[Aditya]

Honda WR-V

What you’ll like:

• Crossover styling, taller seating position & 188 mm of ground clearance
• Interior space is awesome, with a practical boot too. Honda’s packaging skills are brilliant!
• 1.5L diesel offers excellent driveability & fuel economy
• Well-tuned suspension; a supple, cushy ride matched to neutral handling
• Features such as the segment-first sunroof, feather-touch climate control, LED DRLs, cruise control, reversing camera, touchscreen ICE & more

What you won’t:

• Unimpressive 1.2L petrol has a weak bottom end. Honda should’ve gotten their tasty 1.5L here
• Diesel’s NVH still has holes to fill, especially at higher revs
• Strangely, no automatic! This & the Mobilio are the only Hondas without an AT option
• Petrol is inexplicably lesser equipped than the diesel (keyless start & go, cruise control)
• Missing features! Magic seats, rear air-con vents & adjustable headrests, auto-dimming IRVM, height adjustable seatbelts, auto headlights

Review Link

Maruti Vitara Brezza

What you’ll like:

• An all-rounded compact SUV. A neutral package at the right price
• Clean & proportionate styling. Dual-tone paint shades look nice
• Well-mannered suspension riding on big 215/60 R16 tyres. 198 mm of GC!
• Good cabin space for a sub-4 meter car. Lots of storage & a powerful air-con too
• 1.3L 89 BHP diesel is quick as well as fuel-efficient
• Driver airbag is standard. ABS + EBD and passenger airbag are available on every variant
• Features: Cruise control, touchscreen ICE with navigation, auto headlamps & wipers, projector headlamps & LEDs, reversing camera etc.
• Maruti's excellent after-sales support network

What you won’t:

• No petrol engine or automatic offered. Boosterjet turbo-petrol is still sometime away
• Ordinary interior quality. EcoSport has better quality & a more solid build
• Missing features vs cheaper Baleno (bi-xenons, telescopic steering, auto-dimming IRVM, leather steering)
• Diesel engine has some turbo-lag below 2,000 rpm (though not excessive)
• Boot has a practical layout, but is still the smallest in the segment at 328 liters
• Forget LDi, even VDi is basic & poorly equipped. ZDi & ZDi+ are the only recommended variants
• Waiting periods stretching to 6 months

Review Link

Ford EcoSport

What you'll like:

• Snazzy, futuristic styling makes the EcoSport a head-turner. Solid construction too
• 3 engine options, including the impressive 1.0L EcoBoost & economical 1.5L Diesel
• Loaded to the gills with technology & equipment (SYNC, keyless entry & go, cooled glovebox, leather seats, parking display...)
• Smartly packaged interior. Adequate space for 4 adults. Lots of storage and practical features
• Dynamically sorted. Competent handling by SUV standards
• City-friendly! Great ergonomics, driving position, manoeuvrability and size for urban India
• Safety kit includes 6 Airbags, ABS + EBD, Emergency assistance phone call, Emergency brake warning etc. AT variant gets ESP and Hill-Hold

What you won't:

• Hyundai-esque light electric steering on the Highway
• Ride quality isn't as plush as that of the Renault Duster. Underlying stiffness obvious
• Narrow cabin width makes a 5th occupant unwelcome. Best for 4 onboard
• Sub-4 meter size and compact dimensions take street cred away
• Tree trunk thick A-Pillars result in severe blind spots

Review Link

Hyundai i20 Active

What you'll like:

• All-rounded package, with exterior enhancements over the Elite i20
• 190 mm of ground clearance makes it rough-road friendly
• Spacious interiors with outstanding quality, fit and finish. Practical 285 liter boot too
• 1.4L diesel has excellent driveability, refinement, performance & fuel economy. 6-speed gearbox is smooth
• Mature suspension offers a comfortable ride and neutral handling characteristics
• Hyundai's fuss-free ownership experience & excellent after-sales service
• Loaded with features & gizmos (projector headlamps with DRLs, 16" rims, keyless entry & go, 8-speaker stereo, rake & reach steering, rear air-con, reversing cam, cooled glovebox and lots more)

What you won't:

• On-road price is over a lakh more than the equivalent Elite i20 variants
• Petrol unavailable in the top SX trim (no passenger-side Airbag, rear wash / wipe, splitting rear seat etc.)
• 1.2L petrol is nowhere as impressive as the diesel. Mediocre highway performance for a premium car
• Anyone over 5'11" will find rear headroom to be insufficient. Sloping roof eats into cabin height at the back
• Dynamics & steering aren't to an enthusiast's tastes. Avventura, Cross Polo etc. are more fun to drive
• On-road price difference between the petrol & diesel is ~1.3 lakhs. That's higher than the competition
• Missing essentials (fuel-efficiency indicator, auto-locking doors, height-adjustable seatbelts)

Review Link

Fiat Avventura

What you'll like:

• Good looking! Tail-mounted spare, plastic claddings & roof rails distinguish Avventura from the Punto
• "Vault-like" build quality. Feels much more solid than the Asian competition
• 92 BHP turbo-diesel offers adequate power & good fuel economy. Explosive performance from the 140 horsepower turbo-petrol engine
• Superb suspension. Mature ride & dynamics package
• Perfectly calibrated power steering is a joy to use
• Massive 205 mm of ground clearance! Broken roads pose no problem at all
• Equipment (16" alloy wheels, Blue&Me, rear air-con, ambient lighting, high-terrain gauges etc.)

What you won't:

• Tail-mounted spare wheel is impractical. Opening the hatch is a cumbersome affair
• Kerb weight sees a 65 kilo increment. A heavy car becomes heavier
• Interior quality & finish still have rough edges. Some messed up ergonomics too
• Poor rearward visibility. Parking sensors are sorely missed
• Limited rear bench space by segment standards
• Long throw, rubbery gearshift. Gear ratios could do with an improvement too
• Inconsistent after-sales service quality. Remains a hit or miss. Network has limited spread across India

Review Link

Toyota Etios Cross

Review Link

Mahindra TUV300

What you'll like:

• 7-seater SUV at a price comparable to budget sedans
• Robust, abuse-friendly build & construction. Great street presence too
• Nice & roomy cabin. 1st & 2nd seat rows are spacious
• 1.5L diesel offers good city driveability & fuel economy
• AMT available. The cheapest automatic SUV in India
• Dual airbags & ABS offered on every variant
• Features such as static bending lamps, 2 front armrests, adjustable lumbar support, Blue Sense App, economy modes etc.

What you won't:

• 3-cylinder diesel has no top-end. Slow expressway performance
• Mediocre NVH levels, especially in the area of vibrations
• Ride quality is nowhere as cushy as its car-based rivals. Does get bouncy
• Steering is on the heavier side at parking / low speeds
• 4x4 not available, even as an option
• Mahindra's after-sales service quality is a hit or miss. Remains a gamble
• Some important features missing (rear a/c vents, seatbelt height adjustment, dead pedal etc.)

Review Link

[GTO]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

What surprises me most are the holes in the petrol offerings, at a time when the market has greatly moved back to that fuel. The Vitara Brezza still doesn't have one, the WR-V's 1.2L is lacklustre as is the EcoSport's 1.5L petrol (1.0L EcoBoost is there, but with heavy turbo lag). A 1.0L Boosterjet or 1.5L i-Vtec could fix that situation overnight, but the brands still haven't come around to it. It's a big mistake on the product planner's part.

Among the diesels, I'd pick either the EcoSport or the i20 Active - both are fabulous cars.

[Latheesh]

Ecosport is the default choice if I am the sole user. But for my family I would pick WRV/i20 active.

Ideal car for me+my family = WRV with 1.2/1.5 ivtec+CVT+Magic seats.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

I just cannot see Ford Ecosport and Vitara Brezza in the same league as the others here, excluding the TUV 3OO. Both these cars were designed and engineered from the ground up as independent small crossovers. Even though based on their hatchback counterparts, they don't share even a panel in common with them, and for that I respect these two choices.

Out of the two, it's a tough choice. Vitara Brezza looks better for my eyes, but I feel I would go ahead and pick the Ecosport for being the better built option, safer (6 airbags) and having the better diesel engine of the two!

Why not the TUV? Only because of the diesel engine which lacks the punch for highway use IMO. Else it deserves respect among this competition as well.

The rest of the choices are all just hatchbacks with raised ground clearance and ungainly plastic claddings - namely WRV, i20 Active, Etios Cross and Urban Cross - failing to justify the huge premium that they have over their hatchback siblings other than the fact that their manufacturer is trying to cash-in on the Indian SUV craze.

[SoumenD]

Voted for Ecosport.

Its still the best built product in this segment after almost 4 years from launch. Only major fly in the ointment is rear seating width.

Brezza inspite of lacking a petrol engine variant sells way more than all others combined which is astounding. Wonder what would happen if it comes with the 1.0L boosterjet

P.S : Like all other polls on TBhp this one too will have a clear winner but that won't be remotely synonymous to monthly sales chart results as no matter how good a product is, unless its from Maruti/Hyundai there's no chance in hell for it to succeed in numbers

[libranof1987]

Looking at this objectively, it is the EcoSport all the way.

- It's got better build than the perceived segment sales leader: Brezza
- There's absolutely no skimming of safety features, and has a long list of comfort and convenience features (except of course the prodigal sunroof)
- A good list of engine/variants: petrol, diesel, AT (although in just one variant)

But a big chink in the EcoSport's armor is the rear bench; a 5-adult family simply won't fit in.

Although every car in this comparison is a pseudo SUV, the i20 Active, Avventura and Etios Cross don't even look the part.

This segment is going to be mainly Brezza leading, followed by EcoSport and then WR-V.

There will most likely never be a time the EcoSport can leave the Brezza behind, mainly due to intangible reasons: one being Maruti's brand equity.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

P.S : Like all other polls on TBhp this one too will have a clear winner but that won't be remotely synonymous to monthly sales chart results as no matter how good a product is, unless its from Maruti/Hyundai there's no chance in hell for it to succeed in numbers

Originally Posted by libranof1987

This segment is going to be mainly Brezza leading, followed by EcoSport and then WR-V.

There will most likely never be a time the EcoSport can leave the Brezza behind, mainly due to intangible reasons: one being Maruti's brand equity.

Ecosport could have done way better for Ford, had they not -

1. Turned greedy and increased prices every other month.
2. Prioritized exports.
3. Artificially limited sales in the market by not taking bookings.
4. Spent the marketing fortune wisely rather than panicking when Maruti was at their doorstep.
5. Slashed the prices the next day clearly showing how bad they were scared by Brezza.

Ecosport is still the better product, gets my vote too. But once you've been caught napping while Maruti prepares their onslaught - there is just no stopping MS. Now they are showing Ford the true potential of the segment, that they missed out on - inspite of zero competition.

PS - I'd have an Ecosport AT in my garage as well instead of an Xcent AT - but those were their peak days when the dealership was so arrogant to answer calls and walks in with only - "No bookings" no matter how many months you were willing to wait.

[MoTo_meister]

Voted for the Ecosport because it was purpose built for being a sub-4 meter SUV and not like other cars in the segment that have raised ride height and plastics tucked on (especially the Etios Cross and i20 Active). Also the fact that Ecosport has the best-in-class diesel and petrol engines, build quality, features, safety and it really is a quite well rounded car. My second pick would be the WR-V. A friend of mine recently bought the WR-V and I was absolutely blown away by the space on offer.

Runner up: TUV300- Robust build and road presence. In addition, the jump seats bring that much more practicality when needed. The only real downer is the 3-cylinder motor.

Cars ruled out straight away:
Etios Cross- Looks hideous
i20 Active- Doesn't look good and Elite i20 is more VFM
Avventura- Trying too much to look like an SUV couple that with Fiat's Service (I have a Palio Stile 1.3 MJD, so have a pretty fair idea about the service)
Vitara Brezza- Same engine as my current car and not VFM (even the Baleno is more feature packed)

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Ecosport is still the better product, gets my vote too. But once you've been caught napping while Maruti prepares their onslaught - there is just no stopping MS. Now they are showing Ford the true potential of the segment, that they missed out on - inspite of zero competition.

+1

It seems to take a lot to not be overwhelmed by success, doesn't it! We've seen quite a few examples of first mover advantage being squandered away because manufacturers weren't capable of taking their game to the next level.

And that seems to be Maruti's core skill-set, with only Hyundai being able to consistently manage it.

Ford's core competencies are delivering a good product with strong build, convenience and safety features. I hope they don't resort to silly gimmicks that some manufacturers seem to indulge in: AVNs and sunroofs.

The WR-V might have lured some customers with its sunroof but that is not a sustainable strategy.

Ford's tenacity is being tested with EcoSport and Endevour; and their success, relegation to second place solely depends on them.

[Vitalstatistiks]

Damn, voted for WR-V, thinking that I am voting for BR-V.

Anyway, for the record, would have chosen Ecosport out of the options presented. Which brings me to the question- How have these cars selected for comparison (sub-4 meter?) I ask because I am amazed at how flexible is the Ecosport in terms of who it is compared with. Till sometime back, its competitors were Duster and Creta. Now they are WR-V and i20 active. Soon, Ecosport v Kwid ?

[vishy76]

I would definitely choose the Ecosport, although the Brezza may put up a stiff fight. What the Ecosport has over the others:

- A much better petrol engine lineup ( The Brezza still doesn't have a Petrol!)
- An automatic paired to an adequate 1.5L petrol block
- That cracker of an engine. The 1.0L Ecoboost with 100Hp
- An adequate diesel
- Solid build amongst Japanese and Indian rivals
- A good feature list (Touchscreen has also been added)
- Priced almost on par with the Brezza, so a VFM proposition

However, Ford did mess up things big time before even the Brezza came into existence. Some of them were:
- Poor marketing (as usual)
- Arrogant dealers
- Price hikes
- And then a sudden drop in prices. Losing confidence in their own product!

There are some cars in the list which I don't consider as crossovers. That topic is debatable, but on some other day.

Regards,
Vishy

[diliprayar]

Voted for Ecosport!

Must say, of all the competitors list, I personally feel, Ecosport and Vitara Breeza and TUV 300 sports a SUV stance.

Except for steady rise in pricing, the Ecosport has most of the things right. Solid build quality, efficient diesel heart, Ford DNA dynamics, all clubbed with perfect safety kit and a decent service backup. Also, frequent updates from Ford.

Breeza on other hand, though the build isn’t as solid as the Ford, checks all above aspects with stellar service backup.

Hope TUV 300 gain some sales, it's a nice effort from Mahindra with that 7-seater configuration.

I'm still not sure of the market success of WR-V. I personally feel, rest of the list can't be classified for SUV category.

[Nav-i-gator]

WR-V is a good looking car, and pretty much that's it.

Vitara brezza's only "drawback" is lack of a competent petrol engine, it would sell more than dzire easily. A very competent product.

Rest all are just prothestics glued to lean hatchebacks to make them look macho.

Ecosport is a versatile car. One can call it premium hatchback, softroader, SUV and it would not be an outlier. my vote goes to ecosport. next best undoubtedly is Brezza. TUV desperately needs a bigger/more powerful engine. It does look imposing, although boxy.

[Self Driven]

Voted for the Ecosport and I own one, a 1.5 TDCi Titanium.

The steering is light - Don't understand what a heavy steerring will feel like then. I think still the 1st Gen Ecosport comments are repeated

Cabin is Narrower - I totally agree, but 5 people is a squeeze here and other cars could be better don't know how. I have sat in the back seat in my own car - for the record

Thanks to vitalstatistiks for mentioning that Ecosport is compared from Duster to may be KWID later. Good or Bad!!!

Cheers

[sandeepmdas]

Voted for the Ford Ecosport.

As a matter of fact I did a test drive in WR-V the very second day after it was launched. I was on the market looking for a diesel SUV. I also TD'ied the Brezza and ES. My quest ended when I bought a Duster AMT.

So my opinion in this thread is first-hand, and here it is (top-end variants):

-WR-V. Thoroughly urban and funky lifestyle car. BEST TYRES (Bridgestone), great electronics that feature touch screen with HDMI, touch panel AC controls, blueish economy-advising dial whose name I forgot, excellent (promised) mileage and hey, sunroof! On the flipside, featherlight steering, a gearknob that is as chunky as a wiper stalk and the plain fact that it's not exactly a SUV.

Dropped it because I don't like the Jazz very much. Had a very, very tough time convincing my 11-year old junior TBHPian who still gets emotional when we encounter one on road.

- Vitara Brezza. Proper Suv-sh looks and stance, upright and commanding seating position. Same 90 BHP motor that I have in my Punto with 5-speed gearbox, and every fifth car you see now on road is a Brezza. Plus I never owned a MSIL product before, so dropped it.

- Ecosport. Proper Suv-sh looks and stance, upright and commanding seating position. Tough-built, Ford DNA is very much present in dynamics; Very cramped and, sadly an upgraded version is round-the corner and I can't wait for it. This is the sole reason we decided to drop it.

- OT, the S-Cross. The 1.6 was not available for TD and they were keen on selling me the 90 HP version which I already have in the form of my Punto. No AT or AMT option either.

- OT, the Creta AT. Everything good, except the price.

- OT, the Duster. Power, AMT, handling, mileage, commanding seating. Not very keen on bells and whistles here as my XUV has tons of these. Warned about the safety factors but decided to settle on a prayer and two smaller airbags.