[ChiragM]

Picked up our (wife's and mine) first car - i20 N Line DCT. Got absolutely no discounts whatsoever, not even free mats.

Started the search with an Ignis. I liked the car but we already have a Ritz at home which we are going to keep for a couple of years more. I wanted a change from the 1.2L K Series engine and looked beyond my budget at compact SUVs. However, was not impressed with them or they were too expensive. Wanted the EcoSport but family was against it after Ford left India.

Hadnt taken a look at the N Line thanks to DCT's long term reliability. But once I test drove the car, decided that I would go for it. The N Line felt more VFM than the Venue at the same price.

It was down to the Ignis within budget but with the same powertrain as the Ritz vs the N Line which was a stretch. Decided to go with the N Line.

Wanted to buy the car before the price hike and this dual-tone N8 came to the stockyard. Was looking for a single-tone colour (as its around 18k cheaper than the DT on road) but thought its better to buy before the price hike. The SA told me the next batch of cars will come only in mid-Jan.

The car was manufactured on 14th Dec, and reached the stockyard on 22nd December. I was informed of its arrival on 21st evening and I booked it on 22nd. Did a PDI on the 23rd morning and it had run 11 km then. Got delivery of the car on the 26th with 30 km on the odo.

Overall a fairly smooth process by Blue Hyundai, Gandhi Bazaar.

[Tony2298]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Picked up our (wife's and mine) first car - i20 N Line DCT.

A very heartfelt congratulations to you and your wife on the possession of your first car and a very good choice indeed. It may not be a full-blown enthusiast's choice but definitely not a mundane daily commuter hatchback. It does offer you some pleasure of driving, spacious interiors and a lot of goodies, also the N Line with some visual upgrades and slightly tweaked dynamics as well over the regular i20 only at a slight premium thus making for a very compelling purchase. Hyundai's vast after-sales network and in general a fuss-free ownership experience is icing on the cake. Enjoy your machine to the fullest, stay safe and happy motoring!

Got absolutely no discounts whatsoever, not even free mats.

To be frank in this uncertain times where some cars have almost 2years of waiting period, getting a car in time is by itself a bonus , also Hyundai is now on a roll and almost all of their cars sell in very decent numbers plus the N Line is a fairly new model which is why I think no discounts although its very sad to know that they didn't even bother to offer a few essential accessories as freebie but I think that's the overconfident attitude of Hyundai staff since they know how successful Hyundai is in India as of now. Anyways, congratulations once again!

[Excommunicado]

Great choice Mr. ChiragM sir. Not many will choose the i20 when you can buy hatchback on heels at the same price range (I am looking at you, so called subcompact SUVs).

i20 N-Line is superior to standard i20 in 3 parameters- steering, suspension and brakes and although some say the N6 is more value for money as compared to N8, I believe you should go for the top spec whenever you can. We are planning to buy this same car. What is the waiting period for this car sir ? I hope it is not more than 1 month. Fingers crossed!

P.S.: I am using the edit function just to feel good about how I am being able to do so after upgrading to a BHPian. Also, the mods don't have to check my posts before they get posted. It is similar to what (spoiler alert!) Andy Dufresne feels in the end in Shawshank Redemption or am I donwplaying his feelings. I don't know

[Ajay Sengupta]

Originally Posted by Ajay Sengupta

Have owned a Titan Grey N8 DCT for almost two(2) months now and here is a short ownership review...

Want to add the following to my earlier ownership review .

(1) At the first service , it was observed that the water spray of the rear windshield wiper was not functioning because rats had nibbled some wires. Have now placed some tobacco pouches at various places hoping to act as rat-repellants .

Had faced a similar problem with my Skoda Yeti long back on a trip to Joshi Math in Uttarakhand in peak winter. The consequences were much more serious . I must give credit to Skoda Roadside Assistance who arranged to send the car to Dehradun in a trailer , arranged for our (me and wife) trip back to Dehradun and even offered to pay for our extended stay in Joshi Math. Do not know if Skoda RSA is still as efficient as it was then !

The repair was simple - just taping some wires around the battery which had been nibbled by rats .


(2) On a recent trip to Jaipur (around 300 km one way) in the i20 N Line , the fuel efficiency achieved was around 17.5 km/l. Had expected a little more from a car which is so efficient in city traffic . However, the calculated figures matched exactly with the displayed figures which means that the display is quite accurate.

[iNLine]

So here goes nothing - My i20 N Line DCT ownership review that will hopefully help confused car buyers like me. TLDR at bottom.

A few disclaimers before I start - I am a fairly new driver and have mostly driven Swift diesel before. My car has been driven over 2500km in the span of two months of which 1500 is mine (I don’t drive at night and was co passenger all the time, so this review might contain their insights as well).


Shortlisting process - I wanted N Line since the start since no other brand was offering a sporty version of their hatchback. The car first leaked back in Oct 2020 if I am right and Hyundai confirmed they would be bringing this brand to India in Dec 2020 via Autocar.

However, tried to get 2L discount on Figo AT but the deal did not materialise. It would have saved me nearly 6L overall.

I did a test drive of Polo GT in which I barely fitted (I’m 6’0) and my mom was left with no space in my backside.

I had next to zero interest in buying an SUV because of how you’re perceived for owning them but mainly thanks to TGT episode in which Clarkson proves there is nothing sporty or utility in an SUV.
I rejected Magnite because of steering issue and flimsy build quality and friends and family talking about Renault reliability. No interest in any other CSUV or crossover.

Buying process - Did a test drive along with a friend and a family member at two different dealers and called a few to check colour/variant availability and discounts. A dealer was ready to give 70L discount compared to carwale dot com price and I went ahead.

Went to the Joshi Hyundai, Chandigarh early morning and did the PDI. Thanks to your checklist and some I found on the internet, made my own custom checklist and kept checking the boxes. Had already told them to keep the car clean and neat and behold there it was. My BIL took a test drive again and gave it all okay report.

Called the branch manager to send in the loan payment and I did my own payment via UPI and RTGS/NEFT. Before this, I had only paid them booking fee of 10k.

Then my sister saw the backside of Polar white i20 with black accents and tried to convince me to get the grey colour but I did not bulge. Blue would have been nice but it wasn’t in stock.

After a few more hours of bank delay and paperwork delay, car was ready. Mind you, the showroom was jam packed that day as they had 11 scheduled deliveries and 20+ more on coming auspicious day of Dhanteras. Overall a very pleasant experience- truly 10/10 to dealer and Hyundai as well.

First drive - The car is absolutely superb. If you are confused between this or some other car, get this one without a doubt. I’ll try to convince you with my words, but you gotta try it out to truly feel what I feel. A wide grin on my face every time I am behind the steering wheel.

The car is a looker for sure. I’ve seen people turning heads and checking out shiny chrome double exhaust pipes. “The car starts like Audi” and “Lamborghini wali feeling” is the praises that sweet note from the exhaust has received. Turning on the car and making people hear small pops and bangs is my sweet little party trick.

The engine is super smooth and refined. You can feel the harshness sometimes if sunroof or window is open. But that turbo whoosh should be a music to every car driver. Talking about the turbo, yes the car lags a bit. I remember the very first time I tried to overtake - it was a scary experience as I went to other lane and pressed pedal gently but there was nothing and so I returned to my lane after disappointment and boom there goes the car. But after driving on the straight one way highway for a few kms I learnt exactly what I need to do. Expect a lag of ~1 second and you should be fine. Or downshift via paddle shifters or gear stick and vroom.

But I rarely manually change gear. Press the pedal hard or even go pedal to the metal and you’ll see car downshift a gear or two. You’ll always have enough power and need not worry about anything. Switch to sport mode and the story changes wildly - you’ll always be in the right gear and have fairly large amount of power than you’ll ever need for this small little hatch.

Did a trip from Chandigarh to Lansdowne last week and drove on empty three lane highways to hilly roads and D mode was always sufficient. Car would shift from D3 to D2 automatically too without pressing pedal hardly when at a hill slope. Hill launch assist works so brilliantly that I never realised it’s even there or not - just silently doing it’s job.

Quickly changing lanes going over bad patches of road at high speed which I would never consider in a Creta are a lot easier here. However, the car did felt like an aeroplane at unmentionable speeds though and not enough planted. Is this due to stock Nexen tires or light body chassis - I’m not qualified enough to comment. Everyone who drives do mention the hard brakes and the hard steering wheel and I’ve to explain to them it’s a feature, not a bug.

My cousin did a hard brake test recently (panicked and depressed brake pedal fully thinking of a clutch) and needless to say disc brakes did their job. A bike sewered into the ORVM (no one got harmed) and to my surprise it bent backwards and did not break! I thought the feature was only available on select models. I was so shocked by events that I did not check if ABS or ESS worked or not.

Coming to features list - it’s plenty. Voice control works well and so do plentiful other buttons on steering wheel ranging from music control to cruise and MID control. Mute and pause button are integrated into one which is a nice trick. Stock Bose speakers are more than okay but you need to up Treble and Bass a little from default settings.

10 inch display is crisp and clean and is fast and is high up instead of fitted below and hence you do not have to look down. Wireless charger is a nice feature but I have to remove my phone cover because otherwise it will bounce at a pothole and gets displaced. Wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are great additions and the latter has a much much better interface. Android Auto only takes two third of the screen too.

MID gives a lot of information including currently playing music track and directions (arrows and km) if you’re using in built maps (which might be a little wrong and confusing sometimes). It shows overall average of 14-15 usually with 80% drive on highways and rest bumper to bumper traffic. Never have been able to get above 17.6-17.8 except for 18.2 once.

Rear seat space is plentiful. Rear AC vent, Wiper, USB charger along with holder and armrest do up the game. Boot space is decent and more than what people expect from a hatchback. Big door pockets are everywhere but the rear ones don’t get red ambient lighting.

One big downside that I feel is maybe I should have owned and driven bad cars before to truly appreciate this beauty. Should have driven a small puny engine car or an AMT or CVT. Hard steering and suspension do give confidence but I have no benchmark to compare with it too.

Overall an impressive machine, a great first car. DCT reliability remains to be seen. I was so nervous and confused before buying thinking about a big failure but now didn’t think about it until now. As GTO said “I'd rather have a breakdown every 5 years than drive a boring engine / gearbox for 10 years.” Though they also added “That said, I would pick a competent torque-converter AT over a DCT 10 out of 10 times.” but I am ignoring that part … for now.

[Olympal]

Congrats on your new car. Glad that you are enjoying the l20 N. I too am looking at the same car as a replacement for my six years old Polo 1.5 diesel.
After a test drive, some of it over broken roads, I was left with mixed feelings about the ride quality of the i20N. Maybe it was the 55 profile tyres. My Polo rides on 60 profile tyres in comparison.

Regarding fuel, I was told by the dealership person that the car runs best on 95 octane petrol.

Wishing you may years of happy motoring.

[iNLine]

Originally Posted by Olympal

After a test drive, some of it over broken roads, I was left with mixed feelings about the ride quality of the i20N. Maybe it was the 55 profile tyres. My Polo rides on 60 profile tyres in comparison.

Yeah, the ride quality is not as good as you’d expect. I thought I had high expectations and was comparing it with SUVs. You could feel minor bumps on the road too if tire pressure is high.

Thank you for the wishes. Good luck with your decision and happy motoring to you too.

[callmeneo]

Took a test drive of a N8 DCT. Nothing much to add about the car than the things already written in this thread. You can feel the turbo lag if you go looking for it. And ya, this thing flies when put into the sport mode and one uses the paddles well. Can reach higher triple digits quickly and you wont even notice it unless you look at the speedometer. Also at the highest seat setting, i almost reached the highest spot in the windshield in my line of sight.

[icestrok]

Had an amazing 2-3 weeks with the car. Here is a summary of my journey so far.

TL;DR -> Got my first car, I'm really happy


I've never owned a car, I'm in my early 30s now and kept pushing back the decision. Used to stalk team-bhp and live vicariously though the experience of the folks here.

Technically I bought my first car a few years ago, a Creta for my dad, I only drove it a couple of times, I have a paranoia of using things that belong to others, even if its family.

Background

Quiet recently I was given an option to migrate to Europe, pre-covid I probably would have taken this up without a second thought, but I'm finally back home with my family after 14 years away from them and it hit me that my parents have gotten old. It didnt feel right at some level to move further away at this point, so I made the decision to turn down the offer and stay in India.

I wanted to reinforce my decision of "settling down" in India with something on my bucket list, my very own car. Every kid dreams of having their own car, I got my license at 18 but with a mix of not being home and not having my own car, i never really drove much unless I had to do it. This was my chance to take up the next big step in my life. So, I visited the bank the very next day of my earlier mentioned career decision and asked the manager about my options. The response was really good and a lot of options were opened up.

The Decision

Which car? Which car? Oh my god, which car?
The very first day after running the numbers I settled on 2 options.

• Jeep Compass Model S (O) 1.4 Petrol DCT
• MG ZS EV
  

In addition to this, I did fleetingly consider an Audi but tracked back immediately. The one car I would have bought regardless of any situation was the Honda Civic but i saw that it was discontinued.

MG had to be taken out of the running because post covid I may be commuting a lot between Bangalore and Kochi and my faith in EV is not there yet.
So the option was Jeep, everything was perfect in my eyes.

THE CHANGE

I have a little sister who means the world to me, her wedding is next year and I wanted it to ensure that there are no financial constraints. With the way the current stock market is dipping for tech, and Covid related uncertanities, an inner voice started to develop asking me if I really need an expensive car at this point in my life.

For reference, I am unmarried, this car is purely for me, we do have the Creta as a family car that my Dad/Sister drives around.

The thought was reinforced when I realised that I have zero ideas about the running cost of a car, since I have never owned one, I didn't know what comes next.

With this thought process, I grudgingly told my bank that the Compass plan is dropped and I want something below 20L (They were not happy. .

I was not interested in the Seltos or Creta or one of the Sedans (City, Verna).
I always held a soft spot for hatchbacks because of the sheer amount of fun I had just on the passenger seat of a Fabia almost a decade ago.

Now the option was clear, i20 N line Or Polo GT TSI.

To Polo Or Nopolo:

No DSG anymore, 9 months waiting minimum, they seem to refuse to bring the new models here (Just wait, now that I bought a car, they will release the new one shortly)

i20 N Line

I test drove the normal one with DCT, and the N line. The N line felt different. Whatever Hyundai did with the suspension and steering, they did it right. I had an absolute hoot driving it and confirmed it when the test drive was done.

The Judgement

I wanted to keep the news under wraps but it spread to my extended family, and the inevitable questions came with it:

• Why spend 14L on a hatchback?
• Why don't you get a Seltos like an adult?
• You need a big car!

I responded with my mix of sarcastic humour and patented skill of avoiding any uncomfortable conversations. My immediate family, ie parents, sister, they were happy with the choice.

The Colourful Conundrum

So the car is finalised, I wanted delivery 1 week before Christmas (more on why later), but what colour?
I do wish they made a piano black N line with Blue accents but they don't.
My first option was Titan Grey which was shot down by the dealer cuz it had a 2 month waiting period.
Second option was White, fallback was Red.

When I went to see the White car in the compound I saw a Titan Grey there as well. I asked them if I can take that to which the sales person (SP) said No.
Me : Please
SP : No
Me : Seriously, Please
SP : Let me check.

Turns out this one was already booked, but the prospective customer was having issues with the bank and was having trouble getting the payment.
Hyundai had given a sort of ultimatum from what I understood.

Anyways, two days later I get a call that the TITAN GREY is mine if I want it. Hell YES !

Colour Conundrum Solved.

At this moment my power level was OVER 9000!!!

The Delivery

PDI done, waiting for delivery. The car was 10 minutes from my house but I could not get it because they don't allow temp registrations anymore. I went everyday to see the car.

Finally the number was ready and I could take delivery. Here comes the pictures:



The delivery experience was smooth, but the first ride was anything but. For some reason, they forgot to reduce the tyre pressure. Here I am driving back home 50+ PSI on each tyre.

I could feel the road in my hands.

Got that fixed, I had 5 hours left that day and I went around with the car just having some fun and feeling like an absolute child (or chad).

1 week left for Christmas now, as I mentioned earlier, I needed the car a week before Christmas and this is why:

Bills, Bills & more BILLS

Next day morning I drove to Autostarke to get some work done. The overall time frame for the work was 5 - 6 days. Here is a list of the work that was done:

• Feynlab Ceramic Ultra Coating
• 3M Under Body Coating
• 7D Matt Black Floor Mats
• Changed the stock horn
• Two Roav Dash Cam C1

Some More Pictures:

This one is courtesy of Autostarke




Took these once I got back home:

7D Mat






New Tyres: On the way back from Autostarke, I had prepared for switching out the tyres. If you look past at my post history, you will see the sheer level of confusion I had.

I finally settled for Michelin Pilot Sport 4 205/50.

Short Review on these (400km) -> Amazing. A lot of grip and feels so much better than the stock ones.

Ride Observations:

Im almost at 600KM now and I'm loving it. I absolutely love how compact the car feels, parking, citi driving is a bliss. For a noob like me, the car offers plenty of power.
1-2 has a slight lag but thats about it.

Sport Mode with paddle shifters makes me feel like the Stig. The sheer amount of features is overwhelming. I printed out the Manual and it is as big as my final year project documentation. Bluelink is a hit or miss in certain areas, but the one I'm most interested in is the car status and that works like a charm.

I got a neck rest, couple of ESR HaloLocks, a PD car charger. Been using XP95 from COCO so far.

I wish I could detail out how good it felt, but I am very new at this, all I can say is I feel good driving around and It kinda moves the way I want it to. Im eagerly waiting each day for the work to get over to go out for a 30 min drive.

Thank You for reading so far. I hope to put some nice travelogues here as time passes by. I want to thank everyone here for giving me some valuable tips and advice. It has been fun, and I hope to continue the interaction.

One last pic:



Ciao .

PS: This is my first long post, If I missed anything or If I need to follow a guide, I can do the same, please provide a link.

[Peri_patetic99]

Originally Posted by iNLine

So here goes nothing - My i20 N Line DCT ownership review that will hopefully help confused car buyers like me. TLDR at bottom.

When you mentioned a discount of 70L, gave me a mini heart attack, had to double check which car you were talking about and how did you get so much discount

Also, could you send some pics? Folks are planning to buy a hatchback sometime this year, and are currently deciding between the i20 white, dual tone red Swift and the new celerio in blue.

[Nrulz]

Congratulations on your i20 NLine and Thanks a ton for sharing your experience! Were you able to get extended warranty during purchase.

When i had enquired for i20NLineDCT, Hyundai dealers mentioned no Shield of Trust & 5th year warranty for i20NLine. It was missing even in their price list

[Ajay Sengupta]

Just noticed the increase in prices of N line. The website shows an increase in the ex-showroom price of 7300 /= for N8 DCT which I bought in October.

[Ajay Sengupta]

Originally Posted by Nrulz

Congratulations on your i20 NLine and Thanks a ton for sharing your experience! Were you able to get extended warranty during purchase.

When i had enquired for i20NLineDCT, Hyundai dealers mentioned no Shield of Trust & 5th year warranty for i20NLine. It was missing even in their price listAttachment 2256334

Originally Posted by Ajay Sengupta

Just noticed the increase in prices of N line. The website shows an increase in the ex-showroom price of 7300 /= for N8 DCT which I bought in October.

Sorry , the increase in ex-showroom price for N8 DCT (single tone) is actually 6800/=.

[shancz]

Congrats and the car looks smashing in Titan Grey, perfect choice.

Good and interesting write up, the enthusiasm for your car can be felt reading your post, well done

Originally Posted by icestrok

Im eagerly waiting each day for the work to get over to go out for a 30 min drive

Sign of an enthusiast with the perfect car

Originally Posted by icestrok

please provide a link.

Here you go : TBHP : Forum Rules
More or less sorted except that 2 smileys per post limit.

Looking forward to your future posts.

[Carspook]

Originally Posted by icestrok

Had an amazing 2-3 weeks with the car. Here is a summary of my journey so far.
PS: This is my first long post, If I missed anything or If I need to follow a guide, I can do the same, please provide a link.

Congratulations on the new cars
Looks great. Definitely a very good first car. The picture with car in the garage is gorgeous.