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| re: Hyundai i20 Review Somehow, I feel this is the most important segment for India and most of us here are people who want more for less, more space for lesser dimensions, more value for lesser money and more peace for less effort.. given that, I finally took away some personal time and put in about 1.5 hours in a familiar dealership, 90 minutes of time with the car only by myself and the sales guy as he and I went back and forth sharing what we observed and felt about each aspect of the car, also using the previous gen Elite as a comparison tool, and also observing the Venue for its virtues given that they all share a similar footprint.
The first gen i-20, as it was called, was more of a family car, with virtues of space, practicality and roominess emphasized over the drivability, sporty nature or sleekness, to me it was a new beginning of Hyundai as a feature-loaded, practical brand though it took much brickbats from the "enthusiasts" so to speak, who I felt, judged it for virtues not to be expected of it. The fluidic face-lift made things confusing as the i-20 felt neither here nor there, that's where Elite i20 changed things as handling and ride-quality were addressed, though the design cost the car interior space and a feeling of roominess, it never was a sporty car and it never should've been considered one, but it ticked all the boxes for most premium sub-4m car aspirants - noise isolation and NVH - double check, build quality and interiors - check, sophisticated styling in and out - check, features and comfort - segment leading as always, this legendary model in the Hyundai lineup defined the 10+k barrier of monthly sales as it hit the mark for more than a year after it debuted, that is always a sign that the public put their full faith and love in the model, there are people I know who own several high-end cars but still bought the Elite as a beater car they can punt around with on more than occasions, surely that speaks for the quality of the car.
This sensuous-sportiness design language i20 has changed almost everything about the elite, except for the quality, in and out. No exterior panel is the same and the interiors are COMPLETELY different, not one button is similar either, the tactility and feel when interacting with the vehicle is typical Hyundai - plush, well damped buttons and levers, soft but solid thuds when doors and hatches are shut and anything in-between operates noiselessly and smoothly. Let's get down to the pluses and minuses now :
+ NVH is insane, I drove the thing for a bit and the noise is just not there, either from engine or from road (petrol, turbo, DCT)
+ Soft folding roof handles with coat-hooks in the Asta (O)
+ Very comfortable seating, just the right amount of softness and bolstering
+ Space - I'm a solid 5'10, a bit more with footwear on, and I adjusted the front for extra space as I'm a leggy person and I still had 3 inches in the back after comfortably sitting
+ Very good visibility, easily better than the previous gen
+ Very sharp, modern, dynamic styling that'll maybe not make everyone fall in love, but will offend none
+ Interiors are the new benchmark, no car stands a chance here, looks like a modern Audi, even C segment sedans look dated, including Verna
+ Steering is fantastic, first time I'm holding the new [ ] Hyundai signature steering and it feels solid and organic, the buttons are well laid out
+ Door shuts softly and solidly, sophisticated is the word for it
+ Sunroof brings plenty of light and openness to the cabin, though I won't dare open the glass, just the roof-lining
+ The massive blind-spot C-Pillar of Elite is gone, this one has fantastic visibility
+ The polyhedronesque parametric jewel grille is muted by its black tone, but look closer and it looks modern and daring - this car looks new, there is no escaping it
+ Same sheet metal quality as others, solid, cant make it flex unless more than average strength is put in and even then it barely flexes, better shut-lines, build and feel than Venue.
+ BOSE music system plays normal hindi songs and English pop music very, very well, deep bass and zero rattles or distortions, vocal songs are fantastic in terms of richness of output and reproduction.
+ Very practical, has a sunglass holder and two roof-lights at the front and middle despite the sunroof
+ Rear center armrest is fantastic
- No soft folding roof handles in any variant other than Asta (O)
- The doors, bonnet and hatch is feelsomely lighter in the new i20 than the Elite, the Elite surely has slightly heavier feel on the doors and hatch, it can't be due to new hinges as even the bonnet and hatch are lighter, not drastically but your hands can feel the difference.
- Sunroof makes the roof-lining come down at the mid-point, across the B-pillars, and though it opens up again at the rear, it does make the cabin feel more claustro if I may say so
- BOSE music system is bad at sound-stage, when playing ambiental, lounge, trance and electronica and I played around with the settings too, perhaps the tweeters are set too far and high (A-pillar mirror interior panel), sounded hollow and a bit distant, increasing volume won't help the cause, it'll get better as we get used to it, but the Elantra stock sound-system is on another level.
- Once you sit inside its comfortable but ingress-egress is kind of not-so-convenient, this is where cars like Venue and Sonet shine. Not as bad as Polo or Baleno though, but Jazz takes this aspect home in the segment.
- Rear center armrest doesn't get coffee-holders (just being cheeky here)
- ALL the comfort/safety features like height adjustable head rest in rear, rear arm-rest, 4 extra airbags etc take a hike when downgrading to Asta, real arm-twisting going on to make people buy the Asta (O)
- The bumper in front WILL scrape on Indian roads, just wait and watch, a deep pothole wont hit the chassis but the toothy bumper will grind, going in first
My 10 cents :
# If you're having an Elite i20 Asta (O), there is no need to upgrade, UNLESS you go for the DCT turbo
# If you want easy ingress-egress and more airy cabin, the Venue or Sonet are no-brainers with the DCT, Sonet is the better deal since it has seat-ventilation
# Though gearshifts were smooth in the few hundred meters drive I had, its to be seen if the DCT can shift fast and early, the Venue DCT tuning sucks, poor low end grunt.
# If you want to buy the 1.2 NA engined new i20 to upgrade from the same engined Elite, do not bother and save your money
# iVT with Turbo will make a great combo if reliability and smoothness is the need, but low end grunt will-not-be-there, as usual (coming from the Seltos experience)
# The new car feels lighter, maybe because of the extra use of HSS and UHSS, but I cannot comment until the map of steel input is shown, but sheet metal gauge remains, solid as ever.
# Slightly poor planning of bonnet shut lines as there is some "give" in it when pressure is put, very minor but the Getz had zero give around the bonnet lines
# This is no more THE family car as the first i20 ever, was, Hyundai succumbed to the pressure and brickbatting by the "enthusiasts". I'm sure the suspension will feel hard and sporty combined with the 16 inch wheels and CEAT tyres.
That said, congrats to the future owners and aspirants - we look forward to your views and reviews. This is 2020's most significant debut. |