India’s two most popular hatchbacks, Maruti Baleno and Hyundai i20 battling it out with a drag race! See who is the winner.
Hatchbacks are still very popular with youngsters who often like to modify it with some or the other tweaks. Those who have a good budget and can afford high maintenance go for the Volkswagen Polo. No doubt it is the most powerful and fun to drive in its class. If not, youngsters then go for the Maruti Baleno, Hyundai i20, Hyundai Grand i10, Ford Figo or Maruti Swift.
Here is a quick drag race between Maruti Baleno and Hyundai i20. Both are arch rivals in their segment, despite the former reporting nearly double the sales figures. In this race we have the 1.2 Litre petrol Baleno put against the 1.4 Litre Diesel i20. So technically, its a petrol vs diesel race.
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You can see that the Hyundai i20 has a clear headstart because of more torque. In nearly 10-15 seconds, Maruti Baleno manages to overtake it and can be seen doing it with ease. Then towards the end there’s a significant difference between both the cars as Baleno emerges as the clear winner.
But, as you may know, the i20 Diesel produces more power and torque compared to the Baleno. Still, it does not even offer a close competition. The main reason is that it has a diesel engine. With the diesel engine, you have to shift the gears at lower RPM which takes up a couple of seconds.
For example, with a diesel engine, the peak torque usually can be achieved in just 2000-2500 RPM. Whereas, in a petrol car, you can pull it up to a maximum of 3500-4000 RPM. You can see when the Baleno is just engaged in the second gear, the i20 goes into the third. This fraction of seconds provides a clear win to the Baleno.
Also Read: 7 Features That 2020 Hyundai i20 Will Get More Than Baleno And Glanza
As for the Baleno in this race, it gets a 1.2 Litre petrol engine that produces 83 PS and 113 Nm of peak torque. The i20 Diesel gets a 1.4 Litre diesel engine that produces 90 PS and 220 Nm of peak torque. Now, the same diesel unit has been discontinued and the i20 is now a petrol only model. Soon, with its new generation model coming, i20 will get a new diesel and a turbo petrol motor.
