1st Ford Fusion
Price: Rs 6.00 lakh
Power: 99.5bhp
0-100kph:13.01 secs Kpl: 11.13

This uniquely styled vehicle is back after a short visit to the designer's parlour and now it's not only got a fresher face, but also a more attractive sticker price, which makes it great value for money. It now offers more for less and retains its strong qualities like space, comfort, performance, driving dynamics, practicality, refinement and build quality. All these attributes put together, make it the best all-rounder in this contest.

2nd Chevrolet SRV
Price: Rs 7.88 lakh
Power: 99.5bhp
0-100kph: 13.25 secs Kpl: 12.02

Of the trio, this is the newest one on the block and its got the looks. It's the one we want to look at and be seen with. And as it's got such a sexy rear it's default parking position is the rear facing the road. But given its somewhat rough and slow-to-respond engine and the sticky gearbox, one needs a bit of coaxing to get behind the wheel. It's really sad that after devoting so much on the looks, the running gear got neglected.

3rd Hyundai Accent Viva
Price: Rs 6.58 lakh
Power: 101bhp
0-100kph: 12.74 secs Kpl: 11.08

The Viva is a hatch version of the Accent saloon, so shares the same genes. This means it has inherited most of the qualities and features, both good and bad. It's got some style and some space, some performance and quite a bit of pace, but despite giving a damn good account of itself, the Viva eventually loses this race. That's because it's just not as striking looking as the SRV, nor is it as assured at the limit as the Fusion.

Ford Fusion
Ford has just given the Fusion a minor facelift and revised the pricing, bringing it back into focus and making it a more attractive buy. The Fusion, which is based on the same platform as the Fiesta hatch sold in the UK, was an unknown element when it was launched. Not many took to its unconventional looks. But like its two rivals in this test, it's a uniquely styled five-door car and now with the new more sensible pricing, it's back in the reckoning.

Masala mix
As its name suggests, this Ford is a 'fusion' of different body styles – a mix of a big hatchback, SUV and MUV. But it suffers from no identity crisis and plays the role of an urban family vehicle that offers the features and driving experience of a car, along with the practicality of an SUV.
In its second innings, the Fusion now sports a slightly new face with prominent rectangular openings incorporated into the new bumper. The protruding L-shaped accents on the fog lamp panel nicely merge with the new aggressive cladding that runs along the sides. The grille and openings in the bumper have a new rectangular mesh and the blinkers that are inbuilt into the headlamps to make them look bigger and taller, also have a new permanent orange tint. But this does not work well, just like some garish eyeliner or eye shadows don't.

The interior has also seen some change and the brighter two-tone colour scheme has livened things up, though the stripes on the seat fabric look a little odd. There is also a new soft-touch rubber finish with a unique texture that covers the top half and centre of the dash, which we like. Interestingly, the entire instrument cluster has been borrowed from the Fiesta. The Fusion undoubtedly has the most airy and practical interior of the three and there are also 10 innovative stowage spaces, the best ones being the door pockets stylishly cut into the pads, flip-top box on top of dash whose grooved cover pops open at the push of a button to reveal a deep storage cavity, front passenger under seat stowage and the open slotted stowage area above the glove box. The Fusion's interior abounds with examples of innovative design and attention to detail with another nice touch being the recessed and smartly-designed wheel-well arches that are shaped to make big bottoms comfortable! Everything inside the Fusion feels well put together and the additional height generated by the nature of the design, makes getting in and out very easy and also provides a lot of headroom. The Fusion also comes loaded with many features and conveniences making it the most user-friendly of the three and a great place to spend long hours.

Rapid runner
The Fusion's 1.6-litre Duratec engine is a smooth operator and quite easily better than the powerplants of its rivals. Its driven by wire. The ETC (electronic throttle control) ensures rapid response with lesser vibrations and harshness. The engine delivers its power in a smooth and linear manner and though it loses out to the Viva in the 0-100 sprint, it feels much more refined. It is mated to a slick-shifting gearbox that draws out the power evenly, but in the interests of fuel economy on highway runs, Ford has put in a taller fifth gear. But in-gear acceleration and drivability in lower gears, is on par with the others.
Being a vehicle with some SUV like attributes, the Fusion is obviously the tallest of the three and rides on 15-inch wheels that are only available with the option pack on the SRV. But in spite its tall stance and higher ground clearance, the Fusion is impressively agile around curves and the body roll is also quite limited. Its handling is predictable and the Fusion feels nicely-planted and stable even at high speeds or on bad roads. The ride is also good and the long-travel suspension competently irons out most undulations and deformities in the road. The brakes are clearly the best of the lot with good stopping power and nice pedal feel. But sadly, like the SRV, ABS is not available, even as an option.

Chevrolet SRV
The SRV was launched recently and though it has not exactly set the sales charts on fire, reports suggest that it is doing well in cities like Bangalore, where well-to-do young executives have taken a liking to it. It was also love at first sight for us and the moment we set our eyes on the SRV, we felt that GM really need to be complimented for bringing such a different and smart looking vehicle here.

Sexy rear view
The SRV has got to have one of the prettiest backsides in town. In fact it's got such an attractive arse that you would want to cover it if the likes of Mr Bin Laden or Gen Mush come visiting. They are known to attack from behind and we wouldn't want to put the SRV's rear end 'in the line of fire' (no pun intended).
While the rest of the styling is not as inspiring as the rear, it’s in keeping with the sporty theme and the designers have done extremely well in concealing the fact that the SRV is based on the Optra, and is basically its five-door cousin. The overall proportions are very pleasing and GM are offering the SRV with an option pack that includes a rear spoiler and 15-inch alloys, that go very well with the sporty character. But these make the SRV an even more expensive proposition, which in any case costs a lot more than its two rivals.

Lacklustre lingerie
The insides of the SRV are nice and neat. Everything is in the right place and almost all of it feels good and is well finished and put together. The passenger compartment is spacious and comfortable and the rear seat invites you to spread out and even three can be seated in comfort.The short sloping hatch and short overhangs at the rear, result in a somewhat smallish boot.But the split rear seat folds down to release a lot of more space. The cabin even has some sporting elements like the round chrome surrounds on the A/C vents and the strip running across the length of the dash, and also the twin silver bands on the four spoke steering wheel. But, it just doesn't quite match up to the expectations that build as you walk up from behind and get into the SRV. It's like going out with Katrina or Kareena, or any of those girls you see walking down the ramp rhythmically swaying their tight bottoms, and then discovering that their inner wear is white and as plain as a nun's!

All show, no go
Put the show on the road, and you soon realise there is very little go. The same 1.6-litre engine that drives the Optra, resides under the bonnet of the SRV. It has been remapped, but this has not made much of a difference in the basic nature of the engine. It is a little hesitant initially like it's starving for fuel, which it is because GM have tried to get the most out of every drop of petrol, and then when it wakes up it booms and shakes and leisurely begins to build revs. The SRV is not only the slowest to the 100 mark, but its sticky and stubborn gearbox takes all the fun out of getting there. Shifting is such a painful exercise that you wish GM had plonked in an auto-box instead. But wouldn't that raise the cost further, affect fuel economy and thus sales, and let us not even mention the Indian consumers unfathomable dislike for autos. Yep, let us just forget it and move on. To what? The steering that is precise but speaks badly. Now you can't have a pretty little thing that speaks like Mamta Banerjee, canyou?
But the ride is good and insulates you from all the bumps and deformities in the road quite well. And once you bring the SRV up to speed, it is rock solid and follows the driver's instructions quite obediently and also treads the chosen line. Its best on long sweeping corners and most comfortable cruising on open roads and highways, where you don’t have to change gears, which is such a relief. The brakes also play their part reasonably well but the pedal feel is vague making modulation difficult and leading to lock ups in panic stops. And sadly you can't do anything about this, as ABS is not available on the SRV even as an option! But you do get a driver’s side airbag as an option, something the other two don't offer. The SRV also beats both on fuel efficiency.

Hyundai VIVA

This one's been around the longest. In fact it was the first non-conventional hatch with sporty intents to be launched in India. And though it's not sold in large volumes it has its loyal fans and it's to the credit of Hyundai that they have stayed committed to the cause.

Not so different
The Viva is clearly based on the successful Accent saloon and shares most parts. What differentiates it is the long sloping hatch that culminates in a short stubby back. The rear lights and bumper are different too and the ribs on the bottom of the bumper, give the Viva a strong and muscular look. It also comes with 14 inch alloys and the front grille is different too and though the overall styling is clean and elegant, the Viva is beginning to look kind of familiar and old now.

Nothing special
The interiors of the Viva, are well not so special. Its spacious, sensible, well made and to some extent even cheerful. But it can't hold a candle to the other two. The imitation carbon-fibre finish on the dash and doors looks completely out of place and the steering wheel is also a completely corny affair. The instruments are legible and keep you updated with all the vital information, but unfortunatly everything is very plain looking, just like the easy to operate switchgear. What feels damn good though is the gear knob and the Viva is the only one here with both height adjustable driver's seat and steering wheel, which makes finding the ideal driving position a breeze. And whatever else the interior is not, it's bright and breezy. The door pockets are wide and deep and there are nice cup-holders on the dash that pop out at the push of a button, but there is hardly any other usable storage space other than the glove box, which is not too big in any case. What's really nice though is the foldable armrest on the driver's seat. Again the Viva is the only one to have it. The Viva also has a reasonable large boot but no splits in the rear seat.

Packs a punch
Get it on the road and the Viva throws some strong punches. Its 1.6-litre, 16-valve, DOHC engine is a free and willing revver that's always ready to race to the redline. It is quickest to breach the 0 to 100 barrier and the engine really comes into its own once it wakes up fully around 3000rpm. Though things get a little raucous at the upper limits of the rev range, the Viva is nowhere as grating as the SRV. The gearbox too is a delight with a light and precise shifter that makes it fun to navigate through the box. All the other controls like clutch, brake, and accelerator are also light and very user friendly. In fact the Viva is one of the easiest cars to drive and at slower speeds it also rides quite well with the suspension nicely suppressing and absorbing all undulations. Its really a great car to drive around town but as you head out and get onto faster roads where speeds rise, the softer and more comfort oriented suspension set-up of the Viva begins to show up. It feels jiggly and twitchy on bumps, especially those encountered while turning and the light steering only worsens matters by lightening up further. The Viva is also prone to a fair amount of torque steer and if you really push it hard into a curve then body roll can be detected. The front also depicts understeer and tends to sweep wide. When driven at the limit, the driver needs to feed in corrective inputs all the time and while this is entertaining for a skilled driver, a lesser one will have his hands full. The brakes also follow the norm and bite in eagerly initially, but at the limit in panic stops, it's this very eagerness that does them in, as they tend to lock up. But this can be prevented as the Viva comes with the option of ABS, though you pay marginally more for this. But after having tested the non-ABS
version, let us tell you that it's well worth it. All in all, the Viva is great fun to drive and is sure to put a smile on your face, despite the fact that it does not behave so well when pushed to the limit. But it's quite well behaved at the gas station and drinks little less than what you would expect, and this can be attributed to the somewhat taller gearing.

The final judgement
All-round appeal ensures it wins.

Look at the three contenders and the Chevrolet SRV easily ‘looks’ to be the best. Its only when you get up close and intimate that you realise it falls short of expectations in the interior ambience and performance departments. And it's also the most expensive of the three, and that too by a fair margin.
The Viva makes a good case for itself, but in this battle age is not on its side and though it has its strong points and is great fun to drive, it eventually lost out. The Fusion emerged the best all-rounder by consistently scoring well in all parameters of our extensive test. A lot of thought has obviously gone into its design and it's a remarkably well-engineered machine. The build quality and attention to detail is also most impressive and when you look at its price, you can't but help wonder how Ford can afford it. There is no denying that the Fusion is real value for money, but it's also a unique vehicle that offers great space, comfort, practicality, ground clearance and good performance and driving dynamics along with refinement. As a package it's clearly the best of this pack of 'lifestyle oriented' vehicles.