Which Petrol Hatch? Polo v/s i20 v/s Figo v/s Swift

[Squid]

Guys,

I'm back with my dilemma of which hatch to buy. I'd posted a thread earlier about which diesel hatch to buy, but then decided against it as I've realized that my running is not much. So this time I'm hunting for a petrol hatch. Unfortunately, as many choices as there are, they are equally difficult to compare and choose from. So w/o blabbering any further here are the cars I'm thinking about.

Current shortlist:
1. i20 Magna 1.2L - Good interiors and exterior styling. Safety features. Feel of premium hatch. Downsides - dead steering, underpowered. Positives - HASS, good built, premium feel
2. VW Polo Trendline 1.2L - Good interiors and exteriors. Good to drive. Not many features at the price tag. Downsides - 3 pot engine, servicing exp and costs. Positives - Solid built, new style
3. Ford Figo Zxi 1.2L - Decent looks; not killer. Practical interiors, spacious. Good handling and FTD. Downsides - underpowered. Positives - FASS, resale
4. MS Swift Vxi 1.2 - Old model, but better than Ritz at this car segment. Positives - MASS, mileage, resale value.

These are not final and I'm open to suggestions. I did not consider Nissan Micra, Hyundai i10 because I think they are girly models (no offence).

Requirements and usage:
Please help me in deciding the best option. Here's how the vehicle would be used:
1. I mostly drive to office alone. On weekends I go out with family (4 adults). We're not tall or heavy. Average adults.
2. Daily running to/fro office is 50kms. Weekend running is avg. 50kms.
3. Would be mostly run within city.
4. A.S.S. should be good. Maintenance costs should be decent.
5. And above all, the 'kitna dete hai question' - should be light on pocket to run the vehicle.
6. I intend to keep the vehicle for max period of 4/5years, so resale should be decent.
7. Vehicle would be used in Pune/Mumbai - with occasional trips between Pune, Mumbai and Nashi

Budget:
Don't want to go over 6 lacs OTR.

Please let me know your experiences and suggestions to help me choose the right one. Thank you.

[Ironhide]

Hi Squid,

I was also in same dilemma few months. I had to buy car for my wife and was looking good hatch under 6Lacs.

I test driver few cars and went with Hyundai i20.

Cars, that I test drove

VW Polo Trendline 1.2L – Nice car bit underpowered but the biggest turnoff were the staff at VW Showroom . They don’t even give a shit about customers, so arrogant, unhelpful and rude. – No Deal ever with VW

Skoda Fabia – Same engine as Polo but spares cost and availability was a big question. – No Deal

Suzuki Swift Vxi – We both love swift and went to check the limited edition swift (black color) which was on the sale few month back. But waiting period for swift (2 months even for Petrol) and it’s so common no features at all. – Sorry Suzuki - No Deal, you have to give more features in Swift

Fiat Punto – I just loved the car but my wife didn’t like Punto . - No Deal

Ford Figo - Don't like shape of that Car.- No Deal

Hyundai i20 Sports (1.2L) – Even before taking test drive, I had stories of poor A/C and steering Colum rattling, but I convinced my wife to take test drive. To our surprise car was totally different from what we had heard so far. Nice peppy acceleration, Good A/C with climate control, no rattling of any type.

But Why i20 –

Hyundai i20 Sportz (BS IV) costs Rs 534,599 and SWIFT VXI (BS IV) cost 4,62,984 ex-Showroom Delhi. So difference is about 71,000. Though swift have 5 more BHPs under her hood but I have driven both cars, i20 is far more refined.

Plus – by spending extra 71K (against Swift Vxi), We get whole lot of goodies

• Tilt and telescopic steering
• Driver Side Airbag
• All 5 Alloy wheels
• Integrated Audio
• Steering mounted audio control.
• Climate Control
• Electrical adjustable and Auto fold rear view mirrors
• Gear Shift Indicators ( My wife love it )
• Rear window demister
• Wider Tyres ( 185 R14) against Swift (165 R14 )
• Glove box chiller.
• No my i20 is over 3 month old and clocked around 7000 KM. No Issues so far with AC or Steering Rattling

So, I would suggest, don’t go by brands please look for best overall package you are getting.

Cheers !
Anubhav

[Gilead]

i20: Poor AC. Worse than my 800. You will sweat buckets in summer. Good car other than that one issue. Apparently there is some ticking time bomb of a design flaw in the steering rack as well but I haven't come across any catastrophic failures yet.
Figo: Underpowered.
Polo: Noisy and unrefined engine
Swift: Best compromise of the lot

Go for the Swift.

[Ironhide]

Worse than my 800

- I would disagree to this, not because I own i20, its just not fair to compare A/C of 800 to i20.

I agree there were Issue with AC for i20 however, all i20 which are manufactured with updated ECM don't have issue with AC or Steering Rattling. Mine is Nov 2010 manufactured and AC is currently working great in Delhi Summers.

Cheers !

[yzfrj]

A.S.S. should be good. Maintenance costs should be decent.

should be light on pocket to run the vehicle.

so resale should be decent.

Swift as Gilead suggested is the best choice based on your needs.
May the rattling NOT be with you.

[GreenSand]

I own an i20 and the AC is quite adequate for the chennai summer. I never had any problems neither with the AC nor the steering .Touchwood.

[Gilead]

I have been in crankurshaft's i20 a few times and I can honestly say the 800 AC has better throw and cooling. My team members hesitate to take their i20s out for team lunches because of the embarrassment they face. They prefer to tag along in Santros and i10s which have much better cooling. And they have had the ECU fix as well.

[camchennai]

Squid - Wondering why Micra was missed out from your list, its a good reliable car from Nissan with all bells and whistles.

I am against swift, please stay away from it. A new swift is around the corner and current swift is not worth the price, its has got nothing new to offer.

i20 is good choice and as per owners issues seems to be resolved.

Figo is small when compared with other cars

Polo is a good choice, however waiting period keeps people away from it.

[Squid]

Thanks guys. Keep your comments/suggestions pouring in.

I think the swift still has 2-3 months waiting period (had read about an issue with OEM vendors not able to cope with demand).
I like the Polo, but reading the dealership experience and servicing issues, I'm thinking of not going for it. I want a total tension free ownership.
Basically, don't have time to chase the ASS around.

So, it's i20, Figo, Swift. Other than the Swift, I've heard that most other cars are underpowered. Did the i20 folks feel the same?

[yzfrj]

i20, Figo, Swift. Other than the Swift

Why not go for the Diesel Figo ? Its within the budget you have.
It will be easier on your pocket and good fun to drive. Most probably the resale value will suck.

I dare say anything other than the Swift will have substantially less resale value.
Its not something that can be explained or there is no logic in it. Its the way things are.

As camchennai suggested Micra is a good choice. The only issue I see is there are not too many of them on the road.
Its a good thing and a bad thing.

i20 I don't like the thing (or any Hyundai for that matter) . Its a personal and biased view so I'd not comment for or against it.