With the launch of the Maruti Dzire facelift, the company aims to retain its sales leadership in this segment, composed of the Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent and the Tata Zest.
There are no changes to the dimensions of the 2015 Dzire. As a result, all these cars with the exception of the Amaze measure 3,995 mm in length. The Zest is the biggest as far as width, height and wheelbase are concerned on paper. The Xcent has the largest boot, while the Dzire's 315 liter boot is the smallest of the lot.
Diesel -
The Zest and Dzire use the 1.3-liter Fiat-sourced MultiJet engine, the Amaze features a 1.5-liter unit, while the Xcent gets a three-cylinder 1.1-liter engine, the smallest of the lot. No surprise then that the Xcent makes the least amount of power and torque. With a 1 tonne+ weight, the Xcent puts out the lowest 60.5 PS/tonne of the lot as well.
Also Read: Hyundai Xcent diesel review
The 2015 Dzire is India's most fuel efficient car (excluding the hybrid BMW i8) at 26.59 km/l, followed by the Amaze's 25.8 km/l and the Xcent's 24.4 km/l. The Zest offers the least fuel efficiency of the lot.
The Xcent and the base Zest 75 PS undercut the new Dzire by more than INR 10,000, while for a fully-loaded variant (with airbags and ABS), the Zest undercuts the competition at INR 7.33 lakhs. The Zest is the only car in this segment to offer an automated manual transmission.
Petrol -
All cars feature a 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine developing between 83 PS to 90 PS. The Zest is the only car to feature turbocharging here, and hence churns the highest torque.
Maruti has once again taken the lead in the fuel efficiency department with the new Dzire returning 20.85 km/l. In terms of power-weight ratio, the Amaze puts out a class-leading 91.66 PS/tonne followed by the Dzire.
Also Read: Tata Zest Revotron review
All cars, save for the Zest, are available with an automatic transmission: The Maruti and Hyundai offer a 4-AT, while the Amaze gets a 5-AT. Coming to pricing, the Xcent and Zest once again undercut the entry-level Dzire's price of INR 5.07 lakhs. For a fully-loaded variant, the Zest proves to be cheaper at INR 6.3 lakhs.
Note: All prices are ex-Showroom, New Delhi.
