Hyundai Elite i20 v Fiat Punto Evo v VW Polo

There’s plenty of style here, but which one is the best all-rounder?

You want good looking, you want well built, you want power and the Maruti Suzuki Swift is too common for you. Well then the three cars here are on your shopping list, and at least till the imminent arrival of the facelifted polo gt TDI, the three hatchbacks you see here are the Indian definition of the diesel hot hatch. Which, quite frankly, isn’t saying much. the common factors between them are their turbo-diesel engines and circa-90bhp power figures. There’s more – the Polo and the punto have always been solid handlers. their ability to hang through corners where the i20 would understeer has been a distinguishing factor but that’s not entirely true any longer. hyundai’s engineers insist that a lot of work went into making this new elite i20 more fun-to-drive – and that’s exactly what we’re setting out to find today.

I’m going to work my way down this order because I know the Fiat makes the most power. I also know that the punto evo 90hp (that’s its full name) diesel has always been underwhelming when you put your foot down. to be honest, measured against itself, the 90hp (in PS, 92 in bhp) feels like it has decent grunt but only when you use lots of throttle. Part throttle responses feel flat and unexciting and it doesn’t feel like it’s making the 209Nm of torque Fiat claims it does. the gearbox is rubbery and to get the best out the engine, you have to row through it quite a bit.

the end result is a car that has a willing chassis and nothing to really challenge its

The three cars you

see here are the Indian definition of the diesel hot hatch

abilities. Driving uphill makes you work really hard and wring out the engine and gearbox. But it’s on the way down that you realise how good the chassis is thanks to the extra speed you carry. the steering is feel some but goes curiously light when you pile on lock. the brakes are strong though.

Next up is the Polo. With its flat-bottomed steering wheel and adjustable driving position, it sets the right tone from the off. the 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel also feels instantly peppier after the punto and power delivery is definitely more linear. Fact of the matter? you don’t need to work the engine as hard as the punto’s and so motoring in the Polo feels more relaxed. The steering is

It’s impressive how the i20 has transformed from

a light, floaty car to something that stays connected

to the road

light though and there is some pitching from the heavy nose over undulations but mostly, the polo remains a safe and secure car to drive fast.

that last bit, surprisingly, applies to the hyundai too. It’s impressive how the i20 has transformed from a light, floaty car to something that stays connected to the road. this improvement comes from a lot of things – the wheelbase is longer and the car is wider, the spring rates have been tweaked and the suspension struts are more vertical than before, to better control wheel geometry under cornering loads. adding to these decent road manners is the 1.4-litre, 89bhp common-rail diesel. It does have some lag

and the engine fully wakes up only at around 2500rpm but from there on the elite i20 feels quick. It’s best to upshift around 3800rpm, as torque starts to flatten out after that.

there is enough grunt below 2000rpm for trundling around town in high gear and low rpm; it’s just that you will have to downshift through that light, slick sixspeed manual if you want a quick overtake. the other stand-out feature of this engine is its sheer smoothness. at idle and low rpm you will be hard pressed to tell it’s a diesel and this is true even if you are standing outside the car. It really is that good. What’s strange about the i20 still is the steering that does the opposite of the Punto’s – it’s light at speed but weights up when you’re trying to park. then again, you can forgive it this little glitch because its rivals aren’t that great in this area either. What it does need is better brakes – they simply feel too wooden and lack the feel you expect after stomping on the brakes of the punto or the polo.

When you’re done driving fast and want to get back home, it’s the punto’s ride that will impress you the most – the suspension never runs out of travel, has excellent bump absorption and it works very silently. It feels like you’re in a big, well-built car when you’re driving over bad roads. Not that the others are far behind – the i20’s suspension is just a bit firmer and the Polo’s is comfortable but doesn’t have the same sophistication or ability to control body movement as the punto does. the Fiat also has the best ground clearance as you can clearly see from the opening image of this comparison.

practically speaking, it’s the i20 that has the most cavernous cabin and the most equipment but again, the other two are not too far behind. What the i20 does give you as extras are push-button start, keyless entry and the reverse camera. the polo scores on sheer quality, especially with the new dials and the silver-finished centre console, but it’s a bit understated, which a lot of people will like. Fiat, meanwhile, has really upped the punto’s, shall we say, feelgood quotient. there are plenty of soft touch plastics, and most of the old punto’s sore bits have been tightened up. the polo has the least space at the rear but trades that off somewhat with the big boot.

the i20 costs the most at ` 7.7 lakh, the punto the cheapest at ` 7.2 lakh and the polo slots neatly in between at ` 7.4 lakh. The Elite i20 is worth the stretch – drive these three cars back to back and it’s i20 that feels the nicest; it is the best all-rounder.

The Punto’s suspension never runs out of travel, has excellent bump absorption and it works very silently. It is the best over broken roads