[Dr.Naren]

Hello Team,
I am writing down my first ownership review in Team-Bhp. I will try my best to provide all the details in brief for fellow enthusiasts and potential grand i10 customers. I have driven 57000 kms till date.



What I like:
1)Neat Design
2)Excellent interior quality,fit and finish
3)Driveability
4)Spacious cabin
5)Powerful stock headlamps
6)Aggressive brakes
7)Neutral ride & handling
8)Features like Power folding mirrors, Push button start, rear ac vents

What I wish to have:
1)Auto Ac
2)Adjustable front headrests
3)Height adjustable front seatbelts
4)MID(fuel consumption,distance to empty etc)
5)15 inch tyres with spare alloy

What I don't like:
1)Poor top end performance

Pre Delivery

Cars Considered: September 2013:We(me and dad) began our search for a diesel hatch with good features,VFM, Airbags and ABS. My running is around 20000 kms per year and good service backup was a must. I will just list down the reasons why other cars were ruled out.

Swift ZDI:
1.Too common on roads
2.Rear seat space and boot space was less compared to the competition
3.No rear AC vents, push button start,Power folding mirrors (Last 2 features were not available in 2013)

Ford Figo Titanium
1.Design looked little dated
2.Lack of features
3.Ford service experience is average

I did not consider VW, Renault, Nissan etc because I needed a good service back up. My drive is mostly in rural areas.

Etios liva was ruled out because of interiors. But I liked the mechanical aspects of the car and Toyota maintenance is cheap too.

Why Grand I10?
Hyundai cars were never considered because of soft suspension. We drive on bad roads and the thuds on potholes was something we couldn't live with.

Initial reviews of Grand i10 online suggested that car was developed in India and for Indian roads.Hyundai had not provided soft suspension. I was impressed with pricing, features, service backup etc. So we decided to drive the car and take a call on buying.
Suspension was way better than other Hyundai cars. Ride quality was good and handling was neutral. I did not like the engine performance and thought I can remap or add a tuning box after my warranty period.

Booking and Dealer Experience
We booked the car at Kanacha Hyundai, Mangalore. A White Grand i10 Asta (O) diesel was opted and waiting period was 4 weeks. Car was delivered within promised time and entire dealership experience was good. There was a formal delivery event and service manager was also introduced before driving the car out.

[Dr.Naren]

Post Delivery
I will write down in brief about every aspect of the car.

Exterior& Build Quality
I was never a fan of Hyundai Fluidic design. Hyundai toned down their Fluidic design for Grand i10 and it looks neat without too many curves and lines. I especially love the rear look. It's more of European design than Korean.Front look is decent and nothing great to write about. Doors get black coloured side moulding and it does improve the looks along with roof rails on top. Overall, it is a neat design.Paint quality is good. Panel gaps are tight and consistent.Alloys are 14 inch diamond cut and they look pretty good. I would have preferred 15 inches.

Car weighs 1090 kgs which is heavier than Swift diesel. Doors are neither too heavy nor light. It closes with a faint thud. Hyundai has integrated radiator, intercooler etc in a plastic framed structured behind the bumper. It is prone to damage by minor impact.

Front view-Looks Neat


Side Profile


Rear View


My Favourite Angle


Integrated Rear Spoiler


With all doors and hood open

[Dr.Naren]

INTERIOR
Hyundai is known for good interior quality, fit and finish. Grand i10 is no exception. Dashboard plastic quality is better than my Sx4.Dual tone interior with black and beige is a good combination. All 4 doors get bottle holders. But door trim is plain and devoid of any fabric inserts. Push button start in on right hand side of steering wheel unlike Elite i20,Ecosport. Steering has only tilt function. Wiper and headlight stalks are of good quality and looks durable. Trip reset button is integrated in steering wheel along with blue tooth phone control.There is no height adjustable seat belts for front passengers.

MID:There is no fuel consumption display and distance to empty. Hyundai offers only average speed, engine running time and 2 trip meters.

Music System:It is just average and audiophiles definitely need an upgrade. Since I do not use audio system much, I am happy with the stock setup.

AC:It cools down the cabin well and is pretty decent. Automatic AC is missing even in top model. AC knobs do look good.

Front seats doesn't hug you, but do offer good comfort levels. Height adjustable head rests are not provided. Fabric quality is good and has not shown any signs of abuse after driving 57000 kms.

Rear seats are well countered and comfortable. Rear knee room is adequate while shoulder room could have been better. People with height above 6 feet may find head room inadequate. Rear AC vents offer little air blow and nothing much to write about it. Rear headrests are adjustable unlike front.

Boot space is good enough for a hatch. It is way better than swift. It is easy to load things and boot light is present. Spare wheel is of same size but not an alloy.

Dual tone dashboard


Multifunction Steering Wheel


AC & Music System


Driver side door with bottle holder


OBD port & Fuse box-There's a master on/off switch in fuse box


Front seats


Rear seats


Not so effective rear AC vents


Boot space

[Dr.Naren]

Engine&Transmission

Grand I10 has 1.1 U2 CRDI engine mated to a slick 5 speed manual gearbox. Numbers are nothing great. It produces just 70 ps and 160nm.This engine is not a highway performer but offers very good driveability with nil turbo lag. It is very easy to drive inside city with minimal gear shifts. Engine struggles post 120 kmph on highways.What's impressive is NVH levels for a 3 cylinder engine. This one is quiet compared to 4 cylinder multijet engine in my Sx4.Gear shifts are butter smooth and lever is good to hold.

Ride&Handling
Hyundai has worked on suspension for Grand i10 considering Indian roads. It is neither too soft nor stiff. It is neutral. Typical Hyundai thud and bouncy feeling is gone for good in Grand i10. Large potholes do unsettle the car. Ride quality is good and high speed stability is impressive. This car is not a corner craver.Handling is pretty neutral and leagues ahead of other Hyundai cars.Brakes are very good and offer a strong bite. It takes little time getting used to oversensitive brakes.

Plastic cover under the engine/front bumper is prone to hits. I have seen it broken in couple of Grand i10's. Intercooler, radiator is mounted in a strong plastic frame.But it is prone to underbody hits and replacement costs 8k.

[Dr.Naren]

Few Additional Points
1.Anti theft alarm sound is not siren. Horns get activated during intrusion.
2.No speed sensing auto door lock. It cannot be enabled in service centre too
3.Head light switches off on it's own after switching off the engine.
4.Fuel injection system is by Delphi India
5.ABS is Chinese make and brand unknown
6.Lot of parts have Hyundai-Kia name on them
7.Turbo is FGT made by Honeywell, integrated to exhaust manifold

ABS Hyundai China


Service Details & Fuel economy
Car was routinely serviced at Kanchana Hyundai. Service bills never exceeded 4k.I had no issues with service centre and SA was very friendly.

Fuel economy
City:14-15 kmpl
City and highway average:17-18 kmpl
Highways:21-22 kmpl

Problems Faced

45000 kms
Hyundai offers 2 years or unlimited kms warranty. I had not opted for extended warranty. My warranty period was about to expire in a week.
ABS malfunction light popped up in MID while driving. I took the car to HASS and G scan showed a faulty left rear wheel ABS sensor. Part was not in stock and order was placed which costs around 5k.
Also,SA noticed slight oil leak from turbocharger. There was no power loss or any other problems. He promised me to replace it under warranty which costs around 16k
Both the parts were ordered and replaced under warranty.

[Dr.Naren]

Code 6 Remap Experience

November 2015:50k kms

My warranty got expired and I got the remap itch. I contacted various tuners like Petes, Tune O Tronics and Code 6. Price quote was lesser from Code 6 and they claimed to remap one grand i10 before. I was told it's simple OBD flash and would require 3 hours maximum. So I drove to their bangalore workshop for remap. Tuner gave me option of 2 maps to choose with, A map with 90 ps/200nm and an aggressive map with 100ps/220nm which has to be driven with few precautions. I asked him for the more powerful map. My stock map was read using OBD port and tuner made the necessary changes to stock map and flashed the same into my ECU.We decided to go for a drive to test the map and make changes if necessary.

I was very excited to feel the 100 horses. I start my car and we drive out of garage. I did not find any difference in first and second gear. I had shifted at around 3000 rpm. We decided to drive more for the ECU to adapt. I drove for around 40 kms in bangalore traffic, NICE road. I really couldn't feel any power gain and there was only black smoke.Tuner was also not happy with the tune and made few tweaks which didn't help. I was running out of time. So we decided to work it out on a later date.

Tuner had said grand i10 has VGT. Hyundai I20 in Europe with same engine has VGT. But I couldn't believe how VGT would cost only 16k.I decided to find out turbo type of Grand i10. I contacted my SA and he replied it's not VGT for sure. He said it is a small FGT integrated with exhaust manifold. I will post the picture of turbo for better understanding.

Culprit
I would say it is lack of adequate homework by tuner. He had claimed to have increased boost. But it is not possible to increase boost for FGT without ECU control by remap. Even if boost is increased during remap, it would have no effect since ECU has no control over FGT. So when he remapped the car, other parameters were changed thinking increased boost would help. But since it was not making any additional boost, it lead to AFR mismatch and black smoke. I contacted the tuner regarding the same telling my car has FGT and if it's possible to remap. I did not get any reply from him.

There is no electronic solenoid here. Blue pipe is the pressure pipe which delivers pressure from wastegate actuator to compressor. It operates at fixed tension at which spring is set unlike VGT which is electronically controlled


P.S I had posted this experience in various forums and one such forum was pro code 6 or literally controlled by them. I was insulted and tuner himself started lying in public just to defend his stupidity.

There are happy code 6 customers too. I am not asking anyone not to trust code 6 or whatever. I am just sharing my experience.

NO OFFENCE!!

[Dr.Naren]

Diesel Tronic Single Channel Tuning Box

February 2016:56k kms
I wanted to give a try on tuning box. I contacted Race Dynamics and also told them about code 6 experience. RD guy said grand i10 has FGT and they have a single channel box for it. They asked me to try the box for few days and take a call on buying.
Box was sent to mangalore dealer within 2 days and same was installed which took hardly 5 minutes. We went for a drive to check the box in all 3 modes and compare it with stock. I was impressed with power delivery and was finally happy to see my car making more power post code 6 experience. I decided to drive for few more days and finalise. I drove for around 1000 kms in a span of 10 days and ultimately ended up buying it.

Details on packaging of tuning box



Installation


Box harness connected to fuel rail pressure sensor


P1 Mode : Mid range power delivery is really good. Car picks up speed easily. I did not find much difference below the turbo zone and top end. Mileage figures are same as stock, though they claim increase in mileage. Anyways it depends on your driving pattern.

P2 Mode:Car pulls very well in turbo zone and now I can eat stock 1.3 multijets for breakfast. I find little difference in top end too. Below turbo zone it is same as stock. Mileage figure was dropped by 1 kmpl

E Mode: I have not driven much in this mode or checked mileage. Power is reduced and it is good for city traffic. Car is still driveable. It serves it's purpose right. Planning to do a mileage test soon.

30-80 kmph in 3rd gear
It was timed using stop watch
Stock 12.6 sec
P1 mode 10.4 sec
P2 mode 10.2 sec

P.S. I still feel remap is a better option compared to tuning box. Power delivery is not across the entire revv band in tuning box. I have a Wolf remapped Sx4 diesel which is running really great. Grand i10 is a hardly remapped car and I have decided to stick with tuning box for now.

Thanks for reading guys. I would be happy to answer any queries regarding the Car, Remap experience, Diesel tronic box. I would be updating this thread regularly as I clock more miles.
Cheers!!

[S2!!!]

Lovely and well-detailed ownership review. It's quite surprising to see a Grand i10 with a tuning box

I too own one (petrol) and love its peppy nature in the city. I've driven a diesel Grand i10 too and that definitely felt a little more sluggish compared to the petrol and while both feel slow beyond 110-120 km/h, the diesel seemed more out of breath than the petrol.

P2 Mode:Car pulls very well in turbo zone and now I can eat stock 1.3 multijets for breakfast.

Are you serious? The bump in performance has to be really significant. I can only imagine how the tuning box would have transformed the car's character.

Any plans on upgrading the handling of the car? Springs / dampers or even wider tyres? Since I'm not too sure whether I'd be keeping my Grand i10 for too long or not, I have decided to not spend any money on its performance as of now + it's still under warranty (extended).

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Lovely and well-detailed ownership review. It's quite surprising to see a Grand i10 with a tuning box

I too own one (petrol) and love its peppy nature in the city. I've driven a diesel Grand i10 too and that definitely felt a little more sluggish compared to the petrol and while both feel slow beyond 110-120 km/h, the diesel seemed more out of breath than the petrol.



Are you serious? The bump in performance has to be really significant. I can only imagine how the tuning box would have transformed the car's character.

Any plans on upgrading the handling of the car? Springs / dampers or even wider tyres? Since I'm not too sure whether I'd be keeping my Grand i10 for too long or not, I have decided to not spend any money on its performance as of now + it's still under warranty (extended).

Thanks buddy!!
My cousin owns petrol grand and it is definitely peppier than diesel. Diesel offers good driveability and slightly better handling due to stiffer springs at front.
Car feels really fast compared to stock in P2 mode. I could catch up with swift/ritz very easily now. I do not find much difference in top end. I am planning to tweak the box and get a dyno run from RD soon. I want to change the tyres to 185 width atleast and keep the rim size stock. No plans to play with suspension for now.

[fazonater1911]

Hi Dr. Naren

Lovely review!! I myself own a Gi10 diesel since almost three years now. I would like to know how much this dieseltronics tuning box costs?

Thanks in advance!

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by fazonater1911

Hi Dr. Naren

Lovely review!! I myself own a Gi10 diesel since almost three years now. I would like to know how much this dieseltronics tuning box costs?

Thanks in advance!

It costs 20k for Grand i10. It is a long term investment. RD guys will tweak the box for free, incase you buy a new car. Harness might require a change which costs 2.5 K(if it's different).Box comes with 2 years warranty.
Cheers

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Are you serious? The bump in performance has to be really significant. I can only imagine how the tuning box would have transformed the car's character.

Shouldn't be too hard if he's referring to 74 BHP MJD engines. They have 74 bhp and 190 Nm of Torque with some turbo lag. His grand i10 has 71 BHP and 160 Nm in stock. With the RD box(if a 20% bump in average power is possible), it'll be much more powerful.

Also note, the cars with the 90 BHP MJD has too much turbo lag, the cars it powers are heavy.

So, the bump is performance should be easy to experience.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Shouldn't be too hard if he's referring to 74 BHP MJD engines. They have 74 bhp and 190 Nm of Torque with some turbo lag. His grand i10 has 71 BHP and 160 Nm in stock. With the RD box(if a 20% bump in average power is possible), it'll be much more powerful.

Also note, the cars with the 90 BHP MJD has too much turbo lag, the cars it powers are heavy.

So, the bump is performance should be easy to experience.

I should have been more specific. I mentioned about 1.3 multijet in swift/ritz. I can easily overtake them now in P2 mode. Grand i10 with tuning box feels like my stock SX4 diesel or little better than that. It is nowhere close to my Wolf remapped SX4 which is in different league. Also I do not see much improvement in top end, so 1.3 multijets can still be ahead

[crdi]

Congrats. How is the exhaust with the box on? Was your remap reverted? If so, who did it and how long did you drive with the remap?

[VRPAI]

Congrats on the box, Doc. Just had a couple of queries
1.Does this have an impact on the warranty claims?
2.Does it wear out the components much faster than a stock car.
I am asking these queries since you have already had a remapped SX4 and hence you would have a better idea if the same. We have just bought our first diesel car and hence have no idea on what all effects the remap or a tuning box would have.

Thanks in advance