City vs Ciaz vs Verna vs Vento

The C-segment has a huge plethora of options for buyers to choose from. The Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento, Skoda Rapid, Ford Fiesta, Nissan Sunny, Renault Scala and Fiat Linea are all good in their own way. Maruti Suzuki will soon jump into this bandwagon by launching the Ciaz. The Maruti Ciaz will be replacing the outdated SX4 and the company has finally revealed the vehicle officially. Just like always, we guys at MotorBeam pitch the Ciaz against its closest rivals, City, Verna and Vento for a quick spec check!

The Maruti Ciaz will be offered with the same 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engines that do duty on the Ertiga. Both engines are mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and the petrol engine will also be offered with a 4-speed automatic. The Ciaz looks good and it is also quite large as compared to most of its rivals. It offers the best-in-class wheelbase, which translates to the fact that the sedan offers good space. Maruti after-sales service is excellent across the country. The Ciaz might seem promising but it competes with some really good products.

The Honda City is the leader in this segment. The fourth-generation City packs in everything that one could ask for. It gets 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines. While the petrol unit gets a 5-speed manual box and a CVT, the diesel gets a 6-speed transmission. The City too looks good but we feel that the previous generation City looked better. The City is smaller than the Ciaz in length and width but it is slightly taller. Honda has a high amount of snob value in India and the City is the first choice for buyers in this segment. Honda’s service is very good too.

Next up is the Hyundai Verna which managed to overtake the third generation City in sales for a few months. The Verna is offered with a choice of 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engines both. The sedan also gets a 4-speed automatic transmission with the 1.6-litre petrol and diesel units. The Verna scores high on looks and equipment but doesn’t fare well when it comes to handling and ride quality. The Verna is marginally smaller than the Ciaz and its wheelbase is lesser too. Hyundai’s service in the country comes in a close second, right after Maruti.

The Volkswagen Vento is the only German contender here. Powered by 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engines, it comes with a 5-speed manual transmission. The Vento comes with minimalistic styling compared to the funky lines that its rivals carry. The vehicle also drives and handles well. The Vento too, is smaller than the Ciaz on all counts. It comes with three special editions but does not sell in big numbers. Volkswagen has poor after-sales service in India.

It is going to be very difficult for the Ciaz to beat its rivals. Each one of them is very competent. Maruti’s build quality is not satisfactory and cannot match Hyundai, Volkswagen or Fiat. The Ciaz also undergoes a major part-sharing process where many components have been shared with the Swift, Ertiga, etc. The only thing that will help the Ciaz sell is Maruti’s after-sales service. The company needs to be careful with the vehicle’s pricing and the sedan should be priced significantly lower than rivals if at all Maruti wants buyers to consider the product.

Ciaz vs City vs Verna vs Vento – Petrol Spec Comparison