[dsuman]

Greeting Readers.

This is a review of Hyundai i20 iMT Turbo Petrol in my Family. iMT stands for Intelligent Manual Transfer which is the Hyundai terminology for Clutch less Manual Transmission.

As is the norm in my family I drive all new vehicles till the First Service is done allowing me to gain adequate knowledge of the car's behavior. The Odometer at the time of writing the Review is 989kms.

Requirement and Main Criteria

This car is for my Brother In Law, A State Govt official whose work involves daily 75kms travel to & from Office and frequent Out of Town travel on official work. He is 48 and his Left Leg Pains after driving everyday and frequent usage of Clutch. He used to drive a Petrol manual Mahindra KUV 100 which has been sold off before taking delivery of i20. He did not want an Automatic for the fear of low Fuel Efficiency. This Dilemma was solved by Hyundai where its iMT (Intelligent Manual Transmission) makes an Angelic entry.

• Budget: Maximum Rs. 10L
• Body Type: Must be a Hatchback due to Parking Constraints.
• Must provide Fuss Free ownership Experience
• Transmission: Strictly a Manual Car for Good Fuel Efficiency
• Color: White. My BIL likes White Cars.
• Should be comfortable for long drives.
• Good Build Quality and all possible creature comforts.
• Should have good Highway stability.

Cars Considered

• Tata Tiago - Good Car and strong Build. But it looked like a downgrade from KUV 100. So did not pursue further.
• Tata Altroz mid variant - Strong vehicle, Can win Beauty Peagants. Parking constraints at home worked against Altroz. Showroom guys brought the car home to check the Parking.
• Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS - I already had bought i10 NIOS a month ago so did not want two same cars at home.
• Hyundai Aura Petrol - Again Parking Constraints worked against it.
• Hyundai i20 - The car was a perfect fit in the limited parking space at my Sister's house. So finalized.

Test Drive, Booking and Delivery Experience
After zeroing on the car, we proceeded to the Hyundai dealer, Kusalava Hyundai in Guntur for the Test Drive. Test drive was long and satisfactory and the SA explained all the features of the car. My BIL's requirement was simple - Good Mileage plus Driving convenience. SA suggested iMT and we test drove the iMT petrol and were sold. The only problem was 2 months of waiting period. We Booked the car with a hope that we can get it soon. The Budget of Rs 10L was enough for the Sportz variant of iMT i20 Turbo Petrol in White with a few discounts thrown in. While the Booking process was in progress the Dealer inventory showed up one i20 White iMT Sportz variant cancelled by another Customer. Voila the car was blocked for us and loan processed and down payment made. A total Turnaround time of 4 days. Delivery was a standard affair with a customary Photo and sweetbox and off we go to take divine blessings. No special treatment.

So the Primary reason for choosing the iMT is

• Convenience - Free Up left Leg by taking the Clutch out of the everyday equation.
• Good Fuel Efficiency which cannot be achieved by an Automatic car. iMT offers the best of both Worlds i.e. Convenience and Fuel Efficiency.

On Road Price - Rs 10.40L (Paid Rs 9.80L after Dealer and Hyundai Discount). For Reference Manual Sportz i20 costs Rs 9.4L(Without discounts) On Road.

Side Profile is aggressive and the stance is Sporty.
Notice the big Wheels. They are not alloys but Hyundai calls them Styled Wheels. Regular Steel Wheels which look like Alloys.


Rear three Quarters. looks best from this angle. Also notice the Panel gaps. They are consistent across the length of the Car.


Polarizing rear profile. Some will love it some will not. I love it. Gels well with the overall silhouette and front end.

Features of the Sportz Variant of iMT

Exterior

• Keyless Entry
• Auto (halogen) Headlamps
• Follow Me Home (stays ON for 10 Seconds) Lamps
• Projector Fog Lamps,
• Daytime Running Lights
• 15 Inches Styled Wheels which look like Alloy Wheels and provides more than adequate ground clearance.
• Auto Folding/Power Adjustable Outside Rear View Mirrors with integrated LED Turn indicators,
• Body Colored Door Handles.
• Reverse Camera with progressive guidelines on display.
• Electronic Trunk Open

Interior

• All Black Interiors with Dual Airbags,
• Driver Seat height Adjustable, Driver Armrest (non Adjustable),
• 2 Cup Holders, Storage inside Driver Armrest
• Manual AC with Heater, Rear AC Vents with Charging Port Integrated in the Console,
• In Total 2 Charging Ports and 1 USB port,
• Arkamys Touchscreen ICE with Wireless Android Auto (Did not try Apple carplay) which works very well.
• Sporty Gear Knob, Sporty Steering Wheel with Controls to manage ICE and Driver Information System,
• Sporty Brake and Accelerator pedals.
• TFT Multi Colored Driver Information System with Digital and Progressive Speed and Engine RPM Display, Fuel Level Display,
• Driver Information like Instantaneous Fuel Display, Distance to Empty, Current Trip Meter with Travel Time and Fuel Efficiency, Total Trip Meter with Overall Fuel Efficiency and Trip Time, Present Gear Indicator, Gear Upshift/Downshift Recommendation, TPMS (Only Tire Pressure no Temperature readings)
• MID also lets you adjust settings related to Follow Me Home Lamp duration, Lane Change Indicator Duration (3,5,7 blinks), Service Reminder.
• In Total 3 Individual Lamps - 2 Upfront and one over the rear Seat, Front 2 Lights can be switched on individually as Reading lamps, Sunglass Holder is small Size.
• Artificial Leather Seat Upholstery.

Hyundai lets you choose your preferred Warranty Duration. You can choose from

- 3 Years/100,000 Kms (we selected this due to high usage)
- 4 Years/50,000 kms
- 5 Years/40,000 kms.

In terms of looks the current generation i20 may not win a lot of hearts but for me it has an Aggressive Stance. The previous Two Generations had Smiley faces. The Car feels Solid and the Front Doors, Bonnet, Boot door have Weights to them and close with an assuring feel (Not the Volkswagen Thud though) but the The rear doors feel light. All doors for Passenger Compartment opens in 2 stage action. Step inside the Cabin and you feel it is spacious for a hatchback with Adequate Head and Leg Room. Note: For people who are used to beige Interiors the cabin may feel Claustrophobic and they will require time to get used to the all Black theme. The Quality of materials used is (Hard but) excellent and I can say Hyundai has not cut corners. The gaps are consistent and you will be hard pressed to find cost cutting at least in the visible areas. The Front Seats have good under thigh support and are Chunky. The rear seats offer adequate under thigh support for average Indian Heighted people say up to 5.8". Taller people may feel less thigh support. The Steering Wheel is Chunky and feels good to Hold onto and feels just the right size i.e. neither too bulky nor too small. The Buttons in the Cabin offer good Damping and provide tactile feedback. They don't make any Click Sounds but soft dampened sounds.

The Driver seat can be adjusted for Height and the Travel (both Vertical and Horizontal) range is very good. Drivers of all Heights will feel Comfortable. I am 5.7" and with the Seat at its highest position I can see the end of the Bonnet easily. I personally counted, the driver seat height adjuster has a range of 32 adjustments.

Overall the Cabin is built Tight and should last the distance without rattles. The Cabin is adequately damped and filters out almost all sounds. The Cabin is silent with very minute sounds making entry inside. When driven on potholes or rough roads the suspension makes dampen sounds and there is no rattling inside the cabin.
The AC Chills really Fast. Tested this in Guntur Afternoon where temperature reaches 42 or so even during winters.

There are 3 Cabin lamps provided with two at the front along with a Sunglass holder and one over the rear passenger seat. The front two lamps also double up as reading lamp and can be individually turned ON and OFF

Driving the Turbo GDI

The Hyundai i20 iMT comes with a 998CC Turbo GDI Petrol Engine which makes 120PS power and 172nm Torque between 1500 - 4000 RPM. The Transmission is a 6 Speed manual without a Clutch. Turn the Ignition ON and the System initializes. Start the Engine starts at 1200RPM and settles into a Silent Rhythm at 800RPM. You can hardly make out that the Engine is ON in Neutral. Press the Brake Pedal and Shift to Gear 1 and the car moves slightly forward and settles at a speed of 6kmph without Accelerator input. The gear shift is very smooth and precise. The power is transferred to the wheels instantly. The forward motion is seamless and there is no sudden jump say like in an AMT. Shifting through the gears is Quick and Precise. You will never miss a Gearshift and the shift is seamless & Sure Slotting. Turbo Lag is minute and not felt and the power is delivered in a linear but quick fashion. You get a feeling that the Engine expects (also evident from the Gear Recommender on MID) a Gear based on the vehicle speed hence is able to smoothly deliver power at right gears. However selecting any other gear other than the desired gear results in Jerking.

For e.g. Say the iMT is in 2nd gear and the Vehicle speed is 32kmph, the Engine expects 3rd gear but if you slot into 4th gear, there will be a slight resistance along with a Headnod (Kind of AMT Head Nod). In short the Gear Shift will not be smooth and the Power delivery will have a slight lag.

No matter what you do it is very difficult to lug the Engine because as soon as the vehicle speed goes below a threshold limit the MID displays "Please Shift Down" message with continuous beeps. Say in 3rd gear the speed reduces to below 20kmph, iMT does not transfer power to the wheels and you have to shift down to 2nd Gear.

The steering is a Telescopic one with adjustments for Rake & reach and is light at low speeds and weighs up nicely as the speed increases. By working through the gears you can attain speeds pretty quickly. i20 cruises at 100kmph at 1500 RPM in 6th Gear whereas in 5th gear at 2200 RPM. 6th Gear is a Boon for long distance Cruising and will return good Fuel Economy. I was able to get 20kmpl on the MID by keeping RPM below 2000. I am yet to try the Tankful method. Will do it after First Service.

In Car Entertainment

i20 Sportz iMT variant comes with an Arkamys 10.24 inches Touchscreen ICE with Wireless Android Auto & Apple Car Play. The display is big and placed at a comfortable angle. The interface is a breeze to use with Touchpoints being a size big. The Sound Quality is very good say 70% of Harman and 50% of Bose. Sound Quality is crisp. The ICE also comes with a DRVM feature where in you can keep the rear camera ON permanently. The ICE is standalone which means you cannot configure MID from ICE. External connectivity with ICE can be done through USB, Bluetooth Connectivity, Wired and Wireless Android Auto & Apple Carplay.

More pictures

Driver Seat is accommodating for all sizes. Has good under thigh support. The Seat Height adjuster has a large travel range. Notice the difference in levels of Driver and Front Passenger Seat.



Rear door is lighter compared to the front door and also closes with a not so assuring sound. You will instantly notice it is very light by the sound it makes upon closing.. Cost Cutting
Rear Seats are accommodative for an average sized person. However you have to sit down into them. Provides adequate under thigh support. Tall people will feel their legs pointing upwards and under thigh support lacking.



Rear Camera neatly tucked near number plate. It is angled down and somehow this position does not give clear view of the rear. Shows the road and half portion of the bumper.



Shark Fin Antenna. Looks premium



Wipers and Washer nozzles neatly tucked under the Bonnet



Sporty Accelerator and Brake pedals. Notice the missing clutch pedal.



Front Cabin Lights also double up as Reading Lamps. Notice the Mic and Sunglass Holder



Right ORVM has good visibility. Can be adjusted & Folded electrically



Left ORVM is also right sized. Can be adjusted & Folded electrically



Manual Inside Rear View Mirror. Size is adequate and Covers good ground behind.



Door Open warning with the Ignition Off. MID shows exactly which door is closed. Shows a graphical representation whenever a door is opened or closed. Nice touch. Distance To Empty, Door Open Warning, Current Gear Position, Odometer and Outside Temperature



Turn the Ignition ON and the last used display is retain and displayed Notice the TPMS display at before starting off and after driving around a bit. Average Fuel Efficiency. Can be reset by long press of OK button on the Steering. Accumulated Info shows the Overall Drive Report, AFE and Engine ON Time. Can be reset from Steering.


Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Shows Tires pressure only. No Tire temperature is shown. Unnecessary omission in an otherwise loaded car.


Rear AC Vents can be individually adjusted. Keeps rear passengers happy. Notice the Charging port beneath. The AC vents assembly does not interfere with middle passenger. Notice the Driver Armrest. It is useless when the seat height is adjusted to maximum.


Rear parcel tray is standard. Useful to keep things out of view in the boot. Notice the rear defogger on the rear glass


Vanity mirror is a standard mirror. inside the left sunshade The Sunshade is flimsy and thin. Does not have any light or a cover for the mirror.

Positives
- Excellent Drivability due to Quick Shifting Transmission, Turbocharged Engine and good highway stability. Exciting and Confidence inspiring.
- Upmarket feel with well built cabin, Big Touchscreen ICE, Digital MID different drive parameters, Display for Speed and Engine RPM with a Blue Backlight.
- Driving Ergonomics are spot on.
- Value for money with all possible creature comforts and features.

Negatives
- Bit Pricey. Rs. 10L budget opens up a whole lot of options for e.g. Honda Amaze CVT is at 9.70L on road.
- Hyundai Service is a bit on the costly side.
- You sit low. Tall people may not like it.
- Turbo Petrol if driven spiritedly will return low mileage.

Thank You for reading
Will keep the thread updated as I keep clocking more KMs

[sunikkat]

A very crisp write up. Congratulations

But surprised on the parking space constraints. i20 is both longer and wider than Altroz. Also it is of same length as Aura and much wider. So how can i20 fit well and Altroz and Aura couldn’t. Is it anything to do with the ease of parking?

[dsuman]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

A very crisp write up. Congratulations

But surprised on the parking space constraints. i20 is both longer and wider than Altroz. Also it is of same length as Aura and much wider. So how can i20 fit well and Altroz and Aura couldn’t. Is it anything to do with the ease of parking?

The parking is in front of the house but on main road so Altroz being fatter than i20 so there is a greater chance of passing vehicles hitting. Also the houses are closeby so a lengthy car would have covered half the gate of adjacent house. We parked multiple cars and checked. i20 fit the space perfectly. We preferred a hatchback primarily to avoid fights with neighbors. Did not want to intrude into the space infront of neighbors property

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by dsuman

The parking is in front of the house but on main road so Altroz being fatter than i20 so there is a greater chance of passing vehicles hitting. Also the houses are closeby so a lengthy car would have covered half the gate of adjacent house. We parked multiple cars and checked. i20 fit the space perfectly. We preferred a hatchback primarily to avoid fights with neighbors. Did not want to intrude into the space infront of neighbors property

i20 is actually more wider. Altroz width is 1755 mm where as i20 is 1775 mm. Similarly both Aura and i20 length is 3995 mm.
Actually I was surprised too with these dimensions earlier as Altroz feels wider and Aura lengthier.

[dsuman]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

i20 is actually more wider. Altroz width is 1755 mm where as i20 is 1775 mm. Similarly both Aura and i20 length is 3995 mm.
Actually I was surprised too with these dimensions earlier as Altroz feels wider and Aura lengthier.

You are right but when we parked various cars during decision making, i20 was a perfect fit. Altroz do feel wider probably due to its front end.

[AjinkyaP]

Congratulations !

Its refreshing to see customers looking for pure MTs switching to clutchless manuals.

IMHO,Hyundai/Kia's iMT provides immense value for its price , i dont understand the criticism it gets for being 'neither here nor there'.

I hope to see more engine options mated to this incredibly practical transmission option

[goandude]

Nice crisp write up. I also own a April 2021 Turbo IMT Sportz. And am very happy with the car, it's comfort, mileage, features, ICE and (subjectively) it's fabulous looks.
Must point out that my car does 100 in 6th gear @2300 rpm and in 5th @ 2800.
The armrest is not ergonomic, just the tip of my elbow car rest on it. Missing the sliding armrest of higher variants. I'm 5'6". Also the front suspension makes a thud sound when going over a speedbreaker a bit faster, (my old Swift Dzire didn't do any thing like this).

[AKSarkar1]

Originally Posted by dsuman

Sporty Accelerator and Brake pedals. Notice the missing clutch pedal.

Thanks for sharing and congratulations on having a new member in your garage. IMHO iMT transmissions are definitely the way forward. I am sure your brother-in-law would enjoy his drives much more now.

While I love the chrome finish on the pedals, without the clutch pedal a skinnier brake pedal looks out of place. Not sure why Hyundai didn't offer a chunkier brake pedal like in the case of automatics. Any particular reason behind this? Generally, I have found the Koreans to be very mindful even with the smallest details of the car.

Either ways, a beautiful machine and I look forward to reading more updates on the same.

[Pedalmasher_20]

Just a question buddy... Why didn't you go with a diesel automatic car?? If your brother's running is more than 50000km in 3 years then it would have been more sensible and light on his pocket. Plus, the diesel give more fuel efficiency than the petrol counterpart which would have compensated for the loss of efficiency by the automatic gearbox. Plus, the Turbo-Petrols tend to deliver notoriously low fuel efficiency in the city which would then be a huge bummer if his driving is very high in the cities. One more thing to note is that diesel is 10-15 rupees cheaper than the petrol which would have further reduced the running costs..!! And main advantage is that he wouldn't have needed to do the gearshifts at all, which would have been a boon for him...

[Tony2298]

First of all, many many congratulations on the possession of your new car!The new i20s looks might not be of everybody's tastes and some may feel it overpriced too but as they say different strokes for different folks, this new iMT option is very innovative which will give you the convenience of automatic but at the same time trying to emulate a manual transmission thus trying to give you a sense of involvement, it might not entice enthusiasts but for common everyday commuters it makes a lot of sense, not to forget they will be a lot easier to maintain in the long run as compared to conventional automatics.Stay safe and happy motoring!

PS-My first post on Team-BHP!

[M.Dua]

What a lucky chap you are that you get to keep and drive the first 1000 Kms of every car your family owns? How did you manage to convince them all of this? spill the secret to us also :-D

Also, i am surprised for the number of times you have mentioned that Automatics have mileage lower than Manual, half my Garage have CVT & TQ, and mileage are better if not at par with manuals, the system is designed to do optimum shifts of gears to give better FE. Had your reason been performance it would have been a good case.

I often go hypermiling and please see below the mileage from my home to office on a Monday morning with less traffic on my Glanza(Baleno) CVT Petrol, generally i do 25 kmpl on morning and 22 on the way back (also i think the ODO meters are off by 2-3 kmpl from actual mileage)

My Volvo S60 Diesel TQ on the same route gives my 20+kmpl in morning and 17+kmpl in evening.

Now manual counterpart of Baleno/Glanza would not give me any better mileage is what i believe.

Happy Motoring.

[dsuman]

Originally Posted by Pedalmasher_20

Just a question buddy... Why didn't you go with a diesel automatic car?? If your brother's running is more than 50000km in 3 years then it would have been more sensible and light on his pocket. Plus, the diesel give more fuel efficiency than the petrol counterpart which would have compensated for the loss of efficiency by the automatic gearbox. Plus, the Turbo-Petrols tend to deliver notoriously low fuel efficiency in the city which would then be a huge bummer if his driving is very high in the cities. One more thing to note is that diesel is 10-15 rupees cheaper than the petrol which would have further reduced the running costs..!! And main advantage is that he wouldn't have needed to do the gearshifts at all, which would have been a boon for him...

You are right buddy. Me and my sister begged him to go for an automatic. He even test drove an automatic but some drivers at his workplace suggested to stay away from automatics. Diesel was ruled out due to less price gap in fuel prices and vast gap between petrol and diesel engines (1.5 Lakhs). With the current situation the driving may reduce. Plus he and his colleagues car pool which has paused due to covid. Once normalcy returns the car pooling will resume. Then his car will be used only once in 4 days of a week.

Originally Posted by Tony2298

First of all, many many congratulations on the possession of your new car!

PS-My first post on Team-BHP!

Welcome to the forum mate. Thank You

Originally Posted by M.Dua

What a lucky chap you are that you get to keep and drive the first 1000 Kms of every car your family owns? How did you manage to convince them all of this? spill the secret to us also :-D.

Now manual counterpart of Baleno/Glanza would not give me any better mileage is what i believe.

Happy Motoring.

Thank you mate. Everyone in my family circle is aware that I have a bug for automobiles. I am the go to person for any advice on cars or bikes. Even our family friends call me about suggestions before purchase. I even accompany them to showrooms. I was entrusted the duty of selling off one car and two bikes within my family in the last two months. I am yet to try the Tankful method. I am sure real world mileage will be one to three kilometers less.