Hyundai i10 - Best Small Car in the segment

 

I was planning to change my old Maruti 800 AC car to new car from almost an year. With a few limitations (limited budget, less parking space, congested streets & heavy traffic on Delhi roads), i had made up my mind for another small car with more feature, comfort & better performance. Moreover, I commute to office by my office cab. Diesel car was never in my options as well. I have also read in one of article that if your monthly drive is less than 1500 kms, then one should not go for Diesel car.

So, finally I shortlisted Maruti WagonR 1.0 Vxi, Maruti Swift Vxi & Hyundai i10 Sportz.

 

I took TD for Maruti WagonR & Swift Vxi at D.D. Motors, Mayapuri. New WagonR failed to convince me, my wife & father. Moreover, it's shape was also not very attractive to us. Gear box was too hard (as compare to Swift), space between front seat was also not much (as compare to my old Maruti 800). However, engine was more refined than older one (have driven my friend's old WagonR 1.1L) but not as responsive as Swift or i10 (reason might be it had 1L as compare to 1.2L). A/C was also not very effective. Overall, we didn't like it that much to have it our next new car.

Swift had some pros Space, performance, Very good AC & some cons outdated avg looks, very common on roads, No Music System, long waiting of 3 months.

Then we took new Hyundai i10 TD, the features, styling & performance of this car impressed us on the very first meet.

We got my new Hyundai i10 Sportz on 6th Jan 2011, done 1st service & drove almost 2000 kms (Apr 22nd 11).

 

Exterior The car has a fresh look (like aerodynamic design, new radiator grill, new head lamps, sporty front bumpers & centre antenna). It has some premium car features which is first time in small car like Body coloured waistline moudling, Turn indicators on Outside body coloured mirrors,electrically adjustable & heated outside mirror (for those rainy season). Rear defrogger with Wiper, High mounted bumper & double lamp tail light for better safety (during rainy & night time), rear spoiler (for sporty looks & high mounted stop lamp).

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Central console mounted gear lever is a big plus during long drives. New dual tone beige & brown interiors have removed the complaints of sun light reflection. Performance of Integrated music system is also quite good & it's blue light is really cool during night. Gear Shift Indicators is also a new &  first time feature in small car & very useful to get better fuel economy.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine is as smooth as silk, I have already touched 125 km/hr couple of times on Delhi Gurgaon express highway but never felt short of power during overtaking with AC on. Cabin is also very silent. One need only a finger push to change gears. Braking is also quite good & might got improved with wider tyres which I'm planning to switch in near future. Currently, I'm getting 12-13 kmpl with (90%) AC on. Service centre guy told me that mileage will further improve after 2nd service which is due in first week of Jul '11.

 

Ride Quality & Handling Ride Quality is quite good & comfortable. Handling quite good. May be upgrading to Motor assited power steering from Old Cable assisted one.

 

Final Words I'm very happy & fully satisfied with performance of my car & proud to own it.

 

Areas of improvement Bigger & Wider Tyres + Alloy wheels + Front Fog lamps should come as standard fitments in Sportz variant.

 

Great Handling, Interiors, Silk Smooth Engine, premium cars like featuresFront Fog Lamps missing, Small tyres...