Team-BHP - 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 @ Auto Expo 2018
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Vigkey (Post 4353169)
I would love to see how the facelift of i20 Activ looks like. The inverted grille will look awful with those curves - Oh. wait, are they even being sold now?

Yes, i20 Active is actually actively being sold and clocks an average of 1,500 units which is better than Figo and Liva hatchbacks and almost at par with Polo.

Early 2016 Sportz was terrific VFM @ ~8L OTR Bangalore for the petrol.

Tilt & telescopic steering, ACC with rear vent, reverse camera with display on auto-dimming IRVM, auto-folding ORVMs, good space and premium cabin feel. The only things it lost w.r.t. Asta was push-button start, alloys and rear wash/wipe, which was about 50k dearer.

Then Baleno became a rage, and some idiot at Hyundai thought chopping features without reducing prices was a good idea!

Loved the facelift. Hyundai has a knack at messing up facelifts (recent eg: Xcent) but they've done a good job this time. The rear especially looks more Mercedes than Hyundai.

The interior is great as always, and I've always felt it to be one of the best cabins this side of 15 lakhs, better than even the Verna. I wish the improvements were more than skin deep though. With the Baleno taking away sales, they could've tweaked the mechanical package for a better driving experience, which is its only weak link.

Agree with many of the comments listed here. Chopping away the niceties from sport version does give the Baleno an edge in the first half. However the premium feel of the cabin & the better refinement of the diesel pot always has the I20 getting the lead back and even triumph's the elder brother Verna in a few areas!

They could have lended the Verna's 1.4 petrol pot in i20. Given the huge difference in the prices between Diesel & Petrol, I20 Petrol would have made great sense and a lovely deal....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vigkey (Post 4353169)
Purely cosmetic. Very minor. Not at all impressed.

Even the new tail lamps fails to impress - I somehow like the old one.

I too, feel that the old tail lamps were better. The styling was unique (Hyundai only) and it definitely had many fans. Now even though the new ones resemble the one on Mercedes somewhat, it makes it lose the uniqueness.

Guys, I test drove the new elite i20 today. Love the looks of this refreshed car. I have a few questions from current owners -

1] The petrol car felt a little underpowered with 4 people on board. In the city it is not going to be an issue; however, on the highway, am I going to face issues while overtaking, etc,.?
2] Are the halogen based projector headlamps sufficiently bright?
3] Is the AC powerful? I have seen reviewers complain about the AC.
4] I know that the earlier i20 model (2011 - 2014) version had steering rattling issue. Is this still persistent in today’s model?

Your inputs are much appreciated. Thank you

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satishtv (Post 4362663)
Guys, I test drove the new elite i20 today. Love the looks of this refreshed car. I have a few questions from current owners -

Even I love the looks of the facelift, especially in the red shade. I am not an owner, but I have driven the i20 and can answer a few of your questions.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Satishtv (Post 4362663)
1] The petrol car felt a little underpowered with 4 people on board. In the city it is not going to be an issue; however, on the highway, am I going to face issues while overtaking, etc,.?

The 1.2 Kappa in the i20 does feel stressed and underpowered. Overtaking on highways will involve planning and revving the engine to glory.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satishtv (Post 4362663)
2] Are the halogen based projector headlamps sufficiently bright?

Yes, they are decent and are in fact better than the HID's in the Baleno. However, the LED projectors in the Ignis and the Dzire are in a different league altogether.

If you are going the i20 way, I'd advice you to take the diesel route just for the engine, even if it means settling for the Sportz or the Asta instead of the Asta(O). The 1.4 diesel is a hoot to drive. The Baleno or the Dzire would be my choice in petrol. Also, do check out the Jazz petrol. It has more premium interiors than the Baleno and an engine which is somewhere between the Maruti K12 and the Hyundai 1.2 Kappa.

Reading reviews of the new i20 online, I'm glad I bought mine last year and being a diesel fan I don't think I'll buy another i20 diesel. Here's why:

The i20 diesel that I have has a shorter 6th gear than the previous iteration. I found the 6th gear slightly short for motorway cruising but that was perfectly OK compared to what Hyundai's been doing lately. Mine does 100 at about 2100 RPM and 120 at 2500 which is fine although I'd have preferred 100 at 1900 or 2000 RPM. Yet, it's all fine and the performance is satisfactory when taking into account the great low end performance. Yes, the bottom end is great and in-city drivability is effortless with no lag. Hyundai should have stuck with that tuning but they didn't.

Then came the i20 Active with 11% improvement in low end torque. They reduced the final drive ratio further. Sounds good for an ad. But what happened in the process is that this 11% improvement in the low end has completely botched up the top end. I test drove the i20 Active diesel and I can vouch for that - there was no top end to speak of.

Now comes the 2018 i20. I was kind of hoping they've left the original tuning of the i20 intact but unfortunately they've botched up this one too. They have further tweaked the mapping for a 9% improvement in fuel efficiency and low end performance. Now, the i20 diesel is a pure city car with great low end performance and that's about it really. Forget taking this car to the motorway. You will be left in the lurch of every car out there and perhaps even some lorries. The reviews state there's absolutely no top end and that's a shame in a premium supermini!

I'm terribly disappointed with how and why Hyundai is slowly killing this beautiful diesel engine with mapping for mediocre average performance. The low end performance of my i20 diesel is so good and I don't see the need for further tuning. Makes me wonder why Hyundai is going on tuning future iterations for low end performance? Is it just to grab eyeballs on marketing material?

If Hyundai are trying to match the 1.3 DDiS on the Baleno on fuel efficiency figures they should remember that a larger capacity engine is never going to evenly match a smaller capacity engine. Why try then and ruin a good engine? They may as well give it the tuning of a load pulling truck for low end performance and throw everything else outta the window. Trust me, this is a beautiful engine ruined and blunted by Hyundai's rather daft pursuit for 'better' low end performance.

Sorry Hyundai, I'll never recommend the new i20 diesel to anyone. I'm even OK with the boring tail lamps but what you've done to the beautiful 1.4 diesel is sacrilege.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel (Post 4365762)
Reading reviews of the new i20 online, I'm glad I bought mine last year

Totally concur with you on this. I really did not like the rear styling of the new model, but then again looks are subjective. The rear arm rest further makes the third person even more uncomfortable and also does not make sense for a hatch. I too tested the 2018 i20 Diesel and this definitely isn't as good on the highway as the 2017 model. My only disappointment is that we may have missed out on the new DTE, AFE, range measurements on the MID. But this is something that I can live without. Glad that I got the car last year.

New i20 tops Hyundai sales chart

Sales of the refreshed i20 now surpass those of the Hyundai Grand i10.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new..._medium=Social

Quote:

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel (Post 4365762)
Sorry Hyundai, I'll never recommend the new i20 diesel to anyone. I'm even OK with the boring tail lamps but what you've done to the beautiful 1.4 diesel is sacrilege.


Oh this sounds horrible! Have you driven the 2018 car as well?

I own the 2015 CRDi model and am very happy with the highway manners of this engine - even at 120 it doesn't feel strained and can be revved further. Progress is also quick! Sad to hear that Hyundai has messed up the engine mapping - probably to be competitive with the Baleno / Swift on fuel efficiency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoenixash (Post 4392636)
Oh this sounds horrible! Have you driven the 2018 car as well?

I own the 2015 CRDi model and am very happy with the highway manners of this engine - even at 120 it doesn't feel strained and can be revved further. Progress is also quick! Sad to hear that Hyundai has messed up the engine mapping - probably to be competitive with the Baleno / Swift on fuel efficiency.

No, I haven't personally driven the updated i20 yet but going by the reports, that's what has happened. For instance, Autocar India reports there's no top end to speak of. Hyundai is on a quest to tune the car for city drivability at the cost of highway performance. It's not all bad if seen in isolation but if you compare your 2015 i20 with the latest iteration, you'll feel the difference I'm afraid.

Sadly, they're doing this mess up job on the upcoming Creta too I guess. Given that it's a 1.6, I'm hoping it isn't too bad.


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