2014 Volkswagen Polo vs Maruti Swift vs Hyundai i20: Spec Comparison

The Polo has always been a good hatchback that could have been great. Volkswagen hasn’t gone the whole hog with their most important car for India, and with the recent update, it still doesn’t seem like the Polo’s full potential will be realized. But it gets better no doubt with a new diesel engine and increased cabin space, a bunch of new features thrown in too. The Polo will take on the Maruti Swift, a hatchback India swears by and the Hyundai i20, one car that holds firm with borderline sedan pricing. The Swift will receive an update in some time and a new i20 should be here before the festive seaosn. The new Honda Jazz is coming early next year too, but at present, the Polo is the freshest product you can have, for a short while nonetheless. Let’s see how it fares in this spec comparison.

Engines

The Polo sports a 75PS 1.2-litre 3-cylinder petrol, a new 1.5-litre 4-cylinder diesel in two states of tune – 90PS and 105PS and a 105PS 1.2-litre 4-cylinder TSI as well which was carried over. Since the competitors don’t have an higher output unit or variant for either the petrol or the diesel, let’s leave them out of this comparison. Here the Polo scores over its rivals though. 

Power and Torque table (Petrol/Diesel)

Among the petrols, while the torque figures are in the same range, the Polo petrol falls short in power output. The cars will be on par off the block but as they begin to stretch their legs, the Polo loses out. In case of the diesels, the Polo has the upper hand although the i20 is quite close on its heels. The Multijet diesel in the Swift is the weakest here by about 20 percent. 

Size 

The premium hatchback segment is one where space has to be a bit more than the hatchbacks they charge a premium over. But the Polo and the Swift are known to have poor space in the rear. Volkswagen has increased the height by 56mm and the wheelbase by 13mm. They aren’t really significant upgrades but let’s see how it compares to opposition.

The i20 scores best in terms of space with the largest wheelbase and dimensions. The Swift is the smallest of the lot and the most cramped on the inside. The Polo and the i20 ride lower and have to endure a lot of scraping on bad roads where the Swift with its short wheelbase and higher ground clearance can manage without much cringing.

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Fuel Efficiency

At the pumps is a different story but under standard and ideal test conditions, here’s what the cars return.

Of the three, the Polo is the heaviest and so consumes the most fuel. It’s a price to play for build quality which is definitely better than the competition.  The lightest of the lot is the Swift which, not surprisingly, is the most fuel efficient of the lot. Note that these are ARAI figures which will be higher than the actual ones you will get in regular driving conditions.

Price

Volkswagen has paid the price of pricing the Polo higher in the past… Does this change? 

Prices – Petrol/Diesel (ex-showroom Delhi)

The Polo is still costly, but not the costliest. The i20 is, but it comes with a lot more features too to do justice to that price. The Swift is the most affordable in this lot and by a large margin. No wonder it is the best selling premium hatchback in India since its launch.