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The advent of the new Hyundai Verna this year makes it imperative for us to pit it against its close competitors –the Honda City and the Volkswagen Vento. Read on to fi nd out which emerges the winner in this tussle

Story: Adhish Alawani
Photography: Sanjay Raikar

If the year gone by was marked mostly by new hatchbacks in the Indian market, this year seems to be dominated mainly by sedans. From entry-level to premium – the Indian market sure seems to be graduating. It is also evident that
mid-size sedans are the choice of many since these pack in everything in just the right proportion – size, performance, efficiency and, most importantly, the price. The Honda City had always been the topper in this segment until last year, when German giant Volkswagen introduced the Vento. The competition then became tough and, to make it even more interesting, Hyundai have come up with the new Verna this year, which looks strong enough to take on its competitors. Needless to add, it was inevitable that we should make these three vie with one another to find out which one had the potential to wear the crown.

Given the reliability of the Japanese, excellent engineering of the German and city-centred suppleness of the Korean, we were sure this contest would be packed with a lot of action. And so it was.

From The Sketchbook
There is no doubt that the Indian customer is driven by considerations of cost and efficiency more than anything else, but what come next on his list are the looks of a car. The vehicles under the scanner here evince completely different design theories. While the Vento is the most basic and plain of the trio, it still has its own character –a no-nonsense automobile with sharp, distinctive lines and edges. The Honda City has its arrowhead theory in place and looks extremely focused. With maximum aerodynamics in mind, the designers at Honda gave the City a look that is aggressive from every angle. Its bold grille and angular headlamps make it the most desirable.

Hyundai too score good points on the design front. The Koreans call it their ‘fluidic’ design theory that consists of naturally flowing lines. The Verna has surely gone a number of notches up from its earlier version so far as looks are concerned and now makes everyone on the road give it a second look.

With all the three cars having their own special styling, it becomes difficult to choose one. Ultimately, it all boils down to personal choice. The Vento suggests itself easily to someone inclined towards simplicity. The Honda City is for the aggressive ones and the Verna for those looking for a fresh look.

Show ’Em What You Got
The Hyundai Verna comes with three options in petrol, of which we had the 1.6-litre manual transmission variant on test. This motor is the most powerful and torquey of the lot with 123 PS of peak power and 158 Nm of peak torque. However, this power doesn’t translate to quickest outright acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h.

The Verna does it in 11.48 seconds, which is slightly better than the Vento, but 0.8 seconds slower than the City. Neither does the Verna impress us with its bottom end as it struggles to move in low revs. Nevertheless, the refinement of this Hyundai engine is exceptionally good. The engine is so silent, you have to nudge the accelerator pedal or check the tachometer at idling to check if the engine is really running. Similarly, the gear shifts are smooth as butter and add their bit to the overall smoothness of this car. The Honda City has a 1.5-litre engine, which is approximately 100 cc less than the other two. With 118 PS of peak power and 146 Nm of max torque, it’s not the best on paper. However, on road the City is the quickest of the lot from 0 to 100 km/h and also has the best-in-class roll-on figures. The Vento turns out to be the slowest of the three with just 105 PS of peak power from its 1.6-litre engine. The Vento’s refinement levels are low too.