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Space and comfort:
Fiat Punto: 7.5 /10
Hyundai I20: 9 /10
Maruti Ritz: 5 /10
The I20 comes as the most spacious and comfortable car with very comfortable front seats providing decent under thigh support and wide enough for all human frames. It is always easy to find an ideal driving position due to tilt/ telescopic steering and seat height adjustment.
The rear seat is again superbly comfortable, if a bit low, and sitting 3 abreast is not much of a problem. However, the squabs are a bit flat and can get tiring at long distances.
The Punto has the best front seats in this trio, superbly contoured, with a sporty driving position and decent lumber support. Coupled with a tilt steering (no telescopic) it is again to find a decent driving position, but the foot well is a bit cramped and the bottom part of the dashboard fouls with the knee. The front seats have long travel, so again, it suits all human frames.
It’s not the same story at the back. To increase the boot space, the rear seat space is compromised a bit with shortage of legroom and width as compared to I20. When the front seats are pulled forward, only then it is easy to find a comfy seating position. But, the seat is very comfortable for 2 people, with the occasional 3rd passenger a bit of tight fit.
The Ritz has pretty decent overall space for a car of its size and the front seats are very comfortable and coupled with high seating position, makes it for a nice elevated driving position. However in VDI there is no steering tilt/ rake adjust provided nor the driver's seat adjusts for height, a disadvantage for vertically challenged drivers.
The rear seats are flat and pretty unsupportive, though decently comfy for only 2 people. Any 3rd person, look elsewhere.
Front seat legroom:
Fiat Punto: 8 /10
Hyundai I 20: 9 /10
Maruti Ritz: 7.5 /10
As per seating posture and position and space, the I 20 wins this contest followed closely by Punto and Ritz, superbly spacious for is size
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Boot Space:
Hyundai I 20: 9 /10
Fiat Punto: 8 /10
Maruti Ritz: 5 /10
I 20 has the most spacious and decently designed boot at 300 litres, coupled with low loading area makes loading and unloading easy.
The punto has a 280-litre boot, pretty big but space wasted by intrusion by suspension towers and also, coupled by high loading sill, it makes loading a pretty tough job.
The Ritz only has a 232-litre boot, small, not helped by the smashed up rear end design.
All 3 cars offer the option of 60:40 split rear seat for additional flexibility. |
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Engine and performance:
Fiat Punto: 5.5 /10
Hyundai I 20: 8.5 /10
Maruti Ritz: 7.5 /10
2 of the 3 cars are powered by an updated Euro 4 tuned version of the 1248 cc multijet engine, producing 75ps@4000 rpm and 190 Nm torque@2000 rpm in the ritz DDiS, and 76ps@4000 rpm and 197 Nm Torque@1750 rpm in the grande punto MJD.
While they may sound similar on paper, on the road they are different as chalk is to cheese. Remember that power to weight ratio plays a key role in performance and its the ritz (1110 kg) which has an advantage over the Punto (1190 kg).
Moreover, Maruti has tuned the turbocharger (FGT) for mid and top range and Fiat more for drivability at low rpm than at top end.
In the drag race, the ritz comprehensively beats the punto by a 3-second gap from 0-100, part of light weight and tall 3rd gear playing a role here.
In bumper to bumper town, however the punto is more responsive due to additional torque and turbo lag is pretty less compared to Maruti, the flexibility of the engine showing in the 3rd gear where it pulls up cleanly between 20-80 kmph, without the need to downshift. Turbo lag is noticeable in the ritz below 2000 rpm and after that, the engine wakes up and distributes all its torque evenly upto its redline.
However, for a car this heavy, the punto cries for more power. Its best to keep the engine at low-to mid rpm range for decent performance and no point revving it till redline as it simply labours towards it, whereas the ritz flies comfortably.
Now, coming to another Hyundai missile-the i 20 Crdi which has 1396 cc of powerhouse putting 90ps@4000 rpm and brutal torque of 224Nm@1750-2750 rpm with a VGT.
Coupled with the car's weight of 1140 KG (source-Hyundai i20 international site) it is a brilliant performer.
Hyundai have worked hard with VM motori of Italy (the CRDi engine's designers) to reduce the turbo lag and it shows. Compared to Verna, the lag is very less and it feels only till 1000 rpm. Shift into 2nd, go over 1800 rpm and all hell breaks loose as you feel the G-forces while speeding on this machine. Though no road rocket like the Getz, this engine has a wide power band and can keep up at 30 kmph even with the 5th gear engaged without any jerks, a secret of its lightweight all alloy construction and flat torque curve.
0-100 is dispached in a quoted 12.2 seconds (Punto-17.6, Ritz-14.23) and thats what makes this car effortless to pilot, especially on highway. |
