"We want a sizzling hottie who would like to get naughty," boldly campaigns the Xeta ad… as boldly as it gets into the Maruti territory, which only the Hyundai Santro has been able to do. The new revamped Indica V2 Xeta now sports more design cues in the form of flared wheel arches and sharper lights. Tata has really worked its boots off to make sure that this car is a formidable rival to its Korean and Japanese competition. Well… like many Tata cars, you may not feel the same sophistication once you get inside the car. The interior quality is not up to the mark, but from a small car perspective, it is value for money.

Fiat gets you everything that Tata misses in their low cost cars. Yes, we do not bet over its interior either, they are equally dated, like the Tata models, but they fare a little better. While Fiat helps to market Tata’s cars and trucks in other countries, Tata helps Fiat with its deep rooted dealership network. Fiat launched its hatchback Palio Stile in two petrol engine variants, Palio Stile 1.1 in SL, SLE, and SLX variants and Palio Stile 1.6 Sport. But Palio can never match the middle-class car craze in India, because they are always expensive to maintain with a poor fuel economy.

No one regrets Maruti for its service back-up. WagonR gives you the best in competition to the Santro or the long lost Matiz. Though we can’t call it an ugly car, it is not an eye-pleasing car either. The car has got many face-lifts since its inception, but sadly it always looked the same. Unlike many Maruti products, the WagonR looks too fragile and anything, including some fast moving flies, could cause a prominent dent.