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Old 25th October 2011, 11:20   #61
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

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As I stated in my review, if the Eon had the Santro's 1.1L, it would be a no-brainer buy.
Possibly that's the strategy needed for selling multiple models in the same price bracket. The key is not have an outright winner so that the buyers need to think hard to pick one model over the other.

I always thought Hyundai will pull the plug on Santro post the Eon launch. But now it seems, the Santro is here to stay for some more time.

I would have loved to see Hyundai phase out the Santro and equip the Eon with the 4 cylinder iRDE2 motor and ABS etc.
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Old 25th October 2011, 11:27   #62
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

Great review GTO!

Build, quality and looks are definitely much better than the Alto, and i am guessing quite a few people would considering getting this as an upgrade over the Alto. Its substantially wider, so no doubt people would enjoy the space insider too.

Engine is a disappointment. They should have used a 1.1L Santro engine in at least the higher end variants.
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Old 25th October 2011, 11:28   #63
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

In sync with Shome - the rattling is a problem with the various sub-assemblies of the steering column.

I hope the EON's EPS has also been tested with respect to the EPS steering lockup issue on the i10s. There was also some writeup that the lockup was also due to an EPS issue - i.e power to the steering system cut because of load issues. Hope that is been resolved in the EON's EPS because its an extremely dangerous problem. Hyundai would have been taken to court to recall their cars if this happened anywhere else in the world.
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Old 25th October 2011, 11:37   #64
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

Fantastic Review as Always !!

Even though the price point is slightly more than the MS Alto, the car actually looks "EONS" ahead(pun intented) of the Alto.

The relatively good Hyundai A.S.S and the comparatively low cost of ownership should ensure that we get to see a lot of this car on the roads.

The lack of the RPM meter is a surprising omission though.
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Old 25th October 2011, 11:51   #65
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

Thanks GTO and Mods for the amazing and comprehensive review as always. After having driven Alto for last 3 yrs, EON definetly looks a worthy competitor. Maruti should learn from Hyundai for providing top quality interiors at decent prices.
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Old 25th October 2011, 11:57   #66
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by deetjohn View Post
Possibly that's the strategy needed for selling multiple models in the same price bracket. The key is not have an outright winner so that the buyers need to think hard to pick one model over the other.

I always thought Hyundai will pull the plug on Santro post the Eon launch. But now it seems, the Santro is here to stay for some more time.

I would have loved to see Hyundai phase out the Santro and equip the Eon with the 4 cylinder iRDE2 motor and ABS etc.
Hi DJ,

I had gone to Hyundai showroom 2 days back to book a car( and got pissed off by their behaviour) and the sales people told me that GL+ model is not available right now as a new model of santro is being planned for launch in Feb'12.

Sorry for going OT
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Old 25th October 2011, 12:09   #67
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

Excellent review GTO. I really appreciate your consistency in this!
The pricing is excellent but none of your service visits to Hundai will be cheaper, at least that has been my experience with Santro.
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Old 25th October 2011, 12:16   #68
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

A really good 360 degree review. What I find really nice about this car is the build quality at this price. I think Hyundai has done a superb market study before they released this car.

And trust me, Maruti has got to learn a lot from Hyundai about build quality now. I still curse Maruti for their flimsy interiors and their ugly ducklings. Specially the so called "new" Alto. The difference I see from the old one are 1. a longer bonnet, new head lamps, new tail lamps and the K10. But look at the Eon!!!

I am not a fan of cars of this category, but the Eon is a really nice car for everyday use in a city like Bangalore or any city in India for that matter.

Well done Hyundai!!
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Old 25th October 2011, 12:19   #69
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

Fantastic review as always..

I couldn't understand why Hyundai couldn't manage to rectify the vibrating gear lever. They have gone the whole hog for the rest, why would they not work on this. Really stupid !!!

An auto option too is sorely missing. They need to get an auto variant out soon.

Cheers
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Old 25th October 2011, 12:45   #70
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by veyron_head View Post
The front seat has so much of travel that the rear passenger would need to squat on the bench to sit.
Why blame the front seat travel? The car manufacturer is giving you the CHOICE. It's better than other cars where 6 footers cannot fit in, even if there is no one on the back seat. If you have a problem with the seat travel range, well, don't take it all the way back.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RGK View Post
Always felt brake and clutch pedals are not positioned comfortably in Santro (the angle).
Nope, no such problem in the Eon, though (as my review mentions) the pedals are placed very close to one another.

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Originally Posted by SDP View Post
As GTO keeps on mentioning, god bless competition. Once buyers get spoilt by such a offering in this segment, it is bound to have a cascading effect on other segments.
God bless competition indeed . No ways will anyone be able to get away with launching outdated products now. Come to think of it, when was the last time we saw an outdated product in the recent past?

Quote:
Originally Posted by jaygeetee View Post
The important question though is whether the current "budget" segment ready for the "premium" that Hyundai is asking for?
Could be. Why else would the Alto outsell the 800 & Nano? Or, why would a good % of buyers buy an Alto K10 over the regular 796 cc Alto?

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Originally Posted by Sutripta View Post
Does it take over the job of the AVR, or does the AVR remain? How is the ign telltale wired? Who is the alternator vendor?
Dunno, but will ask Hyundai the next I speak to them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Amartya View Post
They are among the very few car manufacturers to have understood that the majority of the market doesn't care for stonking performance or tight handling; the customers want their new cars to feel special. Where can they be made to feel special, of course it's the interiors. In a 15 minute test drive, most customers wouldn't be able to figure out ride quality and handling, but for the things they can touch and feel, they'd come back with a very positive impression.

I cannot see a single customer test driving an Eon and then walking over to the Maruti dealership to try the Alto and not feel disappointed. It's a bonus that the A/C works as well as it does and the car is roomier than most of the direct competition.
I think Hyundai has understood it at the start itself. Remember the Santro's interiors in '98, and how they felt so well built (relative to competition)? Or the Hyundai Accent that was launched a short while later?

Quote:
Originally Posted by motorguy View Post
@GTO - btw - the covering on the manifold is also available on the i10 now (at least on mine which is the top end model - dont know about the other variants) .
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Originally Posted by blackasta View Post
In sync with motorguy - even my gen 1 i10 asta has that cladding on the intake hose.
Thanks. Corrected.

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Originally Posted by skanchan95 View Post
Is the steering hydraulic or Electronic?
EPS.

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Originally Posted by normally_crazy View Post
Even the Rs 16 lacs Civic does not have this feature - leave the poor 3 lac car alone
Well, there are many 4 lakh rupee hatchbacks with auto-locking doors. Plus, it's just a line of software code to add for the ECU.

Quote:
Originally Posted by aravind.anand View Post
But the comment for the photo where the Alto and the Eon stand side by side reads "The Alto looks 20 years too old.
Many thanks, corrected.

Quote:
Originally Posted by srikrishna717 View Post
Excellent review GTO. I really appreciate your consistency in this!
Thank you

Quote:
none of your service visits to Hundai will be cheaper, at least that has been my experience with Santro.
I realise that, and its precisely why the same has been added as point no. 5 under the "What you won't like" highlights.
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Old 25th October 2011, 13:02   #71
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by Amartya View Post
Just curious, but did you get a chance to talk to a Hyundai engineer during the drive? If yes, did you ask why they weren't able to iron out drivetrain/gearbox vibration and what like of linkage the gearbox uses (cable/direct etc.)? It just doesn't seem like a thing Hyundai usually messes up.
Guess that's an inherent trait of the Epsilon Engine. The first gen Santro too had a lot of vibrations in the gear lever eventhough it was a 4 cylinder engine. It got corrected to a large extent in the eRLX version but it was still there.
Since the Eon's engine is a 3 cylinder unit of the same Epsilon, the vibrations must have got amplified.
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Old 25th October 2011, 13:06   #72
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

And it is really nice to see 'Rotary' air-con controls on a 3 Lac car. Especially since the 8Lac plus Honda City doesn't offer them. Only the top of the line V variant of the ANHC provides this, and just one of these rotary knobs, not three. So that is really worth mentioning. Lesson to be learn't for the Japanese here. The Koreans are here! They can make VFM cars, while not constantly reminding their occupants that they have spent only 3 Lacs for their car
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Old 25th October 2011, 13:13   #73
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

If I am right, this is the 1st 3-pot engine in India from Hyundai. And given the rising petrol prices + our insistence on FE (good thing IMO), if this does indeed deliver good FE, that would be great. We will know the FE once more cars get on the road and tbhp-ians buy it - I take ARAI FE figures for Hyundais with a pinch of salt, given the user-reported figures we see on the forum for i10 etc.
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Old 25th October 2011, 13:20   #74
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO
Chief Competitors of the Hyundai Eon

Chevrolet Spark

What you won't:
&bull; Inflated price tag
&bull; Dull interiors
Thanks for the detailed review, GTO. I'm sure a lot of us were waiting for this expectantly

Apparently this makes for a good city car with some highway pretensions as well. Vibrations are generally expected from 3cylinder engines, in my experience with colleague's cars. Is the sheet metal at par or worse (flimsier) when compared with the Alto? Par is acceptable, but worse is probably not. Wish they'd decided to include ABS instead, which is more useful IMHO.

Ps. With the price cuts and beigified interiors of the Spark, aren't these points (quoted) obsolete now?
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Old 25th October 2011, 13:23   #75
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Re: Hyundai Eon : Test Drive & Review

Excellent review, as always, GTO !!

Hypothetical question to GTO: Santro won not only the mind game but over the last decade has proven its capability. I was wondering could not have Hyundai re-launched Santro as a more souped up version that would compete with Alto on price front albeit with more features? At the same time, it could have launched Eon as an in-between Santro and i10 and could have straddled the entire segment ? And in the process, could have given Eon a bigger engine ? It is just a thought. I believe that is something similar to what Maruti Suzuki did to Alto.
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