[SoulGarage]

For the last 2 weeks I have been helping out my friend to buy a car and we must have checked out almost all the car offerings except Polo & Figo.

Cars that we TDed:
1. ANHC
2. Linea
3. Beat
4. Punto
5. Manza
6. i20
7. i10

Wide choice, yes. That is because we had quite a stretchable budget and we went the whole hog!

The owner, my friends is a first time driver, although previously she owned OHC with a driver of course! So the things we had to keep in mind:

a. Color

b. Easy to drive - Light steering, decent engine power

c. Hassle Free service - Hyundai long time in India

d. Not too big, not too small size- Right size for a lady to be comfortable & confident about. She was pretty awed by City, Linea sizes, confidence took a beating.

e. Stable on road performance

f. Space to comfortably seat 3 in backseat.

g. Comfortable ride quality

h. Airbags, ABS

i20 fulfills all of these to a great extent.

Without getting into technicals, this is what i felt when i drove the above mentioned cars:

a. Beat: Dint like the pick up at all. Maybe the demo car problem. But it had a pretty noticeable lag (in petrol!!) TD on altamount road- national garage

b. Punto: Its a Fiat enthusiasts car. Feedback on steering wheel is something my friend wouldn't have liked. Plus the feeling of general underpowered engine (petrol). Top end pricing is too high.
Prabhadevi Tata showroom

c. Polo: Space at backseat was a constraint. While the interiors were far superior to anything we had seen in hatchbacks. The best! Audio system was awesome too! Again best OEM music system in Hatchbacks!

d. One major put off for my friend in Punto/Linea was the window at the backseat not winding down completely!

e. Manza: Interiors were quite unimpressive, while the drive was fantastic!

f. Linea: Most stable car at high speeds. Fantastic braking. If not for the limited elbow room for 3 people at the back & the window issue, this would have been the choice, as budget was not a problem

g. ANHC: The best performer in every way! The problem: Blue wasn't available!!!!!

I also have another post where I have done a comparison sheet of various Bombay Hyundai dealers offers. You may check that if i20 happens to be your choice too!

And yes, in all this, TeamBHP was a great resource to review, compare, check & refer! Thanks to all of you.


Happy Driving!

[MileCruncher]

Well if your friend is new driver, then I would suggest a hatchback. Amongst the choices you have put, I suggest going for the i20 if budget is not a constraint.

[amtak]

Go for the Jazz! hatchback and premium tag attached to it! and available in blue

[lohithrao]

Why not "Figo"? looks good, i dont like the name though

[SoulGarage]

Hi all. i20 is booked. The post above was created to help people who want to buy for a woman-driven car. Thanks.

Mods, please merge this post with the first one.

[Takumi-san]

Disclaimer : have not sat / drove the i20 or the Linea.

But, so the i20 has greater space at the rear than the Linea!?

[SoulGarage]

Originally Posted by Takumi-san

Disclaimer : have not sat / drove the i20 or the Linea.

But, so the i20 has greater space at the rear than the Linea!?

we for all the cars, we were 4 people to check them out:
a. Guy- 5'4, average build (window seat)
b. girl- 5'7, slim (centre seat)
c. girl- 5'4, average build (window seat)
the above were in the backseat in each car
d. Me- 5'9 slightly heavy build

and the 3 unanimously felt that the 'elbow room' was more comfortable in i20 than Linea. Linea on the inside is quite small, smaller than even ANHC.

ANHC had the best elbow room of all, 2nd best was i20. as per my friends in the backseat.

I am not claiming any industry data here, but a very subjective opinion of my friends.

[para_7k]

Congrats on booking the i20.

A question out of Curiosity: Why there is no Maruti Suzuki in your list ?

[SoulGarage]

@para: I was mighty impressed by Ritz. Fantastic power delivery!!! Best in class! But its a tad too small, and so a bumpy ride. Plus Hyundai brand better than Maruti brand value. Not bothered about resale value. Swift is an older car plus a long waitlist!
Astar, zen etc not considered at all.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by SoulGarage

Hi all. i20 is booked. The post above was created to help people who want to buy for a woman-driven car. Thanks.

Mods, please merge this post with the first one.

Did you book an AT version or the manual version?

[SoulGarage]

Originally Posted by ampere

Did you book an AT version or the manual version?

The Manual version. Primarily becuase my friend wanted to be able to drive any other car. If her first car to drive was AT, she felt she wouldn't be able to other MT cars. Valid arguement.

While I did TD the ANHC AT, and it really does free up the tension of driving in city traffic. So people who already know the MT, AT would be great option in the Bombay traffic. Even otherwise the AT is quite hassle free drive.

One more reason for not going in for AT was mileage. AT reduces mileage by almost 20-30%.

But if thats not an issue for women drivers who don't want the hassle of MT and for Guys who would like to have a no-hassle drive, AT is the way to go.

[sree70]

Congrats for choosing & Booking I20, one of the best hatchbacks in India.
Is it Asta or Magna model ?
Driving with I20 in City traffic is as smooth as silk & shifting gears is very easy & can be done in one finger!

[jigbarai]

Originally Posted by SoulGarage

The Manual version. Primarily becuase my friend wanted to be able to drive any other car. If her first car to drive was AT, she felt she wouldn't be able to other MT cars. Valid arguement.

While I did TD the ANHC AT, and it really does free up the tension of driving in city traffic. So people who already know the MT, AT would be great option in the Bombay traffic. Even otherwise the AT is quite hassle free drive.

One more reason for not going in for AT was mileage. AT reduces mileage by almost 20-30%.

But if thats not an issue for women drivers who don't want the hassle of MT and for Guys who would like to have a no-hassle drive, AT is the way to go.

Not sure if I agree with the above or it would influence the choice.

Not selecting the AT just because it is the first car and you want to learn to drive other MT cars does not sound right. Learn MT driving in a driving school if you must.

You want a car to drive for yourself and if you own a car, you'd pretty much be driving THAT CAR 90% of the times.
So, you want the most comfortable car you can afford.

Mumbai traffic demands an AT. No gender bias, but I feel a lady would really feel much at ease with an AT box.

This is coming from a guy who eventually bought a used AT hatch after buying a new Premium hatch simply for Mumbai traffic driving. The santro AT pretty much is a daily drive now, with the Fabia being used for relaxed / long / highway drives or on weekends.

Also, the 20-30 % drop in FE is also wrong perception.
I feel the AT box would give a better mileage than a MT box whch is constantly doing first and second gears in traffic. Add to it the clutch wear.

At the worst, you may expect a 10 % drop in FE with the automatic. Not more.

Do have her seriously think about the AT, either in City or the i20.

[SoulGarage]

@sree: Thank you. Its the Sparkling Blue i20 Asta. Did a PDI with the help of PDI checklist. The stockyard guy at Taloja was surprised that i had full booklet to check!!! LoL. all credits to the contributors of TBHP!!!

@Jigbarai: Receive your inputs with respect. But the decision is made. i20 Sparkling Blue, 1.2MT! :-)

City AT gives 10kmpl, CityMT gives 13kmpl. That is a 20% approx reduction. These are dealer given figures also corroborated by users.

Agree with you on the clutch wear.

But MT has its own charm/fun. I'm sure if cars give 14+kmpl in MT, people won't mind buying the AT giving 12+kmpl. Every KM squeezed out of every drop of fuel also goes as a contribution to conservation.