THERE are no pretentious claims to beauty made here. All the machines on test are purely value based as such they offer minimum equipment and any passing shot at cosmetic appeal is just to spice up the package a bit. So do not expect to see high gloss, figure hugging skirts, spoilers, crystal clear lamps, chrome, fine grain leather upholstery, etc, more so since being confined to the Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 5.5 lakh bracket does not help these cars avail of much preening and beauty treatments. Instead what this segment offers Joe Average is the advantage of a boot, better accommodation and in some cases a larger and more powerful engine.

If exterior appeal were the single quotient by which we measured the styling aspect it would have to be the Fiat Sienas that holds the aces here. Not only are the Italian lines, splices and corners the finest to gaze on, even the reworked rear end (once the bane of the Sienas) is the yummiest amongst this lot. The stretched crystal clear wraparound headlamps on either side of the grille lend the Siena its most striking aspect. There was however a strong aversion to the pastel orange shade. The 1.6 compared to the 1.2 Siena carries all the exterior trimmings like fog lamps, chromed grille surround, rubbing strips etc to break the monotony of the body panels and still stays well inside the cut-off price. The Siena 1.2 was also the only car in this shoot-out that did not come with a LHS rear-view mirror as standard accessory.

Close on the Siena's heels is the Ford Ikon 1.3 NXT CLXi. The Ikon cannot be called beautiful by a long shot. Butch, muscled and aggressive, the straight lines, beefy flanks and perennial crouching stance lend the Ikon a far more masculine character than its counterparts in this contest, a shift from the curvaceous paradigm. Clear lens lamps and a new honeycomb grille are the only refurbishments to the older package.
Making a choice between the Esteem, the Indigo and the Corsa was tough. The Esteem is quite dated desperately needing a facelift, not every angle can bring out the best in the Corsa and the Indigo is neither aggressive nor outrageously beautiful. From the bonnet to the boot of the Corsa the styling for each quarter fails to gel with each other to bind into a flush fused form. The front is well muscled but the slim and bare waistline fails to complement and carry on the toned look. The rear further detracts from where the front began. The Indigo's styling does not evoke much admiration and at the end of the day many perceive it to be an Indica with a boot. And do not drool over the alloy wheels you see in the pictures, these don't figure in the standard equation. The Esteem on the other hand with its straight lined, conservative look remains forever timeless, timeless as in stuck back in the eighties where arrowhead shapes with long rakish bonnets were the rage. The spoiler slapped onto the boot does lend it a hint of raciness an aspect better defined by the rocket ship of an engine it hides beneath the covers.

Interiors are a mixed bag and no single car here would hit a perfect ten. Judging from the aesthetics and feel it is the Ikon which looks and feels the most pleasing. A well-appointed console sporting white on black dials including a tachometer look the smartest of the lot. Knobs on the centre console as well as for the power windows are easy to twiddle, fall close at hand and feel like they could be fiddled with for ages. Quality of construction is first rate and we simply loved the thunk of the knobs and switches smoothly falling into place.

The Siena is next on the list and though both the 1.2 and the 1.6 have the same dashboard layout, the 1.2 lacks the sportiness that only a well-appointed instrument console can provide. The green on white dials with red pointers of the 1.6 are racy but garish and could do with better colour coding. The silver aluminium finish for the dash is a nice touch. Dull upholstery could do with a makeover, lighter shades would brighten the interiors and complement the bright exteriors. This would also make the Siena more spacious and airy. Like the Esteem whose interiors though too dated are spruced up by bright creamy upholstery that livens them up and gives it a roomier feel. A fake wood surround for the centre console and around the instrument binnacle could be left out of the equation.

The Indigo interior like the exteriors is quite uninspiring thanks to the prodigious expanse of dull plastic. Faux carbon fibre inserts and a smart instrument binnacle jazz up an otherwise monotonous dash. The Corsa on the other hand sports the simplest of interiors though the upholstery is quite drab and after a while gets murkier. The dash presents a clean uncluttered appearance and exudes an excessively plastic sheen.

Overall it is the Ford Ikon 1.3 Nxt CLXi that tops the style quotient with a shape that sets it completely apart from the rest of the lot which vie to be curvaceous and seductive. An almost perfectly executed interior adds up the equation with the Siena 1.6 following close on the Ikons heels. The Corsa, Indigos and the Esteems follow respectively.