Maruti Ciaz vs Fiat Linea vs Ford Fiesta vs Nissan Sunny vs Renault Scala: Spec comparison

The Maruti Ciaz takes on established rivals like the Honda City and the Hyundai Verna, and also the Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid in the big league, but as wide as this segment is, there’s also a set of underperformers that the Ciaz will have a massive dent on. These are the Fiat linea, Ford Fiesta, Nissan Sunny and Renault Scala. Nine cars in a segment that sells less than half the numbers hatchbacks do every month also shows us the availability of a car practically from every manufacturer for anyone who wants to upgrade. So let’s see if that if you decide to move up a segment with your next car, which one of these would you choose with this sheet of numbers well stacked up. 

Also read: Ciaz vs City vs Verna vs Vento vs Rapid Spec comparison

Engines:

With 92.5PS of peak power and 130Nm of peak torque, the Ciaz petrol feels a bit underpowered when pitted against the City, Verna and Vento. Here the Linea leads the pack with a powerful 114PS T-jet unit but it is considerably heavier (a quarter tonne) so that should even things out. Ford doesn’t have a petrol Fiesta so it’s out of the question if you plan a petrol car purchase. The Sunny and Scala twins dish out 99PS of power and similar torque figures to the Ciaz. They also weigh around the same so performance should be similar. Where Maruti aces its rivals is in the fuel economy figures for both the petrol and the diesel.

Talking of diesels, the same Ertiga unit that’s tuned further for efficiency is not the least powerful mill here. The Nissan and the Renault K9K 1.5 litre units are with just 86PS on tap. The Fiat Linea again is the most powerful but the difference is lesser and the weight disadvantage is the same. Ford’s Fiesta gets back in the game with its 1.5-litre 91PS diesel engine. It is also very efficient, the second best in this comparison with 25.1kmpl.

So there you have it on the engines front, the Ciaz holds middle ground on the spec sheet in terms of output and aces on the efficiency front by a large margin. 

Also read: Maruti Ciaz special coverage

Also read: Maruti Ciaz diesel: Review

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Size and Space:  

Maruti product planners have played it smart. The cars to beat are the City and Verna and so to the millimetre, the Ciaz is larger in every aspect against these two, but in this comparison, there are larger cars, albeit marginally but not outright. For instance, the Fiat Linea is the longest car here at almost 4.6 metres, the Ford Fiesta is the widest while the Sunny and the Scala are the tallest. The Linea also has the best ground clearance. So the Maruti Ciaz doesn’t come up on tops in terms of size? Wrong. 

What works in favour of the Ciaz is its wheelbase, which is the largest in class. At 2.65 metres, it is a full 161mm longer than the smallest wheelbase car in this comparison, the Ford Fiesta and that makes for a very well packaged car. No matter how long the car is, it’s the space on the inside that matters. A longer wheelbase car will have better interior space.   

Also read: Maruti Ciaz special coverage

Also read: Maruti Ciaz diesel: Review

Features: 

If you’ve read our Spec comparison on the Ciaz vs its mainstream competitors, you know that the Ciaz lacks a sunroof and cruise control that the Honda City offers. Here that Ciaz has a lot more to offer than the rest of its rivals. None of the cars have a touchscreen entertainment system except the Ciaz and Sunny but the Ciaz also offers navigation. The Fiesta is short on a lot of equipment especially in the entry spec variant but the top end gets good features like rain sensing wipers and dusk sensing headlamps. The Ciaz top-end variant also offers leather seats, which the Fiesta and the Linea don’t. 

Price:

Maruti is expected to undercut its mainstream rivals in terms of price to make a mark in the segment, but against the cars we have compared it to here, there is no need for the CIaz to be more affordable. Also, skimping on equipment means the Linea and the Fiesta will be hard to beat on the price front. You never know though with Maruti’s economies of scale.

Also read: Maruti Ciaz special coverage

Also read: Maruti Ciaz diesel: Review