[RSR]

I checked out the Hyundai Eon at a dealer a few days back, out of sheer curiosity (didn't do a test drive, though).

First impressions were positive. The car sure does look good. The 'fluidic' styling theme has resulted in sharp, stylish lines and creases around the car and gives this Hyundai attractive looks.

The shut-lines are uniformly even and tight throughout the car - fit and finish are very good, as is the paint quality. There are no visible signs of cost-cutting anywhere in the car - the roof, doors and windows all have good quality rubber beadings in place This is unlike some manufacturers who deliberately choose to completely omit these very important bits. If there is one area where Hyundai has chosen to save a few bucks, it is in the boot where they have not provided any plastic cladding/carpet over the exposed metal. The metal surface looks odd in the boot and could get scratched with repeated use.

Others have said it before and I agree with them on this - the Eon's USP lies in the sheer quality and functionality of the interiors, which is miles ahead of any competitor in the segment. The seat material has a nice feel to it and the front seats can be pushed back completely, liberating enough room for the driver and front passenger. The Lord Ganesha inspired centre console looks and feels good and the small space on top of the dash for keeping idols etc. is a neat touch. Every plastic part is well made and feels as if it would last long - the A/C control knobs and the buttons on the music system are of a high quality

One drawback of the car is the rear seat space and accessibility. The space is like other cars in its segment (read as cramped) or maybe a bit more and it can seat only two in not-so-great comfort. I sat in the rear seat of a Santro parked next to it for comparison and the Santro surely has the better rear seat, thanks to its tall-boy stance. Also, getting in and (especially) out of the Eon's rear seat is a real pain and would put off many people.

The boot has surprisingly good space. The rear seats fold down too, but versatility in the form of 60-40 split seats is lacking. Under the hood, the familiar plastic air filter box from the iRDE/eRLX engine sits on top of the new 814cc 3-pot inside a small engine bay. I didn't drive the car so no comments on its characteristics.

The car is priced on the higher side. It offers quality and features (like driver airbag) not available on its competitors, but the asking price is indeed a bit high. Also, for the price of the higher variants of the Eon, other choices are available within Hyundai in the form of Santro eRLX and i10 (iRDE 2) variants which come with good discounts. With ridiculously high petrol prices, the lack of factory-fitted LPG/CNG kits is also a big disappointment.

Overall, the Eon is a very good car which could fly off the shelves with a moderate price reduction along with factory-fitted LPG/CNG options.

[mahen_narang]

Originally Posted by needforspeed88

Can u please expand on this . I have not driven the car personally . Is it mild or is it significant to be annoying ? You cannot totally get rid off it cos of the three pot but does the
gear lever always vibrate on the move ?

Are u planning to upgrade the tires ?

YES, the gear lever does shake continuously while one is driving, just that it reduces as you keep moving above the 2nd gear.
Unlike me, those who tend to keep their left hand on the gear lever and drive this will surely be distractive and annoying.
i have heard that earlier Maruti 800/Alto did have the same problem of shaky gear lever and since it sold in great numbers this annoyance must have been accepted as a part and parcel of the low powered car.

Further in regards to the gear lever, i personally find that moving into the 3rd and 4th gear (i.e. the middle path for the gear lever) a bit unnerving again due to the shaking lever, however would again neglect it thinking that i will get used to it.

To add to the above points, i would say that the Cluth is very light, its taken me some time to get used to the half clutch position, considering that i am a reasonably new driver this was a task that took some consideration.

Regards changing the tyres? well i haven't thought about it and don't even have slightest knowledge about it.
i guess the Magna/Sports version with 155/70 R13 tyres would be reasonable for a car this size and power.
i would appreciate suggestions in this regards, however would not want to trade for any high cost impact and mileage reduction.

Since the car is newly launched there were no discounts or accesories that came for free. hence i am anyways going to spend an extra few hard earned money on the seat covers, sun film, keyless entry (Magna O is without this feature) and floor mats. Oh Yes, also two rear speakers as there are only two front speakers that are company fitted.

After all this spending anything further on tyres will have to reasonably convincing, however looking forward to suggestions.

[iPai]

Any information about real world FE figures of EON. Today from my SA i heard that EON is giving about 18 kmpl in the city and has given up to 23 kmpl on the highways. If this is to be believed then its great i feel!

[speedsatya]

Its clearly good bye Alto.The Eon looks better and drives much better than the alto or the A star .

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

The Eon looks better and drives much better than the alto or the A star .

Eon drives better than Alto - OK, but much better than A-Star? Is it? Really? Better than Swift and Punto too?

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Better than Alto - OK, but better than A-Star? Is it? Really? Better than Swift and Punto too?

I thought so I felt its anytime more VFM than an A star .

Better than Swift or Punto , am glad you didnt ask if its better than a Veyron

[Crazy4.Cars]

@ speedsatya Okay Eon may be better than alto K10 in a few aspects, but still end of the day alto and A star and more fun to drive cars with better handling so romeomidhun is correct.

[rajeev k]

Hyundai is aggressively marketing Eon and that too in a large way. Saw an Eoncade today evening. A convoy of six cars moving all over the city. Maruti and Alto watch out.

Three are test drive cars with registration numbers and others with red plates, which means those are cars for someone else. Is it not?

[GTO]

The buzz on the street is that market response to the Eon has been very damp. Only ~10,000 bookings received so far (in the same period since launch, the new Swift received about 100,000 bookings)

The market never fails to throw a surprise.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by GTO

The buzz on the street is that market response to the Eon has been very damp. Only ~10,000 bookings received so far (in the same period since launch, the new Swift received about 100,000 bookings)

The market never fails to throw a surprise.

GTO, of the 100,000 booking most would be coz its got a diesel option. Also, Swift would be a segment up and hence isnt right to compare with it IMHO.

[Vid6639]

I drove it and wasn't very impressed. Yes it's similar to the alto but I expected more. Gear lever vibration is bad as mentioned by GTO. With AC it gets really sluggish. It's got similar refinement than Alto and the engine feels laboured.

I really think Hyundai should have gone for the 1.1L from the Santro. They would have 3 good options then. For the sporty more fun buyer, the Eon. The practical buyer would go for the Santro and the guy who wants a premium car would go for the 1.1L i10.

Eon is too close to the Santro which is leagues ahead with the 4 pot engine in refinement and driveability.

Maruti has got it right. With that K10 engine you can buy an Alto, an Estilo, an A-star and the Wagon-R. Same engine but cars catering to diff segments and priced nearly the same. They don't have to bank on one car to bring in the numbers, they have 4 identical cars.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by jkdas

GTO, of the 100,000 booking most would be coz its got a diesel option. Also, Swift would be a segment up and hence isnt right to compare with it IMHO.

Even if just 25% of those bookings are for petrol, that is 25,000 swifts compared to just 10,000 for a car that costs just around 60% of what a swift costs.
Even i10 comes in just the petrol version from the same company, yet clocks 10,000 units every month.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by jkdas

GTO, of the 100,000 booking most would be coz its got a diesel option.

Even with a 15% contribution from Petrol model, Swift booking is 15000!

Originally Posted by jkdas

Swift would be a segment up and hence isnt right to compare with it IMHO.

If Eon is atleast a segment higher than Swift, your point will be valid. But since Eon is 2 segments lower than Swift, it is completely wrong. Because moving up the segments, the segment-wise total number of sales goes decreasing.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by GTO

The buzz on the street is that market response to the Eon has been very damp. Only ~10,000 bookings received so far (in the same period since launch, the new Swift received about 100,000 bookings)

The market never fails to throw a surprise.

This could be due to several reasons:

SWIFT

* The old Swift was already a tried, tested and a hugely popular product.

* The buyer was immediately confident that the new Swift would be equal, if not better that its outgoing sibling. Something similar between the old i10 and the new i10.

* Maruti deployed a superb strategy to further fuel this appetite towards the new Swift. They stopped production of the popular old Swift (and the media had made it known that Maruti had done so), thereby building up a further demand for the new Swift.

* Once the new Swift was unleashed and let out in the open, the flood gates broke and all hell broke loose (the 100,000 bookings within a short time). Heck, even if the new Swift had only 50 litres of boot space, it would not have made any difference to the vast multitude of Swift wanna-buys.

EON

* Huyndai did not have any prior variant of the Eon and it had to carve out a new segment of buyers from within its fold.

* The Eon was, therefore, a new, untried and untested product. The buyer is, therefore, unsure of the performance of the Eon.

* To make matters worse, the price conscious customer suddenly realised that the Eon's chief rival, Alto, is Rs 20-40,000 (including the added benefits) cheaper than the Eon. Moreover, the Alto is a tried and tested product.

* With the Eon launched, all hell did not break loose as there are many 'bench-sitters' awaiting reviews and feedback of the Eon. If I recall correctly, many cars in this category (including the Alto) had to work hard initially to earn their reputation.

But as I see it, the appetite will slowly build in favour of the Eon, once the car is tried and tested. It may not be an Alto-beater, but it will surely have its queue of admirers. Having introduced the car, Hyundai now needs to fine-tune the Eon in terms of sales and service, both of which are perceived to be high in cost at this point in time.

Hyundai's hatches not be segment toppers, but it has sufficient numbers atop each segment. That is probably the reason why most of vehicles in its line-up are doing fairly well in sales, unlike other car manufacturers, where only 1-2 models make it to the top-20.

[aniketi]

I am surprised that no posts on this thread for a long time. Looks like though many people liked the car in looks, it didn't appeal as a overall package. Some people mentioned that Alto looks outdated against Eon. I dont agree it completely. Alto still looks cute little car one can buy in market with low budget. Also Maruti A$$ is there to take of rest of the things.

I guess Eon will settle for 5K per month hereon. Alto will keep doing 15-20 K as usual