Car – Mileage Reviews

Volkswagen Polo (Petrol)

One of the premium hatchbacks in town, the Volkswagen Polo was launched in February 2010. Over the past 3 years, the car has been one of the hot-sellers for the company in India. The latest variant, the GT TSI was launched in April this year. In terms of specifications, the Polo comes equipped with a 3 cylinder 1198cc engine that delivers a max power of 75 PS at 5400 RPM. This translates to a torque of 110 Nm at 3750 Nm. The Polo has a decent acceleration that can help you reach 100 kmph in just around 14.2 seconds at a max speed of 162.9 kmph. The overall dimension of the car is 3970mm x 1682mm x 1453 mm with a wheelbase of 2456mm. At a kerb weight of 1020 kg, the Polo is heavier than Brio which also has a smaller wheelbase and a higher power. The Volkswagen Polo comes at a starting price of Rs. 4.89 lakhs ex-showroom.

Manufacturer Fuel Claim:

We have discussed a few 1200cc cars on this blog. The Brio was one that the manufacturers claimed would deliver 19.4 kmpl which is the highest we have seen so far. The petrol variant of Maruti Suzuki Ritz on the other hand came at a lower 18.5 kmpl while the Suzuki Swift and Renault Pulse claimed to deliver 18.6 kmpl and 18.1 kmpl respectively. Compared to these figures, the mileage claimed by Volkswagen looks rather low. The company claims a consumption of 16.47 kmpl on the petrol variant. Although the Polo is a premium hatchback unlike a Swift, this difference in FE is definitely something to consider. In any case, do note that all the numbers discussed here are under standard testing conditions and real world performance may vary. So let us take a look at real customer reviews and test drive reports before arriving at a conclusion.

Customer Feedback Reports

Let us first start with the user reviews on ZigWheels. There are totally 4 reviews in all who have rated the car 4.5 on 5 for fuel efficiency. The reported number is somewhere between 14.5-15.5 kmpl on city roads. The owners however report that while the Polo does have a premium feel to it, the interiors could do with some improvement. Also, while it is not very spacious on the inside, the seats are still comfortable. However, if you are looking for a good boot space, the Polo will definitely make you happy.

AutomobileUpdates in their review of the Polo do not offer any particular insight with respect to the performance or rather anything. However, they report that the petrol variant should deliver a mileage of around 12.1 kmpl on city roads and 17.2 kmpl on the highways. This looks to be a more realistic expectation from the car than what was reported on Zigwheels; not that I am dismissing the review of the users there.

Carzy in their review of the 1.2L Polo note that the ‘trimmed’ interiors will make you fall in love with the car at first glance. This is in marked contrast to the user reviews we saw on ZigWheels. However, they concur on the fact that the interiors are pretty spacious even for tall passengers. On the topic of fuel consumption, the petrol variant of the car is noted to offer close to 13 kmpl on city roads and 17 kmpl on highway roads. It is not just the Carzy reviewer who finds the interiors impressive. Case in point, the review on Yahoo that says the interiors reflect the ‘sportiness’ of the car. In terms of FE, the test drive delievered around 12-14 kmpl which is along expected lines.

Next up, let us look at what the reviewers on MouthShut have got to say. There have been around 64 reviews for the petrol variant of the car and these reviewers have given the Volkswagen Polo 3/5 on fuel consumption. That’s a pretty low figure on an average. However, when you actually read through the reviews, you notice that while there are issues with after sales service, inadequate availability of spare parts, etc., the mileage itself is not bad. While you may notice a low fuel efficiency of just about 9-10 kmpl initially, this is likely to go up to 13-14 kmpl post the first service. Do note that this figure has been reporte by users driving primarily on bumper-to-bumper city road traffic.

So this concludes our review of the Polo’s mileage. I have summarized the figures from various sources in the table below. My verdict is that Polo is definitely a premium hatchback when you look at it from a price perspective. When it comes to mileage, the Polo is not bad and is definitely something you can bank upon.

Source	City (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	16.47
AutomobileUpdates	12.1	17.2
Carzy	13	17
MouthShut	13-14	—
Yahoo	12-14	—
ZigWheels	14.5-15.5	—

Chevrolet Sail UVA (Diesel)

General Motors launched the new Sail U-VA in November of last year. The car is a premium hatchback that comes with a 1248 cc engine that delivers a maximum power of 78 PS at 4000 rpm and a torque that is close to 205 Nm at 1750 rpm. The car has been voted the ‘compact car of the year’ by AutoCar for 2013. In terms of tech specs, the car measures 3946 x 1690 x 1503 mm with a wheelbase of 2465mm and a ground clearance of 168 mm. The car has a seating capacity for 5 people and has a kerb weight of 1124 kg. The Sail U-VA has a fuel tank capacity of 40 liters. The car is available at a starting price of Rs. 4.19 lakhs ex-showroom, Delhi.

Manufacturer’s Claim On Mileage

We have not discussed too many cars here on MileageInfo. However two cars in the same engine range are Honda Brio (1198cc) and Maruti Suzuki Ritz (1197cc). These cars have slightly lower engine displacement and yet deliver a higher power of 88PS and 87PS respectively. Despite Sail U-VA delivering a lower power, it doesn’t disappoint in terms of mileage. While the manufacturer claim on these cars is 19.4 kmpl and 18.5 kmpl respectively, General Motors promises 22.1 kmpl on the Sail U-VA. Of course, it needs to be noted that all fuel consumption discussed here are under standard test conditions which is pretty different from the real world road conditions that you would be subjecting your car to.

Customer Feedback & Test Drive Reports

Let us now take a look at what the real world customers have got to say about their Sail U-VA. ZigWheels have rated the car 7.5 out of 10 overall. Looking at some customer reviews over there, it looks like Sail U-VA does deliver on mileage. While one customer reports to be seeing 21.33 kmpl FE (presumably on highways) on his LT ABS Diesel model, another customer who has purchased an LS ABS Diesel reports 15 kmpl on city roads and 20.6 kmpl on highways. Still pretty good.

MaxAbout does not have an elaborate in-house review for the Sail U-VA yet. However, they do report that the top speed on the car is likely to be around 160 kmph. Another point to note and compare as a buyer is that Sail U-VA comes with a 3 year warranty that covers the first 1 lakh kilometers. MaxAbout reports a mileage of 16 kmpl on city roads and 22.1 kmpl on highways. It is not clear if this was tested by their team or has been reproduced from the General Motors’ brochure.

The Hindustan Times did a review of the Sail U-VA diesel earlier this year. In the article, the newspaper notes that although the engine is the same as the ones available on Maruti Swift and Fiat Grande Punto, the Sail U-VA has a different air filter and a new fixed geometry turbocharger that gives the engine a more refined feel. HT however notes that in terms of respose, the Swift is still better. Speaking about mileage, the writer reports a figure of 13.1 kmpl on city roads and 19 kmpl on highways with the diesel variant of the car.

The TopGear review once again notes the relative lack of response on the Sail U-VA. As the author puts it, “to go quick, you really need to give it some beans”. The reported mileage seems lower than other reviews we have seen though. The website notes a city road figure of 12 kmpl which goes up to 14.5 kmpl on the highways.

Overdrive in their report note that the spacious interiors and frugal fuel consumption are two big pros for the car. On the flip side, an outdated design and “no aspirational value” – although I am really not sure what they mean by this – are the cons. The real world mileage as reported by the website is 17.25 kmpl overall (which is 21.6 kmpl on highways and 15.8 kmpl on city roads).

I have summarized the reports below. To be honest, the Sail U-VA does look a bit dated and from the looks of it, the engine needs a little push to get responsive. However, if you are mileage conscious, this car does seem to be one of the best in class and can deliver a better FE than any other in the same budget. What are your views?

Source	City roads (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	22.1
ZigWheels	15	21
MaxAbout	16	22.1
Hindustan Times	13.1	19
TopGear	12	14.5
OverDrive	15.8	21.6

Hyundai Santro Xing

It has been over 15 years since Hyundai made its entry into India. That also means it’s close to a decade since the Santro Xing has been out here in the market. Called the Hyundai Atos in many parts of the world, the Santro Xing was launched in India in 2003 and is being produced at the Hyundai factory down south in Chennai. Let us first look into the specifications of this car.

The Santro Xing is a hatchback powered by a 1086cc 4 cylinder engine. This is a little smaller than the engines offered on cars like Maruti Swift, Ritz and Brio. Consequently, the max power delivered here is also lower than the average 87PS delivered on those cars. The Santro Xing can give a max power of around 63PS at 5500 RPM. This translates to a max torque of 9.8 Nm at 3000 RPM. The car runs on petrol or LPG and has a fuel tank capacity of 35 liters. Speaking of dimensions, the Santro Xing measures 3565 x 1525 x 1590 with an overall wheelbase of 2380mm. The Santro Xing is available at a starting price of Rs. 3.03 lakhs (Ex-showroom, Delhi).

Manufacturer Claim On Fuel

Given that the Santro Xing is not as powerful as the other cars we have reviewed previously, the mileage offered on the Xing should technically be higher than those above. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. According to ARAI certified test results released by Hyundai, the Santro Xing is expected to give 17.92 kmpl under standard conditions. Again, these are much better driving conditions compared to your regular city roads and so what you actually see on road could be lower than this. Let’s see if it is indeed the case from the test drive reports and user reviews below.

Test Drive and Customer Feedback

Gaadi.com in their review report say the mileage delivered is higher than what is claimed on the ARAI certified tests. The petrol version of the car was seen to be giving close to 23.7 kmpl on highways and on city roads, the delivered mileage is reported to be around 17kmpl. The overall reported mileage is thus close to 18.7 kmpl which is pretty healthy. The numbers reported are for the non-AC variant though which means with AC on, the mileage delivered could be lesser.

In a forum thread comparing the Xing with cars from other segments like Wagon R and Suzuki Swift, CarWale notes that the mileage on Santro Xing may be very comparable with the more powerful cars when AC is on. The poster claims the mileage on Hyundai Santro Xing to be in the range of 11-13 kmpl on city roads which is not exceptional by any means for a 1100cc car.

If you live in a city which has bumper-to-bumper traffic in peak hours (well, who doesn’t?), Santro Xing doesn’t look very promising. A team-BHP user who has reviewed the car after 500 kilometers of travel reports seeing just 10 kmpl – under heavy traffic conditions in Mumbai. However, let this not deter you. There are other members there who report a mileage as high as 18-19 kmpl as well. Depending on your variant (AC/non-AC) and the driving traffic conditions, the mileage could vary, but I am not sure if there is any car that can offer great mileage when there is bumper to bumper traffic.

ZigWheels has a number of positive reviews on the Santro Xing. However, not everyone has reported their mileage. One user who has done is extremely happy with the outcome reporting around 18 kmpl on city roads and 23 kmpl on highways. According to Drive Inside, the 164mm ground clearance on the Santro Xing makes it an ideal car for Indian road conditions. The FE is not bad either. They report an overall figure of 15 kmpl which is not bad at all.

CarDekho has a number of useful mileage review reports. Most users who have reported their mileage there claim to be seeing pretty decent numbers. For city road conditions, the reported figure (with AC on) is anywhere between 14-16 kmpl. For highways, the reported number is higher at between 18-20 kmpl. These are very good numbers.

Finally, let’s take a look at what MouthShut users have got to say. There are 329 reviews for the Xing with the customers giving the car an overall rating of 4/5 for fuel consumption. Looking into the reviews made over the past couple of years, the city road fuel economy is around 12 kmpl on city roads and 15-19 kmpl on highways. Not great but not too bad either.

Source	City FE (kmpl)	Highways FE (kmpl)
Official	–	17.92
Gaadi	17	23.7
Carwale	11-13	—
Team BHP	10	18-19
ZigWheels	18	23
Drive Inside	15	—
CarDekho	14-16	18-20
MouthShut	12	15-19

So there you go. Would I recommend the Santro Xing for mileage? I am not very sure – the reported numbers are all over the place. If budget is a constraint, then I would pick this over the more powerful cars. But if I do not want to spend more on the likes of Swift, then Santro Xing could be my choice. What about you?

Hyundai Eon

The Eon is one of the better looking cars in the entry level segment; a segment dominated by the likes of Maruti 800 and Alto. Hyundai launched the petrol variant of the car in October 2011 and later introduced an LPG variant in early 2012. Although the Eon features among the best selling entry level cars in the country, it still has not produced the kind of impact one may have imagined – primarily because the buyers in this segment are relatively more concerned about the resale value of a car and Eon being a new launch still hasn’t got the kind of resale value that an Alto has. Things seem to be gradually improving though.

This is a car with an 814cc 3-cylinder engine that can crank up a power of up to 56 PS at 5500RPM. The resulting torque is as high as 74.5 Nm at 4000 RPM. For a comparison, Alto only delivers around 48 PS of power and 69 Nm of torque. The Eon measures 3495 x 1550 x 1500 with a wheelbase of around 2380mm. The Eon has a kerb weight of around 725kg which is slightly higher than the Alto (690kg). The Eon comes at a starting price of Rs. 2,79,883 (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the D-Lite model.

Manufacturer Mileage Claim

Like all entry level cars, the fuel efficiency is one of the strong talking points of the Eon. According to Hyundai, the Eon should be able to deliver 21.1 kmpl FE. This is the number extracted from the ARAI tests which are under standard driving conditions. The actual mileage on ground will be different in the presence of traffic and bad roads.

Test Drive & Customer Feedback

On CarTrade, there are a few user reviews of the car. The overall mileage as noted by the website is around 17.3 kmpl on city roads and 21.1 kmpl on highways. The independent reviews seems to agree with this too. Most users have reported the FE on their car to be between 12-19 kmpl on city roads and 21-22 kmpl on highways.

On CarDekho, the reviewer points out that the Eon engine is basically that of the Santro reduced by 1 cylinder. The Alternator Management System present in the top variant tends to reduce the fuel consumption a bit and thus improves your mileage. Eon customers chipping in with their feedback on the review note the mileage they have been noticing to be around 15-16 kmpl within city limits and 20-21 kmpl on highways.

While this looks rosy, a number of customers reporting in on CarWale have a different story to tell. The customers report a mileage of around 11-13 kmpl on city roads which is extremely low by any standards. However, there are also other customers who claim to be noticing 15.7-17 kmpl on city road and 25+ kmpl on highways. I honestly do not know what to make of it – it could be that a few customers have some fuel related issues with their Eon which may or may not be fixed.

There are a handful of user reviews on AutoJunction for the D-Lite variant of Eon. Aggregating the numbers provided by the various reviewers, the mileage delivered by Eon seems to be between 12-14 kmpl on city roads and around 20 kmpl on highways (or smaller towns where you can drive at a comfortable 50-60 kmpl at all times).

Finally, let’s look at what users on MouthShut have got to say. There are 18 reviews for the Eon and these reviewers have together given the car a 4/5 rating for fuel consumption. There are quite a few 2 sentence reviews complaining about the car being very cramped and small. On the mileage front, 16-18 kmpl is what users seem to noticing on city roads. On highways, the reported number is closer to the advertised figure of 20-21 kmpl.

So there you have it. The Eon is not without its bunch of unhappy customers. I do not know what to make of some reviews complainign about the really low mileage. So I do not want to advise one way or the other. Do test drive a car and take a decision independently.

Source	City (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	21.1
CarTrade	17.3	21.1
CarDekho	15-16	20-21
CarWale	11-17	25+
AutoJunction	12-14	20
MouthShut	16-18	20-21

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800

Maruti Suzuki announced the new Alto 800 in October of last year. The older model that has been in the market for more than a decade has already established itself as India’s best selling car. With the new launch, Maruti has in fact made the Alto much more affordable with a price drop; in an obvious attempt to stave off competition from the Tata Nano and the other new range of low priced cars.

The new Alto 800 comes in two fuel variants – Petrol and CNG. Both models come fitted with a 796cc 3-cylinder and 32-valve engine that can crank up a total power of close to 48PS at 6000 RPM. On curves, the car can drive up a torque of 69Nm at 3500 RPM. If you are looking for a low-priced car with better engine performance, Alto should score over the Nano. As we had discussed this earlier, the Nano, with a 624cc engine can only deliver around 38PS of power and 51Nm of torque.

Before we delve into the mileage aspects of the new Alto, let us take a look at the other important specs on this car. The Alto has a seating capacity of 5 and has a 35 liter fuel tank. The car measures 3395 x 1490 x 1475 (all millimeters, obviously) with a wheelbase of 2360mm. At 160mm, the ground clearance is decent for an Indian city drive. The standard variant weighs just around 695 kg which has a positive impact on the mileage. The starting price of the Alto 800 – the non-Metallic Standard Petrol variant is around Rs. 2.42 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Official Mileage Claim

Maruti Suzuki claims that their new Alto has the best fuel efficiency in its class. According to drives conducted under standard test conditions, the petrol variant of the new Alto 800 is claimed to deliver 22.74 kmpl. The CNG has a much better claim at 30.46 kmpl. That’s definitely pretty considering that even Tata claims only about 28 kmpl on the Nano.

Test Drive & Customer Reviews

MaxAbout reviewed the new Alto 800 a couple of months back on their website where they say they have liked the interior of the car “for the first time in 12 years”. Except for the fact that the rear seat appears to lack some back support, the interiors look more stylish and modern on an overall. Their test drive of the petrol variant delivered them about 18 kmpl FE on city roads and 20-21 kmpl on the highways.

ZigWheels did a review of the Alto pitting it against the Hyundai Eon. They found the Alto to be performing better in terms of fuel consumption – a 12.2 kmpl on city compared to the Eon’s 11 kmpl. However, this is a far cry away from the 18kmpl that MaxAbout claimed in their test drive report.

Carzy in their review feel that the new Alto 800 has a trendy and a more upmarket feel about it. They note that the newly launched Alto has got enough on it to competitively tackle the threat from the Hyundai Eon. They report a city mileage of 18.5 kmpl – I am not sure if this is reported from an independent test though.

Hindustan Times has a wonderful review of the new Alto 800. They report that the new variant is lighter and is equipped with a much more fuel efficient engine that delivered them around 13.3 kmpl on city roads. On highways, this number apparently went up to 17.8 kmpl. Personally, I feel that this is just an okay figure for a car that strives to offer the “best in class mileage”.

There are around 8 reviews for the Alto 800 on MouthShut. These reviewers have together rated the car a whopping 5/5 for fuel efficiency. I don’t remember seeing such a rating for any bike or car earlier. There are things people are unhappy about. One user reports seeing a mileage of 10kmpl on city roads which I think may be an individual issue. The other users have reported between 18-20 kmpl on city roads with one user reporting 25.43 kmpl on the highways.

Overall, I think this is a great car as far as mileage is concerned. Yes, you may be compromising on a lot of features that may come with cars that cost a lakh or so more. But at this price, the Alto 800 is surely a huge value for money. If you are budget constrained and looking to buy a car in this time of rocketing fuel prices, Alto is the car to go for.

Source	City (Petrol-kmpl)	Highways (Petrol-kmpl)
Official	–	22.74
MaxAbout	18	20-21
ZigWheels	12.2	—
Carzy	18.5	—
Hindustan Times	13.3	17.8
MouthShut	18-20	25.43

Renault Pulse (Petrol)

Renault India launched the Pulse entry-level hatchback car just a year back during the 11th Auto Expo. This is based on the Nissan Micra – same engine and chassis with just minor differences in the front and rear exteriors. The Pulse is available in six colours and is available in both petrol and diesel variants. We will be looking only at the Petrol variant in this review though.

Let’s take a look at the specifications. Like a lot of entry level cars, the Pulse too comes with a 1198cc engine that comes with 3 cylinders and 12 valves. This engine is capable of extracting close to 76PS max power at 6000 RPM that translates to 104 Nm max torque at 4000 RPM. This is not much if you compare the performance of this car with other models at the entry-level – Maruti Suzuki Swift as well as Ritz deliver 87PS power while the Honda Brio delivers 88PS. Of course the Pulse beats Nano’s 38PS power but I don’t it makes sense comparing Pulse with the Nano.

Speaking of the dimensions, the Pulse measures 3.805m X 1.665m X 1.530m with a wheelbase of 2450mm. The boot space is decent at 251 liters. You can fill close to 41 liters fuel at full tank. The Renault Pulse RxE is priced at Rs 4,32,300 ex-Delhi.

Manufacturer Claim On Fuel Efficiency

Renault has been advertising its 23.1 kmpl mileage quite aggressively. However do note that this figure is for the Diesel variant only. If you are looking at the Petrol version, the officially claimed FE is 18.1 kmpl. Again, this is under standard test conditions which are basically favourable road conditions that you do not get in city traffic. So your real world mileage could be quite lower. Again, to compare this figure with the official figure from the other cars from the 1200cc segment we have reviewed already, the Pulse seems to be on par with the Swift and Ritz while Brio still wins with an FE of around 19.4 kmpl.

Test Drive & Customer Reviews

CarKhabri in their review note that the Pulse can reach a speed of 100kmph from nought in just over 14.2 seconds. The car also seems to offer 14.2 kmpl fuel economy on city road conditions with the corresponding figure for highways hovering around 18.2 kmpl.

On AutoInfoz.com, there is no detailed review of the car which makes me curious about the source of their claimed city mileage for the Pulse. Anyway, according to them, you can expect around 18kmpl on the highway roads which comes down to around 14 kmpl in the city.

CarandMe.com has a similar story – there is no detailed review of the car. However, they do note the city mileage to be around 14 kmpl with highways tending to offer around 16 kmpl. I absolutely cannot vouch for whether this info has been provided from an in-house review or sourced from elsewhere.

Carzy again does not have a review of the petrol variant of the car. However in their listings page, they note that the petrol variant of Renault Pulse should be able to deliver around 14.3 kmpl of fuel economy on city road conditions while the same on highways could go up as much as 18 kmpl. Again, it is not clear if these numbers were derived from test drives or from third party sources. MouthShut, my favourite for user reviews has no reviews from customers owning a petrol Pulse.

Overall, I guess this review should not have helped you much. Most sources reviewing the car have done it for the 1500cc diesel variant and not the petrol variant. Also, those who have done have not made it clear if the city mileage numbers provided are from any manufacturer affiliated source of if it was derived from independent testing. In any case, the numbers I have been able to gather are detailed below. If you own a Pulse Petrol, do let us know the mileage you have been able to get in the comments below. It should help our other readers a lot.

Source	City (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	18.1
CarKhabri	14.2	18.2
AutoInfoz	14	18
CarandMe	14	16
Carzy	14.3	18

Maruti Suzuki Swift (Petrol)

Maruti Suzuki launched the Swift in India back in 2005. Since then, the car has undergone more than a couple of changes with respect to the engine to comply with the reintroduced emission norms. The latest versions of the LXi, VXi and ZXi petrol cars come equipped with a K-series petrol engine with VVT. This has a 1197cc displacement and with 4 cylinders can generate a maximum power of 87PS at 6000RPM and torque of 114Nm at 4000 RPM. This is extremely similar to the engine specs that we discussed for the Maruti Ritz not so long back.

Talking of other important specs, the Swift measures 3.85m x 1.695m x 1.530m, has a wheelbase of 2.43m and a ground clearance of 170mm. The car weighs 960kg (LXi) and has a fuel tank that can take in 42 liters at its brim. The Suzuki Swift LXi is the cheapest variant available and is available at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 4.49 lakhs at Delhi.

Manufacturer Claim on Mileage

The Swift has a lot of things in common with the Ritz. Both cars have a 1197cc engine that delivers close to 87PS power. The physical dimensions are more or less the same on both cars. However, the Ritz weighs slightly more than the Swift. While the kerb weight of the Ritz is around 1030kg, Swift roughly weighs 50-60 kg lower. This has an implication on the overall mileage claimed by the manufacturer since a higher weight requires the engine to spend more fuel in moving the car and consequently lowers the efficiency.

However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. According to Gaadi, the manufacturer claims a mileage of 18.6 kmpl on the Swift LXi which is almost the same as what is claimed on the Ritz. So it’s either the better engine on the Ritz or that Maruti doesn’t really want to cannibalize the sales of one of its cars due to the other.

Test Drive & Customer Reviews

MaxAbout does not offer great independent insights this time. They note that the latest version of the car has bigger and better headlamps, automatic climate control and a steering wheel with music controls. However, their report on mileage doesn’t seem to be independently assessed. According to them, the Swift should deliver around 12 kmpl on city roads and 18 kmpl on highways.

The report on ProKerala seems to be similar with vague information on how the reported mileages were tested. They note the Swift to offer 11 kmpl on city roads that goes up to 16 kmpl on the highways.

There are a few reviews of the Suzuki Swift on AutoJunction, and according to these, the expected city mileage on the car is around 10.55-14 kmpl while on highways, it can go as high as 19.78 kmpl. This is apparently the economy a user observed on his Bangalore-Chennai trip.

IndianAuto.com does a great job in comparing the specifications and features on the petrol and diesel variants of the Swift. On their comparison page, the reviewers note that the diesel variant consistently gives around 2-3 kmpl more than the petrol variant. Accordingly, they expect the LXi petrol variant to offer close to 11.5 kmpl on city roads and 15.8 kmpl on highways with the overall figure hovering about 12.6 kmpl.

CarBHP does not have a great deal of review going on their site. Hence I am unsure if the mileage they claim on the Swift is from independent tests or sourced from elsewhere. Anyway, they say the overall economy on the Swift LXi could be around 12.3 kmpl.

One thing that has been coming up persistently on the MouthShut forum is a “brake failure” issue that a lot of users have been facing at low gears. Customers say that the brake becomes extremely difficult to apply or doesn’t work at first or second gears sometimes causing minor accidents. Maruti Suzuki apparently is in the know and so it’s likely that this issue may not occur on your newly purchased Swift. In any case, do remember to test it out before accepting the delivery. On the fuel consumption front though, the car has received a 4/5 rating. There are not too many reviews in the past year talking about fuel. However the one that did talks highly of it claiming 16.5-17 kmpl on city roads and 21 kmpl on the highways. Seems kind of unlikely though.

Here is a summary of the results noted from various sources. What is your view on the Suzuki Swift Petrol? Would you be going for it? Tell us your thoughts, comments and questions in the section below.

Source	City roads (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	18.6
MaxAbout	12	18
ProKerala	11	16
AutoJunction	10.55-14	19.78
IndianAuto	11.5	15.8
CarBHP	12.3	—
MouthShut	16.5-17	21

Maruti Suzuki Ritz (Petrol)

Launched as Suzuki Splash in the rest of the world, Maruti Suzuki had to take the alternate name ‘Ritz’ in India because the ‘Splash’ name was already registered by Ford in India. Today, there are over 2 lakh Ritz on Indian roads today and this hatchback is definitely one of the latest success stories from Maruti Suzuki in recent times.

So now let’s go ahead with a discussion on the tech specs. The petrol variant of Ritz has a smaller engine than the diesel variant and at 1197cc pretty much belongs to the league of Honda Brio that we discussed earlier. The engine can deliver a max power of up to 87PS at 6000 RPM and a torque of 113Nm at 4500 RPM. The car has a 5-gear manual transmission on offer with a kerb weight of close to 1030 kg. In terms of size, the Ritz measures 3715mm x 1680mm x 1620mm with a wheelbase of 2360mm and 170mm ground clearance which is marginally more than what the Brio has to offer. The Ritz Zxi BS-IV model is available at a price of Rs. 5,57,739 ex-Mumbai. That is much higher than the Brio though.

Manufacturer Mileage Claim

A 1200cc car is typically an upper middle class buy, and mileage is a big factor in the purchasing decision. According to Maruti Suzuki, the petrol variants of Ritz (VXi, LXi & ZXi) deliver a fuel economy of around 18.5 kmpl under standard test road conditions. This means, this is the mileage you can expect under good roads with favourable wind conditions etc. So on an everyday city road with traffic and potholes, the mileage is going to be much lower. For a perspective, Honda claimed to deliver 19.4 kmpl on the Brio.

Customer Feedback

Carwale has an honest feedback of their test drive. The test, which was conducted during the monsoons when there is typically heavy traffic returned decent results. The reviewer reports to have seen an FE of between 12-14 kmpl despite him having to drive a lot in the first and second gears.

The test drive from ProdEase throws up a slightly lower fuel efficiency. In their report, the website notes that their test on city roads delivered close to 11.1 kmpl on the Ritz which increased to 15.5 kmpl on the highways. I really don’t think the traffic conditions during this testing was any worse than what Carwale had to experience. The low mileage reported is hence disconcerting.

Ronak from RonakG.com has a pretty good word about the Ritz with regards to the silent engine, sound quality on the music system and steering. With respect to fuel efficiency, Ronak says he was able to extract 14.46 kmpl under typical Bangalore city road conditions with AC turned on and using the premium Shell petrol.

There are a few good reviews of the car on AutoJunction. In terms of mileage though, the customers have reported between 16-19.5 kmpl on city roads. This is much much higher than what we have seen from other reviews and with even the manufacturer claiming only so much on standard test conditions, I have to ask you to take this figure with a pinch of salt.

On AutoCarIndia, the reviewer writes that the legroom on the rear is not exactly great although the same is good on the front along with a very good forward visibility. The reviewer was able to see 11.8 kpl on city roads with 16.7 kmpl on the highways.

There are over 150 reviews for the Maruti Suzuki Ritz on MouthShut and although this is a mix of all petrol and diesel variants, I only looked into what the customers of the petrol variants had to say. On an average, the reported mileage with AC on seems to be around 13.5 kmpl on city roads with the corresponding number for highways hovering over 16kmpl.

To sum up, the Ritz appears to be a great car with good economy on offer in the 1200cc segment. There are some recurrent complaints about the rear visibility and in the general ‘ugliness’ of the rear-side. But if it is not something that bothers you, there is nothing that should stop you from going for the Ritz. Except for the price, of course. What are your thoughts on this?

Source	City (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	18.5
CarWale	12-14	—
ProdEase	11.1	15.5
RonakG	14.46	—
AutoJunction	16-19.5	—
AutoCarIndia	11.8	16.7
MouthShut	13.5	16

Tata Nano

The Tata Nano has been one car that has put India truly on the world map, not in terms of a world class product, but with respect to what we call frual engineering. The 1 lakh car may no longer be available at that price, but the number of features and specifications that have been made available at this low cost has been truly exemplary.

In terms of technical specifications, the Nano comes with a minimal 624cc engine that can deliver a maximum power of around 38PS and torque of 51Nm. For a perspective, the Honda Brio which is priced at around 4 lakhs has a 1198cc engine that delivers close to 88PS. So quite evidently, you will not be able to take in a family and still cruise along at top speed on the Nano as much as you could in the other higher powered cars. In any case, the max speed here is only around 105 kmph. Other specs on the car include a wheelbase of 2230mm, a ground clearance of 180mm and overall kerb weight of at least 600kg. The Nano is available at a starting price of Rs. 1,41,898 ex-Delhi. Do check out the Current Offers section on the Nano section for any new deals.

Manufacturer FE Claim

Considering that the Nano is targeted at the price-sensitive mileage conscious audience, mileage is definitely something that is close to the heart a lot of their customers. And from the outset, Tata doesn’t disappoint. The company claims an overall mileage of around 25.4 kmpl under standard conditions on the Nano. On highways, this should ideally go up to 28 kmpl. Do note however that these numbers are under standard testing conditions and so the real world mileage could be vastly different. We will go through the test drive reports and customer reviews from various sources to understand how this car would fare on city roads.

Test Drive Reports

On Team-BHP, a customer who owns a Nano LX has posted the average mileage to be around 15-17 kmpl with AC on. Do note that this mileage includes significant highway travel and so if you were to calculate the mileage exclusively for city roads, this could come down a notch.

On Carwale, another ‘happy customer’ points out that he was able to notice an average mileage of 20 kmpl on city roads. The customer however points that the economy returned has dropped to 12kmpl at the time of posting which however seems to be a problem specific to his car that could be fixed at the dealers’. Another customer from Delhi notes the mileage on their Nano to be around 18kmpl on Delhi city roads.

There are close to 239 reviews for the Nano on MouthShut. While the overall rating for the car is only 3/5, on the fuel front, customers have rated the Nano 4/5. Most customers who have reviewed the car in the past few months have been extremely happy and have called it a great value for money and a must-buy for city drives. One customer says that while the 2011 variant of the Nano wasn’t too great, the 2012 variant is pretty and returns around 16-19 kmpl on city roads. Another customer reports 18kmpl on city roads and 23 kmpl on highways – both tested with the AC on. Without the AC, the returned economy is likely to be better. One customer reports 25kmpl without AC and 22kmpl with AC; both of which are pretty great numbers for a car. Another Nano 2012 customer who has driven over 10,000 kilometers reports 23-25 kmpl on city roads and around 27-29 kmpl on highways. I’m not sure if this was with the AC on since it looks to be pretty much on the high side. Overall though, you can expect the Nano 2012 to return between 16-22 kmpl on city roads and 23-25 kmpl on highways with the AC on.

Olx has not been very useful in studying the Nano. Most customers who have put their car up for sale have not indicated the mileage. And those that have done have been pretty generous – they claim between 25-26 kmpl on city roads which is not unbelievable, but you get the feeling it is being exaggerated a bit.

Anyway, there you have it. You can find a tabulated list of mileage reports from various sources below. Overall, the Nano looks like a great car to own from a fuel consumption perspective. Also, add the fact that it looks pretty slick and spacious on the inside, you have a definite buy.

Source	City roads (kmpl)	Highway roads (kmpl)
Official	25.4	28
Team BHP	15-17	—
Carwale	18-20	—
MouthShut	16-22	23-25
Olx	25-26	—

Renault Scala

The Scala is a new sedan from Renault built exclusively for the Indian market. The car shares its name with another variant built by the same company that is available in a number of other countries like Mexico, Egypt and Colombia. Anyway, coming back to the variant available in India, the Scala is built with a 1498cc 4-cylinder engine that delivers a max power of 99.1 PS and a torque maxing out at 134Nm at 4000RPM.

The car has a standard 5 speed manual transmission gear box with power steering offering close to 5.3 meters of turning radius. The fuel tank has a capacity of around 41 liters. Renault has priced the Scala at a price of Rs. 7.07 lakhs (ex-Delhi). The car is assembled at the Chennai plant and so if you are getting it from here, you could get it a little cheaper.

Manufacturer Claim on FE

Renault promises a pretty good mileage of 16.95 kmpl on the Scala on standard road conditions. According to the company, this should translate to around 13.5 kmpl on the city road conditions where you may be braking and shifting gears more often. Truth be told, this should be a pretty good figure for a 1500cc considering that even a lower spec’d Honda Brio returns only around 13 kmpl on city roads.

Customer Feedback

Carzy in its report points out that the Diesel variant of the Scala delivers close to 4 more kilometers for every liter of petrol compared to the Petrol variant. According to the website, the RxE and RxL Petrol variants deliver around 14.3 kmpl on city roads. The corresponding figure for the Diesel variant is around 18.4 kmpl on city roads.

CarandMe calls the design of the car “grappling and elegant” which is augmented by “luxurious finishing”. According to the website, the mileage delivered by the car is “appreciable” too what with around 12.7kmpl on city roads and 17kmpl on the highways. The corresponding figure for the Diesel variant has been stated to be around 17.7 kmpl for city and 22kmpl for highway conditions.

You may have known that the Renault Scala is just a modified version of the Nissan Sunny. MaxAbout in its review notes that while the Scala could have been the later entrant to the Indian market, it still is “bigger and better” than the Nissan cousin. The website goes on to call the Scala’s exteriors “very sophisticated and stylish”. On the fuel economy front, MaxAbout reports 12 kmpl on city roads and 18 kmpl on highways for the Petrol variant.

This is all I have got at the moment. There doesn’t seem to be many actual test drives and reviews of the car from a fuel economy perspective. Here is a tabulated list of all sources we have discussed so far.

Source	City Petrol/Diesel (kmpl)	Highways Petrol/Diesel (kmpl)
Official	–	16.95/21.64
Carzy	14.3/18.4	—
CarandMe	12.7/17.7	17/22
MaxAbout	12/–	18/–