[blackasta]

Originally Posted by katpasin

I will be ruling out A-star due to the space constraints.
Would loved to have got my hands on a Jazz AT, but am pretty confident that the automatic version might be priced at entry level Honda City range. i20 has a similar issue. its priced at x-showroom 7.72L
As of now, there is no competition to i10 AT , will be waiting for the Brio though. Have very high hopes on Brio AT.

I was expecting a 1-2 kmpl drop in mileage compared to MT versions, and hyundai i10 site lists ARAI certified mileage as 20kmpl and all owners on this thread have mentioned about 10kmpl. is the difference really this huge? or has there been any improvement in the engine to have increased the mileage now?

I used to get 11 - 13 kmpl in city from my kappa engined version. On highways it went up to 19 kmpl. Can't comment on the kappa2 version.

[katpasin]

@blacksta: your mileage is for i10 AT version? 19kmpl sounds unbelievable(i mistook this to be for the MT version, but then saw your signature)

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by katpasin

@blacksta: your mileage is for i10 AT version? 19kmpl sounds unbelievable(i mistook this to be for the MT version, but then saw your signature)

Yes that 19kmpl was on NH2 in my i10 Asta AT.

[sgiitk]

There are reasons to believe that the Brio is likely to have an AT option. All the publicity pics were the Thai AT version. The AT is most probably a CVT.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Maruti Suzuki A-star should be a good candidate if you do not have problems with rear legroom and non existent boot space.

Rear legroom is not an issue (atleast compared to its peers) as I found during a comparitive measurement, details of which I posted in some thread - but rear headroom at the sides could be an issue for tall passengers only. Boot space is low, yes. But more than these, his requirement of good frontal visibility due to driver being short could be an issue with A*.

Originally Posted by katpasin

I will be ruling out A-star due to the space constraints.

As mentioned above, this is not an issue. Do a TD to see if frontal visibility is an issue for the driver. Also do not remember seeing space in your list of initial requirements. BTW, Jazz, i20 etc are way out of your budget.

Originally Posted by katpasin

I was expecting a 1-2 kmpl drop in mileage compared to MT versions, and hyundai i10 site lists ARAI certified mileage as 20kmpl and all owners on this thread have mentioned about 10kmpl. is the difference really this huge? or has there been any improvement in the engine to have increased the mileage now?

The best way to ascertain mileage is to check with fellow owners from your city. I believe there are atleast 1-2 guys having i10 from H'bad. If not, get phone numbers from Hyundai dealer of AT owners and call them up. We get many calls from aspiring A*-AT owners asking about FE, drivability etc.

[tejus.s]

One of the biggest gripes when I checked out the A-star automatic for my dad was the apphauling rear legroom. Personally, I felt numbers do not give us a clear picture here.

Having owned an i10 for a couple of years now, my recommendation would be the AT version. Should not pose too much of a problem for short drivers either and overall visibility is great. Also, the A-star automatic comes only in the VXi trim with ABS and no airbags.

[mdsaab]

The Brio may come with a an AT option.
Though my sales rep denies this and says it won't.
It will be a CVT, but will be good enough for City use with the occasional highway trip, if you really need to.
If you want to buy one right away then the i10 AT is the best option in the market currently.

[ariendj]

i was in the same dilemma just as others here and had to choose on dimension basis rather than expense of the car..it was mainly to driven by my mom.

i ended up booking the A star for the following reasons:
-she is mostly a lone driver and space was more than enough
-nimble handling of the Astar
-height adjust for driver seat is a boon
-even if space was less it was a smoother ride than I10(which was bumpy)
-rear glass is small and so is OVRMs
-interiors are good and I10's are better
-FE is much better than 110 in accordance wit reviewers and owners
-looks are subjective and its just about getting used to,with time
-best option if the drives are mainly confined to city drives
-ABS present in Astar while I10 has tachometer!!

[Harbir]

My wife and I were planning to buy an i10 automatic, but the the TD didn't go too well. on the basis of the manual i10 I drove, the auto seemed like a sure bet. now I am not sure. Quoting what i wrote elsewhere on the forum:

What I wrote about the i10 Manual

The biggest surprise in my automotive life recently has been the i10 1.2 Magna. I expected it to feel like a Wagon R or something a bit more than a Wagon R and a lot less than the Swift. But it really blew me away. Right off the bat, the car exudes quality and refinement that are completely out of line with its compact dimensions and light weight. The steering is so smooth, so accurate, so frictionless and yet nicely weighted, the structure of the car is rigid and superbly damped. the ride is excellent, with the texture and small irregularities of the road nicely smothered and bigger bumps smoothly and quietly damped out. The engine is extremely refined and so very capable of moving this little car around with elan without ever straining or feeling stressed. THe shift feel is excellent.

then about the i10 Auto

I have been very impressed with the i10 manual, but this i10 auto drove like like a cheap tin box economy car, and no more. Its steering did not have the lovely effortless twirlability of the i10 manual I drove. Upon acceleration, I felt an unpleasant metallic harshness in the steering wheel. It had a bumpy ride, always jiggling like a cheap economy car and getting jumpy on the bigger irregularities on the road. The engine feels weak and requires bit bootfuls of throttle to keep up with swift moving traffic.

this was a major disappointment to me because had this car combined what I experienced with the previous i10 with the convenience of an automatic, it would have been bought for my wife on the spot.

I am surprised to reread what I wrote about the i10 Magna because this i10 Sportz AT was not like this in anyway.

When I mentioned this to the sales guy he pointed out the dead LCD cluster in the instrument panel (which I had commented on before), and said that the car has an electrical fault and a bad bearing in the steering rack thats causing its steering to feel abnormal.That might be true, but i t still doesn't explain the very great difference in ride quality. I told the guy all this and said that I have not given up hope in the i10 Asta auto (the A star auto doesn't have power ORVMs, ABS or airbags and the i20 auto is both a ton more expensive and too large to nip around as easily as the i10 in delhi streets which is a very attractive trait of the i10 manual I drove). I said we would still consider buying it but I would want to test drive the specific unit they intend to sell us and see whether it has the steering and chassis traits from the i10 manual I drove, and decide.

so now I have to go to their stock yard and test drive that car.

[Klever]

Anshuman's review on the Brio more or less confirms that the car will not have the AT option in India and that's a shame.

[KPS]

Originally Posted by Harbir

My wife and I were planning to buy an i10 automatic, but the the TD didn't go too well.

Being an owner of a i10 Auto, I can tell you that the car is very smooth to drive. I was very surprised to read your experience. I used to own a Santro Auto before this and I can tell you that the i10 is a major improvement in refinement. I have not driven a manual car hence I cannot comment on the same.

My only grouse is the FE which is around 9 kmpl.

Cheers

KPS

[Harbir]

the car has been bought. initial comments here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...pressions.html

[KPS]

Originally Posted by Harbir

the car has been bought.

Glad that the demo car did not kill the final buy. Congrats on this buy. Read your initial report, and was disappointed to read on the blue tooth connectivity. The connectivity on the Verna is excellent on the other hand.

Cheers

[contactme27]

Look like the indian version Honda brio do not have automatic option. I was waiting for this car from long time and when I hear automatic version is not there, I am very disappointed.

[Tommie]

I was trying to find out a car within the 7 lac(on-road) bracket to find an automatic. I could find that Suzuki A-star(which I cannot sit inside since I am tall) and Hyundai and i10 are the only ones around. i10 Automatic has been priced very competitively over the manual with 23K price difference (~5.5%). I haven't found any other vendors trying to play in this automatic space.

India car owners evaluate the how it impacts to their pockets while trying to buy the engine(petrol/diesel) and the transmission(Manual/Auto). In what I have observed, Indian consumers have high rationality with the on-road price, running costs and cost of maintenance. I being an Indian consumer, the same thoughts goes in my mind too. Why should I pay a higher cost for a car which offers me less fuel mileage and less fun to drive even though the automatic is very comfortable to drive in the city where the traffic is moving in snail pace. So the Indian mind plays a strong game with you and everyone that you come across would start thinking that you are not a macho man. However, the same person would buy a Honda Activa instead of a Honda Dio.

I have asking the following question to many sales agents across the model.
Why is that any of the manufactures want to change the way how Indian consumers think by lowering the price of an automatic keeping it very close the manual option. We all understand that the cost of manufacturing an automatic is higher and can be made much lower when volumes happens which is also called as economies of scale I would forsee it would take one manufacturer to take that bold step to keep the prices marginally high for the automatic in the hatch back segment .

I hope some automobile product management guys are reading it and will start to work on their excel sheet to change the volume game in India to meet up to the additional costs for the gearbox.