Glad i chose a i20

 

The decision on the i20 was nearly 5 months in the making and nearly 25 test drives of various models like, Polo, Swift, Punto and i20. To be honest i was literally blown away on the test drives of the polo. The gear shift and handling were just extraordinary. However there were visible cons to the polo and as you will read on, there were a Lot of PRO's to finally opt for an i20

 

Exterior Would term it as the most stylish in its segment. Am sure there will be a lot of Punto owners and fans who will disagree, however for someone who favors the sleek lines and curves over the cuts n boxes, this car is a definite beauty. Although i think they could have done better with the back of the hyundai, I love the way they have given a slight lift in the center of the bonet, giving it the look like it has inputs from a formula 1 car.

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) This would definitely be the most feature rich car in its category, with electronic adustable and folding mirros, climate control, steering mounted audio controls, Glove box cooling, even the gear change indicator feature, where the car will indicates which gear to drive in is a very useful feature, i guess it saves me atleast 3 to 4 km per litre of fuel. The seats are ergonomically designed and seems to hold your back firm which is very important in cases of long drives or for people who do a lot of driving. I am 6"ft flat tall and even after sitting comfortably in the front, there is enough space for another 6 footer to sit right behind me. The boot is spacious enough to handle 3 normal sized suitcases side by side flat on their backs. The climate control takes a little time to heat or cool the car. Audio system is terrific with the tweeters really adding punch to an already good sound system. I did happen to park the car next to a D'sire at my cousin's place and the cars looked identical in length from the birds eye view, the i20 looked wider.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox I did find the engine slightly under powered (only just) when i needed to really accelerate hard out of red lights, however it sails like a breeze on the expressways and i dont see too many cars zipping past me. Done 1300 kms till now (bought the car on the 26th of Dec 2010) and the baby has been giving me a cool 17 kmpl (which has surprised me to be honest) in delhi traffic, and anyone who has travelled in the NCR would agree that it does have its fair share of bumper to bumper traffic. The gear shift is smooth, however it does tend to be a little edgy while putting it in first (but this is rare).

 

Ride Quality & Handling It feels really steady even at high speeds like 100 to 120 kmph, however the car does seem to tilt a bit too much for my liking when i take sharp turns at high speeds in corners. I did read a couple of reviews where they said the bottom kept touching speed breakers, however i believe the 15" alloys on the sportz version does tend to sort this issue out.

 

Final Words Would definitely recommend this car for anyone who is looking at getting features and space at this price. However anyone of the racing types, would be disappointed with the petrol version, however they could check the diesel version out, which could turn out to be heavy on the pocket.

 

Areas of improvement Maybe a slight increase in torque or maybe coming out with a 1.4 ltr engine at this price would definitely see this care outselling the maruti's of the world. 

 

Good Styling, Good Fuel Economy, Good spacey interiors, Feature RichSlightly underpowered, Handling on sharp turns