With the petrol price hike yesterday, the demand for diesel cars is bound to increase. The Hyundai fluidic Verna diesel has the best-selling sedan for the last few months, with a waiting period of almost four months now. So if you want a diesel sedan, and cannot wait for this long, what are your options? CarToq spoke to dealers across the country to come up with alternatives to the Verna diesel.
The Hyundai Fluidic Verna was launched on May 11. The Verna has two diesel engines: a 1,396 cc engine that belts out 106 Bhp of power and a 1,582 cc which produces 126 bhp of power. It is available in the price range of Rs. 8.09 lakh-Rs. 10.74 lakh.
Keeping this proposition in mind, we have identified three cars that could be a good alternative to the diesel Verna.
Photo: Maruti Suzuki sx4 has a waiting period of 1-1.5 months
Maruti Suzuki Sx4: Waiting period 1-1.5 months
Price: Rs. 7.79 lakh-Rs. 8.67 lakh
The Maruti Suzuki Sx4 is a tried and tested vehicle and sells in abundance thanks to its reliability and Maruti Suzuki’s wide service network. The Sx4 has a 1.3 litre DDIS multi-jet diesel engine from Fiat which churns out 89 Bhp of power and 200 Nm of torque. It also comes with a variable geometry turbocharger. Read our story about alternatives for the Honda Jazz here
The company claims that the Sx4 diesel returns a mileage of 21.5 kmpl so a real world figure of 18 kmpl can be expected. The car is spacious and gives you ample road presence, it may not be as features loaded as the Verna but will offer basic equipment and creatures comforts like ABS, airbags, music system and steering mounted audio controls.
Photo: Volkswagen Vento has a waiting period of up to 1.5 months
Volkswagen Vento: Waiting period 0-1.5 months
Price: Rs. 8.19 lakh-Rs. 9.43 lakh
The Volkswagen Vento is another car you could opt for in this segment. It gives you the solid fit and finish that you expect from a German car and the Volkswagen brand name will make you feel spoilt.
The Vento has a four-cylinder, 1.6-litre common-rail diesel engine that produces 105 bhp of peak power and about 249 Nm of torque. The company claims a mileage of 20.5 kmpl and real world figures will range from 15-18 depending on driving and road conditions. Also read our story on the alternatives to the Maruti Suzuki Swift diesel.
Volkswagen offers a CD player in the Vento but you will USB and Aux-in ports. On the safety front you will get twin airbags, ABS and an anti-theft alarm system with electronic immobilizer.
Photo: Ford Fiesta has a waiting period of up to 2 months
Ford Fiesta: Waiting period 0-2 months
Price: Rs. 9.27 lakh-Rs. 10.42 lakh
The Ford Fiesta may not be the most affordable alternative to the Hyundai Verna but it is definitely one of the most driver oriented car in the segment. The Fiesta diesel sports a 1.5 Duratorq engine that puts out 90 bhp of power and 204 Nm of torque. Ford claims an ARAI-certified fuel consumption of 23.5 kmpl for the diesel Fiesta and real world figures will be around 15-20 kmpl.
Now the Verna is touted to be feature loaded but the Fiesta too is pretty up to date in terms of features and creature comforts. It has some interesting and useful features like multi-function voice-activated controls that can control the radio, adjust climate control settings and make or receive phone calls.
You also get steering mounted controls, follow-me home headlamps, auto-folding mirrors and audio-only parking sensors (top end variant).
Here’s a table with the waiting periods of the above cars in major cities:
| Model | Waiting Period Delhi | Waiting Period Chennai | Waiting Period Mumbai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Verna | 6-7 Months | 4 Months | 8 Months |
| Maruti Suzuki Sx4 | 1 Month | 1.5 Months | 1 Month |
| Volkswagen Vento | 1-1.5 Months | Readily available | |
| Ford Fiesta | 1.5 Months | 2 Months | Readily available |
Comments [ 17 comments ]
I agree with HONDA CITY, but Hundai VERNA is not deserving second position. Its worst in perfomance, Ineriors and design is gr88 but handling is pathetic. Injustice with Linea FIAT its gr88 car compare to Hundai verna. Linea is best diesel. Dont know CARTOQ what scale and wht experience they have not considered LINEA.
@ Anand, FIAT didn't pay CarToq. Giving a score of &/10 for handling shows these guys have never driven a Fiat Linea
@ Anand, FIAT didn’t pay CarToq. Giving a score of 7/10 for handling shows these guys have never driven a Fiat Linea. The only department where LINEA fails is the sales. Otherwise the car is the Best Sedan for handling, Ride Comfort and features. Stupid CarToq
You are correct guys these people have never driven Fiat else they never make this silly rating. First of all Verna has power atleast on paper which never comes while driving worst handling car I test drive it. City is very good but not best at higher speed. Nissan Sunny is not elidgible for this test dont know about Scala because never driven it it will be same as sunny. The two car that should be here on top are New Fiesta and Linea. On highway Linea can @#$% any of these car mentioned here because I have done it with my linea. Note for cartoq : If you cant write good things about good car dont write wrong things.
"The clutch is slightly heavy and the car does tend to wallow through corners." are you guys kidding Linea has light clutch and stupir people its is best car in corners check all the reviews.
@Jignesh: We understand your love for all things FIAT (being a Fiat owner for 5 years I can understand your passion) but a lot of CarToq members have driven Fiats. One of the editors also drives a Linea as one of his daily drives. The Linea has got 8/10 on handling which is still the best except the Fiesta (which really does handle very well). The fact that we consistently recommend the Linea and Punto to customers for whom it is suitable shows that we have no personal problems with the brand.
And what about the clutch issue that you have mentioned.
@anand and @jignesh: First of all please excuse me for i found your comments so funny that i just wasn't able to stop myself from making an account here and post a reply. Well guys, this is a rating for sedans from class of people who personally use every brand and make and then post these comments. Rating is not done on fan basis. I agree Fiat Lines is a good make, but does it really stand Hyundai Verna?
I have used both the cars. Coming from a big joint family, i have access to Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Maruti Suzuki Swift Dezire, Fiat Linea and Ford Fiesta. So it's like that i have access to almost all the top notch mid-size sedans. Hyundai Verna is best in Power and i just love the throttle it delivers. Also i never found any issue with handling. Ford Fiesta is no doubt an amazing ride, be it in Handling, Mileage or Comfort. Though it lacks in Power. Honda City is something that i would call Elegant for every feature. I am happy that the new model's height is kept li'l high and the car is now more in breadth as well. The ride comfort is superb. Although here in Honda City as well, i find it li'l uncomfortable in the back seats. I won't say it's completely uncomfortable, but for long journeys, it leaves you a li'l tired!!! Coming to your favourite, Fiat Linea. Something that forced me to write the comments. Fiat Linea lacks in Power. Comfort. Handling is good and on the long run, the car delivers great performance. But that doesn't make it a better car. Driving aFiat Linea in the cities is just like driving a truck. I know from your comments that you won't agree to this but yes, the clutch is hard. Maruti Suzuki Swift Dezire is not in the list. So i won't say anything about it. Rest will be waiting for your reply!! Let the Fan Followingness Flow!!!
Not going into discussion but Sunny is best City car. Some cars mentioned in the list i pity them....
certainly the city is the best car in the petrol segment on the above cars. diesel fiesta and rapid
@Vishu you are a blind person person who had never driven a good cars so please dont comment on the thing you have never driven. You like Verna good every one knows how bad fluidic cars on handling So Fiat riders dont need advice from cheap korean lover so carry on your love all know MJD are way ahead then CRDi of Hyundai and Fiat is better brand then Hyundai worldwide.
@Vishu and even cartoq agree on bad handling charateristics of Verna. So never mind. Dont get to personal. Please check all the reviews about both cars and then came back with comment
guys be in control..
@vISHU WE ARE ALSO FROM GOOD FAMILY DEAR...HAVING ALL CARS FROM DIFFERENT BRANDS...CERTAINLY GIVES THE EXAMPLE THAT U EVEN NOT YET ABLE TO CHAOOSE GOOD CAR THATS WHY ALL BRNDS U POSSES...ITS NOT ABOUT OWING A BRAND ADVOCATING THAT PERTICULAR CAR...ITS ABUT THE TRUTH AND TRUTH IS HUNDAI VERNA IS GARBAGE...KOREANS CAN COPY CANT INSPIRE...AND EXAMPLE IS IN FRONT OF U...120 AND VERNA....THE MOMENT I TOOK THE TEST RIDE..WAS SHOCKED...WHAT I M DRIVING....????REALLY ATTRACTS ME WHEN I SEE FEATURES...REALL CAR LOVER NEVER GO FOR FEATURES...THEY GO FOR RAVE THE POWER AND PERFOMANCE....
MULTI JET ENGINE FIAT IS WORLD BEST TECHNOLOGY EVEN CRDI FATHER MERCEDES ALSO HATS OFF THE TECHNOLOGY....HUNDAI BORROWED CRI FROM MERC ONLY...BUT FIATE DEAR FRIENDS...IN HOUSE TECHNOLOLOGY..AND HOW CLEVERLY THEY PLAYED WITH INJECTION IS REALLY SOWS IN POER AND PERFOMANCE...THEY ALSO IMPROVED T-JECT FIAT WHICH IS BETER IN POER THEN WORLD LEADER I-VTEC PETROL HONDA...
Verna is really crap to drive at high speed u see tail bounces of like u r drifting uncontrolabbly and steering shud not be tht much light tht it feel like u r driving in a game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!