With the entry of the Renault Kwid, prospective buyers have more choices in the burgeoning entry-level hatchback segment.

The Renault Kwid comes with raised ground clearance that gives an SUV like look and will face-off against the small car segment's front-runners such as Maruti Alto and Hyundai Eon.

The highlight of the Renault Kwid is the price that starts at Rs 2.56 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Now, pricing alone is good enough to make a dent in the sales of Alto and the Eon. On top of it, the Renault Kwid seems to have packed enough in its neatly stylised body to put up a good fight.

The question that arises is which one of the three - Renault Kwid or Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 or Hyundai Eon- is the best? Let's take a look at the detailed specifications of all the three cars.

Engine specification

The Renault Kwid is just out from the oven. Under the hood, the Kwid is powered by a 799cc 3-cylinder petrol motor, which is tuned to churn out 53bhp at 5,678rpm and a peak torque of 72Nm at 4,386rpm mated a 5-speed manual gearbox.

India's best seller car, the Alto 800, is powered by an F8D 796cc 3-cylinder petrol engine, which generates an output of 47bhp at 6,000 rpm and 69 Nm at 3,500 rpm torque. The engine comes paired to five-speed manual transmission.

On the other hand, the Hyundai Eon is powered by 814cc 3-cylinder engine that develops 55bhp at 5,500rpm and 75Nm at 4000rpm mated to 5-speed manual transmission.

In terms of power, the Hyundai Eon has a slight edge over the Kwid, which is just 2bhp. The Torque figure also in favour of the Eon with 75Nm while the Kwid comes with 72Nm. The Hyundai Eon and the Renault Kwid are competing neck and neck here while the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is underpowered.

Specifications Renault Kwid Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 Hyundai Eon
Engine 3-cyl, 799cc 3-cyl, 796cc 3-cyl, 814cc
Power 53bhp @ 5678rpm 47bhp @ 6000rpm 55bhp @ 5500rpm
Torque 72Nm @ 4386rpm 69Nm @ 3500rpm 75Nm @ 4000rpm
Transmission 5-speed manual 5-speed manual 5-speed manual

Dimension

Renault Kwid measures 3,679mm in length, 1,579 mm in width and 1,478mm in height with a wheelbase of 2422mm. It has 180mm of ground clearance and comes with 13-inch wheels.

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 measures 3,395 mm in length and 1,490 mm in width and 1,475mm in height with 2360mm wheelbase. The hatchback has 160mm of ground clearance and runs on 12-inch wheels.

Hyundai Eon measures 3,515mm in length, 1,500mm in width and 1,510mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,380mm. It has 170mm of ground clearance and runs on 13-inch wheels.

he Renault Kwid leads in length and width which means better interior space over the other two cars. Hyundai Eon leads in height owing to its tallboy design. Renault Kwid has the class leading 180mm of ground clearance which is spot on for Indian road conditions. Kwid and Eon run in 13inch wheels. Though the wheel size is competitive in the segment, 14-inch wheels would have been ideal for Kwid since there is large wheel well for the car.

Fuel Efficiency

The Renault Kwid comes with an ARAI-rated fuel efficiency of 25.17kmpl while the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 returns 22.74kmpl. The Hyundai Eon returns 21.1kmpl. The Renault Kwid steers ahead of both the other cars with class leading fuel efficiency.

Price

Renault Kwid Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 Hyundai Eon
Std 2.56 lakh Std 2.56 lakh D-lite 3.14 lakh
RXE 2.88 lakh LX 2.92 lakh D-lite+ 3.40 lakh
RXE (O) 2.94 lakh LXI 3.15 lakh Era+ 3.54 lakh
RXL 3.11 lakh LXI airbag 3.31 lakh Magna+ 3.85 lakh
RXT 3.44 lakh VXI 3.28 lakh Sportz 4.13 lakh
RXT (O) 3.53 lakh VXI airbag 3.47 lakh - -

All prices ex-showroom, Delhi