Compact they may be, but they are the biggest players in the market. Which car best combines small-car value with big-car talent?

This may look like a kindergarten play-ground, but trust us, it isn't. The six small hatches featured here are the most cut-throat competitors you'll see, battling for half of the one-million strong Indian car market. There's been a lot of action in this segment of late. The Alto has effectively bowed out of this fight with the discontinuation of its 1.1-litre engine. Maruti's strategy is to let the Wagon R and Zen do the jousting here and put the cheaper 800cc Alto in the same class as the Maruti 800. Four of the six cars here have had some sort of face-lift, to stay fresh and this makes a comparison between all these Rs 3-4 lakh hatches inevitable.
Many owners will use these small hatchbacks as their one and only car, in which case they'll be put to use as daily commuters, school buses, Sunday ride specials and holiday wagons. That's a big role to fill, and requires a lot of talent to be squeezed into a very small parking space.
Their paths to the hearts of Indian consumers are very different: some are compact and efficient, like the Maruti Zen. Some aim to feel comfortable and reassuringly large, like the Fiat Palio, Tata Indica and Opel Corsa Sail. Others, like the Hyundai Santro Xing and Maruti Wagon R thumb their noses at convention, and reach skywards for space.
Which of these is the best approach? Which car best executes these ideas? And which car strikes the right balance for a one-size-fits-all economy car?