The i20 has had a good run in the premium hatchback segment in India, with both the previous generation and the Elite i20 being well received. Hyundai recently announced that the new Elite i20 has sold more than 1,00,000 units in the 11 months since its launch. But the Elite i20 won't have things easy in the segment for long, as competition is set to arrive on July 8 in the form of Honda's new Jazz.

The previous-generation Jazz was discontinued by Honda as it failed to meet the automaker’s expectations due to its steep pricing, easing things up for the earlier i20. Probably a case of once bitten, twice shy, Honda is likely to price the new Honda Jazz — built on a new platform — competitively this time around. Moreover, it will now be offered with a diesel engine, hottening up the competition further. We pit both cars against each other and see how they stack up on paper.

Under the hood

The diesel engine in the Honda Jazz is the same 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine running the Amaze and City. Peak power is 98.6bhp at 3,600rpm and peak torque is 20.4kgm at 1,750rpm. The engine comes mated to a six-speed manual gearbox that helps this version of the Jazz deliver a class-leading ARAI-tested fuel economy of 27.3kpl.

Also powering the Jazz is the 1.2 i-VTEC petrol engine which produces 89bhp and 11.21kgm of torque at 4,800rpm. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission or a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) gearbox.

On the other hand, the diesel and the petrol version of the Hyundai Elite i20, powered by the 1.4-litre CRDi diesel unit and 1.2-litre Kappa Dual VTVT motor respectively, makes around 10bhp and 7bhp lesser than the Jazz diesel, but gain slightly in the torque category. However, the Elite i20 does not get the option of an automatic gearbox like on the Honda Jazz.

In terms of fuel efficiency, once launched, the Honda Jazz will be the second-most fuel-efficient car in the country, after the recently launched Maruti Celerio Diesel, which has an ARAI-tested fuel-economy figure of 27.62kpl and is powered by the automaker’s homegrown two-cylinder diesel. The Elite i20 is less fuel efficient of the two, with the diesel variant having an ARAI-claimed figure of 22.54kmpl.