We all know that in several reviews between, WagonR, Zen
Estilo, Indica, Palio Stile 1.1, Chevy spark and Santro Xing, the winner was
Santro Xing.(refer Autocar mega shootout). Hence my entire review below is
only against the Santro. Lets see whether this car is better than Santro or its
worth to wait for other cars. Below is comparison between i10 Magna &
Santro XO
The ‘I’ Funda: HMC brings in a series of ‘I’ cars, from i10
to i70. Each number denoting the total number of innovative features which the
car boasts in that particular segment.
**
Engine: **Xing had
a 1.1 Epsilon series engine, which was 3valves per cylinder, but i10 comes with
Kappa series of engine, which has 4 valves per cylinder, which clearly means
more volumetric efficiency, which means more torque, power and better mileage
than santro.
Along with this, the Kappa engine is all aluminum block,
which means less weight and better heat transfer, and better power to weight
ratio and better acceleration
**Transmission: **The
feel is WOW, this is industry first Cable shift transmission in the segment,
quite a short throw and will give a sporty feel while driving. More than that
is the centrally mounted shift, which gives an ample feel of space between the
driver and passenger.
**Exteriors: **The
front of the car is a mix of SX4 and Civic, the wrap around type head lights
reminds of SX4 and central chrome grill reminds of Civic, it’s a neat job done
but does not earn any brownie point.
The front doors look ditto like Santro. The Rear of the car
reminds of the Honda Jazz. Mmmm … HMC has done a great job in the boot opener,
but again this is not a unique thing, this is borrowed from VW. So from the
exteriors point of view, even though they are quite impressive and thoughtful
but doesn’t qualify for a iPoint.
One more impressive point with exteriors is plethora of
colors options available, 10colors, but mera wala cream nahi hai .;-)
Also you get body colored handles, door trims, rear
defogger, antenna, rear wiper with spray wagera wagera which offcourse is
nothing new or nothing great.
**Steering, Suspession
and Handling: ** Finally HMC got away
with hydraulic power steering and fixed a fully motor driven power steering. It’s
fun to drive in the city, will offcourse be light at high speeds and would lack
a little feedback. This feature was much needed. This doesn’t qualify an
iPoint, but what qualifies is Tilt Steering. Ooooh, where could you get a tilt
able steering in sub 5L segment. Thanks HMC for raising the bar for the
competition
The width of the i10 is now 70mm more than santro, coupled
with a 40mm less height.
More width means more shoulder room, but also means larger
turning radius.
By reducing the height, the car has lost its original tall
boy type design, but this has given it a big advantage interms of rolling at
high speeds, This could be of some help in highway at high speeds. Am waiting
for a trip to Kodai …
The rear suspension gets a treatment similar to Getz, so
better ride at the rear, not so hard, but this was lesson learnt not an
innovation
**Interiors: **
The beige rage: beige is all over, wow, I drive like a rich.
This is what Zen estilio tried to achieve, but it was too small a car( same
dimensions as Alto). The fell inside is more airy and couple with some good
carpet type mats could make the interiors of the car Classe. The Magna comes
with a dual tone upholstery
AC: the santro uses a 100cc compressor but the i10 uses
113cc compressor. That’s around 2.7% more capable, which is quite evident, it
cools faster.
Space: The rear seats have been moved back by around 40mm,
So this add more leg space at the rear but takes away the boot space. With 70mm
more width and intelligently managed design at the boot(no suspension
intrusion) the space for occupants is very good, but boot is not so impressive.
Seats: there is ample lumbar support in the seats, but I
would still prefer the adjustable head rests rather than the so called iRelax
by HMC. Rear head rests are like
waterfall type, but only for two people. The car boasts as five seater and head
rest for only 4, ye to bohut na insafi hai
Add ons: No Remote boot opener
No Driver under seat tray, which earlier could fit in a pair
of sport shoes, mmmm bad
Central Clock, Rotary AC controls, good design of tell
tales, a very luxe feel central map lamp
Speakers are supposed to be put only at the doors(Front
& Rear), the speaker placement at the rear parcel tray is removed, this is
very bad design for people who love good music with great bass. If I need to
have my own plank for mounting the speaker at the rear, then I am paying for
the parcel tray unnecessarily, very bad, redundant design
**VFM:** Santro XO
model( not available anymore) was 4.4L on road price at Bangalore, but with loads of discounts and
offers. The magna priced at 4.63 on road Bangalore,
currently with no offers means a slightly over priced. If you think its worth
the attention you get on road while driving the Brand new car, then go for it.
Even otherwise I think the value addition it offers over Santro is tremendous,
a killer in the making. Waiting for more time will gain you some offers.
Summary: My mind was all set on Santro XO, I didn’t have to
think twice to shell 20k more to get loads extra for i10. what a diwali ….:-)
**Hyundai i10 Mileage update**
Finally I completed my first long journey just with in two
weeks of my i10. The details which the whole of net world is waiting for is right
here, go on and fill your mind with the first hand experience
**Journey Details:**
Shell Fuel Station(Whitefield, Bangalore) to
Krishnagiri(NH7) to
Salem(NH7) to
Coimbatore
(Traffic Filled four lane construction) to Sathy(NH209) to
Aasanur(Ghat Section) to Mysore to
Bangalore to
Shell Fuel Station(Whitefield)
**Road Details:**
**Total Distance
covered: 728.2 kms**
Around 50kms in City
Around 40kms in Ghat section with 27 Hairpin bends
Around 190kms of four lane Highways
Rest all Two lane highways and some really bad roads
**Miscellaneous
details:**
**Four Adults seated with sufficient luggage(boot fully occupied)**
**AC was used sparingly**
**Mileage Details:**
**1)
****Filled Full
tank at Shell Fuel Station with Shell Advanced fuel(till the grim after some
vehicle shake)**
**2)
****Traveled a
journey of 728.2kms**
**3)
****Came back to
SAME shell fuel station and filled full tank with SAME fuel – 33.56 ltrs(after shake and gas escape)**
**TOTAL MILEAGE= 728.2 / 33.56
**
**MILEAGE FOR ENTIRE JOURNEY= 21.69 kms /
l**