[abhishek46]

I would prefer the Altroz.

Reasons:
1. Availability of decent diesel engine
2. Head Turning Styling
3. Impressive Balance of Ride & Handling
4. Adequate Space inside and super sized boot space.
5. Heavy Build & 5 star 'certified' safety

[myavu]

Voted for Altroz (Petrol/Diesel)

• Beautiful design.
• Only car in the segment with 5 Star safety rating.
• Built like a tank and felt it after closing the doors.
• Practical yet beautifully designed dashboard.
• Loaded to brim with features (4 more airbags would have been good but not a deal-breaker)
• Easy ingress/egress and comfort seating
• Android Auto
• Good ride and mature handling
• With rumored 1.2 Turbo Petrol with DCT the overall package will be more desirable.

If I was in the market for hatchbacks now then Altroz would have been my first choice. Since I am planning for a CUV my current choice will be a Nexon.

Cheers!

[sahil624]

I voted for Figo simply for its stonker Diesel engine and Ford has continued in BS6 too. Also, its top variant is around 1.4 lac affordable than the Altroz’s top model.

[Ranjith812]

Voted for the Altroz Diesel.

Reasons:

1. Good driveability, fuel efficient.
2. Stunning looks and solid build.
3. 5 star NCAP safety rating!

What else needed in a hatchback?

[Flyer]

After going through the posts in this thread one can easily understand that Figo Diesel is the most value for money car in this segment now. Coincedently saw a video today in YouTube explaining how exceptional Figo is in its segment. Sharing the video here.

https://youtu.be/gX54A_-VRjE

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Flyer

]Figo Diesel is the most value for money car in this segment now.

Figo Titanium Blu diesel is certainly the best value in the segment. And yet - sadly, it is the only flop in the segment right now too.

Combined sales of Figo, Aspire and Freestyle were barely even matching the numbers of the Polo or even the rebadged Glanza.

[professor.march]

I'm currently looking for a new car. And with the down payment and emi amounts that I'm comfortable with, my budget is ₹9 lacs OTR. The cars that I have shortlisted are Tata Altroz and Volkswagen Polo.

So my points for Altroz.
1. Looks stunning, especially gold and red.
2. Interiors are great, with most feature comforts.
3. 5 star safety rating.
I'm concerned about the engine performance though. I am more interested in the top end variant and diesel would be out of the budget.

Points for VW Polo.
Wife has a Polo, and it was the car that I learnt to drive.
Solidly built. Great road manners. Manageable creature comforts. Top end has automatic ac, android auto, cruise control and rain sensing wipers.
But the best part about Polo is that it's got the TSI engine in the highline plus variant and that makes it the most powerful hatchback now.

Cons of Polo are that it has had the same design since it launched. I'm sure that Polo will have the same design if it's still on sale 10 years later. Interiors have been updated fairly regularly but it is not the most luxurious car available.

I am not considering elite i20 considering that the new one will come end of the year, and I feel that the top end will cross 10lacs OTR. It's 9.6 lacs as it is.

Baleno has good engine but its build quality isn't something that I like.

Figo freestyle has a great price but they very stupidly removed ford sync3 when they launched the bs6 version. Who in this day and age launches a car without android auto. Even s-presso has it.

End of the post, I want to go for Altroz for its design and interiors and Polo for its engine. I'm really confused.

[Jakku]

I voted for Atroz. Now, this is not just a vote. I am seriously considering this to replace my aging Indica Xeta back in Kerala. Xeta completed 13 years and by 2021, it will be up for re-registration which I am reluctant to do. Instead, I will replace. Since it is a long way down the lane, I will be waiting and probably the purchase would be nearer to next April/ May timeline.

I have not test driven one, but the Team-BHP review is enough for me to finalise this. The one aspect to finalise is the variant. My parents would be the users and drivers would be the one who is sent by the agency for the day. So, I am not going for the top-end/ auto variant. I would mostly be settling in for mid variant. My initial choice was the XE, but the XT seems to be more bang for the buck. I am still debating on this aspect.

[msd7]

Voted for the Volkswagen Polo. It is a great vehicle and the service center in Vadodara is also excellent.

Another option would be to go for a Nexon XM instead of an Altroz or Polo top model. It would be a segment higher and have a better engine. Just of one could get adjusted to the looks.

[Fravia]

Dear Experts,

I'm considering a car in the range of 7.5 - 8.5 lakhs.

I'm sure you're all familiar with the 5 star ratings of Altroz and also the 6 airbags, ESC, TC, HLA and ARP safety features of the freestyle.

From having spent a bit of time on the forum, I get a sense that traction control is considered almost useless in front wheel drives. But on the other hand something like ESC seems to be a mandatory safety feature for almost a decade now in the west.

Given these facts, what is a safer car in the two? Wouldn't those active safety features of freestyle play a lot more role in providing your family with safety than perhaps the build of the Altroz?

In terms of look, space, aesthetics and practicality Altroz is a clear winner for my needs, but I can't shake off the fact that it misses out on a lot of these safety features which ironically the Nexon gets.

Would love to hear your take on this topic.

Many thanks.

[Cessna182]

The word on the street is that Tata, Ford and Mahindra are well built. You won't lose a bumper if a bicycle brushes against you, as is the case in some of the best selling cars in India. I know that this sounds unscientific, but you can confirm this statement with any garage worker or owner who repairs these cars.

In the end the safety ratings present a specific crash scenario. It is a good to have specification, but may not be in the must-have list. Airbags are important, but doors that do not break like a soft drink can in an impact are more important.

I remember reading about a Baleno sedan accident (collision with a tree at a high speed) where everyone walked out unscathed on this forum many years ago. Compare that to today's Baleno which gets a dimpled roof under a strong spell of rain.

Active safety features are definitely important for accident prevention, but in the unlikely and unfortunate event of an accident, it is the passive safety that saves you, and airbags are just one of the many features that affect the outcome.

It'd be best if you select the vehicle that meets your expectations, and also talk to garage folks, before finalizing. Personally, of the cars you listed, the Altroz or Nexon appear to be more promising, but the Ford vehicles are equally competent, or better, in terms of safety I suppose.

[Abhi5868]

Originally Posted by Fravia

Given these facts, what is a safer car in the two?

IMHO you can't go wrong with any of the above. I agree with the above gentleman that passive safety features are more important than the active ones, also there's only a limit till which the sensors are going to react afterall they're electronics.

If Altroz is meeting all your requirements than look no further because it'll keep you as safe as the freestyle.

[PetrolheadRup]

I do not have a definitive answer to your query but here are my 2 cents on this topic:

- While the Altroz is proven to be very safe in the case of a frontal crash but in the absence of side airbags I think a car with more airbags will be safer in side crashes even if the body structure is not as good (I'm not saying that the airbags will save you irrespective of the body shell).

- Things like ESP, TC etc are quite important. Although a stronger bodyshell can be life saving in a crash, ESP can prevent a crash in the first place.

- It would not be right to trust brands like Ford blindly just because their build quality seems top notch. Ford Aspire was crash tested by GNCAP and got 3 stars, the results will be similar for the 2 airbag Freestyle. So the Altroz is much better than the Figo siblings.

- If Ford can spend crores on TV ads claiming they make safe cars, why can't they simply spend a fraction of that money to send their cars for testing? This shows that they themselves have low confidence in their product.

- Ideally it would be great if we could have every car on sale getting crash tested at par with Euro NCAP standards (barring the radar systems). But we know few companies will lobby hard to not let this happen.
It will also raise the costs of cars.

Consumers should make safety a priority and buy cars which have been proven to be safe, but this will remain a dream as even now many enthusiasts judge a car's safety by the sheet metal thickness and damage to cars involved in road accidents.

I hope Tata adds more airbags and elecronic safety aids in Altroz and Nexon (even as paid options), then these cars would easily be the first choice of the safety conscious buyer in the segment.

[Waspune]

The new Ford Figo isn't a very built car unlike the original Figo. The Altroz definitely scores much higher in safety quotient. If safety is of paramount importance do prefer the Altroz.
The new Figo was deemed unstable during its NCAP testing. Yes they give 6 airbags in the top variant but that doesn't hide the fact that the body is unstable.

[longhorn]

Build quality should be accorded a higher value over more than 2 airbags. No amount of airbags is going to save you if the build quality sucks. When I say build quality, I am referring to the structure, not the seat of pants feel of the thickness of the doors. Stability of the passenger compartment is what matters most, followed by a minimum of two airbags. On this count, I would rate Tata and the new gen Mahindras a notch over Ford.