[Motoringlover]

Background

Given a small family size we have in the recent past lived with a 2 car configuration (Santro and VRS), with changes in the job front, we decided to move back to Gurgaon.

After moving back to Gurgaon we were continuing to use our VRS for all travel purposes. We never really had any issue except the minor inconvinience of a slightly higher fuel bill, my monthly running was not very high.

Now that said, things changed as we were expecting a baby in our lives, the commute increased and all of a sudden fuel bills started increasing exponentially. I still could not rationalise in my head the need of a diesel car, with the logic being my commute will eventually rationalise, but realised the need for a small car again in our lives.

We loved our Santro, enjoyed long drives, ever reliable and not very expensive to maintain, we owned it for a litte less than 4 years and before reutrning it (leased), had approx 43-45K in the ODO.

Made up our minds if we can't make sense with anything else, Santro was a failsafe choice.

Budget - 8 Lacs on road Gurgaon.

Key Requirements

1. Comfortable to drive in city traffic.
2. Slightly bigger boot than our older Santro.
3. Economical to own and use.
4. Safety features need to exist. We never had any in our santro and always felt that it was needed if in the event of exigency.
5. Fuel Eficient - Now i draw extensive criticism in the family for not being on the "FE" side of things with the VRS, now there is a price to pay for being an enthusiast, I actually feel its a pretty frugal car if you can be civil but it was a tough sell with the family - So we decided - the next hatch should be more efficient than the RS.


Our Shortlist - Not in the order of preference, we evaluated both Petrol and Diesel. Diesel at this time of evaluation was purely for academic purposes.

1. Maruti Swift
2. Toyota Liva
3. Polo GT TSI & TDI.
4. Hyundai i20.

[Motoringlover]

Source - Tbhp Review - Personal adaptation from T-bhp review - We were targetting the top trim Zxi/ZDi.

What we liked:

• Styling. Interiors look better than the previous generation siwft.

• Competent engine range. Very refined motors.

• Balanced ride and handling. Superbly tuned suspension.

• Terrific fuel efficiency, especially from the diesel.

• Effortless to drive in the city; lots of fun on the highway.

• Marutis excellent after-sales service & wide dealer network.

• Ready Delivery available.

• Retains its value well at the time of sale.

What we did not like:

• Small, impractical boot. Luggage capacity is severely restricted.

• Rear seat space isn't "spacious".

• Bluetooth is a big miss from the feature offerring, both for music and also for phone calls. Is expected in a premium hatch.

• We have owned the older Swift Diesel for a breif period and that felt a lot more involving to drive, the newer diesel felt a bit more tamed, measurement more from the seat of the pants.

• No big December buying advantage, in comparison to competition.

Summary - Great car for the price and value, boot is impractical if we need to keep luggage which is an essential bit of kit for our renewed family status.

[Motoringlover]

Personal adaptation from T-bhp Review. Focus on top trim.

I was able to borrow my father in law's Liva for a brief period of time, the car is very practical and absolute no non sense car, outlining some immediate impressions.

What we liked.

• Modern diesel engine with minimal turbo lag and excellent driveability

• I managed to get ~25Kmpl. Now i have never in my life got a fuel efficieciency that high - this changed my perception of staying with diesel.

• Came with Safety features

• A neutral family hatchback with the "T" badge

• Well-tuned suspension. Safe handling and flat ride


What we did not.

• Engine doesn’t like to be revved beyond a certain point - Overtaking is a pain at highway speeds, takes getting used to.

• Cost-cutting glaringly obvious in many areas. Now i have to agree this was the cheapest in comparison to the others, the interiors were too basic and bland. I would have bought this car, but it was the interiors which was the deal breaker for us.

• Now I am used to a heavy clutch in the RS - the car i was driving was relatively new, single owner car, the clutch developed heavy feel to it, wife felt it was like VRS and she did not like it that much.

Summary - Overall this car is a great package, just let down by a few styling issues, Toyota if you are reading my review, please do something about the dasboard and the clutch, i understand this is a common problem.

[Motoringlover]

What we liked - Adapted from official review.

• Enthusiastic, high-revving 1.2L TSI engine/ and a sturdy diesel work horse with serious muscle. Both variants are excellent performers.

• 7-speed DSG gearbox is a flawless match to the sporty motor / or traditional slick shifting diesel manual.

• A well-built European hatchback with clean, timeless styling.

• Mature suspension offers a balanced ride & handling package.

• Safety kit includes electronic stability program, hill-hold feature (TSI), dual airbags and ABS.

• Accommodating 280 liter boot - great boot, swallows quite a bit of kit.

• Lovely styling, of all the cars, we loved the looks of the polo the most.


What we did not like.

• Both variants would have meant we break our budget barrier, which we did get tempted but other factors, such as a higher cost of ownership of euro cars, have a VRS which is expensive on maintenance front, wanted something which going to be cheaper to run and maintain.

• Long-term reliability concerns over the DQ200 DSG transmission - have known someone in the close family stranded in the expressway with the DSG issues.

• Ordinary rear bench room - this would have meant trouble for the babies nanny.

• VW's substandard dealership & service experiences. Maruti / Hyundai networks are more customer-centric.


Summary - Given the benefits of a small hatch, I will consider buying the diesel variant of the hatch for personal use, but is too expensive at the current given price point, tough to justify the higher investment cost and the subsequent higher running cost in the present scenario of anticipated use.

[Motoringlover]

I20 - Picture at the time of Delivery.



What we liked in the Sportz trim.

• Top notch quality inside out. New Fluidic styling works.

• Class-leading equipment list (Key less entry, reverse camera, electric folding ORVMs etc.)

• Fast, fuel-efficient diesel engine mated to a smooth 6 speed gearbox

• Amongst the more spacious hatchbacks. Comfortable for 4.

• Big, practical 295 liter boot

• 5 star safety equipment & rating. Driver airbag, ABS & EBD, Disc Brakes on all 4.

• Steering Rake and Reach adjustments

• Bluetooth Streaming and calling capability.

• December Benefits helped save money on the car ~60k worth of benefits.

• Wanted a recently manufactured car - got a November 2013 make. [Thanks wildon on the Vin Decoding]

• Great dealership experience from Himgiri Gurgaon - was lucky to get a good sales advisor, in the rare instance was well informed.

What we did not like

• Light & vague steering - this may be a boon in low city speeds, is terrible and offers absolutely no sensation of the road.

• Driving dynamics - Mixed feeling about the car, does not help inspire take corners at higher speeds and there is considerable body roll.

• Visibility - Thick A pillar creates a blind spot especially while turning.


Summary - Picking the I20 was not very difficult, Good bit of kit on offer and acceptable compromises.

Heart wanted something which looked and drove like the polo, costs the price of a Liva and frugal like one too and is supported and holds its value like a Swift, but can't get one.

Ladies and Gentlemen - In the next instalment of my review I intend to focus on the following -

1. Initial driving Impressions.
2. Living with the I20.
3. Pictorial.


if you have specific areas you would like me to include, please give me a shout or leave me a note.

[Motoringlover]

Understanding the I20 a little better.

To start with if you are looking for an involving drive, look elsewhere, but if you are looking for well built and reasonably good looking hatch, which offers a reasonable bit of kit, read on.

Initial 90 Km's - (Confirmation Required) - When i got the car, since i was taking delivery from Gurgaon and the car was in Delhi, it had about 60Km's on the ODO, now the next 30 Km's the car drove really slow, it felt like a system block in place to avoid the car going above a certain speed, can anyone confirm this, if they experienced something similar?

I was almost contemplating calling the dealer for a potential problem, i was on route to a temple (for the pooja) around the 90Km mark, the car started behaving a little differently (in a good way), she was more eager to rev and was more in line with my test drive experience, my immediate impressions, some system block until the 90 km's mark.

Seating position - Great seats which help you settle down well, seats in the sportz do not offer height adjustment, but given that i am 6.1 (i was not too worried about it) Wife also was comfortable.



Steering - Offers Rake and Reach and is a great feel, also features the ability to cycle between media, volume control, ability to manage phone calls and mute for when conversations take priority.




Driving Ratios - 1,2,3 do a very good job in terms of ratios in the city,

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4,5,6 are tall (6 understandable) at speeds between 55 - 75 - the car is between the 4th and the 5th cog, i would have preferred a ratio of the 6th earlier which would have meant lesser shifts. more on this later. Liva does a great job on this side, ratios matched perfectly, if your goal is to strictly be driving in the city and you do not exceed speeds in excess 100, Liva is great for the purpose.

, ,

At speeds of 55-60, i have gear shift indicator asking me to move to the 4th and the recommendation on the 6th does not come until 85-90, overall the shift indicator is rev matched to about 1800-2000 rpm.

You get used to the drive, i have gotten adapted to the car, the ratios no longer bother, i never expected Diesel hatch to be fun when revved, interestingly the fun starts past 2K, the car does reward the driver with significant acceleration gains.

Braking - i20 has great stock brakes, all 4 Disc brakes give you great confidence, i felt the best in the business given my choices at hand. I was bit skeptical of the stock tires (Apollo) given the commuter expectations from the car, they are up for the job in hand, i do not plan on upgrading the tire at this moment.



Boot Space - Offers a great bit of flexibility in palcing things, pram fits in nice and easy, with space for the baby bag, top marks on the storage department.

Hatch Open View.



Storage View - This was a big decision making point for us.

[Motoringlover]

At the time of writing this post, i have experience a service and now the ODO meter stands just past the 2K mark.

Service Experience -

"The Good" The car was picked up from my office, i was clearly explained what was going to be done and not, I wanted to get the engine oil changed, based on the advice on the forum and was adviced it is not a good idea, they said if needed we will change it, this was depite me willing to pay for it and was promptly delivered back in time. I even left my sunglasses which was promptly returned back.

"The Bad" Now the manual does not mention the need for special additives, based on the service advisor, he has added special additives in the Fuel tank and also the Engine - (i can't confirm what exactly it is) - I will post the bill here. In my mind it felt we can't make money on labour, we are going to fleece on something extra. I politely declined teflon coating.


Fuel Efficiency -

Usage Pattern - i20 gets used a lot, given its become the primary work horse of the house, i did not expect that i would tend to drive it more than my VRS, what can i say , a man's wallet is close to his heart, rough calculations leads to about 2000 KM's on the i20 and about 500 in the VRS.

I have been getting around 18Kmpl measured based on Full tank to Full tank basis, this does invlove significant bit of driving in the city. Mighty impressed.

Audio System -

,

Display in Heads up unit.



Integrated view with the Air-con knobs



Is a fancy bit of kit, (i know the audio lovers are laughing) I found it works for most of what i need or expect from a CD player (Ignorance is bliss), does more things right than wrong, here is amatuer review of the same.

"The Good" Easy to toggle between Audio selections, Can easily store a lot of FM stations, bluetooth works like a charm, CD player (Single) works real well, has an aux jack for the non-ipod users, Bluetooth is a hit in my house, we stream music from our iphones, phone conversations using Bluetooth work like a charm, and Best of all works from the steering wheel.



"The bad" I know Hyundai is trying to force me in keeping my eye on the road, it will not pair your iphone if you are moving, this should have been made speed sensitive, its normally a co-pasenger who is trying to connect his or her phone to the player, and the car refuses - You stop and pair it.

We have been unable to pair 2 phones, i believe manual does say it can - may be i am mistaken or i am unable to do the same.

Ipod socket does not regonize Iphone 5 running OS7, does not work - I have tried this using 2 phones and the result was a fail, Pen drives with Mp3 music works well.Bluetooth is the route to go.



Cubby Holes, Glove Comparment

i20 is designed for a family in mind, plenty of cubby holes to store various things, doors have pockets that you can keep cleaning cloth/papers, next the to gear lever you have an option to store water bottles, i did not feel the need for any more in it, this is a major pain my RS, just not enough.

, ,

[Motoringlover]

Pictorial - Side View



Side View - Long



Front view



DRL View



Head Lamps



DRL+ FOG+ Headlamp Integration

[Motoringlover]

Gear Shifter.



The business end



Stock Alloys



Child Lock controls



Battery- brand unknown though



Door Sill



Power Window Controls



Door Latch



Air Con Controls

[Motoringlover]

Thank you very much for your patience and time, please let me know if you have specific questions or queries, i hope to keep my thread current and updated. Please pardon amateur errors if any.

Best - ML.

[mobike008]

Note from Mod : Thread moved from Assembly Line to Initial Ownership Thread. Thanks for Sharing

[girishglg]

Congrats on you latest premium commuter hatch and must say it is a very well written one! Especially loved your logic and though process and indeed the below statement clinched it. In fact any car that meets the below requirement would surely take the crown of the bestselling hatch in future. But then you never get everything in one package right.

Originally Posted by Motoringlover

Summary - Picking the I20 was not very difficult, Good bit of kit on offer and acceptable compromises.

Heart wanted something which looked and drove like the polo, costs the price of a Liva and frugal like one too and is supported and holds its value like a Swift, but can't get one.

The other good thing about a Hyundai is that they generally pack a lot of goodies into their mid variant itself which makes is quite a compelling buy even for those who are looking one variant lower or even higher and with this one would ask no more.

Many happy and safe miles ahead!

[sparsh]

A very detailed review Motoring Lover. My only grouse with the i20 is more on the handling end where the setup could have been tuned towards the stiffer side than the softer side. The sportz variant has most of the bells and whistles. Wishing you many more safe miles.

[Mahesh Prasad]

Hello and Congrats on your new commuter. Also a great and nicely written report . IMHO the i20 is almost the perfect hatch in India, be it safety, features, FE, interiors, styling. But the only qualms being the suspension and handling. If Hyundai were to address these 2 issues, then the i20 will be a tough competition to beat.
Once again congrats and wishing you a happy and safe motoring.

Originally Posted by Motoringlover

Background

Our Shortlist - Not in the order of preference, we evaluated both Petrol and Diesel. Diesel at this time of evaluation was purely for academic purposes.

1. Maruti Swift
2. Toyota Liva
3. Polo GT TSI & TDI.
4. Hyundai i20.

PS: Any specific reason why the Punto was not considered?

[Motoringlover]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Congrats on you latest premium commuter hatch and must say it is a very well written one! Especially loved your logic and though process and indeed the below statement clinched it. In fact any car that meets the below requirement would surely take the crown of the bestselling hatch in future. But then you never get everything in one package right.

Absolutely girishglg, its the one with that comes the closest to what could be, lets say ones own definition of perfect, glad you liked my selection process.

Originally Posted by girishglg

The other good thing about a Hyundai is that they generally pack a lot of goodies into their mid variant itself which makes is quite a compelling buy even for those who are looking one variant lower or even higher and with this one would ask no more.

Many happy and safe miles ahead!

the do make it difficult to ignore in terms of the kit in offer, i paid 7.5Lacs on road gurgaon, that's very good value for money.

Originally Posted by sparsh

A very detailed review Motoring Lover. My only grouse with the i20 is more on the handling end where the setup could have been tuned towards the stiffer side than the softer side. The sportz variant has most of the bells and whistles. Wishing you many more safe miles.

Thanks Mate, like any Hyundai, they are please lot and offend the minimum approach, if you look at the majority of car buyers most want comfort over handling, the enthusiasts are a small piece for the segment, for my purposes when i am in the mood for fun I use the RS, if it is city drive i20 just makes it very easy.

Again on an alternate note, having a heavy steering and stiff setup for commute is not all that great, it does get to you at times when you are burning 97 octane and standing still or moving at 10kmph.

Having an oil burner helps.

Originally Posted by Mahesh Prasad

Hello and Congrats on your new commuter. Also a great and nicely written report . IMHO the i20 is almost the perfect hatch in India, be it safety, features, FE, interiors, styling. But the only qualms being the suspension and handling. If Hyundai were to address these 2 issues, then the i20 will be a tough competition to beat.
Once again congrats and wishing you a happy and safe motoring.



PS: Any specific reason why the Punto was not considered?

Thanks Mahesh Prasad - i do like the punto where it did not please me is the interiors, they look dated and did not feel the money being demanded was value, that said i know there is work been done on that, thanks to auto expo, but i still have another problem of brand perception, which means lower residual value if you ever need to sell it (in Delhi ncr atleast), I am salaried and my perception of the job market is pretty fluid if you ever need to sell it should be easy to sell, i feel in this category the swift diesel still holds the fort, but i20 is not too far off.

thanks all for your feedback.

Best - ML