Hyundai I20 vs Maruti Swift- A Close Fight
The premium hatchback segment of the Indian automobile market is witnessing fierce competition with models from most of the car makers. As of now, the leading players here are Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors with their cars the Swift and the i20 respectively.
The Maruti Swift, launched in 2005, had been face lifted in 2011. The Hyundai i20, launched in 2007, had face lifts twice. The Maruti Swift Swift comes in 4 petrol and 5 diesel variants and the i20 in 6 petrol and 5 diesel variants. All the models have manual transmission, except the i20 Sportz AT variant.
The exterior of both the cars are stylish with the fluidic Hyundai stamp all over the i20. The facade with new headlights, grille and bumper of the Swift is more appealing than that of the i20. The cabins of both the cars are done luxuriously. The black theme of the Swift interior is broken with silver inserts on the dash. The beige and black themed cabin of the i20 has a bigger dash and a bigger glove box. The leg space for the back seats is lesser and the shoulder space is more in the Swift when compared to the i20.
The Hyundai i20 has extra features like the auto headlights, auto wipers, a push button start and a reverse guide camera. Instrumentation is similar in both except for the distance to empty gauge of the Swift. Fabric seats, power steering, a roof antenna, body coloured bumpers, fog lamps at the front and the rear and electrically adjustable ORVMs (retractable also for the i20) are the common features in both the models.
The Swift and the i20 have adequate safety features like ABS and EBD and an engine immobilizer. Only i20 higher variants have airbags for the driver and a tilt and telescopic steering. Both have 2 Din music systems with steering mounted audio controls. The leather wrapped multi functional steering wheel of the i20 has Bluetooth connectivity for hand free telephony.
The 1.2 litre, 87 PS petrol engine of the Swift gives a mileage of 18.6 kmpl and the 1.4 litre petrol engine of the i20 just a little at 18.5 kmpl. The 1.2 litre diesel with mileage of 22.9 kmpl of the Swift is better than the 1.4 litre diesel of the i20 giving mileage of 21.9 kmpl. The handling of the Swift is better than the i20 which has a lighter steering wheel.
The 3850 mm long Swift has a better ground clearance of 170 mm when compared to the 165 mm of the 3995 mm long Swift. The higher priced i20 (Rupees 4.81 to 7.77 lakhs) has more features than the Swift priced from Rupees 4.42 to 6.71 lakhs.
