Team-BHP - Hyundai Grand i10 Preview

This certainly looks better than the i20 looking at those pics! But since its an all new car, why such a misleading name?!:confused:
Btw, test drive of a camouflaged car, is that a first in India? What is the thinking behind such a strategy from a manufacturers point of view?

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Originally Posted by .anshuman (Post 3201725)

Hyundai has the option to add a boot to the i10 Grand - Dzire style - resulting in a sub-4 meter sedan with an XL sized boot.

This is more interesting! This will sell like hot cakes as & when it arrives.

The i10 grand is a new platform and has nothing to do with the actual i10 itself. So why the same monicker? This i10 grand naming scheme doesn't actually excite and i think a new monicker like i15 would definitely draw some curiosity and if they use the same i10 grand name, i would think some sections of the people would immediately dismiss the new car saying it will be similar to the old car. The new diesel engine is what takes the cake though. With regards to driveability, did you guys notice the missing cylinder while you put the engine through its paces? I imagine this engine would run out of breath at 130-140 kmph.

Will wait for this car as some of my family members are looking for a new set of wheels to potter around the city in.

What are its direct competitors? I think the i10 and the i20 were slotted in perfectly and didn't really overlap except the top variant of the smaller car and the lower variant of the bigger one. Didn't quite expect to find something in between. IMO, the positioning of the car will only hurt i10 or the i20 sales.

The i10 Grand could have just gone the Dzire way and added a boot to it to give it more mass appeal. The Accent is almost on its way out anyway!

Very good review, rated 5 stars!! :thumbs up

The car is more so looking beautiful due to increased length. The front doesn't bear too many changes, but the elongated headlamps go well with the length. The design is a mix of i20 and the eon. The DRL's in the EU version look handsome, i hope its is available in India too.

The rear of the car is even more beautiful, must better and roundish than the flat outgoing version of the i10. The recline angle of the boot is much soother than the abrupt flat boot exterior compared to the current version.

Diesel is off course a killer, the market will love it. The NVH should be one key differentiator vs the MJD, fuel efficiency is likely to be higher due to smaller and 3cyl version, but the big question is NVH.

If this engines gets plonked in Santro and off course an 800cc version of this engine in Eon, then Hyundai is well on road to its target of No.1

Interiors, as usual are likely to be top notch Hyundai i10 standard, i hope it beats its own benchmark finally. Waiting for the Grand Launch.:Cheering:

Quote:

Originally Posted by .anshuman (Post 3201724)

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The 3-cylinder diesel is compact in size. In the smallish engine bay of the i10 Grand, there is a good amount of empty space around. So much so that I could sneak behind the engine block and read the turbocharger's brand (Honeywell). Engine mounts appear to be the hydraulic type.

I may not know the engine specs, but I can surely tell you how it is to drive. Hyundai let us drive the i10 Grand with the 1.1L U2 CRDi engine for a short distance. While the route wasn't long enough to shell out a full fledged review, it was enough to give us a preview of the engine's characteristics.
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If you have to compare this unit with the 1.0 L 3 cylinder in the Beat, would you say it's better in every department - from a city car viewpoint ? (apart from factors like FE which we don't know yet).

Hyundai determined to beat Maruti and going for the kill. The frugal diesel with smart pricing is just what they need for more volumes (than what they've been already achieving).

Surely they're planning to not lose their no.2 position in India in terms of passenger car sales. Hope they price it well. And it might have helped to name it something different than i10 Grand.

And just prior to opening TBHP, I read this on the Economic Times. Can say they're on track.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/21666280.cms

Thank you, .anshuman for this nice preview! It's gives us more glimpses into the as yet unveiled car than the reports of the auto magazines, despite the camouflaging and photography restrictions. Just what one would expect from Team-Bhp clap:

Request @ Hyundai India: for Heaven's sake, don't call this car the Grand i10 or the i10 Grand please: Suffixes have been so badly misused and abused by Indian car manufacturers, that it takes a lot away from the effort to build a completely new car on an all-new platform. I understand that the Indian version is stretched and has more rear space than its European brother, but i15 or Brilliant sounds so much better. In fact, almost any name would be better than i10 with either a prefix or suffix. I completely agree with BHPians - unlike petrolheads, the common man is quite ignorant about cars & platforms and related stuff, and would instantly mistake the car for a refreshed version, when it is a completely new car.

The new car looks very promising with its engine and gearbox combinations. Hopefully, along with the plush interiors and good build quality that Hyundai wants to be synonymous with the brand, it should bring new opportunities for growth for the company in India.

While I'm glad that they seem to have sorted out the up and down bobbing of the rear suspension that occurs in its current range of cars, and the i10 in particular, I would have preferred height adjustable headrests for the front seats. The rear A/C vents are most welcome, though!

I would go against the mainstream opinion here, and state that I prefer the steering to be light and effortless to use. A light steering is such a boon while parking and driving on congested streets. A light EPS that is direct on turns and is stable at the centre position is less stressful and better fun for city driving and good enough for the highway as well. It's an acceptable trade-off over a hard HPS that is fun on twisting roads at speed, but feels like driving a lorry at other times.

I guess the folks at Hyundai India are pushing for an unveiling and full launch soon to take advantage of festival sales. Bring it on, and don't delay the sedan too much!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marauder (Post 3201849)

But,in the case of the Safari Storme,Indica Vista etc. the thing that lead to the cars not being identified separately was that they looked similar to their predecessors unlike the Grand i10.It's a new car and looks like a new car.

To regular car buyers, they look the same/similar. If they sound similar in name, it adds to similarity. Even a BHPian felt front look doesn't have many chnages.

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Originally Posted by groom (Post 3201897)

The car is more so looking beautiful due to increased length. The front doesn't bear too many changes, but the elongated headlamps go well with the length.

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Originally Posted by Equus (Post 3201864)

Will take a while I guess to phase out the current i10..

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Originally Posted by quadbike (Post 3201880)

Now will this mean the end of Santro ?

Similar talk existed after launch of i10 in Oct 2007, but Hyundai India still continues to sell Santro.

It would have been better if they has stopped/discontinued Santro now, changed features/variants of i10 to give space for pricing of this new vehicle.

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Originally Posted by arunphilip (Post 3201779)

Look at the C pillars from Anshuman's pictures and what's shown here - there's a difference - it appears that this is the window size increase they've done specific to India.

Yes, there is some difference. The images I have posted is European version of Hyundai i10 while the model in Anshuman's post is India specific. The Indian version is slightly bigger compared to the old model.

AS per Autocar (India & UK) reviews, the Diesel 1.1L 3-Cylinder mill is rated 70 bhp (detuned from 74 bhp in the European trim due to fuel quality in India). It is tuned for city drive-ability, but on the highway the short gearing, 3-cylinder & 70 bphs show their limitation, & the engine loses steam over 4000 rpm & overtaking maneuvers need to be planned carefully (as @.anshuman has reported).

The boot is 252 liters clap: & there is enough space for tall people to sit behind each others alongwith sufficient storage spaces for misc items.

The steering is bit heavier as compared to i10/ i20 & ride stiffer, translating into better dynamics on twisty roads.

Few plus point, I feel, it has over the current Swift are, bigger boot space & better brakes.

But, still I feel challenge to Swift, for being the SWIFT, & Maruti bestseller at the same time would be a tough call for any car. However, I see lot of urban, & even rural areas (where there is presence of HASS nearby) Maruti people opting for this over the Ritz.

I hope this one gives tough competition to Swift, & :thumbs up consumers get another good option.

I, however, feel disappointed over the optimisation of test drive/ benchmarks that Hyundai did when handing over the cars to reviewers... bit like (my) Samsung Galaxy S4 optimisation reports that were in news few days back.