Car maintenance cost comparison Part 9: Mid-range hatchbacks

After Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8 of our maintenance cost study, here’s Part 9 comprising of mid-range hatchbacks.

• Maintenance costs calculated over 60,000km
• Mid Range hatchbacks maintenance costs compared
• Factors in service life as well as cost of parts and labour (ex-Delhi, inclusive of taxes)

With the budget and entry level hatchbacks offering petrol only power, the Mid-range Hatchback segment is where you will find the most affordable diesel. And while in the pre BS6 era all the cars here had diesel power it’s now only the Nios and Figo that come with diesel engines. The KUV100, Swift and the Ignis being now petrol only.

Unfortunately, Maruti refused to participate in this test, however, we have managed to source the data through our dealer sources for the sake of this comparison study and thus its prices should be treated as estimates.

Mid-range hatchbacks maintenance cost comparison

• One year or 10,000km is the standard service interval in this segment.
• It’s a close fight for the top spot in this segment, between the Hyundai and the Ford, the Figo though comes out on top in both the petrol and diesel guise narrowly piping the Hyundai.
• Ford charges for labour at a flat rate of Rs 1,926 from the 20,000km service, amounting to a total of Rs 9,630; Hyundai on the other hand charges for labour from the 30,000km service at a flat rate of Rs 2,620, amounting to a total of Rs. 10,480.
• The Mahindra KUV100 has a higher number of replacement parts but what balances the Mahindra’s cost are its labour rates which are applicable from the 30,000km service onwards, averaging Rs 1,895 per service, which helps it tuck below the Maruti Swift and Ignis which are the priciest cars to service in this segment.
• The two Maruti’s share the same engine and other components, however, it is their preset labour charges due to which there is a slight difference in their total costs.

Did you find this maintenance cost comparison helpful? Tell us what you think in the comments section and stay tuned for maintenance cost comparison surveys of other segments that are coming soon.

Mid-range hatchbacks maintenance costs (in Rupees)
	Mahindra KUV100	Ford Figo	Ford Figo	Hyundai Grand i10 Nios	Hyundai Grand i10 Nios	Hyundai Grand i10 Nios	Maruti Swift	Maruti Ignis
Engine	1.2P	1.2P	1.5D	1.0P	1.2P	1.2D	1.2P	1.2P
COST OF PARTS
Air Filter	355	358	360	184	184	184	290	290
Oil Filter	171	132	148	89	89	425	90	90
Fuel Filter	301	595	1140	397	397	1018	265	265
Washer Drain Plug	9	42	9	NA	NA	NA	6	6
Spark Plug (for entire set)	342	375	NA	NA	302	NA	800	800
Coolant	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	338	338
Engine Oil	1236	1224	2041	1368	1368	1669	1736	1736
Brake fluid	281	489	489	NA	NA	NA	355	355
Clutch fluid	281	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Pollen/HVAC filter	570	163	163	198	198	198	NA	NA
Service Intervals	1 year or 10,000km	1 year or 10,000km	1 year or 10,000km	1 year or 10,000km	1 year or 10,000km	1 year or 10,000km	1 year or 10,000km	1 year or 10,000km
1st Service Cost (parts+labour)	1986	1398	2198	1457	1457	2094	1832	1832
2nd Service Cost (parts+labour)	2287	3487	4287	1824	1640	3399	5145	5122
3rd Service Cost (parts+labour)	3613	4171	6113	4077	4261	4714	4546	4369
4th Service Cost (parts+labour)	5464	3487	4287	4444	4260	6019	6653	6447
5th Service Cost (parts+labour)	4175	3324	4124	4077	4077	4714	4452	4369
6th Service Cost (parts+labour)	6003	4815	5787	4809	5087	6018	5298	5412
Total Cost	23528	20682	26796	20688	20782	26958	27926	27551
Maintenance cost per km	0.39	0.34	0.45	0.34	0.35	0.45	0.47	0.46