[zalaps]

What I liked:

• Interior quality is simply a class above
• Overall build quality which I got for Rs. 3 Lakh
• Usable boot (A lot more accommodating than the Alto's)
• Sufficiently powerful AC
• Fuel efficient three pot engine
• Good ride & handling for the segment

What I disliked:

• Vibration from the engine. The gear lever is always on Bharat Natayam mode
• Weak power delivery
• Hyundai service team's nature to sell unnecessary services to boost margins. Just check the 30,000 kms paid service analysis at the end of the thread
• Front seats have negligible lower back support. Not a car for people who have lower back issues

Alternatives considered:

The car was purchased in January 2012. In December 2011, we had a 2002 Toyota Qualis & 2006 Maruti 800 (LPG converted) in our garage. It was an ideal & complete garage for us. The LPG 800 was my grandpa's primary ride. He sought an upgrade from this car due to the following issues:

• Poor performance with LPG
• Poor luggage space due to the LPG tank
• No power steering
• Not that great an AC

So that's it. Grandpa & I, went car shopping!

Maruti Alto

The actual shopping plan was to visit the Maruti showroom, finalize the Alto variant and that's it. Now the twist was - there is a Hyundai showroom in front of our commercial property. So, my father insisted that I should at least give the Hyundai offerings a look. Why did we reject the Alto twins? We visited Hyundai first & Grandpa took the decision, although I was hell bent on a Maruti product till the last moment.

Hyundai Santro

It was not our choice. The sales guy at showroom wanted to sell the Santro. He gave a comparison between the Santro & Eon. The Santro's additional space & power were the marketing points. Grandpa rejected it for looks & fuel efficiency. I rejected it for the 10 year old body structure & interior quality.

Booking & delivery experience:

• There was no advance booking done as the Eon was available off the shelf. We bought it from Divine Hyundai, Vapi. As the car was in stock, the complete procedure of choosing the car, selecting the variant, body colour and making the payment was done in 1 hour flat. We got delivery of the car in 4 hours flat.

OTR price & discounts:

• We bought it in the month of January in 2012. So, it was evident that the dealer had 2011 models in his inventory. We were open to the idea of buying a 2011 model. Also at the time Hyundai had shuffled Eon variants. New Plus(+) variants were already declared by the media e.g (Dlite+, Era+).
• Our equipment requirement was limited to air conditioning + power steering. In the end, the deal was finalized for a 2011 Era for Rs. 3.3 Lakh on-road. I do not remember the exact amount, but we got a discount of around Rs. 30K for the 2011 model.

The good and bad about (now discontinued) 2011 Era equipment levels:

Era is a base+ variant. So items mentioned in good & bad are according to the market standard of base variants:

The good-

• Power steering is a typical Hyundai one. Too light at initial acceleration, but weighs well till 70 kph. Lifeless after that though
• AC is a good unit. The manual HVAC cools very well & rapidly, given the fact that it has to cool one of the smallest cabins in the market
• Climate (or air particle) filter for the AC Unit
• 12V socket
• Internal releases for fuel & hatch

The bad-

• A simple, but effective safety measure like the left mirror is missing
• Front seats lack independent head rests. Back cushioning is very paltry. One can feel even a minute movement by the rear passengers

The desirable-

• A defogger for the windows is not provided. Again, a must have safety feature
• ABS. Even city cars have to pass through wet stretches

Usage pattern:

• The car was bought primarily for grandpa & family market runs. For the first two years of ownership, my family lived in Killa Pardi - a small town near Vapi (South Gujarat) on NH8. It means our market runs always happened on the smooth highway
• For the initial 20,000 kms, the car has been with my grandpa & family, running only on NH8. Last year, grandpa suffered few major health upsets & he stopped driving. Since then, it has been with me
• The car has stayed in Vapi, Pune (Yes, crossed MPEW multiple times. More on that later) & Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar in the last 3 years of ownership. It has done an exhaustive number of Vapi-Ahmedabad & Vapi-Pune trips.
• Till date it has covered 60,000 kms. Approximately 45,000 kms must have been spent on national highways only. Currently I commute on it between Gandhinagar & Ahmedabad.

60K on odo. Console of base variant can be seen

Exterior:

• My grandpa was in favour of the car's design. He saw a sense of freshness in it. As for me, I HATE the Fluidic theme of Hyundai. Too many creases & curves. Very difficult to maintain / clean
• Let's start from the front. In a testimony to current trends, the headlights are unnecessarily large. See where the headlights end on the bonnet. The front bumper's design is overdone with a large amount of lines. To wipe the front bumper in one sweep is next to impossible. Front wind shield good in terms of quality. Wipers are of a good material & give a clean sweep. Bonnet is made of wafer thin material. You cannot have over the bonnet photo shoots for sure. Era came with tinted glass & it helps a lot
• Side profile comes with two Fluidic trademarked creases. Hyundai should have considered the Eon's size while applying Fluidic creases to it. The bulges on the body are almost the same as the Elantra, which is almost 1.5 times the length of the Eon. The mild design of the Grand i10 is the best example of honouring a car's dimensions
• The rear is far more neutral. Christmas tree lights are an eyesore. Smart European style wrap around lamps would have been excellent. The hatch is too small in size. Loading-unloading cargo is not an easy task. For a plus point, the spoiler is integrated in design.
• Oh, I forgot to mention the name of the colour shade. I guess it is called Mushroom Beige. An interesting read on car colour names - www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/101482-car-colours-india-what-their-makers-call-them.html

Headlight runs till front door

Build quality and fit & finish:

• If anything like a ratio of fit-finish quality to cost existed, the Eon would have scored very high on it. Everything is bolted so well, that after 60K, I am yet to get any niggles in the car! Driver side blower started making a rattling noise after 15K. It was sorted out at the 20K service. Apart from this, I never had to tighten any screw to fix any rattling! Absolutely ~zero niggles so far.
• Build quality is an OK-OK affair. Body panels are wafer thin. Doors are light (still heavier than the Alto). I'm not an expert in automotive engineering, but from a driver's point of view, the car does not assure confidence with its materials beneath the body shell. After reading front axle issues on the forum, I got a front-axle-reliability phobia. The car is not rock solid as an off-road product, but when considered from a cost perspective, I have no complaints from its build quality. I think it offers 70-80% of the build quality you get with recent cars in the 7-9 Lakh price range.

Interior design & quality:

• This is the area where Hyundai is the master! Interior quality is just outstanding! Let me count - old swift, Wagon R, Estilo, Spark, Alto, Sail. None of these cars can hold a candle against the Eon for interiors!
• Interiors are nice, firm & superbly bolted. Not even single section of the interior has a rough edge. Beige is used in a very balanced ratio. Floor bottom is of a darker shade.

All doors open

Interior space and comfort:

• Space: The car certainly has more space than the Alto. Tallboy design helps in freeing-up more headroom. The width of car is not a number to look at. You'll often be elbowing the co-passenger. Front seats have a good amount of leg-room. Leg-room for rear seats is poor to average. Boot-space is much larger than the Alto's. The boot has a practical layout as well.
• Comfort: If I have to choose one of the worst parts of the Eon - that would be the front seats. They are thin enough to feel every movement of the rear passengers. They have integrated headrests and the cushioning is too soft on the front seats. It is impossible to use it for longer drives. Front seats have negligible lower back support. It's a strict no for a person with lower back problems. Rear seats are actually practical. They offer a good balance of the reclining angle and lower back support.

Duster (Jopasu!) can be stored vertically in the boot

Engine performance & drive-ability:

The car has a small 800cc three pot motor to serve you. This engine is very susceptible to the weight it has to carry. The AC has a large impact on the engine's performance. Following are a few scenarios which I often faced in last 3 years:

Only driver

Acceleration: You are eligible to participate in drag races. Oh yes, it flies.
Ghats: Mumbai-Pune Expressway is easily doable in 4th-5th gear.
2nd gear speed breaker test: Pass with full marks.
Who can catch your attention in RVM: Polo GTs, Civic, City, K10 etc.
AC: It has a mild impact on performance.

Driver + co-passenger

Acceleration: Ok. It's a small engined car. For outright acceleration you should have a heavy right foot.
Ghats: MPEW is doable in 4th gear.
2nd gear speed breaker test: There's a sweet spot in the torque range you need to be in! Sorry, the car does not have a tachometer, so no RPM numbers.
Who can catch your attention in RVM: Swift, Innova, Santro, i10, WagonR, Estilo, Figo etc.
AC: You may feel like you're dragging a trailer with the car. It may hamper performance in 3rd & 4th gear power delivery.

Driver + 2-3 passengers

Acceleration: You are driving a car with 75 Nm of torque. Respect that. The right most lane is not for you. You are safe in the left or middle lane.
Ghats: MPEW may require 3rd gear to climb.
2nd gear speed breaker test: It's an odd situation. Torque in 2nd gear is not enough & same in 1st gear is too much!
Who can catch your attention in RVM: Spark, Alto, Tata Ace, Leyland Dost, Corolla D-4D etc.
AC: AC may force you to plan overtakes well in advance. Sometimes you floor the pedal & car may respond - 'Sorry, Chief.'

Driver + 4 passengers + 100 kg luggage

Acceleration: It's a long-long process to reach the 80 kph mark. Be patient. Meanwhile, you may share a joke with co-passengers.
Ghats: Frequent use of 2nd gear in MPEW is mostly expected. You may find creatures like a loaded Leyland Dost overtaking you.
2nd gear speed breaker Test: Fail! You will stall the car!
Who can catch your attention in RVM: Eicher, Tata 407, Tuk-Tuks etc. Oh yes, at times tractors as well.
AC: Above comments were for usage without AC. I seriously do not suggest AC usage in this condition. It may lead to depression in life. You may feel like selling the car right after a journey.

Due to the unavailability of a tacho, RPM figures are unavailable. The following are my comments on the gear ranges. Bullet number is for gear number as well!

1. It's short, but provides the much needed 75 Nm torque delivery.
2. Has a decent range. Range shortens drastically with rise in load.
3. Best one to drive. May range from 20 kph to 70 kph. Gives that ultra punch in city drives.
4. Your best buddy on busy highways. Can stretch from 30 kph, all the way till 100 kph.
5. Cruise mode only. Drop in speeds (80 to 60 kph) will force down shifts.

Gear-shift & transmission quality:

• Gear lever always stays on dancing mode. It has probably been sorted out in the latest models
• Well known reverse slotting issue of Hyundai gear boxes. Many times when the car is halted, the box will simply resist reverse slotting. Hyundai advises slotting it in 1st and then try reverse. This suggestion works perfectly
• Other than the issues mentioned above, it's a fantastic unit. One can expect sure slotting every time. Like the clutch, it's very smooth to use. In the last 60K, I've never missed a single shift. Hyundai clutches are known for lightness. Same goes for the Eon. Nothing special to mention here

Fuel efficiency:

Leave aside engine performance, gear lever dancing, lack of BHP, paltry torque. This thing is made for fuel efficiency and it succeeds in this aspect. Overall, I got 21+ kmpl over the last 60K kms.

Fuel fill up logs of last 6,000 kms or so


Fuel cost / KM & Kitna Deti Hai graphs over last 6,000 kms

Suspension, ride quality, handling & braking:

• I really have my doubts with the front suspension. Tends to squeak when fully loaded
• Ride quality can be rated between OK to Average. Nothing to complain about
• Car handles as well as any other tall boy in the market. One need to respect the height of the car while making quick turns
• Car has a good brakes. It stops in time & doesn't surprise the driver with a lack of feel

Accessories:

• Left side ORVM
• Basic music system with 2 front speakers

Warranty

• Car came with a 2 year / 40,000 kms warranty
• Dealer offered an additional warranty of up to 3 years / 60,000 kms at the time of purchase - taken
• Just a month ago, the warranty was extended to 4 years / 80,000 kms - cost was about INR ,3800

Parting shot

[zalaps]

Maintenance log

The car has a service interval of 10,000 kms. Till date, the car has gone through all six services. Here are details & findings:

Free - 1,500 kms

Nothing to write about in the first inspection service. No surprises.


Free - 10,000 kms

This was the first real service for the car. The Era variant didn't come with a left ORVM. I was struggling to get it from day one. This time they had one in inventory. So, L-ORVM became the first accessory on this car!

Now, a question to forum members. How fair is it to charge for weight in wheel balancing? In 60K service at another dealer, it has been waived for me.


Free - 20,000 kms

At the 20,000 kms service, the car was with me in Pune. Nothing much to mention. Tyres were rotated for first time.


Paid - 30,000 kms

This was a first paid service & oh boy! They made my father pay a fat amount of 6.7K for this. I was in Pune while the car was serviced in Hyundai's dealership at Vapi - Divine Motors. Just check the bill details. Few points to ponder:

• Greasing of caliper guide rod. This was not advised in the manual. Nobody cared to explain why it was needed in this service
• I did not understand what was service plus labour charges were for. Were they for extra work carried out in the 30K service? Labour for paid service was already charged separately. Amount charged for the paid service was Rs. 660 only as Vapi comes in tier 3 city list.
• Very infamous inclusions of D-Carb & flushing. 1500 bucks!
• Labour for coolant change? Come-on, that comes under paid service charges! Just check 60,000K service.
• I think we as car owners are responsible for this. As all this was done under the blind faith of my father - 'They must have done the correct things'.

Paid - 40,000 kms

Post 30K kms, I moved to Ahmedabad. By that time, grandpa stopped driving. The car was serviced at Punjab Cars, Gandhinagar. After coming from the last experience, I made sure that nothing unwanted happens.


Paid - 50,000 kms

Horn failed this time. So, I had to change it. Rest was a normal affair.


Paid - 60,000 KM

This was the major service again. Just compare it with 30K service! Punjab Cars did a good job with the service. Positives:

• Coolant changing labour was not charged
• Wheel balancing weights were not charged
• I was expecting a brake pad change this time. According to the service team, pads are still good to go for another 20K kms.

[zalaps]

Repair Log

Unfortunately - the car had to visit the service station a few times for repair work.
Fortunately - all repair work was either minor or covered under warranty.

Front wheel bearing

I was on a trip from Vapi to Pune. It was an early morning start at 5:00 AM. After 2 hours or so, a 'dug-dug' noise started coming from the front left wheel. I stopped & inspected. There was no point in halting in between the jungles of Manor, so I moved ahead. I reached Pune safely by maintaining slow speeds of 70-80 kph. Repair was carried out at Garve Motors, Pune. It was covered under warranty. To make it sweet, Garve Hyundai washed the car for free!


Hand brake jammed

This was purely my mistake. It was the rainy season in Ahmedabad. After driving through water filled streets, I pulled the hand brake to park the car & left it for 3-4 days. As a result, the rear wheels got jammed & stopped moving. I called Hyundai assistance. They came in 20 minutes or so. The car was towed to Concept Motors, Sarkhej Workshop.


Rear bumper replacement

Once again my fault. I misjudged a parked auto rickshaw. Rear left fender end of the bumper got hooked to an auto's fender. As a result, the rear bumper was torn into two pieces. I did not opt to colour a new one. Hyundai's paint shop was charging about 6K for a paint job.


Full key & lock assembly

This was surprising. One fine day, I tried to unlock the driver door with the key. Key did not move! Now, Era is a base+ variant. The passenger door does not come with a key hole. Only the rear hatch has it. 40K service was nearing, so I kept opening the rear hatch & then opened doors from it. Sadly, at the time of the 40K service, Punjab Cars did not have an Eon lock assembly with them. They ordered it immediately. Once it arrived, whole assembly was replaced within warranty. A good 6K bucks saved!


Front bumper replacement

I was on a trip to Rajkot from Ahmedabad. In the wee hours, the car hit a dog. Unfortunate it was. The dog was scared by a huge trailer & could not mark us on the road. Front bumper took all of the impact. Once again, I did not opt to colour a new one. This time the repair was carried out at Sharma Cars' newly opened workshop in Naroda. According to Sharma Cars, it is the largest Hyundai workshop in India! A neat job in the end.


Tyre change

We missed a tyre rotation at the time of the 30,000 kms service. That affected the front tyres. At 50,000 kms, I had to buy 2 new tyres for the front wheels. Tyre with balancing & alignment costed INR 5,600.

Just to summarize for 60,000 kms:-

Total maintenance cost: INR 19,131
Total repair cost: INR 10,553
Total spent: INR 29,684

That comes out to INR 0.49 per km

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Long-term Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Sebring]

That was a wonderful ownership review. Yours is the only one on the forum. We have had equally good experience with the little wonder, but for the low ground clearance. It scrapes each one of Bangalore's famous speed breakers, with four on board. Wonder if suspension can be raised?

What was your first service charge? They charged me 600 odd for oil, plus some 'service kit/package', (which i did not get into details), costing another 600 odd.

[dreamliner17]

Simply excellent review zalaps !

Great to see that your eon has served you well with very humble (touchwood!) ownership costs. The eon has proved to be a reliable bet even after 60k km and i feel its the best lil' car out there for that money! ( Although i say that for my spark equally )

[amoghchaphalkar]

Excellent compilation!! One peculiar thing struck me though

Engine Oil Quantity:

10,000 kms : 2.5 lit
20,000 kms : 3.1 lit
30,000 kms : 2.5 lit
40,000 kms : 3.0 lit
50,000 kms : 2.7 lit
60,000 kms : 2.7 lit

Why is it different at each service and varying with each service center?

Engine dcarb at 30k

[MaheshY1]

Just the kind of ownership reports I look for.
Real world details that we can relate to.

Service and fuel cost break up is awesome. I think I'll use your thread as a template/reference for my own ownership report.

[petrolhead_neel]

Excellently compiled review with a neat attention to detail and a fair bit of humour.

We own a one year old Eon in the extended family. Can very well relate to your observations. The Eon does what it does very well, but that three pot is terribly underpowered. Overall, it is a much more complete car than the Alto or Go.

Please keep this thread updated.

Cheers,
Neel

[tsk1979]

Excellent review. I love the way you have kept track of all the expenses. I guess, if you insist on not being taken for a ride, Hyundai service is not too expensive. But nowadays, most service centers have become hardware stores and insist on flush this and flush that. I think I should put a sticker on my car

"This is a car, not a toilet : Please do not flush it"

[S2!!!]

Fantastic detail. Will help a lot of present and potential Eon owners.

It seems like yesterday when we wen car shopping for my grandfather who was looking to replace his Maruti 800 5-speed. Having driven Maruti after Maruti all his life, the only car in consideration was the Alto 800. I did pull him to the Eon and the Nano but he just wouldn't stray from the Maruti showroom. So we ended up getting the Alto 800 home which is adequately modern yet is similar enough to his beloved 800.

While the Eon is a great car, why did your grandpa outright reject the Alto twins? Any particular reason?

[zalaps]

Originally Posted by Sebring

That was a wonderful ownership review. Yours is the only one on the forum. We have had equally good experience with the little wonder, but for the low ground clearance. It scrapes each one of Bangalore's famous speed breakers, with four on board. Wonder if suspension can be raised?

What was your first service charge? They charged me 600 odd for oil, plus some 'service kit/package', (which i did not get into details), costing another 600 odd.

Hey Sebring,
I've added service details in 2nd post. As per my understanding, for major services Hyundai AS tend to add Service Plus to cover extra labour. I may stand corrected here.

Originally Posted by amoghchaphalkar

One peculiar thing struck me though

Engine Oil Quantity:

10,000 kms : 2.5 lit
20,000 kms : 3.1 lit
30,000 kms : 2.5 lit
40,000 kms : 3.0 lit
50,000 kms : 2.7 lit
60,000 kms : 2.7 lit

Why is it different at each service and varying with each service center?

Engine dcarb at 30k

Even I was amazed when I compiled report! I'm still searching for exact oil capacity of engine. Let's see what comes out.

[AMDB9]

Fantastic review zalaps..!

The narration was great and as already mentioned it looks like a template for writing review .

All the points has been mentioned in detail with superb attention. I was doing this in office after reading the Engine performance & drive-ability section.

Every car maker have good cars in their portfolio. It is our perception which takes us first to visit Maruti showroom and then the others.

Wishing you many more happy & safer miles.

Thanks,
Ragav J

[ciddharth]

Phew! That's an exhaustive ownership review and I will refer yours for reference and compiling in future. I have bookmarked it.
I have always liked the Eon. It is one entry level vehicle which does not scream budget unlike its counterparts. In fact IMO the interiors feel as plush in appearance as the Verna and nowhere there is cost cutting and this was the car which completed the fluidic look in the Hyundai family range. This is a cute point A to B city vehicle and serves it purpose well. 60,000 kms in 3 years translates to a lot of usage. Even my A Star has covered only 53,000 kms in 6 years. Does that mean you intend to upgrade soon after completing some more miles?

[Simhi]

Fantastic review. A very detailed ownership report - keeping track of all the things.

Originally Posted by zalaps

Driver + 2-3 passengers

Acceleration: You are driving a car with 75 Nm of torque. Respect that. The right most lane is not for you. You are safe in the left or middle lane.
Ghats: MPEW may require 3rd gear to climb.
2nd gear speed breaker test: It's an odd situation. Torque in 2nd gear is not enough & same in 1st gear is too much!
Who can catch your attention in RVM: Spark, Alto, Tata Ace, Leyland Dost, Corolla D-4D etc.
AC: AC may force you to plan overtakes well in advance. Sometimes you floor the pedal & car may respond - 'Sorry, Chief.'

Clubbing Corolla D-4D with Spark, Tata Ace - made me laugh. But is Corolla D-4D really so bad in performance?