And then there are people who adore their cars, love them and live with them. People who love driving their machines. People who call themselves automobile enthusiasts, car lovers, petrolheads, etc.

Enthusiasts as we know are an endangered species today because very often, challenges and responsibilities in life ensure we leave aside our passion for short or long periods of time. The RPM needle doesn't go past the half mark. Fuel economy suddenly becomes the most important factor to consider in a car. Comfy suspension replaces the sporty suspension. That fun to drive factor is replaced by a dead,

But does it really have to be that way? Does life always have to go in that direction? Or is there a way where can have a bite from both worlds and maintain equilibrium? Of course, you still can’t expect good mileage if you rev it too much. But still, we think there's still hope for people like us. A way where we could maintain a fine balance between fun and responsibility. A balance between passion and practicality.

Often, we find this balance in cars from Ford. Of course not all of them from the fleet have this speciality where you get two things for the price of one. But mostly, they do have the capability to bring a smile on your face every time you take those cars out for a drive.

Ford Ecosport, Ford Fiesta, Ford Figo, Ford Freestyle. They've all been around us for a pretty long time. We’ve seen them evolve with us (except the Freestyle) but most importantly, what has stayed in this process of evolution is a communicative steering wheel that lets you feel every crack on the road, a suspension setup that offers decent comfort and enough stiffness to handle those curves. Horsepower figures are usually just enough to take you back by surprise and yet, there’s enough fuel left to do a last minute road trip.

This fusion of both worlds creates such a blend that driving these machines indeed feels very special. Not only this, We’ve mostly seen that cars from Ford India often offer safety features like 6 airbags, ARP, TCS, etc to even cars like the Freestyle! That says a lot about what the brand really prioritises on. We haven’t even moved onto the service costs yet because we feel that would be off topic.

With so many different choices in the market today and in this ever ending race between manufacturers to be on the top, what is often left behind is the essence of driving. Sadly, items like large infotainment systems, sunroof, projector head lamps, etc are features that are considered a priority by consumers while cars that offer an excellent driving experience with other satisfactory features are being ignored. To petrol heads like us, this is a worrying trend indeed. It is easy to find cars that go fast and have all the latest features. But it is indeed difficult to find great cars today that offer a blend of both worlds. Enthusiastic drivers and drivers’ cars then, are indeed endangered species.

While the compact SUV segment is all flowery and blooming in India, we thought to look into something that the most people don’t consider priority. Not that it is completely ignored, just that the quest for power is often sacrificed in the pursuit for economy, more mileage, space and gadgetry.

Thankfully for enthusiasts, cars still exist that aren’t completely dumbed down. Compact SUV’s that cater to the mileage requirements while ensuring that power and ‘oomph’ factor aren’t sent out of that BS6 exhaust.

To help fellow enthusiasts, we decided to list some of the Compact SUV’s out that are considered powerful in

1. Ford Ecosport:

The first one on our list is Ford’s popular SUV- the Ecosport! A car whose specifications do a lot of talking in terms of both- features and performance. Both Diesel and Petrol engines are 1.5 Litre units. The three cylinder naturally aspirated 1.5L Dragon Petrol unit produces a great amount of power. 122 PS and 149 NM of torque to be precise whereas Ford’s popular 1.5L Diesel generates 100 PS of Power and 215 NM of torque. Ford’s fun to drive element found on most of its cars, excellent steering feedback, strong build quality, comfort and peppy driving dynamics makes the Ecosport a desirable Compact SUV.

2. Mahindra XUV 300:

Based on the Ssangyong Tivoli Platform, the Mahindra XUV 300 isn’t very far behind as both engines – diesel and petrol units of the car are power packed. The 1.5 Litre Diesel unit churns out 120 BHP and 300 NM of torque whereas the 1.2 Litre Petrol Turbo unit delivers a generous 110 BHP with 200 NM of Torque. You also get multi- mode steering, ample amount of leg room, good driving dynamics, white interiors and a lot more! A more powerful 1.2 GDi engine of the XUV 300 was displayed at the 2020 Auto that is expected to be launched around mid 2020. Power is expected to hover around 130 bhp and 230 NM of torque.

3. Tata Nexon :

Tata’s well known Nexon Compact SUV offers two engine options- one for Diesel and one for Petrol. The 1.2 Litre Turbo Petrol three cylinder engine produces 120 PS and 170 NM of torque whereas the 1.5 Litre diesel engine produces 110 PS of power and 260 NM of torque. Both engines offer a decent amount of punch that adds a fun element to the overall driving experience. The ride though is a bit on the firm side to reduce body roll due to Nexon’s high ground clearance.

4. Hyundai Venue:

Hyundai Venue is pretty sorted with a 1 Litre Turbo Charged Petrol Engine that produces 118 BHP Power and 175 NM Torque. A 1000cc engine may sound like a small one but the turbo charger compensates for the drop in capacity. Optional with the petrol is a DCT Automatic transmission which is quite quick. But, we would mention that is isn’t as quick as what you would expect from a proper performance DSG gearbox. Hyundai has improved Steering Feedback on the Venue but it could still be better and add to a better driving experience. All in all, it is a great package with lots of practical elements.

5. Kia Sonet :

The new Kia Sonet will carry forward the same BS6 compliant engines from the Hyundai Venue. The entry level HTE, HTK and HTK+ variants will receive the 1.2l 4 cyl petrol engine producing 83PS power through a 5 speed Manual gearbox while the higher HTK+, HTX, HTX+ and GTX+ variants get the 1L 3 cyl turbo petrol engine producing 120PS power through either a 6 speed iMT gearbox or 7 speed DCT gearbox. The 1.5L 4 cyl turbo diesel engine will be available in two state of tunes. The 6 speed manual gearbox equipped variants will get 100PS Max Power whereas the 6 speed torque converter Automatic equipped HTK+ & GTX+ variants will get higher 115PS Max Power.

You’ve got anything more to add to the list of cars above? Do let us know.

A smaller engine it is for sure when compared to the big 1.6 unit. However, the 1.0L engine is not really a tortoise. Generating 110 PS and 175 NM of torque, power figures aren’t that bad for such a small engine. After all, the engine is of a Turbocharged Stratified Injection (TSI) type that offers all the power when you need it but otherwise remains fuel efficient as fuel efficiency claimed by Skoda is 18.24 KMPL.

Prices of the Skoda Rapid TSI start at 9.06 Lakhs and go all the way upto 14.72 Lakhs. Prices are Ex- showroom. Available in 5

For the kind of kit it offers for the price, the Rapid TSI competes with the Volkswagen Vento, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, and Hyundai Verna. Though some cars like the Tata Nexon, Maruti Vitarra Brezza and Ford Ecosport are from a different segment, they could compete if buyers are not restricted to one segment since they are priced in a similar way.