Overview

With the gap between petrol and diesel prices narrowing, petrol cars are making more sense than ever before. And, the three compact saloons here are more suited to the short city hop than full-size saloons. It’s exactly the kind of environment in which the lower price tag of the petrol car has a big advantage over the diesel car. What we have here are three cars that fit the bill. There’s the Honda Amaze, the Maruti Dzire and the Chevrolet Sail.  These cars have 1.2-litre petrol engines, two are less than four metres in length and all are priced under Rs 7 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) – making them quite a lot of car for the money. Now the Sail may not be a sub-four-metre saloon, but Chevrolet’s pricing strategy means that, at Rs 6.41 lakh for this fully loaded LT (ABS), you get a bigger saloon for less than the other two, which makes it even more car for your money. Still, at Rs 6.64 lakh and Rs 6.51 lakh respectively, the Amaze VX and the Dzire ZXi are good value in their own right too.