio Diesel model gets equipped with a small 793 cc, 2 cylinder, all aluminum diesel mill that was developed by Maruti Suzuki and offers 47.65 PS of max power at 3500 rpm and 125 NM of peak torque at 2000 rpm. The Maruti Suzuki Celerio boasts of an ARAI certified and best in class fuel efficiency of 27.62 Kmpl, but it is not the best in terms of refinement as well as performance.

Tata Zest (Rs 6.10 lakh ex-showroom Delhi)

The Tata Zest compact sedan is another great diesel model that comes from the house of Tata Motors and is the cheapest among all the diesel compact sedan models in the car market of India. The stylish and capable Zest is well equipped comes in two diesel versions, namely a QuadraJet 75 PS version and QuadraJet 90 PS unit. The engines are mated to a 5 speed manual transmission and offer a fuel efficiency of 22.95 km per liter.

Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire (Rs. 6.11 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi)

Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire has been the segment leader ever since it launched in India. This long time segment ruling model is also one of the most loved and top selling cars in the entire country. It is a Swift hatchback turned into a sedan with an added boot, but is very capable, efficient, practical, refined and economical, which spell its long lasting great market success.

The Maruti Swift DZire compact sedan is gets powered by a Fiat sourced tried and tested 1.3-liter diesel model that generates 75 PS of max power at 4000 rpm and a top torque of 190 Nm at 2000 rpm. The diesel mill will come mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. The DZire comes with a best in class fuel efficiency of 26.59 km per liter.

Hyundai Xcent (Rs. 6.26 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi)

The Hyundai Xcent is another very popular and worthy compact sedan model that is a great choice as a budget diesel car. The stylish and well-loaded Xcent is also a booted version of the Grand i10 hatchback. The Xcent came as a replacement of the very popular Hyundai Accent sedan that got discontinued in India, and as an able competitor of the Maruti DZire.

The Hyundai Xcent’s diesel version comes packed with a second Generation U2 CRDi diesel mill that has the capability of generating a peak power output of 71 bhp at 4000 rpm and a top torque of 180 Nm at 1750 rpm. This diesel mill has been paired to a 5 speed manual transmission gearbox. The diesel version of the sedan comes with a claimed fuel efficiency of 24.4 km per liter.