New Tata Bolt: How it stands in its segment

Tata has launched its new Bolt hatchback in India starting at Rs 4.44 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base petrol variant, while the diesel variants start at Rs 5.49 lakh. The Bolt is available in four trims – XE, XM, XMS and XT. Here's how it looks on paper against its main segment rivals – the Hyundai Grand i10, the Maruti Swift, the Toyota Etios Liva and the Volkswagen Polo. 

 

Under the hood

 

All five hatchbacks are available in both petrol and diesel guise. Except for the Grand i10 – which has a four-speed automatic gearbox on offer along with a five-speed manual – transmission duties are handled by five-speed manual gearboxes on both petrol and diesel versions of all contenders. 

 

The new Tata Bolt petrol makes the maximum power among its segment rivals, although the difference over the Maruti Swift and Grand i10 are only marginal. The Liva and the Polo have significantly less horses – 10 and 15bhp respectively – on tap. When it comes to the diesels, the Bolt churns out as much power as the Swift which uses the same engine and is only slightly more powerful than the Grand i10 and Toyota Etios Liva. The VW Polo is the one with maximum power here.  

 

 

Tata Bolt diesel vs rivals