India, Sept. 28 -- A Rs.30,000 budget puts you in an interesting part of the washing machine market in India. You do not have to settle for a basic machine, but you also do not need to pay premium prices just to get useful features. At this price, you can find fully automatic front-load and top-load models with inverter motors, multiple wash programmes, higher capacities and features such as steam wash, drum cleaning and smart controls.

But choosing one is not simply about picking the machine with the longest feature list. The right capacity depends on how often you do laundry, the size of your regular loads and how often you wash bedsheets, towels or bulky clothes. Your choice between a front-load and top-load machine also depends on av...