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CtrlAltDel · 25th July 2008, 13:25

first thing first: Sportz is NOT the top end version of the Car. it is "Asta". "Asta" has the all the features of Sportz plus goodies like ABS, 2 air bags, keyless entry, "pre-tensed" (or something) seatbelts etc.

The only thing Asta doesnt have and the Sportz variant has is the Red or Black trim in the door handles and dashboard, that too only for the red and black colored cars.

In hyderabad, Sportz costs about 4.86 lax on road and Asta 5.48 on road (non metallic).

My wife and I had a test drive of Sportz yesterday. If we go for i10 we'll most likely go for Asta, but it was not available for TD.

I had TD'ed the i10 1.1 "Epsilon" when it was introduced and was pretty impressed but "Kappa" is much better and in my opinion, more value for money.

These are the things we loved about Kappa:

80BHP DOHC engine - provides a zippy pickup. apparently till now DOHC is available only in mid and high range cars!
Very good gear ratios - provides great drivability in traffic. i could slow to above 10kmph and then accelerate smoothly in 2nd gear without clutch and AC running. in 3rd gear i could crawl at 20 and accelerate smoothly, again with AC and no clutch. This is what I always test in cars, rather than the speed and pickup because in real life I rarely get to burn the rubber in daily commute!
Smooth and responsive motorized power steering - no load on engine.
Aircon is not fully linked to engine (the sales guy could not explain how). The car can run AC with engine switched off and one can safely start car with AC running. i tested this myself and found it amazing! This also means that AC wont greatly affect acceleration. I was able to effortlessly move up sloping roads in 2nd and 3rd gear with AC switched on.

As per the company, 1.2 Kappa is more fuel efficient than the older 1.1 Epsilon engine. I am sure this is true because of the four points above. i have heard reports of the 1.1 returning 14-16 kmpl on road, so if Kappa returns even a little more, it'll be worth it.

other good things: smooth gear shift, effortless steering, hi-quality interiors, integrated stereo with good speakers, comfortable seats and decent (better than Swift) rear legroom.

I cant think of any other negatives apart from the smallish boot and lack of alloys in the top end Asta variant.

My wife was also deeply impressed by i10 1.2 and this is important because on weekdays, she would be driving it more than I would. i10 ASTA has become the strong contender to occupy our parking space after we sell our faithfull, hard working 5 year old Indica DLS. But the decision will have to wait until we TD the Palio MJD and Indigo CS Dicor this weekend.

I highly recommend this car as a zippy and efficient city car that can perform decently on the highway too.

I dont know about cornering, 0-100 dash etc because I dont bother to test that. I dont think they are really important or relevant for 90% of the car users.

25th July 2008, 13:25	#84 (permalink)
CtrlAltDel BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: HyderaGr8 Posts: 451	Test Driven i10 "Kappa" Sportz first thing first: Sportz is NOT the top end version of the Car. it is "Asta". "Asta" has the all the features of Sportz plus goodies like ABS, 2 air bags, keyless entry, "pre-tensed" (or something) seatbelts etc. The only thing Asta doesnt have and the Sportz variant has is the Red or Black trim in the door handles and dashboard, that too only for the red and black colored cars. In hyderabad, Sportz costs about 4.86 lax on road and Asta 5.48 on road (non metallic). My wife and I had a test drive of Sportz yesterday. If we go for i10 we'll most likely go for Asta, but it was not available for TD. I had TD'ed the i10 1.1 "Epsilon" when it was introduced and was pretty impressed but "Kappa" is much better and in my opinion, more value for money. These are the things we loved about Kappa: 80BHP DOHC engine - provides a zippy pickup. apparently till now DOHC is available only in mid and high range cars! Very good gear ratios - provides great drivability in traffic. i could slow to above 10kmph and then accelerate smoothly in 2nd gear without clutch and AC running. in 3rd gear i could crawl at 20 and accelerate smoothly, again with AC and no clutch. This is what I always test in cars, rather than the speed and pickup because in real life I rarely get to burn the rubber in daily commute! Smooth and responsive motorized power steering - no load on engine. Aircon is not fully linked to engine (the sales guy could not explain how). The car can run AC with engine switched off and one can safely start car with AC running. i tested this myself and found it amazing! This also means that AC wont greatly affect acceleration. I was able to effortlessly move up sloping roads in 2nd and 3rd gear with AC switched on. As per the company, 1.2 Kappa is more fuel efficient than the older 1.1 Epsilon engine. I am sure this is true because of the four points above. i have heard reports of the 1.1 returning 14-16 kmpl on road, so if Kappa returns even a little more, it'll be worth it. other good things: smooth gear shift, effortless steering, hi-quality interiors, integrated stereo with good speakers, comfortable seats and decent (better than Swift) rear legroom. I cant think of any other negatives apart from the smallish boot and lack of alloys in the top end Asta variant. My wife was also deeply impressed by i10 1.2 and this is important because on weekdays, she would be driving it more than I would. i10 ASTA has become the strong contender to occupy our parking space after we sell our faithfull, hard working 5 year old Indica DLS. But the decision will have to wait until we TD the Palio MJD and Indigo CS Dicor this weekend. I highly recommend this car as a zippy and efficient city car that can perform decently on the highway too. I dont know about cornering, 0-100 dash etc because I dont bother to test that. I dont think they are really important or relevant for 90% of the car users.