[blackwasp]

Maruti S-Presso

What you'll like:

• Funky design stands out from the crowd
• Well-priced for what it offers
• Spacious cabin with enough room for four 6-footers, and easy ingress / egress too
• Fantastic engine & MT gearbox. Fun, driveable, revv-happy, fuel efficient
• Optional AMT automatic available at a Rs. ~43,000 premium
• 180 mm of ground clearance & a tiny 4.5m turning radius aid practicality
• Boot has a practical layout. Rear seat does fold down when required
• Nice touchscreen ICE with Android Auto + Apple CarPlay + steering mounted controls

What you won't:

• Controversial styling with oddball proportions – you’ll either love it or hate it
• Basic ride quality has a distinctly firm edge to it. Can get bumpy
• Terrible highway dynamics & NVH at 100 km/h. Best driven at double-digit speeds
• Weird, poorly-calibrated steering has many flaws
• AMT, although improved, can’t match conventional ATs on smoothness & speed. Still gets jerky
• Narrow width makes it a 4-seater (not 5)
• Missing rear power windows, rear defogger & day / night IRVM
• Skinny 165 mm tyres or atrocious 145 mm rubber (lower variant). Fuel tank is just 27L in size

Review Link

Renault Kwid

What you'll like:

• 1.0L engine makes the Kwid a true all-rounder. Priced merely 20K more than Kwid 800 RXT
• Automatic is priced merely 30,000 rupees over the 1.0L MT! City convenience for cheap
• More power, more torque, better highway performance
• Distinctive styling! Looks swell for an A-segment hatchback
• Well-packaged cabin with good space, comfy seats & lots of storage
• Huge 300 liter boot. 2nd biggest among all hatchbacks!
• Suspension offers a comfortable ride with neutral handling. 180 mm of GC too
• Equipment in a budget car (driver's airbag, digital meter cluster, touchscreen ICE, navigation, full MID & more)

What you won't:

• Unlike Alto K10, no design changes to differentiate the 1.0 (except loud sticker job)
• A bare-bones AT! Manual mode, sport mode, creep feature & larger brake pedal are all missing
• AMTs simply lack the smoothness & shift-speed of conventional ATs
• Tyres & brakes should have been beefed up for the 1.0L variant
• Some essential features missing (internally adjustable ORVMs, retractable rear seatbelts etc.)
• 28 liter fuel tank is the smallest in the segment and its 5 meter turning radius the biggest
• Renault's dealer & after-sales network is far weaker than that of Maruti & Hyundai

Review Link - 1.0L MT

Review Link - 1.0L AT

Launch Thread - facelift

Datsun Redi-Go

What you'll like:

• 1.0L motor brings more power, more torque & better highway performance
• Value-for-money pricing. 28K premium over the 0.8L makes it a no-brainer choice
• Funky styling! Looks great for an entry-level hatchback
• Black interiors with high seating, decent space & a powerful air-conditioner
• 222 liter boot is more accommodating than the Alto's (177 liters)
• Suspension's behaviour is well-suited to a city hatchback. 185 mm of ground clearance too
• Warranty & service packages for up to 5 years
• Equipment in a budget car (driver's airbag, DRLs, full MID, ICE remote & more)

What you won't:

• The superior Renault Kwid is priced only slightly higher
• Nothing to visually differentiate it from the 0.8L variant
• Mediocre highway manners. Best driven <100 km/h
• Body-coloured metal inside the cabin looks really bad
• Missing essentials such as internally adjustable ORVMs & retractable rear seatbelts
• Cost cutting is evident in some areas (single wiper, 3 lugnut wheels, small 28L tank etc.)
• Skinny 155 mm tyres beg for an upgrade
• Nissan-Datsun's dealer & after-sales network is far weaker than that of Maruti or Hyundai

Review Link

Launch Thread - 1.0L AMT

Maruti Alto K10

What you'll like:

• A much improved Alto K10 at the same price point
• Power-to-weight ratio of 91 BHP/ton makes this one peppy li'l hatchback
• More fuel-efficient than before. AMT variant is also an easy sipper @ 24.07 km/l
• Compliant low speed ride quality. Soft suspension is absorbent
• Convenient city car: Light, agile & easy to drive (especially the AMT variant)
• Driver-side and passenger airbag & factory fitted CNG kit available
• Maruti's excellent after-sales service & fuss free ownership experience

What you won't:

• Cramped rear bench. Also, the seatback is very short
• Sensitive steering & nervous handling at speed. Best driven <100 kph
• AMT lacks the refinement & shift-speed of conventional ATs
• Questionable structural strength. The car which it's based on (Alto 800) fared poorly in crash tests
• Skinny 155 mm tyres beg for an upgrade
• Flimsy build & economy grade quality. Poor NVH levels as well
• More accomplished WagonR & Celerio are priced not too far away

Review Link

Hyundai Santro

What you'll like:

• Excellent quality & refinement. Truly impressive for this class of car
• Smart, practical & well-designed cabin with a chilling air-con & nice audio system
• 4-cylinder goodness in a segment full of 3-cylinders
• AMT with electric actuators is easily the best-in-class; this is the most sorted AMT in India
• Suspension offers a compliant ride & neutral handling
• Features such as the touchscreen head-unit, reversing camera, rear air-con & more
• Hyundai's fuss-free ownership experience & excellent after-sales service

What you won't:

• Pricey! Top variants are undeniably expensive
• Quirky front-end styling will polarize opinions
• AMT unavailable in the Asta variant. Also, it’s not as smooth as a regular AT
• Missing equipment – no alloy wheels, a fixed steering position & useless rear headrests!
• Rear seat is better suited to 2 adults rather than 3
• After dealer discounts, the superior Grand i10’s price is too close

Review Link

Maruti WagonR

What you'll like:

• Unbeatable practicality, with a value-for-money price tag
• Spacious interiors. Ingress & egress are effortless too
• 340-liter boot has almost doubled in size (compared to the old WagonR)
• Awesome 4-cylinder 1.2L engine costs just Rs. 23,000 more than the 1.0L
• Suspension offers a more compliant ride than the outgoing car
• Features such as the touchscreen head-unit, underseat drawer & well-priced 2nd airbag
• Maruti's fuss-free ownership experience & excellent after-sales service

What you won't:

• Interior quality is budget grade. The Santro is in another class altogether!
• Thin & tinny sheet metal. Car feels lightweight when driving as well
• Lousy NVH package. Insulation is quite poor
• AMT – although improved – cannot match the Santro AMT’s smoothness
• Road manners make it suited to the city than the highway. Keep your speeds in check
• Some misses like no alloy wheels, missing rear speakers & useless rear headrests
• Superior Ignis isn’t priced too far away, especially after discounts

Review Link

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Hatchbacks Section. Thanks for sharing!

I would definitely choose the S-Presso over its direct competitors because of its superb engine + gearbox, taller seating and space. These are key advantages over the Alto. The 1.0 engine of the Kwid simply cannot compete with Maruti's, hence I wouldn't even consider it.

The WagonR & Santro are a half-to-full segment higher. If I could extend my budget, I'd pick the WagonR 1.2. The Santro's overall quality & finesse are so much superior to the WagonR's, but Maruti pulled off a master-stroke by plonking that 1.2L under the WagonR's bonnet. The bread box is a hell lot of fun to drive!

As you can tell, I greatly prioritise the engine when choosing my cars.

EDIT: If Automatic, I would go with the Santro AMT eyes shut. The smoothest AMT in the segment!

[Rajeevraj]

Voted for the Santro. There was a requirement to buy an entry level AT in the family recently and the Santro AMT won hands down. Was pretty impressed with the Santro package and as has already been mentioned, the AMT was very well sorted.

the S-Presso, Kwid were too quirky for our liking and we owned a Wagon-R 10 years back. No way we were going to buy in again. And of course-No Datsun.

This was the thought process. The Santro is the safe neutral choice in this segment.

[aaggoswami]

Voted for Wagon R. It looks more like a proper small car than S-Presso. Santro, even though its good, Wagon R with 1.2 takes the crown from Santro for me. K12M makes Wagon R a good tool if one has to hit the highway. S-presso is literally too weird to have it as a point on radar, and one rare car that has better executed rear end as compared to front. Hyundai and Renault-Nissan are not in contention at this price point IMO due to obvious Maruti advantages of affordable spares coupled with wider service network. Wagon R also happens to have widest front seat (all cars listed here have not so for comfortable seats for my heavy build) for my heavy frame and good space overall.

[AYP]

Voted for the WagonR due to the K12 engine. The Santro looks and feels so much better inside-out though.

With that being said, I wouldn't go for any WagonR variant but the ZXI, since the other variants don't get a tachometer. In fact I wouldn't hesitate to pick up an equivalent Santro just to see the tacho dancing to my tune.

Among the direct competitors of the S-Presso, I would choose the Kwid. Reasons-

1. Presence of a Tachometer in the Kwid.

2. I greatly prioritise engine when choosing my ride, but it is difficult to picture myself driving a car which looks like S-Presso. I maybe able to live with the exterior, but can't imagine looking at that interior with centrally mounted instrument console at all times. The Kwid's 'normally' mounted instrument cluster looks so much better.

3. Exterior styling. Yes, it doesn't matter much to me, but when a car looks good, your already made decision gets further reinforced.

Having driven a K10 Alto, I can vouch for the engine. I will choose the S-Presso over the Kwid if it comes with 'normally' mounted instrument cluster and a tachometer.

[SJM1214]

Voted for Santro.

In this entire list, only Santro gives a feeling of a serious car, which means business. Other cars look funny or ugly. Wagon R 's 1.2 is a mouthwatering proposition but it lost against the overall looks and quality of Santro

[Marine10]

Voted for Kwid as a direct competitor to S-Presso. Kwid has better styling, better ride and handling compared to S-Presso. New interiors of Kwid is pretty decent too. Two things that goes against Kwid is the comparitive rear seating space and a better K10 engine in S-Presso.

Considering the list, I would like to mention Santro. Got good interiors, decent engine and amazing AMT.

[2000rpm]

Mod Note : Please do NOT post messages that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the quality of this forum. We advise you to read the Forum Rules before proceeding any further. Request to post ONLY when you have something substantial to add to a discussion.

[commonman]

One more point to consider is that of S-presso engine. It is BS6 from day one. Kwid had not announced a BS6 engine till now.S-presso is the real winner here. Wagon R is altogether different level. However, about the looks of S- presso, people have different opinions.

[VS1811]

Voted for WagonR. Increasing my budget by roughly 50K to 1L gets me a whole lot more car for the money.
WagonR is not a compromise; be it for space for passengers or their luggage, great efficiency, reliable, peppy engines and frugal after sales. It is the epitome of no-nonsense point A to point B transporter.

P.S. - My first post on Team-BHP

[styx71]

Undecided

Currently sitting on the fence trying to choose between top end variants of Celerio-X AMT and Wagon R AMT. While the 1.2L engine, space, ease of ingress/egress, visibility are all great on Wagon R, following are holding me back from voting with my wallet:

1. The stupid AC design that doesn't cool the cabin effectively. Just like the front only speakers, the designers didn't think the rear passengers would be requiring any AC.

2. The infotainment that doesn't come with factory fitted reverse camera, heck, the Kwid gets it. Maruti expects you to buy it as an accessory from the dealers - connected to an add-on IRVM. Think it is around 10k.

3. Body roll especially at highway speeds.

Still trying to figure out if the 50k+ premium over Celerio-X is justified. Of course the 50k+ difference is Bangalore price after factoring in all price and discount aspects(excluding any accessories).

[turbowhistle]

Personally I would not pick any of these even as a second car. There are tons of used vehicle available in the 5 lakh rupee range and they are much more powerful/spacious/safe than all the cars mentioned. Honda City or Verna for example.

If there is no choice and I have to pick up something only from the above list on gun point , my choice would be Santro AMT.

[SJQIL87]

Voted for new WagonR.
I think the proven 1.2-litre engine has got enough power and is reliable too.
It is easy to drive both in cities as well as on highways.
Comfort-wise, it has got a better head and shoulder room.
I personally don't like the new boxy kind of design but for some people, it looks cool. I think it depends on individual's taste.

[manjunathkl]

Tiago will be my choice. It is simply well built compared to all A segment and B1 segment cars on offer today.

[Stribog]

Voted Santro, and mostly by process of elimination.

No matter what the reviews say, the design of the S Presso and Kwid are just too quirky, maybe even funky for my tastes. Maybe it is my creaky 40 year old bones talking but...just no.

I have seen the S Presso 4 times on the road, 2 times were red (same car on different days), one was orange and the other was silver. Haven't ever said this for ANY car because I believe tastes are subjective (I still believe in this though) but this car is just UGLY. Absolutely no offense meant to any Spresso owners though, this is only my personal taste. It looks so narrow that it gives new meaning to the term "Soapu Dabba Vandi".

Kwid is not this funky but I am not a fan of this CSUV looks in every segment. So no.

Wagon R IMO has retained most of its looks for more than a few decades now it seems.

Datsun? Not even a contender for an informed buyer (unless other mitigating circumstances apply....like if some genie offered it to me free, I would take it as my beater car to do local errands)

Santro IMO has the best interiors, and has the now legendary Hyundai reliability, my first car was a Santro (a Xing iirc), picked it up in 2004, gave it to my dad after 5 years when it hit 60k kms, and in 2010 my dad sent it to the village where my uncle has been using it as a beater. 16 years, 90k kms and still running like an absolute beaut.