[The Rationalist]

Elite i20 without blinking an eye! You ask me to put down a million on a hatch and there is only one thing that comes to my mind, does it look a million bucks? For me it's only i20. But will I buy one, no, cause I don't like its dynamics. But every time I see a red i20,I do have few skipped beats. Jazz's interior looks like it's from some bygone decade. Honda will learn soon that the name is not enough to make one part with 1000 Red notes.

[arnabchak]

My vote, without any second thoughts to the i20.

1) It is premium and it shows. Something, that the block in place of the start stop button, the primer fuel lid area and the "lock" block in window console didnt give in the Jazz.

2) The front fascia in the i20 is a lot better than the "moustachy" Jazz.

3) The speedo console in the i20 is better and looks more upmarket

4) The VX trim actually looks a shade lower than the V trim of the Jazz with the retro fitted HU et all. Asta, with all bells and whistles in the i20 is a much better place to be.

5) I found the iDtec of the Amaze having poor NVH. Since the Jazz shares the same engine, I do not see a lot of difference here. i20 engine was a better cohesive unit and gave a better low end torque and drive ability.

All the above points are subjective and from my personal perspective

[pradkumar]

Voted for the Jazz. An automatic and a bigger boot are priorities for me.

Pradeep

[naikameya]

I voted for Jazz because I simply love it, but if you ask me whether which Jazz? I would say the earlier version. All variants of the earlier version were well loaded for the time and the new one does not offer any striking/ important feature (other than CVT).

What I do not like about the new Jazz is that you also lose features as you go from V to VX, that is a big mistke by Honda, Hyundai doesn't do that. And when you do apple to apple comparison of New Jazz Vs Elite i20 i think the Elite i20 wins.

But I love Jazz & Honda and that is why I voted for it , I will actually buy it because my heart says so.

On a side note, has any one thought of getting hold of pre-loved jazz instead? I'm not selling though .

[opendro]

Though I admit that i20 elite and Jazz are really close contest, I ticked for Jazz.

If I were to buy a premium hatch, it would primarily for practicality in the congested city of Bangalore and I would be replacing a C+ sedan that I own.

So, space and driving dynamics would be of utmost importance for me.

If I were buying a small car just for features and looks, yes, i20 elite for me. If I were to buy a diesel, yes, i20 elite for me. But i20 is already known to sell more petrol variants than diesel. That is where the armchair bhpians might be proven wrong here, because we are comparing too much of the diesel variants here in the threads.

For those who are criticizing the 175 tire of Jazz, I used to do the same about City when I bought Linea But thorough tests by magazines confirmed that 175 was sufficient in the City itself. So, at the end of the day, tires widths are about grip and comfort, which Jazz does offer even with 175.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I see Jazz as a car of 4.3m - 4.5m, from other manufacturers. It is compared with i20 elite just because their exterior dimensions are similar. This also bring to my attention that others have asked : how Honda is going to sell Amaze (which sold 8K last month)? Amaze is just 10K cheaper than Jazz and is below par in every department when compared to Jazz. Tough times ahead for Honda.

[fuel_addict]

This one is a tough choice. I really wanted to like the Jazz. The cabin/boot space, man-maximum-machine-minimum theme and the sharp styling of the Jazz are easily the best in the segment. The biggest let downs as others have pointed out already are the harshness of the engine and sub-par performance of both petrol and diesel powerplants on the open highway. The lack of a 1.5L is another let down for enthusiasts. Hard to understand why Honda couldn't get this right. The diesel engine in the City/Amaze has been around for long enough for them to factor in customer-feedback and make necessary changes. Instead, they have just plonked the iDTEC engine into the Jazz and concentrated on the exteriors. Same story with every manufacturer. Engine sharing across various cars.

I have never been a Hyundai fan but the i20 Elite does appeal to the heart and mind. It looks like a premium hatch even from the outside. The interiors and features' list is typical Hyundai.....filled to the brim.

Though I voted for the Jazz, the ideal choice would be the Jazz's body shell with an i20's engine under the hood coupled with i20's premium interiors.

[predatorwheelz]

I voted for the Elite i20. Being the owner of a CRDI Asta, my opinion may be taken to be biased, but here are objective reasons why I did so:

1. Engine - For me the biggest factor in a car. It should be punchy, refined and reliable - in that order. In that regard both the petrol Jazz and i20 are mediocre. Refined and reliable, but not punchy. Honda would have gone into a different league had they given the City's petrol in the Jazz.

In diesel there is no competition. I sat in a diesel amaze and found it quite unrefined and noisy. The ACI review also says the same about the Jazz engine. In comparison the diesel i20 has a refined powerplant that creams the driving experience.

2. Features - Does Honda think Indian's still value the badge over features? Imagine taking your family for a back-to-back TD of the Jazz and i20. First they'll see cheap(er) plastics, cost cutting evident in all corners, and a lack of general features. In all likelihood, your wife or elderly parents don't care about invisible (to the eye) features like airbags or ABS. Tell your wife "Honey, we can only afford the mid level models, and only the Jazz comes with safety features in the mid model". Her response will probably be "But its so boring, with no features".

Then they check the i20, with premium plastics, loads of features, and an overall feeling of plushness. Your mother gets into the last seat and says "Beta, this one's got a rear AC vent. It'll cool us faster in summer". Might seem trivial then, but if you don't buy the i20, she'll keep reminding you about it everytime you get into a hot car on a summer day.

3. Price - Right, so Honda couldn't beat Hyundai in Engine (Honda's traditional strong point) and features (Hyundai's traditional strong point). Most magazines have found the ride & handling package being a tie. Unless the customer is 6 foot plus tall or has arms/legs of an orangutan, its unlikely that he'll buy the Jazz for space alone. So let's trump Hyundai on price, they say, right? Wrong! They go ahead and price the Jazz at such a premium, that (in Delhi) the ex-showroom price of the top Jazz Diesel variant is the same as the OTR price of the top Elite i20 diesel variant!

Originally Posted by sidindica

But the real test starts when Hyundai engines start crossing 60000 kms. They require extra care and extra maintenance and some engine ancillaries are known to give up early. Hard to believe but for many, it remains a hard fact.

You and I are destined to do this forever buddy. Where and how, exactly, did you come to this conclusion?! I own a Hyundai Verna which is at 106,000 kms. As much as the body and cycle parts are showing signs of age, the engine is at its smoothest ever. Never given me any trouble, still running the original turbo. In fact, original everything. People still get into the car and say "achha, yeh diesel hai? doesn't sound like it".

My friend owns a (last gen) diesel i20 which has clocked 120,000 kms in just 4 years. His daily run is Noida to Gurgaon, plus he does loads of highway drives. Another friend owns a 6 year old i10 with 90,000 kms on the clock. Originally from Lucknow, still does Delhi-Lucknow trips once a month. None of them have reported ANY trouble from the engine.

If you're going by statistics taken from irresponsible speedsters who blew up their Verna Turbos (I guess they never heard of the start-stop routine to be followed for a CRDI engine), don't. The only Hyundai engines that gave consistent trouble were the first gen detroit diesel tech CRDIs which had timing belts and generally needed more maintainence.

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I haven't heard of aam-junta having this notion at all. Infact even guys who are not into cars buy a Hyundai for reliability after Maruti. Everyone believes Maruti is top followed by Hyundai. Honda is known to be premium with expensive spares. That's the notion I have seen people have.

And if the aam-junta had that notion then how does Hyundai manage to sell 10-12K Elite i20's and 8-10K Grand i10's consistently. On top of that remain the no. 2 manufacturer in India.

If the notion was of poor reliability, shouldn't their numbers be closer to Fiat? How are they selling if the junta has this notion that they aren't reliable.

3 folks in my office bought Elite i20 last few months. All non car guys. One guy said because of looks and styling. Other guy said looks, features and Hyundai is low maintenance after Maruti. Third guy said he got bored of Swift as he saw it everywhere and found the i20 was next best thing.

To each his own my friend, to each his own. Hyundai's soul less cars. Also, if Fiat's were unreliable the 1.3 MJD would not be the national engine for good reason. Why not rake in Datsun for that matter?

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

That reputation was built over a decade with some brilliant products like the erstwhile Civic, City etc. And it has already started going south with products like Amaze, Mobilio, 2014 City (initial batches especially).

As a popular saying goes - "It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it"



1. What proper care and regular service could have helped the Amaze iDTec owners whose cars were affected by hydrolocking design flaw? The owners ended up spending 2L approx for it. Now Honda insurance has added hydrolocking protection to the cover, so you pay every year for what is a design flaw.

2. What care and regular service could the 2014 City iVTec owners take for their cars which went to service centre multiple times and came back with grinding noises from alternator belt and clutch?

Not only were these issues not fixed, no solutions were provided over a long term either. And both these issues occurred last year, not long back.

While Maruti and Hyundai seem to be working hard to pull up their brand image, Honda seems to be going too greedy on theirs. How long can that last?

Remember our discussions on Elite i20 v/s Jazz pricing few months back? Can I say "I told you so." (Just kidding)

Out of those many people who faced hydro-locking, alternator belt and clutch noise how many were on the forum??? 1000-2000?? Give me a number of the people from the forum who faced such issues and minus that from the average sales figure. You are talking as if Hyundai and Maruti makes perfect cars! I seldom run into folks who have trouble with their Hyundai vehicles but are too lazy to report it on the forums. Is it always necessary that every thing put up on the forum has to be picture perfect only?!

[MPunditz]

Seeing the Jazz in flesh makes it look like a mini-SUV and the interior room would challenge the space of mini-SUV's as well. Though Jazz is charging a premium based on basis of its brand name in the sub-continent; it does offer very practical value propositions -
1. Ocean of interior space which is unmatchable in the segment.
2. Boot space would match those of mid-size sedans as well (say Dzire's boot of 315 litres v/s Jazz's boot space of 354 litres). PS: Do note that i20 elite has boot space of 285L.
3. Kitna deti hai? - Yeah, with 27.3 kmpl Jazz makes a mark as the second best in terms of mileage (first position held by Celerio which is a 2-pot cylinder engine and delivers much lower power).
4. Looks - I would term the looks to be even better than its elder sibling 'the City'. The overall muscular lines and sharper proportions does make it look premium. Even the City-inspired interiors has a rich appeal to it.
Hence my vote goes to Honda Jazz. Also agree that i20 is equally capable car and the Jazz has made the segment look more attractive than ever.

[SoumenD]

Voted for HONDA Jazz

My requirement is a petrol premium hatch(MT). Although both of them are underpowered in that aspect, still hoping the Jazz would be little better to drive due to the iVtec(experienced it in my brio), plus having those passenger side airbags & rear wash/wiper right from mid variants takes the HONDA a bit ahead of HYUNDAI for me. Having said that, am definitely not putting my money on either of them purely due to the lack of sheer FTD factor(am talking about petrols) one expects from a 'premium' car.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The problem I am having is that I want to like the Jazz but Honda is trying it's best to make me decide against it.

Absolutely.

P.S : Here's hoping HONDA will plonk the 1.5L sometime in near future and answer the innumerable requests by the enthusiasts in India.

[landcruiser123]

The only problem with the jazz is it's price of the diesel variants, missing features like start-stop button etc.
Overall, if the interiors are just like how they are in the city ( minor changes aside), the elite i20 win the battle in the interior department.
Space wise, the jazz is a clear winner.
My choice- i20 for diesel, jazz for petrol; Assuming I don't need the extra 70 litres of boy space.

May I ask why polo isn't been brought to this comparison?

Wish the next gen VW polo could be more spacious and VW would improve it's ASS. Then we'll have a fantastic competitor with great diesel and petrol engines.

[autohead115]

I will go against the wind here and say something. For me the i20 Elite is a big NO, not just compared to the Jazz, but compared to almost any other cars out there. Sure it has all those goodies, looks etc (and thats what drove me to try n buy one, of course I ended up buying a pre-worshipped 2012 Ford Fiesta 1.5) but after the test drive, i got down sat in my dad's wagonR and didn't even bother to look back at this car.

Let me explain, when I was driving this car, it felt like i was sitting in a dark room with a small hole to see the road ahead without any clue of whats behind, around and in front of me.

Ok that might have be a bit of an exaggeration but i was absolutely shocked with the poor front and all round visibility of this car, small ORVMS didn't help either, especially the way the front glass was reclined, I would have immediately fired the guy who designed this aspect of the car, whatever this car totally dissapointed when i was in the front seat and my friends in the rear said they felt dark and dingy in the rear seat with windows being at such height. so, i would pick a polo or even the poorly built and aging swift over the i20 in a hearbeat , i haven't driven the jazz but i can clearly tell going by its near boxy design, it has good visibilty. Infact i was surprised no reviewer picked on this. No offence to any i20 owners, this is purely my perspective and i could be wrong.

[opendro]

First Polo should sell at least quarter of what Jazz would well or i20 elite sells before it is brought to the table for comparison :-D Nevertheless, I would prefer Polo TSI to i20 elite.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

May I ask why polo isn't been brought to this comparison?

[Hemant_Joshi]

My vote goes to I20.
For Sheer road presence, the wide size, stance of vehicle, the overall fit & finish, superb quality of its interiors and feature list.
The feeling of luxury you get in I20 cannot be matched by Jazz,
Jazz Diesel I feel would definitely be noisy going by the presence of same engine as in City and Amaze (have driven City, and I have spent time with the I20 as well).

Jazz does have its positives, loads of space and fuel efficiency, which is one area where Hyundai's are poor, but overall for Me the I20 Wins.

[kaks15]

I did click for Jazz because I still remember that the oomph factor Jazz carried when it was first launched in India, as we all know pricing killed it at that time. I am tempted to try both this weekend and give my verdict, as of now I have to say the reviews have shifted me towards the i20. My worry is a Hyundai dealer himself told me it is expensive on the maintenance side, I will be seeking figures from him but does anyone have any update on per KM running cost of I20? I am planning to make a purchase by September.
P.S. Somehow I expected a better pricing from Honda to revive the Jazz.