My Hyundai i10 Magna - 30000 km ownership report

[carZest]

Just completed 10K kms on my i10 (magna, iRDE), and the journey so far has been quite good. It mostly has been city driving, but also 2 hyderabad-bangalore highway trips. This has been a good car to drive, both in the city and especially on the highway.

Finally have got down to writing a detailed 1-year ownership report! Comments below are in random order:

Gears: Although the specifications show it as only slightly different from the Santro (my old drive, sold 2007) in terms of bhp/torque figures, I have had to adapt my driving style a bit. The gearing makes it prone to be judged 'sluggish' when on lower gears. I have found when on 1st gear the car just propels forward, 2nd is a gasping old man, and 3rd is sheer pull. Surprisingly, this gearing has made for lower gear changes. This also shows why adapting to things quickly is so important. As an example, the gear I would be on when doing a tight highway overtake is going to different on the old zen, the santro, and the indica (3 other cars I have driven on the highway).

Anyway, the gear has been very precise through these months, unlike my Santro which took a couple of months to become smooth. Guess thats because of it being cable-actuated.

Steering: To be expected that it will good in the city, but I also like it on the highway. It never has felt too light.

Highway manners: Is a very comfortable car on the highways, but that is assuming a highway with the occasional diversions, stranded trucks, and potholes. If it is a 4-lane smooth highway with none of these freebies, I would say she is not the car to be driving! Cruising is very easy and I never felt tired. Only when I have raced other (read much bigger) cars that I found that while the adrenline gets you close and many times even victory, the fatigue that kicks in later is not worth it! To summarize, over-stating her highway ability would be juvenile exuberance, but under-stating it (read 1.1L engine, cross-winds etc) is also an injustice.

Ride: Adequate. The potholes and uneven road surface come through as thunderous thuds. This can be really jarring. Also, ride tends to be bouncy when I am driving alone with a near-empty tank. Of course, thats when I fly by down-shifting to 3rd and tapping the accelerator . But that's beside the point. Rear seat space has received good f/b.

Handling: This is a big improvement over the Santro. I would say this car handles really well, and it should be tops in the segment. Strictly in its segment! Of course Hyundai wants it to belong in the next segment, but that's another story. Cornering is good, with very less body-roll. Steering feels awesome when doing tight corners/turns.

Build-quality: No rattles, no squeaks. No water seepage. Doors continue to shut well.

FE: Initial FE was around 13.5, and for the past 4 months is 14.5-15.5 depending on:
-> mood ('won't cross 60', 'you pesky indicab', 'stuck on 5th gear', 'arre bigger car, you don't know this car's ability')
-> traffic ('lets crawl', 'thats my inch of road', 'honey, i zapped the other cars into oblivion')
-> fuel ('shell', 'shell out')

Cost of ownership: Not sure if I paid anything for the first free service, 2nd 'free' service came to Rs 1202. Spent 250 bucks as I had discharged the battery by leaving the fog lamps on the whole day. Not spent anything more.

That's it! The journey continues.

[hellstar]

Hi carzest that a crisp and nice report.... well worded at that .. and i liked your ramble about the FE .......

[Elito11]

Hi CarZest

Gr8 report there. Well worded yet consise. Love your writing style!

Keep them coming

Elito

[vnabhi]

Hey, that is an honest review on the i10. Seems to be a good car in that segment. It is indeed one of the best looking.
Since you also own a Santro, would I be right in saying that the Santro is peppier to drive in lower gears, mostly in dense traffic?

[Eddy]

Pictures haazir ho !!!!!!!

Great report !!

[bkm]

Hi caeZest, I have my doubts on FE of 14.5/15.5 . i10 FE is reported to be in viscinity of 10km/l only. Are u talking of city mileage? If so please share some driving tips to get the reported mileage.

[carZest]

@hellstar, elito and eddy: thanx! will keep them coming :-)

@abhi: I owned a Santro 2005 model before selling it in 2007. Hmm, I never felt the i10 sluggish. The 1st gear really pushes the car forward (torquier?) unlike the Santro where it is a more sedate start. As I mentioned, the 2nd is the sedate one on the i10. So I tend to move to 3rd quicker than in the Santro, where the 2nd used to pull well. Don't find it sluggiush, just a different ride!

@bkm: Figures are mostly with 30% AC. I measure cut-off to cut-off. Wouldn't want to claim a higher efficiency than what I get! Tips am not sure. Some of the things I do are
-> Check tyre pressure every 4 days. Maybe due to the bad roads after the recent rains in Hyderabad, but pressure falls in the tyres quicker.
-> Have developed a habit of sliiping into 5th when over 50-55 from my Santro days, and continue with this.
-> Use Bardhal/Sonax fuel additive once in a while. Not doing it as often as the Santro.

[topedgemonk]

There seem to be quite a few people selling very new i10s with less than 2000km on the odo.

Saw some ads on some auto search site.
Guess there are two on TeamBHP classifieds itself.

Why is this happening? Is this normal at every new car launch?

Some people had a good look at the front grille only after they brought it home?

[sridharps]

Nice report man. Keep them coming!

Originally Posted by carZest

The gearing makes it prone to be judged 'sluggish' when on lower gears. I have found when on 1st gear the car just propels forward, 2nd is a gasping old man, and 3rd is sheer pull.

Exactly, my experience with our car as well. The 1st and 3rd gears are perfect for city traffic, the 2nd is not.

Build-quality: No rattles, no squeaks. No water seepage. Doors continue to shut well.

In fit and finish and quality of interiors, it is a league above and in fact better than the swift, if in many other ways it is not. The quality and feel inside is really special for a car in this segment.

FE: Initial FE was around 13.5, and for the past 4 months is 14.5-15.5 depending on:

Surprised to hear that. We have been getting a consistent 15 to 16 from day one.

[BenjiRoss]

Nice honest review. Good to know about its highway abilities.

[arsenik]

loved reading your review, maite!! cheers!

[d_himan]

Not ONE squeak or rattle carzest?

sob, I feel like wrecking my Swift.

[carZest]

@arsenik - thanks!
@himan - no squeaks n rattles at all. build quality is very good.

Update

had another hyd-b'lore-hyd run. last time many sections of this highway (NH-7) were undergoing 4-lane work, but this time got a lot more 'open' sections (2-lane and 4-lane). a few updates to the 'highway manners' section:

Sweet Spot: 120 kmph (based on speedo reading) is the 'ideal' highway cruising speed, with windows open, and 4 people in the car. By ideal I mean when the car feels planted, steering inspires confidence and one is sure of hard braking. @130 the steering gets light, though the car still feels planted and braking remains good. I wonder how this EPS is on the kappa @120+ speeds.

Throttle response: Going from 90 to 120+ kmph is breeze, unlike most of the other (small) cars I'v driven. Cruising was very comfortable, and many a bigger car got lost in the rear-view (only one 'big gun' went by in a blur, this was a silver sonata that was very very fast).

[arsenik]

so carzest would you reccomend the i10 over the santro in terms of performance and overall fun-to-drive character??

[jango]

Originally Posted by arsenik

so carzest would you reccomend the i10 over the santro in terms of performance and overall fun-to-drive character??

Have no doubt about it.