[bhargavd]

For me only 2 were in contention as drivers cars with good petrol engines- Figo 1.5 DCT and Polo GT TSI. Voted for Polo for the better gearbox and superb engine.

From the diesel point of view, there is competition but i feel the i20 takes the cake here.

[Skyline_GT]

Voted for the Ford Figo.

Chose the Figo only because of it's 1.5L variant. I think the 1.2L variant is puny and under powered. Also Ford has managed to squeeze in a lot of features and electronics and yet managed to keep the price in check. It has more bells and whistles than Swift and yet cheaper than it. Clearly a better value for money car.
Also with a lower weight and the 1.5L motor it will definitely be more engaging to drive than Swift/I20/Baleno. Though the build quality is nowhere close compared to the Elite I20 and other European cars in this segment.

I think Figo is a great product for those looking to buy a budget hatchback with a bit of premium feel.

Ford should have provided the 1.5L variant with a manual gearbox which would have been much fun and engaging to drive.

[MSAneesh]

Voted for Elite i20, for the premium feel and all round excellence.
One complaint I have with it is the driving position - the cluth has a large travel range, hence have to move the seat quite a bit forward. Then, if I adjust the steering tilt lower, to my liking, knee hits the steering column while egress and ingress, thigh brushes against the steering wheel due to the small gap between the seat and steering wheel. Not sure anyone else has felt this inconvenience.

Baleno offers all those latest features at a much lower price. But, I am still not convinced with such a light weight. Yet to drive one.

[.anshuman]

I am not Voting in the Poll. If it has to be my only car, Abarth Punto anyday(for that Chassis and Engine I don't mind the flaws). If it has to be a backup/beater car it will be Baleno lower variants if Petrol(for Standard Safety Kit and that sweet K series engine) and if it has to be Diesel, it will be Figo(For the Fast Diesel and Ford's dynamics).

[tharian]

Voted for the Polo.

Out of all the mentioned cars, I have driven 5 and based solely on drive enjoyment of those 5, I chose the VW.

I prefer the first generation Swift over the new ones.

Would have voted for the Figo diesel for its power, but didn't since it is missing on that weighted feel of the old Figo.

If the Abarth Punto was listed, my vote would have gone for it eyes closed.

[abhik897]

I voted for the Baleno.

In petrol segment today, in all the cars of this size (CS/ premium hatch) with 1.2 L odd engine size, I believe there is no car which can beat the Baleno in driving pleasure and driving dynamics. All other petrol cars in the segment feel very lethargic. Apart from this the fact that the car has good spacious interiors and good equipment levels in all trims.

In the diesel segment, I believe it will be a very close fight between the Elite I20 (good refined engine and fantastic interiors) and the new Figo/ Aspire (fantastic engine but average interiors/ space)

[hemanth.anand]

Some have voted a car because they didn't have some other car they would've voted for is not on the list
few also have said that they will not vote because some X car is not on the list
In both cases, I fail to understand why they are not voting for 'Others'? Isn't it provided for the same reason?
Who knows, if all these went to one car, that may be included by the mods, even though the sales of that car is not great!

I see so many members asking why Fiat Punto Evo is not in the list and the sales numbers is the reason for that.
I thought I'll put it in the excel sheet and see where it gains and where it loses out against the other 8 cars with respect to the specifications.



Here are things that Punto either wins or is in the middle of the pack:

• Baleno is the biggest of all the cars w.r.t the external dimensions and Jazz at number 2. Punto length and wheel base are among the biggest however.
• Jazz has the biggest boot space (354ltr) followed by Baleno (339ltr) and i20(285ltr). Punto and Polo share the 4th spot (280ltr)
• Punto has the highest ground clearance (185mm) followed by figo (174mm). All other cars follow them with 170mm and 165mm
• When it comes to Prices of petrol variants, Punto 1.2 is pretty well-priced however the top end (1.4) costs more than almost all the other cars
• All the 4 diesel variants (3 variants of 75HP and 1 variant of 90) are priced still better

The places where it loses out:

• The BHP/Ton figures is the lowest by a considerable margin because it is very heavy (agreed the weight gives good stability)
• The NM/ton is also the lowest (In diesel, only Tata Bolt is lesser)

So, specifications wise its a good alternative to majority of the other cars.
Also other things like the famed handling, amazing steering has no match in its segment.
But the perceived bad ASC experience, absence of latest gizmos and features largely affect the low sales figures IMO.

So, I'll choose the cars based on the kind of person you are.
If I hate to sit in any seat without a steering wheel, I'll go for the Punto without any worries
If I want to be pampered with comfort features, then i20 or Jazz
If I want a little bit of both, then Polo, Figo or Swift will be my choice
If I see a car as a means of transport and as a depreciating asset, Liva or Bolt will be my choice

Everybody please do not take any offence, my intention is not to hurt anyone

After a close fight between the Polo and the Punto the mouse went and selected the 'Other' button.

[Utopian]

Voted for the Figo. Primarily because of the stellar 1.5L diesel. One of the most VFM car which is fun to drive as well. The only grouse being slightly lackluster driving dynamics when compared to the outgoing version.

[nijelj]

It is with a heavy heart that I have to give my vote to the Baleno. Usually Tata products checks all my boxes, but this time the Baleno with its current pricing, even though its a lakh costlier, make it my choice as most VFM.

The only thing I can hope is that the Bolt can outdo the Baleno in a crash test, but until then...Sigh.

The i20 is flashy, but everyone has one.

[1100D]

Voted for the Figo (Mainly for the Diesel). Its got the best in class driving experience. Safety package is fantastic. Looks decent without being over the top. Pricing is pretty too. Shuts the case for it, pretty firmly.

[Skyline_GT]

Would have voted for the Baleno. But it's more like a Swift with added bells and whistles. While reading the Baleno's reviews as a Swift owner I could easily relate to a lot of things Baleno shares with the Swift.
It even shares the same engine with it's Maruti sibling! Suzuki should have atleast opted for a bigger engine. After all its Suzuki's premium offering in the segment.

[Dr.Q]

I have been test driving a lot of cars these past 2 months and I have driven them all but when it came to the Baleno I was simply floored. I promptly booked it and as luck would have it, will be receiving delivery this week.

I found the i20 to have too much body roll, I actually preferred the Xcent over it after my TD. The handling too was all over the place. No AT variant?

The Baleno ticked all the right boxes in my list. I love it.

[bkc]

I voted for the swift as it feels more agile and has perfectly tuned suspension suited for Indian roads.

My observations on the cars listed in the thread but, nothing to offend any owners of the same
Baleno: Very spacious and puts the swift to shame on space front. Suspension too, feels like swift. During test-drive, I felt the brakes were not so confidence inspiring in-spite of having abs;Maybe, because of the light kerb weight.

Elite i20: Beautiful car, loaded with features and quality interiors. Steering was not engaging. Space is at par with Baleno but interior quality beat the baleno hands down. If it was only between elite i20 and baleno, I'd choose the elite i20. Exterior styling is classy and best looking b segment hatch.

Jazz: Not driven it, but, it has very good space on offer. As per teambhp review, diesel unit is not as refined as others, so that is the main criteria for me. i-vtec would be my default option in this case.

Figo: powerful diesel, Aston martin-ish front styling, nice interiors and star of the package - 6 airbags for the price.

polo: have driven the earlier 1.6 petrol (refined petrol but nothing great about it to write) and the Gt Tsi (doesn't feel like small 1.2Ltr petrol and has an excellent gearbox). Looks great outside and interiors are also well put together.
The test-drive 'gt tsi' polo i drove was, very badly maintained. The door rattles and the suspension noise irritated me a lot. I did not observe the odo but sure it might have not crossed 50,000kms by any chance. The service executive claimed that the average in the city would be anywhere between 11-12 kmpl but, my relative gets 14kmpl in his gt tsi. Not sure how it would age.

bolt: The diesel is tuned very good and turbo kick was not spiky but very linear across the rpm. The space is good like Indica, voice command feature and music system very great too. I was afraid to buy a TATA as I could spot very few old-tata cars on road but plenty of old-maruti vehicles. Tata-Fear is in me, as I used to see so many sumos, safaris, indica DLS but a very few old ones running on road now.

liva: good on space, reliable diesel engine, average interiors, turbo lag is very negligable. I used to drive 1.3 getz petrol those days and felt liva diesel had very less turbo lag and petrol like to drive.

Swift: My daily ride and it rides well over all kinds of road. Brakes feel better (ZDI) but space on rear is a issue. My experience is not good with the vehicle as my vehicle had gearbox issue from day one. Gear used to jump from second to neutral while disengaging the clutch (dangerous). After that problem was resolved, new problem creeped in, where the shakes in second gear during 1500-1800rpm and still couldn't be corrected. Still I love the way it drives.

Pulse/Micra: good reliable diesel, adequate space, xzero turbo lag, agile but brakes don't feel great (non-abs version)

[kvsingh13]

I'd go with the Polo.

Baleno feels too light to me (not saying it is not safe but I just don't like that for some reason) . Elite i20's engine feels laggy and I am bored of the design now. Honda's i-Dtec issues are a big no no. I find the 1.5 Tdi Polo the best for my taste.

[Jeevan Sukumar]

Mod note: Post Edited to remove [Font] tags, please avoid copy pasting from external font editors like word. Thanks.

Since I like petrol cars over diesel variants my choice would be Baleno from the above list. I think none of the petrol variants of above said cars except Swift are as good as Baleno. (Here, I am also not an expert, hence I too might be wrong). Baleno have fresher and premium looks than Swift. Being a Maruti it also offers very nice ASS compared to other brands. It seems to be a good value for money car. However, after going through the official review of TBHP, I am bit doubtful about the build quality of Baleno. Any way 4.5 marks out of 5 for Baleno straight from my heart. Once again thanks for Maruti for presenting such a beautiful car.