I was looking for a 1, 100 cc car for my friend and I test drove most of the cars in the category. Myself and my friend took test drive of Santro, i10, estilo, chevy spark and chevy aveo uva. There is none which makes the best.
We took test drive of i10 Magna. The marketing personnel was saying ’Hyundai Brand, Hyundai Brand’ always. I thought in my mind what is there in the brand, we want the right product.
i10 interiors were good and spacious. 5 people can sit in the car comfortably. We drove in Bangalore traffic - but the car was not zippy. Throttle response and the torque was not that great. It may be good for highway drive since the car is heavier and wide, it may be rated as good by auto shows and magazines. I was expecting it to be very zippy after seeing Shahrukh’s add - it was not so. Myself and my friend had lot of expectations about i10 and my friend was about to buy it - but little disappointment. Ride was smoother.
We test drove with A/C and only 3 people in the car. A/C was not that great either. It was little bit better than my M800. Beige interiors makes it look attractive inside.
We test drove the Chevy spark also. One of my friend had a Matiz earlier and it was very nice car and I had travelled a lot in that car. I had similar expectation, but, was fully disappointed. Interiors in Chevy is dark, debatable metre console at the centre, change of positions of wiper and indicators all made it unattractive. Even the tail lamps are very oddly positioned. Response of the engine was same as that of i10 and ride was smoother. A/C was also same as i10. But, the looks department Chevy has to work a lot.
Main problem in Chevy Spark was the steering position. It is down and hits your thighs. Not adjustable too and you can drive with thighs.
UVA was very spacious car, marketing personnel was telling it is more spacious than Getz, but I have driven getz, the beige interiors of getz is more attractive and outside look of Getz was far better. UVA was under responsive. Interiors are again dark and the thighs touches the steering. Meter console is at proper position. Enthu of the marketing personnel was also very down.
Our surprise package was zen estilo. No marketing whatso ever by Maruti. They won’t compare any cars to any one nor they say superior. We were not at all interested in estilo after seeing the reviews by magazines etc. But, when we took the test drive, the A/C was amazing, very cool and it is the same as Swift. We were 5 in the car and the car zipped through Bannerghatta road amazingly. I was able to take U turns hassle free. Wagon R engine sitting under hood was just amazing. Maruti offered a discount of 35, 000 and it was coming to 3, 90, 000 on road Bangalore. i10’s starting model with no power steering also doesn’t come in this price.Beige interiors here also looks very attractive.
Space for 5 was the problem and back seat people had to adjust like my M800. Shape is debatable. My friend who learnt car driving in Santro, finally decided to goto Santro. Again Santro top end is 4, 05, 000 and it comes with only front power windows. Interiors are not beige and looks outdated with slider A/C control in the age of Rotary A/C control days. 5 people can sit at the back, this is the advantage. Estilo’s steering response is better than Santro’s. Hyundai on Santro model gives free music system and autocop.
I feel i10 is just overpriced. With ABS it is 5 lakh plus. There is lot of bookings for Alto, Swift Diesel and Swift Petrol.
To decide a car in this segment, it is upto you. i10 - Overpriced, lower steering response, Santro - Outdated Interiors and less features, Estilo - Body Shape Not Good, Spark - Poor Interiors and Exteriors, improper placement of speedo.
From the booking statistics, people are going for mostly Swift Diesel or Alto which is of different category, but mainly due to fuel economy. Even Palio D which is not as good as Swift D is getting lot of bookings.