Hi everyone, here is the long email I wrote to Hyundai India last night, putting down whatever thoughts I had in mind regarding the cars concerned:
----------
Subject:
UNDERPOWERED ENGINE IN THE NEW i20 / LACK OF FEATURES IN THE GETZ 1.3 / NO AIRBAGS IN UPDATED VERNA / GENERAL PRICING OF HYUNDAI CARS
Hello Hyundai India,
We own a Santro 2007 XO Limited Edition model in Chennai and are very happy with it. My dad owns the car and my wife and I were eagerly waiting for the i20 since we had planned to go in for a car. Though we love the Getz, I can't digest the fact that so many features are left out in the Indian Getz compared to the Australian or UK versions.
I have lived in Australia for 3 years since I did my MBA there and just before coming back to India in Sep 2006, we had rented a 3-door 1.5 litre Getz automatic hatchback there in Melbourne for last minute driving around. We absolutely loved the car. The car so easily touched 100kmph on the freeways there and we never felt the speed. This was only a basic model with wheel covers but it had powered mirrors.
Why are features like powered (electric) mirrors left out in the Indian Getz ? Height adjustable driver's seat ? Height adjustable front seat belts ? No Airbags ? All the overseas versions of the Getz seem to have ABS and dual airbags standard. Why not in the Indian version ?
Well, I am a Hyundai fan and am utterly disappointed after seeing that the new i20 has been launched with the 1.2 litre Kappa engine. Most of the auto magazines have mentioned that it's alright for city driving but feels underpowered for the highway.
The i20 is a pretty wide and heavy car. Referring to the specs, I observed that the i20 is wider than even the Verna (1710mm for i20 compared to 1695mm for Verna) !! And the car weighs 1086kg. This is even heavier than our Daewoo Cielo 1998 GLX model at home (done 30k kms) which weighs less than 1000 kg. I can say, even without test driving the i20, that the 1.2 litre engine is definitely underpowered for this car. It's great in the i10 but not the i20. People have mentioned that the i20 struggles on inclines with the A/C on and with 4 passengers on board.
Also, though we are happy that Hyundai India has brought class leading features in the i20 (many of them 1st for the segment) like 6 airbags, electrically folding rear view mirrors, multi information display in the centre of the dashboard etc, why have some important features been
LEFT OUT IN THE INDIAN i20 ?
For example: * Vanity mirrors in the sunshades in front * Height adjustable seat belts for the front
I have observed that the above features are available in the overseas versions of the i20 (UK to be specific). It's only logical that if a driver's seat height adjustment is provided, a height adjustment for the seat belt should also be provided. Otherwise the seat belt would not be comfortable if the driver's seat height is adjusted to the lowest or highest position. This is such a glaring omission !!
Maybe we don't really require heated seats or heated outside rearview mirrors, but at least the above omitted features should be provided. When such pain has been taken to offer 6 airbags and electrically foldable rearview mirrors, why omit the above smaller but useful features in an otherwise excellent car ?
Also, most people were expecting the 1.4 litre CRDI diesel engine option in the i20 as well. Hope Hyundai India launches this in 2009
WITHOUT STRIPPING OFF THE OTHER FEATURES like it was done in the GETZ CRDi. Please Hyundai !! Give Indians the fully loaded diesel version as well.
Just like you're introducing automatic transmission in the diesel versions of the Sonata Transform and the updated Verna, please also offer the automatic transmission as an option for the petrol and diesel versions of the i20. There are more people looking for a nice automatic transmission car now than there were a couple of years back.
Also, please do launch the 1.4 litre petrol engine (100 bhp) in the i20 as this is the minimum engine that the car should have !! The looks should match the power too !! I find that you have a wide range of engine options for the i20 overseas, comprising the 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6L petrol engines as well as 1.4 and 1.6L CRDi diesel engines. So why not offer a better engine in the i20 and make it a nice "hot hatch" as they call it ? This way, the car would have both "show" and "go".
Many people feel that the i20 is overpriced by at least INR 50,000.
I am an active member on the popular automotive forum, Team BHP. I highly recommend that your marketing department / finance department goes through this thread on the forum which is only talking about the i20. You would get to know the people's opinion on the i20 regarding quality, features, price, space, comfort etc.
Here is the link:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...4-80-lakh.html
I agree that no product would satisfy 100% of prospective customers, but the features that I have mentioned above are some glaring omissions. I am sure height adjustable seat belts and vanity mirrors would not even cost 30% as much as the cost of adding ABS or airbags !!
When the overseas versions of the i20 (which are essentially being made in Chennai) can have all these features, why not the customers in the domestic market ? Please Hyundai. This is from a Hyundai fan and I am appealing to the big bosses in Hyundai to take corrective measures.
The i20 would be a runaway hit if it is loaded with the missing features and a better engine for the current prices. With the current prices, if a diesel version with automatic transmission is added, the price would probably go to INR 7 lakh or even 7.5 lakh, which would make people think twice or thrice before buying the car as it would be too expensive for its size and what it offers.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE PRICING Of YOUR CARS HYUNDAI INDIA!!
The Indian market is quite a price sensitive one and now customers in India expect more features at reasonable prices. Most people on the Team BHP forum say that the Getz is overpriced too and it's the main reason for the car not doing too well in the Indian market.
A discussion on this can be found using this link:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...verpriced.html
With the current set of features, the Getz 1.3 GLX feels like a rip-off since the only nice thing it has is ABS. Even the alloy wheels can be purchased and fitted outside. The 1.3 GLX on the other hand does not even have ABS and is quite a rip-off too. No alloys, no ABS etc. No climate control in Getz either - but this I can accept somewhat since the car was launched in 2002 worldwide. However updating it with automatic climate control would not hurt, especially after seeing some other competing brands having this feature in their cars (and even in Hyundai's own i20 and Verna, Sonata etc).
Since we own the top of the line Santro XO Limited Edition model (which is no longer available) and being a Hyundai fan (your cars like the Genesis in the USA are marvellous to say the least), I have put so much of my time in writing to Hyundai India.
I certainly hope and pray that what I have mentioned in this email appeals to the concerned authorities in Hyundai India and the i20 and Getz are updated accordingly with features. I would be sure to buy one of these cars if any updates are done. I am sure many others would too. There are many people whom I know myself, who have decided against the Getz due to being overpriced and due to the lack of some features, compared to competitors' models. And these people whom I personally know have instead purchased competitors' models after waiting for the launch of the Getz Prime in 2007.
Also, why no airbags in the updated Verna ? The smaller i10 and i20 get airbags but not the Verna ? Please Hyundai. When the Verna/Accent overseas is offered with dual airbags as standard, why not for the Indian market ? Why is safety being compromised here ? I guess it's time to pull up your socks and revamp your product range Hyundai !! Go for it !!
Hope to hear from you soon with positive information regarding the new i20 / Getz / Verna.
Thanks and warm regards,
Venkat
P.S. - If you feel I can write to someone more important to get my views across, please do forward the email IDs to me and I shall gladly write to them. Being an avid Hyundai fan, I thought it would be my duty to get these thoughts across to Hyundai India with the hope that some kind of action would be taken. I am marking a copy of this email to my own office email ID as well as to 2 of my close friends (one who works with Ford India and had previously purchased a Santro XO model upon my recommendation and quite an automotive buff, and another colleague in my office who wants to buy a Getz / i20 in another couple of months and is generally very interested in cars). Thanks !!
----------
I shall update the thread if and when I receive a reply from Hyundai.
Warm regards,
Venkat