[anjan_c2007]

The Autocar Top Ten best sellers list in "City Cars" category in the U.K. is topped by the third generation Hyundai i 10. Lately, the compact Hyundais are being increasingly seen on the UK roadscape. The car buyer here favours the brand for the features that it packs at the price (i10 third generation base price UK pounds £10,030=00 to £14,495 in three trim levels: SE, SE Connect and Premium), that is seen as quite reasonable.

The quote is from this link which features the top ten city cars :-

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/b...best-city-cars

Hyundai’s diminutive i10 city car has gone from strength to strength to strength. The first- and second-generation versions helped to bring considerable UK success to the South Korean brand - a trend that this new one should only accelerate.

Interior quality and general desirability have increased significantly, as has practicality (this is now one of the most accommodating cars in its class) while its sharp new exterior lends it an additional dollop of style appeal. It rides absorbently if a little noisily and firmly on range-topping 16in wheels, but is surprisingly well-equipped (not least with active safety kit) and its 82bhp atmospheric four-cylinder engine (now something of a rarity in cars of this size) lends it decent drivability and useful real-world performance.

It might not have the star appeal of the VW Up GTI models behind it, but as a well-rounded, sensible, well-equipped city car it takes pride of place at the top of the class.

The i 10 is exclusively reviewed on this link below, wherein the reviewer amusingly says that car makers are unable to make money from small cars vis a vis the costs involved for thier development. He also says that it's predecessors have helped this car gain popularity in Europe. This is quite an achievement.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/hyundai/i10

Second on the Top Ten City Cars list is the Suzuki Ignis, a car that is not very sought after here in India, followed by the Kia Picanto at # 3. In the fourth position emerges an European car maker Volkswagen with its "Up". The top three brands are hence from the Far East.

In fifth position is the Skoda Citigo-e iV, an EV from Skoda costing around £ 17 K with a range of 170 miles per charge, read as 120 miles in mixed real world use. Sixth position incumbent is the Toyota Aygo, while the Seat Mii Electric, another EV, is at seventh place. Priced at £19,300, this car has a range of 160 miles per charge under ideal conditions as opposed to 170 miles for the Skoda Citigo-e iV. At eighth place is the Fiat Panda, ninth the Fiat 500 (two Fiats in succession) and at # 10 is the Dacia Sandero with its 89 bhp turbo charged engine, costing £ 10,000 with also a CNG option on offer, but the report says that this Dacia variant has dated interiors.

Hence, we have two EV's in the Top Ten City Cars list. Four from the list are Asian brands while six are European. There is no British marque here, as none survive in the small car segment.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Not very surprised.

Hyundai makes huge improvements in their products from generation to generation, and I absolutely love the previous generation i10 sedan (or Xcent) that we own for city use. Brilliant refinement, zippy city performance, shines on space and practicality (for it's size), light controls, smooth automatic gear shifts and all sort of electronic aids make it a breeze for city use.

The new generation Aura was even better to drive - with the 1.0 TGDi bringing some enjoyable performance to the table too.

That said - at least in the Indian context, these cars are best used in the city. Crash safety is suspect for the Indian version, and even the available safety features have a mind of their own - for example, my car is constantly having one or the other ABS sensor failing a couple of months after each service.

[SanjayDalal]

No wonder the i10 is on top of the charts in the UK!

As a Grand i10 (Auto 4 speed TC) owner for last 2.5 years, I can vouch for the fact it is an excellent city car, with very good build quality, easily matching & surpassing that of cars a segment or two above. Opening & closing a door and the hatch will attest to this. With steering mounted buttons for music & phone it also feels like a premium car. Switch on the headlights at night and you will appreciate the backlighting of all switches.
One feature which I like and should be implemented on all cars is that when you pull up the handbrake or if you switch on the fog lamps, the DRLs switch off. Another plus, is a large fuel tank. At 42 liters it is exactly the same as my BRV which is a larger vehicle. So driving at 50-80kmpl, gives you a range of 500km+ , which is excellent for a small car.

I enjoy driving this car more then my Honda BRV CVT, which feels like a lightweight & downmarket by comparison.

That said, taller drivers & rear passengers may find the seating a bit cramped.
Also shift up from 3rd to 4th which should ideally take place at a tad over 40kmph, can be a bit lazy. Many times I need to shift manually into 4th if I am forced to drive in the 40-45 range due to slow moving traffic. Fuel consumption is also poor is slow moving start stop traffic.

I have not taken it long distance since I own larger cars for highway duty.
Though it can easily swallow a couple of soft totes with weeks luggage for a couple.

My wishlist for this car :

1) Bigger tyres
2) more powerful engine option
3) a six speed TC
4) slightly longer with increased boot space

As in another recent topic of cars increasing in size, if Hyundai decide to make a bigger i10 with the points mentioned above, I will sign up for one in flash.