Renault Scala vs Ford Fiesta vs Skoda Rapid vs Hyundai Verna vs Honda City

If you live in one of the country’s bustling metros and drive yourself around on a daily basis, you have no doubt found yourself stuck in seemingly endless bumper to bumper traffic. And chances are, you have wished, at some stage or the other, for a car with an automatic transmission so that you can make your commute less stressful. 

But the good news is that automatic gearboxes are no longer exclusive to premium cars. Mid-size saloons like the ones here all have an automatic gearbox as an option. The Honda City started the trend, offering an automatic option in its previous two generations. Its latest avatar is represented here in V (AT) Sunroof trim at a pricey Rs 10.59 lakh.The Hyundai Verna holds the distinction of being the only car in the segment to offer a diesel engine with an auto ’box, but since we’re comparing apples to apples, it’s the 1.6 petrol SX (O) with the four-speed auto, at Rs 10.05 lakh, that we have with us. At Rs 9.38 lakh for this top-end Elegance Plus variant, the Skoda Rapid is the most affordable car here, and what you pay for is solid European engineering and technology. But then, if it’s high-tech you’re after, there’s the Ford Fiesta – which brings with it the segment’s first double-clutch automatic. And to dispel the conception that the Fiesta is expensive, at Rs 9.96 lakh for this top Titanium+ variant, it is competitively priced. And finally, the newest entrant, the Renault Scala X-Tronic – a car that does things a little differently. It looks unconventional and it uses a CVT, which most other carmakers have long since abandoned, but it promises great practicality and good fuel economy for as little as Rs 9.89 lakh, even for this top-of-the-line RxZ.

But which among these five is the best bet?