Make : Hyundai
Model : i20
Variant : Asta 1.2
Fuel : Petrol
Booking Date : 12Nov2009
Color : Berry Red
Expected Delivery Date : 3 weeks (Hopefully)
Dealer & City : Asset Hyundai, Mumbai
Freebies : Negotiation still on with dealer stating it as either Mats or Mud-flaps
[Moderators -- Hope its ok to detail more on how I narrowed down to this choice as well as few open queries in this thread itself, since the recommendation is not to use TestDrives & Initial Ownership Reports -- if its better to move this to that category, please do the needful / let me know. Thanks in advance]
Before I go further I would like to thank JayD, AbhiJ, Waldon, Appachan, DrasitKhanna, gotovamsee, flyingspur & many other members of this forum, for their detailed narration of i20 purchase as well as ownership experience & expert opinions so far. They along with few other articles helped me narrow down my choice to i20.
Due to some pre-conceived bias, I rejected Maruti cars from my preferences and narrowed it down to 3 Diesel cars -- Indica Vista Quadrajet, Indigo Manza and Hyudai i20 CRDi.
Somehow I missed test-driving Vista & Manza last weekend (the dealer has now called me for this Saturday) while Hyundai assigned Asset for TestDrive & the salesguy called me saying they have just got a new i20 demo car -- but it was 1.2 Asta Petrol and not CRDi. I decided to go ahead with TD -- first TD and the other ownership reviews I read on this site made me realize i20 is it and not to consider Vista / Manza.
- So i20 it is but -- Petrol or Diesel ? Optional or base Asta?
- Well - this is my first car in India and Comfort & ease of drive, along with sufficient safety features & good support for my back during driving is definitely my priority...
- Given my dust allergy, may not be able to enjoy Sunroof in my daily commute (too much pollution) -- so Sunroof offers very little use.
- In that case the 40 - 50K premium of Optional will be only for additional airbags and not for Sunroof -- So Base Asta will do.
- My daily commute to work & back will be around 50Km -- considering weekend drives & occasional long trips, the annual usage may not exceed 15000Km.
- I have never driven a diesel car but the reviews seem to imply that it might require more of gear handling & FE benefit kicks in only with higher usage -- And my dealer is not able to get a CRDi for test drive... Is that 1.5L premium for Diesel really worth it in that case?
Test Drive Experience on i20 1.2 Asta:
- Steering seem Light and so did the clutch -- needed some practice with the clutch (that's poor me !). And the dead pedal was not that comfortably positioned.
- Loaded interiors looked rich -- along with the safety features
- Quite spacious on the front as well as back and the boot is also quite adequate.
- On the negative, did find the engine appear low-powered between 3.5 & 5 on the RPM on each gears -- is that just the signal that I need to change gears? Isn't it supposed to be its best in 4 to 5.2 range? Need experts to clarify on how I should interpret and drive better (upon delivery).
During few days of confusion between 1.2 Petrol and 1.4 CRDi, tried all ways of getting full details of differences between 1.2 & 1.4 ==> Pity Hyundai website do not provide any info. around this and the dealers are completely in the dark (keep saying only difference is the engine -- when I start pointing out about Brakes, interiors based on my research in net & this forum, they either try to disagree or look at me in wonder !! ).
After a few days wait and another round of test drive (in the rains), finally asked the dealer to go ahead with i20 Asta 1.2 itself.
Would like to hear agreements / disagreements from experts & i20 Owners on the above.
Based on all your experience, decided to check out the insurance myself instead of agreeing to the dealer blindly (who insists that insurance has to be done thru them only) -- that seem to get me a better premium... Thanks again to this forum for that.
Now few open queries where I need assistance:
#1. Insurance -- Currently ICICILombard's quote seems to be the best available for me at Rs.15377 -- They includes 2L Personal Accident coverage for all 5 Unnamed Passengers for an additional Rs.500. (included in above quote)... Is this ok? Is this 2L PA coverage recommended? Any change suggested?
#2. Registration -- My registration will be done in Mumbai... PDI checklist wants the tax & all calculations checked... How should Registration charge calculated to verify? How can I confirm my dealer is not overcharging me?
#3. Loan -- Axis is offering at 9.75% while I'm waiting for SBI to contact me after I applied on their website & thinking of checking with Canara Bank as well.
#4. Sun Control Film:
The dealer recommends Eco-drive films but is ready to use 3M, Garware, etc if needed... His quote seem to be standard for any brand.
Doors & Rears ==> Tinted Economy Type film (Rs.2912) ==> Tinted Premium Films (Rs.4781)
Front ==> Clear Economy Film (Rs.2947) and Clear Premium (Rs.6266).
His recommendations is to use Eco-drive Economy (70% visibility & 38% Heat reduction) or Eco-drive Executive (50% visibility & 48% Heat reduction) for Doors & Rears while Economy for Front.
I read about 3M & VKool being discussed in the i20 threads... Any advice on how I can move forward on this?
-- Rs.2912 for doors & rears with tinted Economy type film and Rs.4781 for Executive type film
#5. Parking Sensor: Dealer recommends RD brand for Reverse Parking sensors and quotes 2933 for Buzzer system, 4900 for LCD Display and 14900 for Sensor with Camera & Bluetooth Display...
Only gotovamsee has mentioned of RD brand in the forum -- When I mentioned Autocop, he was willing to go for it too but said charges are same. One of the discussion on this forum mentioned that Buzzer may not always help & one with proper display is reqd for usage in day / night conditions... That seem to make sense to me. But doesn't the LCD Display also req a camera to capture the rear area?
Is RD ok or should I go for Autocop or some other brand? Are the prices ok?
Is Reverse parking sensors sufficient or does it make sense to go for front sensors as well in one-go?
Or should I get this done from someone else other than the dealer? Any recommendation on the service centre for this?
#6. I read about Teflon coating not required for new cars -- so not going for it.
#7. Dealer quotes 3000 for Anti Rust Coating and 1300 for Engine Lamination Coating... Are these required and if so what I should verify regarding these coatings?
#8. Any seat cover recommendations from AbhiJ and others?
#9. I heard about some plastic mats could be used under the floor mats, covering the entire carpet -- so that the carpet does not get dirty... Is this recommended? If so, which ones & likely cost recommendations plz...
#10. Which is the best Hyundai service centre in Mumbai? Is the one in Chembur good?
Looking forward to lively responses.