Figo vs Liva vs Pulse vs i20 vs Sail vs Swift Comparison

FIGO FANTASTIC

The most sorted chassis of the bunch couldn’t help the Figo climb up the timesheets. It’s still rewarding though

Oh, how it pains me to say that the Figo was the slowest of the lot. You see, the flagrant contradiction here is that the Ford is actually the nicest to drive – on the road, as well as the track. It really is! And that’s not a surprise at all actually, because Ford has always had a knack for creating great driver’s cars. And, in that respect, the Figo is one of our favourite hatches – and has been since its launch in 2010.

The icing on the cake is the fact that Ford has recently refreshed its smallest model – subtly, but noticeably. It now gets a derivative of the Ford family face – in the form of the hexagonal grille that debuted on the new North American Fusion a few months ago. So, while you may not be able to afford an Aston Martin, now at least you can say that your car shares a front-end with one – well, to someone recovering from cataract anyway! It also gets restyled front and rear lights, and a smart set of eight-spoke alloys – as well as a new, and actually quite flattering, colour known as kinetic blue.

As you jump into the driver’s seat, you notice a new blue dash that appears to be carved from a distinctly better quality material than before. In fact, cabin quality on the whole seems to be up a notch – something that was a real liability for the Figo in the past. Moreover, the only car that I can think of that’s been able to pull off a blue dash is the 993 variant of the Porsche 911 – one of my favourite cars of all time. So, the initial signs are good. Plus, the seats hold you firmly in place. The three-spoke steering is a pleasure to grip, and the gear lever falls perfectly to hand – almost like the shifter from a sequential racing box out of a touring car.

The Figo simply puts you at ease in the driver’s seat, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons why it feels incredibly composed on track – even on a massive Grand Prix circuit like the BIC. The perfectly weighted steering is telepathic, and the direction changes are instant. The Figo just feels delicate at the limit, and it allows you to push to the extremities of its abilities like no other car here. You simply have to force your right foot flat down pretty much the whole way around the lap. In fact, you daren’t lift, because, if you do, you’ll certainly pay the price in the form of a loss of momentum – something that the engine struggles to help you regain.

What lets the Figo down (dearly) is it’s trusty 1.4 litre Duratorq heart. It just doesn’t have the grunt or refinement required to allow the Figo to take advantage of its beautiful chassis balance around the track. If you look at the telemetry graph in this article, you’ll notice that the Figo is clearly the fastest through the tightest and most challenging sections of track – turns five through nine, following the back straight.

What the Figo desperately needs (nay deserves) is an additional 2 valves per cylinder and a variable vane turbo under the hood – it’s simply begging for it. As is, though, the Figo (post facelift) is a car that you can easily live with everyday – in fact it’s guaranteed to put a smile of your face during your everyday commute. Yes, it falls short of being a hot hatch, but it’s a fun car nonetheless – and one that’s my pick of this lot, despite the fact that it came in at the bottom of the timesheets. It just made me want to stay out on track, and drop each lap time by a tenth of a second at a time lap-after-lap.

So, does the Renault Pulse live up to its aggressive styling – or is it just a Micra in a party dress?

When we first tested the Pulse last year, we thought it would be easy to classify this Renault as a Nissan Micra in a designer set of pants, and that’s it! But, the more we drove it, the more it seemed to exude its own personality – and the more it grew on us. In fact, we thought it looked cool and had character – which are traits that not many cars manage to pull off.

The Pulse clearly has an aggressive face, dominated by the Renault diamond at its center. The question is – does the driving experience live up to the impression that it attempts to create? As you drive out of the pit lane, the first thing that you notice is the fact that cabin quality is quite impressive – bettered only by the more expensive i20 in this test. Small touches like the window switches that are devoid of sharp edges separate the Pulse from the majority of cars in this test. But, we’re here to see how fast it goes around a track. And, during the warm up lap, things look promising – the Pulse seems to be very fluid on track. The engine seems sufficiently powerful, and, as long as you’re smooth, the Pulse seems reasonably quick.

But the lap time just isn’t there at the end of the lap. The reason for that is a fair amount of body roll, due to its relatively high center of gravity. In fact, if you look at the telemetry chart, you’ll notice that the Pulse loses a lot of time in the chicane at turns eight and nine – which require a fast change of direction. Another area in which the Pulse prefers to be unhurried is when changing gears. The throws are long, but smooth. However, if you try and slot a gear at racing speed, the transmission simply doesn’t respond. There’s a momentary delay before transmitting power to the wheels once again, and that loses you precious tenths every time you change gears.

And, lastly, the 1.5 litre, 8 valve, turbo diesel mill maxes out at 4,500rpm, and stubbornly refuses to go beyond. It’s also quite audible, in what is otherwise a pretty refined cabin. On the other hand, the good thing about these diesel hatches is the fact that they’re never lacking in grunt coming out of a corner because of all the torque they produce in the mid-range. In many cases, though, they do run out of revs before you reach the exit of the corner – and in the Pulse you’re forced to shift up on the way out of the parabolica (turns ten and eleven).

There’s no question that the Pulse is better suited to the road than the track. With it’s styling, it certainly makes its presence felt out on the road. It’s refined and comfortable. It just prefers not to be manhandled – and you can’t blame it really!

LIV A LITTLE

The Etios racer suggests promise, but does the Etios Liva deliver?

As I jump into the Liva, I can’t help but have flashbacks of the time I spent last year in the racing avatar of the Etios sedan. It was a memorable few days, both in Chennai and then in Gurgaon – the latter stint earning us a trophy and a visit to the top step of the podium. It’s no surprise, then, that I came away quite impressed with the Etios racer.

In fact, just a few minutes in the car is all you need to be convinced that the Etios actually forms a really good basis for a racing car. So, it stands to reason that the Etios Liva should be better still – since it doesn’t have the baggage of a heavy boot to ferry around. So, as I adjust the seat in the Liva, I’m facing a beautifully detailed three-spoke steering wheel that’s typical of the Toyota parts bin. But it all seems to unravel from there – right from a centrally mounted instrument cluster that’s nothing short of an eyesore, to switchgear that simply doesn’t belong in an automobile that bears the stamp of an automaker that’s synonymous with quality.

On the outside, things are a lot more promising. The bottom half of the front bumper has a nicely sculpted skirt that gives it a dose of aggression. The rear, meanwhile, is also unfussy but has a spoiler at the top of the hatch to continue this theme of aggression. So, you’d expect equal amounts of aggression out on the track as well. And, on the out lap, the Liva doesn’t disappoint. It seems to have pretty good levels of grip and body control, plus a brake pedal that seems easier to modulate than most other cars in this test.

But, on a hot lap, you find yourself holding onto the steering wheel for dear life – because the seats have absolutely no support whatsoever. The lack of a tachometer is also a liability – especially since the engine itself is actually quite coarse (and loud). The set-up of the suspension gives you understeer on turn-in, and its difficult to get the nose pointing where you want.

Where the Liva makes up ground, though, is on the brakes. The positive feel from the pedal allows you to brake later than most, and, once you’ve got the car turned in, the chassis balance and grip from the tyres is actually quite good. You can certainly sense the potential in the chassis, and immediately you can see how this platform was a good starting point for a racecar. As is, though, the Liva struggles on-track – while the driver himself struggles to avoid ending up in the passenger seat during a fast corner. So, while you certainly appreciate Toyota’s intent to be different on the inside of the Etios, the execution needs to be a lot better.

The Liva will certainly live to fight another day mind you – there’s a lot of untapped potential under the skin.

SINK OR SWIM?

Frankly, we didn’t give the Sail a chance on the track. It responded by teaching us a thing or two

Looking at the Sail, you wouldn’t really classify it as being sporty by any stretch. In fact, in profile it’s slab sided, and from the rear it almost looks like an MPV. Head-on is the best angle, and even that’s not completely convincing. What these straight lines and plain surfaces ensure, though, is space – lots of it. The interior is not only spacious as a result, but it’s also very comfortable as well – aided by a very compliant ride that ensures passengers aren’t at the mercy of the road surface.

But none of this bodes well for the track. Out on the circuit, it’s hard to find the right braking point because the brake pedal is like an on/off switch. Then there’s the digital tachometer that’s nothing more than a gimmick. As you charge into the first corner, then, there’s the body roll that you expect – but there’s also something else that you don’t expect at all. The Sail turns in brilliantly on the brakes. With the weight on the front end, you can get it to head in exactly the direction that you want in order to minimize understeer and power out of a corner. Even mid-corner, a tap on the brakes with your left foot gets the Sail to settle into a line that’s perfectly aimed towards the exit.

The trusty Fiat-sourced 1.3 litre engine springs a few surprises though. Its 16-valve underpinnings allow it to gain speed all the way to 5,000rpm, which is about 500 more than the 8-valve motors in this test. The final surprise is dished out by the gearbox, which has short and precise throws that allow you to engage the following gear with minimal loss in forward momentum – the shift action and the way in which the Sail rotated into corners on the brakes were its two redeeming traits for me. All of which meant that it was the most surprisingly capable of the lot. Frankly, we didn’t give it a chance beforehand. We knew that it would be refined and comfortable on the road, and the fact that it can translate that to being reasonably competent on track makes it a pretty well rounded machine.

In fact, it was one of the cars that seemed to be on track a lot more than anyone bargained for. And the great thing about these hatchbacks is that you can wring their necks and hardly use any fuel at all, or cause any lasting degradation to brakes and tyres – three consumables that the track can have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when you’re lapping a high performance sports sedan for instance. The beauty of these machines is that they’re light, which not only makes them easy to take to the limit, but also ensures that wear-and-tear is kept to a minimum. After the test, not one of these cars were any worse for wear – whereas with machines like the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG or BMW M5, you only get a few laps before the brakes and tyres, as well as the transmission, start sending you warning signs of being on the brink of their respective death beds.

It’s a strange thing – to talk about the Chevy Sail and BMW M5 on the track in the same breath, and then to realize that you’re actually being complimentary about the diesel powered hatch rather than the 560 horsepower hyper-car. What is this world coming to?

S = SIDEWAYS

The Swift is a constant reminder of what could have been – if only a Sport version were a reality in India

The Swift has had the makings of a hot-hatch ever since it was launched in 2004. Of course, elsewhere in the world, this potential was clearly proven by the very capable Swift Sport that’s achieved almost cult status. Sadly, though, the folks at Maruti and Suzuki deemed that it wouldn’t be suited to our market.

What they did do, however, was slot the very popular 1.3 litre Fiat turbo-diesel in the engine bay to create a car that’s been sold out since the very first day it hit showrooms. In doing so, they also created a car that had a stonking mid-range, and in-gear acceleration that could rival the fastest cars on the road. And this is immediately evident as you drive out of the pit lane of the BIC. There’s a little bit of lag as the turbo spools up, after which the Swift shoots forward as its puny tyres attempt desperately to retain a firm grip on the tarmac below. The shift action of the gear lever is brilliant as you shift from first to second. Everything – the seating position, the interiors, and the dynamics – it all just gives provides a sense of cohesion.

Unfortunately, Maruti couldn’t provide us with a test car in time for the track test. So, we had to rely on a loyal (and unsuspecting) reader to do so. The car he brought to the party was the Swift VDi, which came shod the smallest tyres on the group – a miserable 165/80 R14’s. Needless to say, we took pity on the generous bearer of this Swift, so I didn’t quite push this cheeky little hatch as hard as it would go – suffice to say, there was still a little speed left in the bag.

But, she did well all the same. The Swift turns in brilliantly, and is quite happy to let you flick it sideways if you so wish. Steering and chassis are equally communicative and playful. The problem arises when you put your foot down to apply power once again, at which point the scrawny Bridgestone rubber does nothing more than scream for mercy as you modulate the throttle all the way through the exit of the corner. Naturally, this wastes precious time – so, we’re clearly not exploiting the inherent capability of the chassis.
What we need is a much larger, and better, set of tyres. Add a firmer suspension set up to the mix, and throw in the 90 horsepower version of this engine while you’re at it, and that would give you an exceedingly achievable recipe for a hot-hatch.

As is, the Swift demonstrates its inherent capability as an everyday machine – refined, comfortable, reliable, quirky, yet unassuming enough that every Tom, Dick, Harry, and his grandmother, has one. Nevertheless, I could imagine using one everyday. And I can just as easily imagine a stripped-out, heavily tweaked track version made specifically to embarrass larger, more powerful cars at the BIC. Now that’s versatility!

A LEAGUE OF ONE

The i20, like its siblings, speaks for the emergence of Hyundai as a force to be reckoned with in the global automotive industry

I said before that the biggest surprise in this test was the fact that the Chevy Sail was so comfortable being thrown into corners and then powering down straights. But, really, the biggest surprise – by a long shot – was the fact that the i20 was over 5 seconds quicker than the next fastest car (the Swift) and almost 10 seconds a lap quicker than the slowest car (and, ironically, also the most entertaining – the Figo).

The i20 is a car that feels more like a mid-sized sedan than a performance hatchback, and yet it simply relegated all these other hot-hatch pretenders to the sidelines. The hallmark of this car is its space, comfort, and levels of refinement that are simply on another level compared to the competition – in addition, it also happens to be the quickest hatch on the racetrack.

This i20 truly proves the worth of its engine – it’s the only 1.4 litre diesel mill here to produce almost 90 horsepower, courtesy of 16 valves and the latest gen CRDi hardware. The tyres (at 185/65 R14) have the most substantial footprint of the lot, and the i20 also seems to have the lowest center of gravity of all the cars in this test, so much so that you actually sit quite low in the chassis – all of which helps on the racetrack of course. The end result is the fact that the i20 is actually the quickest everywhere on the track – through the corners, and, naturally, down the straights as well.

Don’t get me wrong, though, this is not a sporty car – by any stretch. It has plenty of body roll, and the steering is completely devoid of feel. Plus, as you hit the brakes with any sort of force, they tend to lock almost immediately and only thereafter give you an opportunity to modulate brake pressure. That said, the only place where the i20 suffered was at the end of the long back straight when it under-steered and missed the apex for turn four. And the slip angles were so high on most portions of the circuit that you could actually slow the car using just the angle of the steering – meaning that the more you turned the wheel, the more speed you scrubbed off – so you didn’t actually have to touch the brakes.

In cars such as these – i.e. hatchbacks with less than 100 horsepower – on a massive Grand Prix track such as this, its imperative to be as smooth as possible to ensure that you carry as much speed through the corners as possible. Needless to say, the i20 was very good at that. Everything in this car is as smooth as butter – right from the drivetrain to its fluid lines. Even the way the gear lever slides from one gear to the next, it doesn’t feel so much like swapping cogs as it does like stirring through jelly.

But what this car is able to achieve both on the road and on the track says a lot about the engineering prowess at Hyundai – it’s a clear demonstration of how this Korean automaker has emerged as a truly global force over the past decade.

The engineers have succeeded not only in making the i20 the most refined and comfortable of all the cars here, but also the fastest around a racetrack. And that’s no mean feat!