Rising fuel prices and a need for high-value utility bring small diesels into focus. We pit the revised Esteem and relaunched Fiat Petra against the hot-selling Tata Indigo to find out who’s boss.
GROUP TEST BY Autocar India

FIAT PETRA 1.9D ELX
List price Rs 6.09 lakh*
Top speed 150kph
0-100kph 22.01 sec
Kpl 13.4 (overall)
For Ride and handling, solid build
Against Rear seat, price

TATA INDIGO LX
List price Rs 5.12 lakh
Top speed 155kph
0-100kph 18.25sec
Kpl 13.95 (overall)
For Space, value for money
Against Gearshift, overall quality

MARUTI ESTEEM Di
List price Rs 5.16 lakh
Top speed 143kph
0-100kph 18.89sec
Kpl 16.35 (overall)
For Reliability
Against Tall gearing,
cramped interiors
*Ex-showroom, Bangalore.
Indigo and Esteem prices, ex-showroom, Mumbai

Remember the launch of the Indigo? It took the market completely by storm. The script was simple: launch a car at an irresistible price and wrap it in an effective marketing campaign. The order-books have since overflowed. The other reason for the Indigo diesel’s success is that it's never had serious competition. Until now.

Maruti has just re-launched its ageing Esteem with a new look and more features. Two years after the Siena turbo-diesel died, Fiat is back in the mid-size diesel hunt with the Petra. And Fiat's timing is spot-on. Launched amid a volley of fuel price hikes, a diesel mid-size car could be just what economy-conscious families want. However, customers are more demanding now. They want the practicality and economy of diesel, but also the performance and refinement of a petrol. Diesels rack up very high mileages, so they must be built to go beyond the moon. We threw these three diesel mid-sizers against each other
to find out which one best fits the bill.

A new front and rear mark the revised Esteem, and the changes are quite effective, considering the decade-old design. A taller grille, large, clear lamps and a deep chin give the Esteem a ‘junior Baleno’ look.
At the rear, the lamps occupy the same area but have been redone in crystal-effect red, and the reversing lights are separate again. On all-independent suspension, the Esteem sits lowest of the three, and feels the least solidly built. A typically Japanese lightness of build and the lowest kerb weight mean it is the least suited to carrying a heavy diesel motor, but luckily Peugeot's TUD 5, weighing in at just 930kg, is among the lightest diesels anywhere.
The Petra diesel is essentially the Siena with a new name and a diesel engine — basically a Palio diesel with a boot. Based on Fiat's robust 178 'world car' platform, the Petra has been designed to chew up the worst of roads.
The hugely overbuilt, and reinforced chassis is solid enough to shame even some Mercs. It’s a tank of a car, with doors that close with a thunk, far more solid and tough than the others. The downside is a portly kerb weight, which affects performance and efficiency.
Also special is the Petra's suspension. The front end is conventional MacPherson strut, but a clever control arm keeps the geometry of the front wheels in check, making the car feel perfectly planted onto the road. The non-independent rear suspension features a torsion-axle, and there are anti-roll bars at both ends.
King of the sales charts, Tata's Indica-based Indigo is largely unchanged and has none of the new bits from the latest Indica. It feels tougher and more solid than the Esteem but not as much as the Petra. Built on a longer wheelbase than the Indica, the Indigo boasts multi-link independent suspension at the rear but otherwise a similar layout to the hatch.
The Indigo's design is the least cohesive though, the boot looking like an afterthought. The Indigo's nose differs from that of the Indica, especially after the latter underwent a minor facelift, which has not yet been incorporated in the saloon.

The interior design of the Petra remains unchanged from the Siena, from way back in 1998. The insides feel and look tough and functional, rather than pretty or luxurious. However, features include an ergonomically-placed, top-order Kenwood tape deck, a driver-oriented central console, simple but legible white-on-black dials, superb stalks, and vents you can open and close. The buttons are solid, hard-wearing plastic, and the high-quality, leather-wrapped helm now tilts. Sadly, the plastics still look cheap and shiny. There is good storage space, and the recess above the glovebox, though tacky-looking, is very useful. The Petra comes in two versions — the entry-level EL and the top-of-the-line ELX —which means you get features like a mock-wood-clad centre console in the latter.
Space in front is very generous, the Petra one of the few cars that allow tall drivers to take the seat far back. The seats themselves are average at best, and the rear seats in particular lack under-thigh support.
The Esteem's rear seat has evolved over time, and the rear seat has surprising under-thigh support. However, space for legs, shoulders and heads is scarce. You sit low, and getting in and out calls for some dexterity. It’s better in front: you still sit low, but the low dashboard and windscreen mean excellent visibility. We photographed a base model, so most frills are missing, but you do get the two-tone gearshift, silver-and-white dials and the height-adjustable driver's seat from the earlier model. The steering wheel gets a larger boss, but the rest is unchanged, bar the upholstery.
The Indigo's cabin is the widest, airiest and the most comfortable. It's long too, due to the extended wheelbase, and boasts the best cabin space. The front seats don't go too far back, but the flip side is great rear leg-room. Good seat height and back support at the rear also make it a great car to be chauffeured in. Up front though, things go downhill. The instrument pod is too Indica-like, the front seats, though comfortable, are not the best for tall drivers and the plastics look shabby, especially after the fresh, new Indica. Some may find the high dashboard obstructs vision. Still, there are highs, like the carbonfibre-look central console, high quality steering wheel, leather-covered gear-stick and the nice stalks.
The Indigo is as practical as the Petra, and also has lots of useful storage bins, though boot space betters only the Esteem. Plus, you get front and rear reading lamps on the top-of-the-line LX.

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