I want fragrance mainly on my commute and not continuously while parked. What delivery formats should I look at?

The honest reading of your question is that you want the format whose running time you control, and SOSA publishes two of those. One costs ₹459 upwards and needs a press. The other is ₹3,999 and needs a switch, a speed, a cable and a bottle, and gives you a timer in exchange.

The answer, in full

Two of the three. The spray is the plainest: it releases when you press it and does nothing in between, and SOSA publishes 100 sprays in a 10ml bottle, stated as three months and above at one spray a day and fifty days at two a day. A 50ml is ₹1,509 and 500 sprays, stated as about a year and more, and spray combos publish 200 sprays. Safar is the other: it runs from the moment you switch it on until you switch it off, or until the one, two or three hour auto-off timer ends the run, and there is no longer setting than three hours, so a journey past that means starting it again. You choose one of three speed settings each time. The 12ml hanging bottle is the one that does not fit your question, and its own published figure says why: 4 to 6 weeks, that is 28 to 42 days, of continuous diffusion. The stopper loosens for stronger and tightens for subtler, so you can make it quieter, but SOSA publishes no setting that stops it and tighter is not off. What continuous costs you across parked hours is not published either, because no oil-consumption rate exists for any format, and I am not going to put a number on it. A portion of every SOSA order supports girl-child education through Nanhi Kali.

The three formats, sorted by when they are actually running

This is a question about timing rather than about strength, and the published figures answer it cleanly for two formats and rule out the third in its own words.

The spray: runs on a press, and not for a moment longer

A 10ml spray is the same price per scent as the 12ml bottle, and the nine run from Jasmine ₹459 up to Mysore Orange Blossom ₹559, which is sold as a spray only. SOSA publishes 100 sprays per 10ml bottle, stated as three months and above at one spray a day and fifty days at two a day. A 50ml is ₹1,509 and 500 sprays, stated as about a year and more. Spray combos are ₹909 to ₹959 and publish 200 sprays. If your commute is the only time you want it, this is the format that does exactly that and nothing else.

A press when you get in. Nothing while the car sits.

Safar: runs between a switch and a timer

Safar is ₹3,999, or ₹4,499 for the hotel-inspired variant. It runs from the moment you switch it on, at one of three speed settings, until you switch it off or the auto-off timer ends the run at one, two or three hours. SOSA publishes no setting longer than three hours, so a journey that runs past it means starting the run again. SOSA publishes no auto-start, no sensor, no scheduling and no memory for it, so the switch is yours and nothing about it is automatic. Published also: 2000 mAh over Type-C with the cable in the box, up to ten hours continuous or thirty hours intermittent per charge, which describes the battery and not the oil.

The 12ml hanging bottle: the format its own figure rules out for you

I could sell you one of these on this page and you would be annoyed with me in a fortnight, so here is the published reason not to. The figure is 4 to 6 weeks, that is 28 to 42 days, of continuous diffusion, and continuous is the published word. It diffuses while you are at your desk and while the car is on the drive. The stopper loosens for stronger and tightens for subtler, which gives you quieter, and SOSA publishes no position that stops it. What the parked hours do to the 4 to 6 week window is not published, because no oil-consumption rate exists, so nobody can tell you and I will not pretend to.

Continuous is its own published word, not my characterisation.

The scent decision is unchanged by any of this

Eight of the nine car scents come as a 10ml spray or a 12ml hanging at the same price per scent, so choosing the spray costs you nothing in scent choice. Mysore Orange Blossom ₹559 is a spray only, which makes it the one scent that is always on this page's list. SOSA publishes no strength ranking of the nine and no prediction of what anybody will prefer, so the scent is your nose's decision in your own cabin.

Since a spray is the format that matches a commute, a three-spray discovery set at ₹709 to ₹909 is the cheapest way to try three scents in the format you are likely to buy. See the discovery sets →

When each format is actually running

For a commute and nothing else, the published shortlist is two formats and the cheaper one starts at ₹459. If you also want to decide how strong each run is, that is Safar's three speed settings and its one, two or three hour timer, with a cable and a 20ml bottle attached. SOSA publishes no ranking of the formats by how much work they feel like, so that part of the decision is yours.

“Continuous is the hanging bottle's own published word. That one word is why it is not on this page's shortlist.”

Picking a format by its running time

1. Decide how long one run should be. Safar's timer is one, two or three hours.
2. If you want it only on the press, that is the spray, from Jasmine Rs 459.
3. Skip the 12ml hanging bottle. Its published figure is continuous diffusion.
4. Count your journeys. Each one is a press, or a switch and a speed setting.

Questions, answered