[Zinda]

Voted a firm No.

Hyundai spares and service is expensive. Have heard of steering components and few more failures. Though such cases are sparse when compared to the volumes the car has done, but then this segment is all about bullet proof reliability!!

Further, somehow I feel none of the petrol option was an apt fit for it - the 1.2 was slow, and 1.4's Auto was neither modern nor economic.

My suggestion -
For this budget, choose Jazz, or
will extend the budget and get Ecosport

[freakmuzik]

Voted a FIRM NO!

Primarily, this has to do with my experience of owning a Hyundai Eon. As a car for my sister, we bought it in 2014 over other options like Alto owing to better build quality and interiors. Though the interiors are all fine even now, some things stopped working. The infamous EPS failure happened one year ago and I had a hard time dealing with Hyundai and I did have to shell out half the cost. If i'm not wrong, even the i20 and Verna were plagued with this issue. Also, my Audio system has stopped working and the boot struts are gone. Plus, for every service, I've had to knock off all the extras that they add to the bill. Trust me, three of the service centres I've been to have tried to rip me off. And I happened to drive my friends very new i20 petrol. It wasn't engaging to drive. Yes, the quality was great and everything appeared awesome. But I sure have lost my trust in Hyundai. Maybe the charm would last for the first 5 years. But i'm unsure post that.

P.S - I guess the EPS failure can be mentioned in the 'Negatives' in the opening post? It sure wasn't a one off case in the Hyundais before the current generation.

Cheers!

[Rajeev1]

Voted NO due to the following reasons :-
1) Frequent service requirement due to parts which fail frequently (steering rack is the most common followed by suspension parts)
2) Comparatively high service and spare part costs
3) Fuel guzzling engine (petrol) ...the fuel economy being lower than a Sedan.
4) All in all - doesnt redeem itself in any department - whether you look at costs or performance or fuel economy or comfort or reliability.

I have a relative who owned an I20 - therefore can substantiate the above facts.

[YashD]

Voted a BIG YES!

Being my first car, I have a lot of memories with this one.
Hyundai knows extremely well what a consumer wants and the i20 had them all that too with style. Yes! It doesn't drives as well as the competitors (Petrol) but who cares?
I still would want one thanks to the fuss free ownership Experience, smashing design and oodles of features.
Irrespective of mediocre engines, the car was highly reliable, there are plenty here who had some or the other issue in their cars but I for one was an extremely happy man driving it. Tbh, I will always be a little biased towards the i20 but it deserves that Love! I have extensively driven the diesel as well and if you want the combination of fun with efficiency, it's definitely worth the extra money.

[landcruiser123]

Yes!

I'd look for a lightly used (under 25k km/4 years or 6k/year) 1.4 Auto or a 1.2 manual - both cars can be very spacious commuter cars. They will be cheaper to buy than a used Swift or Baleno.

I'm not too sure about the diesel options - low mileage ones will be expensive and high mileage ones will have too much wear. Needless to say, arbitrary 10 year life rules will keep me away from a diesel.

[Tarun]

No !

too much cost for an old model, rather get Jazz automatic (petrol).
Heck if extend a bit can get a Rapid base not too far away which will be cost effective in long run (hassle free and low maintenance on a new car)

[haisaikat]

Voted No.

Unlike the earlier Santro series, Hyundai after sales service is costly for all models higher up unless you reach the premium sedan segment. In the hatchback segment the wear and tear post 5 years seems to be recurring problems and ASS is always keen to get every other part replaced even if that same can go on for some more time.

Sorry to say like this but this is coming from my personal experience of owning two Hyundai hatches which otherwise I like. Hyundai are known for their tractable powertrains, excellent AC and good interior which they were the pioneers in revolutionizing even down to the entry level cars from their stable literally shaming the contemporary offering from the prevailing brands in similar price range.

[styx71]

Voted No.

If I was looking to buy a pre-owned car in this segment, it would be a Punto Evo Emotion (diesel).

Punto might not be able to match the i20 in terms of Looks(my opinion), Engine (diesel), Space, Fit & Finish, Smoothness, Fancy Features. But, I can live with that and rather have Build Quality, Ride, Handling, Steering Feedback and Better Brakes. Switch to the pre-2012 shocks and 195/65 R15 tires and an Engine remap and one is all set.

A.S.S cannot fleece you, as there is not much left of Fiat A.S.S So, it's FNG or Shell petrol pumps for servicing. Also, unless I am missing something, don't recollect any Fiat owners complaining about being fleeced.

Only Challenge = Finding One. Either the cars are run more or not maintained well or expect higher price for a discontinued model. Non-availability is even more compounded by the fact that the company never sold cars in good numbers.

[GTO]

Quite surprised by a majority of BHPians voting for NO. This is one of those cars I expected will go on to win 70 - 75% of the poll. But I do see the point. There are some solid arguments against the car too (although I still remain hugely in favour of this one as a pre-worshipped buy).

[itsashishsharma]

Voted No.

We have owned an Esteem, a Palio and a Baleno (the original, the sedan) bought as pre-owned cars. And from my experience, an old car need to be the one with less gizmos to go wrong, simple robust engineering so that the car lasts long. This thumb rule makes a Toyota a better buy than a Hyundai as a used car.
A Swift or a Jazz are to be preferred over an i20. A Laura 1.8 TSi in manual guise and with tremendous modification options is a better buy than the Octavia that replaced it.
You want gizmos, buy a new car instead. Less electronic components to go wrong makes for a better pre-owned car.
I would get a 3-4 years old Punto multijet and remap it to make it really fast and still save around 1.5 lakhs as low resale value of Fiats is quite low. Neither that boat like ride nor it's poor handling can ever match the pure bliss of Punto's great chassis and that hydraulic steering.

[sidindica]

The 1.4 petrol only came in barebones magna trim with the 4 speed AT. No ABS only airbags. Not really a choice to buy.

[DieselAnna]

Voted NO!
We have owned a Fluidic Hyundai i20 1.4 Crdi Sportz from Oct 2012 and sold in May 2019 (72000 kms odo). Hyundais don't age well. Following things were changed during the ownership:
1. Front and Rear Suspensions
2. All 4 tyres
3. Battery
4. ABS sensor of rear tyre
5. Steering Rack
6. AC overhaul
and Clutch was due for a change as it had become very hard towards the end.
The car is serviced at a premium. Plus, the parts are expensive. Even if there is a remote chance of owning an i20, then it would be only the Crdi because of its refinement and good fuel efficiency. Petrols have single digit fuel efficiency in city traffic.
The service centers are better than most as they know their work because it's not a completely new car for them. The engines have remained the same and mechanically not much has changed since it's inception.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by GTO

There are some solid arguments against the car too (although I still remain hugely in favour of this one as a pre-worshipped buy).

Never had an issue with the Getz for 12 years, but the FNG manager always insisted that Hyundai quality was going down - especially from the launch of the Elite i20. I'm sure it's no coincidence that Hyundai stopped exporting the (Elite) i20 to EU & Australia from India. Heck, we even have a dedicated thread debating quality of Hyundais Indian cars.

First gen i20s age fairly well (not as well as the Toyota Liva), but I doubt we'll ever see too many Elite i20s hitting the 150k km mark without major expenses.

[Torquedo]

All the right reasons NOT to buy 1.

1) Expensive Maintenance.
2) Expensive Spares.
3) That anemic 1.2.
4) 1.4 CRDi, with half the shelf life gone in NCR are selling at obnoxious prices.

Up until the end of last year, Era was available at 5.7 odd OTR, now that this variant has been discontinued, at 7.4 starting for the 1.2, makes it a hopeless situation.

The single biggest reason for a NO is, at the used prices that the i20 is selling, there are many better options to choose from and that too from a segment higher and much much more grunt than what the i20 offered.

The underlying part is, I would hardly find anyone yearn for a used i20 who is keen on driving, someone with a 20 Km/day running can buy and sleep with it for 15 years.

Buying that old Figo with the precise HPS and handling on offer at less than half of a used i20 price with the same mileage would make sense any given day, this was just an example, there are many more that can be listed here.

There is zilch reason for buying this used.

[DrCar]

This thread had come at exactly the right time for me.
I was looking to buy a used i20 of 2009 or 2010 make or used Corolla altis from similar year once this lockdown ends. I am planning to buy a reliable car which I would keep atleast for 5 years.

I understand that Altis and i20 are leagues apart and belong to completely different segments. Even maintenance will be poles apart. But am willing to spend a bit more now and enjoy the car for years to come instead of regretting my purchase decision later.

There are quite a few Hyundai cars owned by my relatives. 1 i10, 2 Grand i10, 1 Verna diesel and i20 diesel (sold now). I never heard any complaints in terms of ownership from any of them. So am quite surprised to see this thread where owners are reporting issues. I always liked driving their cars with their light steerings and controls but hated being a passenger in the backseat.

I feel I would better go for a Corolla now. Yes, I am aware of other options like Ritz, Swift, etc. But I want to have a safe car now, as I have a year old daughter who will accompany us in our future travelling adventures.

I have strict budget of 2.5 lakhs in my mind which I don't want to extend. So, only reliable and safe options I am getting in my budget is i20 and Altis.

In relation to this thread, I am leaning to vote for NO now.