[Pace in Blood]

Hi guys I own both the Hyundai i20 and the Maruti Swift Vdi (ABS), I have never come across any comparisons between the 2 as they are from different segments but they cost almost the same onroad (Mumbai), with the i20 being more dearer by around Rs40k. My i20 is a recent acquisition and have hardly driven about 1.5k kms on the car and find it very interesting to drive. I own the Swift VDi (ABS) for about a year and a half now and have driven around 40K kms in the same. I would like to give you the pro’s and con’s of both the cars to may be help some to decide.


Design

The design of both the cars is very different. The i20 focuses more on the sophisticated driver and more for corporate parties & family get together’s. But the Swift is a dream of every young heart and is the car you wanna be seen in for your drives to the local Disco or Mall. The i20 is if for you if the children in your building call you uncle and the Swift if you are called ‘bhaiya’

But lets leave the jokes apart both are smart cars and score perfectly for their target audience. I don’t think I need say more on this as already a lot has been mentioned of these 2 sexy cars.

Winner – Me I have both

Performance

i20
The 1.2 Kappa!!! The much talked about engine lives up to its name but only just. If you are expecting tyre scorching performance from your car then read no further cause you will be disappointed. What I have noticed is that the engine needs to be revved hard above the 3k rpm mark to give the car a punch in the drive. The sound of the engine even though not too loud is quite sporty. The in gear pickup is also good for 3rd to 4th. The car is a bit sluggish in the 2nd but maybe it will be better after the first service. The gearshift is very smooth and the shift very precise but not lighting fast. I have touched a top speed of around 120kmph but I thought that it could go further but that is after the running in.

Swift
The 1.3 Multijet from Fiat is every bit worth the praise and the awe that people have been showering it with. The only drawback is the turbo lag which needs a bit getting used to, but past 2k on the rpm clock and the traffic next to you is history. The gearshift in Maruti tradition is among their best ever. In the city the car is mostly used upto 3rd gear as the car is not very responsive at low revs. But for diesel economy this is it – there is nothing better. The top speed is quite impressive and I have manged 140+ speeds very easily on a fully loaded (5pax avg 80kgs each & luggage) on my trip to Bangalore from Mumbai last December.

Winner – Swift VDi

Comfort
This is where the battle becomes 1 sided. The i20 just eats into the Swift hands down. Whatever people mention about the Swifts seats but they are still far more cramped than that of the i20. The quality of the interiors and the feel of the space is just something different in the i20. The i20 boasts of a lot of good features like the electronically folding OVRM’s which is a boon in Mumbai traffic (you don’t have to be scared of bikes, auto’s and that big red BEST driver who just love taking that essential part of your car away from you as they have one that doesn’t work at all). The auto a/c in the i20 works to perfection even though the Swift cooling is better but what about the luxury of an auto a/c. I dunno why Maruti is not introducing the ZDi in the Swift there is a market for it I am sure.
The suspension on the i20 has its pro’s and con’s – the ride quality is just too good to imagine and I have been blown away by the way the car eats up potholes, but if you are a spirited driver then you will not like the cornering as the steering is ultra light and it does not encourage you to press the gas and turn. The Swift on the other hand makes me feel every pothole and I have been facing problems with the tension rods upfront from past 2 services and it keeps getting worn out after every 5k kms. Something I am sure Maruti should look into as it has already costed them quite a lot to replace there in warranty 2 times.

Winner – The i20

The Verdict
The i20 is a gentleman’s car whereas the Swift is for that devil in him. The Swift was perfect for me when I was not earning enough and that fuel bill used to pinch me. But know I feel that I have become the uncle at 30 and have to move on to the i20. I have handed over the keys of my first love(Swift) to my younger brother who swears by the car with his life. The Swift really served me very well and am sure that it will do the same for my brother. I am looking forward to a great innings with my i20 which I am pretty sure again that it will cruise me along the mid life crisis of being called ‘uncle’ from ‘bhaiya’.

I rate both these cars as great to own and love. But the Swift with its heart will always be the best car to drive and the i20 is turning out to be the safest and most comfortable drive.

Drive safe and sober

[adi99]

Thanks for the nice review, Tanay! I own a VDi and I just love this part.

Originally Posted by Pace in Blood

but past 2k on the rpm clock and the traffic next to you is history.

I recently got to test drive i20 1.2. No car in this segment can beat the i20's interiors but the performance is .

Hyundai, Please get 1.4 Petrol (Manual)

[arjunrudra]

I definitely think you get more bag for your buck with the i20 diesel.There are a hell of a lot of features and the interioir quality is a class above and so are the safety features such a curtail airbags and stuff. The i20 is a beter performing car than the swift diesel 2 and i feel the i20 is more stable on the road at high speeds and its more re assuring to drive spiritedly.

[Pace in Blood]

Originally Posted by adi99

Thanks for the nice review, Tanay! I own a VDi and I just love this part.



I recently got to test drive i20 1.2. No car in this segment can beat the i20's interiors but the performance is .

Hyundai, Please get 1.4 Petrol (Manual)

I am glad you liked it Adi. And I second you on the 1.4 petrol for i20 part

[Pace in Blood]

Originally Posted by arjunrudra

I definitely think you get more bag for your buck with the i20 diesel.There are a hell of a lot of features and the interioir quality is a class above and so are the safety features such a curtail airbags and stuff. The i20 is a beter performing car than the swift diesel 2 and i feel the i20 is more stable on the road at high speeds and its more re assuring to drive spiritedly.

Hey Arjun,

I agree that the i20 diesel is more powerful but handling part I don't agree. The swift handling and cornering is the best in the business. The power steering is too light in the i20 and is anything but assuring at high speeds. Still it is your opinion and you have your right. Again for the value of money part the diesel is for around 7.5L on road @ mumbai, whereas a swift dezire zdi is around the same tag so figure it out.

[Pace in Blood]

Hey guys,

Just keeping you updated on the i20 feedback. I have already clocked 3000kms on the baby (just 2 weeks old). I managed to do this with a lot of self cleansing and soul searching in 1 day!!!! Yes in 1 day I travelled from Mumbai to Trambakeshwar (180kms) then Shani Signapur (120kms) then Shirdi (85kms) then back to Mumbai (250 kms) (all kms approx). I had to visit these places with my family so the car was fully loaded i.e. 5 people and a couple of bags just in case we needed to stopover overnight at 1 of the places.

I left Mumbai at 5:30 in the morning. The reason why I am mentioning this that I wanted to let i20 owners and aspiring owners know that they are and are gonna be lucky to get a car with good stock Headlights. The throw and the power was really good for factory fitted bulbs (a problem I faced with my Swift before switching to Xenons). I could manage to get quite a few irritating truck drivers to dim their lights in front of mine a battle won here for the i20.

The drive which stared with a lot of pride of taking the new car out on its first long drive soon turned a bit sour when I stopped on the way near Matoshree, on JVLR rd to fill gas and to get tyre filled with Nitrogen gas. I was shocked to find out that my tyres including the spare were having a pressure of 45psi as against the company recommended 33psi for a fully loaded car. I had given the car a day earlier for the first service and had complained about tyre noise and hard jumping of the car to the Shreenath Hyundai Workshop at Jogeshwari. I have initiated a complaint against them to check why this has happened will keep you guys posted on the same.

There was no other complaint from the car therein the suspension is just magical and maybe even better than most bigger cars. It is just silent even the biggest of the craters our roads and the government throws in front of the i20 are eaten with no noise at all. I read reports by people saying the car is not stable at high speeds I tend to differ as I found it very stable and I drove as fast as the car was ready to go.

I touched a top speed of 140kms but with a lot of straight road eaten up it took its own time to reach that speed but maybe the performance will increase after the second service, something I will keep you posted on. the ingear acceleration was good and the car can match most drivers on the highway. The absence of the punch that the Swift delivers in this area in terms of sheer speed and the feel of speed if missing. The steering of the car is a bit vague I do agree as it tends to be too light at high speeds and it took me about half a day to get used to the steering which after that is quite normal, all The difference is that the response of the car is greater to the movement on the steering wheel, once I figured out the difference ratio then I was very comfortable and even managed to throw the car around the Newly paved Kasara ghat.

The car was very comfortable for all five adults with good body sizes and for me the driver there was absolutely no fatigue or boredom. The seats have good support though the rear middle seat can be better. The air con was a bit of a concern with it having to work overtime to cool us in the afternoon but I must mention it is very silent in its working. I noticed a flaw (my point of view) that everytime I pressed the auto button on the aircon the recycling of the air used to be switched off and fresh air used to be taken in, that caused a lot of problem with highway driving as odours and dust would creep in time and again.

The car ground clearance is not a problem but the approach angles of the car are very poor and will touch frequently both front and rear while approaching road deviations or parking slots, etc. I used the windshield washer for the first time, really like the way the water (yes I said water is anybody from Hyundai listening) is sprayed onto the screen and even the wipers clean good.

The whole journey was with me driving at good revs and constant top speeds as a lot of distance had to be covered in a day. the fuel economy we got was 12.4 kmpl which i think is ok for fully loaded fully revved and fully tested fully new car ;-)

I would like to end this with saying that we arrived back in Mumbai at 3:30 in the night and we were not tired of the journey but were surely sleepy due to the comfort let out by our car to us. I salute Hyundai for making such a car which is really in a way the perfect mixture of comfort and power at the price which is affordable.

I recommend this car and dont agree to all the reports of the car being underpowered as I would say they cant drive the wheels of the car that loves to be driven. It sure takes heart to rev the car hard but it does respond well and that to after giving good mileage.

So i20 owners enjoy and rest buy it and enjoy it.

- Tanay

[blackasta]

Nice comparo Tanay.
I drive the i10 and find the 1.2 a good match with it, so it should feel a bit sluggish inside the bigger and heavier i20 (even with different gear ratios)

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Pace in Blood

There was no other complaint from the car therein the suspension is just magical and maybe even better than most bigger cars. It is just silent even the biggest of the craters our roads and the government throws in front of the i20 are eaten with no noise at all.

Do you hear tyre noise creeping in at high speeds?

Originally Posted by Pace in Blood

I read reports by people saying the car is not stable at high speeds I tend to differ as I found it very stable and I drove as fast as the car was ready to go.

It is very stable and a pleasure to drive, though one has to be a bit careful with the steering. I found it a little bit more sensitive.

Originally Posted by Pace in Blood

I touched a top speed of 140kms but with a lot of straight road eaten up it took its own time to reach that speed

Yes, It takes its own sweet time to reach that speeds.

[Pace in Blood]

Originally Posted by Gene

Do you hear tyre noise creeping in at high speeds?

Yes As a matter of fact I did but I would rather blame the Apollo Accelare Tyres for that instead of the car. But a good point brought up.

I hope you liked the review will keep you posted on the same.

[malgudi]

Have been contemplating buying a new car for sometime.

Background:
Currently I have a 7 yr (40K Kms) old Indica & 4 yr old Getz(42K Kms) old in my garage. Initially was inclined on selling of the Indica & purchasing a New Honda City or a used Honda Civic. In the meanwhile, Wife's business had started growing at rapid pace & the need for a diesel car was fast becoming a necessity. So the earlier search was put on backburner and we started hunting for a Diesel Car.

Requirements: We have few Simple requirements
1. Car would be primarily driven by Wife
2. Budget constraint of 6 Lakhs.
3. Has to be a Diesel (Daily travel between 100-150 KMS).
4. Has to be spacious (we are spoilt by the space in Getz & Indica).
5. No Waiting Period.
6. Has to have soft clutch for daily driving in the city.
7. Has to be easy on maintenance.
8. Long lasting (I typically keep my cars for 7-10 yrs)

Shortlisting:
Armed with our requirements, we decided to hunt for the prospective car.

1. VW Polo: Rejected
   • Nice Hatch.
   • No diesel testdrive vehicle available.
   • On road Price of the basic car was about 6.80L
   • Waiting period of 3 months
2. Ford Figo: Rejected
   • Looks disappoved by wife & even refused to testdrive the car. (Cannot Argue. End of Figo).
3. Tata Indica Vista: Rejected
   • Already have Indica V2
   • Not happy with Tata autorized service centre.
4. Fiat Punto: Rejected
   • Engine not as peppy as Swift
   • Cramped Footwell.
   • Interior quality not upto mark.
   • Parts availability & again Tata service centres (Sigh! why did fiat not colaborate with Honda)
5. Maruti Ritz: Rejected
   • Boxy Design
   • Better looking sibling (Swift) available with Maruti
6. Maruti Swift : Shortlisted
   • Good mod potential
   • Gem of a engine
   • Can get the car immidiately without waiting period (Thanks to some contacts)
   • On road price of Vdi is 5.75L (Within Budget)
7. Hyundai i20: Shortlisted
   • Spacios Hatch
   • Nice engine
   • On road price of Era is 6.36 (budget needs to be streched a bit)

Confusion & Suggestion Required:
So finally we are down to Swift Vdi Vs i20 Era. I personally do not like the Swift build quality but the DDIS engine is a real beauty. Would like the members here to suggest me among these two which would be a better buy. Feature wise there is not much to differenciate beween the two.

[HammerHead]

If you can compromise on space, Swift is a good choice.
Among these 2, I would pickup i20 if I have budget and for Space & Engine and is a newer car then Swift.

[Amartya]

I would go for the i20.
On the other hand, re-think about the Punto, it is tuned differently than the Swift with a more linear characteristic, hence it might not feel as peppy but in-gear acceleration is good.

Fiat service has improved a lot (at TASC itself) and the Punto's service schedules are really spaced out (15K differences after first service)

[malgudi]

Thanks guys. Tested the i20 CRDI today & have decided to finalize the same. Would be booking i20 Magna (Dad has decided to sponsor the difference between the two versions ).

I havent yet come across i20 CRDI reviews. Would still like to know the opinion of the members here on i20 CRDI performance & fuel efficiency.

[drasitkhanna]

Originally Posted by malgudi

Thanks guys. Tested the i20 CRDI today & have decided to finalize the same. Would be booking i20 Magna (Dad has decided to sponsor the difference between the two versions ).

I havent yet come across i20 CRDI reviews. Would still like to know the opinion of the members here on i20 CRDI performance & fuel efficiency.

my i20 crdi 1.4 has crossed 6000 km and i will be posting the detailed review later , but to sum it up in one line ...

The car is very very good !!

[malgudi]

Thanks for the update drasitkhanna. I have already gone through your initial i20 CRDI report and it was pretty useful. Awaiting your detailed report.

Meanwhile, I have a few requests/question regarding delivery of the car
1. In mumbai all dealers are asking for a 1 to 1.5 Month waiting period.
2. Does any one have any contacts who can help me get the car faster?
3. I have some contacts in Gujrat and the car can be made readily available there.
4. Can I get the car on temporary registration from there and get it registered here in Navi Mumbai? Would I have to still pay the entry tax in this case?

Thanks in advance for all the help