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-   -   Hyundai Grand i10 : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/141699-hyundai-grand-i10-official-review-40.html)

The recent Sports edition seems to be an invain effort to woo customers. Don't understand why they think adding a few graphics and accessories to a car turns it into a "sports" version. Goes to show their perception of what Indian customers would be willing to be content with.

So we bought a new Grand i10 for the wife last month, and I got a chance to drive it for 3-4 days last week when my Teutonic princess was in the workshop. While I won't compare the two (insulting to my princess, and not very fair to the Korean maiden :p), what I was really taken aback by was the sheer lack of responsiveness below 2k RPM. It absolutely refuses to move! :eek:

Is this the nature of the engine, or something I should bring to the workshop's notice when we take her in for her first service?

Any inputs would be much appreciated.

EDIT: Oh, and I have one word for the new edition: HIDEOUS.

How many kilometres have you covered so far? There is most probably nothing wrong with your car, it is true. It is kinda dead below 2k RPM in second. Go through a couple of ownership reviews, many of them mention this. I felt the engine became a little smoother after 1-1.5k kms on the odo., or I got used to it. It is just a matter of getting used to I guess and keeping the car in the power zone when required. I have driven almost 3k kms and I don't have much of a problem anymore.
In my first 1-1.5 months of my ownership, I had just sold my Santro Xing and was taking care of a 1.3 Getz. This lack of response at low engine speeds was very evident to me and stuck out like a sore thumb and bugged me a lot. The Gi10 can't hold a candle to the peppiness or zippyness of these cars. It's tuned in such a way, I guess to aid fuel efficiency.

The Kappa Dual VTVT unit does have a rev zone of low response, just after the idling rpm. This is very evident on the i20, I'm not sure how it is on the Grand i10 & Xcent MT variants. (It shouldn't be an issue on the AT variants, as the torque converter's torque multiplication properties should be enough to overcome this.)

On the MT cars, this can be overcome by being in the right rpm. One does need to rev it up a bit before shifting gears. And while shifting down, one should not get caught in too high a gear at too low an rpm. At times, one even needs to shift into first while going over a large speed breaker at a crawl.

The good thing is that Hyundai's VTVT on the Kappa 1.2 is designed to work in the mid range (unlike Honda's i-VTEC that comes into its own at high revs). As absurd as it may sound, this somewhat feels like the turbo lag on a common rail diesel.

One can "feel" the VTVT beginning its work at about the 1750 rpm mark. This is when the throttle response becomes linear. There are no flat spots after this, and the power delivery remains very linear till a few hundred rpm below the redline. (On the non-VTVT Kappa 1.2 found on the pre-facelift i10 & pre-facelift previous gen. i20, the low end & lower mid range power delivery was quite poor. The VTVT had that issue addressed to a great extent.)

The key with the latest Kappa 1.2 is to try and keep the tach in the VTVT zone in every gear, other than first of course. Once one gets used to doing this, there will be no complaints at all with the power delivery & throttle response on cars like the Grand i10 and Xcent. On the old i20 and new i20, one wishes for some more power at triple digit speeds, especially when carrying a full load of passengers & luggage.

If low end torque is what one wants from a small petrol engine, then it's difficult to beat Hyundai's older engine range. The 3-valves per cylinder, long stroke 1.1 Epsilon/iRDE excels at low end and mid-range torque delivery. One can even be in 3rd gear in a low speed situation, and a mere tap on the throttle brings out an immediate response from the engine. The 1.1 Epsilon/iRDE runs out of breath at higher revs though.

Sorry for asking, but is the Headlight Height Adjuster lit ? In my car the Adjuster is not lit which IMO is an oversight in an otherwise sensible cabin.

Or is it that in my car the backlighting bulb is blown and hence its not lit ? I had earlier installed music system from outside who ended up blowing two fuses.

Nope it is not lit. When in complete dark only the driver Auto Window Down button glows blue. It is true, it will be difficult to find out the headlight height adjuster in complete darkness.

Guys mileage update!

I've covered some 4000 kms in my petrol Asta(o). Here are my thoughts:

Positives

Comfort. It's a supremely comfortable car and suspension is setup well for city runs.
Equipment. Electronic folding mirrors, these are a boon in tight spaced roads.Aux, USB, Abs, Airbags etc make this car awesome to potter around.
Space. My big boned friends easily fit in the back seat and they enjoy the ride.
Mileage. I'm getting around 19 kilometres per litre which is quite awesome.
Easy to park anywhere.
Good sound system.
Premium quality interiors.
Astonishingly good driving dynamics. I strongly believe the chassis is good and it's being pushed down by the soft suspension. I could throw the car into long gradient turns in triple digit speeds 30% higher than the normal highway speed and the car responded well.
Top speed achieved till now 165 kmph on the Belgaum highway (I do not promote overspeeding). The car felt stable and didn't feel nervous or twitch around.
The looks. It's a handsome and modern looking car and in orange colour the car is just swag all the way round.

Cons
Gear lever placed high. It's a pain if you've ARMS. It's a major ergonomic fail for me, my hands start aching when I'm in traffic and changing gears often.
Dashboard is placed too high. I sometimes don't judge the road properly and drive right through pot holes.
EPS steering is too light, it's got no life. This put off my mood for the first few months of ownership.
Engine is not very powerful, it pulls but it takes its own sweet time and make sure you shift gears properly else you'll be stuck without power being overtaken by a tortoise.
No arm rest. My left hand hates me for this gotta invest in an arm rest.
Seats placed too low. Even with the seat adjust height set at maximum I cannot judge the front of the car properly at times (I'm 5'9" btw).
Doesn't set your heart on fire every time you sit in it, this is something that I knew and yet bought the car as my budget could only go so much.

Overall would I recommend it. Yes!

Enthusiasts. If you can work around the soft suspension and light steering this car is good for the budget.
Commuters. Look no further this is the car for you, your mom/gf/bf/dad will love sitting in it and being bathe in its luxurious interiors, they'll also praise you for your good sensible choice.

19 kmpl on petrol? Does Hyundai even quote that much in their ARAI?

Nope I'm just as surprised over the mileage as well. Official listing is 18kmpl.

I've covered 210kms on 1/4th tank and filled up with fuel, exactly 11.1 litres of petrol to fill the tank again.

^ Looks like a case of an optimistic odo :P If those numbers sustain, you might as well have hit a jackpot :D

What do you feed your car? Rocket fuel ? 19 kmpl is absurdly awesome mileage for the kappa2 engine :Shockked:

Echo that - never got more than 13 kpl, that too on empty highways on my 1.2 AT. In office rush I never got more than 10. Need some driving tips it seems.

Agree with most of the pros and cons mentioned here. Moreso with the quality of the interiors. The handling is pretty stable for a hatchback. No mention of NVH, hence Id like to add that theres almost nil harshness, noise does seep into the cabin but only post 3500 rpm (which hatch doesnt) which I think can be assumed best compared to any other car in its category. One thing hard to digest is the mileage, 19kmpl, Id be lucky if i can squeeze out 15kmpl. I consider myself to be kind of a hypermiler and try to coast most of the time and the best Ive managed on my magna petrol is 18 on really awesome stretches of highway, any pointers for me?

It is not at all possible sir stupid: ARAI is 18.6 kmpl. In realistic conditions you can expect 60-70% of that. Your cars mileage will give a complex to the diesel Gi10's also. Please forgive my skepticism, I drive the same car in the same petrol guise albeit a different colour and I just cannot believe this. :Shockked:

On a serious note, please do measure via tank full method and report back here.

Also, make it a habit not to fill more than the auto cut off, for slightly more accurate results. ( Maybe you filled to the brim the first time, but only topped up till the auto cut off when you filled in 11.1 litres? )

I would also like to mention, don't go just by the fuel gauge.The needle falls more rapidly as your tank empties. Typically, the needle doesn't move from 'F' for the first 80 kms. The first half gets me 250 kms. The third quarter 150 and the last quarter, another 80-90 kms before the fuel light comes on. Giving me a city range of 470-490 kms in a tankfull. (~37-38 litres). So mileage for me is ~12.5 with AC and city driving with mixed driving style.

LOL guys, I kinda knew I would strike a chord when I posted those optimistic numbers, I prepared myself for the skepticism and armed myself with some proof. Check out the pics I've posted, I took them a couple of days back.

On another note, I would like to make it clear that I dont average out 19kmpl. I forgot to put that in my last post, sorry fellas! I average out 14-15 kmpl and I usually get a range of 540-580 kms in city.
1) I got that magic number only this time.
2) I use a cab for my office commute.
3) I do not run the AC much I use it sparingly.
4) I have quite a light left foot
5) I switch off my car at signals if its more than 30secs
6) and I keep a cool head while driving
Perhaps this may explain the numbers. Regarding filling up my tank, I stop filling after the auto cut off kicks in.

I think its possible to squeeze more kilometers per liter out of the 1.2 liter engine just keep trying till you find a style that gives you maximum efficiency.

Another CON the road noise at high speeds is high, some good tyres and under body coating should pull it down a bit.