[apachelongbow]

I wonder why the old Maruti Alto is not added to this list. Agreed it is one of the most basic hatches around, however its ride quality is one of the best I experienced among most of the small cars and even entry level sedans. Yes the ride is best with only one or at max 2 on board, one need not stop for speed breakers or small potholes, the ground clearance is quite good, and the car feels quite stable and planted at 100kmph and about 80kmph on curves

[sanjeevskartha]

Of the list given above, I have driven the Swift, Beat, Punto, i20, Indica Vista and Figo. In my opinion, the ride quality in descending order is as follows
(Best) Punto>Vista & Figo>Beat>Swift>i20

I feel that Vista and Figo offer superb ride quality on highways as well as bad roads. I would tend to sway towards the Figo if we do a head-on between Vista and Figo. Beat is nice, but it tends to get bouncy on bad roads. Swift is ok-ish. i20 is below average.

Punto is the best in terms of ride quality on bad roads.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Look at the irony – the car with close to 60% of votes amongst the 14 odd contenders, is actually the least selling of the lot. Looks like ride quality on bad roads is the least considered parameter when it comes to actual decision making.
.

Exactly my thoughts!

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Look at the irony – the car with close to 60% of votes amongst the 14 odd contenders, is actually the least selling of the lot. Looks like ride quality on bad roads is the least considered parameter when it comes to actual decision making.

Thats because most of the hatches are driven 90% of the time in the city. I find the ride of my i20 pretty good at city speeds and thats what most people look at. How many of them actually take the car on a highway and test for high speed ride and handling? Probably very close to zero. There are other reasons for choosing a car but the above is probably it when it comes to ride.

[ThePunter]

I have voted for Punto. No doubts.
Since 3 years, I haven't found a car with a ride better than what it offers, so too about the handling which is top notch. The car is on the heavier side and this gives it a great edge in bad roads, together with the thoughtfully put suspension set up. With these things Fiat just raises the bar even further. Swift definitely handles good so too Figo, but Punto scores better all round in the asked parameters.
To add, I am just back after a good road trip of 1500 kms, along with my 'swift' friend, and ever since he has been generous in appreciating the ride and handling he personally experienced with the Punto, of course with reservations on the power delivery department.
Regarding back seat comfort, none other than my wife is the greatest admirer for Punto, while comparing it with her rides in other hatches.

[BMW-X5]

Not just among the hatchbacks,Punto's ride quality is among the best when compared with most of the sedans in 10-12 lakhs. When I had sell off my Punto, i have tried almost all sedans and UVs from 8-12Lks. Only other car I liked was Ford's new Fiesta. However I didnt like the steering feel and it was way too over priced. In UVs duster was too good but to me it is not worth 12+ lakhs and I settled for Scorpio VL,. its ride quality cant even be compared with Punto on any kind of roads :(

[Naturalist]

Though I own a swift zdi, I totally agree that swift does not have better ride quality than Punto. Especially on bad roads and speed breakers, you can really feel the bounciness at the back though handling is different story altogether.

[BMW-X5]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Thats because most of the hatches are driven 90% of the time in the city. I find the ride of my i20 pretty good at city speeds and thats what most people look at. How many of them actually take the car on a highway and test for high speed ride and handling? Probably very close to zero. There are other reasons for choosing a car but the above is probably it when it comes to ride.

I would beg to differ with Shivasuma, I have bought my Punto keeping highways in mind. When I sold it off after two years and 37K on ODO out of which 22K kmts was done only on highways. Not just the ride alone, its tank like build and excellent handling capabiities was very confident inspiring even @ 140/hrs, which many sedans and can't offer. It was not bad in city too except for the huge turning radius and response to throttle in first and 2nd gear. I'm not saying Punto is not is the best car, but I have never enjoyed any other car like my Punto and missing every bit of it even today.

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by BMW-X5

I would beg to differ with Shivasuma, I have bought my Punto keeping highways in mind. When I sold it off after two years and 37K on ODO out of which 22K kmts was done only on highways. Not just the ride alone, its tank like build and excellent handling capabiities was very confident inspiring even @ 140/hrs, which many sedans and can't offer. It was not bad in city too except for the huge turning radius and response to throttle in first and 2nd gear. I'm not saying Punto is not is the best car, but I have never enjoyed any other car like my Punto and missing every bit of it even today.

Sorry, I should have said 90% of the hatches bought spend 90% of the time in the city. Yes, overall there are a few exceptions.

[nkg77]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Sorry, I should have said 90% of the hatches bought spend 90% of the time in the city. Yes, overall there are a few exceptions.

hmm you are mistaken, I have covered 26k kms in 18 months and atleast 18k was covered doing long distance. My first priority while hunting for a hatchback was it should be a good highway cruiser and Punto has not disappointed me yet.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

So one may argue that we are not looking for a precise answer just an approximate one (parallel to what Keynes said, "It is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong"!). But I believe the responses are going to be heavily biased by one's ownership / experience of the listed hatchback and hearsay about others. Especially when there are so many of them. So the results of such a poll are not helpful.

Cheers,

If it was the case of owners trying to protect their buy, surely Punto wouldn't have received this many votes and a very popular car would have came on top.

This indeed reflects punto's superiority on this department. Fiat users are micro minority and on a forum like this, the ratio of Punto users will be much much less than say swift.

[fiestarry]

It's really no surprise that the Punto is well ahead. The poor little Punto has proven time and again that it has many good aspects to it; the ride quality, sturdiness of build, steering feel & sheer looks being some of them.
However, FIAT hasn't been nimble enough to leverage these selling points and has SADLY behaved like a Govt Dept: 'here's what I have and take it or leave it'.
That's no way to be in this cut throat auto business. They have had a half hearted approach from day ONE and by this I mean the original day One.
They could easily have introduced the smaller cars from their Italy stable and could have come up with a 4m SUV based on the sturdy Punto chassis.
The Multipla and Doblo would have been well received if introduced with the diesel engines and reasonable pricing. Sorry for the rant but FIAT needs help from the shrink!

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by fiestarry

They could easily have introduced the smaller cars from their Italy stable and could have come up with a 4m SUV based on the sturdy Punto chassis.
The Multipla and Doblo would have been well received if introduced with the diesel engines and reasonable pricing. Sorry for the rant but FIAT needs help from the shrink!

The Linea is actually based on the Punto. A sub-4m sedan based on the Punto would have been hard, considering that the hatch is not far off from the 4m mark itself. I shudder to think of the space available in the sub-4m sedan based on the Punto, unless they design it completely from ground-up.

The products I'd love to see from Fiat: Viaggio and Panda. The prospects of a Panda Trekking (4x4) with the TwinAir petrol-engine technology and the MJD diesel option of course is mouthwatering. Unfortunately, it may not happen.

On topic, I wonder why people don't factor-in ride-quality while deciding on a car. I believe it's one thing that's a deal-breaker for me. Unless of course the car handles like a dream. In which case, I'd look beyond everything else.

[MCR]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Thats because most of the hatches are driven 90% of the time in the city. I find the ride of my i20 pretty good at city speeds and thats what most people look at. How many of them actually take the car on a highway and test for high speed ride and handling? Probably very close to zero. There are other reasons for choosing a car but the above is probably it when it comes to ride.

Actually, you would need a very softly sprung suspension for city drives. This is where you encounter numerous potholes and speed bumps coupled with roughroads. At highway speeds what you would need is a stiff suspension to aide the handling of the car. If the suspension is too soft, it would mean that the car would be wallowy and a nightmare to handle with terrible body roll. This is where Punto offers the best compromise in terms of ride quality v. handling. In a Punto the ride inside the city is soft (not supple) which means you will not notice small bumps / rough patches and medium sized pot holes and the suspension hardens up enough to aide good handling on the highway.

I voted for Punto.

[sansvk]

I drive a Figo, at lower speeds (<40-50 kmph) ride quality is poor, the stiff suspension lets you know the smallest imperfections in the road. But at higher speeds on a bad strech its a great car with good handling and ride quality.

[ninjatalli]

Punto any day! Haven't driven all (Sail, Fabia, new Vista pending), but I'm sure the Punto will beat all three any day!