I bought my Hyundai Verna VGT CRDI from Trivandrum, Kerala in December 2006, and since then it has traveled over 22000 KMS with me.
ICE: Sony MEX R1 DVD Head Unit coupled with JBL Rear 6xs9 Speakers and Alpine three way co axial on the front doors and Sony Xplod Tweeters
Tyres : Stock 195/75/R14
Alloy : 5.5J H&R
Headlamps : Upgraded to 130W/100W Philips Rally Bulbs with ceramic Holders and Relay from Roots
Insurance : New India Assurance
Horns : Pair of Roots VibroMax
Three major incidents that i ran into during this tenure
1. Major accident involving a fatality i have posted the details at the below thread
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...-accident.html (Verna Accident !) 2. Transmission issue - 5th gear making noise when being engaged, Hyundai A.S.S replaced this for me after some emails and phone calls, but very promptly.Here is a picture of my damaged tranny ! The fifth gear synchronizer's ring was the culprit
3. Excessive noise from Turbo - replaced / rectified by Hyundai A.S.S in a day
The car used to return me very high mileage ( +24KMPL) during my initial days with the car because I was treating her sedately i.e. no RPMS above 2.5K , but after the initial run in period , I really started to get very aggressive and mileage dropped. In city FE turned out to be between 17KMPL and 19 KMPL where as highways FE was always 20+KMPL. These figures hold good even today. So I am very satisfied there. Please note that all FE figures are with AC turned on and at about 50% - 75% cooling. Overall mileage till date is just above 19 KMPL (total distance / total diesel).
Offtopic:I am using a small free software for tracking my vehicle's running cost , you can find the software ( MyCar Monitor) at
SimADCom Site
After the work on the transmission an increase in the in-cabin NVH level was perceived, got this checked out with Hyundai A.S.S but then they could not find anything. But the noise was still there. So did my own stuff rolled up my sleeves and found that some guy had pulled out one of those rubber thingies used to separate the engine bay from the passenger compartment, where the wires go in and out. Took the car straight away to the A.S.S and get a new one set up so the noise is gone now!
I still regret having not opted for the ABS version, coz stopping the car from a speed of 140 +kmph requires nerves of steel. She loses composure at high speeds in excess of 140KMPH on broken road surface, but have pushed her to 180 Kmph on my last weekend drive to Chennai and she is well behaved as long as the roads are dead straight . It’s a different story when it comes to curves and fragmented road surfaces. I am expecting that I can work on my suspensions to make the vehicle more stable before i "Pete" my ride. Other wise it will be sheer suicide!
One annoying thing that I do find is that the windshield sprinklers are three jet on each side and very often these lose alignment resulting in the discerning biker standing next to me or even behind me at a signal to get drenched in detergent solution, especially when it’s drizzling and a lot of muck get on the windshield.
On my recent drive to Trivandrum I also noticed that the headlamps sometimes gets so clogged with this muck that almost every 70-100 Kms you have to get down and wipe the headlamp glass clean, to ensure that the headlamps are functioning, dunno whether this is an issue which most cars run into but I haven't faced this on my alto till date. The headlamp washers from Octavia could do wonders here ...
The OEM Headlamps ( 65W/55W) do not address the requirements of long distance driving especially during the night or in rain , I would recommend that all Verna owners do this upgrade , but with the proper components like ceramic holders and relays. I have upgraded to (130W/110W) Philips Rally Bulbs. I am also looking at upgrading to a HID but with proper projector setup, but sadly I could not find any dealer/individual who stocks after market HID Projector setup for the Verna.
The front seats are very comfy for me and all my passengers till date, but the rear seems to be a bit too bouncy especially when compared to the Accent ride quality. Here is a picture of my car at Nandi Hills taken on 1st September 2007 @ 0845 Hrs
All my three free services are over and my warranty has been extended for three years yes Hyundai has stopped giving 4th year Extended Warranty on it diesel cars and in the meanwhile have increased the mileage to 80,000 KMS. Overall I am very happy about the service back up and the running costs of the vehicle and its performance. Although the resolution of the stability issue at high speeds could have made the car and much better package. Even so, it’s not everyday that you push your car to speeds in excess of 140 KMPH.
Be warned that the Whistling of the turbo turning on and the sudden acceleration that hits you beyond the 1.8K RPM mark is very addictive and sometimes a bit scary for the first time user.