Which mid-size sedan is worth buying? To know this, read this comparison of Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Hyundai Verna and Honda City.
When the question arises of choosing the best sedan from the three awesome ones, you are bound to get perplexed. After all, the City, Verna and Ciaz have been shuffling the top 3 slots among themselves for quite some years now. With the upgraded City and Verna out in the market and Ciaz begging for an update, let’s dig deep and find out how they fare against each other? Read on.
Exterior & Dimension
The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz has started to show off its age and needs skin-deep changes to stand in the queue of modern rivals – City and Verna. While the Verna exudes sportiness, the City gets a mature design which comprehends the timelessness associated with the Honda sedan.
Let’s have a look at the proportions of each car to know which is more spacious.
| Measurements | Maruti Ciaz | Hyundai Verna | Honda City 2020 |
| Length | 4490mm | 4440mm | 4549mm |
| Width | 1730mm | 1729mm | 1748mm |
| Height | 1485mm | 1475mm | 1489mm |
| Wheelbase | 2650mm | 2600mm | 2600mm |
| Bootspace | 510-litres | 480-litres | 506-litres |
The City is the longest, widest and tallest sedan here while Ciaz has the maximum wheelbase. To seat three in the rear, the City is the best car with the biggest width followed by the Ciaz and Verna. The Maruti sedan also gets the biggest boot here, slightly bigger than the City 2020.
Interior
Among the three, the cabin of the Honda City feels the most premium and upmarket. The soft-touch leatherette upholstery on the dashboard along with glossy faux wood insert looks plush. The Verna’s cabin imbibes the same sporty character adorn by its exterior. It gets red-accents on the air-con vents and seats along with a digital display.
The Ciaz, on the other hand, has a simple layout but the use of lighter shades inside makes it look graceful. However, the simplicity of Ciaz in today’s times may not get well with young buyers.
Engine & Performance
| Petrol | Maruti Ciaz | Hyundai Verna | Honda City |
| Engine | 1.5L | 1.5L & 1.0L Turbo | 1.5L |
| Power/Torque | 103.25bhp / 138Nm | 113bhp / 144Nm, 118bhp / 171Nm | 121PS / 145Nm |
| Transmission | 5-speed MT, 4-speed AT | 6-speed MT, 7-speed DCT | 6-speed MT, 7-speed CVT |
| Mileage | 20kmpl (MT), 20kmpl (AT) | 17.7kmpl & 19.2kmpl | 17.8kmpl (MT), 18.4kmpl (AT) |
In the petrol section, Honda City emerges champion with excellent output numbers, while in terms of certified mileage Maruti Ciaz surges ahead of the two.
| Diesel | Hyundai Verna | Honda City |
| Engine | 1.5L | 1.5L |
| Power/Torque | 113bhp / 250Nm | 100PS / 200Nm |
| Transmission | 6-speed MT, 6-speed AT | 6-speed MT |
| Mileage | 25.0kmpl (MT), 21.3kmpl (AT) | 24.1kmpl |
In the diesel cordon, the Verna finishes first with better mileage and varied transmission choices. Ciaz is not offered in diesel.
Features
Under creature comforts too, it’s the 2020 City which comes loaded with features such as LEDs in headlamps, DRLs and tail lamps. It gets ambient lighting, Amazon Alexa remote control, connected car technology allowing remote operation such as engine start and door lock-unlock. An 8-inch touchscreen unit is offered which supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The Verna gets wireless charging, ventilated front seats, sunroof, hands-free boot opening, tyre pressure monitoring system, front parking sensors, cruise control, electrochromic IRVM, engine start/stop, rear AC vents, USB chargers (front & rear), 8inch touchscreen unit and many more.
Maruti Suzuki Ciaz gets LED headlamps and fog lamps, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, auto AC, passive keyless entry with push-button, cruise control and a few more. It misses out on in-trend features such as a sunroof.
Safety
The 2020 City is packed with six airbags, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), ABS with EBD, Lane Watch camera which records from a camera mounted on the left ORVM, and ISOFIX child seat anchors.
Contrarily, Verna gets a steering adaptive guideline, six airbags, TPMS, ABS with EBD, headlamp with cornering function, front parking sensors, ESC and VSM (vehicle stability management).
The Ciaz falls short on safety features as well where the competition gets six airbags, it gets only dual front ones. ABS with EBD, Isofix child seat anchors, electronic stability program with hill hold, reverse parking camera and reverse parking sensors are of the other feature on offer.
Price
| Prices (ex-showroom) | ||
| Maruti Ciaz | Hyundai Verna | Honda City |
| Rs 8.31-11.09 lakh | Rs 9.30-15.09 lakh | Rs 10.89-14.64 lakh |
The base petrol manual prices begin from Rs 8.31 lakh, Rs 9.30 lakh and 10.89 lakh for Ciaz, Verna and City correspondingly. Moreover, the AT trims start from Rs 9.97 lakh (Ciaz), Rs 11.95 lakh (Verna) and Rs 12.19 lakh (City). Though priced on the higher side you get proper CVT gearbox with City and 7-speed DCT for Verna, while Ciaz offers a 4-speed torque converter as an automatic option.
Verdict
If you want a no-nonsense sedan which offers good space, mileage and comfort, the Ciaz is the best bet for you. Although you miss out on certain features and the outright performance as the competition, you get the sedan at a considerably lesser price. However, if you want to make a style statement along with practicality, the City 2020 should be your choice. It is the best option even when you wish to be chauffeur-driven. Those who want a sporty looking sedan inside and out, the Verna is the option to go for. It is the jack of all trades.
