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Old 24th January 2009, 09:44   #616
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one more feature i havnt seen mentioned here is the foldable key.

we can fold the key into the remote of i20. Dingo!! i'm in love with it.

We were 4 in the car with AC on. The car pulls decently not good as swift. But in the city. I really really enjoy driving it.. a better scorer than swift in cities. This babe goes exactly where i wanted it to move. Steering goes hard as i revved it, hyundai's trait, nothing new.

while going for the test ride, i overtook a linea demo car in the delhi traffic. havnt driven linea till yet, so can't comment on linea.. but either i was more responsive in city or the car was responsive at lower speeds and lefts and rights. lol. I really crawled in a good manner in the delhi slow moving traffic. But when i found the road to be empty, i revved it hard. Linea guys revved too. I was so pissed off as the linea guy overtook me hard.
Stupid Hyundai gimme a powerful diesel engine.


My big brother was flattered on i20's interiors and goodies and was cursing hyundai for it's price and engine. haha

Last edited by Gangsta : 24th January 2009 at 09:54.
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Old 27th January 2009, 23:50   #617
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Hi, this is my first post on this forum, I have been reading your posts and wanted to share my experience of the new i20. I am crazy about cars and have been saving for one since last 3 years.I think finally 2009 should be the year that I buy it. My search started with the new Honda City, then Fiat Linea and lastly,i20. Have tested is for more than 10 kms now on all types of road conditions and here is what i think about i20.
It looks stunning with those uber cool allow wheels, with those beautiful lines on the side which merge into the rear bumper..those gorgeous rear lights. Like Shirsh said on overdrive show you’ll love it when it comes towards you and you’ll love it when it leaves you. The interiors are better the previous Hyundais with very tight lines. Everybody knows that the car is feature rich so will not harp on it. On the downside though, I am doubtful of the quality of sound from the music system as the higher frequencies were rather inaudible, but maybe that’s because I had the radio on and not a CD. The steering wheel feels very nice in your hand though I would have preferred palm rests on it as the rim is a ‘little’ too thin for it to be called meaty. On the magna version, you get the same steering wheel as that on i10.
On the engine front, after having read most articles since its unveiling in Paris Motor Show I had great expectations, and was highly disappointed to see that they only launched 1.2l. I would have preferred 1.4 also as an option as I truly believe that in India there is a neiche segment of people, and I am one of them, who are waiting to buy an affordable perfect car and agree to pay that ‘little’ extra for it. However, if you read test drive reports on autocar.co.uk, they do say that 1.2 is their recommended engine on this car and the 1.4 only makes a slight difference. So coming back to my actual drive, with no expectations I took the drive and to me surprise its not bad at all. There is an apparent lack of power below 1500rpm and once you cross that mark there is a very good linear power delivery across the band till 4000 mark. However, at this mark I could hear the engine complaining, and I am guessing its because the engine had only done 400 kms and the run-in had not been done(the dealer is coming tomorrow i.e 24th Jan again as the car has been serviced, to give me another drive..hehe). At higher speeds I felt the steering does not weigh up and has very little feedback, and it had some understeer also, which made keeping it in between lines on turns difficult.
On the comfort front, the front seats are comfortable but do not expect them to be like those in the New Honda City. I am 6 ft tall and with my adjustments I could not fit on the back seat. The rear seat is also very upright which may make long journeys for the rear passengers slightly uncomfortable. The reclining seat of the Getz is a phenomenal option and I was expecting it to be in this car too. This basic and practical point has been omitted by the engineers of Hyundai.

To sum it up, the car according to me is not perfect. The engine is slightly underpowered.. Its slightly cramped in the rear.. it doesn’t have the fit and finish of the Fabia but is far superior to swift, it is not as slow as Fabia but not as thrilling to drive as Swift. It treads the in between line beautifully and the best part is that there is a high VFM factor. I am contemplating buying it. My only problem is, what if after buying it they launch a 1.4l 100 bhp i20 at just a slightly higher price. I will have a huge post purchase dissonance. Wouldn’t want it to happen when I have been saving for a car since last 3 years. 
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Old 28th January 2009, 00:36   #618
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i20 Diesel sighted

Saw a navy-blue i20 LHD diesel 1.4 CRDi (export model) at Hyundai Motor Plaza New Delhi in December '08. Was specifically told that the diesel will NOT be launched in India any time in the near future, because it will have to be priced out of its segment and there won't be any takers. Also asked about the i30 - no joy there too, apparently the bosses at HMIL don't want to intro cars into India which THEY feel may be priced at the higher end of the segment, or even into the next segment. Indeed, if the i20 CRDi is to cost 7.5L ex-showroom, would you buy it? Nope, you'd rather go for a Swft DZire ZXi with its boot to show to the world you ride a sedan, not a hatchback.

What's the Indian obsession with boots about? The Accent Viva never sold because it was technically a hatchback. The only so-called hatchback that really sold in the Sedan (D) segment was the Octavia.
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Old 28th January 2009, 01:44   #619
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Originally Posted by appuchan View Post
Thanks a lot to all. I have booked the Asta in Dark grey colour. Delivery by mid Feb.



In my opinion, premiums are not determined by country of origin. It is the value add on the product that matters. LG, Samsung etc do charge a premium for many of their products in consumer electronics and white goods market.

Deliveries of i20 take almost 3-4 weeks. Might have started now.


You know very well who is that, don't you?. Or ask amit.
Congrats buddy for booking the car. I have also booked the car and will be getting on 31st Jan 09 (Saturday) and same dark grey colour. happy driving
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Old 28th January 2009, 08:10   #620
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Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post

What's the Indian obsession with boots about? The Accent Viva never sold because it was technically a hatchback. The only so-called hatchback that really sold in the Sedan (D) segment was the Octavia.

They are called notch-backs and not hatchbacks and I dont think so that accent viva's failure was due to that, but looks and other things were the reasons.
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Old 28th January 2009, 08:35   #621
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Was looking at the specs for i20 Asta & Asta(O).
Are there any other Indian cars under 10 lakhs which come with
ABS & 6 Airbags. If Hyundai comes out with an automatic transmission option, this is going to be my next car, eyes shut.
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Old 28th January 2009, 08:53   #622
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post
Saw a navy-blue i20 LHD diesel 1.4 CRDi (export model) at Hyundai Motor Plaza New Delhi in December '08. Was specifically told that the diesel will NOT be launched in India any time in the near future, because it will have to be priced out of its segment and there won't be any takers. Also asked about the i30 - no joy there too, apparently the bosses at HMIL don't want to intro cars into India which THEY feel may be priced at the higher end of the segment, or even into the next segment. Indeed, if the i20 CRDi is to cost 7.5L ex-showroom, would you buy it? Nope, you'd rather go for a Swft DZire ZXi with its boot to show to the world you ride a sedan, not a hatchback.

What's the Indian obsession with boots about? The Accent Viva never sold because it was technically a hatchback. The only so-called hatchback that really sold in the Sedan (D) segment was the Octavia.
Hyundai cant justify their attrociously high pricing, they are not a luxury car maker, but rather famous world wide for their relative less expensive cars. Ppl are willing to pay for quality cars provided the cost is justified. Who would buy a 7.5 lakh rupee i20 CRDI when they can buy a Linea (why only Dezire??) Getting the point!
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Old 28th January 2009, 11:52   #623
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Hyundai cant justify their attrociously high pricing, they are not a luxury car maker, but rather famous world wide for their relative less expensive cars.
Your are totally wrong about that now, they have got the Hyundai Genesis which is a head on competition to E Class,5 Series. with a V8 Mill , so they too are in every sense a luxury car maker ,they may be famous for less expensive cars but that was when they were a struggling Korean company trying to make it big, now they are the worlds 5th largest car manufacturer ,larger than Honda and inching closer to VW.
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Old 28th January 2009, 12:00   #624
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Was specifically told that the diesel will NOT be launched in India any time in the near future, because it will have to be priced out of its segment and there won't be any takers.
But what about the reports that the diesel i20 will be out a couple of months later? Just Hyundai buying some time to study the market?

My question is would a i20 diesel REALLY be that expensive? Fabia is. But it has a lot of imported content AND people are willing to pay more for the Skoda brand.

I guess all eyes should now turn to Fiat. If they can price the Grande Punto MJD competitively then why can't the others? And I really hope Fiat pulls it off.
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Old 28th January 2009, 13:31   #625
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But what about the reports that the diesel i20 will be out a couple of months later? Just Hyundai buying some time to study the market?
The diesel is still 4-6 months away and is going to be about 1L more expensive than the Petrol versions. And no word on the trim options, in all probability (seeing Hyundai's track record) it'll be a stripped out version.
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Old 28th January 2009, 13:36   #626
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I have booked an i20 Asta yesterday and it is expected to be delivered in second week of Feb. I dont think Hyundai really cares about its sales in India as their main target for this car is European market. Annually, they plan to sell only about 15,000 units in India and about 1,20,000 will be exported. In that sense, i20 bookings have already exceeded target for the first month.
Congratulations,

Well car sales are nose diving across europe (across globe I would say), that may be the reason they launched in india in a hurry. Some were I read their original plan was to launch it in 2009. Hyundai didn't got much time to strip down the features, hence only three models.
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Old 28th January 2009, 13:36   #627
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The diesel is still 4-6 months away and is going to be about 1L more expensive than the Petrol versions. And no word on the trim options, in all probability (seeing Hyundai's track record) it'll be a stripped out version.
haha they will surely be doing it. Verna, Accent, Getz.
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Old 29th January 2009, 13:36   #628
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I don't know whether everyone who test drove the i20 realized the major flaw with the steering wheel and handling. Haven't gone through the entire posts, and don't really know whether I should write about my experience with the i20.

lemme know if my inputs are needed. Will definitely give a proper test drive report.
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Old 29th January 2009, 13:46   #629
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Originally Posted by samyakmodi View Post
I don't know whether everyone who test drove the i20 realized the major flaw with the steering wheel and handling. Haven't gone through the entire posts, and don't really know whether I should write about my experience with the i20.

lemme know if my inputs are needed. Will definitely give a proper test drive report.
I had 3 TDs of i20, including a 56 km drive before I decided to book the car. I found the steering to be perfectly fine and well weighted for me. Handling was the best in class due the stiff suspension, long wheelbase, good track width and good tires. Not sure what you are talking about.
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Old 29th January 2009, 18:29   #630
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Our i20 model was introduced in the Indian market in December, and has seen over thrice as much demand as we expected," said vice president (production) Inderjith. "We have achieved our sales target for three months already."


Hyundai recalls discontinued trainees- Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Last edited by Jaggu : 29th January 2009 at 18:39.
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