While the hatchback might still be king on Indian roads, everyone who owns a car or who wants to buy a new one has an aspiration to move to a larger segment. This is one of the reasons why sub 4-metre subcompact SUVs and subcompact sedans do so well in India. Renault has clearly disrupted the Indian automotive space with the likes of the Kwid and Duster in the past and now with the new Renault Captur SUV once again. While the Captur naturally goes up against the Creta, Terrano and even the Duster, it also goes up against the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, the new Hyundai Verna, Honda City and the Volkswagen Vento. We bring you an outright price comparison to see how the SUV fares against its rivals.
Also Read: Renault Captur SUV - Review
Honda City is the oldest nameplate in its segment
The Renault Captur is available with both petrol and diesel engines and gets a 5-speed manual and 6-speed manual respectively. The Captur hasn't been given an AMT or a CVT gearbox just yet but expect one to be launched very soon considering the quickly growing popularity of the automatic gearbox in the country. The petrol powered Captur is a 1.5-litre unit that makes 104 bhp of peak power while the diesel is also a 1.5-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that makes 108 bhp. Where the petrol's torque figure is rated at 142 Nm, the diesel is much much higher at 260 Nm. For the sake of this comparison, we will only be putting up the manual gearbox versions of all the cars up against each other.
The new generation of the Verna was launched in August this year
Also Read: Renault Captur - All You Need To Know
Let's start with the petrol then. The Renault Captur with the petrol engine is available in three variants with prices starting at Rs 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom, India). When compared to the Honda City (Rs 8.58 lakh), Hyundai Verna (Rs 7.99 lakh), Maruti Suzuki Ciaz (Rs 7.75 lakh) and the Volkswagen Vento (Rs 8.19 lakh), the Captur is the most expensive when it comes to starting prices. This difference does change a little though when it comes to the fully loaded versions of the sedans. For example, the Honda City (Rs 11.70 lakh) petrol manual in its fully loaded form is actually marginally more expensive than the Renault Captur (ex-showroom), which is priced at Rs 11.69 lakh for the top spec model. The Ciaz is of course the least expensive of the lot and by a considerably margin too. The Verna and Vento are slightly cheaper as compared to the Captur but do offer a very comprehensive package in terms of features and driving dynamics respectively.
Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is one of most popular offering in this space
Also Read: Renault Captur India Launch - Highlights
When it comes to diesels, all the cars here are available in four main variants. The Captur diesel prices range from Rs 11.38-13.98 lakh and is the most expensive of the lot here. The closest in terms of price is once again the Honda City that is priced from Rs 10.83-13.62 lakh followed by the Hyundai Verna which, is priced from Rs 9.42-12.68 lakh (ex-showroom). The Volkswagen Vento is priced from Rs 9.58-12.50 lakh and the least expensive of the lot is once again the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz priced from Rs 9.42-11.44 lakh.
2017 Volkswagen Vento is priced from Rs 9.58-12.50 lakh
Prices for the Renault Captur are introductory at this stage. That said, it does undercut the Creta, Terrano & Duster and is also on par with most of its competition from the sedan segment making it excellent value for money for someone looking for a brand new SUV currently that offers a whole bunch of value, features, good looks and excellent driving dynamics. Would we upgrade from one of the sedans that we have listed to the Captur if we were to actually put our money down and buy one? Well, considering the fact that our road conditions aren't getting any better and the SUV bodystyle does offer a lot more practicality, we certainly would. Dispatches for the Captur began last month while bookings commenced in late September.
