Toyota has finally plonked a diesel heart in the venerable Corolla, but how does Toyota's latest oilburner fare against its closest rivals? Abhishek Nigam rounds up the contenders

So which one is the obvious choice among these three? The fact however is that all the three cars differ from each other as chalk and cheese and as a result will appeal to different people with different needs. Let's start with the newest in the bunch the Corolla Altis. As mentioned before, if it's a family car you are looking at, the Altis does everything well, offering space, good drivability and unrivalled efficiency. Backed by Toyota's legendary reliability and service it is also offers total peace of mind. With prices starting at Rs. 10,95,000 for the base variant and going upto Rs. 13,75,000 for the top end variant it is also amazing value. But then the driving experience is comparatively dull and if you are looking for more enthusiasm you'll have to look further. The Cruze has better ride quality, explosive performance, looks the best of the lot and comes loaded with features galore including a segment first keyless entry feature. With the base model starting at a slightly dearer Rs. 11,52,254 and the top model with the autobox retailing for Rs. 13,95,982 the Cruze sounds like a bargain deal. However, you do have to deal with the iffy plastics and very average interiors.

The Toyota and the Skoda being way ahead on this front. Quality always comes at a price and the Laura drives home this point even further. With the best build quality and the best performance, it shows that the Laura was made with no compromises whatsoever. A reason why it's the most expensive of the bunch. You could opt for the base 2.0 litre manual, but even that retails at a whopping Rs. 13,79,613 and you still end up getting the 110 PS SOHC engine. For the DSG equipped Ambiente variant your bank account will be further depleted by Rs. 14,89,376 which is almost a lakh more than the top end Cruze and the Corolla. And if you want the Laura in the top end trim, the L & K with all the bells and whistles costs a Honda Accord rivaling Rs. 18,01,407. So if money is no object the Laura makes for a pretty satisfying buy. The only flipside is the after sales service which needs a lot to be looked into. Either ways you can't go wrong with any of the cars mentioned above. It's just a matter of establishing one's priority which makes the decision even simpler.