Introduction

Compact sedans or sub-4 metre sedans – whatever you may call them, these four-door vehicles with their boot cut short are massively important to buyers in India, and the leading bunch among them includes the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire, Hyundai Xcent and the Honda Amaze. The just-updated Amaze has seen a range of changes inside out while its rivals – save for a new AMT gearbox for the Dzire and upgraded safety equipment for the Xcent – remain unchanged.

All three offerings here have their strong points though, so let’s put them into contention and see which value-focused compact sedan deserves your money.

Modest Looks

The cars that you see here are the result of manufacturers leveraging sub-4 metre excise benefits by shoehorning a boot onto what’s originally a two-box hatchback design. The end results, then, were never going to be crowd-pleasing and it’s the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire that’s least impressive looking among this lot. Born out of the regular Swift’s two-box form, the Dzire simply blends the long bonnet and the cabin area of the hatchback with a stubby boot and the end result just doesn’t cut it. The Hyundai Xcent, on the other hand, does a much better job of aping a typical sedan, mainly thanks to the sheer length of the rear overhang. The relatively shorter bonnet and the cab forward design also help in achieving that conventional three-box look.

As for the new boy, the updated Amaze has gotten its fair share of cosmetic changes (new grille, redesigned bumpers and taillights). Otherwise, the Amaze retains its cohesive design which isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all. Like the Xcent, the Amaze manages to squeeze under the crucial 4-metre length without looking disproportionate.

Practical Insides

Given that the buying preference in this segment usually depends on the interiors, it is crucial for these vehicles to score big in terms of space and comfort.

Kicking things off with the Honda, there is no doubt the updated Amaze represents a genuine step forward inside the cabin compared to what it replaces. Honda has finally binned the dreary old dashboard design and gone ahead with a far more upmarket unit which delivers a premium feel behind the wheel one that the old Amaze could never deliver. Also new is the three-dimensional look for the dials on the instrument cluster which gives it a classy overtone.

Anyone who has been in newer Maruti Suzuki models lately will instantly recognise the overall design and layout of the Swift Dzire. The dashboard is starkly divided by the black and beige treatment but while the other two cars here pull off the dual-tone theme quite well, the treatment in here feels a bit gaudy. Speaking of one of the other two cars, the Xcent may have been around for a while now but the cabin continues to feel better in terms of build quality and finish, thanks to soft-touch plastics and those neatly tactile buttons and dials. More importantly, the quality is consistent all across the interior – something which cannot be said for the Amaze or the Dzire.

Now onto the all-important space and comfort; space wise all three cars are evenly matched at the front, with the Swift Dzire inching ahead slightly with better headroom and legroom. That said, the seats themselves are a little too soft and the upper backrest could have been more generous. Meanwhile, the Amaze is equally comfortable in the front regardless of how tall you are and the seat cushioning is spot on as well. The Xcent may be the most sophisticated inside but it’s also the narrowest of the lot, as pronounced in the narrow foot-well for the driver.

Despite their budget positioning, compact sedans are often used by those who like to be chauffeur-driven. In this regard, the rear seat is easily better in the Amaze than the competition. There’s more leg room, good shoulder room (crucial for a family of five) and the cushioning is brilliant as well. The Xcent is your next best bet as the rear bench – though not as wide as the Amaze – gets good legroom and is properly supportive though only for two full-size occupants. Coming back to the Dzire, the seat is just as wide as the Amaze but there is no arguing that the Maruti lacks legroom. With a tall occupant in the front, those in the rear virtually have no knee room at all. The Dzire also has the smallest boot capacity at 312-litres compared to the Xcent (407-litres) and the Amaze (400-litres).

Power band

Leading the pack in this test is the 1.5-litre Amaze with 98.6bhp/200Nm. This is ahead of the 1.3-litre Swift Dzire packing 74bhp and 190Nm, with the 1.1-litre Xcent trailing further behind at 71bhp and 180Nm. All three are mated to 5-speed manual gearboxes.

As the least powerful car here, the Xcent feels lethargic when it comes to outright acceleration. That said, drivability off the mark and at low speeds is impressive as there is virtually no turbo lag. Even with the turbo on song, all of the torque is spread evenly between 1,500 to around 3,500rpm thanks to a flat torque curve. As for the highway, things are a little different. Now because it’s got a flat torque curve and there’s not a lot of pulling power to begin with, the Xcent’s 1.1-litre unit rarely delivers that mid-range punch needed for quick overtaking. As you would expect at this point, the Xcent is the slowest in the sprint from 40-100kmph in fourth and even flat out (0-100kmph), taking 16.9 seconds and 16.25 seconds respectively.

The 1.3-litre diesel engine in the Dzire makes only 75bhp but feels rather substantial out in the real world, thanks to its spiky power delivery. Below 2,000rpm, the turbo lag is beyond obvious but once past it, the Dzire takes off in an almost violent manner as all of the 190 torques are set free together. Naturally, driving the Dzire hard is a good laugh as overtakes are dealt with much more gusto compared to the Xcent. The Dzire, in fact, is nearly two seconds quicker than the more powerful Amaze in the sprints from 20-80kmph in third and 40-100kmph in fourth, taking 11.75 and 13.65 seconds respectively.

The Amaze’s 1.5-litre engine trumps the Dzire’s on paper, but the on-road performance is quite closely matched. Where the Dzire is more rapid once the turbo kicks in, the Amaze gets up to speed more gently but exhibits plenty of punch once there. The Honda behaves a lot like the Xcent with the way it develops torque evenly throughout the low and mid-range. But since there’s way more pulling power, there’s also proper mid-range punch for shooting through the traffic or overtaking on the highway. Drive the Dzire and the Amaze back to back and there’s no doubt the Amaze is the punchier of the two. Whereas the Dzire encourages you to shoot into gaps in traffic with its strong midrange spike, the Amaze is more relaxed and delivers its extra grunt across a broader rev range. Roll on sprints in third and fourth however, sees the Maruti inching ahead thanks to its shorter gearing. The Amaze, nonetheless, is quicker flat out hitting the 0-100kmph mark in 12.99 seconds compared to 13.34 seconds posted by the Dzire. Speaking of fuel efficiency, the Xcent fares better in the city at 15.56kmpl compared to the Dzire (14.3kmpl) and the Amaze (14.9kmpl) while it’s the latter that’s easier on the pocket on the highway at 20.5kmpl. The Xcent and the Dzire follow in closely at 20.1 and 19.4kmpl respectively.

Buyers who enjoy their time behind the wheel will appreciate the slick operation of the 5-speed gearboxes in all three cars. The shift quality in all three cars is precise though we would rate the Xcent’s unit to be the best, followed closely by the Dzire ahead of the slightly notchy Amaze. What’s different though is the feel of the clutch pedal. The one in the Xcent is quite light while it takes slightly more effort to engage the clutch in both the Amaze and the Dzire. As for the engine refinement, all three engines here aren’t particularly quiet in going about their work. That said, the Amaze has the loudest drone that can be heard right from low engine revs. In comparison, the Dzire’s engine feels smoother while the Xcent’s remains the most refined despite the customary three-cylinder clatter.

Ease Of Driving

All three cars here are nicely equipped to make driving easier and livelier. The Amaze is now more feature-rich than before with additions including electrically foldable wing mirrors, climate control and driver-related info display on the instrument console. The updates, however, aren’t enough as both the Dzire and the Xcent pack in more features. In addition, the Dzire also features stop/start button and rear parking sensors while the Xcent even offers rear AC vents, parking sensors with rear camera and 1GB of internal storage.

The Amaze may not be as generously equipped as its rivals but when it comes to the ergonomics it’s hard to fault. Thanks to the low-set window lines and a rather large house, visibility all around is simply great. The driving position also happens to be spot on – its low, the steering wheel is the correct size and the whole dashboard is also low-set. On the contrary, the Dzire’s dashboard is higher set while the steering wheel diameter on the Xcent is slightly bigger and the foot-well isn’t as generous as the Honda either.

Besides lengthy feature list and sorted ergonomics, ride quality plays a pivotal role in ease of driving. Around town, the Amaze rides firmly without ever being uncomfortable. Honda has managed to strike a good balance between ride and handling by keeping the low-speed ride compliant and good high-speed stability. In comparison, the Dzire isn’t as hard-edged over small bumps and potholes and is in fact, more settled at town speeds though its suspension tends to let more of the clunking noise into the cabin over rough roads. And that leaves us with the Xcent which rides on 15-inch wheels like the Dzire (Amaze gets 14-inchers). The low-speed ride in here is just as compliant as the Amaze, but at highway speeds over undulated surfaces the Xcent starts to bounce around and what follows is a brief moment of vertical motion as the suspension takes longer than usual to settle down after absorbing the bumps. Sure, it’s nowhere as bad as it used to be in the older Verna, but the Xcent’s high-speed ride still isn’t as composed as the Amaze or the Dzire.

Verdict

Hyundai Xcent: Rank 3

Final score: 368/600

Price: Rs 9.60 lakh, OTR, Mumbai

It’s a pretty tight battle this one.

The Xcent impresses on a lot of counts (read: engine refinement, feature list, fuel efficiency) but it’s the consistency in quality where it delivers most. With the exception of its lethargic engine and unsettling ride quality, it hasn’t come out last in any area and has done surprisingly well despite its age. The end result, however, cannot quite compensate enough for its lack of grunt and the bouncy high-speed ride when compared to the other two higher ranking cars.

Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire: Rank 2

Final score: 381/600

Price: Rs 9.54 lakh, OTR, Mumbai

The Dzire is in safe and familiar territory. It’s been the unrivalled choice for the most of us, and for good reasons. It ticks most of the crucial boxes by offering proven mechanicals, light controls, a punchy yet efficient engine and of course, the country’s most sought-after sales and service network. Having said that, its value quotient has taken a toll as newer rivals move the compact sedan game forward with better rear seat comfort, bigger boot and proper sedan-like looks. Let’s put it this way, the Dzire has been around the longest, generating a million success stories (with sales of over 10 lakh units) and all it needs now is a major update to claw back its value quotient.

Honda Amaze: Rank 1

Final score: 386/600

Price: Rs 10.08 lakh, OTR, Mumbai

With the updated Amaze, Honda has given the interior a thorough makeover so that the cabin no longer appears as if its come from the late 90s. Now even though the brand hasn’t done much to improve the engine refinement or NVH levels, it doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s the Amaze that comes across as a more rounded package with its superior performance, roomier cabin and well sorted on-road dynamics. The sales crown may belong to the Swift Dzire, but it’s the Amaze that makes more sense for the value-conscious compact sedan buyer.

Photos by Kapil Angane

Click here to view on-road price, specs and features of the Honda Amaze range

Click here to view on-road price, specs and features of the Maruti Swift Dzire range

Click here to view on-road price, specs and features of the Hyundai Xcent range

Specification

Test Data

Score sheet

Parameters

Max points

Honda Amaze

Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire

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