[Torque123]

Test drive for i20 CRDi in Bangalore is available at Trident Hyundai (Sankey Road). They have display cars as well. I did have a TD today (Asta variant). I am impressed. The car has a very good boost after 1750 RPM. I found it better than our NATIONAL engine. I am 5.9 in height and i found the back seat comfortable even when the driver seat was pushed to almost fully back. No knees touching the driver seat etc.

I personally liked the quality of the car (over all). Am impressed. You name any feature and you have it in the car. This car has the best interiors in its segment. No doubt about it. The only thing missing for me in that car is the driver side hand rest. They SHOULD have provided it at this price level. Boot is bigger than Swift for sure. Cannot compare it with Punto or Indica as i have not TD them.

i20 CRDi Asta should take care of all the needs. Thats the variant which i would anyday go for.

[extreme_torque]

@architect.... It isnt exactly spacious my friend.

@jayd... do you also have the prices of Zen which came at that time? If yes then compare those prices with Palio 1.6 S10 and tell me if it isnt 'extra amount' better.

I was eagerly waiting for the i20 Automatic. At 7.3 ex, it would translate to 8.75L on road. I'd rather get a used Civic AT with paddle shifts at the same price. Or spend 2L more and get the ANHC AT.

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by architect

OK... I am trying to simplify things here by assuming a typical situation.

• I am well-heeled executive who can afford a car worth Rs 8 lakhs, despite recession.
• I drive 60 km a day (quite normal in Delhi especially the people who work in Gurgaon and live in Delhi) and I want a fuel efficient diesel car.
• I want comfortable interiors which look fresh (and uncommon) and good as well as lots of interior space for wife, small toddler and parents / in-laws .
• I also want all the safety equipment for my highway drives on weekends to my in-laws' / relatives' places, and for the same reason I want a big boot and lots of storage cubby holes for Bisleri bottles.
• The car should fit in my cramped DDA / apartment / plotted housing parking space which is just enough for my neighbours' Palio / Swift / GP / Getz. The sedan owners are hated for occupying too much space anyway.
• Occasionally (esp on the highway and Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway) I remember my Pulsar / RX100 days and like to surprise that pesky Tavera cab.

The i20 CRDi ticks all the boxes. No other car (I think) does that so well. Not even the Jazz especially the 2nd and last point.

disclaimer: I can only imagine this situation; None of the points above except the last one are applicable in my case.

Ha ha ha
Can't control. Especially the last 2 points. I always break into laughter when someone says he prefers hatch because of lack of Parking space as if Sedan occupies double the width space.
The last point is the cutest

I was eagerly waiting for the i20 Automatic. At 7.3 ex, it would translate to 8.75L on road. I'd rather get a used Civic AT with paddle shifts at the same price. Or spend 2L more and get the ANHC AT.

[architect]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

Ha ha ha
Can't control. Especially the last 2 points. I always break into laughter when someone says he prefers hatch because of lack of Parking space as if Sedan occupies double the width space.
The last point is the cutest

If you are a sedan owner and a tenant while most of your neighbours (owners) have hatchbacks and you are younger than them, then you are not really loved by your neighbours! Trust me, that's how the city with most cars in India works!
Sedans are a problem if you parallel park or park at an angle on both sides of the road. Not all colonies have proper demarcated 90 degree parking slots. unless you have the Indigo CS!

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

@architect.... It isnt exactly spacious my friend.

What are you expecting? A Superb?

Originally Posted by ashwinpak

I was eagerly waiting for the i20 Automatic. At 7.3 ex, it would translate to 8.75L on road. I'd rather get a used Civic AT with paddle shifts at the same price. Or spend 2L more and get the ANHC AT.

I'm quoting this post for our dear member opendro (if you're still on this thready my friend).

Agreed, that you thought the comparision between i20 and ANHC was irrelevant. But in a way, it isn't. Because when the comparision was made, I think it was made keeping in mind the 1.4 A/T only and NOT the CRDi. Now think about it opendro. Look into the mind of someone who's out to buy an A/T. What choices does he have?

i10. i20. ANHC. Verna. That was the only basis of comparision according to my understanding. Most of the points you've made are relevant nonetheless. Then, the only criteria remains budget. ne may have about 7L in which one can comfortably get the i10 Asta A/T. However, stretching to an i20 A/T is also an option. Stretching even further to ANHC A/T is decided by his financial priorities / situation. Differs from person to person right?

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

Ha ha ha
Can't control. Especially the last 2 points. I always break into laughter when someone says he prefers hatch because of lack of Parking space as if Sedan occupies double the width space.
The last point is the cutest

Actually, the points architect has made are quite relevant. Parking space may / may not make a difference to you, but there are many who have such constraints with regards to parking, that they prefer to stick to hatches.

Personally, I know someone who bought a prev-gen Corolla over a Civic / Jetta and that too barely a fortnight before the launch of the Altis. Reason? The Civic / Jetta were difficult to park in his space. Every inch counts in this overcrowded mess we call home.

[amit]

I finally got the Mumbai prices.

Punto Emotion pack diesel : 6,31,700.

i20 Asta Diesel : 7,16,691.

Difference of Rs.84,991.

That's just the ex-showroom. Add RTO and Insurance that will be higher too and we can safely say that i20 will be about 1 lakh more then Punto at the minimum. Whichever way you look at it, that's a lot of money, whether you are buying a i20 or a City or an Accord or a BMW.

But is it justified? VFM is different for different people and we can argue all night about it and still not reach a decision. I feel Punto is more VFM.

- I save more then a lakh and get a better looking car with a young image to it against the family oriented feel of the i20.

- I spend about 40K on Pete's and get the Punto to 90bhp. The rest, Fiat's superior steering, suspension and handling will do. I am still saving roughly 65-70K after all that!

Sure you can pete the i20 to 115bhp and modify the suspension to give better handling and kick Punto's backside but that will mean more money (At least 75-80K?) making the i20 more costly - roughly 9 lakhs, right? Why not spend a bit more and buy a stock Verna instead? Another problem would be warranty. Pete's is plug in and plug out but what about the modified suspension? In that case, wait for 2 years for the warranty to get over before modifying. Who knows, Fiat may have the 1.6L 115bhp Punto by then and even with the extra money spent the i20 wouldn't be able to stand against the 1.6L Punto.

- What about features? Is the extra cash worth it? i20 gives you cooled glove box.

- Punto gives you wider tyres. Sure you can do that in the i20 too but more money again.

- Punto gives you Blue&Me.

- i20 gives better A.S.S. Reason enough for most people to stay away from Fiat and plonk 100K more on a 'safe' car.

- Ditto for resale but that's the perception. What if the Punto consistantly sells about 2K and the i20, due to it's higher price doesn't do as well?

- What about intangales? How does the Punto make you feel?

It's a tough call. Like I said, I would pick the Punto. It may or may not be a better car but for me, it is.

Of course, I have over 6 years of delightful ownership expereince with a Fiat which would also push me towards a Punto but then I am sure there are lots who have 6 years of delightful Hyundai ownership and would stick to their brand.

Anyway, I have rambled on a lot. Maybe I should head home instead of wasting my work place bandwidth.

See ya!

[gadiyar]

Originally Posted by architect

• The car should fit in my cramped DDA / apartment / plotted housing parking space which is just enough for my neighbours' Palio / Swift / GP / Getz. The sedan owners are hated for occupying too much space anyway.

The i20 CRDi ticks all the boxes. No other car (I think) does that so well. Not even the Jazz especially the 2nd and last point.

Why so? Isn't the i20 actually longer and wider than the Jazz by a bit?

[JayD]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

Ha ha ha
Can't control. Especially the last 2 points. I always break into laughter when someone says he prefers hatch because of lack of Parking space as if Sedan occupies double the width space.
The last point is the cutest

I fail to understand why you find it so funny. Parking space is no joke these days. I know of atleast 5 people on the forum who chose a hatch just because a saloon wouldn't fit into their parking. And they all bought the top end models. You see, price isn't always the primary concern for everyone. Actually i agree completely with the points that architect has made. Also, there is a category of people who already have a saloon, and want the same features in their city runabouts too. I fall into this category. Again, price is secondary, features, (especially safety), and performance matter the most. Again, this car ticks most boxes for me too.

[GTO]

The i20 CRDi ticks all the boxes. No other car (I think) does that so well. Not even the Jazz especially the 2nd and last point.

If it does, go ahead and pick it up. You are the only one who finally decides what suits your palette.

@ Others : Sorry, but too many recent launches + the server upgrade work kept me away from the i20 testdrive. Will try to arrange one soon.

[Dine]

Come on Guys, lets not take it personal and stop bashing Punto and i20. We already have mods warned us for it.
VFM - Differs from people to people based on the money he/she is willing to spend.
Punto & Vista comes with the same 1.3 MJD. Punto E+ MJD is a lakh more than Vista Aura with less space in the rear, then why are we calling Punto as VFM (that includes me) ???
What's important for us may not be mandatory for others (Airbags, ABS, Audio controls).

Everyone wants to their ride as a status symbol and on the driving preference. I have couple of friends who are against Vista/Indica because of taxi image.

Its your hard earned money and based on your heart and mind, make your call.

[oss]

Originally Posted by JayD

I fail to understand why you find it so funny. Parking space is no joke these days. I know of atleast 5 people on the forum who chose a hatch just because a saloon wouldn't fit into their parking. And they all bought the top end models. You see, price isn't always the primary concern for everyone.

Especially when one needs to squeeze in the two wheeler and bi-cycle etc, within the marked space, hatch suddenly starts making sense than a sedan.

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by babhishek

that's specific to Kolkata - the cars wont be here till August, in the showrooms...

Any idea why this delay for kolkata?

[vasudeva]

Trust me, but apart from higher emissions (more metal), a sedan (for me Corolla) has not made any negative difference in my commute time. It looks big but so far not even a single instance when I had to go away from my parking because my big sedan car would not fit. Neither have I encountered any situation when I felt that a Santro would have made it in a tight spot but not a Corolla. It is just an urban legend IMHO.

That being said, I would definitely consider a `premium' hatch (or even a budget hatch). Premium for me is not defined by the price (high price, low happiness=rip off), but its quality and features (high price, higher quality, highest service=VFM for me).