Thats almost 2 month of research I did before buying the Hyundai i10 1.2 Magna White in Faridabad. I had 3 cars in mind 1) Santro GLS 2) Cheverlot UVA 3) i10. Initially I was more inclined towards Santro since this is almost 50K cheaper compared to i10 and the was not impressed with UVA with the car design itself and the view from drivers side was also not very clear. There was a choice for Swift was well, but again the car is big from out and little from inside, also its bulky body may give one a tough ride while driving in Delhi and NCR traffic. So choice was between between Santro and i10 now.
Santro is better in looks, more comfortable and easy to ride, but i10 1.2 has got the technology, power and good refreshing interiors. Only concern left for i10 was Mileage now. From the users opinion and many other sources I knew in city driving I should not expect i10 to give wonders in term of mileage. but because its a new car with new engine I went for i10 1.2 Magna.
Yesterday for a chance to drive approx 124 km in the city and to have the first impression of actual mileage. I had already got my tank filled till Autocut and reset the trip meter, Once I returned from my journey I again filled the tank till autocut and this time trip meter posted 124.3 KM. I got a mileage of 12.6 KMPL with 35% of highway and 65% of city driving with heavy traffic and long stoppage times at some junctions and AC ON 80% of the time. Remember this is before the first service and I expect it to improve 5-10 % after first service is done.
From the comfort front, the car is good and engine is very smooth. Sometimes even of high speeds, once may forget to change the gears until you see the gear knob. I was able to drive the car with speed of 100 KM per hour on DND Toll Bridge and beleive me one can easily touch speed of 150 without any hassle.
As a final outcome, I would say if one is a freak of new things and new technology and ready to shell out 50 K extra, i10 is the best car in this segment. Else santro is also a good option except its 10 years old in terms of techs.