I bought i10 this march and it’s been six months and just completed the second service.
Selecting i10:
Before buying this vehicle I researched all vehicles in this 1k to 1.2k cc category and I zeroed on four vehicles Swift, i10, Micra, Wagon R
Swift was my first choice but there was 6 months delay in getting the vehicle delivered and that made be sad because I wanted the vehicle immediately and also swift was costlier that i10 and it had few interiors like power windows, indicators on mirrors like that and I also didn’t like the passenger rear side window of swift, it looked bit cramped. And Swift had only few bhp torque more than I 10
Micra was also good choice for me but it was also priced more than i10 Magna and it also didn’t have features like power windows on all four sides, like that and it was a three cylinder pot and i10 was 4 cylinder pot and also Micra was new to market and people suggested me not to take chances because many cars came and went and only few sustained and i10 was definitely proven car.
Wagon R was also very much in cards because here in Kerala if someone likes some brand then they will die for it. It was pulsar few years before and now it’s Honda Unicorn and in the cars they are mad about Maruti brand because it has resale value. Though Wagon R had few more features like 60/40 split seats, rear fog lamp, front light adjustment, rear wiper, optional abs(if I wanted to fit it later), the pricing was almost 25k less than i10 but I was worried about the cc, i10 was 1.2k and Wagon R was just 0.999 k so that was a great difference and I also had the great difference in power and interior plastic quality.
Finally I decided to go for i10.
Dealership Experience
Did fall with the tactics of sales person and gave Rs 1k as advance and the car was booked one month before and great blunder mistake I did because I couldn’t switch dealers and also check other cars and this 1k did eat my head. Before giving Advance I confirmed with him that he will not increase the price if the car’s price increases the the following month when I take delivery and also if something new scheme comes then I must be given that also, he agreed.
Aprli came and new offer came with extra 4 years warranty, till then there was free insurance, free 3 year warranty
And also the dealer was giving freebies like Teflon coating, Sun film coating on windows, under body painting, Car body cover, Floor mats.
And before buying the vehicle I once again confirmed about he new 4th year free warranty and the sales personnel agreed. I paid the whole money and got the the vehicle three days with Registration.
But the Sad thing was after first service I was given only 3 years warranty because they said that since my car was booked in march so I couldn’t get the April Warranty.
The Car dealer was Popular Hyundai Cochin, Kerala
Please note: Before paying the full amount please make sure that you will take all the offers they are ought to give to you in writing because what they say is not done. What happened to me, let it never happen to anyone
Car Driving and Maintenance Experience
Never regretted of buying this car until Honda Brio came now because all cars including Polo and Etios Liva in this segment except Swift are lower than i10 in performance. Since Brio was launched just now, I don’t have to regret because there was no Brio when I bought i10.
Driving experience was very nice, since I don’t have great driving experience only 3k driving experience, I never felt that the car lacked stability, did feel that initial pick was less but it was because I maintained 2k to 3k rpm range to shift the gears as instructed in the manual.
Top Speed attempted was 140 wpm and never felt any vibrations or body roll whatsoever. Vehicle was steady. Always keep my speed in 80-110 range and did regret of doing that when Police caught me for breaking 80km/hr speed limit
Climbing the hilly regions was bit difficult for this car. Car was breathing very hard, It was hardly moving in second and first gear. But let me tell you it was very high because people in that area do talk about the steep road in that area. Really wondered how can car which cruises 140km/hr on flat road struggled to climb high areas in 1 and 2nd gear. May be it’s the issue with all small cars. But the diesel engines like Qualis had not problems in climibing the same road with ease in 2nd gear where I was struggling in 1st gear.
Liked the interiors and the Dash Board and also dual trip meters, and also plastic quality of interiors is very nice. Boot space is also nice and 6 months of experience didn’t find any issues with the car. I travel very less only twice in weekends and car had not problem in starting all these 6 months.
Never had problems with electronic steering wheel as written in blogs.
Done 2700 km on the ODO and all I do is just put petrol and drive and nothing else and the free service which is 3rd awaiting in 6 months so.
About the mileage, since my vehicle is not run much I’m getting 11 kmpl with full A/C on in fully congested city traffic
And when I took it for a country side ride of 200 kms travel with full steep roads I got 18 kmpl with full A/C on. I think that’s pretty decent
So this is what i10 is all about, you’ll never regret when you buy it because it’s a no problem vehicle