Spec comparo: 2017 Hyundai Grand i10 vs Ford Figo vs Maruti Suzuki Swift vs Tata Tiago

Every time there is a new small car launched, it attracts instant attention. Small cars are vastly affordable and the stepping stone to many. They are quite nimble in traffic and also feature loaded. In comes the new Hyundai Grand i10. The car has been around for quite sometime and is Hyundai's best seller. The car has been soldiering on without a facelift from the time it was launched in India - 2013. In that time, the competition clearly moved the game ahead. In comes first the all-new Ford Figo with a hots of new features as well as the most powerful engine in its class. Tata entered the game last year with its Tiago hatchback and the car has clearly helped revive Tata's fortunes with its sheer numbers. In the meanwhile, the Swift received a few more features and has also managed to eke out more fuel efficiency from its engines. The Maruti Swift clearly sells without much effort even though it is essentially a 10+ year old design. All in all its a hotly contested segment and here we have fragmented it based on how each of these cars fare against each other on paper.

Looks and interior

Each of the cars here don't attempt to look any large than what the segment demands. The new Hyundai Grand i10 is a long wheelbase model of the same car that is sold in Europe. It also has a few more changes to its face than the Euro-spec model. These things apart, from the facelift, the new Hyundai Grand i10 gets revised bumpers, LED DRLs and more segment-first features like a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirror Link as well as a reverse camera. The car is roomy enough for four passengers too. The Tata Tiago has been getting rave reviews ever since launch. It is a spacious car despite the deficit in length and has decent performance to go with the nice looks. And the quality is vastly improved than before. The Swift is the all-time favourite and is a go-to car for one looking purely at performance and looks. It though isn't really spacious at the back. However, with the facelift, the features list has increased and it still makes sense given its proven reliability. The Ford Figo, like the Tata Tiago, is an all-new car. It looks good, has a decent enough equipment list but, again like the Swift, is cramped at the rear.

Engines and transmission

All the cars here come with petrol and diesel engines as well as a choice of automatic as well as manual transmissions. The Swift and Tiago are two cars here that make do with 5-speed manual transmissions. The Tiago has the smallest diesel engine here - 1.05-litre but makes nearly the same power as the Swift and Grand i10. Speaking of which, the Grand and Tiago have 3-cylinder engines while the others are 4-cylinder. The Ford Figo boasts the most powerful engine here - 100PS. It also has the only dual-clutch transmission of this lot, but with the more powerful 1.5-litre engine. Incidentally, the diesel Figo also claims the second-best mileage figure amongst this quartet - 25.83kmpl. The Tiago is the mileage champion here with a claimed figure of 27.28kmpl.

Safety

The Ford Figo, Swift and the Grand i10 come with a driver airbag as standard while the Tiago doesn't. It along with the Swift though come with an optional safety pack right from the base trim. The safety pack includes dual airbags and ABS. On the top-spec Figo, there are six airbags.

Price

The Tata Tiago is the most affordable car here with prices starting at Rs 3.24 lakh. In fact, the top-spec Tiago at Rs 5.77 lakh is nearly the same price as some of the mid-spec cars here. It is the most fantastic value for money offering here. The other cars here are more or less similarly priced with the Grand i10 being the costliest of the lot but it offers significantly much more in terms of features. The Swift is the oldest kid here and is due for a generation change later this year. It is expected to up the game significantly on launch. The Figo in the meanwhile is the best all rounder here but lacks in image. This apart from the fact that most of the Figos and Aspires are now in the taxi segment, within a year of launch.