[misquitas]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Congrats on the new purchase. Drive safe.

Thanks prince_pervez, for your comments. I'm enjoying the drive so far. Being used to an Alto, an I10 seems like a merc in frills, fitments and finish.

[GTO]

Melvyn, that's one heck of a buying experience + ownership review. Congrats on owning what is still the best city hatchback. Thanks for sharing, and do drive safe

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by GTO

Melvyn, that's one heck of a buying experience + ownership review. Congrats on owning what is still the best city hatchback. Thanks for sharing, and do drive safe

I am really humbled when the grandmaster of team-bhp himself pens the words of appreciation. If I managed to do what I did, it is only because team-bhp is one heck of a forum and I'm glad to be a member of this group.

You know, GTO, the I10 was not even in my initial list of cars that we had in mind. We were always under the impression that the I10 was not a winner in any one category and in a way, was a jack of all trades. As we began eliminating the shortlisted cars, we realised that no one car was a clear winner for us. The Ritz and Figo were strong contenders, but neither of them towered above the others in the segment.

That's when we decided to take a look at the I10 and we were surprised with the overall package. Our impression of the I10 has remained the same -- it is not a winner in any one category. But the I10 had a trump card that we didn't find in other cars in the segment. In our opinion, while other cars stood out on a few features, the I10 stood out because it had a little of everything. It had...

1. a silent and powerful 1.2 engine
2. comfortable seating for 4 and decent seating for 5,
3. great fit and finish
4. decent road stability
5. easy ingress and ingress
6. good driver's view
7. good pan-India sales/service network
8. decent fuel economy
9. decent cabin/boot space
10. decent all round looks

For us, no one car other than the I10 had all these 10 features and hence, the I10 had scored a perfect 10.

Regards,
Melvyn

PS: I need some advice on topping up petrol on the I10. In our Alto, while topping up the fuel, the opening is large for the petrol dispensing pipe to easily fit in and for me to monitor the fuel entering the tank. As soon as it reached close to the brim I would ask the attendant stop filling fuel. I used this method and never the auto-stop feature of the petrol dispenser, while I was checking the FE on the Alto.

Now, the I10 has a very narrow opening and the petrol dispenser just about fits in. That leaves me with very little space to monitor the fuel entering the tank.

Now, is the auto-stop feature reliable while checking tank-to-tank FE? In other words, do all pumps and dispensers have the same auto-stop mechanism? Does one dispenser stop supplying fuel at same auto-fill level as another dispenser? Let me know. Thanks

[veejayyes]

Originally Posted by misquitas

Thanks for your comments. On our I10, I found the VIN under the driver's seat. I had printed out the VIN check list (from the VIN thread on team-bhp) for the I10 and found out the month of manufacture.

As far as the comfort level is concerned, I find the Ritz more spread out in the rear seat space. Three of us could easily sit comfortably. On the other other hand, the Wagn R felt cramped in the rear and the same three adults immediately felt the lack of shoulder/bottom space in comparison with the Ritz.

The same three adults then sat in the I10 and they felt that I10 was placed in between these two cars. Not as spacious as the Ritz, but it had easily more shoulder space than that of the Wagon R.

I must, however, point out that comfort level is a subjective issue. there could be many who would still find Ritz cramped up for rear space. On the other hand, we have regularly accommodated three persons (of varying structures) in the rear seat of our Alto. Hence in comparison, the I10 feels far more spacious than the Alto.

Yes indeed true... it is really a well thought out review on i10 and wonderfully presented evaluating the important aspects from all these hatchbacks. I, TD i10 VTVT in Chennai City and drive is excellent too but driver-seat comfort is falling by a margin than Ritz (notably dead-pedal missing and not sufficient space for left-leg position in i10). i10, no doubt has excellent and attractive design but still a strong presence of Ritz is haunting my mind in terms of practical aspects like comfortable drive & space for 5 people /more cabin volume, decent legroom, enough boot space enlargeable with split seats, silky k-series engine, large tyres, robust tall-boy frame to fit 6-footers with ease ( me being a 6-footer !!), driving sedan-like feeling with big dash-board and ultimately Maruti POM. Thanks for an excellent review..

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by veejayyes

Yes indeed true... it is really a well thought out review on i10 and wonderfully presented evaluating the important aspects from all these hatchbacks. I, TD i10 VTVT in Chennai City and drive is excellent too but driver-seat comfort is falling by a margin than Ritz (notably dead-pedal missing and not sufficient space for left-leg position in i10). i10, no doubt has excellent and attractive design but still a strong presence of Ritz is haunting my mind in terms of practical aspects like comfortable drive & space for 5 people /more cabin volume, decent legroom, enough boot space enlargeable with split seats, silky k-series engine, large tyres, robust tall-boy frame to fit 6-footers with ease ( me being a 6-footer !!), driving sedan-like feeling with big dash-board and ultimately Maruti POM. Thanks for an excellent review..

Thanks for your comments, veejayyess, and I quite agree that the Ritz is also an excellent car. In fact, my bro-in-law has the Ritz LDI for over a year and I have enjoyed driving the car whenever I have had the opportunity to do so.

The reason why we opted for the I10 is that we felt the I10 Magna had more to offer than the Ritz LXI. It is true that the Ritz has the "space for 5 people /more cabin volume, decent legroom, enough boot space enlargeable with split seats, silky k-series engine, large tyres, robust tall-boy frame to fit 6-footers with ease ( me being a 6-footer !!), driving sedan-like feeling with big dash-board and ultimately Maruti POM". In comparison to the Ritz LXI, I found out that the I10 Magna has...

* Superior fit and finish (The switches, levers, plastic and metal quality seemed much better in the I10)
* less body roll (This was a main factor for us to prefer the I10. We felt the Ritz had significantly more body roll and this is something that my wife and daughter don't like.)
* D/N mirror (Even the Ritz ZXI does not have one)
* 4 powered windows
* Tachometer
* Electrically operated windows
* A nicer instrument cluster (with a very useful gear shift indicator)
* Provision for a luggage lamp. (The Magna does not have one, but I added it on my Magna).

Regarding the large dashboard, I had initially thought this was a great feature on the Ritz until I discovered that it was not very practical. What I mean is this: The large dashboard on the Ritz did not easily allow my bro-in-law to reach the windscreen in order to wipe out the mist that had accumulated on a cold evening. I then asked him to use the blower in a HOT position and defog the windscreen using the vents near the windscreen. That too did not work. In the end he was forced to use the AC to clear the mist from the windscreen.

When we encountered similar mist on the I10, I had two options. I could easily stretch out and wipe the windscreen. But more effective was the defog option on the blower. Referring to the I10 manual, I simply set the blower thermostat to HOT (maximum), switched to the 'outside air intake' position and used only the vents near the windscreen. Within a few seconds, the mist had cleared away from the windscreen.

Point is, the Rtiz had a similar feature of defogging the windscreen, but it was not effective. Having said that, both cars are great in their own right and I would easily recommend the Ritz (and the Figo) to any prospective car buyer. In fact, I have had a good experience with the Maruti dealer (we also own an Alto LXI) in Panjim and hence, it was a big decision for us to switch to Hyundai.

Regards,
Melvyn

[Live To Jive]

The Ritz is actually positioned a segment higher than the i10 in the same segment as the Swift and i20. The competitor of the i10 is the A-Star which it beats in every aspect. The fact that it's neck and neck with (IMO better than) the Ritz means that it's a lovely car. I somehow cannot digest the looks of the Ritz. The i10 looks cool, specially after the facelift.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by Live To Jive

The Ritz is actually positioned a segment higher than the i10 in the same segment as the Swift and i20. The competitor of the i10 is the A-Star which it beats in every aspect. The fact that it's neck and neck with (IMO better than) the Ritz means that it's a lovely car. I somehow cannot digest the looks of the Ritz. The i10 looks cool, specially after the facelift.

In many ways, the Ritz and the I10 did seem to be within the same segment. They both are priced similar (Ritz LXI and the I10 Magna are about Rs 4.4 lakh) and both have a 1.2 engine. But in other ways, the Ritz is indeed a larger car in physical dimensions. Both cars may appeal to a different audience.

It is true that the new I10 looks better than its previous version. The squarish fog lamps, contours on the bumpers, the different grill, etc make it elegant and more acceptable to those who could not earlier digest the I10 looks.

By the way, I'm honoured that the moderators have selected this thread as one of the "hot threads" today, 23 December 2010, which coincidentally, happens to be our 10th wedding anniversary. By the way, the current year, our anniversary and now our new car all have something in common -- 10.

Many thanks to all those who have commented on the I10. To preserve this scroll of honour, or should I say "screen of honour", for posterity I'm including a screen image below:



In my review, I forgot to mention that about the insurance and extended warranty bit. I was informed that the 3rd year extended warranty (against any manufacturing defect) would be about Rs 2500, while the 4th year extended warranty would be another Rs 2700. The 5th year extended warranty would work out to an additional Rs 5000. In contrast, the Ritz LXI 3rd year extended warranty alone had worked out to Rs 5000.

After some thought, I decided to go in for the 3rd and 4th year extended warranty, as I felt paying Rs 10500 for three years additional warranty was a bit steep.

The normal car insurance (which was done by a friend/colleague) with Tata-AIG worked out to about Rs 9,000. He then informed me that in the event of a mishap, the insurance company would only pay 50% for the bumpers, rubber parts and radiator. He then suggested that I should take an additional insurance of about Rs 2000, which would completely cover these parts. I'm not sure what this scheme is called, but it did make sense to me to pay an additional Rs 2000 so that the I10 could be fully (or at least almost fully) insured. What do others think about this extended insurance?

Thanks,
Melvyn

[Rohit Tripathi]

Hi Melwyn

Very nice review. Simple & Logical, did you not consider the ritz diesel when you were looking for diesel cars initially?

[rohan_iitr]

That was a great buying experience you shared.

I also happen to be a satisfied customer of i10, but mine is irde1 variant, purchased in Jan 2009. It will be completing 2 years next month. I get FE of 14 in city and 18 on highway will AC always on.

Your i10 kappa2 will give even better FE, but please don't expect Alto 800cc type FE in a 1.2L car.

Like GTO mentioned, i10 is a perfect city car - reasonably spacious on the inside yet compact on the outside. Also excellant interiors, build quality and features for its price. (Though I have to admit that I would have gone for Ritz Lxi if it was available in Jan 2009)

Like you mentioned, i10 doesn't excel in any particular area, but it does reasonably well in all areas and does not disappoint in any particular area. I think that that biggest USP of i10 is that it doesn't have a USP.

Dealership experience varies from city to city, it can't be generalised. In Bangalore, I had a better dealership experience with Hyundai and Chevrolet as compared to Maruti. I do agree that their frequency of offering tea/coffee to prospective customers reduces once they make the booking.

Good info regarding addition of intermittent wiper speed and boot lamp. I may also consider the same for my car.

The blue instrument panel in i10 looks amazing. I just hate the cramped instrument panel in Maruti A-Star and Ritz. And the lesser said about the dash mounted tachometer, the better.

As per the manual, it is not recommended to fill fuel after auto cut off. If you want to be sure while calculating FE, I would suggest that you fill up at the same petrol pump and same dispenser on both the occasions until auto cut off. That should be accurate enough.

I can totally understand your wife's comment about taking snaps of the car next to the river. Even I got similar comments from my friends when I was taking the car's snaps along with the waterfall on our last picnic.

I am also driving on stock tyres (mine are Brigdestone). They are good enough for sedate driving. Though I might consider upgrading to 165 next time.

I have also taken 3rd and 4th year extended warranty. I also found the 5th year extended warranty to be a bit steeply priced.

Extended insurance is a good option. Refer to Sam Kapasi's thread on this.

Congratulations on your 10th anniversary.

Rohan

[dar3dev|l]

misquitas, I have taken the 0% depreciation plan from Tata AiG and paid that extra 2K. Trust me is it indeed a peace of mind for our pockets during any unforeseen circumstances. I would say go for it

[Live To Jive]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Your i10 kappa2 will give even better FE, but please don't expect Alto 800cc type FE in a 1.2L car.

Why not? This is a VTVT engine, just like Honda's VTec. If driven with a light foot it should return good milege.

Originally Posted by misquitas

In many ways, the Ritz and the I10 did seem to be within the same segment. They both are priced similar (Ritz LXI and the I10 Magna are about Rs 4.4 lakh) and both have a 1.2 engine. But in other ways, the Ritz is indeed a larger car in physical dimensions. Both cars may appeal to a different audience.

Whatever. But you will not regret buying the i10 over the Ritz.

It is true that the new I10 looks better than its previous version. The squarish fog lamps, contours on the bumpers, the different grill, etc make it elegant and more acceptable to those who could not earlier digest the I10 looks.

Looks are subjective. I liked both versions. However IMO the VTVT is the biggest improvement over the old car.

By the way, I'm honoured that the moderators have selected this thread as one of the "hot threads" today, 23 December 2010, which coincidentally, happens to be our 10th wedding anniversary. By the way, the current year, our anniversary and now our new car all have something in common -- 10.

A Triple congratulations for the 3 happy events!

In my review, I forgot to mention that about the insurance and extended warranty bit. I was informed that the 3rd year extended warranty (against any manufacturing defect) would be about Rs 2500, while the 4th year extended warranty would be another Rs 2700. The 5th year extended warranty would work out to an additional Rs 5000. In contrast, the Ritz LXI 3rd year extended warranty alone had worked out to Rs 5000.

After some thought, I decided to go in for the 3rd and 4th year extended warranty, as I felt paying Rs 10500 for three years additional warranty was a bit steep.

The normal car insurance (which was done by a friend/colleague) with Tata-AIG worked out to about Rs 9,000. He then informed me that in the event of a mishap, the insurance company would only pay 50% for the bumpers, rubber parts and radiator. He then suggested that I should take an additional insurance of about Rs 2000, which would completely cover these parts. I'm not sure what this scheme is called, but it did make sense to me to pay an additional Rs 2000 so that the I10 could be fully (or at least almost fully) insured. What do others think about this extended insurance?

Thanks,
Melvyn

That's a good thing you've done. BTW the dealer quotes Rs.15,196/- for insurance. Rs.9000/- is a big saving.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by Rohit Tripathi

Hi Melwyn

Very nice review. Simple & Logical, did you not consider the ritz diesel when you were looking for diesel cars initially?

Thanks, Rohit Tripathi, for your comments. Yes, we did consider the Ritz diesel (my brother-in-law owns one since the past one year) for a very short while. But we quickly ruled it out as the Ford Figo EXI (better fit and finish, more features, less body roll, etc.) and the Tata Indigo eCS (better sitting space, larger boot space, sedan feel, etc) seemed to offer much more than the Ritz diesel at around the same price.

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

That was a great buying experience you shared.

I also happen to be a satisfied customer of i10, but mine is irde1 variant, purchased in Jan 2009. It will be completing 2 years next month. I get FE of 14 in city and 18 on highway will AC always on.

Your i10 kappa2 will give even better FE, but please don't expect Alto 800cc type FE in a 1.2L car.

Like GTO mentioned, i10 is a perfect city car - reasonably spacious on the inside yet compact on the outside. Also excellant interiors, build quality and features for its price. (Though I have to admit that I would have gone for Ritz Lxi if it was available in Jan 2009)

Like you mentioned, i10 doesn't excel in any particular area, but it does reasonably well in all areas and does not disappoint in any particular area. I think that that biggest USP of i10 is that it doesn't have a USP.

Dealership experience varies from city to city, it can't be generalised. In Bangalore, I had a better dealership experience with Hyundai and Chevrolet as compared to Maruti. I do agree that their frequency of offering tea/coffee to prospective customers reduces once they make the booking.

Good info regarding addition of intermittent wiper speed and boot lamp. I may also consider the same for my car.

The blue instrument panel in i10 looks amazing. I just hate the cramped instrument panel in Maruti A-Star and Ritz. And the lesser said about the dash mounted tachometer, the better.

As per the manual, it is not recommended to fill fuel after auto cut off. If you want to be sure while calculating FE, I would suggest that you fill up at the same petrol pump and same dispenser on both the occasions until auto cut off. That should be accurate enough.

I can totally understand your wife's comment about taking snaps of the car next to the river. Even I got similar comments from my friends when I was taking the car's snaps along with the waterfall on our last picnic.

I am also driving on stock tyres (mine are Brigdestone). They are good enough for sedate driving. Though I might consider upgrading to 165 next time.

I have also taken 3rd and 4th year extended warranty. I also found the 5th year extended warranty to be a bit steeply priced.

Extended insurance is a good option. Refer to Sam Kapasi's thread on this.

Congratulations on your 10th anniversary.

Rohan

Thanks, rohan_iitr, for your comments. I like your comment "I think that that biggest USP of i10 is that it doesn't have a USP." We too did not like the 'tachopod' on the Ritz. Not only does it look out of place, it is inconvenient to read as well. The instrument cluster on the I10 really looks nice at night.

Thanks for your advice on filling the fuel. Will try the auto cut off system at one petrol pump and will check out the FE. And speaking about FE, I was pleasantly surprised that our I10 delivered 18.7 kmpl in its first FE test. In comparison, our Alto (800CC, lighter car and 3-cylinder engine) has always given us 19.5-22 kmpl. However, the I10 is a heavier car that has a larger 1.2 litre engine and a 4-cylinder one, and yet, the FE was not way behind that of our Alto.

We too felt the 5th year extended warranty was steeply priced and hence, took only the 3rd and 4th year extended warranty.

Originally Posted by dar3dev|l

misquitas, I have taken the 0% depreciation plan from Tata AiG and paid that extra 2K. Trust me is it indeed a peace of mind for our pockets during any unforeseen circumstances. I would say go for it

Thanks, dar3dev|l, for your comments. We have also taken the 'Nil depreciation' plan in conjunction with the normal insurance.

Originally Posted by Live To Jive

Why not? This is a VTVT engine, just like Honda's VTec. If driven with a light foot it should return good milege.

Whatever. But you will not regret buying the i10 over the Ritz.

Looks are subjective. I liked both versions. However IMO the VTVT is the biggest improvement over the old car.

A Triple congratulations for the 3 happy events!

That's a good thing you've done. BTW the dealer quotes Rs.15,196/- for insurance. Rs.9000/- is a big saving.

Thanks, Live To Jive, for your comments. After carefully considering a number of cars within the similar price range, we are pleased to have chosen the I10.

Regarding the insurance bit, the dealer had told us that it was about Rs 15,000, but "offered" us a discount of Rs 6000. When I checked with my friend/colleague, he immediately told me that the insurance of the I10 is itself about Rs 9000 and that dealers try to make a big deal of the "discount" that they are offering to customers.

Since I had "saved" Rs 6000, I decided to put in an extra Rs 2000 and opt for the 'nil depreciation' policy from Tata AIG.

Thanks to all those reading this thread. I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a bright New Year 2011. Goa is rocking these days with millions of parties all over the State.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Like GTO mentioned, i10 is a perfect city car - reasonably spacious on the inside yet compact on the outside. Also excellant interiors, build quality and features for its price. (Though I have to admit that I would have gone for Ritz Lxi if it was available in Jan 2009)

Dealership experience varies from city to city, it can't be generalised. In Bangalore, I had a better dealership experience with Hyundai and Chevrolet as compared to Maruti. I do agree that their frequency of offering tea/coffee to prospective customers reduces once they make the booking.

Rohan

Sorry, I forgot to add a comment and 20 minutes passed and I could not edit my previous post, hence a new one.

Regarding the dealership experience, it is true that one cannot make a generalization. We may have had a negative experience with the Tata dealers here in Goa, but others may have a great experience elsewhere in the country. For that matter, others here in Goa itself may speak favourably about the Tata dealers.

Regarding the tea/coffee thing at the Hyundai dealer in Verna, it is not the question of "refreshments", but a question of a "refreshing experience". My wife rarely visits car dealers (except when purchasing a car), but she immediately noticed the difference between Maruti's Chowgule dealer in Panjim and the Goa Hyundai dealer in Verna. The Maruti dealer seemed to be so positive and we genuinely felt that we were treated like royalty.

To cite a comparison, the accessories section at the Chowgule dealer is located within the showroom at Panjim and there 2-3 persons are always there to assist customers. On the other hand, when we went to check out the accessories section at Goa Hyundai in Verna, we found out that it was locked (at about 12 noon) and the lone person managing the section was no where to be found for nearly 20 minutes. He was later traced and he returned with a sheepish look and was not even apologetic for keeping us waiting.

Your comment on the i10 - reasonably spacious on the inside yet compact on the outside - was exactly how we felt, when we compared it to the Ritz.

[hari78]

Congrats on the buy, An excellent write up, kept me interesting all the way.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by hari78

Congrats on the buy, An excellent write up, kept me interesting all the way.

Thanks, hari78, for your comments and glad to note that you found my review of interest.

By the way, I have already covered 700+ kms on the I10 and the performance has been top notch so far. The car will be due for its first service sometime between 1000-1200 kms. Guys, do I need to look out or check for anything in particular? Let me know.

Thanks,
Melvyn

PS: One fitment that was promptly removed off the I10 was the parcel tray. I have never liked a parcel tray in a hatch, mainly for practical purposes. First, it is so much easier for the rear passenger to turn back and pick a bag or something from the boot (as we frequently have to do when we need a change of clothes for our little girl). Second, I tend to travel with a lot of luggage at times and the parcel tray prevents placement of additional bags in the boot. Just this morning, I managed to place my daughter's cycle standing upright in the boot. I used the rear seat belt to secure the cycle in place. The seat belt just about managed to stretch that far and grip the handle bar of the cycle. And who says only a Honda Jazz can transport a cycle upright?