[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by RSR

Also, the SX(O) gets 175/60R15 tyres compared to the 165/65R14 ones on the other variants. This should mean a solid GC increase of ~ 10mm, unless Hyundai have lowered the suspension on the SX(O).

Good catch! Yeah, the difference is big. Usually when smaller alloy/ disc is used, they put a tyre with bigger profile, but that isn't the case here. Now, the suspension has to be higher to compensate for the loss of GC and the calibration of the meters should also be different between the variants. Lot of work I say. Hyundai could have used 165/70 14 instead to solve all these issues.

Originally Posted by ayushagarwal26

I seem to be out of my mind today. My math is all screwed up. My apologies for being incorrect in my" correction" itself!

1 inch ~ 2.54 cm = 25.4 mm.

So, the SX(O) gets an added 25.4 mm in ride height due to the wheel, but the tyre height is 2.25mm less, so we duduct 2.25x2 = 4.5mm from this difference.

25.4 - 4.5 = 19.9

Looks like the SX(O) does ride higher, but by almost 20mm and not 10mm!

That looks wrong again. The GC decrease/ increase will be only 10 mm as that is the change in radius. Diameter wouldn't affect as the suspension is connected to the center of a wheel.

[RSR]

Originally Posted by ayushagarwal26

You get an overall difference of only 2 mm.

Infact, the lower variants ride higher!

Originally Posted by ayushagarwal26

I seem to be out of my mind today. My math is all screwed up. My apologies for being incorrect in my" correction" itself!

25.4 - 4.5 = 19.9

Looks like the SX(O) does ride higher, but by almost 20mm and not 10mm!

You had me confused for a moment as well!

25.4 - 4.5 = 20.9

GC difference would be half of that. So 20.9 x 0.5 = 10.45mm ~ 10mm, which is the same as I mentioned in my earlier post.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Good catch! Yeah, the difference is big. Now, the suspension has to be higher to compensate for the loss of GC and the calibration of the meters should also be different between the variants. Lot of work I say. Hyundai could have used 165/70 14 instead

Thanks! The speedo/odo would have surely been re-calibrated. But it remains to be seen whether the suspension has been raised for the lower variants.

165/70R14 for the lower variants would have been an excellent choice! It only requires a minor re-calibration of the meters, the GC difference would be marginal. Then there is the added benefit of a slightly better ride quality (compared to 165/65R14) due to the increased sidewall.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

That looks wrong again. The GC decrease/ increase will be only 10 mm as that is the change in radius. Diameter wouldn't affect as the suspension is connected to the center of a wheel.

Spot on! The GC difference would be the same as the radius difference, or half of the difference in diameter.

Simple way to calculate the overall diameter:
-------------------------------------------------

175/60R15 - (2 x 0.60 x 175) + (15 x 25.4) = 591.00 mm

165/65R14 - (2 x 0.65 x 165) + (14 x 25.4) = 570.10 mm

-------------------------------------------------

Diameter difference = 591 - 570.1 = 20.9 mm

GC difference = Radius difference = 1/2 of dia diff. = 0.5 x 20.9 = 10.45 ~ 10mm

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Finally one review comments about the suspension-

"The Xcent is one of the better engineered Hyundai cars I have seen and driven. The car is more involving to drive and has an excellent suspension setup. The soft setup soaks in most undulations with ease but is also damped just right to build your confidence through a set of corners. There is some body roll but not too much to make you nervous. It's the qualities of the Grand carried forward as expected and I like that about the sedan. "

http://www.zigwheels.com/reviews-adv...-review/18181/

[KPS]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Finally one review comments about the suspension-

Being the owner of a i10 Grand, I can certify that the suspension in leaps ahead of Santro, i10 & i20 ( I have owned these cars in the past). I would expect the sedan to have a better ride than the hatch considering weight distribution

Cheers

KPS

[ayushagarwal26]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

That looks wrong again. The GC decrease/ increase will be only 10 mm as that is the change in radius. Diameter wouldn't affect as the suspension is connected to the center of a wheel.

Originally Posted by RSR

You had me confused for a moment as well!

25.4 - 4.5 = 20.9

GC difference would be half of that. So 20.9 x 0.5 = 10.45mm ~ 10mm, which is the same as I mentioned in my earlier post.

Thanks for pointing that out. I really seem to be out of whack these days

[agspins]

Took a test drive two days back and today booked a White S(O) for myself at Rs.7.58 lacs OTR. Waiting period is somewhere around 1-1.5 months. Been driving a Accent Viva Crdi for last 5-6 years, the ride quality and suspension is far better. There is lag at low revs and is not as responsive as others (Read Amaze for obvious reasons). But still i found better deal than Amaze. Hopefully this 3 Pot engine is better than the earlier unit (Viva/Accent units).

[abubakkarmy]

Booked a Silver S petrol version and was provided same waiting period of 4 to 6 weeks. Price is 6.2 Lacs OTR. Hoping for a comprehensive review from TBHP by then in case I want to change my mind and get the grand i10 instead.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by abubakkarmy

Booked a Silver S petrol version and was provided same waiting period of 4 to 6 weeks. Price is 6.2 Lacs OTR. Hoping for a comprehensive review from TBHP by then in case I want to change my mind and get the grand i10 instead.

GTO confirmed in another thread that team-bhp was invited for the drive last weekend, and the official review should be up by around 10th April.

[abubakkarmy]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

GTO confirmed in another thread that team-bhp was invited for the drive last weekend, and the official review should be up by around 10th April.

That's great! Thank you. Looking forward to it. Other option I have in mind is the Grand i10 Asta O which has the same pricing but is loaded with safety features.

[chinmay22]

Booked Silver SX(O) Automatic transmission.
3 weeks waiting time.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by chinmay22

Booked Silver SX(O) Automatic transmission. 3 weeks waiting time.

I have booked silver SX(o) automatic as well, the day after launch. Received a call from the dealerships today that manual can be delivered next Wednesday, but automatic might take 2 months.

Anyways, sticking with the automatic version.

[raviacc2825]

I think dealers are acting smart here due to financial year end. I also booked the SX(o) on 12march, my dealer told me hyundai has started accepting booking since 1st April only and it will have 20 days waiting, tentative date is 20th April. On the other hand another dealer with whom my friend has booked the car is getting the delivery on 10april.

[ayushagarwal26]

Did anyone find the petrol xcent a bit boring to drive?

I have been planning to exchange my aging ritz for a Grandi10/Xcent. Run is very low - mostly driven by the driver, and petrol would suffice.

I have driven the Grand before, and compared to the ritz / swift I had in the past, I never expected great handling, so that was okay. For a small Hyundai hatchback for city use, it is satisfactory (though it failed to put a big smile on my face). The car wasn't as eager to sprint as the K12 in my ritz, but then it hadn't run in yet - but nor was the car underpowered by any means. The lack of enthusiastic eagerness + handling/feedback meant it was a little less exciting than the swift/ritz, but still not bad at all. I just felt it was a little less fun than the specs make you believe. I'd still buy it at its price if I had to. The swift as a direct competitor is more FTD, but misses out on too many features, quality, interiors, build, etc. The Grand i10 is immensely practical, and has a drive+suspension balance that just works. Not enthusiast driven but not boaty either.

On the other hand, the xcent seems to have disappointed me. Since the TD of the Grand i10 petrol, I had a feeling the added weight + softer suspension setup on the xcent would make it a very commuter / "best-driven-sedately" offering. Seems I was right :(

In any case, I hopped over to Koncept Hyundai and promptly took the xcent petrol (manual) for a spin the congested hauz khas area the day their TD car arrived.

I will not talk about features / build / variants / pricing etc or compare it to the amaze or dzire in these respects (it has all been discussed already at length). Let's just say that a lot of checkboxes are checked by the xcent on my list of requirements for this car. What remained was the TD, so let's focus on the drive. I am an enthusiastic driver who loves cars, but I will judge this car's on road behavior looking at it objectively, maybe comparing it to sedans / hatchbacks in its price range only. I will not compare it to any of my larger cars.

------

My observations:

Suspension / Ride and Handling - definitely softer at the rear than the Grand i10. Compliant ride for its segment, and no complaints here. The handling, on the other hand, is another story. The Xcent is no corner carver, but then we all knew that to begin with. It is composed in a straight line, and speeds upto 80 (I did not have the space to push more) don't feel excessively nervous. But change lanes at speed or push her into corners and she screams no. Unsettling, but expected. It is similar to, say, an i20 in this regard. I liked the Grand i10 setup better. The positives of "sedan" weight distribution has been compromised by softening the rear!

I came across a soft, hilly bump (not a speedbreaker, but a wavy vertical rise on a road, like a crest spread across a few meters) at about 65 kms/hr. The car had an expected vertical bobbing movement up and down, and the experience put a racer-like grin on my face for just a second. It didn't last long though, because this slight bounciness unsettled the rear, and caused the rear to literally jump a little to the left. That's when I realized I'm asking for too much from this car. It is a simple, comfortable, loaded sedan with space, hyundai level of kit, high quality build and interiors, simple to drive, and a good choice for families who primarily drive in the city. A fun car it is not.

Steering is light as expected, but does weigh in a little as you speed up. There is a really annoying and strong self-centering action though, but I guess one could get used to that. Again, I didn't expect a swift here. The Grand was lower in the dynamics department than the ritz. This being a sedan, I expected it to cover up and match some qualities of the ritz, albeit with lesser feedback and lighter steering. It didn't. This checks in lower than the Grand i10!

I would still seriously consider it if the engine felt right. I'm confused here - I really want to like this car. Truly.

Engine / Performance - As I said, I didn't expect a rocket here. However, the 1.2 Kappa2 VTVT is no slouch either. In the light little i10, it is no less than a rocket. In the Grand, it's competent enough for most scenarios. In the i20, it fails to impress - the low end is practically nonexistent. In fact, this is what drove me to buy a ritz as a swift replacement 4 years ago. The i20 felt right in many ways, but as much as I tried to convince myself over multiple TDs, the engine just wouldn't speak to me. Add in the ultra light, vague, video-game steering and there's your deal breaker.

Now coming to the Xcent. Press the start button and the engine comes to life. The only thing you hear is the motor turning over to start. There are NO vibrations. NO sound. Whatsoever. I find maruti's K12 very refined, but this engine tops them all.

The clutch is super light and the car is effortless to drive in traffic. Low end is not punchy, but keep a light foot in traffic and the car moves forward with ease and no fuss. This is a brilliant car to drive in traffic. Easy, effortless stop and go, compact dimensions, a slick gearbox with well defined, tight gates, super light clutch. Passes the second gear speedbreaker test with ease. I was impressed to start with.

What disappointed me is when I tried to drive spiritedly. It was a weekday afternoon on Yusuf Sarai with heavy traffic, and I couldn't really get an open stretch to test outright acceleration. However, whenever I found a gap, I'd floor it in a low gear. The engine is refined until higher rpms, but the rising tacho isn't felt at the wheels! The car would take a few milliseconds to start accelerating, and acceleration through the gears left some gaps with almost no torque (or so it felt). I know my expectations were on the higher side, but then this is a gem of an engine. 83 ps and 114NM of torque aren't that low, and the Grandi10 being a light car, the sedan can't have a lot of added weight (I wonder why Hyundai hasn't published the weight anywhere). Then why is there such a vast difference between the Grand i10 and the Xcent when it comes to performance?

All I needed was a little sedan that handled satisfactorily for the city (read no swift / figo but at least close to ritz. Not an i20!) and had 85% of the power/torque felt at the wheels compared to what the ritz delivers. On paper it seems like the xcent might just be that.

I'm not convinced yet, and I'm very sad about it. Suddenly the Grand i10 seems like a great choice, but for only a 60k difference between the Grand i10 sportz and the Xcent S, I'm wondering if the practicality of an added boot should be ignored.

I'm also telling myself a few things - the car wasn't even run in (~100kms on the odo). There was no gap to try out the mid/top range properly. Maybe this particular car was defective. Maybe the car is silent and refinement is so high that even though handling is comfort oriented, you don't feel speed and that acceleration kick.

Because somehow, what I felt doesn't relate to what I expected, and this car ticks so many other boxes! Interior quality, build, features, refinement, service and peace of mind, looks (I know this is subjective, but compact sedans were never meant to look good. Of the trio, I think the xcent is the simplest, most non offensive, and elegant, even with it's height and messy proportions), price, space... phew! A little more FTD and I would've booked it on the spot.

I'm going to take another TD soon, with more grounded expectations, less comparison, and most of all less emotion; probably on a sunday so I get more time and road space to play. And I'll try to look at the car with a purely independent, objective view without the ritz running in my head. Let's hope it works for me. Otherwise another look at the very worthy amaze with that peppy engine. Or swift, is it?

[Chitta Pradhan]

Originally Posted by ayushagarwal26

I'm going to take another TD soon, with more grounded expectations, less comparison, and most of all less emotion; probably on a sunday so I get more time and road space to play. And I'll try to look at the car with a purely independent, objective view without the ritz running in my head. Let's hope it works for me. Otherwise another look at the very worthy amaze with that peppy engine. Or swift, is it?

My BIL requires a replacement, preferably a hatch, for his aging Santro, petrol or diesel with no upper budget as such ( of course not unlimited). His brother has a 2013 model i-20 petrol ASTA & a Fiesta 1.4 TCDI ( 5/6 yrs old). He has driven all those cars & I have driven his brother's i-20 petrol. He has an eye on Grand i-10 petrol & took a TD of the petrol few days back. Called me & told that Grand had slower acceleration than i-20. I was shocked. Few days back I had a TD of Grand i-10 diesel. My BIL wants my opinion, rather my decision what car to go for. I feel so helpless. Please come forward bhpians to my rescue.

His requirements & my observations are:

- He does not want another i-20 in his family, but something different of similar or smaller in size. He wants a feature rich car like i-20, so Grand should not disappoint him. If need be he can very well go for x-cent & can get the ACC like i-20. Since i-20 & Xcent are of similar length, he will be ok with X-cent too. He also requires good ride & good NVH. It he is ok with both ride & NVH of i-20, I presume Grand should not be too different. Not much worried about FE or ASS.

- He is a sedate driver, never touch triple digit speeds even on four lane open highways. Probably that is the reason he seems to be happy with the power of i-20. When I took a ride on that i-20, it felt me ok till 80/85 kmph or so, but thereafter it refused to go further. The car needs a long open stretch to cross 100 kmph.

- How can it be that the Grand petrol felt slower than much heavier i-20. I think, the TD car should have some problem. I have advised him to take another TD at some other dealer & try to find if there is any improvement or not?

- To me, 2013 i-20 ride felt better than my 2011 Verna. Xcent/Grand should match or even better i-20, going by the reviews.

- Are the NVH of Grand (p) & Xcent (p) same ? How does it compare with the NVH of i-20 & Verna Fludic ( my CRDI is excellent in this deptt)

- During TD of diesel Grand, I felt it terribly under power. So no question of recommending him x-cent diesel.

-Sometimes tend to suggest him Pulse/Micra diesel. Both are feature rich, feels much powerful than Grand diesel. NVH & ride ( BIL's requirements ) are acceptable IMO, going by my TD experience.

- Swift petrol would have been fine. While driving, I felt the NVH to be great, better than i-10 ( do not know about Grand petrol ).

- He can not wait for Jazz, which would have been the best.

Ohh...., what to do dear . So much of confusions. It's really easy to choose a car in today's market from many options for non-bhpians, but exactly the opposite for bhpians. Some times it feels, I would have been better off, had I not been a bhpian.

Inputs please.

[drsingh]

^^^^^^^ grand and xcent have a similar wheelbase. Ride and handling should be similar.

But proof is in the pudding. Have him TD both the vehicles.

I20 replacement is due for release. Maybe he could wait for that.

As a tall driver with tall passengers, the space in the i10 grand is better than i20.