Honda Brio V MT vs Hyundai i10 Asta MT: Which car is for you?

The Honda Brio has just been launched, with prices starting from Rs. 3.95 lakh and going up to Rs. 5.10 lakh for the top-end Brio V MT. The Brio is directly positioned against the Maruti Ritz, Hyundai i10 and Chevrolet Beat. Among them, like the Brio, it is only the i10 that does not have a diesel variant. Therefore, between the two, it is a straightforward battle. Let us see how the popular and established i10 and Honda’s new small car compare against each other.

The top end Brio is priced Rs. 5.10 lakh and the Hyundai i10 Asta MT is priced at Rs. 5.26 lakh. Is the newcomer a better alternative to the slightly pricier i10 Asta? Let’s find out.

Engine and performance

Honda Brio uses the same 1.2 litre engine as the Honda Jazz with some retuning, and offers 87 bhp and 109 Nm of torque. Gearing too has been tuned for city driving.

The Hyundai i10, on the other hand, offers 79 bhp and 112 Nm of torque, which is quite adequate for city driving and an occasional drive out of the city.

However, the additional 8 bhp of the Brio makes it a sportier car to drive. In fact, the power output is as high as the Maruti Suzuki Swift and more than the Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo, Toyota Liva Chevrolet Beat and Ford Figo. This doubtless is a car for the driver who enjoys his daily commute. Also read: Hyundai i10 road test

Verdict: The i10 is capable, but the Brio is the sportier car.

Space and comfort

Both the Brio and i10 are small cars crafted for urban commuting and therefore have similar dimensions. The Brio is 25 mm longer and 85 mm wider than the i10. The extra width means that the Brio inside is slightly more spacious than the i10.

On the other hand, i10 is taller than the Brio by 50 mm (slightly more headroom in i10) and has a longer wheel base of 2380 mm as against the Brio’s 2345 mm.

The wider body of Brio means it has better shoulder room on the inside. The front passengers in the Brio have excellent supportive seats and great leg room even for tall passengers. Even the rear seat of the Brio is spacious for two occupants.

However, the third occupant on the rear seat may not feel comfortable in both the Brio and the i10. The boot space is 170 litres in Brio which is one of the ‘not-so-good’ bits of the little Honda, while i10 has a larger 225 litres.

Verdict: Except for the boot space, the Brio slightly leads in interior space and comfort. If every inch of interior space matters to you, Brio is the right choice for you – but if luggage space is important, i10 wins.

Looks

Honda Brio is a radically designed car based on the double triangle theme. Visually, the design of the car makes it look smaller than the i10, even though this is actually not the case.

The Brio ha a bold front face with a big chrome grille and radically designed rear, the highlight being the glass hatch door. Chrome grilles are quite popular in India, but the glass door at the back may not be to everyone’s liking.

The Hyundai i10 now has the familiar fluidic design of the Verna, giving it a bolder and contemporary look. The fluidic design is much loved, but then Honda cars are well-liked too for their design. Also see: Honda Brio photo gallery

Verdict: It comes down to personal taste, so no winner!

Feature comparison

Both the Hyundai i10 Asta MT and Honda Brio V are equipped with electric power steering with tilt adjust, electric mirrors, remote locking, central locking, power windows all four, manual AC, fold-down rear seats and steering mounted audio controls.

The Brio V has alloy wheels which are not offered on the i10 Asta. However, Hyundai offers more features on the i10 Asta which are not available on the Brio such as parcel shelf, turn indicators on outside rear view mirros (ORVMs), height adjustable driver seat, parking sensors, CD/AM/FM music system with four speaker, USB and auxiliary ports and Bluetooth connectivity.  The music system of the Brio has only USB and no FM, similar to the Honda City – this might be a disappointment for some, though if all your music is on USB, it would not matter to you.

Verdict: i10 is better equipped than Brio

Price, mileage and overall value for money

The top-end Honda Brio V is Rs. 17,000 cheaper than the i10 Asta. But the higher price is justified  if you consider the extra features i10 Asta offers you.

The ARAI-certified fuel efficiency of i10 Asta is 19.8 kmpl which is more than the 18.6 kmpl of Brio. This is negligible in real world driving.

However,  it is hard to beat Hyundai i10 when it comes to ‘value for money’ proposition as it offers better mileage and more features for a slightly premium price.

What we think

If you want a well-established small petrol hatchback with more features, go for Hyundai i10. But, if you want more power and the ‘Honda’ brand image, go for the Brio!

Honda Brio VMT vs Hyundai i10 Asta – Technical specifications and features comparison

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