Live engine output

The engine decides. Here is it deciding.

Stages 1 to 5 of the deterministic recommendation engine, run end to end on this request. Hard filters, per-variant economics, weighted sub-scores, diversified ranking and the explainability payload — no database, no language model, nothing generated.

Illustrative sample data — the engine is real, the catalogue is not yet seeded. Every price, efficiency and emission figure below is invented, and the vehicle names are deliberately generic. Nothing here describes a product you can buy.

Engine version: engine-2026.08.1
Evaluated as of: 2026-08-23
Candidates scored: 7
Shown: 6
Excluded: 3
Omitted: 1

The question

What this buyer asked for

The engine takes a structured profile, not a prompt. Every number below is an input it was given, and the run is reproducible from them.

Budget, on-road

up to ₹15.00 L

State

Driving

40 km/day

1,400 km a month, 70% in the city

Ownership horizon

5 years

Loan, 20% down over 60 months

Seats needed

Typical trip

60 km

Home charging

Available

So EVs are not range-gated

Environment preference

35%

Drives how much CO₂ is weighted against money

Stage 4 · the result

The shortlist

Ranked by weighted total score, then diversified so one model cannot fill the list and a second powertrain always gets a hearing.

#1
Cirrus 1.0 CNG
CNGTop pickBest cng in the pool
81.7
of 100
5-year cost to own
₹12.53 L
Cost per kilometre
₹14.91
CO₂ per kilometre
93.4 g
This is the baseline.
#2
Aster 1.2 VX (petrol)
PetrolEarned its place on scoreBest petrol in the pool
76.2
of 100
5-year cost to own
₹13.29 L
Cost per kilometre
₹15.82
CO₂ per kilometre
143.7 g
Costs less than the top pick from day one.
#3
Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol)
PetrolEarned its place on score
65.9
of 100
5-year cost to own
₹14.52 L
Cost per kilometre
₹17.28
CO₂ per kilometre
151.6 g
Costs less than the top pick from day one.
#4
Borea 45 (electric)
ElectricEarned its place on scoreBest electric in the pool
50.2
of 100
5-year cost to own
₹16.24 L
Cost per kilometre
₹19.34
CO₂ per kilometre
119.1 g
Never catches up within 5 years of ownership.
#5
Dune 1.5 (diesel)
DieselEarned its place on scoreBest diesel in the pool
37.3
of 100
5-year cost to own
₹16.50 L
Cost per kilometre
₹19.64
CO₂ per kilometre
152.2 g
Never catches up within 5 years of ownership.
#6
Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid)
Strong hybridEarned its place on scoreBest strong hybrid in the pool
34.5
of 100
5-year cost to own
₹17.70 L
Cost per kilometre
₹21.07
CO₂ per kilometre
116.5 g
Never catches up within 5 years of ownership.

Stage 5 · the contrast

Why the top pick beat the runner-up

Not a list of the winner's strengths — that would be an advert. The engine names the dimensions that decided it and the ones the runner-up genuinely won.

Cirrus 1.0 CNG beats Aster 1.2 VX (petrol) by 5.5 points. CO₂ per km and Cost to own decided it. The runner-up was genuinely better on Refuelling network.

What won it for Cirrus 1.0 CNG

CO₂ per km
Cost to own

What Aster 1.2 VX (petrol) did better

Refuelling network

Every dimension, largest effect first

Bars to the right moved the result toward Cirrus 1.0 CNG; bars to the left toward Aster 1.2 VX (petrol). Length is score × weight, so a dimension matters here only to the extent it was both different and weighted.

CO₂ per km93.4 g CO₂e/km vs 143.7 g CO₂e/km
+10.11 toward Cirrus 1.0 CNG
Refuelling network66.5 vs 84.2
-10.01 toward Aster 1.2 VX (petrol)
Cost to own₹12.53 L vs ₹13.29 L
+5.41 toward Cirrus 1.0 CNG
Fits your usage100.0 vs 100.0
Identical on both — did not separate them.
Service network300 centres vs 300 centres
Identical on both — did not separate them.
Resale liquidity70.0 vs 70.0
Identical on both — did not separate them.

Stage 3 · the scoring

How each vehicle scored, dimension by dimension

Scores are normalised 0–100 within this shortlist, not on an absolute scale — a 0 means worst of these six, never none at all. The weight is what the profile allowed each dimension to matter, and where a figure is missing the dimension is left unscored and its weight spread across the rest.

#1 Cirrus 1.0 CNG

CNG · total 81.7

Cost to own
weight 36.6%
100₹12.53 L
measured against ₹12.53 L – ₹17.70 L across this shortlist, lower is better · total cost of ownership over 5 years and 84000 km, net of resale.
Fits your usage
weight 15.7%
50100.0
Every candidate tied here — did not separate them. · Capacity fit — 5 seats against the 5 you need.
Refuelling network
weight 10.5%
066.5
measured against 66.5 – 85.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · Access — cng stations here sit at the 72th percentile, discounted for 75% source confidence.
CO₂ per km
weight 12.8%
10093.4 g CO₂e/km
measured against 93.4 g CO₂e/km – 157.3 g CO₂e/km across this shortlist, lower is better · well-to-wheel, well_to_wheel. Biogenic carbon is reported separately and is not counted here.
Service network
weight 14.0%
100300 centres
measured against 120 centres – 300 centres across this shortlist, higher is better · authorised service centres nationally.
Resale liquidity
weight 10.5%
10070.0
measured against 45.0 – 70.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · how readily this segment and fuel actually sells used.

#2 Aster 1.2 VX (petrol)

Petrol · total 76.2

Cost to own
weight 36.6%
85₹13.29 L
measured against ₹12.53 L – ₹17.70 L across this shortlist, lower is better · total cost of ownership over 5 years and 84000 km, net of resale.
Fits your usage
weight 15.7%
50100.0
Every candidate tied here — did not separate them. · Capacity fit — 5 seats against the 5 you need.
Refuelling network
weight 10.5%
9684.2
measured against 66.5 – 85.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · Access — petrol stations here sit at the 88th percentile, discounted for 90% source confidence.
CO₂ per km
weight 12.8%
21143.7 g CO₂e/km
measured against 93.4 g CO₂e/km – 157.3 g CO₂e/km across this shortlist, lower is better · well-to-wheel, well_to_wheel. Biogenic carbon is reported separately and is not counted here.
Service network
weight 14.0%
100300 centres
measured against 120 centres – 300 centres across this shortlist, higher is better · authorised service centres nationally.
Resale liquidity
weight 10.5%
10070.0
measured against 45.0 – 70.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · how readily this segment and fuel actually sells used.

#3 Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol)

Petrol · total 65.9

Cost to own
weight 36.6%
62₹14.52 L
measured against ₹12.53 L – ₹17.70 L across this shortlist, lower is better · total cost of ownership over 5 years and 84000 km, net of resale.
Fits your usage
weight 15.7%
50100.0
Every candidate tied here — did not separate them. · Capacity fit — 5 seats against the 5 you need.
Refuelling network
weight 10.5%
9684.2
measured against 66.5 – 85.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · Access — petrol stations here sit at the 88th percentile, discounted for 90% source confidence.
CO₂ per km
weight 12.8%
9151.6 g CO₂e/km
measured against 93.4 g CO₂e/km – 157.3 g CO₂e/km across this shortlist, lower is better · well-to-wheel, well_to_wheel. Biogenic carbon is reported separately and is not counted here.
Service network
weight 14.0%
100300 centres
measured against 120 centres – 300 centres across this shortlist, higher is better · authorised service centres nationally.
Resale liquidity
weight 10.5%
10070.0
measured against 45.0 – 70.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · how readily this segment and fuel actually sells used.

#4 Borea 45 (electric)

Electric · total 50.2

Cost to own
weight 36.6%
28₹16.24 L
measured against ₹12.53 L – ₹17.70 L across this shortlist, lower is better · total cost of ownership over 5 years and 84000 km, net of resale.
Fits your usage
weight 15.7%
50100.0
Every candidate tied here — did not separate them. · Capacity fit and range headroom, averaged — 5 seats against the 5 you need. Range: about 248 km usable against 60 km between charges.
Refuelling network
weight 10.5%
10085.0
measured against 66.5 – 85.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · Access — you charge at home, so the public network is a backstop rather than the daily plan.
CO₂ per km
weight 12.8%
60119.1 g CO₂e/km
measured against 93.4 g CO₂e/km – 157.3 g CO₂e/km across this shortlist, lower is better · well-to-wheel, well_to_wheel. Biogenic carbon is reported separately and is not counted here.
Service network
weight 14.0%
100300 centres
measured against 120 centres – 300 centres across this shortlist, higher is better · authorised service centres nationally.
Resale liquidity
weight 10.5%
045.0
measured against 45.0 – 70.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · how readily this segment and fuel actually sells used.

#5 Dune 1.5 (diesel)

Diesel · total 37.3

Cost to own
weight 36.6%
23₹16.50 L
measured against ₹12.53 L – ₹17.70 L across this shortlist, lower is better · total cost of ownership over 5 years and 84000 km, net of resale.
Fits your usage
weight 15.7%
50100.0
Every candidate tied here — did not separate them. · Capacity fit — 5 seats against the 5 you need.
Refuelling network
weight 10.5%
9183.3
measured against 66.5 – 85.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · Access — diesel stations here sit at the 87th percentile, discounted for 90% source confidence.
CO₂ per km
weight 12.8%
8152.2 g CO₂e/km
measured against 93.4 g CO₂e/km – 157.3 g CO₂e/km across this shortlist, lower is better · well-to-wheel, well_to_wheel. Biogenic carbon is reported separately and is not counted here.
Service network
weight 14.0%
0120 centres
measured against 120 centres – 300 centres across this shortlist, higher is better · authorised service centres nationally.
Resale liquidity
weight 10.5%
10070.0
measured against 45.0 – 70.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · how readily this segment and fuel actually sells used.

#6 Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid)

Strong hybrid · total 34.5

Cost to own
weight 48.4%
0₹17.70 L
measured against ₹12.53 L – ₹17.70 L across this shortlist, lower is better · total cost of ownership over 5 years and 84000 km, net of resale.
Fits your usage
weight 20.8%
50100.0
Every candidate tied here — did not separate them. · Capacity fit — 5 seats against the 5 you need.
Refuelling network
weight 13.8%
9684.2
measured against 66.5 – 85.0 across this shortlist, higher is better · Access — hybrid_strong stations here sit at the 88th percentile, discounted for 90% source confidence.
CO₂ per km
weight 17.0%
64116.5 g CO₂e/km
measured against 93.4 g CO₂e/km – 157.3 g CO₂e/km across this shortlist, lower is better · well-to-wheel, well_to_wheel. Biogenic carbon is reported separately and is not counted here.
Service network
weight redistributed
unknownunknown
we hold no service-centre count for this manufacturer.
Resale liquidity
weight redistributed
unknownunknown
we hold no used-market liquidity score for this segment and fuel.

Stage 2 · the economics

Where the money actually goes

Total cost of ownership over the horizon, built from the on-road price, real-world efficiency, the maintenance curve, insurance renewals, loan interest and any battery replacement — with the resale credit discounted to today and netted off.

#1 Cirrus 1.0 CNG

₹12.53 L

over 5 years

₹14.91

per km

Acquisition₹9,84,924
Fuel or charging₹2,68,676
Maintenance₹55,000
Insurance renewals₹72,756
Loan interest₹1,92,669

Gross spend before resale: ₹15,74,026
Resale credit, discounted to today(face value ₹4,30,000): −₹3,21,321
Total cost to own: ₹12,52,705

84,000 km over 5 years, at the real-world efficiency figure — never the claimed one.

#2 Aster 1.2 VX (petrol)

₹13.29 L

over 5 years

₹15.82

per km

Acquisition₹8,59,022
Fuel or charging₹4,63,750
Maintenance₹55,000
Insurance renewals₹63,450
Loan interest₹1,68,041

Gross spend before resale: ₹16,09,263
Resale credit, discounted to today(face value ₹3,75,000): −₹2,80,222
Total cost to own: ₹13,29,041

84,000 km over 5 years, at the real-world efficiency figure — never the claimed one.

#3 Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol)

₹14.52 L

over 5 years

₹17.28

per km

Acquisition₹9,62,033
Fuel or charging₹4,89,231
Maintenance₹55,000
Insurance renewals₹71,064
Loan interest₹1,88,191

Gross spend before resale: ₹17,65,519
Resale credit, discounted to today(face value ₹4,20,000): −₹3,13,848
Total cost to own: ₹14,51,671

84,000 km over 5 years, at the real-world efficiency figure — never the claimed one.

#4 Borea 45 (electric)

₹16.24 L

over 5 years

₹19.34

per km

Acquisition₹14,88,530
Fuel or charging₹1,19,799
Maintenance₹35,400
Insurance renewals₹97,500
Loan interest₹2,91,184

Gross spend before resale: ₹20,32,413
Resale credit, discounted to today(face value ₹5,46,000): −₹4,08,003
Total cost to own: ₹16,24,410

84,000 km over 5 years, at the real-world efficiency figure — never the claimed one.

#5 Dune 1.5 (diesel)

₹16.50 L

over 5 years

₹19.64

per km

Acquisition₹12,82,510
Fuel or charging₹3,85,171
Maintenance₹55,000
Insurance renewals₹94,752
Loan interest₹2,50,883

Gross spend before resale: ₹20,68,315
Resale credit, discounted to today(face value ₹5,60,000): −₹4,18,465
Total cost to own: ₹16,49,850

84,000 km over 5 years, at the real-world efficiency figure — never the claimed one.

#6 Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid)

₹17.70 L

over 5 years

₹21.07

per km

Acquisition₹14,19,857
Fuel or charging₹3,75,696
Maintenance₹55,000
Insurance renewals₹1,04,904
Loan interest₹2,77,750

Gross spend before resale: ₹22,33,207
Resale credit, discounted to today(face value ₹6,20,000): −₹4,63,300
Total cost to own: ₹17,69,907

84,000 km over 5 years, at the real-world efficiency figure — never the claimed one.

Stage 1 · what was ruled out

We ruled these out, and here is why

Exclusions are reported rather than silently applied. Each sentence below is written by the engine itself, and is the same text the interface falls back to when the narration is unavailable.

Ruled out by a hard filter

Zenith 2.0 Luxe (petrol)above_budget
₹27.37 lakh on-road, above your ₹15.00 lakh budget.
Orion 1.4 (discontinued)not_active
No longer in production.
Vega 4-seat MPVseating_below_requirement
Seats 4, below the 5 you need.

Scored, but kept off the list for variety

Aster 1.2 ZX+ (petrol)model_cap
Two variants of this model are already in your results, and a third would crowd out a different vehicle.

What you can check

Assumptions, weights and the gaps we know about

A recommendation you cannot interrogate is a guess with a decimal point on it.

How the weights were chosen

Passenger profile: total cost of ownership over your stated horizon carries the most weight.
You set environmental preference to 35%, so CO2 is weighted at 35% of what money is weighted at.

Figures not yet traced to a source

53 numbers in this result carry no provenance record, across 10 distinct fields. The engine reports this itself rather than letting an unattributed number reach you unmarked.

emission_factors.grams_co2e_per_unit
manufacturers.service_centre_count
resale_curves.liquidity_score
state_on_road_factors.insurance_pct
state_on_road_factors.other_levy_paise
state_on_road_factors.registration_fee_paise
state_on_road_factors.road_tax_pct
vehicle_variants.ex_showroom_paise
vehicle_variants.real_world_range_km
vehicle_variants.seating_capacity

Every assumption this run made

39 statements, verbatim from the engine.

01Cirrus 1.0 CNG: Insurance renewals after year one are estimated from the state's first-year rate applied to the vehicle's depreciated value.
02Cirrus 1.0 CNG: The resale value is credited at what it is worth today, discounted at 6% a year. Running costs are quoted in the rupees of the year they fall.
03Cirrus 1.0 CNG: Fuel, electricity and service prices are held at their 2026-08-01 levels for the whole 5-year horizon.
04Cirrus 1.0 CNG: Emissions use the national cng factor of 2540 g CO2e per kg, dated 2026-01-01, on a well-to-wheel basis.
05Cirrus 1.0 CNG: This is a fuel-cycle figure. Manufacturing the vehicle and its battery is a different accounting boundary and is not included.
06Aster 1.2 VX (petrol): Insurance renewals after year one are estimated from the state's first-year rate applied to the vehicle's depreciated value.
07Aster 1.2 VX (petrol): The resale value is credited at what it is worth today, discounted at 6% a year. Running costs are quoted in the rupees of the year they fall.
08Aster 1.2 VX (petrol): Fuel, electricity and service prices are held at their 2026-08-01 levels for the whole 5-year horizon.
09Aster 1.2 VX (petrol): Emissions use the national petrol factor of 2760 g CO2e per litre, dated 2026-01-01, on a well-to-wheel basis.
10Aster 1.2 VX (petrol): This is a fuel-cycle figure. Manufacturing the vehicle and its battery is a different accounting boundary and is not included.
11Aster 1.2 VX (petrol): No ethanol blend was supplied for this vehicle, so every litre is counted as fossil petrol. Where the pump actually sells E10 or E20 this overstates the figure; it is never understated by default.
12Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol): Insurance renewals after year one are estimated from the state's first-year rate applied to the vehicle's depreciated value.
13Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol): The resale value is credited at what it is worth today, discounted at 6% a year. Running costs are quoted in the rupees of the year they fall.
14Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol): Fuel, electricity and service prices are held at their 2026-08-01 levels for the whole 5-year horizon.
15Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol): Emissions use the national petrol factor of 2760 g CO2e per litre, dated 2026-01-01, on a well-to-wheel basis.
16Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol): This is a fuel-cycle figure. Manufacturing the vehicle and its battery is a different accounting boundary and is not included.
17Aster 1.2 ZX (petrol): No ethanol blend was supplied for this vehicle, so every litre is counted as fossil petrol. Where the pump actually sells E10 or E20 this overstates the figure; it is never understated by default.
18Borea 45 (electric): Insurance renewals after year one are estimated from the state's first-year rate applied to the vehicle's depreciated value.
19Borea 45 (electric): The resale value is credited at what it is worth today, discounted at 6% a year. Running costs are quoted in the rupees of the year they fall.
20Borea 45 (electric): Fuel, electricity and service prices are held at their 2026-08-01 levels for the whole 5-year horizon.
21Borea 45 (electric): Emissions use the MH electric factor of 710 g CO2e per kwh, dated 2026-01-01, on a well-to-wheel basis.
22Borea 45 (electric): The grid factor is held at its 2026-01-01 value for the whole 5-year horizon. India's grid is decarbonising, so the lifetime figure is a conservative one.
23Borea 45 (electric): Charging and grid transmission losses are not modelled; the factor is applied to the energy the vehicle turns into distance, on the same basis the running cost is priced.
24Borea 45 (electric): This is a fuel-cycle figure. Manufacturing the vehicle and its battery is a different accounting boundary and is not included.
25Dune 1.5 (diesel): Insurance renewals after year one are estimated from the state's first-year rate applied to the vehicle's depreciated value.
26Dune 1.5 (diesel): The resale value is credited at what it is worth today, discounted at 6% a year. Running costs are quoted in the rupees of the year they fall.
27Dune 1.5 (diesel): Fuel, electricity and service prices are held at their 2026-08-01 levels for the whole 5-year horizon.
28Dune 1.5 (diesel): Emissions use the national diesel factor of 3120 g CO2e per litre, dated 2026-01-01, on a well-to-wheel basis.
29Dune 1.5 (diesel): This is a fuel-cycle figure. Manufacturing the vehicle and its battery is a different accounting boundary and is not included.
30Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid): Insurance renewals after year one are estimated from the state's first-year rate applied to the vehicle's depreciated value.
31Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid): The resale value is credited at what it is worth today, discounted at 6% a year. Running costs are quoted in the rupees of the year they fall.
32Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid): Fuel, electricity and service prices are held at their 2026-08-01 levels for the whole 5-year horizon.
33Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid): Emissions use the national hybrid_strong factor of 2760 g CO2e per litre, dated 2026-01-01, on a well-to-wheel basis.
34Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid): This is a fuel-cycle figure. Manufacturing the vehicle and its battery is a different accounting boundary and is not included.
35Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid): No ethanol blend was supplied for this vehicle, so every litre is counted as fossil petrol. Where the pump actually sells E10 or E20 this overstates the figure; it is never understated by default.
36Every remaining vehicle scored the same on usage, so it could not separate them and each was given 50.
37Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid) was not scored on reliability — we hold no service-centre count for this manufacturer. Its weight was spread across the dimensions we could score.
38Solis 1.5 (strong hybrid) was not scored on resale — we hold no used-market liquidity score for this segment and fuel. Its weight was spread across the dimensions we could score.
3953 figures are not yet traced to a source in this result: emission_factors.grams_co2e_per_unit, manufacturers.service_centre_count, resale_curves.liquidity_score, state_on_road_factors.insurance_pct, state_on_road_factors.other_levy_paise, state_on_road_factors.registration_fee_paise, state_on_road_factors.road_tax_pct, vehicle_variants.ex_showroom_paise, vehicle_variants.real_world_range_km, vehicle_variants.seating_capacity. They are listed in full under data.unattributed.