Hyundai i20 [2008-2010]

1. BUYING EXPERIENCE i20 has been one of my favourite cars so it was definitely on top of my list. My father bought this car for me 2 years back just before I was turning 18. So the search began around July'16, saw many cars but no car actually gave me that "My Car" feel. It was August and still I couldn't find the ideal car for myself. It was weekend and as usual I went with my father in search and this time we went searching particularly for i20. After looking around for some time found this car and that was the moment I realised that this is going to be my next car! Controlling my excitement further went to accompany my father for the test drive. He found the car to be good so we finalized the car. Hyundai i20 Asta 1.2Petrol it was then shining bright in White. Now started the wait, I was still 17. Those 8 odd months were the longest and felt like 8 years. 2. RIDING EXPERIENCE Fast forward to April'17, I got my learner's license and the next day my driving classes begun. I started my training directly on my car as I found the training cars not so useful from the past experience of some of my friends. So on the first day, I had this big grin on my face that remained throughout the day and was the best day of my life. A month later got my permanent DL and now it was time to explore the car. I started searching about the i20 on the internet to know more about the car but there were very less reviews for the petrol i20 as everyone called it underpowered as compared to its diesel counterpart. Well to be honest, i found the power to be adequate for 90% of the situation that i have faced till now. It's been close to 2 years since i have started driving and clocked around 8,000kms. This has been 95% in the city and some occasional highway trips. To sum it up, it has been perfect for me. 3. DETAILS ABOUT LOOKS, PERFORMANCE, ETC. i20 has been my favourite car and one of the main reason was its looks. I like the character lines running through the body of the car, the front especially looks stunning to me. The interior also looks premium with its dual tone layout and silver accents on Ac vents and other controls. Talking about space, well me and my father are 6'2 so sitting one behind other is not so spacious but overall its is quite spacious. The boot is also large enough at 285 litres and it's practicality can be increased by the 60:40 seat split. Another positive point for me is the seat comfort. I found the seats to be quite comfortable and not like today's generation of cars where seats are made thinner in interest of increasing space. Performance is also very good and the car easily picks up from 1000rpm without hesitation. Although for a quick move downshift may be required. The car revs nicely and power is good between 2000-5000rpm. Gear shifts are precise except for reverse which doesn't slot in at once sometimes. Clutch is light and a boon for city driving. The engine is so silent during idle that I have accidentally cranked the car even when the engine is running. Wind and Tyre Noise is on the higher side and does get intrusive above 80kmph. Fuel Efficiency is one area where this car is not so good. Well Hyundai is never known for it and add to that the 1200kg odd weight, the FE howers around 10-11kmpl in city with AC. The best FE that I have achieved till date in city is of 13kmpl. Highway driving has shown around 14kmpl. Being the fully loaded variant, the car boasts of a double din head unit with 4 speakers and 2 tweeters. Sound quality is very good and one can achieve good bass by changing the settings. Some of the features like illuminated power window buttons, adjustment for intermittent wiper, rear foot A/c vents , high set display for music system, electically foldable mirrors are nice to have in a 8 year old car. 4. SERVICING AND MAINTENANCE Everything has it's pros and cons and this car has been no different. This car was not one of the properly car and it has showed its tantrums. Maintaining this car has taught me a lot of things as to what can go wrong in variety of situations. While most of the niggles have been minor, the major task performed was Clutch Overhaul. Other than that the car has been serviced and never left us stranded. PROS AND CONS Pros: Design Features Quality Comfort Light Steering Cons: Fuel Efficiency Power in some (in some situations) Wind & Tire Noise CONCLUSION One of my favourite quotes- "If you don't look back at your car after you park it, you own the wrong car". i20 has been my companion since two years and honestly I have not even covered a lot of distance in this car but still everytime I look at it, I remember the day when I saw the car "My Car" in person and the level of joy multiplies. It has never bothered me that it is a pre-owned car, for me it has been my "first car". The journey till date has been full of ups as well as some downs but the experience, knowledge & the memories are priceless.