The power and torque figures also vary just
like the cylinders. The Hyundai develops 72 PS and 180 Nm, whereas the Honda
churns out 100 PS and a healthy 200 Nm. The extra power and torque of the Honda
give it excellent driveability in the city and also on the highway. You can
shift to a higher gear quickly and stay there without playing around with the
gearbox. The Hyundai, on the other hand, has nice driveability in the city; on
the highway, however, you have to shift down in order to overtake. Both the
engines are quite smooth and have very nice power and torque delivery, but the
Honda is a step ahead of the Hyundai because of its extra output.
Rear
seat of the Xcent gets an arm rest, seat is reclined a bit and space is
generous
The five-speed manual gearboxes in both
these cars are sensibly geared to ensure excitement up to 60 km/h, after which
both the cars simply take it easy and cruise at a leisurely pace to 100 km/h
and further on to their respective top speeds. But performance is of secondary
importance for these cars. People prefer fuel efficiency to going fast in these
cars, and it is here where many Indians would decide which one to buy. A litre
of diesel will last for almost 17 kilometres (overall) in case of the Hyundai
Xcent, whereas the more powerful Honda will keep going for another 4.5
kilometres, returning a segment-leading, real-world fuel efficiency of 21.5
km/l (overall). Both the cars are good to drive in the city, but on the highway
the Xcent feels slightly underpowered as it takes a lot of time to go anywhere.
The
Amaze gets class-leading rear seat space. The center arm rest is useful
The Xcent and Amaze come with McPherson
front and torsion beam rear suspension, but both behave very differently. The
Hyundai’s softer suspension set-up gives it good ride quality on rough and
bumpy roads, but it takes away a bit of handling. On the other hand, the Honda
is extremely well-mannered. It has excellent ride quality and handling
throughout.
The steering, just like every other small
car, is light in both the Xcent and Amaze. However, only the Honda has a
communicative steering. In corners, the Xcent felt a bit nervous as the light
steering was not the most communicative whereas the Honda’s perfectly weighted
steering was precisely telling me what was happening. Body-roll is another
factor that is associated more with the Xcent than the Amaze. The Xcent’s
brakes are just like its steering, they work fine, though I don’t really know
what is happening as there is very little feel. The Honda’s brakes work
perfectly well and have appropriate amount of feedback.
The
407-litre boot is the best in class and is well shaped to accommodate plenty of
luggage. High sill might be an issue though
Hyundai have priced the Xcent very
competitively. The diesel variant starts at $9,410 and goes up to $12,560 (both
ex showroom, Pune). The Honda Amaze is priced slightly higher than the Xcent
with the basic Amaze costing $10,445 and the top-of-the- line $12,790 (both ex
showroom, Pune). The Amaze maybe priced higher than the Xcent, but all its
diesel variants come with ABS as standard whereas Hyundai offer ABS only on the
mid and top-end trims of the Xcent.
Honda’s
managed to squeeze out 400 liters of boot space from this sub-4m long car
The Hyundai Xcent is a nice car; nay, a
very improved car. It can seat four persons comfortably, has better ergonomics
than the Honda and comes loaded with probably the highest number of features in
the segment. Besides, it has a simple yet classy dashboard, better quality
interior and huge service network. Thus, if your decision to buy a compact
sedan depends upon these features, then there is nothing better than the
Hyundai Xcent in the market. However, if you can overlook the engine noise and
the less number of features, you can opt for the Honda Amaze as it is a better
handling car with good ride quality and comfort and feels at home both in the
city and on the highway.
