We have driven enough cars between us to find faults with our buying decisions too. Srini complaints that the Getz is hardly energetic while I have been cribbing about the overall build quality of the Swift. That is in public. Privately, he is pretty proud that the Getz has more room and its window winders are still where they should be. As for me, I know that I can out-run and out-handle his car despite the window winder switches having disappeared into the depths of the door padding eons ago. And I am not even talking about the clutch, which needed attention just a year from the purchase date.
Until very recently, the Getz and the Swift were the hatchbacks to buy. Till the Skoda Fabia came along. Suddenly, there was this European hatch built to certain standards other than the rupee-dollar rate. But we were happy to note that the entry price to Fabia-land was above Rs 7.5 lakh. Not worth it, Srini said. Not for a Skoda hatchback, I added. But after satiating the needs of the wannabe Skoda owners with a diesel and a four-pot petrol, Skoda unveiled the three-cylinder petrol version. The 1.2 HTP comes in Active, Classic and Ambiente versions, where the first one is basic, while the Classic gets airbags and the top-of-the-line Ambiente comes with ABS as well.
Now comes the operative part: price. The Fabia retails from Rs 5.1 lakh for the Active to Rs 6.09 lakh for the Ambiente (all ex-showroom, Mumbai prices). Compare that to the Rs 5.4 lakh that Srini shelled out for the GLS version and Rs 5.98 lakh that my company spent for the Swift ZXi and you know that our defence is getting a bit weak. So, are we stuck with the wrong cars? Let us take a more intimate look.
Looks
Srini’s Getz looks a bit staid today. Sure, the new Prime has the facelifted look which brightens up things, still you can’t escape the C-for-Car architecture of the Korean. Yet, when it comes to the shade of red used, it is the brightest. As for my Swift, and Srini concurs, it looks cheerful from almost every angle. It is one of those rare cars from Japan that managed to look good from the word go. You can see hints of the almost hemispherical nose, floating roof and squat Mini-like lines in the Fabia too. But when seen next to each other, it is the Swift that looks more new-age while the Fabia manages to look distinctly European. Now that is commendable, since it is dangerously easy to blend in with Japanese Kei-cars in this category.
Getz: ***
Swift: ****
Fabia: ***
Interior and comfort
If space is everything, then Srini has got the best deal – the no-nonsense interior generates and uses space like Ikea furniture. The doors open wide and clean, making ingress and egress easy. The dashboard is clutter-free and instrumentation is comprehensive though with a bit of a plasticky feel. But even three years down, the interior looks fresh and everything works well. The Swift has got ergonomics going for it. The driving position is great, controls fall into your hand and so on. But passengers do suffer, especially those who are stuck in the rear seat. There is a severe lack of space for luggage, so much so that Suzuki can make a business of selling custom luggage for this car. Quality of plastics, which the Swift shares with the Dzire and SX4 extensively, borders on the pathetic.
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