Maruti Swift vs Hyundai Grand i10 – Shootout

Performance – Both these hatchbacks come with 1.2-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engines. The engines are rev-happy and the Kappa unit on the Grand i10 is quite refined while the K12 unit on the Swift also scores high on the refinement front. In terms of drivability, both the engines offer good performance within the city and even on occasional highway drives, power delivery is good. The Swift’s motor is more fun though, with a good surge of power coming in all the way to the redline and when it comes to fuel efficiency, it is again the K-Series engine that delivers a bit more. On the Grand i10, you can expect an efficiency of 11-14 km/l but on the Swift this figure ranges from 13-17 km/l.

Both of them get diesel engine options as well, while the Swift gets the tried and tested 1.3-litre MultiJet unit in the same 75 PS tune, the Grand i10 got an update last year wherein the 1.1-litre unit was upgraded to a 1.2-litre unit but it still comes with 3-cylinders only. The engine on the Swift is more noisy while the Grand feels a bit silent in comparison. The Swift also has a more pronounced turbo lag while the i10 feels more easy-going at city speeds. Once you cross 2000 RPM, the Swift’s turbo starts spooling and there’s a strong wave of power all the way to a bit more than 4500 RPM while on the Grand i10, the turbo pull is pretty linear.

On the highways, you need to downshift a gear or two to overtake others in either of these cars but both these hatchbacks easily have some steam left even after crossing the ton. When it comes to acceleration, the Swift beats the Grand i10 in 0-100 km/hr and 30-80 km/hr (3rd gear) runs but the Grand i10 is quicker in 40-100 km/hr (4th gear) and 60-120 km/hr (5th gear) sprints. Fuel efficiency is excellent on both these cars with both of them delivering around 15-16 km/l in the city and more than 18 km/l on the highways. The Grand i10 diesel gets only a 5-speed manual gearbox but the Swift has an upper hand here because along with the 5-speed MT, it also gets a 5-speed AMT which is a boon for people who require convenience. The AMT gearbox isn’t very slick and has some lag but gets the job done for day-to-day driving. The manual gearboxes on both the cars have slick shifts complemented by a light clutch. The petrol Swift also gets 5-speed MT and AMT options while the Grand i10 makes do with a 5-speed MT or an archaic 4-speed AT unit which is quite outdated and has a tendency to sip a lot of fuel too.

Driving Dynamics – The Swift, without doubt, provides more driving pleasure than the Grand i10. The steering doesn’t have the same feel as the older generations but it still offers decent feedback and is quite precise too. The steering on the Grand i10 is super light at city speeds but offers no feel at all and even on the highways it doesn’t weight up at all and feels dead and disconnected at all times which in turn drowns the driving pleasure. Body control on the Swift is also much better and it feels confident entering into corners at high speeds while the Grand i10 is a car that likes taking it easy.

On the highways, the Swift is a lot better in terms of driving dynamics

Tyres on both the cars have average levels of grip which means there is a lot of screeching and sliding when you drive aggressively. Brakes on the Grand i10 are very sharp and the bite is excellent, while the Swift has above average stopping power. In terms of ride quality, within the city both the cars feel more or less similar when it comes to comfort but on the highways, the Swift offers a better ride but the Grand i10 isn’t too bad either. The Grand i10 comes with 14-inch tyres even on the top variant while the Swift gets bigger 15-inchers.