Hyundai i20 Competition check

Last week Hyundai launched the third generation for the i20 hatchback in the Indian car market with prices starting at Rs 6.79 lakh (ex-showroom India). There are 24 variants across three engine options and eight colour schemes that you can choose from for the new i20. What’s more, we have had a first look at the premium hatchback and you can read about that here or watch our video listed below. 

The i20 is Hyundai’s competitor for the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Honda Jazz, Tata Altroz and here is how it stacks up against them. 

Maruti Suzuki Baleno

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno is currently the king in the premium B-segment hatchback game in terms of numbers. It raised the bar on what to expect from a car of this class and category and has stayed on top for a while now. 

Both the cars in their top-of-the-line avatars offer climate control, touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, height adjustment for the driver’s seat, rear armrest with cup holders, LED lighting package, 16-inch wheels, button start, keyless entry, power mirrors and power windows. 

However, the i20 raises the game by offering wireless charging built-in, one-button access for connected car technology, rear AC vents auto-dimmingarmrest iRVM and full-digital instrument cluster. What’s more the i20 also has a wider range of engines including a diesel which is the South Korean automaker’s 1.5-litre unit producing 99bhp/240Nm mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. 

Tata Altroz 

Tata has only recently entered the premium hatchback game with the Altroz which it launched earlier this year. The car was showcased as the 45X concept at the 2018 Auto Expo and this production model stays mostly true to it. 

Like the i20, the top-spec version of the Altroz gets climate control, touchscreen infotainment system with floating display, power windows, power mirrors, cruise control, height adjustment for the driver’s seat, rear arm rest, 16-inch wheels and roughly the same space in the cabin. 

However, over the Altroz, the i20 offers two petrol engine options, wireless charging in-built, LED headlamps, auto-dimming iRVM and connected car technology. The top-spec i20 also gets six airbags, Bose sound system, ambient lighting and full digital instrument cluster. 

Honda Jazz

In this trio, the Honda Jazz is quite a bit behind. While offering similar levels of space and features as the previous generation i20, it was not really able to take the market by a storm. The latest round of updates saw the Jazz get a sunroof, LED headlamps, cruise control, button start, updated infotainment system, dedicated fast charging port and height adjustment for the driver’s seat. 

As standard, it matches up the i20 in terms of features but in addition the latter also gets ambient lighting, one-touch connected car technology and 16-inch wheels. With this update, Honda has dropped the option of a diesel engine for the Jazz giving the i20 an advantage again in terms of wider offerings.