[padmrajravi]

The Xcent came home on 11th December 2014 and it has now been with my family for almost 7 years and 35000 km.



Likes

• One of the few graceful integrations of boot in a compact sedan.
• Proper torque converter gearbox.
• The ownership experience has been hassle-free. Other than two ABS sensor replacements in the first year, no unscheduled service center visits till now.
• Decent ride quality
• Light steering and controls. The car is very beginner-friendly.
• Perfectly sized city car

Dislikes

• Poor fuel economy compared to segment rivals.
• No speed-sensitive locking doors.
• Inconsistent brake bite during the first five minutes of a cold start.
• Narrow second row. The middle passenger is a squeeze.

Buying process

The car was bought in Dec 2014 without a test drive after evaluating the segment rivals only based on the website specifications and online reviews. After selling my grandmother's Mark 1 ambassador somewhere in the 1990s, we did not have a car for a long time. So this was the first new car at our home after a gap of more than 50 years. The reason behind it was my Dad's reluctance to drive cars after he got into a mishap somewhere in his early 20s. His reasoning was that there was a big probability of the driver having to spend the rest of his life in mental agony in spite of all precautions that can be taken. I never agreed with him then and now after a decade of driving experience, I see his point. Once I and my sister grew up, we started pestering him for a car and he finally gave in, on the condition that he will never take the driver seat and it has to be three of us who will do the driving duty.

And thus began the search for a reliable car under 10 lakhs. The requirements were as below.

• Has to be a sedan. Dad said sedans were safer than hatchbacks since there was a big chance that we will get hit from behind.
• Has to be automatic. Again my Dad's choice. I wanted a manual, but he was adamant automatic was the future.
• Has to be petrol.
• Should have two airbags and ABS.

Back in 2014, this meant our shortlist had four cars - Tata Zest, Suzuki Swift Dzire, Hyundai Xcent, Honda Amaze. I remember Dad, me, and my sister watching the below video umpteen number of times before making the decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLEdIWQz-_Q

We reached the same conclusion that Renuka did and decided that Xcent SX(O) AT was going to be it. The decision-making process can be summarized as below. Zest was ruled out immediately for being an AMT. Dzire was ruled out for the odd boot shape. The final competition was between Amaze and Xcent. I remember calling the sales associates from both Hyundai and Honda. The Amaze was slightly expensive with the total on-road price slightly above 9 lakhs and the Xcent SX(O) AT was 8.75 lakhs on road. Xcent came with a host of features like Bluetooth, Steering mounted controls, etc and that titled the scale in favor of Xcent.

The car arrived at the dealer's yard on Dec 8th and this was my first look at it.



The Hyundai SA was kind enough to deliver it to our home as none of us had driven an automatic car till then. Even though all three of us were license holders, we had very little experience behind the wheels. My mom was a good driver in the ambassador days and but hadn't driven for a decade. So the Xcent had the L sticker right from day one. In fact, the Xcent had the L sticker most of its life till a year back since one of us was always learning.



Driving Experience

The 1.2-liter petrol is capable of 82 PS of power at 6000 RPM. Since all of us were newbie drivers then, we never felt the lack of power. The engine is very refined and even now at traffic signals, I sometimes wonder whether it is actually on. The 4 speed AT box is well-tuned for city driving but tapers out after 80 KMPH. After the initial period, I pushed it regularly at expressway speeds. While it is very silent and refined at those speeds, getting to those speeds takes a long time. To its credit, it does all this silently and without making much fuss. There have been numerous occasions where I got lost in thoughts while maintaining 80 KMPH and it was at illegal speeds when I came back to my senses. Even at high speeds, the wind noise is well controlled and the cabin is very silent.

The most annoying thing about the gearbox is that, as soon as you lift off the accelerator, it goes into a neutral kind of mode and starts coasting. In Kerela's winding roads where you have to quickly make up ground when you notice an opening, this behavior costs valuable seconds. My Hexa AT never used to do this and was always ready to go at the slightest dab of the accelerator. Interestingly, my Fortuner AT box behaves the same way as the Xcent. I guess it is just the way the gearbox is programmed.

In kick-down mode, even though the AT shifts a cog down, it takes a bit of time to gather speed. Because of the coasting tendency, there is absolutely no engine braking, and the only way to get some engine braking is using the manual mode. But the manual mode is slow and on most occasions, you will have to brake anyway while waiting for the gearbox to execute the downshift command. To be fair, I started noticing all these quirks only after I got my Hexa AT. Till then Xcent's AT appeared fine to me and the ease of driving in this car was what inspired me to let go of the manual gearbox when it was time to replace my Cruze.

One of the quirks with Xcent is the nonlinear brake behavior in the first few kms of the drive. The brakes are extremely sharp after a cold start and the slightest touch in the first few km brings to a complete stop. Till my sister and mother started driving Xcent, this was always blamed as my fault. Now after 7 years and with both of them driving the Xcent, everyone has gotten used to this quirk.

The Xcent has a very mature suspension that strikes a good balance between low-speed rides and the sane high speeds it is capable of. The ground clearance is high compared to sedans and is almost in cross-over territory. I am yet to have an instance where the Xcent bottomed out in Kerala roads. The Xcent's feather in the cap moment was when my wife preferred it over our Hexa for her first-trimester hospital visits saying she preferred Xcent's predictable jolts over some kind of floating effect that Hexa had. I do get her point though. While the Hexa does a good job of extremely bad roads, Xcent strikes a good balance and behaves in a predictable manner.

The car's mileage is nothing to write about and I think the torque converter gearbox is the main culprit behind it. I have had situations where the Xcent returned 8 KMPL. I have also had cases where it got up till 19 in expressway drives. Since there is no mileage display in the console, you have to rely on the back of hand calculations to get an idea about the mileage. In my calculation, it averages around 12-13 KMPL in my office drives that include 50% city traffic.

At 7 years, close to 36k kms, this is how it looks.



The scratch in the fender was a gift from the notorious Kerala RTC.

The right side is more or less scratch-free. But that is also partly due to the com-paint spray.



The front view. The design is pleasing unlike Aura, which Hyundai experimented with.



Even now, I prefer Xcent's boot integration compared to Dzires and Aspires.



The rear seats. It is very narrow and with a child seat, only three including the driver can be accommodated.



Rear legroom. It is nothing to write about, but none of us are very tall. So even with it adjusted to our comfortable driving position, it has enough space in the rear.



The dashboard was well specced by 2014 standards. But in the current touch screen age, it does look outdated.



The instrument cluster misses the all-important mileage display. It displays some info like the average speed that is not relevant to anyone.



Niggles and Service Experience

I consider this car to be a reliable one. Perhaps that could be due to the fact I did not exactly have a niggle free experience with my Hexa and Cruze. Compared to them, the Xcent feels very reliable. In the initial days of ownership, I faced the steering over-assist issue twice. This is a common problem with Grand i10s and Xcent's of similar vintage and is well documented in the forum. The symptom is loose steering that has lost all its weight. The steering will still work, but it will be extra light and when you face it for the first time, it is a scary experience. It goes away on its own after a restart. I faced this problem twice, but I don't remember it happening after the second instance which was somewhere at the end of the first year. The recommended solution is an EPS controller replacement, but I never got to that stage and it never came back in the last 6.5 years.

Very few Hyundai ownerships are complete without ABS sensor replacements. The first ABS sensor warning light came in towards the end of the first year. Hyundai replaced it under warranty. The light came up once more immediately after the warranty period and I paid 3000 Rs to replace the ABS sensor during one of the yearly services. Fortunately, this sensor is usually in stock at the service center.

Somewhere in the fifth year, the exhaust sound became different and on the investigation during the yearly regular service, it was found that the silencer has rusted. This can be blamed on my frequent drives to the drive-in beach and not washing the underbody immediately after. Silencer was replaced during that service for about 7k.

The car was always serviced at KVR Hyundai Calicut. The service experience has been very good till now thanks to the very knowledgable Mr. Akhil. I think Xaos636's Venue ownership thread also mentions his name. He is great to deal with and thanks to him, I have been spared of visiting the service center after the very first service. He stays nearby my home and picks it up once a year, does everything needed, and drops it home. The battery was changed at the 5-year mark proactively. The tires are still original. There haven't been any punctures till now. The compound has become hard and I plan to change it during this year's service.

The service cost in the first few years was 3k-4k per year. As of now, it has reached 6-7k per year. This is just because of the increase in labor and oil costs and not because of any part changes. The Xcent has not had any part replacements other than ABS sensors and the silencer till now.

Xcent's moments

For the first few years of its life, the car was used very little. I was mostly away from home for my postgraduation and straight after postgraduation, I took up a job that required me to spend most of the time out of the country. So the Xcent was mostly used only for grocery runs and family functions. Whenever I was home, I used to take it for long drives, and even with that, the running was only about 4000 km for the first two years. In the second year, Xcent met with a minor accident when my mom reversed it into the garage wall while parking. This was how it looked.



It took 45K for it to be back on road.

The car met with an accident one more time when a Leyland Dost rear-ended it at a zebra crossing. This time the damage was 14k.

Since it was our first new car after a while, the Xcent was pampered well in the early part of its ownership. I have fond memories of the four of us spending the whole evening washing it whenever I came home for vacation. Two years after the Xcent came home, Dad left us suddenly and our little happy world came crashing down. When Calicut's first IT park became operational in 2017, I moved back home at the first opportunity. I started using the Xcent once or twice a week for my office drives. On one such day where I had taken the Xcent to the office, I came back to the multi-level parking lot to see this.



A snake royally resting on top of my car. I got some people to help and tried to get it away, but in all the chaos it went into the wheel well and disappeared. With no way to find it, we drove the car with the snake inside it to the ground floor and started searching, Eventually, a snake catcher from the forest department had to be called and he jacked up the car to find it hiding inside the suspension.



Some pictures from the Muzhapillangad drive-in beach.






At the 5 year mark in December 2019, Xcent was at 16k kms. In March 2020, Covid struck and when most other cars in the world were getting ready for long hibernation, Xcent got the shock of its life in being called up for duty. My sister who works with a PSU insurance company was classified as essential services personnel and was denied work from home after the first two months. With buses and trains not operating, she was forced to learn driving. I give a lot of credit to Xcent's beginner-friendly controls for the ease with which she picked up driving. After a month of practice, she finally gathered enough courage to venture out alone for the 32km drive to the office with my Hexa as escort for the first day.



Ever since, the Xcent is her daily drive to the office and has been doing the 65 km round trip every weekday. In the last one and half years, it has run more than what it did in the first 5 years of its life.

Future plans

All of us have an emotional attachment with this car and hence we want to keep this till the time government allows. For now, it is a great daily driver and my sister plans to take it to her office for the foreseeable future. The fuel consumption does bother her at times and she gets tempted by the advertisements for Tigor and Nexon EV. But it does not make sense to buy a new one just because of that. In any case, selling this car is not an option, so the new one will have to be the third car at home and we are not keen on it. Looking at what is happening with NGT, I hope they don't force us to scrap this after the 15-year mark.

I expect two major expenses in the near future. First is the infamous crank pulley bolt shearing off. I have been spared of this till now but this is a well-documented problem in the Hyundai quality issues thread. It happens to cars in the 25k to 35k km odometer range.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4817864 (Hyundai India - The occasional serious quality lapse and apathetic manufacturer response!)

My trusted SA, Akhil says this issue is only with a specific batch and our Xcent will not have this problem. Since he himself owns a Grand i10, I am inclined to believe him. Fortunately, all incidents of this bolt till now have been while starting the car. I am yet to see a case where it broke in the middle of a run. I just hope, if, at all it breaks, it happens when my sister starts the car from home or office so that she does not get stranded on road.

The second expense that I foresee is an AC overhaul. Since the last year, the AC does not seem powerful and I suspect something is going wrong in the system.

Hopefully, it is nothing major and Xcent keeps running reliably for much more years to come.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[motorlover]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

The Xcent came home on 11th December 2014 and it has now been with my family for almost 7 years and 35000 km.

I feel the same about my 7 year old xcent too. Although I booked a second car i will keep my xcent as long as I can. Its been a lovely companion all these years. Am almost touching 1 lakh kms. AC was always an issue but i took to a local guy and they seemed to have done a good job. FE is an issue but thats fine. Suspension is not that great as compared to how it used to be so that’s something I need to look at too.

[SinghShu]

Lovely write up, I too have a similar aged Xcent petrol manual version with ~30k on the odo.
I completely agree that this is a beginner friendly car, super reliable and easy to drive.

I, too, am planning for an upgrade (looking at Compass or upgraded Tucson) but don’t have heart to let this one go. Guess it will stay for long.

[SulemanP]

A comprehensive ownership report in the post, thank you. The steering issue is indeed a scary point and one would not like to experience it while driving...but it will surely help those who plan to buy pre-worshipped Grand i10s/Xcent in future.

[Secretariat]

Lovely. Our (very) small Xcent owners group is alive and well. Interestingly all of us wish to keep the car for a long time - wonder how many cars can boast of such loyalty.

Yes, to everything you have written. My experience has been virtually the same except that I have been spared a snake sitting on my roof

Interestingly you have only made a passing reference to the AC problem. Its been my main grouse against the car. AC overhaul is of no use - I was also recommended it and I don't think it will help at all. We just have to grin and bear a substandard AC.

The shearing of the crank pulley bolt I don't think is a widespread problem. I haven't even thought about it in the 1.4 L kms that I have driven my car. You should rest easy - your sister is not going to be stranded because of this.

You may want to give some thought to changing all the rubber belts and hoses as a preventive maintenance. At this age of the car, its better to change and its not that expensive.

Wishing you many more years of happy driving this car.

[xcentrk]

Excellent write up. Bought my Xcent at June 2014 and it has been trouble free mostly except the A/C condenser bust issue twice. It ran for 75k+ kms and still as good as new except the external blemishes. But I can see you have maintained your ride very well.

Even I had same thought when the thought of replacing this one came to my mind. Why replace when it is running just fine? I am going to keep it for as long as I can.

Originally Posted by Secretariat

....

Interestingly you have only made a passing reference to the AC problem. Its been my main grouse against the car. AC overhaul is of no use - I was also recommended it and I don't think it will help at all. We just have to grin and bear a substandard AC.

.....

Wondered the same. Although after my last such incident around 2018, they have replaced the AC condenser and I haven't had such issues. Yes, it is not a chiller like Ford AC units, but it cools the cabin alright and at times we felt its cold enough to crack it down a notch. I'd suggest you change it and see.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Very straight forward and unbiased review of the Xcent. Wishing many more thousand miles of ownership and stress free drives for your sister.

Mine is an SX(o) AT as well and running fine, even with the issues (that you have also pointed out). ABS sensor has failed multiple times and the crankshaft pulley issue has also been a major expense - but the car is still wonderful and will not be replaced for many more years to come.

Used primarily by parents - the light controls are very highly appreciated and the car feels effortless to drive. The engine and transmission combination also feels extremely torquey for city use. Space is another ace up its sleeve, even boot space and refinement (like you mentioned) is brilliant - its almost electric silent at idle and I personally find it better than the 1.2 iVTec too.

Cons - Wish a/c and fuel efficiency figures were much better though! A/c just refuses to cool the cabin on hot summer days and the FE average is just 8.86kmpl (100% city. Tankful method - last 5 entries) in a small city like Trivandrum.

[revmaxx]

My Xcent Petrol SX(o) completed 7 years as well. Still working like new. Had A/c evaporator problem once. No other major niggles so far. Engine refinement is beyond comparison. Superb brakes. Well equiped in 2014 with reverse cam, auto dimming irvm, cd player, usb, bluetooth, 1Gb hard drive, steering mounted controls etc for 7 lakh odd. Big boot is a bonus too. Overall happy with it.

[vigsom]

A very well penned review, padmarajravi, that has loads of emotions attached.

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

- 7 years and 35000 km.
- One of the few graceful integrations of boot in a compact sedan.
- Perfectly sized city car

Thats reasonable usage over seven years and just doesn't warrant you looking at another car. I agree on the boot integration bit vs the Dzire. However, if I were you, I'd have gone with the Amaze purely for the overall package.

- big probability of the driver having to spend the rest of his life in mental agony in spite of all precautions that can be taken
- Dad said sedans were safer than hatchbacks since there was a big chance that we will get hit from behind.
- Has to be automatic. Again my Dad's choice. I wanted a manual, but he was adamant automatic was the future.

Dad was right on the agony part- although he had a reason to make that statement, in reality we all go though some agony due to driving pressures, irate fellow road users, and unforced incidents.

His logic around sedans is quite right - I shudder to imagine what would happen if a CNG laden hatch gets whacked from behind - where is the crumple zone here?

I've owned two automatics and have to say that I prefer a manual anyday unless one is driving in B2B traffic OR one has a bad left knee.

In Kerala's winding roads where you have to quickly make up ground when you notice an opening, this behavior costs valuable seconds. Because of the coasting tendency, there is absolutely no engine braking, and the only way to get some engine braking is using the manual mode. But the manual mode is slow and on most occasions, you will have to brake anyway while waiting for the gearbox to execute the downshift command.

All ATs behave differently and I've seen slow responding ATs in the old gen Ford Endeavour. Specifically on Kerala roads, this response lag can be quite irritating. Engine braking is an issue in ATs and I've so far managed to shift down to 3 or 2 to give just that needed breaking to ease the pressure off the brake pads and discs.

A snake royally resting on top of my car

I think reptiles have an affinity towards dark blue and black cars. Even I've experienced this when I had a blue Corolla.

when most other cars in the world were getting ready for long hibernation, Xcent got the shock of its life in being called up for duty

The Xcent should actually be happy for doing duty when all other cars were stuck in one place. I remember that during the first lockdown, I used to take my car for a spin around the colony twice a week and would cover close to 5km in all by doing multiple go-arounds. Everytime, I'd measure the battery voltage too. Fortunately, never encountered a PCR van else I might have been in trouble.

[5252rpm]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

Somewhere in the fifth year, the exhaust sound became different and on the investigation during the yearly regular service, it was found that the silencer has rusted. This can be blamed on my frequent drives to the drive-in beach and not washing the underbody immediately after. Silencer was replaced during that service for about 7k.

Is this a normal phenomenon with almost all Hyundai less than Xcent? Have noted many Santros, i10s, Grand i10s, Eons with leaking silencer making loud thumps. Incidentally, my friend's 2013 Grand i10 also suffered the same rusting issue despite being pampered and had to be replaced after multiple welding exercises. Did not happen to see much of the i20s, Elite i20s & Vernas with buzzing exhaust.

Btw, Xcent looks sexy in black! Wish you more and more miles ahead.

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by motorlover

I feel the same about my 7 year old xcent too.

Originally Posted by SinghShu

I, too, am planning for an upgrade (looking at Compass or upgraded Tucson) but don’t have heart to let this one go. Guess it will stay for long.

Originally Posted by Secretariat

Lovely. Our (very) small Xcent owners group is alive and well. Interestingly all of us wish to keep the car for a long time - wonder how many cars can boast of such loyalty.

Well, If all of us owners want to keep this for as long as possible, that means Hyundai did something special with this car. Xcent is kind of a jack of all trades, but master of none. I guess for a good family car, that all it needs.

Originally Posted by Secretariat

Interestingly you have only made a passing reference to the AC problem. Its been my main grouse against the car. AC overhaul is of no use - I was also recommended it and I don't think it will help at all. We just have to grin and bear a substandard AC.

Originally Posted by xcentrk

Wondered the same. Although after my last such incident around 2018, they have replaced the AC condenser and I haven't had such issues. Yes, it is not a chiller like Ford AC units, but it cools the cabin alright and at times we felt its cold enough to crack it down a notch. I'd suggest you change it and see.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Cons - Wish a/c and fuel efficiency figures were much better though! A/c just refuses to cool the cabin on hot summer days and the FE average is just 8.86kmpl (100% city. Tankful method - last 5 entries) in a small city like Trivandrum.

Surprisingly, I haven't faced much of a problem with the AC till now. In fact, I usually keep it at 25 degrees and do not bother about it at all. It was only in the last year or so, that I felt AC is not powerful enough. I do agree that It is not a chiller, but was not inadequate either.

Originally Posted by Secretariat

You may want to give some thought to changing all the rubber belts and hoses as a preventive maintenance. At this age of the car, its better to change and its not that expensive.

Thank you for the bit about changing the rubber belts and hoses. It is time to have a look at them from a preventive maintenance point of view. I will take care of it in this service.

Originally Posted by vigsom

However, if I were you, I'd have gone with the Amaze purely for the overall package.

Even I had the same thoughts in the first few years every time I saw my colleague's Amaze. But after 7 years, watching how Honda has changed over the years, I think we got lucky. Of late, I have started having serious doubts about Honda's long-term plan and have stopped recommending a Honda to anyone. The service experience in our locality has also deteriorated much. Hyundai on the other hand has grown leaps in the Malabar region. We now have 4 service centers in our 30 km vicinity compared to just one in 2014.

Originally Posted by vigsom

I think reptiles have an affinity towards dark blue and black cars. Even I've experienced this when I had a blue Corolla.

Oops, both my cars are black and I have a lot of reptiles in and around my place because of the geography. Guess I should prepare myself for more such encounters.

Originally Posted by 5252rpm

Is this a normal phenomenon with almost all Hyundai less than Xcent? Have noted many Santros, i10s, Grand i10s, Eons with leaking silencer making loud thumps. Incidentally, my friend's 2013 Grand i10 also suffered the same rusting issue despite being pampered and had to be replaced after multiple welding exercises. Did not happen to see much of the i20s, Elite i20s & Verna's with buzzing exhaust.

I have also noticed this as a frequent issue. It can be found in numerous Hyundai threads in the forum too. In my case, because of my frequent trips to drive-in beaches, I give the benefit of doubt to Hyundai.

[padmrajravi]

Xcent crossed 40k this month. I had changed the tires in March 2022. They were 7 years old and had become hard. I have had only good experiences with Bridgestone till now with my previous cars as well as the Xcent and Fortuner. So decided to change it with the same brand of tires that came as OE. The total cost was 26k.



This car has not given me much trouble other than the ABS sensor replacements in the initial days. Had serviced the car in December and the cost was 7k.

Even the AC, that is a known issue in similar vintage Xcent has not troubled us much. May be because none in our family is very particular about cold air and we never noticed its inherent weakness. The climate control dial was always kept at 25 degrees C and never messed with. By the end of every year, we do feel the performance going down, but it is usually back to normal once the vents get cleared during the regular service. KVR Hyundai Calicut has been doing a good job of it so far.

[padmrajravi]

Xcent completed 8 years with us last week. Did the yearly service two weeks back. There is nothing to report. The cost was Rs 6400. The ODO has now crossed 48K km. 50K kms will happen somewhere in Jan. The second battery is 3 years old now. I will change it next week. It is not showing any signs of weakness. But I am always doubtful of batteries and change them every three years even if nothing is wrong. Adding some pictures during the monthly wash after some com-paint treatment for the battle scars.

[trail_lover]

I had a 2014 Xcent Petrol Manual Transmission S(O) until September 2022, when I sold the vehicle. I had used it for 7.5 years and drove about 74,000 km on it. Usage was 80% on the highway and 20% in the city.

I'm giving below the problems I faced with the car first:

1. Its average fuel efficiency was 14 to 17 kmpl throughout its lifetime. In 100% city
usage it used to give 11 to 13 kmpl.

2. It was very difficult to achieve the claimed 19.2 kmpl.

3. 3rd gear acceleration in manual transmission was flat. That is, the vehicle doesn't
gain speed as much as the high RPMs. It is difficult to over take. You find yourself
shifting to 4th gear in the middle of your overtaking maneuver.

4. Clutch assembly had to be replaced and overhauled at 60,000 km. The clutch tends
to slip easily giving burning smell if you try maneuvers like reverse parking on an
incline etc.

5. A/c evaporator coil which is found inside the cabin failed at the end of the 3rd year of
the car and had to be replaced. The entire car dash board and instrument panel was
removed for this.

6. A wheel speed sensor failed and it was giving ABS malfunction indicator lamp during
the 3rd year. The entire wheel assembly hub which houses the wheel speed sensor
was replaced under warranty.

7. Very poor torque and drivability in hill stations. Had to change gears too often in
uphill drive, and when descending a hill, the 3rd gear will take you too fast and force
you to apply the brakes often, and 2nd gear will take the engine to very high RPMs.
The car is just designed for city driving conditions only and never for a hill station.

8. I had strong petrol smell coming from the near the fuel lid around 65,000 km with
stronger smell when the tank is below one fourth level. Puffs of petrol smell when the
vehicle goes on speed breakers when their is a slosh inside the tank. I had the
charcoal canister which sits above the fuel tank replaced after which the smell was
under control but still had petrol smell around the fuel lid.

9. Engine is not as smooth and refined as Suzuki engines. On very cold days, and after
heavy rains I used to have engine misfires sometimes (but rarely).

10. Steering started tightening a bit after 70,000 km. But came back to normal after a
water wash and lubrication of bushes.

Now for the CONS of the vehicle:

1. Highest F.E I achieved was around 21 kmpl on a 100% highway drive with single
passenger, very less luggage and A/C turned off for most of the time.

2. Very smooth gear shifts and ergonomic gear knob.

3. Seat height adjuster was given in the mid-variant. Good driving posture and
visibility.

4. Good leg-room in the back-seat and large 407 liter boot space.

5. Very quiet cabin, excellent NVH performance. No squeaks and rattles. Tight as a
drum always. No engine noise, vibrations inside cabin. No shaking or vibrating gear
shift knob. No wind noise at higher speeds.

6. Suspension is on the softer side, good for a plush ride, but does not help in bad
roads. Could have been slightly stiffer.

7. Very good braking. Better than Maruti Suzuki cars. ABS kicks in and saves you a lot.

Overall, a very likeable good looking car. Does what is was intended to do and designed for. Never let me stranded on the road, or anything like that. It was pretty reliable.