Maruti Ignis vs Grand i10 vs KUV 100 diesel comparison

It’s the Grand i10’s engine that is the quietest in most scenarios but overall refinement has some low points too. The three-cylinder engine doesn’t sound great, and, at idle, you can feel vibrations at the steering, pedals and gear lever. Things do smoothen out rather well as you get moving and it’s on the move you’ll experience how much of an improvement the new engine is over the older one, which is largely thanks to the remapping of the ECU. As before, there’s no turbo lag to speak of and power delivery is linear as ever and real-world performance is vastly better than the old car’s. Just have a look at the improvement in in-gear times – 20-80kph in third gear takes 11.60sec compared to the earlier car’s time of 14.24sec and 40-100kph in fourth gear is also down to 13.75sec (the quickest here) from the leisurely 17.23sec it took the older car. The powerband is wider than before too, but the best approach is to upshift early and make the most of the engine’s easy-going nature. The light clutch and smooth gearbox add greatly to the ease of use.

Hyundai claims the revised Grand i10 diesel is more fuel efficient too, and it is. The Grand i10 delivered 16.2kpl in town and 20.2kpl on the highway, up 0.8kpl and 0.6kpl on the old car, respectively. The Ignis’ 20.4kpl figure makes it marginally more efficient on the highway though in-town economy is a lower 15kpl – perhaps reflecting the need to work the gears more. In the same city and highway cycles, the relatively heavy KUV managed 13kpl and 17.3kpl.

Rock and roll

These cars stick to the proven front MacPherson struts and a rear torsion bar formula for their suspensions. The Ignis feels relatively stiffly sprung though and you can feel (and hear) the car go over surface imperfections at city speeds. However, thanks to the firm setup, the Ignis also feels fairly sure-footed at highway speeds and doesn’t move around as much as its rivals. Just don’t expect the Ignis to drive like a Swift. Its light steering feels inert with some slack around the straight-ahead position and, frankly, it doesn’t feel as playful from behind the wheel as its looks and youthful persona would suggest.

That said, you’d be best advised not to test the dynamic limits of the KUV100. There’s a lot of roll in the corners and the suspension feels noticeably soft at highway speeds. There’s plenty of up and down motion and you get moved around quite a bit more in the cabin. But it’s at lower city speeds that the KUV100 feels quite nice. Bump absorption is good and it rounds off the edges quite well. Note, our judgement is based on the low-spec version and its 14-inch wheels. The new top-spec KUV with larger 15-inchers should perform better on larger potholes. The KUV’s steering isn’t as light as the other two cars, but on the positive side, it adds some confidence when you do up the pace.

The Grand i10’s steering was always light and easy to twirl but Hyundai has made changes that make it better on the highway too. There’s a greater feeling of control than before, and tweaks to the suspension have also helped reduce the Grand i10’s high speed bobbing and pitching to a great extent. However, low-speed ride quality is easily the best here. The Grand i10’s suspension soaks up the bumps really well and does so without protest or noise. The Hyundai really feels more grown-up than the other two on this front.