i10..perfect 10!! ?? read on!

[bike-lover]

Its been a month, since the baby has come home, but the excitement is very much the same as day one.

What were the other options I tried out?
First, let me be frank, this (i10 , Magna) was not my first choice when I planned to upgrade my M800 which was getting old and giving me quite some problems including stopping abruptly at Ameerpet Cross road at 11 in the night !!. My first choice was Swift VDI after having read some excellent reviews and opinions at all places, but the drawback was that there was a 6 month waiting and moreover there was always a nagging doubt on going for a diesel car given that I am going to use it mostly in the city and travel only about 30kms per day.

1) Ford Fusion - Test drove, and liked the plenty of extras which were provided in the standard. But the drawback was that it was not very popular and did not have the look of a modern car. It was more like a Tata wagan.
2) Ford Fiesta - Very good looking, engine was very responsive. But it was a bit over our budget and we were not very sure in a city like Hyderabad were even the 800 is rammed left and right, the bigger vehicle like Fiesta can survive for long.
3) Swift (Diesel) - Test drove and was bowled over completely with it. But as mentioned above, it had its disadvantages.
4) Swift (Petrol) - After the test drive, realized that the diesel version is far superior in all aspects. So this too was ruled out.
5) U-VA - > Good car but service centres and the cost of maintenance were against it.

What drove me to i10
Well before I tell that, my advise to all who are planning to buy a new car, DO NOT decide the car based on the advertisements on TV. Visit all the showrooms and test drive all the models which are available in your budget. I did the same and that is how I decided on i10. i10 was never in my initial list as I saw it only as an extension of Santro. But a visit to the showroom changed my perception, it is indeed a sedan disguised as a small car. Frankly no other car in this price range (or even a bit higher than this) offer the kind of features which this one has.

So what are the good features
1) Interiors - Yes, I put this first because it is indeed radically different from the other models. The beige colored dashboard was not made of cheap plastic, but looked and felt like a Merc (ok, a bit exaggarated ).All the doors have hand rests and the color combination across the insides was eye appealing.

2) Engine - It is powered with a engine which is somewhat similar specifications to that of Santro, but there is indeed quite some difference between the two. First the BHP is higher and secondly the engine is better tuned to give more mileage. Believe me, I have drown this for over a month now and the mileage is indeed good, I will give the exact figures in the next section).

3) Exterior looks - This one too beats the competition by miles. The front look is more like a high end car and back too is shaped well. BTW, we went for the Oyster Grey.

4) Steering wheel - This one is also power steered like most other cars today, but it has Electronic power steering so it means even better response and moreover does not have any impact on the fuel consumption, unlike other cars with ordinary power steering .

5) Gear placement - This is really cute, the gear is attached to the front dashboard leaving space in between the driver and the person beside him to be used for all other things (including cup holders). It also means that you no longer have to hit the person sitting beside you when changing gears.

6) Seating capacity - The back seats are very comfortable and can easily seat 3 people. It is about 10cms wider than Santro at the back so obviously better space.

How is the driving experience?
Having already driven about 1000kms within a month, can vouch I that I would not want to step out of it. Driving is lot easier now (not just compared to 800 but also to the other cars like Santro which I got to drive quite a bit). EPS Power steering really helps !! . The AC is very effective and cools the car within a minute. The 'all power windows' is a cool option though frankly I don't see it as a major plus.
Coming to mileage, for the first few days that I ran this car, I was filled up only a litre or two and tried to measure the fuel consumption and it came to around 6 a liter !!! I was shocked !! I was about to go into depression (ok, again an exaggeration) . But then the dealer suggested that I fill up 10 liters and then check. Bingo !!, I filled 10 liters and it ran for 153kms!!! . But wait, the next 1o liters gave me 141kms. For the next 2 fillings it has been consistently giving around 145kms !! . I am happy (obviously) because I haven't yet given it for first service. Remember I travel mostly within the city and around 60% of the time with the AC on.

So does it mean it is a perfect 10?
Well, no because there are some small issues
1) boot space, it is very less compared to the other cars
2) The antenna at the top is not retracable so it would keep hitting all the low roofs or trees.
3) price (4.7 L on road , Hyderabad) could have been a couple of thousands less especially since there is no ABS or airbags included in the Magna version.

So whats the final score , I would say 9.99 !!! .

Will update later on the add ons and dealer details.

[Sahil]

Congrats on the i10 ! And from your review it shows that you are damn well satisfied with your choice.

Whats does the magna have extra compared to the Era?

You mentioned that you ruled out the UVA because of high maintaince? I have seen ads of the UVA that state 14,000Rs total expenditure for 3 years on service etc. Also comparing the spare part prices (Ref ACI Jan issue) seem to be on be reasonable.

Also did you check out the Getz Prime 1.1? Would be interesting to see how it compares to the i10.

[Dippy]

Nice review bike lover. Good choice with the i10. It is definately the most modern of the small cars we have in the market. I was not too fond of the exterior looks because it seemed like a new Santro. But its the interiors which impressed me a lot. The interiors are very fresh and new, something not seen in other small cars of its segment.

Hope to see this thread turning into a long term review for your car. Good luck and congratulations.

[Mindgrinder]

what about driving ease i mean viewability is it better than santro also i am very used to clutch footrest of santro does i10 have it and what abt internal boot release? i heard thats missing??

Some dealers have also told me i10 is not a solid built it starts rattling after 3-4 months of ownership, well it selling a lot and i heard that in Delhi fro Suhrit Hyundai so settled for a new santro, as somebody also stated previously how his engine dropped of the bonnet as there is no enforced beam structure involved

[Technocrat]

Very nice review bike-lover.

I would say check the mileage with tank full to tank full approach as it will give you an accurate figure. The way you are finding it now is not reliable & will not give correct readings.

[penpavan]

Congrats on your I10.

Yes indeed the mileage is great. But I still feel suspensions could have been better.

[Sagittarian]

Unbiased reviews are the best advertisements a car manufacturer can hope for. Nice review, bike-lover. Congratulations on your new acquisition. I think Hynudai has done a fantastic job; I wish the price were a bit more consumer-friendly. May be they want to price it vis-a-vis Santro and did not want i10 to cut into Santro sales. But ultimately Santro has to be phased out. Sure, it takes guts to discontinue a successful model (Toyota did it with Qualis).

[vnabhi]

Congrats on your i10! It is a great looker !
I have a suggestion for FE measurement---please try the tankfull to tankfull method, instead of what you are doing now, so that you do not run the risk of running your fuel tank dry.

[ram_hyundai]

A bike lover turning a car lover.Good to see you are happy and amazing mileage too.BTW which color and almost a month and no pictures.
Enjoy her and drive safely.
ram

[Mindgrinder]

well toyota phased it out from consumer market. I guess qualis is still manufactured for Police similar to what happened with gypsy

[bike-lover]

Thank you all for the kind wishes. Will post the pictures very soon.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Congrats on the i10 ! And from your review it shows that you are damn well satisfied with your choice.

Whats does the magna have extra compared to the Era?

You mentioned that you ruled out the UVA because of high maintaince? I have seen ads of the UVA that state 14,000Rs total expenditure for 3 years on service etc. Also comparing the spare part prices (Ref ACI Jan issue) seem to be on be reasonable.

Also did you check out the Getz Prime 1.1? Would be interesting to see how it compares to the i10.

Hi Sahil,
Yes, I too have noticed the advts , but if you actually visit the showroom you can see a break up of the costs involved and their comparison to other cars in this class. Here you would notice that most of the costs shown against UVA are higher compared to others, but the total is made low because of one component (I don't remember the exact one), but it was something which probably we would never or rarely replace.
yet another point is the number of service centers they have, I believe in AP they have just 2 or 3 service centers, now that is ridiculously low. These were the reasons I ruled out UVA. (Mind you the drive itself was good).

Getz prime I think should be avoided, I was told it was a flop. It tried to merge the Santro engine to a Getz body and eventually messed up on both fronts.

Bye and happy driving !
Bike-lover

[bike-lover]

Hi,
Pictures of my car. Hope you do not look too close.. I had my first dent yesterday ( aah aah...)., and it was at our apartment parking lot !!

Need some tips from you guys to help avoid these scratches during parking ( could make a good new thread).

Regards,
Rajsekhar