Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, one of the country's leading automobile manufacturers, has entered the immensely competitive compact hatchback segment with its new Verito Vibe model in the domestic car market. The Mahindra Verito Vibe was launched in India on June 5, 2013 and is pegged to become a major volume puller for the company. The premium hatch competes against Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire, Honda Amaze, Chevrolet Sail U-VA, Volkswagen Polo and Ford Figo, amongst others in the Indian auto market.
Currently, Ford Figo is the American auto maker's best selling model in the country. Experts believe that Figo and Verito Vibe would pose stiff competition to each other in the premium hatch category of passenger cars. Being similarly priced both the cars offer a great value-for-money proposition to the domestic buyers. It has been a while since the Figo hatch is available in Indian auto market and it would be interesting to see how well the new Verito Vibe handles competition from the Ford car.
Under its hood, the Mahindra Verito Vibe is powered by a 1.5 litre dCi diesel engine that develops a peak power output of 64 bhp, along with a highest torque output figure of 160 Nm. On other hand, unlike Verito Vibe the Ford Figo is available in both petrol and diesel guises. The Figo diesel is fitted with a 1.4 litre Duratorq oil burner under its hood that develops a maximum power output of 68 bhp and a highest torque delivery of 160 Nm. Therefore, Ford Figo hatchback clearly has the upper hand over the new Mahindra Verito Vibe in terms of engine performance.
At present, the prices of Ford Figo's diesel range start from Rs. 4.9 lakh that goes on till Rs. 5.6 lakh in the country. The newly launched Mahindra Verito is offered in three trim options, namely D2, D4 and D6, which are available within a price band of Rs. 5.7 lakh and Rs. 6.6 lakh in India. The strong suits in favour of the Verito Vibe hatch are its class leading interior space and the reliability of being home grown Mahindra & Mahindra's product. However, Ford Figo is also a great model and the two cars make a great rival pair in the premium hatch segment of the Indian auto market.
