Shoot Out - 4 Compact Cars
	Introduction        Styling        Drivetrain, Performance & Fuel Efficiency        Ride & Handling        Practicality        Technical Specifications        Decision Time        Review all variants of Fiat Palio        Review all variants of Ford Fusion        Review all variants of Hyundai Getz        Review all variants of Opel Corsa Sail Shootout by
FIAT PAILO vs FORD FUSION vs HYUNDAI GETZ vs OPEL CORSA SAIL - Practicality

Practicality in a small car! A few years back that would elicit roars of laughter. After all one bought a small car because he couldn’t afford a larger car, period. How things have changed! Congestion in our cities, smaller families and many other factors have contributed to make a hatchback the sensible option for the urban yuppie. All these cars will spend a majority of their life in the city, squeezing through gaps in traffic, squeezing into tight parking spaces never carrying more than two passengers. Honestly, do you really need a boot in these situations? Of the lot we have here the Fusion is by far the most sensible of the lot. Take interior space for starters. The Fusion boasts the best head, leg, knee and shoulder room of all the four and to top it all its boot is way bigger than the rest. Plus it has all these neat features such as the removable central arm rest with a huge storage bin in the rear, scooped out seat backs to improve rear seat space, storage space under the front passenger seat squab, deep map pockets in the doors, and numerous storage bins here there and everywhere. Even the loading sill is nice and low while the seats fold and tumble for a large flat loading bay. It has lights galore all over the place and 12V outlets to charge two phones simultaneously. Ergonomics of the Fusion are very good while the adjustable-for-height front seats are the best in class with excellent side support. All said and done this is a genuine five-seater with room for all the luggage and assorted knick-knacks. And it can be converted into an even more comfortable four seater by just putting into place the rear centre armrest/console! The Hyundai Getz cannot match either the space or the practicality of the Fusion; after all this is a hatch, a large hatch, but a hatch nevertheless. As far as hatches go the Getz has all her bases covered with a surprisingly spacious cabin which is very well finished at that. We all loved the soft touch plastics employed on the dash and door handles as well as the nice silver inserts on the door pads.

Opel Corsa Hyundai Getz

Interior space is generous and she can seat five adults in reasonable comfort at the rear. A neat touch is the recline-adjustable rear seats that also split fold 60:40 to liberate more boot space for longish objects. Boot space is good enough for one big suitcase and a couple of small bags and more than enough for the weekend getaway. What is the best part about the Getz is the interior space that it offers as compared to its exterior dimensions. Leg space is quite decent for both the front and the rear and the car can seat two tall persons one behind the other without much difficulty. The Palio Sport runs the Getz very close in terms of interior and boot space. However where the Palio falls behind is in the quality and design of the interiors that are just no patch on the Getz. The dated interiors are livened up by white faced dials, alloy pedals and silver coloured central console but compared to either the Fusion or the Getz this is might well be a generation behind. Though the boot of the Corsa is as big if not bigger than either the Palio or the Getz the rest of the car is extremely cramped. The Corsa is the smallest with the least leg, head, knee and shoulder room with the driver and passenger invariably rubbing shoulders and banging elbows. A little too intimate for most of us. Rear seat room is at a premium and carting five adults is a right royal squeeze. In fact after the others the Corsa begins to feel a little claustrophobic. We have had the Corsa for over a year during our long term testing and this was the one thing that rankled the most - the lack of space. However what the Corsa Sail has is oodles of boot space as compared to the others. Interior quality isn’t great either and it seems the fit and finish levels have dropped over the years. The grey plastics are drab and make for a gloomy cabin while the cramped footwells (resulting in extremely close spacing of the pedals) of the Corsa have been well documented. Even the cabin design can’t match up to that of the Palio’s, let alone the Getz or the Fusion. So for sheer utility and practicality, the vote would go to the Fusion without any doubt while the Getz would score over the others for having the right balance.

Ford Fusion Fiat Palio