5 cars “better” than Maruti’s best sellers

A best selling car is a best seller for a multitude of reasons. Usually, it’s the most well rounded option in its segment, leading to big sales. But are best sellers the “best” cars in their segments? The answers may surprise you. Today, we present 5 cars that are better than Maruti Suzuki’s best sellers. Let’s go segment by segment.

Entry level hatchbacks

The Maruti Alto is the best selling entry-level hatchback in India, and also the country’s best selling car model. The Alto sells well because it’s affordable, extremely reliable,  cheap to maintain, hold its value well, and backed up by the country’s best after sales network. But is there something better than the Alto? Oh, yes.

Enter the Renault Kwid

The latest upstart in the entry level hatchback space is also the best looker, with an SUV-like design and stance. The car also offer much better equipment levels than the Alto. The ground clearance of 180 mm is the best in the class. It’s more spacious and offers significantly better mileage.

While it’s true that Renault’s after sales and dealer network have some catching up to do with that of Maruti Suzuki, this factor isn’t an issue for folks in Tier I cities. The Kwid’s pricing is the cherry on the cake, and the car’s a serious alternate to the Alto, and a much better one in many respects.

Premium hatchbacks

The Maruti Suzuki Swift has dominated this segment for years. A best seller month after month, herd mentality, and a few other factors drive the car’s booming sales. The Swift is frugal, stylish, very reliable, fun to drive, and holds its value well. It also has access to brilliant after sales service. So, it’s easy to see why it sells well.

It’s now got solid competition, in the form of the Ford Figo.

For starters, the Figo is more spacious than the Swift, and is a safer bet considering the additional safety equipment on offer. The Ford car delivers more mileage, and its diesel variant is much more powerful too. In the Figo, you get the 1.5 liter petrol engine mated to a 6 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox, a combination that’s simply not available in the Swift.

 

Ford’s after sales service is strong and localization has led to affordable service costs too. In fact, Ford claims that the Figo will be much cheaper than the Swift to maintain. As a car, the Figo is simply a better all rounder than the Swift.

Compact sedans

The Maruti Suzuki Dzire is India’s best selling sedan, and it also happens to be a sub-4 meter offering. In fact the demand for the Dzire has been so strong that the car outsold the Alto for many months. The Dzire has the same kind of strengths that the Alto and Swift have, but is it the best in it’s segment? Well, not really.

Ford Figo Aspire

For starters, the Ford Figo Aspire looks much better than the Dzire. Moving to more critical bits, the car offers twin airbags as standard even on the base variant. So, it’s clearly the car that offers more safety equipment for less. In terms of performance, the Figo Aspire Diesel stands head and shoulders above the Dzire.

 

It offers great mileage too, which is only slightly lower than what the Dzire offers. The Figo Aspire rides and handles better, is more spacious and offers better equipment levels too. The sporty petrol automatic variant makes the Dzire Automatic look prehistoric. With Ford’s improved service levels and lower maintenance costs, the Figo Aspire is clearly the better bet.

C-Segment sedans

The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz did dominate the C-Segment sedan class for a couple of months, but ever since, the Honda City has re-taken the lead as India’s best selling C-Segment sedan, and for sound reason. While the Ciaz may be slightly cheaper than the City, there are some factors that make the Honda a much more compelling car.

Honda City

After sales and resale value, two of Maruti Suzuki’s strongest attributes are nearly as good in the Honda brand. This factor blunts the edge that Maruti Suzuki has in the C-Segment sedan class. Maruti is also struggling to woo premium car buyers, who don’t consider the brand very upmarket.

 

Of course, the Honda City has its own set of strengths. It has strong petrol and turbo diesel engines, along with good fuel efficiency.  It has acres of space and well finished interiors. Low maintenance costs and bomb proof reliability are the other winning bits on the City.

Compact SUVs

Who would have thought that a Maruti Suzuki car that’s less than 3 months old would sell at discounts of nearly a lakh rupees?  That’s the story of the Maruti S-Cross, a new addition to India’s compact SUV segment, and one that’s struggling to sell. The reason? High quality competition that offers everything that the Maruti Suzuki brand and the S-Cross offer, and then some more.

Hyundai Creta

The Hyundai Creta has proven to the world that it’s no flash-in-the-pan success. For the second consecutive month, the Creta has gone where no SUV has ever gone before, in sales terms. The Hyundai managed 7,000+ units for 2 consecutive months, setting a sales record.

 

The S-Cross could only manage half the Hyundai’s numbers, discounts notwithstanding. The Creta looks like a “proper” SUV, has strong petrol and diesel engines, is feature loaded, is finished very well and of course has a wide range of variants that suit multiple budgets. So, it’s clearly advantage Creta.