The new getz prime 1.1 - test driven !!

[GeekSrik]

I was always anxious to know like other team bhpians whether the new getz prime will hold onto the market and was very interesting in getting a test drive in a proper location which had a mix of inclines to test its power. my main concern was the pulling power of 67bhp and how it compares to the palio with the getz having a 4 valve SOHC while the palio had a 2 valve SOHC. So off i went since one person in trident was more than willing to help me drive it since a month back. he told me he would call me when the car was available. as coincidence would have it when i returned from the palio TD i got a call saying the hyundai TD is ready!

Now getting a juicy offer and considering the fact i could drive from indiranagar to koramangala via the flyover and also test its higher speeds, i immediately ran away to trident. after a brief look at the getz prime it was now time to drive. but before that experience, a talk on the features.

the model i saw was a 1.3 glx, and the model i drove was a 1.1 gvs. the OTR prices in bangalore are

1.1 GLE 4.85, 1.1 GVS 5.27, 1.3 GLS 5.56 and 1.3 GLX 6.02 (shucks anymore and they are entering over and beyond logan high end diesel territory!!)

some small things:

1. tilt steering available, not there in palio, common fiat!! wake up
2. comfortable seating position
3. aluminium brushed door handles and front panels, good
4. lots of space on dashboard for piling up lots of things!
5. the boot lock is integrated with the mechanical central lock itself. so if main lock is open, boot is open else no
6. boot can also be closed by key
7. 40-60 seat split, quite useful (common fiat, look at these guys and learn)
8. huge boot space which is very very practical.
9. speaker space on each door
10. defogger, rear wiper(not availble in rear on low end versions)
11. sexy gear shift, and smooth clutch (not hard like fiat)
12. dead pedal near clutch and spacing of pedals very optimal and practical for usage
13. no 12V socket like fiat, so no laptop usage! but cup holders are very practical in getz
14. odometer is digital, good job hyundai!! clock is black over green bkgnd, and not green over black bkgnd like fiat, sheesh wish these fiat guys had colour sense!
15. tyres are smaller in basic models of 1.1 and only bigger in 1.3 and no tubeless either. bad hyundai.
16. no ring protection for slotting into reverse like palio. so much for safety.

Now to the drive:

1. There is no way you are going to know if the car is off or on. NVH levels are the best, good job hyundai, wonderful!
2. 1st gear gets rich too early much like palio, and demands a shift
3. gear shift being good its almost effortless to move into any gear!
4. put the a/c on before the flyover and i was in fifth gear by the time i reached the flyover ramp. the car moves steadily on 5th gear onto the flyover and maintains steady, however press the pedal and there is no surge in activity. its so boring. with 2 people and aircon it struggles to go above the flyover. no one to overtake so cant judge if power is enough.
5. get down the ramp, still on fifth gear, torque is amazing at this gear, switch off the a/c and rip upto middle of ring road, never noticed what speed i was in, but it was simply effortless without a/c on fifth gear to get to high speeds. and the steering is just perfect with a 4.9m turning radius allowing you to complete u-turns! good hyundai.
6. one U turn and was on second gear, didnt feel like driving in that much, moved to third, here again no use, moved to fourth. fourth seemed better, switched a/c on again power dropped, moved to fifth since i was at some speed already. truck in front of me i approach a flyover ramp again.
7. honk like mad, the truck moves out of way giving me just millimeters of space and challenging me to either overtake or shut up. with fifth gear i try overtaking with ac no use, slot into fourth try again, still on parallel with truck, cant make it, slot into third and revv hard and finally finish the manouevre. no sense of racing enthusiasm at all. my maruti is better. i am able to slot down and confidently overtake even with a/c on. sheesh hyundai you have disappointed me with power delivery in the gears with the a/c. and this was exactly the concern area mentioned by many bhpians earlier. quite true i guess. just for power hyundai makes me spend upto 5.56 lacs! hyundai what are you thinking?? is someone mad to take ur getz at that price vis-a-vis swift diesel at 30k more?
8. the brakes arent so sensitive like palio (holy cow!) so i was more relaxed.

finally what?

- pricey, very pricey
- half the features what palio offers at much lower prices
- torque is good only in fifth and fourth gears, 1st and 2nd are disappointing, 3rd is well only required to overtake probably.
- great a/c
- good cabin and boot ergonomics and speaker placements
- needless to say costly hyundai service vis-a-vis tatas.

maybe hyundai might manage to sell it in india, but i think abroad, people will really be disappointed with the performance. i am sure the crdi diesel will be 7 lacs where no middle class guy can dream of it even. good bye hyundai.

now to the million dollar question or lets call it 5 lac question:

should i buy palio giving a damn to the hard hydraulic clutch and slightly hard gear assembly and tata service? or should i go for the prime 1.1 GVS at 5.27 lacs, becuase of nice interiors, good boot & cabin, good a/c and slugggggggggissssssssh power with a/c on, and good hyundai service?

or should i test drive the swift diesel also!?

please advise folks! its a matter of choosing a good car which is easy to drive in the city now. all your opinions welcome. make my life easy!

cheers

[Samurai]

Wow! That was fast, two brand new model test drive in one day, is the Mahindra showroom still open.

Hyundai nevers caters to the enthusiast driver, I guess that theme plays on. But the price really bothers me, even the lowest model with some accessories will hit 5L territory.

[cartech]

@Geeksrik, Palio Stile 1.6 sport(with 100PS, alloys+tubeless tyres) is 5.0 L OTR in Mumbai, must be cheaper in your place. Cheaper than Getz 1.1 GVS.What does Hyundai think?

[GeekSrik]

Originally Posted by cartech

@Geeksrik, Palio Stile 1.6 sport(with 100PS, alloys+tubeless tyres) is 5.0 L OTR in Mumbai, must be cheaper in your place. Cheaper than Getz 1.1 GVS.What does Hyundai think?

Due to the image of a hi-fi city, bangalore has always had its costs high, be it cost of living or cost of driving . have seen this city transform literally from a strict pensioners paradise and garden city into a city full of choking traffic, rude behaviour, insanity on the roads, climate and costs - all in the past 25 years of staying here. hyundai seems to make life worse.

btw, i am thinking of test driving an aveo UVA tomorrow. want to check out that also for once.

[moralfibre]

Ex-Showroom (How much on-road??)

3,52,874 - 1.1 SL
3,73,030 - 1.1 SLE
3,93,296 - 1.1 SLX
4,34,848 - 1.6Sport (I have this car at home)
__________________________________________________ _______________
On-Road

4,85,000 - 1.1 GLE
5,27,000 - 1.1 GVS
5,56,000 - 1.3 GLS (I have this car at home)
6,02,000 - 1.3 GLX

If the prices of the Fiats come with a difference of around 40k - 50k on-road then I guess the lack of features in the car can be understood.

[vid6639]

Those are crazy prices. Why did they hike up the prices with no addition in features.

This is silly. the 1.3GVS was 4.8L when my friends bought it. the 1.3GLS was 5.3L.

They reduced the engine 1.1L to gain from the excise cut but they increased the price further????

Do they think that people are so dumb?

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by vid6639

This is silly. the 1.3GVS was 4.8L when my friends bought it. the 1.3GLS was 5.3L.

We bought it for 4.9L in Bombay and got it registered in Pune inclusive in that price tag! Of course got some discount on it!

[nbr]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

btw, i am thinking of test driving an aveo UVA tomorrow. want to check out that also for once.

How come , SWIFT P is not in your buy list.

[cartech]

@moralfiber, I will consider Getz 1.3 GLS and Palio 1.6 Stile as equal in features(except tilt steering+split 60-40 rear seat. BTW swift does not have these. In 1.6 you get alloys+tubeless+more power+torque). The difference is more than 50K. I think Fiat should have given ABS as an option.
For OTR prices multiply ex-showroom price by 1.115 (in Mumbai). so OTR for 434848 will be about 4.85 L

[ravibhat]

Good write up Boss!

Getz is over priced car for sure.

Ravi.

[Jaggu]

GeekSrik

List followong:

Budget?
Whats our daily commute? Kms? City/Highway?
Most imp features? Power/Mileage etc

List it down and map it with your test drives (very right decision making tool) and you will shortlist soon.

Happy hunting

From your reviews of the 2 cars for today, i think you are already leaning towards Palio 1.1 coz you have the FE also in mind

FYI i choose Swift Vdi coz of engine for its fun factor PLUS km/L of Diesel (V imp), compact size, maruti A.S.S, against hard clutch, not so good interior build quality and those puny tyre

[GeekSrik]

Originally Posted by nbr

How come , SWIFT P is not in your buy list.

I think the way the rates are, next I d have to seriously consider a petrol and diesel swift. its a cramped car for sure. thats what puts me off. otherwise why would i not buy it, i have maruti to back it up for me with their innumerable service centers. god wish I were to like swift. well i am waiting till month end. the baleno pricing is important to watch out for. the way the car loan interest rates are headed, an erstwhile emi of 1990 per lac is now 3000 per lac. gosh! thanks to the congress government on one hand they encourage liberslization and the other they inflate India to glory

[GeekSrik]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

GeekSrik

List followong:

Budget?
Whats our daily commute? Kms? City/Highway?
Most imp features? Power/Mileage etc

List it down and map it with your test drives (very right decision making tool) and you will shortlist soon.

Happy hunting

From your reviews of the 2 cars for today, i think you are already leaning towards Palio 1.1 coz you have the FE also in mind

after the UVA review, i am in favour of UVA though at a slightly higher price point. the palio hard clutch and gear shift put me off, needless to say no tilt steering with my knees hitting everywhere possible, the palio might be off my list.

currently i commute about 40km daily. but later on in this year i might reduce to say 100km a week max. i need good torque, more than 14 FE for petrol/diesel, and space. (both passenger and luggage)

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

currently i commute about 40km daily. but later on in this year i might reduce to say 100km a week max. i need good torque, more than 14 FE for petrol/diesel, and space. (both passenger and luggage)

1-check out bigger engine cars, this 1.1-1.2 business will not work if you want torque
2- torque & fe wont go hand in hand
3- gladly would have suggested diesel swift, if not for ur running that will be minimal soon and the oh so damn wait list period

my suggestion will be 1.3 l getz if its available or 1.3 swift (again low end torque missin) on second thought no swift coz ur need for space

esteem means big??

[jkdas]

is this the same engine as in teh Santro XIng? Whats the price of Xing XO in Bangy?

Hyundai gonna be a Maruti ..their own cars their own competitors!