[skanchan95]

Stormtrooper- 2015 Hyundai i10 Sportz 1.1 iRDE2

Why name it Stormtrooper was the first question I was asked. Well, I am a big Star Wars fan and when the facelifted i10 was launched, the first thought that came to my mind was this new i10's face looks like Darth Vader.


Whenever I saw an i10(the facelifted one), I would imagine this


Come to think of it, the i10 looks more like an Imperial Stormtrooper. Hence the name Stormtrooper for our i10.



Car : Hyundai i10
Trim : Sportz
Colour : Sleek Silver
Overall L/W/H(mm) : 3585/1595/1550
Fuel Tank Capacity : 35 Liters
Engine : Four Cylinder, 12 Valve SOHC 1086 CC iRDe2 (Petrol)
Max Power : 69 ps/5500 RPM
Max Torque : 10.1 kgm/4500 RPM
Year of Manufacture : 2015 (February)
Dealership : Advaith Hyundai, Kuntikana, Mangalore
Date of Booking : March 02, 2015
Date of Delivery : March 06, 2015

Requirement:
A small car to replace our ageing 2008 Hyundai Santro GLS. Based on the excellent service experience and facing no issues with the Hyundais that we got serviced from Advaith Hyundai, Mangalore, I wanted the Santro's replacement to be a Hyundai as well. This was going to be our Fifth Hyundai [after a 2001 Accent GLX, 2009 i20 Asta 1.2, 2008 Santro GLS(pre-owned - bought in 2012) and 2014 Grand i10 Asta 1.2]. The Santro was used for market runs and to go to nearby places through Mangalore's notoriously narrow bylanes in residential areas.

Background:
We bought a pre-owned 2008 Santro in 2012. It has around 18K on the odometer at the time of purchase.Thanks to some clever coverup by the previous owner, it turned out later that my brother became the third owner of that car. At that time, our house in Mangalore was being built and we were in the process of moving from Veraval, Gujarat to Mangalore. We needed a car in Mangalore for our daily use and to do daily commutes to the building site. For a four year old car, it had low mileage and being under-run, it came with its own set of problems. Poor mileage,weak suspension, engine issues, gear box trouble, but thanks to Advaith Hyundai's excellent service support, all issues were addressed. Inspite of its primitiveness, the Santro was rugged and could go anywhere without any complaints. The high seating position was a boon too.

In December 2014, we bought a Grand i10 Asta to replace our i20( ownership thread : . The Santro too had started showing her age. We decided it was time to bid farewell to her and in the second week of February 2015. we started to look for a replacement.

Why Preference to Hyundai, specifically to Advaith Hyundai, again:
I insisted that Santro’s replacement had to be a Hyundai largely due to the fact that I had a nearly flawless service experience with Advaith Hyundai, Mangalore and having absolutely no complaints against them at all. The service experience with Advaith convinced me that it is not the brand that matters but the after sales service that makes or breaks a car manufacturer.

Cars Considered:
It had to be a Hyundai petrol around 5 to 5.5 lakhs. Accordingly we considered the following cars(to replace the Santro).
1. Hyundai Eon
2. Hyundai i10

Eon

At first I was convinced in my mind that the Eon would be the best replacement for the Santro. When I visited Advaith to have a look at the Eon, The Sales Manager, Mr Melwyn Fernandes was there to explain me the features of the car. Came to know that the Eon was available with two engine options a) 0.8L Petrol and b) 1.0L Petrol. For a entry level car, I was impressed by the quality of plastics used. Test drove the 0.8L model and it felt very sluggish, on a highway climb, I was struggling to maintain 60 kmph with two people on board in 4th gear with the throttle pedal floored. Immediately after that, I test drove the 1.0L model and quite expectedly, I was impressed by its pulling power. On the same stretch of road where the 0.8L model struggled to climb, the 1.0L model was pulling quite well and accelerating. Being small in size, it was very easy to maneuver. The one thing I hated about the Eon was the green lighting for the interior. The fully loaded trim of the 1.0L model - Magna(O) was shortlisted [The 1.0L model comes in Magna & Magna(O)trims only]. The 1.0L Magna(O) <not shown in the brochure> came with a 2-din factory fitted music system, fog lamps, body coloured door handles and first gen i20 type body coloured outside mirrors) . It worked out to be Rs 5.1 Lakhs OTR Mangalore(metallic colour)

i10

The i10 is now available only in the 1.1 iRDe2 engine option with a few features deleted and in four colour options (White/Silver/Grey/Maroon). The 1.2L Kappa2 model has been discontinued(to prevent it from overlapping the Grand i10). Having driven a good friend's first gen i10 Era(2008) extensively, I knew inspite of a dead feel steering, it was quite easy to maneuver. Like the first gen i20, the first gen i10 too was affected by the dreaded steering rattle issue. Unlike me, my friend never bothered to complain or get the issues fixed. So, while buying the i10 and having suffered the worst of the dreaded steering rattle on the i20, it may have sounded foolish on my part to go for the i10. But having spoken to few people who own the facelifted i10(both 1.1 & 1.2 models), I came to know that they never faced the steering rattle issues on their i10s.
While having a look at the top model of the i10 (Sportz), I was disappointed to see adjustable head restraints missing in the rear seat. It had two small bumps in the name of hear restraints!!! Even the Santro & Eon have better shaped fixed head restraints. No rear wiper and demister either. But it had all four power windows, body coloured first gen i20 type outside mirrors (internally adjustable, non-electric) and a factory fitted audio system. The i10 Sportz worked out to be Rs 5.7 Lakhs OTR Mangalore(metallic colour).

Decision to go for the i10
The only thing that went against the Eon was the rear seat, it was quite cramped for our requirements. The bigger i10 with its roomier interiors and higher seating(compared to the Eon) felt more suited and seemed like a perfect replacement for the Santro. So out went the Eon and the i10 was finalised.

Negotiations/Review of the i10's purchase decision
I was invited to the facelifted Verna's launch on February 21, 2015 at Advaith Hyundai. It was there where we sat to negotiate for the exchange price for the Santro. Having got the Santro serviced timely and exclusively at Advaith Hyundai, I was expecting a good price for the car(eventhough it was third hand). They started at 1.5 Lakhs, I insisted on 1.70. Finally they said 1.65 lakhs, for which I almost agreed and said I will get back to them. Other discounts offered on the i10 was Free Insurance plus the regular freebies.

On February 24th morning, I went to the showroom with my brother and with the intent of paying the booking amount. There I was shocked to know that 1.65 lakhs offered for the Santro was including the exchange bonus(effectively making the price of the Santro 1.50 lakhs). I was under the impression that the 1.65 lakhs was the NET buy back price for the Santro and 15,000 was the additional loyalty bonus. A little disappointed, I chose not to pay the booking amount and did not sign any exchange papers for the Santro.

A note to anyone who goes in for car exchange at true value dealerships- Always make sure you negotiate the net price for your old car first and keep exchange bonus out of it during negotiations. It should be added only after you agreed on the price. It can be a little disorienting when they add exchange bonus to the buy back price of the car and then offer you their price.

Left the showroom saying we'll get back to you and appraised my dad about the developments, He was a little upset. He simply asked having bought four Hyundais in the past 14 years, what was the point of buying a Hyundai again, if they cannot support us on the price, that too for a car that was serviced only at their workshop? I was asked to check with the other Hyundai dealer in Mangalore- Kanchana Hyundai and also have a look at other cars from other brands.

That afternoon, we went to Mandovi Motors, the Maruti dealership which is next door to Advaith. The cars that seemed to fit the budget were Wagon R, Celerio & Ritz. Wagon R was rejected, so was the Ritz. Celerio VXi MT, inspite of the odd looks, had us interested. There was a maroon ZXi as their TD vehicle. The sales lady showed us the car. The first thing I checked was door panel rattles and not surprisingly and typical of a Maruti, there were multiple rattle noises, somehow I didn't like the rear seating also. It had minimum two week waiting period also. The sales lady asked which other cars we considered, we answered we just had a look at the i10 at Advaith. She foolishly and without any proof, said "they keep old stock cars"(which I knew they didn't). I was extremely irritated at that comment. It is ok to point out the weaknesses in rival brand cars but without any proof when you accuse someone of keeping old stocks, it is downright dumb, stupid and for all practical purposes, she was lying. Anyway, they evaluated the Santro and offered net 1.50 lakhs(no exchange bonus) - net price same as Advaith. They were only offering free insurance for the Celerio, nothing else.

Spoke to Kanchana Hyundai for the i10 and they asked me to either came with the Santro to their dealership or they were willing to send someone over to evaluate the Santro. I told them I will visit their dealership next day.

That evening, I received a call from Advaith asking what was our decision. I told them frankly what had happened and that I was visiting Kanchana the next day. I was asked to visit them again the next day.

Next day(February 26th), on my way to Kanchana Hyundai, I dropped by at Advaith. After explaining what went on and how Maruti was offering the same net price for the Santro, they upped the price by 5000 for the Santro(Net Price 1.55 lakhs + 15000 Exchange Bonus). Still not happy, I said let me see what Kanchana offers and having committed to Kanchana for a visit, I visited them.(Bear in mind, when we purchased the Grand i10 from Advaith in December 2014, we did not even consider visiting Kanchana Hyundai).

Reached Kanchana Hyundai and spoke to the lady whom I spoke to on the previous day. I confirmed that I was looking to replace our Santro with an i10. They evaluated the Santro and offered Rs 1.60 lakhs(net) straight away, plus 15,000 loyalty bonus + free insurance+ free third year warranty+ any other discounts(that come in March).

Immediately, they started asking for the booking amount. I was a little taken aback, as I hadn't even asked for TD of the car and they were asking me to book the car. I then asked for a TD. Initially, they said, the i10's demo car is not available for TD, then after some time they said it is, then again no after a while. I was thinking what is going on.
Just then, someone came in and said it is available and is parked outside. There was a white i10 parked and sandwiched between two other cars.Initially I thought It must be their new TD car and drove it along with one fellow who seemed like a mechanic. Hardly 10 seconds into the drive, the low fuel light came on. The fellow on my left started panicking - "Sir, low fuel. Let's fill some fuel." I felt from his voice, he was actually asking me to fill petrol with my money. I said won't be needed as there would be minimum 5 litres reserve fuel for the light to come one like that and that he should ask his showroom fellows to fill petrol, not me. That was the end of it.

During the TD, the steering felt awful, I know the i10 's steering feel is almost like a PC game Steering Wheel, but the steering on this i10 felt weird. It was as if when I was turning the steering wheel, the wheels were turning quite sluggishly and reluctantly. Reached the showroom, checked the tyres(which seemed ok). I complained to the lady how the steering felt very odd. I was shocked when the lady said that the car was new and meant for a customer. PDI wasn't done, hence that weird feel from the steering. I felt angry and guilty for having driven a car meant for someone else. Again she asked for the booking amount , I said will discuss with everyone at home an get back to you.

The sales manager showed up now and started saying "We'll offer you the best discounts etc , you just pay the booking amount." I felt uncomfortable at the way they were forcing me to pay the booking amount. I said, I will discuss with my family back home and get back to you.And then again, almost expectedly, please pay the booking amount.I replied with a firm "Not now" and While leaving, I had 50% made up my mind that I will avoid Kanchana, inspite of getting a better deal from them.

That evening, got a call from Advaith asking about my decision and how things went with Kanchana. While I did not reveal the price offered by them to Advaith, I simply said I was getting a much better deal from Kanchana. I said I will discuss both offers and decide what we will do.


I felt very uncomfortable the way they(Kanchana Hyundai) were after the booking amount and their aggressive approach felt very fishy. That evening, I researched a bit about Kanchana Hyundai on the internet to see if there were any complaints against them. Some of the results that turned up for "Kanchana Hyundai Complaints":

Tyres swapped during service!!!(http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=in)

TYRES GOT CHANGED IN SERVICING By Tdomf_3f26c On 27 June 2012 In Automobile Companies, Others
Share for impact! Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterShare on Google+Share on LinkedInDigg this
Location/place: Mangalore
Name of company/service: Hyundai/ Kanchana Motors
Hi,
I bought Hyudai I10 Sports before 1 year from Kanchana Hyundai Mangalore and i had driven 8000 KMS and i am doing regular services. after giving my car for last service with the same dealer and found after two days that my car front tyres were fully FLAT and threads came out of the tyres. and showroom people are telling that they are not responsible for that.
Issue is here because of worst service and they didn’t did the Wheel alignment and that is the reason my tyres became like this.In their alignment report its showing that all are fine and alignment is good. but i had given my car with different dealer to check the alignment and they told me that Alignment is totally wrong.

Kanchana Hyundai - Poor Service Support & passing the buck : http://www.consumercomplaints.in/com...s-c133490.html

Good Year Tyres - Defective Tyres- SubStandard
User Dr.Naveen Rao
I Had Bought 4 New Good Year Tyres 4months Back From Nirmala Tyres Mangalore, For My Hyundai Elantra . As soon As the Tyres Were Fitted I Had Slight Wobbling On MY steering Which Gradually GOt Tapered, After 7000 Kms It started Again To A Greater extent So As to Cant Hold The Power Steering, Making Feel like driving heavy vehicle. i Brought this to notice Of The Dealer Nirmala Tyres, Mr.Henry But he told Nothing is wrong . I have Showed The Vehicle To Authorised Hyundai Dealer - Kanchana Hyundai, They have Checked All Mechanical system As well As Wheel Alignment And balancing . They Have Told As tyres To Be Defective . Now I am In A fix < dont Know Whom To Approach ... So Searched Consumer Complaints -- Let Us Hope Something Is Done !!!

There was even a complaint against their Udupi dealership : http://www.complaintsboard.com/compl...i-c504147.html

I had booked a verna fluidic at june 1st week.The dealer promised to delever the car on august 13 but he failed and promised that he will not fail to delever on october 1st week.Now the sales manager said that hyundai company has alloted us a car but the M.D of kanchana hyundai (udupi)is trying to sale our car for other person for a higher price and not giving us our car

Car showroom(Kanchana Hyundai) asked to compensate consumer: http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...FsjbuQTKgILQBw

Mr. Bhojaraja, a person with disability, had purchased a Hyundai i10 and on September 25, 2009, the car met with an accident.
Though the car dealer assured him that it would be repaired within 10 days, the complainant was made to pay visits to the dealer repeatedly and it was “not even touched for repairs”.
The dealer then promised a new car and kept on telling him that a new car is on its way till November 10, when he issued a legal notice.
The dealer on November 20 informed him that the car has been repaired and asked him to pay Rs. 89,925.
When his efforts to contact the car maker yielded no response, the complainant paid the money and took the car.

After reading all this, the first thought that came to my mind was "these guys are worse, if not on par with Om Hyundai, Junagadh", whom I considered absolutely rock bottom Hyundai ASC!!! I discussed with my family about the deals offered. There was a little bit of debate. We were getting a better deal from Kanchana, and had we bought a car from them, I would not have got the car serviced from them, rather I would taken the car to Advaith. The tyre swap story, making a disabled person run around for his car and above all giving a new car for a customer TD, convinced me to stay clear of Kanchana Hyundai.

Booking
On March 02, 2015, after deciding on the previous day that we were OK with Advaith's offer and will book a Sleek Silver i10 Sportz with Advaith Hyundai, I went and paid the booking amount (Rs 10,000). I was tempted to got a White i10 as it looked good in white, but that thought was quickly shot down by the argument - "Another White i10 in the porch????"[our Grand i10 is White] .

The car was in stock and they blocked it for me. We asked for a Delivery on March 06, 2015. March offer was not yet declared by Hyundai and the sales manager, Mr Shivaprasad told whatever offer they get, they will pass it on to us.

Actual OTR Price(Metallic Colour - Silver):
Ex show room price - Rs 4,79,362
Insurance - Rs 11,126 (National Insurance)
Road Tax - Rs 69,174
Inc charges - Rs 8,430
Extended warranty(3rd year/60,000 kms) - Rs 2,716
Total - Rs 5,70,808

Discounts:
Free Insurance (-) Rs 11,126
Loyalty Bonus (-) Rs 15,000 (Loyalty)
Cash Discount (-) Rs 8,000 (March Offer) (Refunded to me later)
Total (-) Rs 34,126

Price for the Santro : Rs 1,55,000

Balance amount paid through Loan from Canara bank

Other Freebies given:
- Mud flaps(OEM)
- Underbody anti-rust coating
- Cabin mats (the five piece mat set was OEM and are OK'ish by OEM standards. The set did not have a rubber boot mat) .
- Body Cover : OEM and fitted the car well. It has scoops for the rear view mirror and small scoop for the antenna. However it seems the body cover is for the old 1.2 model which came with a much smaller and good looking antenna. The i10 comes with a long antenna and it looks hopelessly out of place(same as the first gen i20).

Bidding Farewell to the Santro:
Having agreed with Advaith's offer for the Santro, we said we will give the car to Advaith on March 04, 2015. One morning on March 04, I washed her for the final time and dropped the car at their showroom.
I wasn't as attached to the Santro as I was with our old i20. But, the Santro will have my respect for being a rugged and reliable car from Hyundai, probably their best offering along with the Accent. Had the Santro still been in production, I would have seriously considered Santro in place of the i10.

Parting Shot:

[skanchan95]

D-Day, March 06, 2015:
The car allotted to us was a February manufactured car. Thanks to Mr Shivaprasad, I did a quick PDI on the morning of March 05, 2015, a day before the delivery date.

The car at their stockyard:


Advaith Hyundai arranged for the RTO registration process and took the car to RTO, Mangalore for registration in the afternoon. I requested for a time of 5:30 PM for delivery. As it turned out, ours was the only delivery around that time


We reached the showroom at around 5:15 PM and the found that the car was ready for delivery.

The dealership - Advaith Hyundai, Mangalore. I found it ironical that our old Santro was parked right at the entrance of the showroom:




Full marks to Advaith Hyundai for making the delivery ceremony special. Most of the staff, including the sales Manager, Mr Melwyn Fernandes came in to congratulate us after the ceremonial key was handed over by our sales consultant, Mr Shariq. We were presented a box of chocolates and a framed photograph of the key being handing over to my Dad. Mr Shivaprasad, a bhpian himself was on leave that day.

With Mr Shariq, our Sales consultant


Mr Melwyn Fernandes handing over the keys to my parents. Just behind him is Mr Nikhil, their Sales team leader




Next day morning, after pooja at Nandaneshwar Temple, Panambur, Mangalore


The i10 became our Fifth Hyundai since 2001. The only non-Hyundai car we bought in this period was a 2007 Swift ZXi(which we bought after selling the Accent. We sold the Swift in 2009 and bought the i20). The 2014 Grand i10 replaced the i20 & the 2015 i10 replaced the Santro.

[skanchan95]

Initial Driving Impressions & Interiors
The iRDE2(intelligent Responsive Drive Engine) engine feels refined and good for city driving,which was the reason for buying the i10. Only on rare occasions would it be taken on the highway. The car's initial pickup is quite good in low gears.There is almost no engine knocking at all even when car came almost to a standstill while driving beyond 2nd gear, which means less gear shifts in heavy traffic. The i10 cruises along well in city while driving on 4th and 5th gear; engine response is good and smooth. The moment speedometer crosses 80 km/h mark and RPM goes above above 2000, the engine starts getting little noisy. The fuel average is hovering between 13 and 14 km/l (with A/C on all the time).



The central console has silver finish. In the long run, it may be difficult to be maintain. I would have preferred it in black. Fit & Finish, Quality of plastics used is quite good.


When the audio system is OFF, the display works as a clock.


Night time lightning


The steering is tilt adjustable. Thanks to the light steering, it is easy to steer around in city traffic.



Rear windshield view is wide enough. A-Pillar is not obtrusive and offers good visibility around corners. Ride is quite bumpy and it gets quite bad while negotiating potholes, even while driving extremely slowly

Gear shift is smooth enough to operate.


Rear view mirrors are day/night adjustable


The A/C is doing a reasonably good job. In extreme heat, it does take a little while to cool the cabin.


Chrome ring around A/C vents(on the two circular vents on each corner)


Speedometer features a gear shift indicator, Tachometer and a digital fuel gauge. No engine temperature display, only a warning light if engine overheats.



Front Seats are comfortable with decent underthigh support.Driver's seat is not height adjustable. Door armrests curve downwards nicely and I felt comfortable to rest my arm on it.



I felt the i10's front seats to be more comfortable than the front seats of our Grand i10. Disclaimer: dimensions are for rough idea purposes only. Measured using a measuring tape and dimensions were taken at the location of widest/longest possible length/width/height of the seats.


The front seat backrest recline adjuster is mounted on the seat's side and are easy to use.


Rear seats lack adjustable head restraints. No 60:40 split folding facility. No proper fixed head restraints either


Audio system is average with USB & AUX support.



Central Console Storage space is just about enough to squeeze in a 5.1 inch phone(enough clearance between the phone and charging point / USB/AUX port). A Charging point is available.


225L boot space is good enough for light luggage and for groceries/ shopping in city.


There is a provision for boot lamp, does not come factory fitted with one.


Rear Parcel Tray


Fog lamp switch & Headlight adjustment


Mirrors are internally adjustable


All four Power windows. Only driver's side window switch( with Auto Down feature) gets illumination


Chrome Door locks


Wiper stalk. When you use the windshield water spray, you have activate the wipers separately. The wipers will not turn on automatically. There is no intermittent wiper function either. Poor & Pathetic cost cutting, considering Santro came equipped with a wipe that would turn on automatically when using the windshield water spray.


Foot rest/dead pedal is missing. Even the cheaper Santro had a good dead pedal/foot rest. There is enough space to rest your foot though.

[skanchan95]

Exteriors
As mentioned earlier in the thread, never really liked the face of the i10 but am learning to live with it. The car is doing the job perfectly it was bought for i.e driving in the city. The i10's poor steering feedback was not a concern.

Front View


Side View


Rear View



The tailgate can only be opened from the outside.


Hated the long, ugly antenna. It looks totally out of place on the i10. The discontinued i10 1.2 used to come with a shorter antenna (the same antenna has been used on the Grand i10 Asta)


Got a Sparco antenna instead(will get it painted black later)


Easy to get in & out


Door Handle(Pull up type) - No keyhole on the passenger side


Headlamp with indicator on the fender


Side RVM(from the first gen i20) - no mirror mounted indicators



Foglamp


Tail lamp cluster(both tail lamp clusters have a reversing lamp)


Reflectors on the rear bumper


Keys : One flip key(With remote locking) & one regular(non -remote)


Flipkey with Silicone Cover(first gen i20's)


155/80 R13 Bridgestone B250 Tyres


The car is equipped with a Security System. If the Alarm is triggered (used the spare non-remote key to open the lock, which triggered the alarm), there will be Continuous Horn Beeps with Indicators would flash. If I lose the flipkey or for some reason it stops working, I'll be in trouble!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEylhFL6p18

Likes:
1. Easy to drive in city. Thanks to the light steering and compact size, easy to park in tight spaces
2. Smooth gear shift.
3. Good ground clearance.
4. Good quality of High plastics in the cabin.
5. Nice driving position. Easy ingress and egress

Dislikes:
1. Missing rear wiper and Defogger. I would have preferred these two any day over Fog lamps/Flip key.
2. Absence of rear seat head restraints.
3. Skinny Tyres

Accessories Fitted/Mods Done : from Car Decor, Mangalore
1. Black Vinyl film on the upper door edges.
2. Reverse Sensors with distance display
3. Leather Steering Wheel Cover
4. Seat Covers
5. Sparco Antenna (replaced the long & ugly antenna)

Only major issue I need to watch (hear) out for : The dreaded Steering Rattle. The car has clocked around 1500 kms so far and driven on all sorts of bad roads, no sign of the issue so far.

13" Hyundai OEM alloys are not available for the i10, which was disappointing. As per the showroom, they are no longer manufactured and supplied by Hyundai. Would have been a risk to go for third party Alloy rims (possibly voiding the warranty) for a car that's had a long history of suspension/steering issues.

[skanchan95]

Inevitable Comparison with our "other i10"(Grand)
An almost inevitable question often asked to me when we bought the i10, was (with a frown) why another i10 (considering we bought a Grand i10 just three months before)?
I was tired of explaining people that inspite of a common name, the i10 and Grand i10 are two different cars, a generation apart. Both cars were for bought different purposes. This was one of the reasons why, in my Grand i0 ownership thread, I have written how/why Hyundai should have thought of a better name for the Grand i10.
I admit that there was the same "Why another i10?" debate in our family before the i10 was finalized. Only after convincing them that they were two completely different cars and the i10 would be the Santro's ideal replacement, I went ahead with the booking.

One thing that has always confused me about Hyundai is their lack of uniform decal placement(specially the engine type) across models. For e.g on the i10, you have the engine type decal on the fender( iRDE2 decal), the corresponding engine type decal on the Grand i10 (Kappa2 VTVT) is missing<VTVT decal is present on the fender in the Xcent>. On the Grand i10, you have the "1.2" decal on the tail gate, the corresponding decal(1.1) is missing on the i10 (the earlier i10 1.2 used to come with one though).

















Clearly, the Grand i10 is wider & longer than the i10. Only parameter where the i10 outscores the Grand i10 is the height (barely noticeable - 30 mm). The seating position is much higher in the i10.

First Service

As per the manual, the first service is to be done within two months of delivery date or between 1200 to 1500 kms(whichever came earlier).

Within a month of delivery, the car reached the mileage milestone and I kept it for its first free service on 02 April 2015 with Odometer reading of 1423 kms at Advaith Hyundai, Kuntikana, Mangalore.

As always, I asked for our Service Advisor - Mr Pradeep Kumar K, to look after the car's servicing. There were a few minor issues, which I wanted addressed:

Pre-service : Issues
1. A whistling noise from the Engine Bay during cold starts. It was nothing major and the sound would go away after driving the car for around 5-10 minutes, but I wanted to have it checked.

2. Glovebox Rattle - A continuous "krrrrrrr" like noise from the glovebox possibly, which would stop if you press the glovebox slightly

3. Rattle from the rear panel - The reverse parking sensor control unit was fitted inside the panel which was rattling a bit.

4. Rear seat split folding knob Jammed - One the knobs which lets you fold the rear seat was jammed in the unlock position.

I asked them to keep the car for a day, if required, to address the engine sound issue.

The next day I received a call from Mr Pradeep that the car was ready and all issue have been addressed.

Post service : All issues resolved
1. Whistling sound from the engine Bay - It was traced to the Clutch Actuator. They did some adjustment and the sound has gone away.

2. Glovebox Rattle - Fixed. Here I would like to point out how good these guys at Advaith Hyundai are.
At the risk of going , Back in 2010 when we were based in Gujarat, a similar complaint in our earlier i20 resulted in this . Refer to the pictures of the damage in the link.
Just to fix a minor rattle, those Einsteins at Om Hyundai,Junagadh had managed to wreck the entire central console of our i20(including the passenger airbag/seatbelt display unit).

3. Rattle from the rear panel- Not only did they fix the rattle, they cleaned the entire panel. Earlier it had grease marks because of the shoddy work done by Car Decor chaps during the reverse parking sensor fitment. I was very impressed that they cleaned the panel completely.


4. Rear seat split folding knob Jammed - Fixed and works like before. The Car Decor fellows who fitted the seat cover somehow managed to mess it up and jammed the knob.

Kudos to the Works Manager, Service Advisors, technicians and other staff at Advaith Hyundai and specially to our SA, Mr Pradeep Kumar K, whose dedication to their work & customer satisfaction never seizes to amaze me.

[noopster]

Thread moved from Assembly Line to initial ownership reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Am not sure I admire your confidence in Hyundai or marvel at your bravado in sticking with them despite the hell they put you through on the i20 rattle issue! After a pre-sales experience like you had with Kanchana I for one would have walked away for good. but having said that there is some merit in sticking with the known devil!

Also disappointed that the i10 doesn't offer safety features like ABS and airbags even in highest trim- or am I missing something?

[aerohit]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

I was tired of explaining people that inspite of a common name, the i10 and Grand i10 are two different cars, a generation apart.

I think Santro--i10--Grandi10 are technically 3 generations of same brand of a car, but in India majority of public uses loose terms like "new shape". Even the automotive industry concept of "MMC" is misunderstood by most.

Sometimes, cars are named just for the sake of marketing reasons and this is a good example.

It just happens to be that all 3 are being sold all along in our unique market.

In other markets Santro--i10--Grandi10 would have been called i10.1stGen---i10.2ndGen---i10.3rdGen where previous generation would have been discontinued.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by noopster

Am not sure I admire your confidence in Hyundai or marvel at your bravado in sticking with them despite the hell they put you through on the i20 rattle issue! After a pre-sales experience like you had with Kanchana I for one would have walked away for good. but having said that there is some merit in sticking with the known devil!

The decision of buying a Hyundai again has more to do with the excellent Service Support offered by Advaith Hyundai, Mangalore and my confidence in Advaith's workshop staff. Ever since our cars started getting serviced at Advaith( including our troubled i20, which we brought along to Mangalore), the experience has been positive only.

Leaving the first gen i20's defective steering design issue aside, part of the reason why the steering rattle issue in our i20 went out of control was because of Om Hyundai's incompetence.

I quote what I said in my Grand i10 ownership thread:

Had I still been in Veraval, Gujarat, surely I would not have opted for a Hyundai again because of the service experience I had with Om Hyundai, Junagadh.

Originally Posted by noopster

Also disappointed that the i10 doesn't offer safety features like ABS and airbags even in highest trim- or am I missing something?

Sportz is the highest trim now and powered by the 1.1L iRDE2 engine only. It lacks Airbags/ABS/rear wiper/defogger/steering mounted audio controls/Bluetooth audio/electrically adjustable mirror that used to, at one time, come in the Asta trim(1.2L Kappa2).

Originally Posted by aerohit

I think Santro--i10--Grandi10 are technically 3 generations of same brand of a car, but in India majority of public uses loose terms like "new shape". Even the automotive industry concept of "MMC" is misunderstood by most.
.

I agree. Afterall, the current Indian Grand i10 has replaced the i10 in international markets, albeit in a slightly smaller and slightly different avatar.

[Mahesh Prasad]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Stormtrooper- 2015 Hyundai i10 Sportz 1.1 iRDE2

Congrats Sandesh on your new car. It does look like a Stormtrooper as aptly named by you. Nicely written and narrated review. Loved the attention to detail. Deserves nothing less than 5 stars!!

Originally Posted by skanchan95

That afternoon, we went to Mandovi Motors, the Maruti dealership which is next door to Advaith.

Just to nitpick, It's Bharath Autocars that is next door to Advaith. I myself have been to Advaith a few times in late Feb-March while car shopping, and I found the staff courteous and technically sound. I actually sauntered in on a Sunday Afternoon that too on the India-South Africa Match day, and the sales rep attended instantly and gave me a long test drive of the elite i-20. Visited a couple of weeks later while car shopping for my Uncle, and the response was great again.

She foolishly and without any proof, said "they keep old stock cars"(which I knew they didn't). I was extremely irritated at that comment. It is ok to point out the weaknesses in rival brand cars but without any proof when you accuse someone of keeping old stocks, it is downright dumb, stupid and for all practical purposes, she was lying

Totally agree with you. Even I get irritated when this happens. This is where the staff from Advaith score again. When I received a follow up call on my inquiry of elite i20, I told the Sales Rep that I was going with VW. He didn't say anything to undermine my choice, and just asked to refer him to friends / family. On the second instance with my uncle, we were TD'ing the Eon and when asked about the lack of power in comparison to Alto, he did not deny it, but stressed on other aspects like quality, space etc.

Originally Posted by noopster

Thread moved from Assembly Line to initial ownership reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Am not sure I admire your confidence in Hyundai or marvel at your bravado in sticking with them despite the hell they put you through on the i20 rattle issue!

I guess the Service experience from Advaith and the professionalism of the staff that keeps drawing back customers. I almost went with the elite i20, but the ze germans bug had bitten me hard and brought home the new polo.

After a pre-sales experience like you had with Kanchana I for one would have walked away for good. but having said that there is some merit in sticking with the known devil!

Kanchana have been notorious from the early days with their pre and after sales services. Initially they were the dealers for TVS and I have heard and seen hundreds of horror stories, and then they started the Hyundai dealership. They enjoyed the monopoly of being the sole dealer for Mangalore and it was showing in their attitude. I had visited them back in 2008, and had a horrible experience. They even started a Honda 2 wheeler dealership and there have been a lot of complaints and reportedly even received a warning of sorts from the company.

[petrolhead_neel]

Congrats on making a fairly sensible decision. Hyundai seems to have waved its magic wand on you. Now, can we expect a more dedicated comparo between the Grand and the earlier gen i10? Greatly compiled review and a neat attention to detail. Wish you many happy and safe miles on your car.

Really disappointed that no airbags and ABS even on the top end variant.

Cheers,
petrolhead_neel

[GTO]

Great review, thanks for sharing! This one is going straight to the homepage

Originally Posted by skanchan95

The car's initial pickup is quite good in low gears.There is almost no engine knocking at all even when car came almost to a standstill while driving beyond 2nd gear, which means less gear shifts in heavy traffic. The i10 cruises along well in city while driving on 4th and 5th gear; engine response is good and smooth.

I think this is one of the best small petrols to ever be offered in India, the driveability is just awesome.

Few people realise it, but the old i10 is still a very competent hatchback. Nice engine, great quality, well-rounded nature. I'd pick it over most of the newer launches in the segment.

Congratulations & drive safe.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Mahesh Prasad

Congrats Sandesh on your new car. It does look like a Stormtrooper as aptly named by you. Nicely written and narrated review. Loved the attention to detail. Deserves nothing less than 5 stars!!

Thanks for the kind words.

Originally Posted by Mahesh Prasad

Just to nitpick, It's Bharath Autocars that is next door to Advaith. I myself have been to Advaith a few times in late Feb-March while car shopping, and I found the staff courteous and technically sound. I actually sauntered in on a Sunday Afternoon that too on the India-South Africa Match day, and the sales rep attended instantly and gave me a long test drive of the elite i-20. Visited a couple of weeks later while car shopping for my Uncle, and the response was great again.

I stand corrected. I always tend to get confused between Bharath & Mandovi. Always thought the dealership in Hampankatta belonged to Bharath & the one in Kuntikana(next to Advaith) belonged to Mandovi.

Originally Posted by Mahesh Prasad

Totally agree with you. Even I get irritated when this happens. This is where the staff from Advaith score again. When I received a follow up call on my inquiry of elite i20, I told the Sales Rep that I was going with VW. He didn't say anything to undermine my choice, and just asked to refer him to friends / family. On the second instance with my uncle, we were TD'ing the Eon and when asked about the lack of power in comparison to Alto, he did not deny it, but stressed on other aspects like quality, space etc.

Yeah, they are decent and do not question or argue with your about your decision. Even when I spoke to Advaith about how I was getting a better deal from Kanchana, the sales rep (Shariq) did not have one bad thing to say about Kanchana. He did not even ask by how much was Kanchana's offer better than theirs. His only reply was a request to come to the showroom next day to discuss further. This was impressive and speaks of the level of ethics imparted to them by their sales team.

I've had the chance to interact with three different Hyundai workshops in all these years - Om Hyundai in Junagadh(GJ), Shreenath Hyundai in Rajkot(GJ) and Advaith Hyundai in Mangalore(KA). Of all these, Advaith was the best and by a long margin. Needless to say which was one was the worst!!!

If Hyundai wants to show their other dealerships/workshops how they, as Hyundai's Authorized Sales & Service centers, should interact with customers, there can be no better example than Advaith Hyundai,Mangalore to demonstrate.

Originally Posted by Mahesh Prasad

Kanchana have been notorious from the early days with their pre and after sales services. Initially they were the dealers for TVS and I have heard and seen hundreds of horror stories, and then they started the Hyundai dealership. They enjoyed the monopoly of being the sole dealer for Mangalore and it was showing in their attitude. I had visited them back in 2008, and had a horrible experience. They even started a Honda 2 wheeler dealership and there have been a lot of complaints and reportedly even received a warning of sorts from the company.

They probably have lost or losing that monopoly to Advaith now. I see more Hyundais with "Advaith Hyundai" stickers than "Kanchana Hyundai" in Mangalore.

During Santro's valuation by Kanchana, they would have checked the Santro's previous service records, which would clearly shown timely and regular service at Advaith only. The Santro was delivered brand new to the first owner by Kanchana Hyundai. Seeing this, they may have been more desperate to wean away a Advaith customer.

Also, wasn't there another Hyundai dealer in Mangalore near Kottara Chowki in early or mid 2000? It was called Standard Hyundai if I remember correctly.

Originally Posted by GTO

Great review, thanks for sharing! This one is going straight to the homepage

I think this is one of the best small petrols to ever be offered in India, the driveability is just awesome.

Few people realise it, but the old i10 is still a very competent hatchback. Nice engine, great quality, well-rounded nature. I'd pick it over most of the newer launches in the segment.

Congratulations & drive safe.

Thank you. While the 1.1L engine is good and smooth, Hyundai should have continued with the 1.2L Kappa on the i10 and got rid of the 1.1L engine when they stopped production of the Santro. Or better still, tweaked the refined 1.0L VTVT Kappa engine from the Eon and plonk it in the i10.
Afterall, the 1.1L iRDE2 is very old now and is essentially a slightly upgraded Santro engine.

[Zinda]

Congratulations buddy for your new ride. The i10 is time tested and still competent in all aspects. Just that Hyundai should have offered atleast ABS and Driver side Airbags - but for sure this is asking too much from Hyundai, considering the Grand i10 Asta gets rear wiper and high mount stop lamps as "security features"!
Wish you years of Happy and Safe driving on this reliable machine. Keep us posted on any modifications etc. Also, appreciate you eye on details - for replacing the awkward Antenna, and adding the vinyl.

[unni246]

Wonderful Review Skanchan!
Loved every bits of it and your love for Hyundai!

Well was there any specific reason you went in for exchange and not tried selling it directly? I guess you should have tried posting an ad on our Team-BHP classifieds and you might have fetched a better Price than paid by Advaith + the exchange bonus (Bhpian cars always have a better value in the Market - I feel). By the way your Santro looked fabulous & well maintaned too. Thumbs up to that.

I got another question. When you exchange it with the dealer what happens with regards to the change of ownership ..etc? Would we still be legally obliged until it's sold to a third party?

[dreamliner17]

Nicely described and greatly detailed review skanchan95 ! Wish you many happy miles in your new Hyundai, 5th time in a row now !
Glad to see your commitment to Hyundai even after soo many years of owning Hyundai cars.