Shootout – Hyundai i20 vs Maruti Swift
While Indian’s still love their sedans and SUVs, a new category of premium hatchbacks is slowly emerging. Two of the best hatchbacks on sale in India today are the Maruti Suzuki Swift and the Hyundai i20. The Swift has been a best seller, since the very time of its launch in 2005 and accounts for a major chunk of sales and profit for Maruti Suzuki. The i20 on the other hand is not far behind and has been doing decent numbers for Hyundai. Both these cars have been updated recently and are so good that deciding one amongst them can be confusing at times. We took them out on a Sunday morning to find out how they fare against each other.
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Styling – Deciding one amongst them based on looks alone is a difficult task. Both the i20 and Swift look good in their own right. The Swift’s styling has not got a significant update in the latest generation model and Suzuki engineers decided to evolve the styling from the old car. The new Swift is larger in all dimensions and looks modern thanks to the headlight and tail light treatment. The i-Gen i20 on the other hand majorly retains the old car’s dimensions. The new bumpers have given it increased length but the overall shape is unaltered. The fluidic treatment to the front doesn’t give it drop dead gorgeous looks like the Verna and the front is a mixed bag. The side profile remains the same with new wheels, while the rear now gets new tail lights.
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Head over to the next page to read about the interiors of the i20 and Swift.
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Interiors – Both the cars feature very modern interiors. The Maruti Suzuki Swift‘s interiors are well laid out and everything has been positioned very well. The black theme is broken by the silver inserts on the dashboard and there are some storage areas (below the AC switches and above the glove box) as well. The driver seat is comfortable to sit and so is the front passenger seat. It is only once you sit in the rear seat you realize the lack of space. The small windows and just about adequate legroom makes the rear not a pleasant place for passengers during long journeys.
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The Hyundai i-Gen i20 on the other hand features two-tone interiors, with a mix of black and beige. Not only does this give the interiors an airy feeling, it also makes you feel the inside of the i20 is much bigger than it appears. Hyundai has used silver inserts on the dashboard as well. The dashboard of the i20 is much bigger and has more features too. There are storage places here as well and the glovebox is so big that it puts the Swift’s glove box to utter shame. There is good amount of room for every occupant, right from the driver to the rear passengers and one can comfortably sit in the rear seats without worrying about space or claustrophobia.
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Not only does the Hyundai i20 offer a bigger boot (295 liters against Swift’s 206 liters), the i20 has a lower loading bay which is extremely practical for removing and putting stuff in the boot.
Head over to the next page to read about the Features and dynamics of the i20 and Swift.
Features – Both the Hyundai i20 and Maruti Swift offer a load of features, right from dual airbags, ABS, alloy wheels to integrated audio system, keyless entry, multi-information display and rear wiper/washer. But it is the i20 which blows the Swift royally away in terms of equipment. Hyundai has loaded the i20 with never seen before features in this segment such as automatic headlights, automatic wipers, push button start, reverse guide camera, electrically retracting rear view mirrors, etc. The Swift offers distance to empty which is surprisingly missing on the i20.
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Ride, Handling and Braking – Until now, one might see that the i20 as the superior car but it is the driving dynamics which are the strong points of the Swift and the weak points of the i20. The Swift is sharp and agile. It has a point and shoot character. It is sure footed and stable, with good brakes. The i20 is quite the opposite. Hyundai hasn’t sorted out the handling of the i20, which doesn’t inspire any confidence. Steering is super light, which is a boon in the city but quite the opposite out on the highways.
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The Swift rides well, absorbing most of the bumps on the road. Unlike the old Swift, the new one is not harsh at all and more comfortable. The Swift now has a more pliant ride but not at the cost of handling. The car inspires tremendous confidence and one can push hard through corners. The only spoil sport are the tyres (MRF in our case), which tend to loose grip way before the chassis gives up. Braking is good too with disc brakes at the front, but stand on them and the tyres won’t support, screeching the car to a halt. The Swift feels stable at high speeds and even at upper side of three digit speeds, the Swift remains firmly planted to the ground, giving no signs of uneasiness.
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The Hyundai i20 has been known for its not so driver centric handling. The super light steering wheel is a breeze at parking speeds and city driving. But once you start pushing the i20, you realize there is absolutely no feedback. Ride quality is good at low speeds but once speeds build up, the suspension is unable to cope up with the undulations on the road. Even with disc brakes all around, the i20 does not stop so comfortably. The car wants to jump lanes on hard braking and one has to wrestle with the steering to keep it in check. The i20 does show nervousness at high speed braking and can’t really hold a candle to the Swift’s superior driving dynamics.
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Head over the next page to read about the performance of the Swift and i20.
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Performance – Both the i20 and Swift are available with petrol and diesel engines. The i20 is also available with an automatic gearbox. The Hyundai i20 petrol is powered by a 1.2-litre Kappa engine which uses dual VTVT to produce 84 PS and 116 Nm. This engine lacks low end grunt and one needs to work the gearbox frequently to extract the best out of the powerplant. The Swift on the other hand is powered by a 1.2-litre K-series motor which uses VTT to produce 87 PS and 114 Nm. The Swift feels more eager of the two and the engine is very revv happy. It feels relaxed at high revvs with decent top end grunt. Its only the mid-range which feels a bit muted in the Swift. Overall, when it comes to petrol variants, the Swift is the more fun and enthusiastic of the two.
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Coming to the diesel engines, the Maruti Swift uses the 1.3-litre Multijet motor which produces 75 PS and 190 Nm. The i20 diesel on the other end produces 90 PS and 226 Nm. With more power to boot, the i20 is easily the quicker car of the two and Hyundai seems to have mastered its diesel engines. The i20 never feels out of breath and the CRDi motor continues to pull strongly till 5000 RPM. The Swift has lost its diesel charm and doesn’t offer as much fun as its predecessor. Power delivery is linear and there is no kick in the pants feeling anymore. With the i20 having an extra cog, the car is able to cruise in a relaxed manner at speed and never feels out of breathe. The Swift on the other hand starts to lose power once you reach 3000 RPM. Mind you, the Swift’s diesel powerplant is not bad at all, its just the i20’s which is so much better.
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Head over to the next page for the conclusion.
Swift vs i20 Pricing – The i-Gen i20 does have more features than the Swift but is priced significantly higher too. While Maruti Suzuki offers the Swift in 6 variants, powered by 2 engines, Hyundai offers 12 variants of the i20, powered by 3 engines. The Swift’s pricing starts at Rs. 5.18 lakhs for the base LXi variants, while the top end ZDi retails at Rs. 7.84 lakhs. The Hyundai i20 on the other hand starts at Rs. 5.53 lakhs for the base Era 1.2 and goes all the way upto Rs. 8.98 lakhs for the top end Sportz Automatic (all prices on-road, Mumbai). The i20 might be costlier but there is an i20 at every price of the Swift and with similar features to boot.
Fuel Efficiency – Both Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have tweaked their cars for fuel efficiency. The petrol Swift returns 18.6 km/l, while the petrol i20 returns 18.5 km/l. The petrol automatic i20 which uses a 1.4-litre engine producing 100 BHP of power at 5500 RPM and 139 Nm of torque at 4200 RPM returns 15 km/l. The diesel Swift returns 22.9 km/l while the diesel i20 returns 21.9 km/l. All these figures are ARAI certified and in real world conditions, both the i20 and Swift will return more or less the same mileage.
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The i20 is the best hatchback for the city, period.
Conclusion – Both the Hyundai i20 and Maruti Suzuki Swift are the best hatchbacks that you can buy today. Both offer strong performance, good fuel efficiency and class leading features. Both cost roughly the same too (the i20 might be more expensive but offers a whole lot more. The mid variants of the i20 are priced similar to the Swift and offer similar equipment). But it is the i20 which emerges as the winner here thanks to better built quality, better list of equipment, shorter waiting period and a wider variant range. The Swift is still the better car for the highway, but for most the i20 is the more practical option.
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Further Reading –
Maruti Suzuki Swift Test Drive Review
Hyundai i-Gen i20 Test Drive Review