5 fast yet affordable hatchbacks you can buy this festive season

The next few weeks will see two powerful hatchbacks being launched in India. It’s now a great time to be a performance craving, B+ segment hatchback buyer in India. From rev happy turbo petrols to rorty turbo diesels, it’s happy pickings for the buyer with a heavy right foot. Today, we bring you five fast yet affordable hatchbacks that you can burn Indian streets with.

Ford Figo 1.5 Petrol/Diesel

The new Ford Figo hatchback will be launched on the 23rd of September, 2015. The car will replace the first-generation Figo, which was incidentally the 6th generation European Fiesta hatchback. Word on the street suggests that the new Figo hatchback will share its engines and transmissions with the Figo Aspire compact sedan. What this means is, buyers craving performance get power engine engine options.

 

Both the 1.5 liter Ti-VCT petrol motor with 108 Bhp and 145 Nm, and of course that quick shifting 6 speed, twin clutch automatic gearbox, and the 1.5 liter TDCI turbo diesel (98.6 Bhp-215 Nm) engines could be offered on the new car. If the Figo handles as well as the version it replaces, hot hatchback enthusiasts will have a new diesel car to play with.

Fiat Punto Abarth

Much has been written about the Punto Abarth, a hatchback that will be officially launched in October. The Punto Abarth will use a 1.4 liter T-Jet turbo petrol engine with 143 Bhp and 212 Nm outputs. The car is expected to be priced under 10 lakh rupees. Together, the engine’s high outputs and the sub-10 lakh rupee price tag will make the Punto Abarth the most powerful car in the budget segments. The Punto Abarth, if successful, could make a solid case for hot hatchbacks in India, the numbers of which have been steadily growing. In a sense, the Punto Abarth could be a game changer.

Volkswagen Polo GT TSI

If you want the refinement and instant pep of a petrol motor with the sheer convenience of an automatic, the Polo GT TSI ticks all the right boxes. This compact Volkswagen uses a 1.2 liter, turbo petrol motor that pushes out 103 Bhp and 175 Nm. With a 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox making for blindingly fast gear shifts, the Polo GT TSI is point and shoot rocket. Priced at 8.48 lakh rupees, this car doesn’t come cheap. However, given the performance on tap and the safety features on offer, this pint sized powerhouse is well worth the money.

Volkswagen Polo GT TDI

The Polo GT TDI is essentially a dieselized version of the GT TSI, but without the convenience of an automatic gearbox. What the GT TDI offers instead, is a bagful of torque, 250 Nm of it. All this torque, and a five speed manual gearbox means that the Polo GT TDI is quite an involving car to drive. For people who do large monthly distances, a diesel powered car makes a lot of sense. So, if you want a fast hatchback that can take you to work on the weekdays and across the country during the weekends, your looking at just the right car.

Hyundai i20 Elite CRDI

The Hyundai i20 Elite, like its name suggests, is a hatchback meant for the elite, the ones who value refinement, comfort and top quality finish. The i20 Elite offers all this and then some more. The car’s diesel variant is powered by a 1.4 liter CRDI motor that makes 89 Bhp and 220 Nm. While the power and torque numbers may not lead the class, the refined way in which they’re delivered, along with minimal turbo lag makes all the difference. The 6 speed manual gearbox also ensures that the i20’s CRDI motor can be kept on the boil. However, firmer suspension and a steering with more feel engineered would have made the car much more fun on the twisties. As things stand, the i20 Elite is more of a straight line rocket, a highly refined and comfortable one at that.