Class wars

While putting six of the most affordable diesel hatchbacks through their paces, I instantly thought of a mate of mine who will soon have to pay a rather hefty 'Labola' to his future father in law. He is Zulu and that's part of his traditional culture so I guess things like that must be respected, but to a typical 'witoke' like me that concept seems quite foreign; in fact I think it would be something of a grudge purchase - just like paying the extra premium that a diesel engined car commands over its petrol equivalent.

But my friend also alluded that most of his Labola will be given back to him and his better half in the form of household furnishings and other odds and ends they might need. Come to think of it, a diesel car also gives you a tangible return in the form of better fuel consumption. Sure, you really have to rack up the miles to offset the initial price premium, but torquey diesel engines are more of a pleasure on the open road when it comes to cruising and overtaking.

Like a collection of potential suitors, what we have here is a gathering of vastly different diesel hatchbacks. They're not all direct competitors, rather the emphasis here is on giving you a better perspective of what's on offer should you be in this market.

At the top end we have the new Nissan Micra and Ford Fiesta diesels, both well-kitted in every respect. The middle ground comprises three 5-door offerings from Citroen, Fiat and VW, while the undeniable dark horse in this test is the new Tata Indica DLX. Since it offers a comparable spec sheet to its rivals here but costs roughly R30 000 less, it's hard to ignore the new Indian challenger. Unfortunately, we obtained the low-mileage unit you see here some time before its official press launch, and were forbidden to test it.

While all of these cars are powered by turbodiesel engines and indeed their performance credentials are largely comparable, their means of achieving these outputs differ somewhat.

Top of the pile in output terms is the Ford Fiesta TDCi. Its 1.6-litre engine is the biggest here and it's also as sophisticated as the best thanks to its common rail DOHC 16-valve composition. Just a couple of kW and Nm short is the 1.5-litre Nissan Micra dCi, which comes close to the Ford in acceleration off the mark and actually gave it, and everything else here, a significant hiding in the 80 to 120km/h tractability test. The Jap also uses the latest commonrail technology, although it only has 8 valves. So good is the Nissan engine that you'd hardly notice anything was missing and in fact it's the only car here that has virtually no lag on pull off at highveld altitudes. The Fiesta also displayed surprisingly little lag at low revs, while the other three Europeans still have to learn this lesson. The smaller engined cars produce surprising power for their size. All four have similar power to weight credentials, yet the 16-valve Fiat JTD engine has to most torque to weight, but surprisingly, it's followed closely by the 3-cylinder VW. The VW also has the edge over the Fiat and Citroen in all performance parameters. We can't tell you for sure how fast the Tata is, but does fall below the pack somewhat in torque to weight terms.

All the cars here deliver a comfortable enough ride quality. However, the Ford and Nissan do show some superiority through the corners, after all, they are set up for more enthusiastic drivers. Based on our experience with the petrol Indica, we can say the Tata delivers a surprisingly good ride quality, but just don't get to eager through the tight corners!

What must be kept in mind is that the Tata Indica commands a far smaller sum of Labola than the rest of the cars here. She might appear to come from a lower strata of society and is even a little rough around the edges, but she is still a compelling suitor. Even her engine refinement does not seem far off the rest here. What you get is a surprisingly spacious interior with all the necessary luxury features fitted as standard, barring an audio system. Compared to previous Tatas we've driven, seating comfort also seems to have improved, although the driving position still won't suit everyone. Like the other five cars here, it is also fitted with dual front airbags and ABS brakes. Being from the Tata family, you might have concerns about her faithfulness - especially considering the company's disappointing performance in the local JD Powers customer satisfaction survey last year, but company officials do insist they're working on the problem areas. If you can fork out a far more generous Labola, the Fiat Punto Active is the next cheapest, and it still has all of the necessary luxury features. But by the time you read this, the current Punto will be in run-out phase as Fiat prepares to launch the all-new Grande Punto, however the current car's brilliant JTD engine will be carried over.

For two grand more, you could have the Polo 1.4 TDI. She was the most popular girl in school, mainly because she's highly talented in most areas, however she's gonna cost you a bit more than you'd expect as features like air-conditioning and audio system are not standard. You don't even get electric windows in the Polo. Despite this, the Polo is one of the better all-rounders in this group, considering its performance ability is not far off the bigger engined rivals and it's one of the more practical cars here too.

For the same price as the basic Polo, you could have the newly facelifted Citroen C3 with all the necessary comfort features as standard. She's probably one of the most unconventional suitors here, a little bit chubby but certainly cute and she's especially practical.