Well guys, here is my first review on mouthshut. After being a member of this site for about 4 months and going through all the reviews(especially on automobiles) I think now its time for me to write a review of my own.So here it comes. . . . .I’ve just clocked 6000kms on my i10 and I feel that now I’ve got a very fair bit of Idea about what this car is all about, how it behaves and what are the pros and cons of this car. . . .
I got my i10 Magna on April 2009. It is having a 1.2lt kappa engine producing 80ps of power.Mostly I’ve driven it on highways(say 80% highwy and 20% city).
Looks:Exteriors: Well surely it is no beauty contest winner but its looks grows on you wih time. I think every Hyundai has the same character. From the front the large headlamps streached backwards looks really cool with the small smiling grill having chrome finish at the top. Back looks good but reminds of the first gen santro. The side profile looks the best.
Interiors: This is the department where hyundai scores heavily over its competitors. As you enter the car it makes you feel like you have paid top dollar for it. The Dashboard is exacty like a luxury car and gives you a big car like feel. The interiors are of beidge and dark grey colour with a bit of silver used around A/c vents and A/c knobs. Steering, gear knob attached with dashboard looks real classy. The plastic used is of good quality and there is not even a single part which looks flimsy.
Comfort: Till date I’ve done 2 long trips of about 1000km and many trips of about 150 km and I must say that the Koreans have done a fairly good job in designing the seats of this car. The coushioning on front as well as the rear seat feels perfect and also it has good thigh support. The only problem is that at the rear the ride feels a little too bumpy but also not as bumpy as the santro. In the front seat you don’t feel any bumpyness and the shock absorbers works great. The A/C works really well, In seconds it can cool the burning hot cabin. The engine is super silent and while inside the car you cannot figure out if it is on or off. Same thing is with the cabin, Hyundai has done a very commendable job to isolate the noise from the cabin. It also has the tilt-adjustable steering enabling me to adjust it acoording to my comfort. Also all the 4 windows, front as well as rear are power assisted.
Space: There is good space inside the car. I am 6’ft tall and never felt cramped sitting on the back seat. While driving I roll the front seat back to the maximum and my 5’7ft mom can still sit comfortably behind me.There is ample of space for keeping a lot of stuff you are carrying with you. Glove box have good space and I mostly put some books and registry papers in it. beside the sterio the space is provided for keeping your CD’s, also beside the A/C knobs You will find another space, I use to keep change and coins in it for the unending toll tax points. In front between the two seats there are 2 bottle holders And also space to keep your mobile phones and purse beside the handbrake. In rear also there is a big bottle holder. There ls also pocket given on both the front doors I use to keep a cleaning cloth in it. Now comes the boot space, its good though not large but decent enough.The only thing I don’t like is that you cannot put anything over the dashboard, due to its round design evreything you put falls down, so the space over dashboard remains unused.
Performance: Under Its hood it has a engine displacing 1197cc and producing 80ps of power. The pickup is amazing and it accelerates really very well with its super refined unit. And the best thing is that you can drive it enthusiastically or sedately, it can mould itself in both the ways. But with A/C on you can feel slight drop in power especially when starting from standstill, this problem gets very much visible in second gear but to overcome this the only thing you need to do is get your gearing ratios right. Put in the 1st gear and change to 2nd only after reaching over 3000 Rpm. Repeat this again in 2nd gear and then put in the 3rd. After the 3rd gear the car moves swiftly.
Handling: Overall the handling is pretty impressive. The power steering is super light, car is real easy to drive in traffic and delight to park in small spaces and as the speed increases the steering looses its softness and becomes apt for driving in high speed. Heard many stories regarding the power steering failure and I just hope that mine never fails:-). I’ve touched 120kph mark with it and at that speed it was fairly stable. The cornering of this car is good and it feels well planted. I’ve ridden it in hilly roads enthusiastically and it never underseered.
Fuel Efficiency: In city conditions initially I was getting around 12kpl but after 2 services done I am getting 13kpl, with 100% A/C.In highways Initially it returned 16.5kpl but now it has gone up to 18.3kpl, with 50% A/C.I think these are pretty good figures. Once while a trip from dehradun to chandigarh(to and fro) I was able to extract 19.6kpl from it with 20% A/C.
After Sale Service: The after sale service is pretty satisfactory. I directly take my vehicle to the sales reperesentive who handed over me the car and his polite behaviour is exacty same as it was the day when I entered the showroom for purchasing the car.After 2nd service I found out that my car was not washed proprely from the bottom and Under the bonnet so I complained about it and get it cleaned right in front of me and also written about this in the customer feedback form, after 2 days they called me up and asked to visit the showroom again for a free cleaning but I was again on a long trip, when I returned back I took my car straight to the showroom and it took them only 15 minz to get my car properly cleaned.
In my view Hyundai is doing really commendable jod and offering the world class products with world class services to their costomers. And I think this is the best car one can get under 4lac rupees. . . . .
Your comments and questions are welcomed. . . .