Diesel Kids: Swift vs Getz

Diesel hatches are quite a popular option these days. Take the case of the Swift, which enjoys a waiting period of two months, it is now almost worth its own weight in gold. Hyundai has been working on a diesel Getz with a 1.1L engine too, but recently they realized that by the time they could get it rolling, everyone will be driving a swift. Something has to be done quickly to grab their piece of pie. So in a bit of a hurry, they went back to the insides of the company store room and took a look at all the diesel engines lying around. They couldn’t find anything small enough for the Getz, so they decided to shoe-horn the Verna’s rather big 1.5L engine into the tiny bonnet of the Getz. So the end result is a Getz that looks like a Getz and goes like a Verna and handles like something in between. But will it be able to make a dent in the thriving sales of the Maruti Swift?To find out, we brought them together for a duel so that you don’t have to. Now, at this moment I must admit that almost all the car magazines have done this comparison test before us and come up with a winner except for OVERDRIVE magazine who came up with two. They said ‘the Swift is quite good but if you can spend more, the Getz is good too’. Where is the point? Anyone can say that by looking at the price list. So we didn’t give any of them an ear and went on with our test, to pick one car that can better the other.Looks are subjective but I could not differ when almost everyone said the Swift looks better than the Getz. It is now a popular sight almost everywhere, but still the design has got its own charm. The Getz has a much more restrained design and is more appreciated by elder folks who think that the Swift is too youthful and modern. But when it comes to the interiors, the Getz can rival many a larger sedans, let alone the Swift. There is decent amount of room for five and a boot that is large by small car standards. The Swift on the other hand is not as spacious. The rear seats owing to the tall waistline of the car makes you feel like sitting in a cave, but if you are about to say that it gives a sense of security, I’m not arguing. The Swift makes up with better ergonomics and seating postures. The dashboard design of the Swift looks and feels better even though the swooping design makes it less practical. The front seats of both the cars are very comfortable but with a slight difference. In the Swift, the seats hold you tightly in corners, as the car slides. But in the Getz, it is you who will be sliding about, since its seats are larger.The Swift has just 76bhp and 19kg-m of torque against the Getz’s 110bhp and 24kg-m. So the Getz is a rocket dismissing the 0-100kmph run in 11.3 seconds while the Swift gets there about two seconds later, which is also not too bad. But for all that power, Hyundai does not provide ABS even as an option which is pathetic. Surprisingly the Swift is faster in the 20-80kmph run in third gear which shows how driveable the car is. Add to that the instant throttle response of the engine which makes it better to drive in stop and go city traffic. When it comes to ride quality the Swift diesel though better than its petrol counterpart, is no match for the Getz. The Getz can glide over potholes while the Swifts lets you know a little about what is going underneath. But there is a downside to this good ride quality; the Getz does not like the corners. There is a noticeable amount of body roll and the steering lacks feedback but the wider tyres help when it comes to grip. The Swift meanwhile is a taut handler with a thoroughly communicative steering but is otherwise spoilt by tyres that are too skinny for the car’s potential. So if you buy one and plan to drive fast, invest in wider tyres.The Swift itself is a bit overpriced, but compared to the Getz it looks like a bargain. The Swift is about a lakh cheaper than the Getz and it sips diesel through a thinner straw which makes it more fuel efficient-almost 2kmpl more. For the enthusiasts we are, we would have always voted for the faster car, but this is diesel world and economy is the operative word here. Running costs and list price make up the purchase while performance takes the back seat. So the Swift Getz the crown even though the Getz is Swifter.

Hyundai Getz CRDI

‘Hot hatch’ is a term loosely describing a hatchback car with a big engine. Besides having a big engine, these cars are usually built very light and hence have loads of performance to put many a bigger cars to shame. In addition they offer better practicality than regular sports cars and in countries like Europe , these qualify as small cars and entail for tax benefits which is another big plus. My wish list of hot hatches include the Ford Focus ST , Honda Civic Type R and the Renault Megane.Sadly in India , a hatchback is perceived as a car that is meant to be economical to buy and run. The idea of a hot hatch which trades fuel economy for performance is seen to be ridiculous and we saw the fate of the utterly desirable Fiat Palio 1.6 and the not-so-sporty Opel Corsa Sail 1.6. Poor fuel economy of the larger engines didn’t let either of these cars find many takers and even though the Palio 1.6 is still in the market and is still the hottest hatchback in India , I wonder how many actually leave the showrooms.However, you are in for a fresh change in the form of the new Getz CRDI. This hot hatch has loads of power and being a diesel, is economical to run which means you can have the cake and eat it too. The Getz CRDI with the Verna’s engine was a bit of a surprise for me too, since I was expecting it to come with the smaller 1.1L CRDI engine that is in the pipeline. The result is a diesel car that put a smile on my face within the first ten minutes of driving it.For the numbers, it has 110 bhp which is 10bhp more than a Honda City VTEC and 24kg-m torque which is 2kg-m more than a CR-V's. It does 0-100kmph in about 11.3 seconds which is remarkable for a hatchback which sips diesel. And it returned about 12.4kmpl in the city and about 17kmpl on the highway making it quite fuel efficient but you’ll love it, even if it wasn’t. That engine is a gem when it comes to darting the tiny Getz forward and you feel the surge of power each time you depress the accelerator within the powerband. A Variable Geometry Turbo enhances the throttle responses but still there is a slight delay before power really kicks in. This I suppose is because the VGT is tuned to perform at its best at high rpm, which it does. Overtaking is kid’s play and out-running your mates is just another party trick. The way in which the steering feels pulling anticlockwise on torque-steer is something to be experienced in a hatchback. I saw the speedo go effortlessly up as 130, 140, 150 and 160kmph before I eased off. I didn’t need further proof to justify the existence of this car. This is a pocket rocket.As for the handling this car is better than the petrol version. The heavier engine up front and the stiffer springs has ensured that it no longer has the pitchy motion of the petrol variant. There is still a degree of body roll and the steering lacks sufficient feedback but the Getz is immensely enjoyable to drive. It is when you power out of corners with your inside wheels spinning that you really admire the prodigious amounts of torque on demand. Hyundai should have included ABS atleast in the options list. The ride quality is outstanding with tall profile tyres and the springs are soft enough to cushion most road bumps. Even though these can blunt the handling, Hyundai has thoughtfully provided wider tyres which offer sufficient levels of grip.Well, I got carried away with that scintillating performance without mentioning a word about the looks and interiors of the car, but this is not a mistake since there is nothing new to rave about. The car still looks fresh, thanks to a mid life facelift. The good old virtues in the Getz Prime- the excellent seats, the brilliant packaging and the airy cabin- remain. The boot is big for three soft bags and has good depth. The plastic quality is quite ok but the centre console is finished in a shade of wood that you will never find in any botanical dictionary and could have been avoided. For a car of this sporty intent, Hyundai could have used a mock carbon fibre finish or sticked to the silver console of the Getz 1.3.As for the price, this one retails at about Rs. 6.2 lakhs which at first may seem quite a lot for a small car. But make no mistake about it- this is the biggest small car on sale today even bigger than a Palio. Inside you get more space than a Ford Ikon and you have a boot big enough for most holidays. And think of it as a hot-hatch with decent fuel economy and it all begins to make more sense. This is a seriously fast car which you can enjoy on an everyday basis without worrying too much about fuel costs. It was great to see the faces of many a premium-car drivers turn green as you accelerate away. How many of them would expect a Getz to go this fast? This is real wolf in sheep’s clothing !

Hyundai i10

There are different ways to name a new car. For one, you can use words that sound pleasant, enthusiastic, adventurous and those which ignite passion. Like when you hear Esteem, Fiesta, Endeavour or Swift. Another idea is to use names that form abbreviations like the SX4, CR-V or U-VA, for a cluster of words that generate the same sense as mentioned above. Yet another idea is to dive into a sea of Latin or French vocabulary and come up with words that sound better than when using their English equivalent. There you have the Zen Estilo and Palio Stile for a start. One of the least imaginative ways to name cars or anything for that matter is to use numbers for names like you have in hospital wards and prisons. This effortlessly allows the model range to have ‘names’ beginning with a low integer and going right up to the maximum for the top models. Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Peugeot and almost everyone except Hyundai has already done that. Now Hyundai not to be left behind has joined the bandwagon and announced the names for their future model range to be i10, i20, i30 etc. And then they bought an Oxford English dictionary, searched for all the words beginning with ‘i’, removed words like INSIPID, IDIOCY, IGNORANCE and ICEBERG and prepared a press material which ‘I’ was made to go through. There is every single word beginning with the letter ‘i’ to describe each aspect of the i10. They say it’s intelligent, innovative and that it has i-seats and i-gears. Well, ‘I’ had to find out.

Frankly, I cannot understand the need for the i10 neither did I think that there was a space for such a car until Hyundai pointed that out. Initially they had the capable Santro with a 1.1 litre engine and the Getz with a 1.3 litre engine which nicely rounded off the small car range. Then they detected a space between the two and introduced the Getz 1.1 which was a large car with a small engine. Not content with that, they have now introduced the i10 with the same 1.1 litre engine, which is basically a Santro left connected to the compressor, stretched and widened as a result. And that it has been developed and first shown in India and that Sharukh is the brand ambassador must help sales if the marketing people are right.

The rationale behind this exercise has to be the wide range of Maruti small cars like the Estilo, Alto and the Wagon R which share the underpinnings with each other and Hyundai hopes to take on the soon to be launched Splash, with the i10. The i10 looks like an imitation of the Santro but looks more purposeful. It is slightly larger in all dimensions and has an air of freshness all around it. The angular lines and the chiseled tail lights are noteworthy. The kink in the rear door and the black chin are design highlights that make the i10 different from everything else. Inside you get better quality plastics and good quality seats, i-seats according to the marketing team, which are seats with headrests neatly integrated into the backrest. The gear lever is mounted at the centre console which eases the operation. The steering and the dials remind you of the Santro and the centre console of the Verna. It comes with a very large boot as well.

Driving it is like the Santro itself, but it feels slightly more planted thanks to the wider footprint. The steering is very light which is a boon in city driving. The Santro engine has been tweaked to produce slightly more power which helps while overtaking, and the gearing is also adapted to city driving. It goes down to 20kmph in third gear. And the funny ‘on pogo-stick like’ ride quality of the Santro is gone. This one rides quite well over the potholes. So for all the improvements, this one has to be a Santro replacement. But it isn’t. The Santro will continue as such. Hyundai says this will give the customer ‘choice’ but we think it will give him ‘confusion’ instead.

The market has grown up to such a level that people are no longer interested in a particular model if it is more than three years old. So manufacturers resort to facelifts or replacements. Now, we can see that the manufacturers are trying to explore the possibilities of introducing new models which should ideally have been replacements for their older ones and selling them side by side. The Fiesta, Verna, Cedia and the Laura are all examples for this trend. As for the i10, it is an indigenously developed, iteration of the Santro if not a slightly illogical addition to the already invincible Hyundai range.

Hyundai Sonata Embera CRDI

There is nothing that I dislike more than an unplanned stop during a journey. Be it for getting a soft drink or a chocolate bar or for something that needs to be urgently attended to…you know what I mean. But then, I would keep my left leg on the accelerator and the right leg on the clutch and drive for another couple of hours until it becomes absolutely necessary. So the only thing that can disturb me on a drive then, is the fuel tank running dry which forces me to have a pit-stop. Last week, I was all singing praises for the Honda Civic when its low fuel warning lights came on at about 440kms, just 40kms short of my destination. At this point I dismissed the thought of trying my luck further and decided to have a fill-up at the nearest station. And I pulled up at a fuel station where a million mosquitoes surrounded me and filled up their tanks as well.

Just not something that would have happened with this Hyundai Sonata Embera CRDI. Despite the big proportions, the car manages around 14.5kmpl on an average and this coupled with the 70litre tank gives it a range of about 1000kms before you need to look for a fuel station again. So it is economical and has a very good range which is great for those interstate runs when you find that all the flight tickets have been sold out. And it is fast enough to be used at times when you have missed your flight. All you have to do is find a chauffeur and sink to the backseat which is the place meant for the owner. It is on the backseat that you notice the width of the car. The front seats are so apart that they are on two edges of the road, quite literally. It is the widest car in its segment. In fact, it is wider than the Mercedes E class and even the Ford Endeavour which is one of the reasons why I said that a chauffeur would not be a bad idea.

But it is not to say that the car is not great to drive. In fact it is, once you get to a fairly empty road and get an idea of where on the road do the corners of the car lie. Then you begin to enjoy the delightfully light steering, the neutral handling and the brilliant suspension setup which despite being soft, has great levels of grip. To give you an idea of how soft the Sonata’s suspension really is, I advise you to look around (to make sure no one is watching) and press down on the boot-lid of a Sonata parked somewhere and compare the effort to the car nearby. It is almost American level of softness in its suspension and this is best experienced on the highways where it feels like an ocean-liner in serene water. The ride quality is outstanding even on bad roads and soaks up potholes like a bloating paper on ink.

One thing I like about the Sonata is its looks. It looks typically European with its Audi inspired headlights and bold shoulder line. There are splashes of chrome which adds to the elegance and the way in which the taillights and headlights complement each other at their edges is superb. The wide tail-lamp cluster and the twin exhaust pipes give the rear an unmistakable look. The engine is the same 2.0L CRDI unit in the Elantra and Tucson but has a reworked ECU that enables it to produce more power at 142bhp to cope up with the additional weight. The result is a 0-100kmph time of 11.6 seconds and a top whack of 200kmph. There is a hint of turbo-lag but this has more to do with the gearing of the car.

Coming to the interiors again, the seats are brilliant. Like the cars in its segment, only the driver gets powered seats. Finding a good driving position is quite easy with the steering wheel adjustable for reach and rake. The rear seat is wide and has acres of shoulder room and legroom and even with the tall seating position; there is a lot of headroom to spare as well. The main features include two airbags, ABS, adjustable head restraints and a cassette and CD player with a built-in subwoofer. To sum it up, this is a car that is best suited to cruising all day at triple digit speeds while being comfortable even when the road gets rough. And it is surprisingly economical for a big car, making it a better and more practical choice than the hottest selling Skoda Laura which is a segment lower and a full size smaller. This car is an opulent yet economical chauffeur driven limo and if you have to drive yourself, get the automatic which is even better.