The premium hatchback started with the launch of the then Hyundai i20 in 2014. It became an instant success and thus Maruti Suzuki followed suit the very next year with the launch of its NEXA branded Baleno. Premium hatchbacks have become a bridge between the entry-level hatches and full-sized sedans.
Despite bearing the “premium” tag, prospective customers are still keen on going for the car that provides with the highest mileage figures and who else to do it better than Maruti Suzuki. All the cars in this segment provide an average mileage of 18 KMPL which helps cater to the masses. The prominent premium hatchbacks on sale in India are Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Hyundai Elite i20, Tata Altroz, Volkswagen Polo and Honda Jazz(BS6 coming soon).
Maruti Suzuki Baleno is the best selling premium hatchback in India and has been leading the pack for a long time now. 2020 Baleno is available only in petrol and petrol hybrid variants in its BS6 complaint state.
All variants are powered by a 1.2L petrol engine and the hybrid variants get an added 48V Lithium-Ion battery for added mileage. The gearboxes on offer are a 5-Speed manual and a CVT and are priced from Rs. 5.63 lakh to Rs. 8.96 lakh(Ex-Showroom Delhi). 2020 Maruti Suzuki Baleno returns a mileage of 19.56-23.87 KMPL.
Variant | Price Ex-Showroom Delhi | Engine | Performance (Power/Torque) | Mileage (ARAI certified) |
Sigma | Rs. 5,63,602 | 1.2L petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113 Nm | 21.01 KMPL |
Delta | Rs. 6,44,612 | 1.2L petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113 Nm | 21.01 KMPL |
Zeta | Rs. 7,01,112 | 1.2L petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113 Nm | 21.01 KMPL |
Delta Smart Hybrid | Rs. 7,33,412 | 1.2L petrol + 48V Lithium-Ion battery | 88.5 bhp/ 113 Nm | 23.87 KMPL |
Alpha | Rs. 7,64,112 | 1.2L petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113 Nm | 21.01 KMPL |
Delta Automatic | Rs. 7,76,612 | 1.2L petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.56 KMPL |
Zeta Smart Hybrid | Rs. 7,89,912 | 1.2L petrol + 48V Lithium-Ion battery | 88.5 bhp/ 113 Nm | 23.87 KMPL |
Zeta Automatic | Rs. 8,33,112 | 1.2L petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.56 KMPL |
Alpha Automatic | Rs. 8,96,112 | 1.2L petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.56 KMPL |
Tata Altroz is the latest addition in this segment and thus comes with the most number of variants on offer to woo in customers.It comes in an insane 20 variants and surely does cover a lot of ground here. The Altroz gets an in-house developed duo of engines, namely Revotron petrol and Revotroq diesel.
The 1.2L Revotron petrol engine is available in 11 variants and is priced from Rs. 5.29 to Rs. 7.74lakh(Ex-Showroom Delhi). All of the petrol variants return a mileage of 19.05 KMPL.
Variant | Price Ex-Showroom Delhi | Engine | Performance Power/Torque) | Mileage (ARAI certified) |
XE | Rs. 5,29,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XE RHYTM | Rs. 5,54,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XM | Rs. 6,15,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XM STYLE | Rs. 6,49,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XM RHYTM | Rs. 6,54,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XM RHYTM+STYLE | Rs. 6,79,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XT | Rs. 6,84,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XT LUXE | Rs. 7,23,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XZ | Rs. 7,44,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XZ(O) | Rs. 7,69,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
XZ URBAN | Rs. 7,74,000 | 1.2L petrol | 86 bhp/ 113 Nm | 19.05 KMPL |
The 1.5L Revotroq diesel engine is high on both performance and efficiency. Tata Altroz diesel is priced from Rs. 6.99 lakh to Rs. 8.39 lakh(Ex-Showroom Delhi) and returns an impressive mileage of 25.11 KMPL in all variants.
Variant | Price Ex-Showroom Delhi | Engine | Performance (Power/Torque) | Mileage (ARAI certified) |
XE | Rs. 6,99,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XE RHYTM | Rs. 7,24,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XM | Rs. 7,75,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XM STYLE | Rs. 8,09,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XM RHYTM | Rs. 8,14,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XM RHYTM+STYLE | Rs. 8,39,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XT | Rs. 8,44,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XT LUXE | Rs. 8,83,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XZ | Rs. 9,04,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XZ(O) | Rs. 9,29,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
XZ URBAN | Rs. 9,34,000 | 1.5L turbo diesel | 88.7 bhp/ 200 Nm | 25.11 KMPL |
Volkswagen Polo is the sole German hatchback in this segment that has made it to the big leagues.Polo is also the car that revived the hot hatch craze in India with its GT and TSI line-up. 2020 Polo is available only in petrol variants and is powered by a duo of engines- 1.0L MPI and 1.0L TSI. The gearboxes on offer are 5-Speed manual, 5-Speed automatic and 6-Speed automatic.
2020 Volkswagen Polo is priced from Rs. 5.82 lakh to Rs. 9.59 lakh. The 1.0L MPI equipped variants returns a mileage of 17.75 KMPL and the 1.0L TSI equipped variants return 18.24 KMPL.
Variant | Price Ex-Showroom Delhi | Engine | Performance (Power/Torque) | Mileage (ARAI certified) |
Trendline | Rs. 5,82,500 | 1.0L MPI Petrol | 74.9 bhp/ 95 Nm | 17.75 KMPL |
Comfortline Plus | Rs. 6,76,500 | 1.0L MPI Petrol | 74.9 bhp/ 95 Nm | 17.75 KMPL |
Highline Plus | Rs. 8,02,300 | 1.0L TSI Petrol | 108.5 bhp/ 175 Nm | 18.24 KMPL |
Highline Plus AT | Rs. 9,12,600 | 1.0L TSI Petrol | 108.5 bhp/ 175 Nm | 18.24 KMPL |
GT | Rs. 9,59,900 | 1.0L TSI Petrol | 108.5 bhp/ 175 Nm | 18.24 KMPL |
TSI Edition | Rs. 7,89,000 | 1.0L TSI Petrol | 108.5 bhp/ 175 Nm | 18.24 KMPL |
Hyundai Elite i20 is the second most popular premium hatchback in India, of course, after the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. It is also the only other hatchback that has come close to that of the Baleno in terms of sales figures.
2020 Hyundai i20 is offered in 10 variants with both petrol and diesel engines. The petrol engine on offer is a 1.2L unit that is coupled to a 5-Speed manual or a CVT and the diesel engine comes equipped with a 6-Speed manual transmission.
The 1.2L equipped petrol variants of 2020 Elite i20 comes in 6 variants and is priced from Rs. 5.59 lakh to Rs. 9.21 lakh. Hyundai Elite i20 petrol returns a mileage of 17.4-18.6 KMPL.
Variant | Price Ex-Showroom Delhi | Engine | Performance (Power/Torque) | Mileage (ARAI certified) |
Era | Rs. 5,59,693 | 1.2L Petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113.75 Nm | 18.6 KMPL |
Magna + | Rs. 6,49,950 | 1.2L Petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113.75 Nm | 18.6 KMPL |
Sportz + | Rs. 7,36,693 | 1.2L Petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113.75 Nm | 18.6 KMPL |
Asta(O) | Rs. 8,30,993 | 1.2L Petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113.75 Nm | 18.6 KMPL |
Sportz + CVT | Rs. 8,31,693 | 1.2L Petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113.75 Nm | 17.4 KMPL |
Asta(O) CVT | Rs. 9,20,993 | 1.2L Petrol | 81.8 bhp/ 113.75 Nm | 17.4 KMPL |
Diesel variants have been discontinued in India for now and it is because of the BS6 norms. It will most probably be available by the end of 2020 or early 2021 with BS6 compliant engines. Elite i20 diesel variants are priced from Rs. 6.97 lakh to Rs. 9.41 lakh. All the diesel variants return a mileage of 22.54 KMPL.
Variant | Price Ex-Showroom Delhi | Engine | Performance (Power/Torque) | Mileage (ARAI certified) |
Era | Rs. 6,97,803 | 1.4L Diesel | 89 bhp/ 220 Nm | 22.54 KMPL |
Magna + | Rs. 7,70,803 | 1.4L Diesel | 89 bhp/ 220 Nm | 22.54 KMPL |
Sportz + | Rs. 8,46,103 | 1.4L Diesel | 89 bhp/ 220 Nm | 22.54 KMPL |
Asta(O) | Rs. 9,41,003 | 1.4L Diesel | 89 bhp/ 220 Nm | 22.54 KMPL |
Jazz is one of the most compact, yet spacious cars to come from Honda. The highlighting factor of this hatchback is its butter-smooth petrol engine and the amount of cabin space on offer. Honda Jazz is offered in 8 variants in both petrol and diesel variants and is powered by 1.2L petrol and 1.5L diesel engines.
The gearboxes on offer are a 5-Speed manual for the petrol variants and a 6-Speed manual for the diesel variants. 2020 Honda Jazz is yet to be released, but expect it to carry forward only the petrol engine and the diesel engines will most probably be discontinued due to stricter BS6 norms.
Honda is known for its smooth and efficient petrol engines and the 1.2L unit in the petrol Jazz is a tried and tested one. Petrol variants of Jazz are priced from Rs. 7.45 lakh to Rs. 9.28 lakh and returns a mileage of 18.2 KMPL.
Variant | Price Ex-Showroom Delhi | Engine | Performance (Power/Torque) | Mileage (ARAI certified) |
V | Rs. 7,45,000 | 1.2L Petrol | 88.7 bhp/ 110 Nm | 18.2 KMPL |
VX | Rs. 7,89,000 | 1.2L Petrol | 88.7 bhp/ 110 Nm | 18.2 KMPL |
V CVT | Rs. 8,65,000 | 1.2L Petrol | 88.7 bhp/ 110 Nm | 18.2 KMPL |
VX CVT | Rs. 9,09,000 | 1.2L Petrol | 88.7 bhp/ 110 Nm | 18.2 KMPL |
Exclusive CVT | Rs. 9,28,000 | 1.2L Petrol | 88.7 bhp/ 110 Nm | 18.2 KMPL |
The i-DTEC diesel engines are equipped in three variants of Honda Jazz and are priced from Rs. 8.16 lakh to Rs. 9.40 lakh. The diesel Jazz returns a mileage of 27.3 KMPL in all variants. Power and torque are both higher than its petrol counterpart.
Variant | Price Ex-Showroom Delhi | Engine | Performance (Power/Torque) | Mileage (ARAI certified) |
S | Rs. 8,16,500 | 1.5L Diesel | 98.6 bhp/ 200 Nm | 27.3 KMPL |
V | Rs. 8,96,500 | 1.5L Diesel | 98.6 bhp/ 200 Nm | 27.3 KMPL |
VX | Rs. 9,40,500 | 1.5L Diesel | 98.6 bhp/ 200 Nm | 27.3 KMPL |