Comfy, Feature-rich Family Hatchback though pricey, relatively

SPORTZ 1.4L AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION (AT) BSIV

THIS HONEST REVIEW ALONE I GUESS, SHOULD SUM IT ALL FOR ANY NEW BUYER OF THIS VERSION.

Exterior

The car has been designed really well with the exterior looks riding on Hyundai's new german-Fluidic Design concept. The design has been well competitively designed to meet the new generation's expectations of styling. The newly designed headlamps, day-time-white-lights in the front, add to the elegance of the car . The head lamps look more aggressive and filled with life.

Unfortunately, rear wipers are missing for the price while present for Asta model (which has no AT to opt else would have).

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

Amazing! The interiors are well designed with dual tone colors, steering with leather wrapped, Automatic-Tranmission stick (alone costing about ~1.5lacs extra in place of stick drive) is elegantly designed to give it a posh interior look. The seats are quite comfortable and the driving column is a feast for the eye with blue luminance. Hoped there was vertical adjustment to driver's seat for the car's cost of 9.22 lacs(on-road price + insurance + Seat covers+ floor mats + reverse beeper totally 9.85lacks as of March 7th-2013) I paid 😇. The cabin is very spacious and absolutely quiet while the car is moving. Rear-view camera and parking sensors are very resourceful for me while parking in constrained spaces. Glove-box-coller is awesome. Boot is considerably big for a family of 4 like ours. AC is reasonable good. Music system, bluetooth & controls over steering are quite good. Rain-sensing wipers are awesome too. All other features usually with any others are part & parcel though are fine. My rating is 5 on 5 for features.

Unfortunately, average-mileage-clock would have been helpful (smartly HMIL concealed their mileage issue eliminating this totally of their list of features it seems). Plus,USB port doesn't work with all pen drives, not sure why.😦

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

The new turbo charged engines are really powerful. There is a turbo lag below 1500 rpm exactly when needed to overtake though it is 1.4L (specifically opted for this reason) instead of regular 1.2L😱. Agree that the newly designed engine has reduced the turbo lag to a decent extent compared to other cars in the market which have the lag upto 2000 rpm. The fuel economy ranges from 10 to 13.5 kmpl(10 in city conditions and 13 - 13.5 on highway) and of-course understandably, depends on how you drive & conditions in which you drive. Overall a perfect suit for ladies driving in cities as well (one of the reasons I opted this version). Gear box is buttery smooth and need not worry changing gears especially within Hyderabad-traffic conditions😱.

Ride Quality & Handling

 The ride quality is solid & stable. The suspension seems soft but has improved way beyond the one of the previous verstion. Handling is also worth mentioning. Turning at corners at high speeds at a curve feels very safe with the new steering brakes assisted with front disc brakes coupled with ABS and EBD.

Final Words

My view in conclusion...The best car of this segment in current Indian market though Maruti-Suzuki Swift was equally weighed in most aspects but eventually went for this. Though price is on the higher side (by about 50K in my view). Its worth considering it even when you compare it with other so called sedan cars in the price range because Hyundai i20 has got much better feel, luxury, comfort and optimum space. I hope I summed them all.

Areas of improvement  

Pricing, Turbo lag & ground clearance to be the unbeatable & best in the market, within this segment.

 

Driving Comfort, Styling & Elegance, Passenger Comfort, Feature-richHigh Price, Jerky Turbo Lag <1500 rpm (though 1.4L) USB port for music, Less Ground Clearance