Hyundai i10 Kappa2 : Test Drive & Review

[vivek.ks]

I am owner of i10 Kappa 2 for last 1 year and paid 6L for Asta OTR in Bangalore. I agree on few things with what blue_pulsar said

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

1) i10 is an overhyped car. Doesn't deserve the hype it gets.

Yes it is.

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

2) Only positive points of the car are its engine and gearbox.

Absolutely. Gearbox is super smooth and very easy to use.

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

3) Beige interiors!! I'm sure I'm gonna hit someone or something one day. Way too much reflection on the glass. What were Hyundai thinking?

I got mine with kapp2 interiors which are dark. So no comments.

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

4) The ride quality is simply the worst and bumpiest I have ever seen.

Absolutely agree. Skinny tires add to that.

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

5) Fuel Economy what I get is between 9.5 and 10 in Bangalore city, peak hour traffic, 50% A/C.

Mixed feelings. I used to get 11-12 KMPL in first 6 months but now I get consistent 13 KMPL in city, NO AC, bumper to bumper traffic of IRR. On Highway I got 19.3 KMPL yesterday, 40% AC.

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

6) The car is way overpriced.
Having owned the Swift and the i10, I would definitely recommend the Swift over the i10 anyday.

Completely agree. Only reason I got i10 was a fixed budget and requirements of ABS, Airbag and good FE.

I have started recommending people not to spend money on overpriced Hyundai cars, instead go for either Maruti or Chevy badges.

[Turbokick]

i10 is definitely one of the most compromise package you can get this of 5 lakh segment.
- Excellent engines (irde and kappa) and transmission
- Easy drive-ability and maneuvering
- Neutral styling that offends none
- Good ergonomics and airy cabin.
- Cabin quality is best in class. Plastics may not have that soft feel but they are durable and feel fitted compared to others in the class.
- Variants available have good distribution of features (era to asta) : Its like having options for every type of costumer. (Compare swift vxi to zxi and see the difference)
- Hyundai's back up and service quality.


As far as demerits are concerned :
- Fuel economy isnt the best (atleast not as per the claims)
- Suspension has got its limitations (At the end of the day it is a city car ! Competitors dont do any better)
- Slightly pricey tag (compared to Beat/wagonR/spark/estilo class)

For the matter of fact , i10 isn't a Swift competitor in spite of having a comparable engine.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

I recently bought a used 2009 i10 Sportz with 20K on the odo, as mentioned in my earlier posts on this thread. Here are some points in observed:

Just wondering, if you hate the car so much, why did you buy it ?

Didn't you take a TD, or read any reviews before buying it ?

Rohan

[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Just wondering, if you hate the car so much, why did you buy it ?

Didn't you take a TD, or read any reviews before buying it ?

Rohan

I had just returned from the US and wanted a car urgently for personal use. Thats why I bought a used car. And went by the reviews since I didn't have time to do much personal research. I hope you do not take it offensively since I just put forward my observations, straight from the heart. No car is perfect but this car does not deserve the hype it gets.

And regarding 'hating' the car, I love anything on wheels. Just that some are better than the others.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

I had just returned from the US and wanted a car urgently for personal use. Thats why I bought a used car. And went by the reviews since I didn't have time to do much personal research. I hope you do not take it offensively since I just put forward my observations, straight from the heart. No car is perfect but this car does not deserve the hype it gets.

And regarding 'hating' the car, I love anything on wheels. Just that some are better than the others.

Oh I see, you went by the reviews. I'm guessing auto magazine reviews. In my experience, these so called expert reviews are highly biased. They should not be relied on.

No offence taken mate. The car is made by Hyundai, I'm just a fellow i10 owner.

The way I see it, i10 is an excellent all round city car, which provides the best trade off between cost, reliability, fuel efficiency, performance, space, comfort, looks and build quality. It does not excel in any area, also does not disappoint in any area.

It is a neutral car meant for the masses, not for enthusiasts. Depending on how you see it, you may see it as the glass is half empty or half full.

As far as the hype is concerned, nobody can deny that Hyundai has raised the bar by providing best in segment build quality (especially interiors) and segment first features in their cars.

Rohan

[samabhi]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

As far as the hype is concerned, nobody can deny that Hyundai has raised the bar by providing best in segment build quality (especially interiors) and segment first features in their cars.

Rohan

Agree with your comments on the interior quality and the features provided. Today I completed 2 years of i10 ownership. I drive a 1.2 Kappa Sportz model. A perfect city car, but only when the roads are good. In Bangalore, you know what I am talking about. Thanks to the numerous fly over constructions and uneven humps, potholes(read them as craters...), i10 is no longer a fun to drive car. I like taking it around for a spin on the highways rather than in the city.

Any car that is built should stick to certain or atleast maintain certain basic needs.

- Better Fuel Efficiency : I never got more than 11 in the city. Talk about being heavy footed, but what fun it is driving conservatively and boasting about superior mileage. In my opinion any car irrespective of the way it is driven, it should return some basic FE. Compare that with any of the Maruti cars with KB series engine, it manages a decent FE of 14kmpl in city. Ok..I am not a big fan of Maruti, I just used it for comparison. Now I dont know about the new version of i10 and what FE its giving.

- Comfort ride : Any one sitting inside the i10 just doesnt know how that will be. If Xylo can be called a swinging boat (no offense to the Xylo owners), then the i10 can be called as a sister version of it. I dont expect the ride to become any better with the car, but only hope for the roads in Bangalore to become better.

But otherwise I like the car, nice peppy engine and can pull on any load in the car.

Cheers,
Greg

[misquitas]

My replies are in bold.

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

I recently bought a used 2009 i10 Sportz with 20K on the odo, as mentioned in my earlier posts on this thread. Here are some points in observed:

1) i10 is an overhyped car. Doesn't deserve the hype it gets.

It all depends on what is your notion of an "overhyped' car. The i10, as you have admitted below, delivers a great engine and gearbox. In addition, it delivers great interiors (for the segment). In my book, the i10 as a car delivers on these three crucial factors and hence, it is not an "overhype" for many owners, including myself.

2) Only positive points of the car are its engine and gearbox.

To many, especially those on this forum, a good 'engine and gearbox' are among the most important requirements for a good car. Having said that, as someone mentioned earlier on this thread, the i10 offers a little of everything and was never meant to excel in any one area.

3) Beige interiors!! I'm sure I'm gonna hit someone or something one day. Way too much reflection on the glass. What were Hyundai thinking?

The new i10 has resolved this issue to a great extent. If you are concerned about denting yourself or the car due to the beige reflection, do consider denting your wallet a bit and investing in a dashboard cover.

Regarding the quality, it doesn't have soft touch plastics. Just has the right texture. And marginally better than others in its segment. Doesn't deserve the hype.

Do remember that the i10 arrived in India at a time when quality fit and finish was not common in a sub Rs 5 lakh car. The Maruti hatches prior around that time had, in comparison, cheaper interior quality. You have purchased a 2009 i10 and you are now probably whining about it in comparison to cars of today. If I were to use your own argument, I could say, for instance, that I happened to notice the plastics of an old Swift and boy, I was swiftly disappointed. The old i10 had FAR better plastics than the old Swift. If this was something to hype about, it would have had my vote any given day.

Beige is no longer 'premium' as lot of you think. Even the Nano supposedly has beige interiors.

Most manufacturers brag on the 'beige' interiors of their cars and Hyundai is no different. So, no point in faulting only the i10 for this.

4) The ride quality is simply the worst and bumpiest I have ever seen. I used to believe that Swift had the worst ride quality. Its the i10 now! At least, the Swift handles beautifully whereas the i10 handles like crap. The chassis is totally incompetent.

I agree that many are unhappy about the ride quality of the i10, but then expectations differ from person to person. For me, the i10 is a perfect city car, where I'm more interesting in getting the car to ride (in heavy city traffic) rather than in the quality of it. On the many fairly smooth roads here in Goa, the i10 certainly does not handle like 'crap'. But since I have not driven a Swift, I will not comment on the ride quality of the Swift vs the i10. But having read various posts on this forum, I am inclined to believe that the Swift is superior on this count.

5) Fuel Economy what I get is between 9.5 and 10 in Bangalore city, peak hour traffic, 50% A/C. Too low for a 1.2. Before you claim that I don't know how to drive, let me quote some facts. I used to drive a Swift diesel 3 years back on the same roads and I used to manage at least 14kmpl.

FE always depends on various factors, driving skills being one of them. Why do you compare the FE of a diesel (when you know that diesel tends to give better FE), if you plan to berate the petrol of an I10? Please compare apples with apples. Do give us FE figures of a petrol hatch you have driven under similar conditions in Bangalore, so that we may compare it with the FE of your i10.

6) The car is way overpriced.

Was your 'used' 2009 i10 overpriced or do you feel that a 'new' i10 is overpriced? If former, you could easily have opted for other 'used' cars. If latter, I am of the opinion that price is attached to the perceived VALUE of the car. Those who perceive value in the i10 will not find it overpriced. Those who don't see any value in the i10 should not be buying an i10 in the first place.

Having owned the Swift and the i10, I would definitely recommend the Swift over the i10 anyday. Swift has its basics correct. You can buy it with your heart. i10 on the other hand, is just a glorified small hatchback. 'Beigeified', overpriced and forced to believe it's 'premium' which it is not (cannot justify either buying it with your heart or with your head). I feel that the new WagonR is a much more VFM package anyday.

Since you have owned the Swift and the i10, you are entitled to your recommendations. But assuming that the i10 is crap, 'beigified' and overpriced is, in my opinion, a clear case of someone who did some shoddy homework in choosing a car and is now blaming the car instead. If you "cannot justify either buying (the i10) with your heart or your head", pray tell me which part of your body was used to seal your deal. Or let's hope you were not threatened at gunpoint to buy the i10.

My advice: if you are so unhappy about the car, please consider selling it off ASAP. To your good luck, you may not lose much as you have bought a pre-owned car.

There are thousands of people who were fooled by the ARAI mileage of 20.xx (over the IRDE's 19.xx). And Mr. Shah Rukh Khan fooled them into believing so. Just search over the internet and you can find many people who are unhappy with i10 Kappa's mileage.

All manufacturers claim 'ideal' ARAI readings (under ideal conditions -- Bangalore, unfortunately, is certainly not one of them) which are rarely obtainable under real-time conditions. If the ARAI certifies the FE to be x.x, kindly blame the ARAI for its flawed technique. No point in rebuking Hyundai or SRK for these figures. Hyundai in general, and i10 in particular, is not responsible if you live in one of the busiest cities in the country, where obtaining a great FE is next to impossible. Also, neither Hyundai nor ARAI would claim that you WILL get these ARAI FE figures EVERYTIME, as these FE figures depend on various driving conditions.

Kindly read my i10 thread on this forum and see the FE figures that I have consistently obtained since Dec 2010.

[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by misquitas

My replies are in bold.

Good luck with your i10. I don't need your recommendation on what I should do with my money and my i10. I stand by my review.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

I had just returned from the US and wanted a car urgently for personal use. Thats why I bought a used car. And went by the reviews since I didn't have time to do much personal research. I hope you do not take it offensively since I just put forward my observations, straight from the heart. No car is perfect but this car does not deserve the hype it gets.

And regarding 'hating' the car, I love anything on wheels. Just that some are better than the others.

Sorry, I did not read your above post while I sent in my reply. It explains, to some extent, the circumstances surrounding your purchase. I too dashed in my reaction to your previous post "straight from the heart". I apologize if I have upset you, but thought that some of your criticisms of the i10 were unwarranted.

[MCR]

We have a i10 Sportz in our office. Its a company car. We decided to take it out for our lunch on one weekend. Following is my take after returning from a drive of around 20 odd kilometres.

Engine : Very smooth , but not peppy.
Transmission : Manual is definitely not smooth. The gears are suited for city drive and the car suffers in out right acceleration. Takes some time to move from 80kmph to 100kmph.
Brakes : Spongy. At one instance had to stand on the brakes to make it stop. Lacks outright stopping power.
Ride Quality: ok for the city. Bouncy for the highway.

To summarize, its a good city car. The interiors look good. So for a person looking at a city run-about its just a perfect car.

[sbiswas]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

You're not alone my friend. There are thousands of people who were fooled by the ARAI mileage of 20.xx (over the IRDE's 19.xx).

I complained about extremely poor mileage at 2nd free service last month. The workshop guys did an engine tuning and said there is nothing wrong with the systems. Not sure what exactly they did but FE has improved considerably. I drove 323 km with full AC and consumed 24.15 liter (13.4 kmpl) and then 405 km with 50% AC and consumed 25.09 liter (16.1 kmpl) - both measures included 50/50 mix of highway and city drive. I know I can't get ARAI figure of 20 kmpl but this is pretty decent IMO.

[WindRide]

Have noticed a strange thing with the boot lamp in my i10 kappa2 sportz varient - the lamp gets switched on when the car is started and even if the boot is closed. It never turns off.
The only instance i see it turning itself off is if i take the key off the ignition.
Is this the expected behaviour of the boot lamp. I was expecting it to get switched on only when i open the boot.

Can other i10 kappa2 owners confirm this behaviour? Thanks!

[vivek.ks]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Have noticed a strange thing with the boot lamp in my i10 kappa2 sportz varient - the lamp gets switched on when the car is started and even if the boot is closed. It never turns off.
The only instance i see it turning itself off is if i take the key off the ignition.
Is this the expected behaviour of the boot lamp. I was expecting it to get switched on only when i open the boot.

Can other i10 kappa2 owners confirm this behaviour? Thanks!

In my i10 kappa2 boot light is switched off on closing the boot and remains off at all times until boot is opened again.

[WindRide]

^ Thanx for that input.
This is how it works in mine:
1. if doors are unlocked using remote, the light comes on only if i open the boot. if the boot is closed, the light goes off. in fact, the boot light comes on even if i open the driver-side door/any door; and goes off if that door is closed.
2. now, if i turn the ignition to ON, meaning the dash-lights gets switched on, the boot light comes on as-well and stays on till i turn OFF the ignition and lock the door using remote.

hmmm....

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by vivek.ks

In my i10 kappa2 boot light is switched off on closing the boot and remains off at all times until boot is opened again.

Originally Posted by WindRide

If doors are unlocked using remote, the light comes on only if i open the boot. if the boot is closed, the light goes off. in fact, the boot light comes on even if i open the driver-side door/any door; and goes off if that door is closed.

Yes, that is how the boot light / luggage lamp should work in an i10 Sportz/Asta.

Since my i10 is a Magna, which has been modified to accommodate a luggage lamp (the Magna does not come factory fitted with a luggage lamp), it is fitted to work slightly differently. The wiring of the luggage lamp is linked to the cabin lamp. As a result, the luggage lamp on my i10 works exactly like a cabin lamp -- when either of the 4 doors is open, the cabin/luggage lamps are lit, and when all 4 doors are shut, the cabin/luggage lamps go off. Also, the luggage lamp also works with the ON/OFF switch of the cabin lamp -- the luggage lamp is switched on/off even if all doors are open/closed.

This type of fitment is very beneficial to me, especially in the monsoons. See, we have removed the parcel tray so that we have access to small bags in the boot from inside the cabin itself. All we have to do is bend backwards from the rear seat and pick/place the bags/items without having to open the boot door. Now, if its is raining at night and we need to pick some small bag from the boot, all I need to do is to turn the switch ON of the cabin light. The luggage lamp lights up (without the need to open any of the 5 doors), enabling us to see out luggage. Once done, I simply turn the switch OFF of the cabin light.