What’s new?
At a time when petrol prices are constantly on the rise, it is safe to assume that people buying petrol cars these days won’t be travelling long distances on a daily basis. It would also be safe to assume that an automatic petrol car won’t have a chauffeur and will be owner-driven for most of the time. Throw in the flexibility a saloon has over a hatchback and you have the three cars here – all automatics, all petrols, and all under Rs 10 lakh.
Ever since its launch in 2009, the Honda City has pretty much been the default choice in this segment. Honda has updated it regularly and the car you see here has the latest facelift that brings with it a chrome grille and different alloy wheels. Honda even offers, at a cost, satellite navigation (which our car isn’t specced with) and a sunroof.
Ford’s Fiesta brings to this table a striking design, Ford’s renowned ride and handling expertise and some interesting features like voice-activated climate and audio controls.
Last, and the newest to this group, is the Renault Scala. It is easily the most spacious car here and has all the equipment you want and not much extra. Unlike the others here, the Scala uses a different kind of automatic transmission – a CVT – which promises better fuel efficiency, one of the criteria that the winner of this test will have to possess. Other winning qualities include practicality, ease of driving and, since you will be spending a lot of time stuck in traffic, comfortable, well equipped interiors. Let the games begin.
