ratobhale, its a pretty hard choice nowadays as the prices on the indian imports have also gone up. A maruti suzuki swift will cost almost the same as an entry level japanese car such as the daihatsu sirion (daihatsu is now owned by toyota, so basically you are buying a toyota). In my opinion going for a japanese is better as the resale value is better; the upside for indian cars is that the maintainence is cheaper. You'll just have to go out there and test some cars before you decide. I dont think there is a hard and fast way of buying a car, buy one that you like. for options sake, i would say test drive cars like the hyundai santro, hyundai getz, suzuki swift, tata indica (i personally never liked this car, but it has tons of power; speaking comparitively here), fiat palio ( service is not good from dealers, and mileage was horrible when i test drove it: it might have changed now though). try out some opel's as well .. the sail, swing, corsa and astra. the same dealers also deal with chevy as well, so try those out as well. For japanese, toyotas are just expensive for no damn reason in ktm, i guess its just the brand name. Go test drive the corolla and maybe they have the new yaris in as well. Mazda 3s are also nice. the suzuki ignis is also pretty small, easy to get around as well as powerful. look at the diahatsu sirion as well. i hope that was of help . i know its just basically just a list, but i dont know how to recommend something when your criteria isn't very precise :) just have fun driving the cars :). cheers, nepalikochoro