I visited the "Auto Expo" at the Chennai Trade Centre yesterday. It turned out to be another attempt to bring together dealers of various car brands to push sales ahead of the festive season. There was representation from only one bike company (Yamaha) at the show.
On display at the Hyundai stall (put up by KUN Hyundai) were an i20, the Verna with minor changes, and taking up centre-stage, eagerly checked out by almost every visitor, was the new Grand i10. It was an orange Sportz 1.2 petrol. Unlike the 1.1 diesel, the gear pattern of the petrol is the conventional H type with R being in-line with 5
I must say I was impressed with the way Hyundai are making progress with each successive generation of vehicles, and even each facelift on the same generation. The original Santro was followed by the Santro Xing, which was a solid improvement. They made a big leap with the launch of the i10, the facelifted model was even better - the i10 Kappa2 VTVT is the
quickest naturally aspirated 1.2 lit. engined car in the country, with a 0-100 km/hr figure that is the the range of 1.6 lit. petrols and way ahead of all its 1.2 lit. competitors. Of course, the i10's characteristic tall boy handling, bouncy rear suspension and skinny tyres take away a significant amount of fun of driving such a quick car.
With the Grand i10, Hyundai have made another huge leap forward, and if the test drive reports are anything to go by, they have leapt over and ahead of the competition, by sorting out the ride and handling characteristics of the car. There is absolutely no cost cutting visible in critical areas (other than the integrated front headrests), the panel gaps, exterior finish and paint are consistently good and the doors feel reasonably solid (but not hefty or "thuddy").
The interior is where Hyundai's trump card lies. The boot is now sufficient in size, the seats have much better contours and support and the seat fabric's quality is good. The dashboard is the icing on the cake. The steering wheel is chunky to hold with the trip meter and reset buttons located on it (rather than on the speedo console), the dials are crystal clear and legible, and the way the switches and A/C knobs operate exudes a feeling of sheer quality.
The Grand i10 has a rear seat optimized for India when compared to the new European i10. The rear legroom (but not width) is now in the league of the i20 (thanks to the extended wheelbase) rather than the i10, ingress and egress are easy, the headroom is good, as is the H-point and the under-thigh support, and the rear A/C vent is a very useful feature for India that is sometimes not found in cars twice its price (or more). The black and beige colour combo is neat.
It must be noted however, that the Grand i10 is not a tall boy hatchback. It is NOT as low slung as some sedans but it is not as high as a true tall boy (like the Ritz, Wagon R, Santro and i10). It can be called a semi-tall boy. The seat base to floor distance is good and therefore one can sit comfortably without having to squat.
Hyundai should have made the rear seat even more comfortable by offering a foldable armrest, especially considering that split seats are not on offer. In any case, the car can comfortably seat only four (five would be uncomfortable for long distances because of the width and the A/C vent housing).
The performance and drivability of the 83PS 1.2 Kappa dual VTVT should be very good, as long as Hyundai have stuck to sensible gear ratios. It may not be as quick as the i10 Kappa2 VTVT due to the extra weight but it should be quicker than the i20 with the same engine and one of the quickest 5 among cars with 1.2 lit. NA engines. But if the test drive reports are true, then the improved ride, handling and steering should make it more fun-to-drive than the quicker i10.
The new 71PS 3-cyl. diesel seems tuned for drivability, fuel efficiency and refinement rather than outright performance. This is the correct approach, since the car would be used mostly in the city and the small 1.1 lit. CRDi would have had significant lag if a bigger turbo was used to improve flat-out performance.
I think the new Grand i10 is an excellent effort at intelligently engineering a car for India by the boys from South Korea
This car is a potential best seller for Hyundai India, and sales should easily surpass those of the i20, the i10 and even the Eon, as long as Hyundai quickly adjust production to meet demand and avoid waiting periods.
My request to Hyundai India still stays the same - introduce the automatic version (and a diesel auto if possible) soon, and bring in a new Sportz(O) variant with driver's airbag, ABS and adjustable rear-seat headrests instead of an Asta without safety features, and watch sales shoot up to unexpected levels.