New Hyundai Elite i20 vs Fiat Punto Evo vs Volkswagen Polo vs Maruti Swift: Spec Comparison

Hyundai has launched the Elite i20 today and with it has become the freshest competitor with an all-new car in this premium hatchback segment. The Volkswagen Polo and Fiat Punto Evo are updates and the Swift is due for a facelift soon. So in a sense, the entire segment gets an overhaul for buyers ready to spend between Rs 5-8 lakh on a hatchback. Coming to the Elite i20, it’s an all-new car inside and out but the engines and gearboxes are carried forward from the outgoing i20. It will not drive the same way the outgoing car did though because a lot more engineering and experience of developing cars for India has gone into this car. And Hyundai is very confident with this new offering, so much so that we are the first country in the world to get the Elite i20 while Europe gets this swanky new hatch a few months later. Let’s see how it fares in our spec comparison –

Engines

The Hyundai Elite i20 comes with the same engines - a 1.2-litre 83PS petrol and a 90PS 1.4-litre CRDi diesel engine. The Polo sports a 75PS 1.2-litre 3-cylinder petrol, a new 1.5-litre 4-cylinder diesel dishing out 90PS. The Punto Evo has the weakest petrol engine and strongest diesel engine while it is the other way round for the Swift. The Punto Evo petrol also has a 1.4-litre petrol engine variant with 90PS of power but it doesn’t qualify under small car norms and is priced differently as a result. There’s no feature-wise options to choose from too so we’ve left it out of this comparison.

Power and Torque table (Petrol/Diesel)

From a recent comparison test of the Punto Evo against its rivals, we found out that although the diesel is the most powerful, it’s not the most agile, and the Swift diesel despite its modest output is a lot more peppy. You can read our review here.

Big small car

Premium hatchbacks are supposed to be big small cars. They need to offer more space than other hatchbacks and a lot more comfort and convenience, all while keeping measurements in check under the 4-metre low tax barrier. At first glance, the i20 does look quite a large hatchback and it is over its predecessor. The Elite i20 has a longer wheelbase and width and has better ground clearance too. Let’s see how it measures up against the rest of the premium bunch – 

The Elite i20 as you can see is the widest car with the longest wheelbase by quite a margin. It should be the most spacious as a result. The Punto Evo comes in second followed by the Polo and then the Swift.

At the pumps

As more equipment adds to weight and affects fuel efficiency, we have taken the top-spec variants into consideration here to give you the right comparison. These are ARAI certified figures.

The Swift is the most fuel efficient petrol and diesel car in this comparison followed closely by the Hyundai Elite i20. The Volkswagen Polo and Fiat Punto Evo post much lesser efficiency figures. Note that these are ARAI figures which will be higher than the actual ones you will get in regular driving conditions.

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Money-Penny

Which car is worth every penny you spend? Only a proper comparison of the variants will give you an idea. Here’s how they stack up –

(Petrol/Diesel)

The Hyundai Elite i20 packs in a lot of features which will not reflect in the prices and the i20 is a successful brand in itself so charging a slight premium over its rivals is a calculated decision. The Elite i20 though is more or less on par with the Polo while the Punto Evo is the most affordable car in this premium hatchback segment. Hyundai has marginally increased prices of the Elite i20 over its predecessor.