The the Swift, the Polo and the i20 are world cars – meaning they cater to a global audience and aren’t restricted to any specific markets. And, these too are made in India. With them they bring quality and equipment of a global standard and that instantly makes them premium offerings. Yes, there are the hatchbacks from the German and Swedish luxury brands, but that’s a different niche altogether. For the masses wanting to spend their hard-earned buck on a compact car, these premium hatchbacks are the farthest limit to which one could stretch. The i20 has pushed this envelop to a whole new level with its new iteration. So we have put it up against the segment leader, the Swift, and the German hatch, the Polo, to see where the premium hatchback tussle is headed.
The Swift gave birth to the premium hatchback segment in India and the vehicle worked so well that Maruti Suzuki decided to continue its established design theme on the current Swift too. Add to it the sheer volumes that the Swift has generated and you will realise how common the Swift’s shape has become on Indian roads. On the flipside, you may not realise that the current Swift is hardly four years old. It still manages to look stylish but doesn’t stand out anymore. There is a facelift coming in a few weeks, but it is so subtle that it won’t affect the Swift’s road presence in any way. The Polo already received its mid-life makeover a few months back but it seems like a half-hearted job. Some minor tweaks to the lamps and bumpers along with a new shade of paint make up the changes. It would have been nice to see further revision to the design.
The Elite i20, unlike the Swift or the Polo, benefits from being an all-new car. Due to its mistimed launch, the earlier i20 never really incorporated a full-fledged fluidic design philosophy, but was successful of its own accord thanks to trims brimming with features. The new one though, makes extensive use of the new Fluidic 2.0 design theme. The face has sharp features, while the profile isn’t too busy with unnecessary cuts and creases. The car also has a strong Santa Fe inspiration to it. The tail lights look like a swordfish’s tail wrapped around the boot lid and have a fish scale pattern too. Depending on the colour you choose, the tailgate of the i20 may look overdone.
On the inside, the difference isn’t as glaring though. The i20’s interiors come across as an evolution of the Grand i10’s layered design theme. It has the typical Hyundai colour scheme of brown and black. Unlike the last i20’s uniform blue backlight for the all the lit elements on the dash, the new one makes use of blue illumination for the infotainment and white for the instrumentation. This instrumentation too employs a multi-info display between the clocks, but unlike the Polo and Swift which employ a numerical LCD panel, the i20’s unit displays graphics as well. I particularly like the steering position alert on this screen, which warns you on vehicle start-up if the wheels are not pointing straight. But while features like this, the rear air-con vents, automatic headlights and reversing camera with active path guidance can make most mid-size sedans look under-speced, the i20 loses out on some basics like speed-sensitive door locks and a fuel range calculator.
In terms of safety features, the three cars are closely matched and I’m disappointed to say this. The older i20 offered up to six airbags, making it one of the best premium hatchbacks as far as passive safety was concerned. The new one, like the Polo and the Swift, only offers up to two airbags (driver and front passenger). The Polo has become more responsible though, with the driver airbag being standard even on the base models. All three cars get ABS too. The brakes feel a tad spongy but progressive on the Polo; on the i20 they feel sharp and abrupt and need getting used to, while the Swift’s brakes feel a little wooden in comparison.
The new i20 has an improved steering set-up as well and is the lightest of the lot. Therefore it feels the best out of the three as far as driving in the city is concerned. The Polo’s steering is tuned to be heavier and will excite the driving enthusiasts the most. The Swift has a good balance and remains one of the best steering set-ups out there.
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