[TurboKat]

I wish everyone a happy new year. Since 2022, I had been thinking about penning down an ownership review of our car. But hadn’t been able to write/type a single word due to my lack of creativity while playing with words as well as not having substantial knowledge on cars. However, after reading various long term ownership reviews, I finally decided to take the plunge. So, without further ado, I’ll start the writeup.

A brief background of the automobiles owned by my dad:

My dad’s first vehicle was a 1986 Bajaj Super, bought from his older brother in 1988. He bought it right after earning the first profit from his newly established business and continued to use it till 2008. My parents got married in 1997. Initially they used the scooter for commutes as well as for occasional long-distance trips to their respective hometowns. Gradually, the need for a car arose.

Back in the late 90s, the Maruti 800 was selling like hotcakes and it was the default choice for the first-time car buyer. Dad was more inclined towards the Zen. He went to the Maruti showroom, enquired about the prices of the LX and VX variants and brought a quotation of both the variants to discuss with his younger cousins. Santro was not in the list as it was considered ugly by my mom. My uncles (dad’s younger cousins) used to keep track of the latest automotive news and were regular subscribers of magazines like Auto India. They suggested him to choose the Matiz instead of the Zen as it was more spacious and the F8C engine was a decent performer.

Dad went to the Daewoo showroom with one of his cousins on 16th November, 1999. The manager of the showroom was a relative of one of his customers. He informed dad about the prices of all the four variants (SS, SD, SE, SP) and the waiting periods. The showroom had three cars on display, a Mineral Red Matiz SS, a green Cielo and a Twinkle Beige Matiz SD. All the cars were booked. However, the manager had implicitly implied that the allotment of one of the Matizes could be changed by showing a later date of arrival to a customer. All dad had to do was to pay extra 10000 rupees to the dealership. Dad needed a car as soon as possible. So, he readily agreed to pay the extra amount. Next came the variant. The SD variant was a no brainer as it had air conditioning, left ORVM and a radio cassette head unit (AKF-4015) with two speakers right from the factory. The car was delivered on 17th November, 1999. With the exit of Daewoo Motors India Limited from the Indian soil in 2002, a lot of people sold their cars at meagre prices. Our car had covered 1 lakh kms. till then. Dad decided to hoard some parts from a known source (closing Daewoo dealer in Delhi) and retain the car.

Reason why we decided to buy a new car:

Fast forward to 2015, the Matiz had served us through thick and thin and had covered 3 lakh kms. without a single engine rebuild. The Daewoo ASC had shut up shop in 2012. Since then, it was maintained by mechanics at FNGs. After shifting to FNGs, the car started showing signs of deterioration. In 2015, the engine was overhauled and radiator was replaced as the older one had started leaking at certain places. After the engine rebuild, the car had covered 25 thousand kms. On one rainy evening (16th April, 2016, to be precise), mom, dad, and I were returning from the marriage ceremony of a relative, hosted at their hometown (300 kms. away). It was around 9 pm when we reached Guwahati. Suddenly, clouds of white smoke started spewing out of the exhaust pipe. The car started to idle roughly and jerk violently during acceleration. Somehow, we managed to reach home and park the car in the garage. All of us were exhausted after the long trip. Dad decided to take the car to the FNG the next morning. Next morning, the car refused to start and even after starting for a brief period, it used to turn off. The mechanic was called home to diagnose the problem. He gave an estimate of 50,000 Rupees for the repairs. (I don’t know much in detail about what happened with the car as I was a 13 year old kid with minimal access to the internet, unlike some of the current BHPians who are in their early teens and are pretty knowledgeable about cars.) It was decided that instead of getting the car repaired, we would be buying a new car. Keeping that in mind, we started scouting for a new car.

Cars initially considered:

1. Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXI –

• Likes: It’s a Maruti = Excellent ASS + Easy availability of parts, as the K12M engine was shared with other cars + Best resale value
• Dislikes: Boot was small for my parents’ liking. Moreover, there were 5 Swifts in the extended family (two VDIs, two VXIs and one ZXI). They didn't want to buy a car which was owned by almost all the relatives.

2. Hyundai Grand i10 Asta Option 1.2 –

• Likes: It's a decent product from Hyundai, many owners had reported niggle free ownership experiences, sorted suspension, which wasn’t wobbly like the suspension setup found in the previous Hyundais, excellent fit and finish, sufficient boot space, good overall performance of the 1.2 Kappa engine.
• Dislikes: The fixed front head rests, but it wasn't a problem for my dad as he is 5'7".

3. Hyundai Elite i20 Sportz 1.2 –

• Likes: It was getting more goodies than the Grand i10 like reverse camera, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, automatic climate control.
• Dislikes: As the kerb weight was more than the Grand i10, it felt sluggish.

4. Maruti Suzuki Baleno Zeta 1.2 –

• Likes: Same as Swift + fresh product in the market
• Dislikes: Waiting period of 6 months. We needed a car as soon as possible.

5. Ford Figo 1.2 –

• Likes: Better handling than the Marutis and Hyundais + good looks
• Dislikes: The 1.2 engine. Dad didn’t find its performance adequate.

The 1.5 TDCI was a gem of an engine. We could’ve gone for the base variant, but it was vetoed by mom and our monthly commute was below 1000 kms. So, buying a diesel car didn't make sense.

Wild card entry:

Fiat Abarth Punto –

• Likes: Well, I think there are a lot of threads that explain how special an Abarth Punto is.
• Dislikes: Fiat ASS was a gamble in North East India. We had heard a lot of horror stories from various people who bought Fiat cars.

The Abarth Punto was a 2015 car, owned by one of dad’s business contacts. They were selling the car as it wasn’t fuel efficient. Dad took the car for a spin and came back grinning like a maniac. He had finalized the car, paid a token amount to the seller and informed mom that he would be buying the car. Mom strictly laid out the condition that our next car would be of a brand which had a certain future in India, a well laid out network of service centres and easy availability of parts. So, the Abarth was cancelled. The gentleman was kind enough to return the token amount.

Ultimately, there were two contenders, the Grand i10 and the i20. The Grand i10 was chosen as it felt peppier than the i20, was comparatively cheaper and had the good-looking diamond cut alloy wheels. The Stardust shade was liked by everyone in the family. So it was finalized that we would be buying the top of the line variant in the Stardust shade.

The car was booked at a sub dealer of Oja Hyundai on 16th September, 2016 instead of the main dealer, as it was only 2kms. away from our home. We were promised a fresh car by the SA, and true to his word, we received a car which was manufactured on 28th September, 2016(decoded by a VIN checker). The car arrived at the stockyard on 5th October, 2016. All the formalities for the car loan were completed by 6th October. PDI was also completed on the same day and we brought the car home on 7th October, 2016.

The Matiz was sold to Hyundai H Promise. They offered Rs. 30,000 for the car, which was much better than the meagre amount offered by Maruti True Value.
On-road Price = Rs. 6,71,000
Festive Discounts = Rs. 20,000
Old Vehicle’s Price = Rs. 30,000
Final Price = Rs. 6,21,000
Freebies offered = MOBIS seat covers, rubber floor mats, ambi pur perfume, mudflaps and an idol of lord Ganesh.

Dad decided not to opt for the insurance package offered by the dealer (Bharati AXA) and got it from Bajaj Allianz at a cheaper price.

It is a well-established statement that unlike the 90s kids, the 2000s kids don’t feel much excitement when a new car comes home. However, it was not true in my case. My half-yearly exams had ended on 5th October. I wanted dad to bring the car home on 5th itself. Mom said that the loan disbursement was not yet done and we needed to wait till the next day. I waited impatiently and kept praying for 7th October to arrive soon. The formalities were completed on 6th October. But dad didn’t want to take delivery of the car in the evening. On 7th, we arrived at the showroom in the afternoon. As the formalities were complete, we didn’t need to wait for long and took the car to a nearby temple for the pooja.

Pic clicked on the day the car was delivered.

Me and dad checking the new car, and a cleaner spraying Colin on the windshield.

I wanted to choose a name for the new car. One day, I was watching the Cars movie with a friend at his place. The Rust-eze brothers appeared on the screen and started cracking jokes. I liked those characters. One of the Rust-eze brothers was named Dusty. Moreover, the car's paint shade was nomenclatured as Stardust. Adding 1 and 1, it was child's play to decipher how the car received it's name. I was quite proud of myself that I had chosen a unique name for the car. Little did I know it was a fairly common name, as I later found out the nicknames of DBHPian Dr. AD's rides.

[TurboKat]

The official review of the Grand i10 is so detailed that I don’t think I can add anything much. So, I’ll just share the overall ownership experience in this post.

Initial days after buying and dad’s observations:

The Grand i10 was a significant upgrade from the Matiz, which had no power steering, no power windows, no ABS. During the initial days, dad was taking things slow and was gradually getting used to driving a car equipped with an EPS and ABS. Earlier, he had driven cars with power steering, but those had hydraulic units. He found the initial bite of the brakes to be excessive, but later got used to it. ABS proved to be very useful during situations of hard braking. Refinement of the 1.2 Kappa2 engine was miles ahead of the F8C engine of the Matiz. The F8C engine, being a three-cylinder unit used to vibrate more. In the Kappa, one wouldn’t even know if the engine was running. The engine was so silent that I remember him pressing the start/stop button to turn it on when it was running. Luckily, there’s a prevention mechanism to save the starter motor. This turns the engine off if one presses the button while the engine is running and the clutch is depressed.

The car hadn’t seen the highways for the first two months. Entire commute was within the city. The first service/ inspection was done on 7th November, 2016. Everything was fine and one of the ASC mechanics topped up the washer fluid. The first long distance run was to my mother’s hometown (140 kms. away). Odometer had crossed the 1000 kms. mark during that trip.

Some words to give an overall idea of the vehicle:

The heart of the car/ engine:

The engine of the Grand i10, having a displacement of 1197cc, is a gem in its own right. It is one of those engines which can keep chugging along without throwing tantrums, if routine maintenance is provided. The engine, being a 4-cylinder unit does an excellent job in controlling the NVH levels. In low RPMs, there is almost no noise from the engine. Refinement levels are so good that Hyundai didn’t bother to provide insulating material on the bonnet or the firewall. However, as revs increase, some noise starts to enter in the cabin. This is evident especially while redlining the car in 1st and 2nd gears. The 1.2 Kappa2 is a revv-happy unit and idles at the 800rpm mark. Revv limiter is at 6500 rpm. Driving in the city is stressfree and frequent downshifts are not needed. It is easy to potter at 40 kmph on 4th gear without any clutch input. On the highways, performance is adequate. One can effortlessly keep cruising at 120 kmph throughout the day without the engine feeling strained. It can do very well while keeping up with engines twice its displacement. But not without its limitations. With AC switched on and 5 passengers on board, it takes quite some time to build up speeds. It won’t satisfy people who are after outright acceleration and performance. 0-100 kmph takes around 13 seconds.

The 1.2 Kappa is not a sprinter, but a cruiser. It was designed to offer easy driveability in the city and provide good fuel economy. But outright performance is not its forte. This is a car which is neither slow nor crazy fast.

Transmission:

Pic borrowed from Team BHP's official review of the Grand i10.

The Grand i10 petrol used to come with a 5 speed manual gearbox and a 4 speed torque converter automatic gearbox. Our car has the 5 speed manual gearbox. The shifts are smooth, gears are easy to slot and don’t require effort. Some owners have reported that engaging reverse is sometimes tricky. We faced the issue initially. However, there’s a trick. The trick is one needs to press the clutch pedal fully and engage reverse with a little bit of force. After following it, we haven’t encountered that issue again.


Ride and handling:

This is an area where the Grand i10 gets full marks when compared to the older Hyundais. It’s suspension setup does an excellent job in absorbing the undulations and maintaining composure. It makes sure that small bumps and potholes are not felt by the passengers in the cabin. Straight line stability is great and it handles the curves decently, but not as good as the other options which we had considered, like the Figo or the Punto. Handling is predictable and the car doesn’t bounce like the older Hyundais. However, the soft suspension setup bottoms out with full load.

Fuel Economy:

Fuel economy was one of the requirements when we bought our car. We needed a car which had decent fuel economy, around 13-15 kmpl within the city and 16-18 kmpl on the highways. The Grand i10 perfectly suited our needs. With dad’s sedate style of driving and gearshifts at lower rpms, he gets 14-15 kmpl within the city and 18-19 kmpl on the highways (by tank-to-tank method). I, on the other hand, generally obtain figures like 11 kmpl inside the city and 16 kmpl on the highways.

Interiors:

The interiors of the Grand i10 have excellent fit and finish. The dash board is well laid out with a mixture of beige and black, like the doorpads. There are plenty of storage spaces in the car. All the doorpads have slots which can easily carry one 1 litre bottle. The factory fitted leather wrap steering is nice to hold, but has worn out with usage. The gear knob is also wrapped in leather and looks great with the chrome letters and glass finish, unlike the ones in the lower variants. Nobody can identify any signs of cost cutting in a single glance of the interior. However, if one has a keen eye, they will be able to notice cost cutting in form of the auto down feature of the driver window. Hyundai didn’t provide the feature of auto up for that window. I personally feel that the cabin doesn’t feel outdated even after a decade of the launch of the Grand i10. Just plonking in a touchscreen head unit will make it look updated.

The well laid out dashboard.

The car even has a rear AC vent. It isn’t much effective like the vents on the dashboard, but still does its job. Moreover, there are two 12V sockets, one below the climate control panel and one below the rear AC vent.

The rear AC vent.

The seats are well contoured and the passengers do not feel tired even after long journeys. My mom thinks the front seats are the most comfortable ones among all the cars she has ridden till now.

The stock head unit is outdated by todays standards. It has options of FM, AM, USB, Bluetooth playback and 1GB memory to store songs. The unit can play MP3, WMA and AAC files, but not FLAC. I discovered this recently. The 4-speaker setup is decent, but the rear speakers feel weaker than the front speakers. Till now, there are no plans of upgrading the speakers.

The instrument console houses the speedometer, tachometer, fuel and temperature gauges and an MID. The MID contains two trip metres, engine running time, average speed. The latter options are of no use for us. We only use the trip metres. All the lights of the interior except the cabin light have blue backlighting.

The instrument cluster.

A pic of the dashboard with blue backlighting.

Exterior:

The Grand i10 carries forward the company’s fluidic design language. But it is toned down than the other cars from their stable. Our car, being a pre facelift model has a hexagonal front grille with horizontal slats and foglamp insets without provision for DRLs.

The rear bumper doesn’t have a black plastic insert, has smaller reflectors than the facelift and 4 reverse parking sensors.

The variant and engine badges.

The 14 inch 8 spoke diamond cut alloy wheels look great and are easy to clean.

The car has useful features like keyless entry on both doors.

The car is neither a tallboy nor a low slung hatch. Doors open wide and ingress/egress is easy, but the elderly might not find it as easy as they find in tallboys like the WagonR.

The rear wiper, which I feel is a necessity missed by a lot of people who opt for lower variants of cars. It is extremely useful during long drives, as one doesn't need to manually keep cleaning the rear glass for better visibility.

Headlights:

The headlights contain H4 60/55W bulbs and their throw is satisfactory within the city, but inadequate on the highways. Stock headlight bulbs were of Phoenix Brand. The low beam of both the bulbs got fused. I put forward the idea of getting 100/90W bulbs. But dad didn't agree as he didn't want the headlight lenses to get faded like they did in our Matiz after installation of high powered bulbs. So, I bought 60/55W Osram bulbs and installed those.

The faded headlights of the Matiz after the bulb upgrade.

The new 60/55W Osram Bulb.

Pre facelift Grand i10s used to get either Apollo Amazer 3G Maxx tyres or Goodyear Duraplus DPH1 tyres from the factory. Stock size is 165/65 R14. Our car came with Goodyears. Tyre noise was lesser than JKs, Ceats and they performed decently. But two tyres had to be replaced due to sidewall cuts.

[TurboKat]

Maintenance and issues faced in 7 years of ownership:

Yearly service gets done at varying intervals because the car doesn’t run the same number of kilometres every year. Sometimes, it runs more than 10,000 kms. in a year. Whereas, next year, it might run less than 5,000 kms. On certain occasions, yearly service was done when the car ran 11,000 kms. This was because dad wasn’t able to take out time to send the car to the ASC for the service and I didn’t know how to drive. From 2022, we are trying to keep the service intervals consistent at 10,000 kms or less. Since then, we’ve stopped using the Servo semi synthetic oil provided by the HASC and started sourcing better fully synthetic engine oils and using those. Air filter and cabin filter get replaced in every yearly service. Throttle body was cleaned thrice till now, at 10,000 kms, 26,859 kms and 47,596 kms. Gear oil was replaced twice, at 26,859 kms. and at 49,574 kms. In the recent gear oil replacement, I followed BHPian Sagar Padaki’s recommendation of filling Petronas Tutela Technyx 75W85 GL4+ gear oil instead of the Servo mineral 75W85 gear oil the ASC supplies. After the replacement at 26,859 kms., the gear shifts were no longer smooth like before. But after filling Tutela Technyx, gear shifts have become smooth like day 1. Overall yearly service cost comes to be around 4000-6000 including the things which we ask the ASC mechanics to carry out. Door hinges were tightened and lubricated at 47,596 km service.

Building a rapport with the service advisor has some perks too. The original mid-pipe had rusted and developed cracks. Welding those cracks would’ve been useless. Another Grand i10 had come to the ASC to get the mid-pipe replaced. That particular part had only grain sized cracks. Our car had been assigned to the same SA since 2019. Generally, the service centre scraps those parts. But he gave us the option of welding the cracks on that mid-pipe and fitting it on our car at 2000 rupees. A brand-new part would’ve cost around 8000 rupees. As we were on a tight budget during that time, dad went for the 2000 rupees option. It's been 3 years since the midpipe was replaced and it is working fine.

Parts replaced over a period of 7 years:

1. Carrier Assembly: As reported by many owners, this is a common problem in all Grand i10s, owing to the badly designed front bumper and the soft suspension, ground clearance, wrong sized tyre combo. Carrier assembly was replaced twice, in 14,264 kms. (in 2017) and again at 46,143 kms. (in 2022). I don’t remember clearly about the 2017 incident, but in 2022, I was the one driving the car when the mishap occurred. It was around 7 in the evening. I was traversing through some rough roads and saw a deep pothole. I braked hard, but it was too late. The car was already in the pothole and I heard a loud thud. After coming out of the pothole, I stopped the car and saw that the plastic part covering the carrier assembly had fallen down in the pothole. The carrier had cracked on one side. I didn’t see the crack as it was dark and continued to drive. Next morning, I took the car to the ASC to get that plastic part replaced. However, I was in for a shock when the SA put the car on the rack and showed me the broken carrier assembly. I covered 260 kms. with a broken carrier assembly. Man! It was scary.

2. Front Bumper: During the replacement of the second carrier assembly, we decided to get the front bumper replaced as the older one had developed some cracks. But the ASC did a shoddy job on the paintwork. Two small bubbles have developed near the left fog lamp housing. Moreover, the paint is mismatched.

3. Left Mirror: The left ORVM assembly’s mirror was broken when a sharp protruding part of the bike one of the speeding chaapri bikers hit the mirror. It was replaced as a DIY.

4. Power Window Switch: The left power window switch had to be replaced as it suddenly stopped working one day.

5. Clutch Assembly: The clutch assembly has been replaced thrice, at 5343 kms., 15,035 kms. and 49,574 kms. The first set had worn out as one of my cousins was learning to drive in our car. The second set had worn out due to the fault of a driver, who used to take me to school and bring me back home. He was a novice and used to revv the engine more than required and leave the clutch too slowly. For the third set, both me and mom are responsible. First, I learnt to drive. After gaining some confidence, I began teaching mom.

6. Brake Pads: Factory fitted brake pads were replaced last week, at 52,737 kms.

7. Battery Replacement: Factory fitted battery was replaced in 2020. The car had covered around 35,000 kms. Dad bought an EXIDE Mileage 40Ah battery from one of his business contacts at wholesale price.

8. Right Headlight: The right headlight assembly was replaced on warranty due to a manufacturing defect. It used to get foggy like the ones in the Palios.

9. V Belt: The V Belt was replaced at 49,574 kms. as the older one had developed cracks.

10. Evaporator Assembly/ Cooling Coil: The AC stopped cooling exactly at the moment the car clocked 50,000 kms. on the odometer. Dad was returning back to Guwahati after dropping me at the university. He kept using the car without AC for almost one month. Finally, he had enough of driving without AC and filled AC gas at a neighbourhood accessories shop. However, the gas didn’t stay even for an hour in the system. (The Matiz used R12 AC refrigerant. It was actually quite strange that the cooling coil didn’t go kaput during the entire 17 years of ownership. Only AC gas was filled and the AC was good to go.) Dad was confused and discussed with me about this problem. I asked BHPian ChiranjitP regarding this. He identified the problem to be the cooling coil/ evaporator assembly. BHPian Tanveer02’s Grand i10 was also due for a cooling coil replacement. Chiranjit Da had bought the part for Tanveer Da’s Gi10 and shared the part number with me. I forwarded the part number to dad. Initially, we had decided to get the AC overhauled at a local AC specialist’s shop. However, later, dad got the job done at the ASC as the AC specialist had gone to his hometown and dad needed the AC working as soon as possible. Replacement of cooling coil was done at 51,038 kms.

These were the only parts that were replaced till now. Stock suspension is running great for a car that has run more than 50,000 kms. Majority of work on the car has been carried out at Oja Hyundai, Noonmati. The experience with the ASC has been pretty good, but with some rocky moments too. If the owner is not there to constantly pester the service centre staff, work doesn’t get completed on time. Moreover, they tend to mess up on a lot of trivial matters and push a lot of unnecessary things to inflate the service bill if the owner is not aware.

The only jugaad done on the car is the electromagnetic boot opening switch. As the boot gets opened multiple times in one day, the rubber of the boot switch had worn out and the plastic cover had fallen somewhere. The switch was working, but it used to go out of the slot whenever dad pressed it. A new assembly costs in the vicinity of 1300 Rupees. Child parts are not available separately. Instead of spending 1300, I opened the assembly, stuck FeviQuick on two sides of the switch and fixed it back. It’s been more than a year and the switch has been performing flawlessly.

The car with a new bumper and carrier assembly. The old ones are placed in front of it.

Brake Pad after 52,700 kms.

Aftermarket additions made on the car till now include only the rainguards, headlight bulbs, a TOMTOM 12V charger and floor mats(bought from a wholesale shop and installed as a DIY job).

[TurboKat]

Some things about the car which I feel could’ve been better:

1. Steering: The steering should’ve been a bit heavier. I find it too light and confidence uninspiring, especially at triple digit speeds.

2. Engine protection: Hyundai should’ve provided an engine guard. The sump remains exposed to underbody hits.

3. Intake routing: A better routed stock air intake is much desired.

4. Dead pedal: A dead pedal would’ve been nicer to have, especially on long drives.

5. Tyres: Wider tyres with taller sidewalls (175/185 sections) should’ve been provided from the factory. This would not only enhance the looks of the car but also increase the ground clearance.

6. Power window switches: Backlit power window switches, at least on the driver’s door, would’ve been useful at night. I wouldn’t need to fumble about just to find the power window switches. Only the driver's window switch is illuminated.

7. IRVM: The Grand i10 gets a manual day/night IRVM. Auto dimming IRVM is useful, especially at night. After driving my uncle’s Honda City, I started missing this feature on the Grand i10.

8. Ground Clearance: Just like other owners, I feel that a tad bit more ground clearance(170-175mm) would’ve nullified most of the underbody scrapping issues. The underbody of our car has taken some nasty hits till now. A part of the rocker panel of the left side got dented after a hit.

Check the rocker panel in this pic.

Pending installations and inspection:

1. Auto dimming IRVM: I had bought the auto dimming IRVM of the Baleno, way back in 2022, and was planning to install it by myself. But that project is still pending, mainly due to me being lazy.

2. Boot struts: The factory fitted boot struts have become loose. Dad is planning to get them replaced after some days.

3. Spark plugs: We filled XP95 for the first time during a recent trip to Arunachal Pradesh. The car had run 53,000 kms. on normal petrol. BHPian and good friend Ashton Castelino advised me to check the spark plugs once and replace if required in order to avoid the issue he faced.(https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post5555032 (Azure Grey 2006 Maruti-Suzuki Swift VXi | Ownership Review))

4. Dash Cam: I had bought a second hand Qubo Dash Cam from an acquaintance by paying 1300 Rupees. Little did I know I was sold a defective unit. The camera stopped working after a week. So, I’m planning to buy a good dashcam which costs less than 5000 Rupees.

[TurboKat]

Conclusion:

For most, cars are meant to ferry people from point A to point B, but only few of the eccentric people(a.k.a. the enthusiasts) form unbreakable bonds with their cars. The Matiz and the Grand i10 are close to my heart. Both the cars accompanied me through significant stages of my life (Matiz- from birth to late childhood and Grand i10 – throughout the teens). However, it’s the Grand i10 which I got to experience as a driver and an automotive enthusiast. My curiosity to understand things related to this car drove me forward to spend hours reading threads on various automotive forums, getting in contact with like-minded enthusiasts and going on drives. The car has run 53,890 kms. as of now and if not for the COVID lockdown, it would’ve crossed 80,000 kms. Moreover, daily usage has decreased as the car is no longer used for school duty. Still, it runs everyday and continues to perform the jobs of a Piaggio Ape, an Alto and a highway cruising sedan flawlessly. Of course, there is a possibility of upgrading to better cars in the future, but I don’t think Dusty will leave our garage as long as Hyundai continues to exist in India and parts are available. Even my parents have become quite attached to it and have no plans of selling it.

Attaching some pictures of Dusty:

A pic containing the fogging headlight, which was later replaced.

Taking a detour to avoid two toll-gates.



Sunlight ruined the pic.

Twinning with another Grand i10.

This pic was clicked a day after the car lost its front number plate.

"And miles to go before I sleep."

With this, I conclude the ownership review.

I would like to thank BHPians Ashtoncastelino and ChiranjitP for taking their time to answer my trivial questions, guiding me on various matters related to the car and proofreading the thread.

P.S. - Please bear with the poor quality of some of the pictures. Quality got degraded when I tried to compress them to upload on the website.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Strider24]

I am feeling so nostalgic reading your ownership review. Both of these cars have been close to my life.
I have owned a 1999 vintage Matiz in Grey color for 1+ year, it was the first car I had owned in 2010. it was a significant upgrade over Maruti 800 DX my father owned that time.



Then my father bought a white colored Grand i10 Asta (O) model in September 2014. Its a brilliant car which offered more bang for the buck he spent for all its features and creature comforts. compared to it my then car Honda Brio felt archaic. 10 years on and it is still doing duty with my elder brother needing nothing but periodical services.

The blue color on this car looks very sophisticated. The minor scratches seen on bumper and side body can be removed by rigorous buffing using any rubbing compound, which probably will cost around 100-200.

My father's car came with engine guard, it may have been removed in later year's model as cost cutting measure. If I remember correctly once it got damaged and replacement cost was around 10k. you may check for this part with ASC or on Boodmo and see if its available.

Wish you many happy miles on this car in coming days.

[Mr. Nobody]

Good read! My 68k kms ran grand i10 experience has also been similar in many ways. The rear boot rubber is quite a low grade and mine had worn out too in just 5 odd years. I though replaced the whole button for around 1k back then. The boot struts in my car were replaced this year only for 700 bucks for aftermarket ones and they are working fine while the oem pair is for around 3800. Also using the same Tutela gear oil since 2018, though i did keep facing occasional gear not slotting issues. Since the 1st clutch replacement last month i have not noticed it though.

[UNSC117]

The grand i10 to me, feels like an incredibly underrated car. It's great bang for your buck, and peppy to drive. Hope you have many more miles with the car

[TurboKat]

Originally Posted by Strider24

I am feeling so nostalgic reading your ownership review. Both of these cars have been close to my life.
I have owned a 1999 vintage Matiz in Grey color for 1+ year, it was the first car I had owned in 2010. it was a significant upgrade over Maruti 800 DX my father owned that time.

Attachment 2567028

Then my father bought a white colored Grand i10 Asta (O) model in September 2014. Its a brilliant car which offered more bang for the buck he spent for all its features and creature comforts. compared to it my then car Honda Brio felt archaic. 10 years on and it is still doing duty with my elder brother needing nothing but periodical services.

The blue color on this car looks very sophisticated. The minor scratches seen on bumper and side body can be removed by rigorous buffing using any rubbing compound, which probably will cost around 100-200.

My father's car came with engine guard, it may have been removed in later year's model as cost cutting measure. If I remember correctly once it got damaged and replacement cost was around 10k. you may check for this part with ASC or on Boodmo and see if its available.

Wish you many happy miles on this car in coming days.

It's great to know about another enthusiast owning the same cars. The Matiz was a car which was way ahead of its time. Moreover, it was very reliable and rarely used to break down. Of course, issues with suspension components, exhaust pipe and rims were there. But it never left us stranded anywhere.

The Grand i10 used to come in a shade nomenclatured as Twilight Blue. Our car is of the Stardust shade. This particular colour appears blue in certain lighting conditions, but is actually isn't. It's more greyish. And the scratches look minor, but aren't. Our car remains parked beside a temple throughout the day whenever dad is in our retail unit. There is a Maruti dealer (Bimal Auto Agency) behind the temple. Employees of that dealership park their scooters near our car. Dad has been parking vehicles at a fixed spot since 1988. As the employees don't get enough space to park their vehicles, they resort to vandalism. The scratches on the bumper and the dent on the tailgate are a result of this. Moreover, dad keeps shuttling between Fancy Bazaar (location of our wholesale unit) and Chandmari (location of our retail unit) twice a day. The entire commute is through congested roads. Some autowalas are responsible for the scratches on the doors. Regarding the quarter panels, both mom and me are responsible. Construction has been going on in our compound since 2021. As both of us learnt to drive in this car and were novices, we misjudged some very narrow turns and scratched them on the pillars. The entire car needs a proper repaint. We will be doing it once construction is over.

Could you please share the part number of the sump guard? Or send a pic of it? I asked my SA whether the Grand i10 got an sump guard, back in 2020, when I was still learning about cars. He replied that adding a sump guard would lead the air intake to pull hot air. So it never came with an sump guard.

And, by the way, thanks a lot. We are indeed planning to retain the car till its end of life.

P.S. - The colour of your ex Matiz is not grey. It is Twinkle Beige, the same colour as our car.

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

Good read! My 68k kms ran grand i10 experience has also been similar in many ways. The rear boot rubber is quite a low grade and mine had worn out too in just 5 odd years. I though replaced the whole button for around 1k back then. The boot struts in my car were replaced this year only for 700 bucks for aftermarket ones and they are working fine while the oem pair is for around 3800. Also using the same Tutela gear oil since 2018, though i did keep facing occasional gear not slotting issues. Since the 1st clutch replacement last month i have not noticed it though.

The rubber of the boot switch now costs 1295 Rupees. I didn't find it worth to pay that much for a new one when the old one is working fine. I had typed the thread around last week. Dad replaced the boot struts with OEM ones and got the spark plugs inspected at an FNG. The mechanic found the spark plugs to be okay and checked the gaps too. Since the Arunachal trip, dad has been using XP95. He found idling to be much smoother than it was with E20 petrol. Moreover, fuel economy figures have also gone up. Earlier, 3500 Rupees worth of E20 petrol was required for a trip from Guwahati to Tezpur and back. However, this Sunday, my parents filled XP95 petrol of 3200 Rupees and easily completed the trip. And regarding the Petronas Gear oil, I would say it was indeed a good decision.

Originally Posted by UNSC117

The grand i10 to me, feels like an incredibly underrated car. It's great bang for your buck, and peppy to drive. Hope you have many more miles with the car

Thanks a lot for your warm wishes. The Grand i10 is a no nonsense family car and is completely value for money. Some upgrades (like tyres) make it the perfect car for daily use as well as occasional long distance trips. We are indeed planning to retain the car for long and service experience with Hyundai has been pretty good till now. Most of the middle aged as well as non-enthusiast people have a misconception that all Hyundai cars are fuel guzzlers and parts are very expensive. My uncles(dad's elder brothers who own the Swifts), used to say "Hoondai gariye baaghor nisina tel khai, aaru beya hole bhal koriboloi bohut khoros hoy"(Translation: Hyundai cars drink fuel like a tiger and cost a lot if something goes bad). However, we have been able to prove them wrong with the Grand i10 as most of the parts are not very costly and are within reasonable price rate. Moreover, fuel economy is also great.

[sukarsan]

This would have been my ownership review as well. Mine has covered 33000 in 8 years and it looks like all Grand i10s have same set of issues.

Ownership Review:

This was my first car, purchased in 2015 . Cost was 5.5 L . Settled cash and got it home. Had a minor crash while learning to drive. Then got a trainer and he taught me to drive properly. My wife too started to drive and its been sedate driving all along for past 8 years.

I like the gear shift in particular. I wish the fuel economy of 13 was better. Interiors are holding quite well . Quite a few scratches to the exterior. I plan to hold on to the car for 12-14 years, so that's another 4-6 years left.

Addons:

Reverse proximity sensor and dashcam.

Parts replaced over a period of 7 years:

1. Carrier Assembly-I am not sure what is being referred to, but the radiator guard is prone to damnage. Its broken and removed, but not replaced.


4. Power Window Switch: Same problem. One of them didnt respond ,but a local mechanic rectified it.

5. Clutch Assembly: Replaced it couple of months back. 30,000 kms is the typical replacement interval. My car was sedately driven by me and my wife and the clutch usage is quite good.

6. Brake Pads: No problem with braking so far.,

7. Battery Replacement: More than mileage, this is a time dependent replacement. Changed it after 5 years. This was the first major replacement.

8. Right Headlight: I am not at all happy with the headlight , but so far no mechanic has offered a solution.

9. V Belt: Changed at 30000 kms.

10. Evaporator Assembly/ Cooling Coil: I was living in an area notorious for AC damage due to nearby open drain. Changed it after 6 years.

11. Unique things-- Tyres at 29000. I became a regular customer at the puncture shop. After 6 -7 visits, i decided to change the tyres. Each puncture was from a different tyre and different location. The nozzle used to leak after gas refill and I had a flat tyre in the morning. Happened twice and this was the last straw.

12. Unique things- Spark plugs- Should not have replaced, but the mechanic screwed up.

13. Gear oil- Gear shift is really bad now. Based on this thread I have ordered the Petronas gear oil. I will update once this is done next week.

14. Wiper has to be changed frequently, but this has to do with the dust in my locality.

Quick question: What is a mid pipe? The one from the exhaust to the muffler? Why should it be replaced if this is after the 3 way catalyst . I dont think there will be impact on the noise behavior if there is leakage between the catalyst and muffler.


Additional notes: Since I work on engine development and have a good idea about the vehicle as well, I don't get my vehicle serviced in the traditional sense. Mechanics come up with a estimate of 6-7k and hate me to the core when this is revised to 2k. This has happened way too often and this is a risk I am willing to take. I dont recommend anyone to try this at home. Half the time I dont want my engine oil changed and even when i do change I insist on a mineral oil which is way cheaper.

Overall Review: Car is good. Seems to hold up pretty well after 8 years and should hold up well for another 4-6 years.

[TurboKat]

Originally Posted by sukarsan

This would have been my ownership review as well. Mine has covered 33000 in 8 years and it looks like all Grand i10s have same set of issues.

Ownership Review:

This was my first car, purchased in 2015 . Cost was 5.5 L . Settled cash and got it home. Had a minor crash while learning to drive. Then got a trainer and he taught me to drive properly. My wife too started to drive and its been sedate driving all along for past 8 years.

I like the gear shift in particular. I wish the fuel economy of 13 was better. Interiors are holding quite well . Quite a few scratches to the exterior. I plan to hold on to the car for 12-14 years, so that's another 4-6 years left.

Addons:

Reverse proximity sensor and dashcam.

Parts replaced over a period of 7 years:

1. Carrier Assembly-I am not sure what is being referred to, but the radiator guard is prone to damnage. Its broken and removed, but not replaced.


4. Power Window Switch: Same problem. One of them didnt respond ,but a local mechanic rectified it.

5. Clutch Assembly: Replaced it couple of months back. 30,000 kms is the typical replacement interval. My car was sedately driven by me and my wife and the clutch usage is quite good.

6. Brake Pads: No problem with braking so far.,

7. Battery Replacement: More than mileage, this is a time dependent replacement. Changed it after 5 years. This was the first major replacement.

8. Right Headlight: I am not at all happy with the headlight , but so far no mechanic has offered a solution.

9. V Belt: Changed at 30000 kms.

10. Evaporator Assembly/ Cooling Coil: I was living in an area notorious for AC damage due to nearby open drain. Changed it after 6 years.

11. Unique things-- Tyres at 29000. I became a regular customer at the puncture shop. After 6 -7 visits, i decided to change the tyres. Each puncture was from a different tyre and different location. The nozzle used to leak after gas refill and I had a flat tyre in the morning. Happened twice and this was the last straw.

12. Unique things- Spark plugs- Should not have replaced, but the mechanic screwed up.

13. Gear oil- Gear shift is really bad now. Based on this thread I have ordered the Petronas gear oil. I will update once this is done next week.

14. Wiper has to be changed frequently, but this has to do with the dust in my locality.

Quick question: What is a mid pipe? The one from the exhaust to the muffler? Why should it be replaced if this is after the 3 way catalyst . I dont think there will be impact on the noise behavior if there is leakage between the catalyst and muffler.


Additional notes: Since I work on engine development and have a good idea about the vehicle as well, I don't get my vehicle serviced in the traditional sense. Mechanics come up with a estimate of 6-7k and hate me to the core when this is revised to 2k. This has happened way too often and this is a risk I am willing to take. I dont recommend anyone to try this at home. Half the time I dont want my engine oil changed and even when i do change I insist on a mineral oil which is way cheaper.

Overall Review: Car is good. Seems to hold up pretty well after 8 years and should hold up well for another 4-6 years.

1. Carrier Assembly - It can also be called as the radiator frame. The radiator guard you're referring to might be the small piece of plastic which covers the carrier assembly. The car can be kept using without having that part. But, I decided to get a new one as the entire bumper+carrier assembly combo was changed.

6. Brake Pads - The brake pads on our car would've lasted more, but it was due to my teenage stupidity, those had to be replaced at the 52k mark.

8. Headlight - Try installing a new bulb and see if you find any difference. In our case, the particular headlight assembly had improper sealing(as said by the ASC mechanics).

14. Wiper blades - Our car is still on the factory fitted wiper blades. The wipe quality hasn't deteriorated till now.

By mid pipe, I mean the central portion of the exhaust setup(between the exhaust manifold and the muffler). After some cracks were formed, the car started making a racket, FE figures and pickup went down. So it had to be replaced. I don't know where exactly the cracks had formed as I wasn't present when it was replaced.

Attaching the link of the i10 midpipe.

https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-muff...front-6807394/

And regarding engine oil, we decided to shift to fully synthetic oils(Shell Helix HX8 5W30) as we obtained better FE figures and wanted to extend the drain intervals. Moreover, during the occasional redlining sessions, the engine feels freer than it was with semi synthetic oil.

[N4Nikunj]

Dear Turbokat,

Nice Long term ownership review with details.

I also own the Same car same variant but in white colour. My car is a 2015 model year. It has run 89k as of date.

The car has aged well, Especially the interior parts. I love the silence.

Just like your car the Cooling Coil was also replaced in my car. The carrier is intact as of today.

For Headlights, I upgraded to 90/100 Philips Bulbs with a relay sometime back in 2017. Output is great after that.

The rear right Power window switch was replaced last year. It became dead due to less use.

Another thing that needed replacement was the start button. Costs 9500 now. Due to frequent usage of sanitizer during COVID-19 days, it became less responsive. Not Taking inputs in one go.

Latest Photo

[TurboKat]

Originally Posted by N4Nikunj

Dear Turbokat,

Nice Long term ownership review with details.

I also own the Same car same variant but in white colour. My car is a 2015 model year. It has run 89k as of date.

The car has aged well, Especially the interior parts. I love the silence.

Just like your car the Cooling Coil was also replaced in my car. The carrier is intact as of today.

For Headlights, I upgraded to 90/100 Philips Bulbs with a relay sometime back in 2017. Output is great after that.

The rear right Power window switch was replaced last year. It became dead due to less use.

Another thing that needed replacement was the start button. Costs 9500 now. Due to frequent usage of sanitizer during COVID-19 days, it became less responsive. Not Taking inputs in one go.

Latest Photo

Attachment 2571151

Hello! Hope you're doing fine.

The 100/90 W bulb upgrade solves all the lighting issues. I had recently accompanied a friend for a short trip to my maternal uncle's place. The friend's Gi10 had 100/90W bulbs. I could clearly see the difference in the throw of the headlights w.r.t. the 60/55W bulbs of my car.

And I forgot to mention about the start/stop button earlier in the review. I'm facing the same issue as you. The start/stop button needs to be pushed with some force to go into ACC mode or start the car.

By the way, did you upgrade the tyre size?

I wish you a lot of troublefree miles with your car.

[Tanveer02]

Lovely review brother. Being an owner of the 2016 facelift, I can relate with what you have shared in this report.

The Grand i10, specially in this generation was an excellent value for money package. I love how the car, even after all these years doesn't feel outdated and out of place if you park it with cars from today's day and age. The top notch interior quality and the feature list make this version of the i10 a very sensible buy if one is looking for a city roundabout that can handle the occasional highway runs in the used car market.

Regarding the Kappa2 engine, and this is entirely my opinion, one thing I have noticed is that in todays day and age where due to multitude of exhaust restrictions have taken a great hit in performance of the NA small capacity engines, this BS4 Kappa2 feels like it has "matured" and just doesn't feel lacking in any capacity in terms of performance.
It is silent on startup, and makes all the right noises when on the move. The power band being properly linear with ample torque available from 3 digit RPMs to all the way to the redline making it quite an engaging car to drive. Something which I have started to appreciate after all these years of ownership.

Wishing you loads of happy miles with the car .

Here's my 1.04 Lakh run 2017 Grand i10.